I got a v2 on sale a couple years ago for about $320. I originally was going to use it in the effects loop of my bass amp and use it as a DI since the DI on my amp broke. Just turning it on set at noon on the eq was a subtle change but its just sounded better even through the speaker. I decided just for fun i would run it into the front of my guitar amps as a boost, drive, or fuzz and they all work really really well. I use it now on so many differnt things. As an outboard eq, mic preamp, or just a transparent setting that for some reason just sounds better when something runs through it. It really is one of the best pieces of gear ive ever bought.
A close friend use to be a top teir sound man. He had 3 top quality pro preamps. We and another guy did an A B C comparison. Everyone liked the one that had a transformer best. Transformers give a warmth and soundstage that just sounds better and more natural. I think thats a big factor in why folks like Tube amps so much, since its last in the chain before the speaker. Of course there's a transformer here, so that's probably why you like it.
4:26 This is the first time in my viewership of this channel that I've heard the 'Two Princetons' rig jingle play as long as it did, and I'm instantly a better person for it. Thanks!
I love the idea of using the color box which is based off a British style studio pre with the inherently American surf sound of fender amps reverb units yet it still sounds like it works.
@60CycleHumcast you are right. You tried to show everything the pedal can do and the result is a great video. My suggestion is to compare it to a good EQ pedal and try to achieve a better sound with it on the same use scenarios. Thanks Ryan
If you have any pedals that have an effect loop, for example, a spring reverb with an effect loop to change the wet signal tone, you could keep your clean tone/clean signal intact while having your wet signal, be affected by the color box
Thanks Brian for supporting Josh. He is a great guy that makes great pedals. This one is excellent, a bit too expensive for me, but I wish one day I will buy it.
If the colour box is based on a Rupert Neve console eq, yes it should be able to make anything sent through it better. And i want one bad. But they must be very very pricey. The components inside are very expensive,as electronic components go. Rupert Neve designed consoles can cost more than your house. But tracking through one is glorious with the right engineer!
This is probably JHS' best 'piece of kit,' but it'll never be credited as such because it's not a Dirt Pedal. This box can really train your ear for what would work in a studio, including a home studio.
There's a fairly extensive shaggy dog story that I am omitting from this post, but the hoboroadie had a few decent little outboard mic pres, a BAE DMP and a couple UA Solo 610s, before I ever had a guitar amplifier, and I had randomly discovered running those into the front of a guitar amp not long before JHS came out with the Colour Box. Naturally it went on the list, but having the big Elephantine versions available kept me from squeezing it into the budget. This colorway is only available until December so I guess that it will have to (ten years? really? 🤦♂️) finally get a few.
Like having a mixing desk track eq and gain for your Guitar in 1 box. Bass must sound great through that. We all need this box...but can we all afford it ? 10/10 for colour.
Jokes on you (or me?) I never look at the thumbnail that closely and I never understand the title anyway; I never know what I'm getting into with this channel.
I got similar gnarly distortion out an old Akai tape recorder's preamp. But eventually it killed the transistors. Could that happen w this ? I would think Scott might consider that usage, but maybe not since it sounds so bad that a distortion device would be used instead in almost every case
Honestly it probably wasn't the gain that killed the transistors, if that's what happened at all. More likely that some caps died (which can lead to transistors diying, if they short or smth)
@erlannderrantem6972 No, it didn't age into being broken. I assume the current limiting resistors were set for normal use and there was too much current. The same thing happened to two GE fuzzes I had that I put a big signal into. Caps are usually way over design voltage.
@@terryenglish7132 it's very unlikely, that an amplifier is amplifying a signal so much that breaks it self. In audio transistors are very seldom running at their limits and are usually picked so that they can run at ease. Whatever happened it is veeeery unlikely, that it was due to diming the gain.
@@erlannderrantem6972 WTF is your problem ?. It is indeed unfortunate that reality refutes your theories, but I could care less. Use a 20 db + boost and put it thru a GE fuzz yourself if you can't believe it.
for that price it might do anything to justify the purchase. It is just out of reach for most of us, even more when compared to all multieffects, modellers and multiple pedals that you can buy for the same price.
@@60CycleHumcast you are right. You tried to show everything the pedal can do and the result is a great video. My suggestion is to compare it to a good EQ pedal and try to achieve a better sound with it on the same use scenarios. Thanks Ryan
I’ve used it on everything. Drums, bass, synths, microphone. It makes everything sound smoother and more ‘juicy’. For me, it’s worth it absolutely. This pedal isn’t really so much a guitar pedal. It’s a console channel strip in a box. It’s really more aimed at people who record all kinds of stuff at home. Or who want that smooth studio sound, live. It’s used sometimes by front-of-house engineers too.
Best used with a mic imho, or as a DI for that kind of flavor. It's not a guitar preamp so most of the Treble is pretty useless here since magnetic pickups produce no sort of 'air band' :) Do what you want, but shoving it through a band-limited guitar speaker makes it an expensive fuzz/preamp with not much if any benefit over good, standard pedals.
Playing a console preamp through a guitar amp is an absolutely valid use case. Many people get great results with this. See also the Hudson Broadcast, Thorpy Bunker, Chase Bliss Preamp etc.
