I finally got some time to record a couple of clips of the absolutely wonderful KASHA Overdrive tonight, and I am just so blown away by how it sounds! This little box is like having 4 differently voiced amps in a little box! I’m not going to spend too much time praising it because I’ve already done that a couple of time here, so let’s get into the clips, shall we?
The first clip is slow, slow blues clip in Am. The chord progression is actually adapted from one of Chuck D’Aloia’s “Blues With Brains” video lessons. If you’re looking to get more into the blues, I highly recommend this set of lessons. It’s the best $40 bucks you’ll ever spend! In any case, I used the chord progression to test out the KASHA Overdrive, and to practice some of the concepts I learned tonight.
Anyway, there are two parts to the clip. The rhythm part was recorded with the KASHA Overdrive in Smooth with the gain set at 12 o’clock. This acts just like a clean boost, and at 12 o’clock it’s at unity gain. The first part features the Classic “channel,” and the second part features the Hot channel. Give it a listen:
The second clip has no backing track, and features the Melt channel with a simple chord riff. Excuse the sloppy playing, but instead, focus on the articulation of the notes. I had the Gain pushed up to about 3pm, which is almost all the way up. But even at a really high gain setting, you can still hear the individual notes. THIS IS AMAZING! And man, the touch sensitivity in this channel is to die for!
By the way, both clips were played through the clean channel of my Aracom VRX22, and recorded at conversation levels using the incredible Aracom PRX150-Pro attenuator. To me, this is the absolute king of attenuators. Oh! Almost forgot that I used my beloved Goldie to record the clips.
It is totally weird not having a case of GAS right now. Since 2007, when I first started this blog, I’ve been GAS-ing. Not a week would go by without me getting some kind of gear. But since I purchased my KASHA Overdrive a couple of weeks ago, and finally started using it, I haven’t had any serious case of GAS.
Mind you, that doesn’t mean that there’s not gear that I don’t want to get. For instance, I’m still going to get a TC Electronic Nova Repeater, and I’m working on the design of a new amp that I would like to have built for me. But I don’t have that uncontrollable urge to reach into my pocket and pull out my bank card to get some gear. I’m much more calm, and for the first time in a long time, I’m not in a rush to get that other gear.
But I think that’s the disturbing thing. I’ve had this GASeous urge for so long that I’m in kind of unfamiliar territory. F&$k!!! It’s like having nicotine withdrawal symptoms! I’m not used to this. But I can tell you, my bank account is thanking me right now…
When I wrote my original announcement of the Skull Crusher, it was absolutely brand new, and not surprising at all, it was met with a mixed response. But as I mentioned in my announcement, get beyond the looks, and this pedal is a KASHA overdrive with an EQ knob, and I LOVE how that sounds. Apparently, so do the guys from Ratt, as shown in this video taken over the weekend at the Jack FM 2009 concert in southern California this past weekend:
And here’s a video of the VERY talented PhilX playing the Skull Crusher live and doing a demo in the studio:
Lots of guys panned the look of the pedal, but I think it looks incredible! And knowing that it has the absolutely wonderful KASHA overdrive guts makes this pedal a winner in my book.
OMG!!! Just gigged with my brand-new KASHA Overdrive last night, and I was in tonal heaven! Even though I’d done a pretty good test on it in my original review, there’s nothing like using gear in a live situation. So here are my observations:
Incredible Dynamics – The one thing that is readily apparent is how this pedal responds to pick attack and volume knob changes. It is so amp-like, it’s uncanny! I set the pedal up in unity gain with just normal strums on my guitar. But if I dug in a bit more, the pedal responded just like an amp with a bit more punch and volume. Frankly, the volume swell surprised the hell out of me. It’s not huge, mind you, but the response is so amp-like, it really does take you by surprise. I totally dug that while gigging last night!
Plays Well With Other Overdrive Pedals – I love stacking overdrives, and the KASHA OD performs beautifully in this role. I set it up as a based OD pedal, then stack it with my Tone Freak Effects Abunai 2. Those two together are an awesome combination!
