Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

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Unicorn Warrior
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Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sun Dec 16, 2018 6:33 pm

Anyone tried one of these yet? Pretty pricey for an EQ/boost, but I can see the EQ switching feature being somewhat useful for guitar changes.

It's on my radar, but it's quite a bit of coin.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by popvulture » Mon Dec 17, 2018 8:37 am

So... I think that thing is super cool looking, but for what it does, I don't think it's worth the money. Plus, and this is just my opinion of course, I think Walrus's stuff is generally pretty lackluster compared to some of the other options out there. Granted I think it's fine, just kinda nicely designed visually but definitely leaves something to be desired in the sound dept.

I think if you're willing to spend that much money, I'd check out the Chase Bliss Condor. It does boost, has a pretty damn complex eq for a pedal, can modulate parameters to create trem/filtery type things, and does presets. So for 50 bucks more you can kinda destroy the Defcon.

On the cheaper end, I'd consider an RC Booster. Not that attractive at all, but perfect for utility boost, eq, and definitely handy for switching guitars.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:40 pm

I'll have to check that out. Haven't heard of it. I sadly am not too knowledgeable on drives, EQ, and compression. The added bonus of the other "fun" stuff is a huge plus.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by 601210 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 4:48 am

There's also the Drolo Iketara Iku which is a two-channel EQ you can switch between with footswitches, for almost half the price of the Defcon. Looks much prettier than the Defcon, in my opinion.

It's a bit out of stock at the moment since it's just one guy making them, but I'd wait around for it rather than go for the Defcon.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by Sid Nitzerglobin » Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:55 am

One man's trash.

Haven't tried the Defcon because I think the visual concept strikes me as pretty cheesy. I'd expect it to work pretty well though.

For my money/preference their Julia is the best chorus I've ever encountered and, while not every thing they put out is my cup of tea, they have some of the most consistent hit rates for me at the price points of the pedals I've tried. Only complaint I've had w/ the ones I've bought home is the somewhat meager headroom on the Fathom and the ARP-87s, but that seems to be a fairly common issue w/ DSP pedals for me.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:33 pm

The descent reverb is also plagued by low headroom. It's either too subtle or overload.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:13 pm

I'd much rather have a V2 RC Booster for a little over half the price. No switchable eq, but a second channel so you could set levels for different guitars.

Or, if I was switching a guitars live (I don't) and wanted to get nerdy maybe that Source Audio programmable eq. I tend to set my clean boost only a little bit above unity gain, so an eq pedal would probably work fine for me for mild boosting/level matching between guitars.

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by somanytoys » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:46 am

I have the Source Audio eq (SA 120, I think). It's pretty cool, it will allow expanding a lower frequency for bass (I assume you give up the highest frequency in its place), and has an adjustable boost, with 4 different presets for all of those settings and it's also midi controllable (in only, no through). The boost knob is clear and glows brighter as the boost setting goes higher, and everything on it is pretty nicely lit and easy to see. And if I remember correctly, it wasn't all that expensive (~$120?).

I don't use eq's much, but I've been using that on a small rig with my Zoom MS 70 CDR, for the settings that I created on it that don't have enough processing left to include its own eq, so I can set 4 different settings on the eq to go with 4 (or more) different presets on the Zoom. It's a nice, light little pedal, I've considered selling it many times and just haven't been able to part with it for the money vs. utility.

My favorite has been the VFE Rocket EQ, which is parametric. But what I've been using is the last thing that Peter built, the Klein Bottle, which is amazing. It's basically a parallel mixing board for 3 pedals/chains. I use one on my large board to control, eq and blend 3 different pedals in parallel and/or feeding into each other. Sadly, VFE has recently been discontinued, but I think there may still be some for sale. They're not cheap, about $350-400, and not small, but it has so many options and so much control.
-David

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

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Re: Walrus Audio Defcon Thoughts/Experiences?

Post by pj » Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:23 am

Sid Nitzerglobin wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:55 am
One man's trash.

Haven't tried the Defcon because I think the visual concept strikes me as pretty cheesy. I'd expect it to work pretty well though.

For my money/preference their Julia is the best chorus I've ever encountered and, while not every thing they put out is my cup of tea, they have some of the most consistent hit rates for me at the price points of the pedals I've tried. Only complaint I've had w/ the ones I've bought home is the somewhat meager headroom on the Fathom and the ARP-87s, but that seems to be a fairly common issue w/ DSP pedals for me.
I agree about the looks. It is goofy looking and not something I would want to look at. I adore my Walrus Janus, though, so I bet it is a great pedal regardless of its looks.

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