sorry to be off topic but does someone know a trick to get back into an instagram account? I stupidly forgot my account password. I love any tricks you can give me
5 seconds into the video with Mick playing I thought to myself, “whatever delay that is, I need one.” Finding out it was the Diamond Memory Lane Jr had me smiling because I already have and love it. Been on my board for years. I guess that’s a testament to how much I still love it. Great show, guys! Cheers!
Version 2: half the size and 2/3 the cost. Version 3: mini pedal w/ one feature removed and 1/3 the cost. Both future versions come with a host of guys in the forum complaining version 1 was better.
Paul Crane Totally in that boat man, I’m a person of pretty modest means. But really all that means is you gotta buy smart as you can. I like to watch how things work for the first year or two, if I’m really interested I pay attention to reviews and such over that while, and usually when the next best new thing comes out the thing I’ve been eyeing for that long is a lot easier to come by hahaha
The Strymon Sunset/Riverside is a programmable OD pedal if you connect a MIDI pedal to it. That is how I made myself a “library” of OD tone that I could flip through and not hamper the creative flow. Keep up the great work!!!
That Automatone sounds amazing. I could understand some peoples fears about the faders breaking, but I had a Yamaha home studio (all in one unit) which had automatic faders. I purchased when I was 20 and sold it last year at the age of 43 with all the faders working perfectly. I'd be more worried about someone spilling their drink on it, so if i owned one I would get a clear acrylic cover made for it to protect it on my board. Great show as always guys. I'm proud to be an owner of a couple of your lovely T-Shirts.
Great show guys- so excited for this one. The automotone pedal has been all over social media since it came out, and so I've been eagerly waiting for you guys to review. To be honest, the boss od 200 sounded ok, but each sound was more like the "idea" of the sound- like a picture of a fuzz pedal, rather than the actual real life sound of one. As soon as you switched to the chase bliss pedal it was night and day- rich harmonics, life, edge- you can easily hear the pedal push the amps and glue into the tones in a way that digital models never seem to be able to do. One thing my bass player and I talked about years ago was how, we all love pedlas- pedals with lots of knobs and options- but in reality we all get a pedal, set it up to sound like the way we want, and then leave it. To an extent all those knobs go to waste. We joked about how you should have a bunch of pedals with no knobs- you just set the sounds internally or something and then just turn it on and off-ha ha. The fact that the automotone has moving faders- like an ssl console or something- is just that 'next level"- it really is analog heart (tone) digital brain at it's best. Amazing. Also- Dan, that yellow tele sounds so good. I just made a new 69 thinline, with a JD in the bridge and I'm loving it because it is thick and meaty - not ice picky- yet still retains what I love about the tele bridge sound. Your vintage tele strikes me as that same sort of thing- sounds awesome.
The schtick in this video is great: Dan as the digital Sherpa laboriously trying to hump a reluctant Mick over mount MIDI. When he finally drags Mick’s tail, kicking and scratching, up to the summit, Mick corrects Dan, and effortlessly lists out all of the minutia. Mick then concludes with “and I’ll never use midi over my dead body”, fully knowing that handling this stuff effortlessly is the bread and butter of Dan’s company. Hysterical! Also, Dan claiming the automotone at the beginning of the video and then having to backpedal after Mick insists they have to share it, was quite the moment. No better endorsement for something than watching good friends fighting for possession over it.
Great Show Guys, Good to see you got the Golden Boy, I thought you'd Love It. All Pedals are Great in there own Application. I have a Broken Arrow and love it.
I think the MOST important thing about the automotone is that while they other pedals of its kind include the functionality of midi and many different drive flavours, they have made this pedal that hasn’t compromised any components and the price I think reflects that. If the other pedals bug you because you like some features but hate what it lacks as a result then this pedals takes all of that irritation and just lets you play man. Great show guys!
Just got one for Sale on Neunaber site that makes it cheaper than in EU even with Duty taxes and it sounds great. And if i can make even three presets with it (you can make 6) everybody can,even Mick.;-)
Having watched this - enjoyable as it was - the Automotone makes sense in a studio setting or live for sure, but for me personally as a basement rocker, I’d rather buy a bunch of different drive pedals (I have already because of TPS tbf) and still have money left over for a new good guitar!
no name I find great pleasure and great tone in affordable - often second hand gear. Current gain stages on my board are a fulldrive mk2, T-rex DGTM, TC Mojo Mojo, Session JD10 preamp, Fulltone ‘69 and a T-rex fat shuga. All were bought second hand and were around half the cost of the Automotone. Add to these my modded Korean late 80’ies Squier strat - an awesome playing and sounding guitar, and we are at the same as an Automotone.
I went into a guitar shop today and played through an amp for the first time in 5 years (Morgan PR12). I forgot. I forgot how it felt. I forgot how it sounded. I forgot how it made me want to play. Looks like I’m buying an amp. You guys bang on about it often and I’ve been playing direct for so long I thought those days were behind me. Thanks for the constant reminder that playing through an amp is more than just the sound
That Pedal Show tried out a King Tone Soloist into it and I was gone. Ashamedly the first time I’ve ever played through a TS-type pedal (sorry Mick!). A very very cool amp indeed.
MDP (I think it's multi dimensional processing) is Boss' digital process that focuses on "what am I trying to do musically with this waveform" rather than "how do I model the electronic components in this circuit." So it's approaching the problem from a different angle. I have the CP-1X, the digital compressor based on this idea. It's pretty cool.
Not me sunshine. How can it get any better. I’m still laughing. You’re the man Mick. When Dan starting explaining the OD200 in his usual precision and clarity I am afraid that I slipped into a temporary coma. Not Dan’s fault but if I want to spend more time programming than playing I’d get a rack mount something and the supercomputer to run it. Best always guys.
I just wrote my last exam in this semester, came home and clicked on the new TPS video. This is one of the best rewards after studying night and day! I really enjoy your shows :-)
Someone’s been practicing. That final sequence was exceptional, Dan. At least until Mick started sticking his fingers in. Motorized faders! But does it go to eleven? One can dream.
