NPD - Archer Ikon

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marqueemoon
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NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Oct 25, 2017 6:41 am

I played a few other Klones a few days ago and they seemed to mesh well with my style, and I was able to work a trade+ cash deal which helped.

Lower gain settings seem to work best for me, like around 7 or 8 o'clock. With an anp that's already breaking up that's plenty. The higher gain settings are fun too. Tons of texture and the cool splatty quality I like, but for my use it will be mainly in low gain mode.

To me it does a lot of the fun stuff a compressor does without lopping off a ton of treble. Speaking of treble there is a shit ton of treble boost available.

Another thing I noticed is it really gets the low end right. It sounds like there's a wee bit of rolloff, but it's not jarring. Engaging and disengaging the pedal mid-song isn't totally weird. Plus it's buffered, so no stupid switch pop.

Pretty happy with it so far. Looking forward to putting it in front of a Rat.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by Jaguar018 » Thu Oct 26, 2017 4:57 am

I use lots of KlonKTR + Rat, and used to use lots of silver Klon + Rat. It's a winning combo.

I mean, I'm not sure what you'll win, but it sounds good. :ph34r:

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:45 am

Jaguar018 wrote:
Thu Oct 26, 2017 4:57 am
I use lots of KlonKTR + Rat, and used to use lots of silver Klon + Rat. It's a winning combo.

I mean, I'm not sure what you'll win, but it sounds good. :ph34r:
Cool. Meant to reshuffle my board last night but crashed out early.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by s_mcsleazy » Thu Oct 26, 2017 11:52 pm

i run a klon into a rat and always sounds really meaty
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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by Maggieo » Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:13 am

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Thu Oct 26, 2017 11:52 pm
i run a klon into a rat and always sounds really meaty
Ohhh. I'll have to try that with my IKON!
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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by Mike S » Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:33 am

How is it compared to an EHX Soul Food or the Clean Rat circuit?

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Oct 28, 2017 11:44 am

Mike S wrote:
Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:33 am
How is it compared to an EHX Soul Food or the Clean Rat circuit?
Can't speak for the Soul Food as I haven't played one.

It's warmer and more complex than a Rat at a low gain setting, but I actually like the glassy Rat thing quite a bit. They are two very different flavors.

Gotta figure out my power supply situation to get the Rat going with it. I have a center positive adapter, but it's not happy on a daisy chain. Batteries last a long ass time, so I'll probably just do that.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:26 pm

Finally messed with my Rat today. It had velcro covering the battery door so I had to pull all that crap off to even get to the battery compartment, then deal with all the sticky residue. Got a new knurled allen screw for the battery door at the hardware store and re-velcroed it so the battery door is no longer covered. :fp:

Anyway, I tried them together tonight, and I haven't found a sound I loved with them stacked yet. I think the problem is the Archer really brings out the harmonics and so does the Rat, so I ended up using too much filter. I don't really want to roll off highs with the Archer because they're so nice. I've only tried this combo with humbuckers so far though. Need to experiment some more.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by Jaguar018 » Mon Nov 06, 2017 7:46 am

Just for the sake of clarity, I use KlonKTR --> Rat with my Jaguar. Single coils only.

When I am Mr. Metal on a humbucker guitar it's Rat only. No need to goose stuff with the Klon. :ph34r:

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:47 am

Jaguar018 wrote:
Mon Nov 06, 2017 7:46 am
Just for the sake of clarity, I use KlonKTR --> Rat with my Jaguar. Single coils only.

When I am Mr. Metal on a humbucker guitar it's Rat only. No need to goose stuff with the Klon. :ph34r:
Yeah. I play single coils 90% of the time.

I really liked the Archer with humbuckers. The Rat, not so much.

The humbuckers in the guitar in question will eventually get swapped for something with much lower output.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by somanytoys » Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:19 pm

Another thing to consider, especially if you don't need to push the Rat with the IKON, is to use the IKON at the end of the chain, with very low gain levels. If you're not using it as an OD boost, it could help make a cool, different sound on the back end of the chain when it's engaged.

Just a suggestion.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:07 pm

somanytoys wrote:
Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:19 pm
Another thing to consider, especially if you don't need to push the Rat with the IKON, is to use the IKON at the end of the chain, with very low gain levels. If you're not using it as an OD boost, it could help make a cool, different sound on the back end of the chain when it's engaged.

Just a suggestion.
Interesting. I want to spend some more time with the Rat and see what works. I eventually want to work in my volume pedal, so that will probably prompt some pedal order experiments.

By the way I love this pedal as an "always on" for bass.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by somanytoys » Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:47 am

I got the idea of using it last in the chain from Brad (octo-null or whatever his tag is), as a way to try to make a not-so-great amp sound better. I do that on a chain to a 10 watt ss amp, and it will help to contour the sound more than just the amp's controls.

I'll have to check that out on bass, I don't know that I've tried it with bass yet. I've been using either the Rusty Box or the Colour Box on bass, but that's usually for a pretty thick, distorted kind of sound, this may be a nice alternative. Thanks for the tip!
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: NPD - Archer Ikon

Post by Jestapali » Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:22 am

Mike S wrote:
Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:33 am
How is it compared to an EHX Soul Food or the Clean Rat circuit?
Very similar with the Sould Food at low gain settings. Soul Food gets harsh at higher settings, it also does a loud pop when stepping on it.

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