Lots of Tonal Variety – While my favorite channel on this is the Classic channel that adds a chimey mote to your tone, I also played in the Hot channel as well, and the grit and grind was super-sweet. But add to that the dynamic response of the pedal, and what you’ve got is a pedal that has a lot of inherent tonal variety. Last night, I ran it mostly through the clean channel of my amp. But later, I screwed around with it a bit more in my studio, with my amp set at the very edge of breakup. This is where the pedal just warms my heart! With its touch sensitivity, when my amp is set up at the edge of breakup, I can take my tone from gritty and grimy to sweet and chimey with just a touch of dirt simply by modifying my attack or adjusting my volume knob.
Open Distortion Characteristics – No matter what channel you use with the KASHA Overdrive, the overdrive never gets compressed. It just gets dirtier. The cool thing about that is that any kind of compression will then come from your power tubes. I’ve rarely liked that compression in pedals, save for my Abunai 2, which compresses in a very pleasing way, but for most overdrive pedals, I don’t want that at all, and thankfully, the KASHA Overdrive remains very open, no matter how hot you go on the channels.
Simple Design – Probably one of the best features of this pedal that I appreciate is its straight-forward design. Notice that it doesn’t have an EQ control. It doesn’t need it. It takes your signal, adds a voice to it, and that’s it! Set your EQ on your guitar and/or amp to where you want it, then set the gain knob on the pedal, and just play. What could be more simple?
All in all, I’m pretty much done with my search for an overdrive pedal. I knew it from the first time I played this; and combined with my other OD’s, I can pretty much say – at least for quite awhile – I’m set in the overdrive department!
I’m an overdrive pedal freak, and I can safely say that this is the best overdrive pedal that I have ever played! It’s hard to believe that this little black monster does what it does. I’m totally blown away by it, and I’ve only gigged with it once! I can’t wait to really start using it in all its modes!
This announcement is so new that Saint Guitar Company hasn’t even put it up on their web site! I first caught wind of this new series a few months ago when Adam mentioned to me in a conversation that he was starting to work on a new style of guitar. This new series was to be a mild departure from the modern rock-inspired designs he has been building for the past several years, and roll time back just a bit to create what he was coining his new “Vintage” series, which would be chambered, have retro styling, and employ P-90 pickups. I don’t have any final build details as of yet, but his first in the series sure looks fantastic. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!
I can’t wait to do an evaluation on one of these. It’s really exciting! I love the body style on this, with the less pronounced horns, and rounder lower bout, and I dig that flat top! Very cool!
Wanna slam the front-end of your amp with up to 50dB of gain, then be able to add some distortion? Then look no further than the Way Huge Angry Troll. I don’t have much information on it yet, but it’s a simple two knob affair. The left-hand knob controls the variable boost, while the right-hand knob provides 6 positions of “Anger” from no anger (clean boost) to a full fist. Here’s ProGuitarShop.com’s video demo.
Summary: Definitely one of those “why didn’t I think of that” kinds of products. Elevates pedals 1 inch and makes reaching your back row easy. Routing allows you to keep your wires out of the way!
Pros: Very well made, with convenient fuzz to attach your Velcro’d pedals.
Cons: None.
Features:
Raises the second row of pedals to the perfect height.
Front, back and side openings enable effective cable routing.
Premium 18-gauge steel.
Attaches to board via heavy duty hook-and-loop fastener on base, which holds firm up to 200°F.
Designed to withstand temperatures of up to 200F without melting, so leaving your pedal board in your vehicle on a summer day won’t result in a gooey mess with all the Velcro peeling off.
Works with most pedalboards. To be sure, check that you have an extra 1″ of clearance when case is closed. The vast majority do.
Price: $16.99
Tone Bone Score: 5.0 – I dig these things. No, they don’t improve my tone nor technique, but they sure make it easier to tap dance on my pedal board!
