NPD x2

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HH1978
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NPD x2

Post by HH1978 » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:09 pm

It's been a long time since I hadn't bought new pedals, probably two years or so... Anyway, I got these two from the mail today, and I'm really excited!

Image

Catalinbread Adineko :

I should state first that I'm not a delay guy. I've owned a few of them, and probably hated all of them with the notable exception of a real Klemt Echolette NG51 tube tape echo, which sounded gorgeous (and had a wonderful tube preamp that sounded better than any dirt pedal I ever used), but was noisy and a PITA for maintenance, so I ended up selling it a couple of months ago (which I regret...)

Anyway, I felt the Adineko was something I might like, so I decided to take a chance on a used one. Needless to say I've never played a real oil can delay, so I'll leave accuracy out of the way. This thing sounds phenomenal, and, believe it or not it reminds me of the Klemt (without the noise and the hassle, but also without the wonderful preamp). Probably because of the possibility to mix two "playback heads" (the balance knob). The Klemt had three heads, but I never used more than two at once. The repeats are somewhat more percussive, which is good. The thing can go from slapback to moderate echo, and sounds good everywhere on the timing knob. It never seems to get mushy, and the repeats are not too proeminent, which was a major issue on almost every other delay pedals I've tried. The modulation ("viscosity") is better used very moderately, unless willing to produce some of the sounds the late Mark Linkous would have incorporated between songs (or sometimes in the middle of a song).

As Howard Gee noted in the Adineko videos, there's something very special happening when setting the reverb knob at the edge of self-oscillation.

By far the most inspiring delay pedal I've ever owned!

Jetter Helium :

I feel the opposite way about low gain drives, can't have enough of them! I had been curious for the Helium for a long time. They're not especially easy to find in Europe, but when they turn up, they're cheap enough. So finally, I found this one, as new.
This is one of the most touch sensitive overdrives I've ever played. Sonically, it's in the tweed territory, but not as fuzzy or loose in the low end as a 5e3, and not as sparkling as a 5f6, and smoother. Not a mid humped overdrive, not really the sound you get from the so called "transparent' overdrives either (it's warmer). It really does its own thing, but it's a great one, and there doesn't seem to be a bad sound in it. I read they're great for stacking too, but I haven't tried yet.

The pots taper seems perfect, very progressive during all their course, so it's really easy to set up. It's also one of the most "built like a tank" pedal I've ever had in my hand. Probably twice the weight of the Adineko, and everything feels really solid.


Now, put the Adineko after the Jetter, and it is instant Jim Jarmusch's Dead man OST by Neil Young, nice! I will try with a tremolo on top of that, should be great!

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Re: NPD x2

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Dec 18, 2019 3:57 pm

These both look right up my alley. Thanks for the reviews.

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Re: NPD x2

Post by dc » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:28 pm

HH1978 wrote:
Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:09 pm
Now, put the Adineko after the Jetter, and it is instant Jim Jarmusch's Dead man OST by Neil Young, nice! I will try with a tremolo on top of that, should be great!
i'd like to hear clips of this setup for sure! :w00t:
in the coldest night / huddled 'round the dying embers

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Re: NPD x2

Post by somanytoys » Wed Dec 18, 2019 11:49 pm

Those seem very nice.

I was looking at the Adineko a few years ago, along with the Echorec and the Belle Epoch. Hard to decide between them, but was leaning towards the Belle.

After getting a couple of Polymoons, I finally bought a Belle Epoch Deluxe not too long ago. It only has 1 play head, but it’s got the preamp - the entire circuit and voltage is supposed to be pretty much the exact same as an EP3. I think it does great “impressions” of other delays it emulates as well. Good to hear the Adoneko is as good as it seems to be reading about it. They make some good stuff, I have 3 of their pedals and really like them. Had a Galileo, but sold it because I ended up buying treble boosters and Vox AC amps.

