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ARDX20 used by a pro |
December 19, 2012 |
Reviewer:
Mike
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Hello!
First, a little background on me: Professional touring and studio guitarist. I spend several months a year on the road touring all over the world and play/write music for tv, movies, records, etc. when I'm home in LA. Doesn't really matter, other than to give some insight into my experience or point of view, which may or may not matter, haha.
I'm a bit of a pedal nut and definitely am a delay nut. My main touring board usually has two delays. My most recent set up had a Strymon Brigadier and an MXR Carbon Copy. My all time favorite delay is an old school DMM, but they're fidgety, unreliable, and HUGE. I love the modulation on a DMM and love the gooey thickness of the tone, though sometimes its a touch dark/muddy.
I recently acquired an ARDX20 and the Amaze0. Spent a few days running it through the paces and I'm VERY impressed. It sounds fantastic. Very warm, very thick, and it blends with the sound of the guitar really well. My Strymon, and many of the other pedals I've tried tend to sound separate from the guitar. Sort of disassociated from the main guitar signal. The ARDX has that oneness with the sound like a DMM. Hard to explain, but if you've tried a DMM you know what I mean.
The tone is a little bit clearer and brighter than a DMM, but in a really good way. It is just a tiny bit less murky and it doesn't create a mudfest when used and/or abused. Even with a semi-hollow on the neck and a big thick tone it still doesn't get out of hand.
The amazeo is great, too. The tap tempo works as it should, imo. The Strymon never seemed to get the tempo I was tapping right. The AmazeO averages more than 2 taps in, which is great, and it seems really accurate to what I'm tapping. The modulation is really great too. DMMish, but it works at every setting without being super weird. The preset functionality works really well, too.
Right now I have it set so the top delay is a slapback, which sounds great, and the bottom delay is set with the Amaze0. I know there's a mod the make it affect the top delay, and I may try that, but I love the slapback so I might just leave it as is.
As others have surely pointed out, it is a bit big on the pedalboard, but since its two separate boxes it is a lot more flexible to position than other solutions. The Amazeo is super tiny and can kind of go anywhere. I also like that it runs on regular 9v power. It is worth the size for the sound and flexibility. I may venture down the road of using expression pedals and whatnot, but that might require a bigger pedalboard, haha!
I give this a big thumbs up and kudos to Mike for finally making a tap tempo analog delay that sounds great and is easy to use. I've tried them ALL, and this one is a keeper.
Mike
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