You know what would be fun to see Dan and Mick try out the Joyo pedals I think it’ll be hilarious. Also they sound pretty good for the cost of them. I only make minimum wage so I’m more likely to go that route because I live in a apartment but I do love pedals though wish I could afford the crazy gear. I’m currently using a Fender Player Series HSS strat into a Boss Katana mkii Artist 100 2/12. Sorry for the long comment just wanted to tell my situation lol. Hope you guys are doing well through this craziness that we’re going through. Cheers from New Mexico, US.
That's going straight to the pool room... the pool room being my pedalboard. Hahahahahahaha. Well done Dan. The automatone is genuinely incredible. It's on my board and I've already made space for the CxM 1978 reverb collab with Meris in this format due to come next. By the way, it is the perfect complement to the Gladio for a range of drive tones - which no doubt you have already discovered.
I feel you! .. I tried to use a kemper once. In the rehearsal everything was fine. At the gig all of a sudden I had nasty high frequency feedback on all sounds (with the same settings of course) and there was just no possibility to quickly adjust something as I'd have to go through all the sounds. That was the first and the last gig with a computer for me. Immediately sold that thing and bought a nice tube head from the money
Uhm, you had a faulty unit. You gave up on what most major acts use because you didn't understand you had a faulty unit. Of course you can't "quickly adjust" something when you've captured tones. I have more analogue gear than you, but this mentality drives me up a wall!
no name nope. My unit was fine. I mean: It worked flawlessly in other environments afterwards and I also sold it for good money because it was basically in flawless condition! The reason I sold it was because I don‘t want to deal with a computer when I just want to quickly turn the gain down. You have no idea how much analog and digital gear I've owned played or even built, so don't act like you do.
I so appreciate you guys on multiple different levels. I have learned so much about how to work with my guitar, different sounds, etc. I also really love the more substantial, in-depth content you provide but also the laid back and friendly vibe. I think the guitar world is broadly divided into two camps: those who have direct extensive experience with a wide range of traditional effects and amps and those who don't. I played acoustic guitar for the first 8 years, and only in the last few years got into playing electric. I was struggling with it until I built a pedalboard and started playing around with effects, but even then it wasn't really inspiring me. I bought a Helix a few months ago and it's been the most inspirational piece of gear since my first decent Acoustic (my trusty Seagull S6). BUT I realized that part of my enthusiasm comes from having no idea what my playing sounds like through traditional/analog setups. I have no reference point, and my focus is on getting a good sound and writing music rather than emulating. Sometimes that means copying a traditional via the digital menu (Tube Screamer block into a clean Fender block), but other times, when the modeling falls short of copying a real-world sound, other settings (that would not workin the real world) make something even cooler and more inspiring. If anything, the components all being based on "real" pedals and amps adds another set of things for me to learn because I don't have any experience collecting dozens of pedals and multiple amps and playing around with them. If someone said to me a few months ago "it sounds like the phaser before the drive into a cranked AC30" I had no sense of what that sounded like because it was all based on experiences I haven't had. You made a comment in a previous episode that multi-effects units are a good starting point to figure out what you like, but I can honestly say I don't think I will move on from this unit because of the space-saving and the way it has helped me to understand the gear jargon and other components of sound. Not a pitch for this specific product, but I think my lack of knowledge + desire to learn + not wanting too much stuff = why it's working for me. You guys are always so so good at qualifying that the concept of good and bad sounds is illusory, but I think for me even the goal of emulation (regardless of gear type) has always felt pretty futile. I think the vintage fetishism in the broader community gets to me sometimes because for me the reason Hendrix's sound was so cool is because he was taking some weird gear and doing new weird things with it. For me taking new tools and new technologies and doing cool things is the name of the game. I have learned SO SO much from your show. I love the way you guys approach this stuff, particularly when you delve into more overview theoretical concepts and when you get a bit lost in the inspiration and creativity of the music. I am really grateful for all the time and energy your whole team puts into making super quality content, and even as someone with a very different angle on gear I get a huge amount of benefit. Thanks.
Hey Dan and Mick, great vid. Mick, I’m with you on the Boss OD 220. I’ve owned Boss GTs from the -3 thru the -1000, my biggest complaint has always been the OD sounds too digital. Very difficult to get that warmer OD feeling out most of their mult-FX/multi-OD systems - which seems so counter-intuitive as they make one of the most popular analogue ODs on the market - put it into MultiFX system, and it seems to lose all it’s personality for some reason. Thanks again, guys. Automaton is awesome - worth the price of admission.
Great show, perfect way to spend my lunch hour at work! You guys are also responsible for me buying a new USA std strat (rw fretboard, obvs!), a new tele (Fender Lite Ash model with SD Alnico 2 pickups, a few choice pedals (D&M TPS model, Wampler Velvet Fuzz, Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe, Boss BD2, T Rex Quint Machine Octave and Boss TR2 Tremolo amongst others) and a Fender Supersonic 60 watt valve combo to give this 'amp ran clean using pedals for drive' malarkey a go!! I love you guys, keep up the great work. The wife, however, isn't quite so fond of you... Cheers, Mark
I used to just write off the Automatone because it's so big and expensive, but really it's not that big or expensive if you consider the fact that it could replace all of the drives on my board... That just makes me want one. I have a comp, drive, and booster now and I'm thinking of adding one more drive. But really I feel like I could just get that and have everything I need and more, for less space taken up. More space on the board and power supply for other kinds of pedals...
Cost be damned, that Automatone is sure tempting me. Seems the fuzz options and the midrange tweakability make it one of the most versatile drive pedals. 😳
No Strymon Sunset or Riverside? I would think when "programmable" and "midi" come up - they'd be go to. Sound pretty good too! Also very surprising since I can see the Riverside just over Mick's right shoulder...
