Jamtank Pedal Shootout April 2010 – Distortion Pedal

17th April 2010 , was a ….HEAVY night for some of us . It was our very own Jamtank Pedal Shootout !! (Distortion pedals) , the event was held in Music Master .

Well , its been a while since Music Master host a Jamtank event . I think the last one was in 2008 (bassist gathering) .

The idea of the pedal shootout , started with this post by subversift . A small innocent question that lead to an event . Funny how things work eh?

Actually , I wanted to post up invitation to the event in my blog . But i was worried that our studio couldn’t fit everyone . (2 years ago , we did it at the showroom. Today , our showroom is packed) .

In the end , roughly 12-13 of us turned up (i lost count) . I think the attendance was just nice . Everything was perfect ..until i reached home , put in my memory stick and check out the photos …

What lousy photographer am i !
I focus too much on the subject and i forgot to capture the atmosphere !

i don’t have a GROUP PHOTO !! ..There wasn’t a moment where all of us were in the room at the same time . Suddenly Cammo go yamcha at the mamak , then moderneagle go downstairs smoke ..

(damn..where’s guitarkaki when we need a damn good photographer?)

I guess the most loyal person was Shadzli . He stayed in the studio throughout the night . hehe.

Anyway , luckily i took what was important , the pedals and the gears .

Okay , first thing first ..this blog post is not an “official write up” about the event . I think Dufresne will do a better job in that (he has all the sound clips). This post is based on my perspective and my opinions on the event .

Oh yea , i am going to use nicknames from Jamtank in this post . no real names ok ? better for everyone this way..

Firstly , let me introduce the guitars & amp (its pretty awesome , and too bad , you missed it)

THE AMP : THE HOLY GRAIL .

Mesa boogie Express 5.50

Now now now , i know i know . Keep your hands out of your pants ok ?

You missed it ! Get over it !

THE GUITARS : THE MM

No…not MM = MUSIC MASTER ! its..MM = MUSIC MAN !

Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci & Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette .

I think its a great choice for the event . (Luckily we didn’t use moderneagle’s Fender Music Master to test a metal pedal .hehe)

Oh yeah , not forgetting moderneagle”s 1974 ESP Navigator Les Paul . (Pics below) . Awesome LP with some kickass tone .

Shadzli on the left , Dufresne and ESP Navigator Les Paul .

Our official guitar tester . Shadzli .

Okay okay , we very very messy …sorry ok ?

Shadzli’s simple kick ass pedalboard !

Moderneagle’s boutique pedalboard !

….and Music Master’s pedal board !!!

Our proud distortion pedals !

Problem was , we had too many pedals ..like 10-15 ? (its gonna last all night)

So we decided to put 2 pedals on competition , which was the Delta Lab MD-1 and Electro Harmonix Metal Muff with top boost .

(those are the only 2 pedals that are not for sale , we don’t wanna make this a “maketing” event)

Okay , back to the event .Before we proceed. Few things i want to say clear .

During the event , we didn’t go the traditional “score board” method . We were just there just to have fun , get to know each other , broaden our tone & gear knowledge .

So , there wasn’t any “champion distortion pedal” at the end of the night . Each of us have our own winners , as we all have different opinions , taste , music background and playing style .

Here are my personal reviews .

I measure a distortion pedal by :

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms .

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through.

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones .

4) Value for money , features .

5) Appearance , Build quality .

*Note that i am more of a “live player” than a tone freak . My opinions are more towards a pedal’s performance during a live gig .

So Lets get started .

Pedal Tank G2 – Shadzli

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms . 7/10

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through. 8/10

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones . 8/10

4) Value for money , features .10/10

5) Appearance , Build quality . 8/10

Gain wasn’t too high for me . I think there are better riff rocker pedals out there in the market .

What i loved about it , is the price of the pedal and of course , soloing tone is sweet & awesome

Cleans up very very well . Design reminds me of Noah’s Ark Black/CRUNCHBOX .

Very value for money . The pedal is made in Thailand . Please give it a try .

.

Landgraff MO’D -moderneagle

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms . 7/10

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through. 9/10

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones . 9/10

4) Value for money , features .NA

5) Appearance , Build quality . 9/10

Ooppss..i forgotten about the price ..was it 400 or something ? lol..

Anyway , everybody agrees its more of a mixture between distortion and overdrive .

Soloing tone is warm , cut through ..definitely something i would use if i am playing live .

The truth is , i would really really love to test this pedal even more (because we only tested the gain at 1′o clock) so i havent feel its full potential , in terms of riffing and crunch ..yet.

What i like about it besides its tone , is the appearance super cool looking . like JEM DNA .

DeltaLab MD-1 – Progressive Aggression (Music Master)

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms . 10/10

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through. 6/10

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones . 7/10

4) Value for money , features  .10/10

5) Appearance , Build quality . 8/10

So far , my favourite riffing pedal throughout the night . Also , very value for money , brand new price is 49USD)

Really really brutal distortion . Can really get that dimebag crunch going .

But i thought the pedal wasn’t versatile enough . Didn’t like the tone when it was on Solo mode . Clean up isn’t as good as the other two.

Very value for money . Price & Tone ratio . BIG .

ElectroHarmonix Metal Muff with top boost – Progressive Aggression (Music Master)

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms . 9/10

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through. 7.5/10

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones . 9/10

4) Value for money , features  .6/10

5) Appearance , Build quality . 7.5/10

The second best crunch tone after Delta Lab .

3 Band EQs give a WIDE RANGE of tones .We got some good tones out of it after tweaking it a while .

But what i really hate was the top boost . Really piercing to me .

People who buy this , really need to know their stuff in tweaking …

As for value for money , its better to get a Metal Muff without the top boost . Its cheaper . I think that the boost is really useless for a live show .

Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem – Cammo

1) Riffing ,Crunch, bottoms . NA

2) Soloing Tone , Warmth , Cut Through. 9/10

3) Clean up , Versatility , range of tones . NA

4) Value for money , features  .NA

5) Appearance , Build quality . 7/10

Missed out the riffing testing time and forgot to ask cammo how much he bought it for .

Anyway , this pedal has 2 tubes in it . SO IT HAS TO SOUND GOOD IF ITS ON SOLO MODE ! IF NOT !!

My top 2 favourite solo tone boils down to this pedal vs moderneagle’s Landgraff MO’D .

This pedal gives me the super warm guitar hero classic rock kinda tone .

I tend to favour this a little more due to the 3 band EQ .

Downside is , i don’t really like the appearance . Looks like they steal VOX tube pedals parts . haha .

Few more that i missed

(i went for my dinner)

AMT DU Hast – Shadzli

Expandora Distortion Pedal – moderneagle

Proco The Rat – NA . Whose pedal is this ?

Conclusion

What can i say ?

This event rocked my weekend !! Its great to meet new people , hearing out new pedals , seeing people hanging out in Music Master .

Okay , My final pick :

Riffing – Delta Lab MD-1

Soloing – Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem / Landgraff MO’D . I don’t know the prices . Go for whichever that is cheaper .

Recommended for Beginners -Pedal Tank G2

Also , a big thanks to fad32gr3y who sponsored us drinks for the night And everyone of you who came to the event !

Jamtank pedal shootout April 2010 , is probably KL’s version of Clash of THE titans . BIG GEARS , BIG AMPS , GREAT PLAYERS , GREAT PEOPLE .  CLASHED !

Looking forward for the next round

P.s Dufresne will be posting up the soundclips soon ! Look out in the Jamtank Thread !

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