Jump around to specific parts of the demo: 00:00 - Southbound (Strat is on the Clean channel, Les Paul is on the Classic mode of the Gain channel, SG is on the Creamy mode of the Gain channel). 03:15 - Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature Dry Tone. Clean Channel 03:36 - Checking out the Volume control with a Strat. 04:42 - Going through the range of the Bass knob. 05:24 - Going through the range of the Middle knob. 06:00 - Going through the range of the Treble knob. 07:07 - Checking out the Volume control with a Les Paul. 07:58 - Dry tone of the Two-Rock with a Les Paul. Drive Channel 08:20 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob in Classic mode. 09:29 - Checking out the Volume control. 10:17 - Going through the EQ controls. 11:45 - Switching from Classic to Creamy. 11:50 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob in Creamy mode. 12:17 - Scooped mids high gain tones. 12:43 - Checking out the Pre-Emphasis toggle switch. 13:39 - Using the Drive channel with a Telecaster. Running Direct with the Balanced Output 14:30 - Running the Blackbird direct into Pro Tools and comparing the direct, EQ, and amp sim tones. 16:46 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob with a Strat (plugged back into the Two-Rock).
Great review! The Blackbird has been my 'always on' pedal in front of my Fender and/or into my ProTools Studio Rig for the last few years - it's a superb piece of kit, extremely versatile and easily tweaked to accommodate anything from a Les Paul to Strat to Casino and whatever else you might have on hand!
I just got my Blackbird and this video totally helps a lot in dialing in great tones. Best Effectrode Blackbird demo on the RUclipss! Great notes too. Thanks EMG! Subbed.
The best vid of the BB belongs to Brett Kingman this vid sounds like muffled cardboard crap with no dynamics due to using a cab sim from an attenuator.
I've put the Blackbird in front of every amp I've bought, and they always, always, always benefit from it. It's a shorter list to say what this pedal cannot do. Thanks for the video!
I bought my Effectrode Blackbird from Elec Mojo back in August, plugged it directly into my Presonus Studio 6/8 interface, ran it thru a Logi Pro instance with a little 'verb and a little delay and fell INSTANTLY in LOVE with this pedal. I ended building my entire pedal board around it (currently an Xotic EP booster going to a to-be-replaced Mini Tube Screamer, to an HX Stomp, with the Blackbird in the effects loop of the HX Stomp so that I can place Stomp effects like Boost, OD, distortion, Tremelo etc in front of the Blackbird and IRs, Cab and Amp emulations, Reverb and Delay after the Blackbird. I did try using the Blackbird in front of the HXS instead of in the FX loop, but then any OD, Dist or Fuzz had little to no effect on the sound, whereas in the loop, where I could put a Kinky Boost in front of the Blackbird, it sounded great! Elec Mojo shipped immediately without delay - I think I received it two days after ordering it. While I may over time replace every other pedal, if the Muses grant me a music career, I will buy another one of these from Mojo as a backup - it's that good. If you are buying from the USA, international shipping from Canada is much less of a hassle than from Great Britain.
THE most usable pedal demo I've come across in quite a while, with a variety of the most well-known guitar types. Great video, and based on the video: I reckon a great product (but I wouldn't really make a conclusion on products based on a video).
Did not realize the tone controls were passive, have been auditioning so many preamp tube pedals on YT that I must have confused others' specs with this. Sounds awesome indeed, but lots of competition.
It’s fantastic. The clean channel alone is worth the price. Takes solid state pedals really well though I run a Kingsley Page into it and it’s sublime. 2 pedals, 4 vacuum tubes and all the dirt I need.
@@winstonsmith8236 Funny, I just detoxed from preamp/OD pedals for a few days and now, revisiting them, none of them sound much more than "meh" but I do like this and the Gurus Double Decker, not because of the tubes but because they do one thing exceptionally well, and as a gigging guitarist, that may not be what I need, but it's what I want! My teens/twenties were through a Fender Super Reverb, could really only get variations on a theme but sentimentally that's "my sound" and these 2 pedals remind me of that "take what you have and run with it" vibe.