I’ve had my Golden Boy since they first hit Reverb, and I can say it’s one of the best OD pedals I’ve ever used. I haven’t tapped into the midi potential at all, as I basically only use a few sounds, but it’s fantastic. I do wish there was a way to set a preset or two on board without midi like the Chase Bliss stuff, but I don’t really mind! Great show as always guys and cheers from the US!
I think this discussion really makes me think the Line 6 HX effects was ahead of its time - so many overdrive sounds, so many boosts, etc and all are easily recallable and changeable with little effort. I'd like to see an HX effects vs Boss 200 series shootout as well.
I’m amazed by all of the programmable tonal possibilities but fear the onset of function/parameter paralysis. 🤪 Golden Boy sounds great! Thankfully, a Hudson Broadcast Dual and Revival Drive Compact offers enough OD options for me 🤓
Ever since the first I time I heard the Preamp, I knew I needed it. Now I need you guys to do a deeper episode on it and tell me what you think of the fuzz! 🤣
I think for me, the interest in a programmable drive pedal started when I would get an overdrive where all the different gain settings sounded great, but I'd have to adjust other knobs such as the output level and maybe tone. Then, I'd start thinking about different songs in our set and how great it would be to be able to instantly recall the perfect setting for the rhythm part and then for a solo, or if I switched to the neck pickup and wanted it a bit brighter and quieter. The industry's answer at the time was digital multi-effects, but I'm excited that now there are ways to get exactly the versatility for live playing I always wanted from an analog pedal. The Brothers, Golden Boy and Automatone all take a different approach and have a different core tone, but all could make gigging with analog pedals better. It's a great time to be a guitar player (except there are no gigs)! Thanks.
51:43 My favorite surprise midi controller? Empress ZOIA. Seriously. You could control the Automatone with the Zoia, and have crazy sequencer stuff moving the faders, if you like.
I believe the duality of man is best expressed with a fender twin and a Stratocaster on one side, and a Plexi and a Les Paul on the other. Insert Carl Jung quote
I got a Line 6 something-something 4 used for €70 (the big yellow one). It does 80% of what these do for 20% of the price and it sounds great. And I’m not scared of breaking it, it getting wet or whatever.
I'm with you (MIck) on not wanting to get into midi. After 20+ years in the multi-effects world, I'm happy pedal dancing over menu dancing and midi dancing. PS. Those amps sound great! When are you going to get a standard Deluxe Reverb on the show? :)
Totally amazing show. I am rather fascinated with old Boss Dual OD - and Joey's pedal is mind blowing. Everything was great sounding, of course - especially that automatone (like something straight out of Mindcraft!). Crazy, killer sounds today, fellas. Both amps are stunning, indeed. "See" you Monday!
My brain just can’t deal with that sort of stuff when I’m playing so I know I won’t ever get something like that. I’ll stick with half a dozen 3 knob analog pedals (maybe 4 knobs if I’m feeling adventurous). If I have to think it’s getting in the way and it’s not for me. But great episode! It’s nice to learn about these things so I don’t feel like an idiot when people are talking about gear.
When I read the title I was initially thinking "wait, are they actually running pedals through that synth??" before remembering that was Otomatone, on a side note, April Fool's episode?
Buy two of the same overdrive pedal and set them up differently. One for medium gain, one for high gain. Tom Morello does a similar thing with a pair of delay pedals. 🤔
How would the Line 6 DM4 compare to the boss, chase bliss etc. It has expression pedal and many boost, drives and fuzz. The used price for these units is very good and wondering how they might compare?
They don't. The sounds are OK and cover a wide range of tones but fully digital, and old digital at that. If you *need* all those sounds and don't have the budget for anything else you can get all the same sounds in a smaller package, with more presets and MIDI functionality in an M5.
This episode made me realize how much looks matter to me. I think I'm pedal shallow. I couldn't use that one with the sliders because it looks so goofy. Shrug
It should be said the Goldenboy has 2 internal trim pots inside. (VERY TINY). The left controls presence, the right controls tone. There are side by side comparisons to the KOT on YT and majority have said that the presence should be rolled back to about 10-20% to match exactly to the KOT. I did that and then left the tone at 6 o clock (factory setting). I'm glad I read about this because it sounded very sterile, fizzy, with a weird high end upon using it the first time. Opened the back and the presence and tone was turned ALL the way up. Not even on factory settings. Problem solved.
"They feel different". Great way to put that, because some multi-units can sound fairly impressive, but there is less magnetism between the fretboard & your fingers with them.
Being as I'm also part of the "just put four Bluesbreakers on the board and set them all differently" school of thought when I'm creating music, I really appreciate how powerful the Automatone is for Mick to want to use it despite the complexity. Is this the second such complicated piece of gear to pass the Mick Test, after Mesa/Boogie amps?
Mic! I know why they put neck pickups in guitars. It's to remind you how good your bridge pickup is. You know, you're feeling like maybe you want to try a different tone, you change to the neck pickup, you immediately realize the error of your ways, change back and vow never to doubt your bridge pickup again (until you forget a few months later)
I've got 4 boosters in my board. EP at the front and Super Sweet at the end and 2 built into dual overdrive. It gives me so many flavors and choices of gain it's always inspiring. But give me a million presets on my delays and reverb pleeze
That OD200 doesn´t sound half bad, actually. Lots of tone shaping options. Perfect for home studio DAW composing and pre-production. Pair it with a two channel tube preamp pedal like an old Hughes And Kettner Tube Factor or a Mesa V-Twin and a decent cab sim like the Two Notes stuff and you´ve got yourself a cracking little monster recording setup. Not bad. Might just want one. O´,- the bliss of GAS.
1440P and 4K now. Oh, such love. Should I watch and listen on Warfdales in the studio on 2K or Jamo in the lounge on 4? It's not always better through headphones ;)
I've never been less interested in such a great sounding pedal. I think I have some sort of ideological objection to it. Maybe I feel it's more at home on a studio desk, rather than a pedalboard, i don't know. Its too big, too fragile, too nice and too expensive to toss around on a pedal board.