It seems like I was looking at a Jetter pedal a while back, I remember the brand name well. I’m not sure if it was this one, but it’s nice to know about it.

Cool pedals, I hope you enjoy them. And thanks for posting this.
-David

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

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HH1978
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Re: NPD x2

Post by HH1978 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:50 pm

i'd like to hear clips of this setup for sure!
I'll try to record some when I find the time. Great sound for sure !
After getting a couple of Polymoons, I finally bought a Belle Epoch Deluxe not too long ago. It only has 1 play head, but it’s got the preamp - the entire circuit and voltage is supposed to be pretty much the exact same as an EP3. I think it does great “impressions” of other delays it emulates as well. Good to hear the Adoneko is as good as it seems to be reading about it. They make some good stuff, I have 3 of their pedals and really like them. Had a Galileo, but sold it because I ended up buying treble boosters and Vox AC amps.
I hesitated between the BED and the Adineko. I finally decided to go for the Adineko because I felt it would suit me better, and the price was substantially lower too, but the Belle certainly looks like a wonderful pedal too. Maybe someday...
I like Catalinbread too, they came with some unusual designs when Howard Gee was the chief designer. I still have a Formula 5 and a 5F6. I've had the DLS and Pareidolia but I sold them. The first because that was not my sound, though it's really great at what it is supposed to do, and the latter because it was too noisy.
Not sure what Catalinbread is doing now that Gee was fired. The Coriolis doesn't appeal to me, but at least, it seems in line with the creativity the company was known for.

About the Jetter :

I now understand why people are so enthousiastic about the Helium for stacking. This pedal sounds very good on its own, but it also seem to have the ability of making anything you plug into it sound better. With the drive and tone knobs set at 11 o'clock, it adds some warmth, texture and dimension to other drives, while retaining all the clarity. Then I switch it off, and my other drives, that usually sound great on their own, seems to sound dull and lifeless. Exception for the Formula 5, which still sounds very nice on its own, but really different, dryer if that makes sense. Haven't tried with the Sunface and Sunbender yet, but I should get some nice tones too, I think.

The Helium will definetely go on my board, last in the dirt chain.

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Re: NPD x2

Post by HH1978 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:56 pm

I forgot to ask : what are the 2 other Catalinbread pedals you still own ? If I should buy another, I think it would be the Valcoder. The RAH looks great too, and I could probably get what I missed in the DLS from it, but I already have more dirt pedals than I can use.

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Re: NPD x2

Post by JVG » Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:55 pm

HH1978 wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:50 pm

I hesitated between the BED and the Adineko. I finally decided to go for the Adineko because I felt it would suit me better, and the price was substantially lower too, but the Belle certainly looks like a wonderful pedal too. Maybe someday...
Fair call - the Adineko and Belle Epoch Deluxe are very different, and shouldn’t be compared. The Adineko definitely has a very unique sound, which is appealing. As for the BED, i baulked at the price for a long time, before finally getting one last year. I must say that it definitely lives up to the hype - it’s one of those pedals that makes you want to keep playing and playing....

Cheers!
J.

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Re: NPD x2

Post by Beltone » Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:48 pm

HH1978 wrote:
Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:09 pm
I should state first that I'm not a delay guy.
This line pretty much sums me up. When your review gave me the impression that this is the delay for non-delay guitarists I checked out a few videos and liked what I heard. Lo and behold I'm in my local music store yesterday and they are selling a used one at practically fire sale prices. GAS is real. Curious to hear more about the Adineko if anyone has anything to add from their experience.

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Re: NPD x2

Post by somanytoys » Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:39 pm

HH1978 wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:56 pm
I forgot to ask : what are the 2 other Catalinbread pedals you still own ? If I should buy another, I think it would be the Valcoder. The RAH looks great too, and I could probably get what I missed in the DLS from it, but I already have more dirt pedals than I can use.
The other 2 I have are the germanium Karma Suture (Harmonic Percolator taken to new levels, they also have a silicon version), and the RAH. I love them both.