The Blackbird's clean channel is totally clean. The dirt from 4:00-4:45 is because the output is cranked and it is overdriving the front of the amp it's plugged into.
Great and awesome demo video ever seen on RUclips. BTW, Blackbird's clean channel would do the job of SRV sound when associated with a TS-tube screamer type pedal?
Why do you not have a ton of subscribers? Great videos! New Sub here! Have you tried the Two Notes LeClean? I use that live right now into a Two Notes Cab m+.I'm thinking of trying the Blackbird though into the Cab m. Thoughts?
Thanks! I've unfortunately never had the chance to compare the BlackBird to a LeClean, but it should be an interesting test (the BlackBird's Lead channel will give you access to some more modern/Dumble-style tones).
I'd think you'd have less compression in the effects return. In the loop itself it might work pretty well. Less reliant on the settings at the front of whatever amp you're going into .
I prefer the return. The drive sounds he gets from the clean channel around 4:10 are actually coming from the front of the amp he's plugged into. The green channel is totally clean (and beautiful!).
@@ElectricMojoGuitars Have you tried putting some kind of boost pedal in front of Blackbird? 12:17 is still a little too loosey goosey for proper metal.
@@mutantbaby1672 The BlackBird works really well with other drives/boosts. But, I wouldn't really recommend it as an option for metal. Maybe the Diezel VH4 or the Jackson El Guapo could be interesting?
Hi, great video, very detailed exactly what I was looking for :) there is an amp/cab sim in it right? is it possible to bypass it to use the balanced out into a torpedo Cab M to use our proper cab sim before the audio interface? thanks
I just got my Blackbird. No it does not have cab sim, but it kinda has amp emulation. This is what the manual says: Balanced Direct Out ¼” TRS (stereo) jack socket allows connection of the Blackbird to mixing desk, computer soundcard or external audio capture device. This output is balanced and transformer isolated, eliminating earth loops and reducing hum to an absolute minimum. The Triad Magnetics audio transformer also imparts it’s own character , further enhancing and sweetening the tone. This output is driven by a discrete class AB amplifier circuit - essentially a miniaturised power amp output stage. There’s no substitute for the sound of a real tube amp moving some air , however the direct output is useful for recording in venues with poor room acoustics or excessive background noise. Reverb, eq or cabinet impulse responses can be added post recording to obtain a very realistic approximation of a miked guitar amp in an ideal acoustic space. So I don't believe there's any need to bypass anything. I think running this through a Torpedo would be killer, but I don't know about preamp pedals, into cab IRs, into DI as I don't record yet. I run mine from the regular output, into a stereo effects unit, then into an ADA GSC-6 cab sim, then into a pair of studio monitors and it sounds great. It's ideal for the apartment and low volume practice. The tubes make a little noise here and there, but I guess that's the exchange for that tube sound. You can email Effectrode from their website and perhaps get some professional advise. Don't know how good they are about responding, especially these days. Good luck. Stay well.
Matthieu Croset I recorded my first EP using the blackbird directly to the interface, then I used the two notes wall of sound. The plugin has power amp simulator and the cabinets. Worked great!!!!! Actually the best results I get from the effectrode is as a preamp, I run it to the effects loop of my amplifiers and it’s just great!!!!! If you use the external switch you can even take advantage of the 3 modes as different channels.
I think the early units had Cab Sim, but then they changed that for a transformer (an IR cabinet is a better option than a fixed analog emulation, IMO).
I ma wondering if this would be a good preamp in an ampless situation. I would put nobels odr-1 and nux Cerberus analog drive section in front of it, then going to a nux solid studio to simulate power amp and cab sim. Do you think it would make sense?
Hey Doug! Sure, you could use the BlackBird in your amp's FX Loop. I prefer running the pedal in front of the amp, but it might be cool/useful in the FX Loop too.
I have an older Blackbird with a bias switch located where the current pre-emphasis switch is. Do you know if the pre-emphasis switch performs the same functions as the bias switch on the older models?