It's a great pedal, plenty of analog circuitry in there, but they are playing thru 10k worth of amplification, probably a few thousand in mics, a thousand in cabling, & another six or seven in guitars. It adds up in tone.
Hey Dan and Mick! Big fan from Guatemala here! First of all thank you for all your hard work through the years. It has been very helpful for me since in Guatemala we don’t really have great music stores to go and try guitar pedals. So I have to order mine online or wait until I can visit the US or Europe. I know this is probably sacrilege but I would love if you could try the HX Stomp, for the same reasons I previously stated I think I need to add to my board a jack of all traits like the hx stomp but I would love your take on that or if I am better of with a 8 pedal board (wah, 2 overdrives, pitch shifter, 2 delays, reverb and looper). I play everything from U2 to Metallica, including classic rock and modern hard rock.
I'm with Mick on most of this. The Automatone sounds good, but I can see a case of option paralysis for me. Also, it seems like it isn't very usable in a live setting without other equipment for switching presets and such? I'll pass. Not to mention, the sliders remind me of the old G Force tuners that Gibson was using a few years back. Lol! I'm still wild about the Diamond Delay pedal though! It seems like a make every better pedal, which isn't something I often say about delays.
I like how the automotone is less of a big gain and distortion pedal and more of a subtle tone shaper/ enhancer- for that little bit extra, or for different first stage preamp setting- just to get one on the edge of breakup to start with before adding other pedals. Also, it seems like it would be super handy if one were switching guitars - say humbuckers to singlecoils, or low output vintage style but also had a higher gain pup or a hollow body in your mix- you could set a tone shape/ volume setting for each one and easily switch between any combo of guitars without hassles.
Here, in the states, the King of Tone pedal with high gain red side is regularly selling for over $600 on Reverb. Those priced under $600 tend to disappear quickly. I realize that the dollar is worth less than the pound, but that's still a lot of money for a pedal!
22:15 There is nothing on the planet cooler than a guitar with a single pickup. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules. The Automatone has always struck me as the kind of thing that would work fantastically well within a G2-equipped set-up, so I'm going to take Dan's enraptured response as vindication. I just wish I could afford one without having to sell a kidney (or worse, a guitar).
Thanks for including the Brothers and the Golden Boy. I have both and have yet to come close to touching what all they can do... love them though. That said, why no Strymon? A question I often ask on this show that I otherwise love greatly
We didn’t think they did Midi but now apparently they do. Also, we just don’t like digital drives. Sorry! Much prefer analogue for all kinds of reasons including latency/ playing nice with other pedals... but most of all, sound and feel. Cheers!
![Understand Guitar Overdrive Pedals [Gain, Clipping, Headroom, EQ & All That] - That Pedal Show](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UcMtN8y2Hes/mqdefault.jpg)
![Understand Guitar Overdrive Pedals [Gain, Clipping, Headroom, EQ & All That] – That Pedal Show](/img/tr.png)
Dan and Mick, thank you so much! It's such an honor to see our work on your show. All the best! :)
sorry to be off topic but does someone know a trick to get back into an instagram account?
I stupidly forgot my account password. I love any tricks you can give me
Dan: Just turn yourself on for a minute.
Mick: Your looking very nice, maybe you would like to go to dinner.
This is why I love this show.
Too late to the party on this one at 40:52. I'm sure that there are a lot more outtakes for a bloopers reel...
Mick: "in that it's asymmetrical clipping diodes with certain amount of headroom"
Dan: "Look at you!!"
5 seconds into the video with Mick playing I thought to myself, “whatever delay that is, I need one.” Finding out it was the Diamond Memory Lane Jr had me smiling because I already have and love it. Been on my board for years. I guess that’s a testament to how much I still love it. Great show, guys! Cheers!
Yay! Such a cool sounding repeater!
Can’t wait to try the deluxe!!
Nice revisit years later, in spite of a grim reminder of the crazy time hovering in the air between you.
"You've f***ing got to leave that in!!!" .. aaahahahahahahahaha .. SO glad you did!!!! :-D
Yeah boy, woke up to use the restroom....looks like I’ll just stay up. Love YOUUUUU!!!
The playing at the end with single coils came across to me with the versatility and fidelity of the Automatone. Fantastic tones fellows.
The Boss OD-200 completely surprised me. Sounded so much better than I would have guessed.
You've just summed up Boss as a whole. Their stuff always sounds way better than the price suggests.
That's the first Boss dual OD I've seen that didn't look like it had been in an empty cement mixer for a day or two.
you don't have that issue with Behringer pedals
I do need one.... in about 3 years when the trend chasers find something new and they are in my price range hahaha
Hahahah!!!!
Boy oh boy that Automatone sounds great, but I gather that you, like me, just can't afford one at the moment!
Version 2: half the size and 2/3 the cost.
Version 3: mini pedal w/ one feature removed and 1/3 the cost.
Both future versions come with a host of guys in the forum complaining version 1 was better.
Paul Crane Totally in that boat man, I’m a person of pretty modest means. But really all that means is you gotta buy smart as you can. I like to watch how things work for the first year or two, if I’m really interested I pay attention to reviews and such over that while, and usually when the next best new thing comes out the thing I’ve been eyeing for that long is a lot easier to come by hahaha
billphillipstube by the time version 4 comes it’s gonna be a volume knob and you put a chip in your head and think really hard 😂
The Strymon Sunset/Riverside is a programmable OD pedal if you connect a MIDI pedal to it. That is how I made myself a “library” of OD tone that I could flip through and not hamper the creative flow. Keep up the great work!!!
I love my sd2. Glad to see some love for it from elsewhere. Cheers lads. 👍
Please let this be next Ep: Golden Boy vs Morning Glory vs Timmy vs KoT 🙏🏼
That Automatone sounds amazing. I could understand some peoples fears about the faders breaking, but I had a Yamaha home studio (all in one unit) which had automatic faders. I purchased when I was 20 and sold it last year at the age of 43 with all the faders working perfectly. I'd be more worried about someone spilling their drink on it, so if i owned one I would get a clear acrylic cover made for it to protect it on my board. Great show as always guys. I'm proud to be an owner of a couple of your lovely T-Shirts.