If you haven’t read about it already, the RAH is the Jimmy Page LP into a modded Hiwatt head, into Marshall speaker cabs that he played at the Royal Albert Hall in ‘73, ‘75 or whenever it was. I like it, and it’s got a lot of variable controls, but overall it is a pretty (nice) specific sound.

The KS is an HP clone, but with 2 other controls, I think one is a bias and one may be for compression? Don’t remember, but it’s got a great and distinct sound, if you likey the fuzz.

I bought the KS to pair with some sort of an IVP sound (starting with a Colour Box), like Steve Albini uses in Big Black and Shellac. I bought a Dude Incredible pedal that had an HP and a truncated IVP, but I sold it because I like the KS better, and I found & bought an IVP pedal (Sleeping Dogs FX) that’s supposed to be a pretty spot on copy of the real thing. I think it is, (the guy I play with has 2 real IVPs), but it’s expensive.

I haven’t paired the 2 of them yet, I have to pull the KS out and do that soon.

No experience with the Adineko, but I must say that I agree about the BED being worth all the hype. Just the EP3 mode is great, but they have the DMM and other modes in it that make it really well rounded and fun. The real preamp is very cool.

My only complaint is that it isn’t stereo, but oh well. The Polymoons (and the DC-2w & Seraph Deluxe) are stereo, but also blend my 2 signals together. It sucks because of all of the trouble I’ve gone to separating them and creating different sounds for each, but what those pedals do makes it all okay.
-David

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

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Re: NPD x2

Post by HH1978 » Fri Jan 17, 2020 3:16 am

Some updates about my review, as I've had them for about a month now :

Adineko :

- There's a real difference in headroom when powered with 18V. But the real magic happens at 9V, especially if played with dirt before.
- It can definetely do some classic delay sounds with the reverb knob backed, and balance set near full clockwise (or CCW for slapback), but that's not what I've bought it for.
- I was too shy with the blend knob at first. Very usable sound throughout the range. I like it best from 11:00 to 2:00 in general.
- The viscosity control (modulation) tends to add an annoying noise when turning it up. I like it best on moderate settings (9:00 to 11:00).
- The reverb control is amazing to get some ambient textures. I like it on the verge of taking off, as recommended in the manual.
- Works great with a tremolo before too.

Altogether, I really like this unusual delay. It's more versatile than it looks. It can certainly do the spaghetti western/Tarantino/Lynch sounds, but it's good for more subtle Neko Case too, for instance.

Jetter Helium :

- Definetely the best stacker i've come accross, makes almost anything else sound better, so it has earned a permanent position at the end of my dirt chain, and stays almost always on.
- Controls are very smooth. The tone knob is particularly effective, and usable throughout its range.
- On it's own, it does the edge of breakup sound very well. And cranked, it sounds particularly amazing with P90's. Works well with Fender single coils too, but for Humbuckers I prefer other pedals (or stacked).
- It's really low gain, more than other low gain units that I've used, 5F6 and Honeybee for instance. So I would not recommend to someone who wants only one overdrive in his/her chain. On the other hand, its amazing to shape the low gain sounds.
- On one of my amp (Trace Elliott Velocette 10"), it tends to add a metallic chirp on the decay of the notes, that I don't like. Probably a matter of speaker, as it doesn't do it with the same amp connected to the UAD OX.
The other 2 I have are the germanium Karma Suture (Harmonic Percolator taken to new levels, they also have a silicon version), and the RAH. I love them both.
I was curious about the KS for a while, and your post made me even more curious, so I got one in a trade. It's a bit flawed as it came from the factory without a battery connector, but it sounds amazing indeed! I will probably take out the battery connector of my 5F6, as I always use the dc supply anyway, and put it in the KS. I never played a RAH, but it's on my wishlist too. I'll probably build a clone, as I've found a vero layout and have most of the parts laying around.

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