NPD - JHS VCR

[secretroutines]

So I want to start by saying Ryan Adams is a turd of a person.

Now that the initial statement is out of the way.

I’ve always wanted one of these pedals though and I was able to snag one of these brand new, SUPER cheap. It’s incredible. Each effect sounds amazing, but the one that stands out the most is the boost. I’ve seen other forums hating on the boost, but I loved it immediately. The VCR is already finding it’s spot in my set up as my core S A D B O I tone. I’ve only had it for a couple hours, so I’m still working on getting it just right.

Final thoughts: buy a Space Commander (the rebranded version), you’ll love it.

[somanytoys]

Cool, thanks for the info. I think I looked at something like this before, but never bought it.

[secretroutines]

It’s with a look if you like the sound of it on demos. It’s not anything particularly crazy, but it’s definitely niche. Honestly though, if you like a boost that is pretty dirty, this would be my recommendation. The reverb is particularly good too.

[Unicorn Warrior]

This is a good pedal for the guy who likes to keep it simple. Not for everyone, but I really like the idea of it.

[secretroutines]

This is a good pedal for the guy who likes to keep it simple. Not for everyone, but I really like the idea of it.

I haven’t really tried pairing it with anything yet, but you’re right, it’s definitely a use-on-it’s-own type of pedal.

[somanytoys]

I was apparently thinking of another pedal, completely different than this one. More like the pedals that emulate the sounds of old things like projectors and sounds recorded on VCR tapes (JPTR Roy G Biv & Reel Saturator, Walrus 385, etc.)

This looks pretty cool, and I like the sounds of The Cure. I bet it’s nice, but kind of standalone (in a good way), and may not play well with other pedals, which is okay. But it’s nice that it gives you those sounds with just one pedal, that’s very efficient.

[secretroutines]

I was apparently thinking of another pedal, completely different than this one. More like the pedals that emulate the sounds of old things like projectors and sounds recorded on VCR tapes (JPTR Roy G Biv & Reel Saturator, Walrus 385, etc.)

This looks pretty cool, and I like the sounds of The Cure. I bet it’s nice, but kind of standalone (in a good way), and may not play well with other pedals, which is okay. But it’s nice that it gives you those sounds with just one pedal, that’s very efficient.

It’s a lot of fun to use, I need to run it with some other stuff just to see how it reacts. I think it will do well running a drive into it, but I’m mostly curious to see how it fits with a delay.

[somanytoys]

I agree, I think a drive (the right one, at least) would sound good into it. Sometimes, certain sounds can get a little lost with drive, and sound better on their own to me (Boss PS-3, Afterneath...). And that’s okay, because what they do alone is awesome.

Probably the same with a delay, some may sound better than others with it, but I’d think that it would sound really nice with one.

It seems like Keeley made something similar to this recently, but maybe not for the same sounds. JHS has a habit of making knockoffs of other companies’ pedals. The one pedal that he makes (that I’m aware of) that doesn’t seem quite like anything else is the Colourbox, I have one and I really, really like it. It may be similar to something like the Broadcast, but I’ve never used one.

It seems like the bass player of The Cure used more distortion than either one of the guitarists (sometimes, at least). His sound on Fascination Street is just great. It all comes together brilliantly, but that bass sound just drives the whole song.

[secretroutines]

Yeah, that’s along the lines of what I was thinking: it needs to be paired with the right stuff. Like I feel it would really play well with a Klon-style drive that isn’t set as a clean boost and a delay where you can control the input level like a Boss RE20.

As far as JHS goes, I never noticed that most of them were clones or modified clones, but that’s bound to be just about everyone anymore. The Broadcast and Colour box are similar but based on two different consoles. I will say though that JHS quality is extraordinarily good, it’s hard to explain but everything I’ve used by them has been extremely impressive.

[ElephantDNA]

I agree, I think a drive (the right one, at least) would sound good into it. Sometimes, certain sounds can get a little lost with drive, and sound better on their own to me (Boss PS-3, Afterneath...). And that’s okay, because what they do alone is awesome.

Probably the same with a delay, some may sound better than others with it, but I’d think that it would sound really nice with one.

It seems like Keeley made something similar to this recently, but maybe not for the same sounds. JHS has a habit of making knockoffs of other companies’ pedals. The one pedal that he makes (that I’m aware of) that doesn’t seem quite like anything else is the Colourbox, I have one and I really, really like it. It may be similar to something like the Broadcast, but I’ve never used one.

It seems like the bass player of The Cure used more distortion than either one of the guitarists (sometimes, at least). His sound on Fascination Street is just great. It all comes together brilliantly, but that bass sound just drives the whole song.

At this point, everything is a knock-off of something. But even minor changes can make a big difference. For example, just increasing the sensitivity of the tone control or eq makes it almost a "different" pedal even if the circuit is similar. Most pedals are just kind of "revised" versions of classic circuits to begin with. If you want to have a ton of options and not feel like you're ripping anything off, I would recommend the TC toneprint stuff. You can literally create any effect you want and it will be more unique. I know it's not analog, so of course for posers only, but just saying