"not me sunshine" has to make it onto a shirt
Great show guys- so excited for this one. The automotone pedal has been all over social media since it came out, and so I've been eagerly waiting for you guys to review. To be honest, the boss od 200 sounded ok, but each sound was more like the "idea" of the sound- like a picture of a fuzz pedal, rather than the actual real life sound of one. As soon as you switched to the chase bliss pedal it was night and day- rich harmonics, life, edge- you can easily hear the pedal push the amps and glue into the tones in a way that digital models never seem to be able to do. One thing my bass player and I talked about years ago was how, we all love pedlas- pedals with lots of knobs and options- but in reality we all get a pedal, set it up to sound like the way we want, and then leave it. To an extent all those knobs go to waste. We joked about how you should have a bunch of pedals with no knobs- you just set the sounds internally or something and then just turn it on and off-ha ha. The fact that the automotone has moving faders- like an ssl console or something- is just that 'next level"- it really is analog heart (tone) digital brain at it's best. Amazing. Also- Dan, that yellow tele sounds so good. I just made a new 69 thinline, with a JD in the bridge and I'm loving it because it is thick and meaty - not ice picky- yet still retains what I love about the tele bridge sound. Your vintage tele strikes me as that same sort of thing- sounds awesome.
The schtick in this video is great:
Dan as the digital Sherpa laboriously trying to hump a reluctant Mick over mount MIDI.
When he finally drags Mick’s tail, kicking and scratching, up to the summit, Mick corrects Dan, and effortlessly lists out all of the minutia.
Mick then concludes with “and I’ll never use midi over my dead body”, fully knowing that handling this stuff effortlessly is the bread and butter of Dan’s company. Hysterical!
Also, Dan claiming the automotone at the beginning of the video and then having to backpedal after Mick insists they have to share it, was quite the moment.
No better endorsement for something than watching good friends fighting for possession over it.
Would have liked to see the Source Audio LA Lady come back for this one
Great Show Guys,
Good to see you got the Golden Boy,
I thought you'd Love It.
All Pedals are Great in there own Application.
I have a Broken Arrow and love it.
My reaction was exactly the same as Micks in the begining xD laughed my ass off
One day Dan will be telling the Automatone to open the pod bay doors. It won’t.
Hahahahahaha
Best comment!
I think the MOST important thing about the automotone is that while they other pedals of its kind include the functionality of midi and many different drive flavours, they have made this pedal that hasn’t compromised any components and the price I think reflects that. If the other pedals bug you because you like some features but hate what it lacks as a result then this pedals takes all of that irritation and just lets you play man. Great show guys!
Neunaber Audio Neuron - Well in the price range of these pedals, great sound and control.
That would have been a good pick for this episode. Not going to lie, I was hoping it was included.
Just got one for Sale on Neunaber site that makes it cheaper than in EU even with Duty taxes and it sounds great.
And if i can make even three presets with it (you can make 6) everybody can,even Mick.;-)
TPS video: click, like and then look what the subject is. It's gonna be great anyway:)
Big fan of the versatility the Golden Boy has. I love mine.
Having watched this - enjoyable as it was - the Automotone makes sense in a studio setting or live for sure, but for me personally as a basement rocker, I’d rather buy a bunch of different drive pedals (I have already because of TPS tbf) and still have money left over for a new good guitar!
...how much do you think this pedal is? it's $749.... Are those TC electronic pedals and a squier bullet?
no name I find great pleasure and great tone in affordable - often second hand gear. Current gain stages on my board are a fulldrive mk2, T-rex DGTM, TC Mojo Mojo, Session JD10 preamp, Fulltone ‘69 and a T-rex fat shuga. All were bought second hand and were around half the cost of the Automotone. Add to these my modded Korean late 80’ies Squier strat - an awesome playing and sounding guitar, and we are at the same as an Automotone.
@@KristofferVad okay so basically exactly what @no name said
Blasphemy....LOL...I already have Midi'd one on my Voodoo Lab PX Medium.
I went into a guitar shop today and played through an amp for the first time in 5 years (Morgan PR12). I forgot. I forgot how it felt. I forgot how it sounded. I forgot how it made me want to play. Looks like I’m buying an amp. You guys bang on about it often and I’ve been playing direct for so long I thought those days were behind me. Thanks for the constant reminder that playing through an amp is more than just the sound
Now THAT is a cool amp. Niiiiice!
JEEZ, welcome back...
That Pedal Show tried out a King Tone Soloist into it and I was gone. Ashamedly the first time I’ve ever played through a TS-type pedal (sorry Mick!). A very very cool amp indeed.
Sure it is!
You would not notice if it was switched out for a captured tone.
MDP (I think it's multi dimensional processing) is Boss' digital process that focuses on "what am I trying to do musically with this waveform" rather than "how do I model the electronic components in this circuit." So it's approaching the problem from a different angle. I have the CP-1X, the digital compressor based on this idea. It's pretty cool.
Not me sunshine. How can it get any better. I’m still laughing. You’re the man Mick. When Dan starting explaining the OD200 in his usual precision and clarity I am afraid that I slipped into a temporary coma. Not Dan’s fault but if I want to spend more time programming than playing I’d get a rack mount something and the supercomputer to run it. Best always guys.
I could very happily live with the lead sound on that SD-2.
I just wrote my last exam in this semester, came home and clicked on the new TPS video. This is one of the best rewards after studying night and day! I really enjoy your shows :-)
I picked up the automatone and it is my only gain/drive/fuzz pedal now. Just a brilliant pedal. Love what CBA does.
Someone’s been practicing. That final sequence was exceptional, Dan. At least until Mick started sticking his fingers in. Motorized faders! But does it go to eleven? One can dream.