@@60CycleHumcast "with guitar" means you can mic and DI it, too...and its just a suggestion. Since it's free you might not care how 'worth the money" it is or isn't. Others might.
its nowhere as sophisticated or on par with a real Neve and the components within it. Its good marketing by JHS. Great a Great River preamp if you want to get close to a Neve on a budget
Ryan you inspire us all to relax, not take guitar so seriously, and honestly let the long-lost kid in each of us come out and play. THANK YOU!
Well said. Just good clean silly fun.
Thanks, Ryan!!
Your beard is GLORIOUS today..
Is it? I have to replay! (I recall that I was totally impressed on the last video, like some Hollywood-style action)
I was thinking exactly the same thing, I think we need a beard off with Paul Davids!
He looks like Beaker from the Muppet Show.
I got a v2 on sale a couple years ago for about $320. I originally was going to use it in the effects loop of my bass amp and use it as a DI since the DI on my amp broke. Just turning it on set at noon on the eq was a subtle change but its just sounded better even through the speaker. I decided just for fun i would run it into the front of my guitar amps as a boost, drive, or fuzz and they all work really really well. I use it now on so many differnt things. As an outboard eq, mic preamp, or just a transparent setting that for some reason just sounds better when something runs through it. It really is one of the best pieces of gear ive ever bought.
A close friend use to be a top teir sound man. He had 3 top quality pro preamps. We and another guy did an A B C comparison. Everyone liked the one that had a transformer best. Transformers give a warmth and soundstage that just sounds better and more natural. I think thats a big factor in why folks like Tube amps so much, since its last in the chain before the speaker. Of course there's a transformer here, so that's probably why you like it.
I don't know if this is what I expected from a Color Box video, but it is definitely what I've come to expect from a Ryan video.
4:26 This is the first time in my viewership of this channel that I've heard the 'Two Princetons' rig jingle play as long as it did, and I'm instantly a better person for it. Thanks!
Thanks for your videos and chapters, Ryan!!
@@RAFALAMAO_ I chaptered the crap out of this one.
26:00 that’s the closest I heard someone get the tone to the original Misirlou intro, wow.
to me i'm amazed it always adds that recording process polish to a live track. a good signal is always king.
i am hearing tonnes of detail comparing your dry to wet signal.
edit: oh my god, you brought out the metal zone, lord have mercy.
Buckle up
The real reason for this anniversary colour way is that the box is based on the Neve 1073 preamp, which looked a lot like this.
sure beats a lunchbox. that thing is pretty slick. Neve has some great shelves and I love the boosts AND the cuts which is rare for an EQ.
Holy crap! The meow section made my cat's head explode.
I love the idea of using the color box which is based off a British style studio pre with the inherently American surf sound of fender amps reverb units yet it still sounds like it works.
@60CycleHumcast you are right. You tried to show everything the pedal can do and the result is a great video. My suggestion is to compare it to a good EQ pedal and try to achieve a better sound with it on the same use scenarios. Thanks Ryan
Two Princetons always does it for me. Never stop.
Ryan figured it out!!!!! All you need to make a Metal Zone sound good is a 500$ second pedal!😂
I've heard that this pedal is basically made for sounding like The Beatles' "Revolution"
If you have any pedals that have an effect loop, for example, a spring reverb with an effect loop to change the wet signal tone, you could keep your clean tone/clean signal intact while having your wet signal, be affected by the color box
Really cool knobs
Thanks Brian for supporting Josh. He is a great guy that makes great pedals. This one is excellent, a bit too expensive for me, but I wish one day I will buy it.
Thank you Josh for selling me on a Meowdulator! 😸😺🐱
Amen!
Omg... I laughed so hard I had tears. 😂
At least you have the box Ryan!!! 😁
Just watched the JHS video on the Color Box
Good to know
A cat version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is the last thing I expected
I’ve never seen another Jerry Jones Longhorn in the wild!
I inherited #200 from my uncle years ago. It’s my favorite bass to play as a guitarist.
The secret to those Metal Zone pedals is to run them in the back of your amp. They sound 1000 times better as a preamp.
If the colour box is based on a Rupert Neve console eq, yes it should be able to make anything sent through it better. And i want one bad. But they must be very very pricey. The components inside are very expensive,as electronic components go. Rupert Neve designed consoles can cost more than your house. But tracking through one is glorious with the right engineer!
I love the 2 Princeton thing, keep doing it, but you should have an ABY switch and go from that rig to a different flavor amp just to show comparison.
34:16 Yes i was expecting this
This is probably JHS' best 'piece of kit,' but it'll never be credited as such because it's not a Dirt Pedal. This box can really train your ear for what would work in a studio, including a home studio.
2 Princetons never gets old.
I had no clue how many people do this dropping box thing, I thought I was original in doing it🤣
@@SearchingForTone pedals come from sky lol
@@60CycleHumcast Wish I had JHS pedals coming from the sky. Mine are from PogoLab, but I also need to learn to play like you 😎🤙
Doc: "Sooooo, Mr. Burke...how'd you lose that eye..."