This will most likely be a short review because this product doesn’t do much at all – that’s not a bad thing, either… It simply elevates your pedals. But as an accessory, since I’ve installed a set of four on my board, it has proven invaluable to me! In one fell swoop, the StageTrix Pedal Risers made the back row of my board instantly accessible AND cleaned up my cable runs! Where I used to have to run my cables along the sides if my pedals, I now run them underneath the risers because of their built-in routing. My board hasn’t looked this good – EVER!
Admittedly, I was a bit dubious about their ruggedness when I first discovered them. But once I got them, that opinion changed quickly. These risers are heavy and it’s obvious a lot of attention was paid to the details in their construction. They won’t bend, and that’s a testament to their construction. I even stood on one (I’m not a small man), and the pedal riser didn’t budge!
On top of that, the Pedal Risers are set up for immediate and easy use. The entire base is covered with velcro out of the box, and the top is covered with a thin fuzz for attaching your pedals. No assembly required! I hate to attach velcro tape to stuff. It’s a pain in the ass!
Once I got my board set up, I hooked it up to my amp and started tap-dancing. I immediately started smiling because for the first time, I didn’t have to put my foot in an awkward position to engage one of my pedals in my back row for fear of messing up the settings of a pedal on my front line – or heaven forbid, engaging a pedal that I didn’t want to engage. Nothing like doing a clean solo, clicking on my vibe and simultaneously engaging an overdrive. No doubt, it’s a little unsettling. But that won’t happen any longer. The StageTrix Pedal Risers completely eliminate that possibility!
After I wrote my previous entry that I was taking a break from my GAS, I got into a conversation with my good buddy about things or words that trigger GAS attacks. Here are some that I’ve used that trigger that impulsive GAS:
I was perusing the latest issue of a guitar mag this morning and started thinking about my new guitar, Goldie, and what gold pickup covers would look like on her. Talk about dissociative thinking! The article I was reading had absolutely nothing to do with pickup covers! Ha! I went to my computer, then did a search on pickup covers, found a place to purchase them, pulled out my wallet, then stopped. I stood up, closed my eyes, and said out loud, “This is nuts! What the F#%k do I need pickup covers for? I gotta just stop this sh&t!” That was a case of what I’m now calling “impulsive GAS.”
Basically, as the term implies, “impulsive GAS” is gassing AND buying purely on impulse. No calculation, no evaluation of whether or not I may need the particular item. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that! I think of something, get a dose of GAS, then pull out my debit card and either order it or if I’m at a store, buy it on the spot. What’s worse is that it’s happened so much that I don’t even have buyer’s remorse! I used to get it, but no longer. Perhaps I’ve just tucked all those feelings away.
Now you might just say, “Hey man, it’s just pickup covers.” But that’s the whole point! Those two words, “It’s just…” are enough to send me and I’m sure other gear sluts over the edge. It has gotten to the point where “it’s just” justifies everything! And that’s dangerous.
Admittedly, while sometimes doing things impulsively can be rewarding, making a habit of it isn’t good – I can’t tell you how much stuff I’ve purchased that I just don’t use any longer – and I know I’m not alone in this.
So this was a wakeup call for me. I’m definitely going to look before I leap!
If you’ve been waiting for a new post from me for the last few days, don’t fret, I’m not going by the wayside like my good buddy Ig did last year when he shocked the guitar blog world by just walking away. But I’ve come down with a pretty bad cold that’s moved from my sinuses down to my chest – not fun. But I should be back with a bang in the next few days.
But stay tuned because I just evaluated the new pedal risers from StageTrix. They rock!
But for now, I’m going back to bed! See in you a couple of days!
If you’ve been waiting for a new post from me for the last few days, don’t fret, I’m not going by the wayside like my good buddy Ig did last year when he shocked the guitar blog world by just walking away. But I’ve come down with a pretty bad cold that’s moved from my sinuses down to my chest – not fun. But I should be back with a bang in the next few days.
Guitar Gear 