You know what would be fun to see Dan and Mick try out the Joyo pedals I think it’ll be hilarious. Also they sound pretty good for the cost of them. I only make minimum wage so I’m more likely to go that route because I live in a apartment but I do love pedals though wish I could afford the crazy gear. I’m currently using a Fender Player Series HSS strat into a Boss Katana mkii Artist 100 2/12. Sorry for the long comment just wanted to tell my situation lol. Hope you guys are doing well through this craziness that we’re going through. Cheers from New Mexico, US.
That's going straight to the pool room... the pool room being my pedalboard.
Hahahahahahaha. Well done Dan. The automatone is genuinely incredible. It's on my board and I've already made space for the CxM 1978 reverb collab with Meris in this format due to come next. By the way, it is the perfect complement to the Gladio for a range of drive tones - which no doubt you have already discovered.
I feel you! ..
I tried to use a kemper once. In the rehearsal everything was fine. At the gig all of a sudden I had nasty high frequency feedback on all sounds (with the same settings of course) and there was just no possibility to quickly adjust something as I'd have to go through all the sounds. That was the first and the last gig with a computer for me.
Immediately sold that thing and bought a nice tube head from the money
Well done!
yeah... to much programming drives me crazy..
Uhm, you had a faulty unit. You gave up on what most major acts use because you didn't understand you had a faulty unit.
Of course you can't "quickly adjust" something when you've captured tones.
I have more analogue gear than you, but this mentality drives me up a wall!
no name nope. My unit was fine. I mean: It worked flawlessly in other environments afterwards and I also sold it for good money because it was basically in flawless condition! The reason I sold it was because I don‘t want to deal with a computer when I just want to quickly turn the gain down. You have no idea how much analog and digital gear I've owned played or even built, so don't act like you do.
I so appreciate you guys on multiple different levels. I have learned so much about how to work with my guitar, different sounds, etc. I also really love the more substantial, in-depth content you provide but also the laid back and friendly vibe.
I think the guitar world is broadly divided into two camps: those who have direct extensive experience with a wide range of traditional effects and amps and those who don't. I played acoustic guitar for the first 8 years, and only in the last few years got into playing electric. I was struggling with it until I built a pedalboard and started playing around with effects, but even then it wasn't really inspiring me. I bought a Helix a few months ago and it's been the most inspirational piece of gear since my first decent Acoustic (my trusty Seagull S6).
BUT I realized that part of my enthusiasm comes from having no idea what my playing sounds like through traditional/analog setups. I have no reference point, and my focus is on getting a good sound and writing music rather than emulating. Sometimes that means copying a traditional via the digital menu (Tube Screamer block into a clean Fender block), but other times, when the modeling falls short of copying a real-world sound, other settings (that would not workin the real world) make something even cooler and more inspiring. If anything, the components all being based on "real" pedals and amps adds another set of things for me to learn because I don't have any experience collecting dozens of pedals and multiple amps and playing around with them. If someone said to me a few months ago "it sounds like the phaser before the drive into a cranked AC30" I had no sense of what that sounded like because it was all based on experiences I haven't had. You made a comment in a previous episode that multi-effects units are a good starting point to figure out what you like, but I can honestly say I don't think I will move on from this unit because of the space-saving and the way it has helped me to understand the gear jargon and other components of sound. Not a pitch for this specific product, but I think my lack of knowledge + desire to learn + not wanting too much stuff = why it's working for me.
You guys are always so so good at qualifying that the concept of good and bad sounds is illusory, but I think for me even the goal of emulation (regardless of gear type) has always felt pretty futile. I think the vintage fetishism in the broader community gets to me sometimes because for me the reason Hendrix's sound was so cool is because he was taking some weird gear and doing new weird things with it. For me taking new tools and new technologies and doing cool things is the name of the game.
I have learned SO SO much from your show. I love the way you guys approach this stuff, particularly when you delve into more overview theoretical concepts and when you get a bit lost in the inspiration and creativity of the music. I am really grateful for all the time and energy your whole team puts into making super quality content, and even as someone with a very different angle on gear I get a huge amount of benefit. Thanks.
Hey Dan and Mick, great vid. Mick, I’m with you on the Boss OD 220. I’ve owned Boss GTs from the -3 thru the -1000, my biggest complaint has always been the OD sounds too digital. Very difficult to get that warmer OD feeling out most of their mult-FX/multi-OD systems - which seems so counter-intuitive as they make one of the most popular analogue ODs on the market - put it into MultiFX system, and it seems to lose all it’s personality for some reason. Thanks again, guys. Automaton is awesome - worth the price of admission.
Great show, perfect way to spend my lunch hour at work! You guys are also responsible for me buying a new USA std strat (rw fretboard, obvs!), a new tele (Fender Lite Ash model with SD Alnico 2 pickups, a few choice pedals (D&M TPS model, Wampler Velvet Fuzz, Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe, Boss BD2, T Rex Quint Machine Octave and Boss TR2 Tremolo amongst others) and a Fender Supersonic 60 watt valve combo to give this 'amp ran clean using pedals for drive' malarkey a go!! I love you guys, keep up the great work. The wife, however, isn't quite so fond of you... Cheers, Mark
I used to just write off the Automatone because it's so big and expensive, but really it's not that big or expensive if you consider the fact that it could replace all of the drives on my board... That just makes me want one. I have a comp, drive, and booster now and I'm thinking of adding one more drive. But really I feel like I could just get that and have everything I need and more, for less space taken up. More space on the board and power supply for other kinds of pedals...
Cost be damned, that Automatone is sure tempting me. Seems the fuzz options and the midrange tweakability make it one of the most versatile drive pedals. 😳
No Strymon Sunset or Riverside? I would think when "programmable" and "midi" come up - they'd be go to. Sound pretty good too! Also very surprising since I can see the Riverside just over Mick's right shoulder...
NO!!! You were supposed to say the Automatone was "just okay." Fighting the urge to buy one and you guys did NOT help!