Another one that makes everything sound better is the Zombie Labs Giggity od/pre amp pedal.
The grey is mimicking the traditional color that Neve used. The knobs are the same style as well.
I had the neighbour's dog going off when the Kitty Pedal was being used.....
You made Josh Scott proud
There's a fairly extensive shaggy dog story that I am omitting from this post, but the hoboroadie had a few decent little outboard mic pres, a BAE DMP and a couple UA Solo 610s, before I ever had a guitar amplifier, and I had randomly discovered running those into the front of a guitar amp not long before JHS came out with the Colour Box. Naturally it went on the list, but having the big Elephantine versions available kept me from squeezing it into the budget. This colorway is only available until December so I guess that it will have to (ten years? really? 🤦♂️) finally get a few.
Like having a mixing desk track eq and gain for your Guitar in 1 box. Bass must sound great through that. We all need this box...but can we all afford it ? 10/10 for colour.
Hey, creative chapters-- alright!
Beard?! That sound was grizzly!? 😂
Jokes on you (or me?) I never look at the thumbnail that closely and I never understand the title anyway; I never know what I'm getting into with this channel.
I like your style.
with that fuzz i know you understand drugs
You guys need to make a tutorial on how to play the two princetons rig jingle on guitar or put it on streaming platforms :D
I get that it's like a channel from a sound board, I guess, but in practical terms, it seems a little like an amp without a power stage.
Ryan, you should go to one of Andy's videos and compliment his hair
Two princes 😂😂😂😂
The meaning of this pedal: Money for Nothing!
curious if you're going to review the new JHS Flight delay?
It’s awesome. (Opinion)
"Neev" rhymes with "believe"
I got similar gnarly distortion out an old Akai tape recorder's preamp. But eventually it killed the transistors. Could that happen w this ? I would think Scott might consider that usage, but maybe not since it sounds so bad that a distortion device would be used instead in almost every case
Honestly it probably wasn't the gain that killed the transistors, if that's what happened at all. More likely that some caps died (which can lead to transistors diying, if they short or smth)
@erlannderrantem6972 No, it didn't age into being broken. I assume the current limiting resistors were set for normal use and there was too much current. The same thing happened to two GE fuzzes I had that I put a big signal into. Caps are usually way over design voltage.
@@terryenglish7132 it's very unlikely, that an amplifier is amplifying a signal so much that breaks it self. In audio transistors are very seldom running at their limits and are usually picked so that they can run at ease. Whatever happened it is veeeery unlikely, that it was due to diming the gain.
@@terryenglish7132 what did you feed the fuzzes? An amp signal?
@@erlannderrantem6972 WTF is your problem ?. It is indeed unfortunate that reality refutes your theories, but I could care less. Use a 20 db + boost and put it thru a GE fuzz yourself if you can't believe it.
for that price it might do anything to justify the purchase. It is just out of reach for most of us, even more when compared to all multieffects, modellers and multiple pedals that you can buy for the same price.
@@leondantas it’s a pretty specific product. It’s not for everyone.
@@60CycleHumcast you are right. You tried to show everything the pedal can do and the result is a great video. My suggestion is to compare it to a good EQ pedal and try to achieve a better sound with it on the same use scenarios. Thanks Ryan
I’ve used it on everything. Drums, bass, synths, microphone. It makes everything sound smoother and more ‘juicy’. For me, it’s worth it absolutely. This pedal isn’t really so much a guitar pedal. It’s a console channel strip in a box. It’s really more aimed at people who record all kinds of stuff at home. Or who want that smooth studio sound, live. It’s used sometimes by front-of-house engineers too.
Wish this was run direct instead of through an amp.
Best used with a mic imho, or as a DI for that kind of flavor. It's not a guitar preamp so most of the Treble is pretty useless here since magnetic pickups produce no sort of 'air band' :) Do what you want, but shoving it through a band-limited guitar speaker makes it an expensive fuzz/preamp with not much if any benefit over good, standard pedals.
this is a guitar channel. So i used it with guitar.
Playing a console preamp through a guitar amp is an absolutely valid use case. Many people get great results with this. See also the Hudson Broadcast, Thorpy Bunker, Chase Bliss Preamp etc.
@@60CycleHumcast "with guitar" means you can mic and DI it, too...and its just a suggestion.
Since it's free you might not care how 'worth the money"
it is or isn't. Others might.
😹 no one is home eh?
I’m not here for the spec’s l’m here for the disrespect.
I kinda want one of these pedals but I don't really need one....what to do...
Edit: i ended getting one..
its nowhere as sophisticated or on par with a real Neve and the components within it. Its good marketing by JHS. Great a Great River preamp if you want to get close to a Neve on a budget
I thought it was pronounced Niamh?
I see what you did there😏
I always pronounced it NEV. Like Neve Campbell's name.
It’s pronounced ‘Neev’ though. 🤷♂️ It’s the last name of the guy who designed the circuits, Rupert Neve.
Robert Nev? maybe Rupert Neve lol
I think it’s pronounced Neve Campbell.
What a piece of crap!! Makes everything sound like soiled pants!!!