First post in over two years since the 2010 PAMGS. All the gear that I
will be reviewing here will be each and every piece of equipment that I
have put my hands on in the past 35 years. All my reviews are my own
personal insights and I will not be posting any reviews on any gear that
I have NOT tried myself.
Disclaimer: equipment being reviewed
by the author in this blog have been purchased for personal and
professional uses. Photos and videos used in this blog are from it's
respectful owners and due credit will be given to them when and where
specified.
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So it's been a while
since I've started writing, or blogging for that matter regarding
anything that I've been doing related to musical instruments. For most,
they call it gear.
I'm going to start off with my favorite dirt pedal. Ever. The Toneczar Openhaus.
If I can describe it in one word, I'd say 'brutal'.
I've
never come across anything like it all my life. It's response to any
guitar I've used - Strats, Les Pauls, SG's, PRS's, RG's, Superstrats -
so far, it has not really 'picked' it's own guitar. It's just great for
all that I have tried.
One by one:
So, the specs are
true bypass, with the knbos indicated for it's tone shaping
capabilities: Treble, Middlle, Bass, Gain and Volume. Also considering
the three toggle switches that gives the user a huge plateu of tonal
ranges to play with.
For the exact description of each and every control, please refer to the website www.toneczar.com.
IMHO, tonal ranges can and will cover: Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal. Basically all of them.
Ah, the amplifiers... This is a bit more interesting than guitars.
Amps
used for this pedal. It totally shines on 6L6 based tube amps,
particulalry Fender Bassman 50 and the Twin Reverb. Most would find this
odd as clean sounding amps are basically, just 'clean'. And dirt pedals
prior to the OPenhaus don't shine as much as they should. Well, the
Openhause broke that belief.
As for El34's, I have only tried it
on a stock 2005 AC30. Surprisingly, i did really well. Dimed the volume
a bit on the amp, set the pedal in 9 o clock gain and it got me to
'dirt cranking' heaven.
I will be posting videos per pedal as
much as possible. Videos that I have made myself or with my friends. If
you want videos from other users, there's a ton online.
Ideal
setup: 5 Openhaus Pedals for dirt selections. The rest would be for the
time based and modulation effects. Plugged into a pair of Fender Bassman
Amps (no mods, just clean). And 2 4x12 14" deep cabs. Marshalls would
probably do fine. Make sure they're loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's.
My own rating: 10/10. Yes. BUY ONE. OR TWO! OR FIVE!
I might be editing this particular blog if I have any more findings pertaining to the Openhaus.
But that's it for now. Happy New Year! Happy New Gear!
Photo in this post is owned by www.toneczar.com