I’ve had my Golden Boy since they first hit Reverb, and I can say it’s one of the best OD pedals I’ve ever used. I haven’t tapped into the midi potential at all, as I basically only use a few sounds, but it’s fantastic. I do wish there was a way to set a preset or two on board without midi like the Chase Bliss stuff, but I don’t really mind! Great show as always guys and cheers from the US!
Where's the Tc Electronic Nova Drive? One of the best pedal ever!
Analog and programmable pedal with midi compatibility!
I think this discussion really makes me think the Line 6 HX effects was ahead of its time - so many overdrive sounds, so many boosts, etc and all are easily recallable and changeable with little effort. I'd like to see an HX effects vs Boss 200 series shootout as well.
Its Just to complicated for me. (Multieffects)
I’m amazed by all of the programmable tonal possibilities but fear the onset of function/parameter paralysis. 🤪 Golden Boy sounds great! Thankfully, a Hudson Broadcast Dual and Revival Drive Compact offers enough OD options for me 🤓
Ever since the first I time I heard the Preamp, I knew I needed it. Now I need you guys to do a deeper episode on it and tell me what you think of the fuzz! 🤣
I think for me, the interest in a programmable drive pedal started when I would get an overdrive where all the different gain settings sounded great, but I'd have to adjust other knobs such as the output level and maybe tone. Then, I'd start thinking about different songs in our set and how great it would be to be able to instantly recall the perfect setting for the rhythm part and then for a solo, or if I switched to the neck pickup and wanted it a bit brighter and quieter. The industry's answer at the time was digital multi-effects, but I'm excited that now there are ways to get exactly the versatility for live playing I always wanted from an analog pedal. The Brothers, Golden Boy and Automatone all take a different approach and have a different core tone, but all could make gigging with analog pedals better. It's a great time to be a guitar player (except there are no gigs)! Thanks.
51:43 My favorite surprise midi controller? Empress ZOIA. Seriously. You could control the Automatone with the Zoia, and have crazy sequencer stuff moving the faders, if you like.
That Joey thing sounds fantastic, and the Tomato thing is bonkers!
"It'll be fun."
"It'll be awful."
The duality of man.
Sometimes you have to play the character. ;0)
That Pedal Show I'm going to change my D&M drive to be the fun side and the awful side. 😁
That was the original marketing pitch. Commercial director said no. :0)
I believe the duality of man is best expressed with a fender twin and a Stratocaster on one side, and a Plexi and a Les Paul on the other.
Insert Carl Jung quote
I got a Line 6 something-something 4 used for €70 (the big yellow one). It does 80% of what these do for 20% of the price and it sounds great. And I’m not scared of breaking it, it getting wet or whatever.
Given the Strymon Riverside is Yellow/Gold, it’s interesting that the colour schemes are so similar (Automatone excluded, of course)
I'm with you (MIck) on not wanting to get into midi. After 20+ years in the multi-effects world, I'm happy pedal dancing over menu dancing and midi dancing. PS. Those amps sound great! When are you going to get a standard Deluxe Reverb on the show? :)
Just a reminder - do a show on the OD-200, please?
This video made me want to crank the amp, step on on my drive pedals and just enjoy the feedback! 😆
Totally amazing show. I am rather fascinated with old Boss Dual OD - and Joey's pedal is mind blowing. Everything was great sounding, of course - especially that automatone (like something straight out of Mindcraft!). Crazy, killer sounds today, fellas. Both amps are stunning, indeed. "See" you Monday!
38:25 "That [Automatone] is never going to sound like a Metal Zone..." I can sense Mick responding, internally, "Perfect"
My brain just can’t deal with that sort of stuff when I’m playing so I know I won’t ever get something like that. I’ll stick with half a dozen 3 knob analog pedals (maybe 4 knobs if I’m feeling adventurous). If I have to think it’s getting in the way and it’s not for me. But great episode! It’s nice to learn about these things so I don’t feel like an idiot when people are talking about gear.
Hahaha!!!! .... Mick’s first take is “ughhhhhh... this is gonna be awful!”
When I read the title I was initially thinking "wait, are they actually running pedals through that synth??" before remembering that was Otomatone, on a side note, April Fool's episode?
Buy two of the same overdrive pedal and set them up differently. One for medium gain, one for high gain. Tom Morello does a similar thing with a pair of delay pedals. 🤔
Automatone sets a new precedent for fuzz pedals
How would the Line 6 DM4 compare to the boss, chase bliss etc. It has expression pedal and many boost, drives and fuzz. The used price for these units is very good and wondering how they might compare?
They don't. The sounds are OK and cover a wide range of tones but fully digital, and old digital at that. If you *need* all those sounds and don't have the budget for anything else you can get all the same sounds in a smaller package, with more presets and MIDI functionality in an M5.
This episode made me realize how much looks matter to me. I think I'm pedal shallow. I couldn't use that one with the sliders because it looks so goofy. Shrug
I would LOVE to see the proposed OD-200 episode. Bring out the Strymon Sunset for that one, too!
Agree! Yes please!
Micks underwhelmed face is beautiful 😆
The fun with the Automatone really starts when you plug in an expression pedal. It’s an incredible pedal.
“It won’t ever sound like a Metal Zone.” Good.
Oh wow... Does it shift the slider if you use an expression pedal? That would be fun if it did
Paul Crane yes, you can select one or more sliders to control and can do different sliders on each preset.
It is, sold mine anyway.
This comment is ass.
It's a preamp pedal, if you use it as a scuffed q-tron you're just silly.
It should be said the Goldenboy has 2 internal trim pots inside. (VERY TINY). The left controls presence, the right controls tone. There are side by side comparisons to the KOT on YT and majority have said that the presence should be rolled back to about 10-20% to match exactly to the KOT. I did that and then left the tone at 6 o clock (factory setting). I'm glad I read about this because it sounded very sterile, fizzy, with a weird high end upon using it the first time. Opened the back and the presence and tone was turned ALL the way up. Not even on factory settings. Problem solved.
I just bought a Bartel Roseland by Mark bartel of tone king fame. Seriously check them out if any of you can. UNBELIEVABLE
"They feel different". Great way to put that, because some multi-units can sound fairly impressive, but there is less magnetism between the fretboard & your fingers with them.
Being as I'm also part of the "just put four Bluesbreakers on the board and set them all differently" school of thought when I'm creating music, I really appreciate how powerful the Automatone is for Mick to want to use it despite the complexity. Is this the second such complicated piece of gear to pass the Mick Test, after Mesa/Boogie amps?
Mic!
I know why they put neck pickups in guitars.
It's to remind you how good your bridge pickup is.
You know, you're feeling like maybe you want to try a different tone, you change to the neck pickup, you immediately realize the error of your ways, change back and vow never to doubt your bridge pickup again (until you forget a few months later)
Hahahaha!!!!!
I've got 4 boosters in my board. EP at the front and Super Sweet at the end and 2 built into dual overdrive. It gives me so many flavors and choices of gain it's always inspiring.
But give me a million presets on my delays and reverb pleeze
That OD200 doesn´t sound half bad, actually.
Lots of tone shaping options.
Perfect for home studio DAW composing and pre-production.
Pair it with a two channel tube preamp pedal like an old Hughes And Kettner Tube Factor or a Mesa V-Twin and a decent cab sim like the Two Notes stuff and you´ve got yourself a cracking little monster recording setup.
Not bad.
Might just want one.
O´,- the bliss of GAS.
1440P and 4K now. Oh, such love. Should I watch and listen on Warfdales in the studio on 2K or Jamo in the lounge on 4? It's not always better through headphones ;)
I've never been less interested in such a great sounding pedal. I think I have some sort of ideological objection to it.
Maybe I feel it's more at home on a studio desk, rather than a pedalboard, i don't know. Its too big, too fragile, too nice and too expensive to toss around on a pedal board.
Mmmmm, the Tone King Imperial II. I desire that amp extremely muchly.
You guys know how to tweak. All boss OD200 demo made me think it's rubbish. From you guys it's sounds like a million dollars.
It's a great pedal, plenty of analog circuitry in there, but they are playing thru 10k worth of amplification, probably a few thousand in mics, a thousand in cabling, & another six or seven in guitars. It adds up in tone.
The red mode on the SD-2 is what I always wanted the Boss DS-1 to sound like. Stacked up great against the big boys here!
Yes, it’s such a great sound
I use 2 graphic eq pedals. Into a strymon iridium. I knows its not as good as a real amp. But I can get almost any sound with does eq pedals
Hey Dan and Mick! Big fan from Guatemala here! First of all thank you for all your hard work through the years. It has been very helpful for me since in Guatemala we don’t really have great music stores to go and try guitar pedals. So I have to order mine online or wait until I can visit the US or Europe.
I know this is probably sacrilege but I would love if you could try the HX Stomp, for the same reasons I previously stated I think I need to add to my board a jack of all traits like the hx stomp but I would love your take on that or if I am better of with a 8 pedal board (wah, 2 overdrives, pitch shifter, 2 delays, reverb and looper). I play everything from U2 to Metallica, including classic rock and modern hard rock.
we always "need" a pedal! Thats why we are here every friday! Lol!
Do programmable drives come in any color other than gold? Kind of a deal breaker. 😆
Dan's playing sounds amazing! The Automatone sounds at the end were incredible!
I'm with Mick on most of this. The Automatone sounds good, but I can see a case of option paralysis for me. Also, it seems like it isn't very usable in a live setting without other equipment for switching presets and such? I'll pass. Not to mention, the sliders remind me of the old G Force tuners that Gibson was using a few years back. Lol! I'm still wild about the Diamond Delay pedal though! It seems like a make every better pedal, which isn't something I often say about delays.
Covid killed the honk. RIP honk :(
Maybe you can put a mask on the horn? Would be a safer honk.
Love how to left all the sliders down on the Automatone, ready for the dramatic reveal 😂
I like how the automotone is less of a big gain and distortion pedal and more of a subtle tone shaper/ enhancer- for that little bit extra, or for different first stage preamp setting- just to get one on the edge of breakup to start with before adding other pedals. Also, it seems like it would be super handy if one were switching guitars - say humbuckers to singlecoils, or low output vintage style but also had a higher gain pup or a hollow body in your mix- you could set a tone shape/ volume setting for each one and easily switch between any combo of guitars without hassles.
Thank you guys~ but just to let you know Boss DS-2 does do 2 sounds. Regular DS1 sound and Turbo sound that give you Mid Boost.^^
Here, in the states, the King of Tone pedal with high gain red side is regularly selling for over $600 on Reverb. Those priced under $600 tend to disappear quickly. I realize that the dollar is worth less than the pound, but that's still a lot of money for a pedal!
Ha, ha, Mick! I on the other hand never use my bridge pickups. You guys need a good jazz box with only a neck pick up ;-)
The Automatone suggests a need for a Big Pedal Huge Board challenge episode called: Size Matters
It's more expensive than a strymon riverside/sunset and a midi loop switcher! That's a great programmable overdrive for sure.
22:15 There is nothing on the planet cooler than a guitar with a single pickup. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules.
The Automatone has always struck me as the kind of thing that would work fantastically well within a G2-equipped set-up, so I'm going to take Dan's enraptured response as vindication. I just wish I could afford one without having to sell a kidney (or worse, a guitar).
Thanks for including the Brothers and the Golden Boy. I have both and have yet to come close to touching what all they can do... love them though. That said, why no Strymon? A question I often ask on this show that I otherwise love greatly
We didn’t think they did Midi but now apparently they do. Also, we just don’t like digital drives. Sorry! Much prefer analogue for all kinds of reasons including latency/ playing nice with other pedals... but most of all, sound and feel. Cheers!
Good episode, I don’t need any fancy m1d1 stuff because I’m basically a hobby guitarist.
Me too. Mick here. :0)