The BlackBird was designed to be used in front of an amp. By placing it last in your pedal chain, you can use it to shape the tone of your other effects (beef up the tone of a thin-sounding pedal for example) before they hit the amp. You can also use the BlackBird to get more out of your amp (sort of like adding a second channel to your amp).
Jump around to specific parts of the demo:
00:00 - Southbound (Strat is on the Clean channel, Les Paul is on the Classic mode of the Gain channel, SG is on the Creamy mode of the Gain channel).
03:15 - Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature Dry Tone.
Clean Channel
03:36 - Checking out the Volume control with a Strat.
04:42 - Going through the range of the Bass knob.
05:24 - Going through the range of the Middle knob.
06:00 - Going through the range of the Treble knob.
07:07 - Checking out the Volume control with a Les Paul.
07:58 - Dry tone of the Two-Rock with a Les Paul.
Drive Channel
08:20 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob in Classic mode.
09:29 - Checking out the Volume control.
10:17 - Going through the EQ controls.
11:45 - Switching from Classic to Creamy.
11:50 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob in Creamy mode.
12:17 - Scooped mids high gain tones.
12:43 - Checking out the Pre-Emphasis toggle switch.
13:39 - Using the Drive channel with a Telecaster.
Running Direct with the Balanced Output
14:30 - Running the Blackbird direct into Pro Tools and comparing the direct, EQ, and amp sim tones.
16:46 - Checking out the range of the Gain knob with a Strat (plugged back into the Two-Rock).
Great review! The Blackbird has been my 'always on' pedal in front of my Fender and/or into my ProTools Studio Rig for the last few years - it's a superb piece of kit, extremely versatile and easily tweaked to accommodate anything from a Les Paul to Strat to Casino and whatever else you might have on hand!
I've owned this pedal for almost five years and watching your demo taught me some stuff. Thanks for yet another great demo.
Great to hear! Thanks!
I just got my Blackbird and this video totally helps a lot in dialing in great tones. Best Effectrode Blackbird demo on the RUclipss! Great notes too. Thanks EMG! Subbed.
Awesome, thanks so much!
The best vid of the BB belongs to Brett Kingman this vid sounds like muffled cardboard crap with no dynamics due to using a cab sim from an attenuator.
Thanx for this video, it helped me decide to pull the trigger and I love the pedal. I wish more demos were as comprehensive and USEFUL as this.
Thank you for this outstanding review. I’m buying one!
:)
I've put the Blackbird in front of every amp I've bought, and they always, always, always benefit from it. It's a shorter list to say what this pedal cannot do. Thanks for the video!
I bought my Effectrode Blackbird from Elec Mojo back in August, plugged it directly into my Presonus Studio 6/8 interface, ran it thru a Logi Pro instance with a little 'verb and a little delay and fell INSTANTLY in LOVE with this pedal. I ended building my entire pedal board around it (currently an Xotic EP booster going to a to-be-replaced Mini Tube Screamer, to an HX Stomp, with the Blackbird in the effects loop of the HX Stomp so that I can place Stomp effects like Boost, OD, distortion, Tremelo etc in front of the Blackbird and IRs, Cab and Amp emulations, Reverb and Delay after the Blackbird. I did try using the Blackbird in front of the HXS instead of in the FX loop, but then any OD, Dist or Fuzz had little to no effect on the sound, whereas in the loop, where I could put a Kinky Boost in front of the Blackbird, it sounded great!
Elec Mojo shipped immediately without delay - I think I received it two days after ordering it. While I may over time replace every other pedal, if the Muses grant me a music career, I will buy another one of these from Mojo as a backup - it's that good. If you are buying from the USA, international shipping from Canada is much less of a hassle than from Great Britain.
Excellent! I've had one for about a year and can't praise it highly enough. They aren't cheap, but you really get what you pay for in this case.
Glad you enjoyed the vid :)
This is outstanding and so helpful for my use of this recently acquired unit.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the vid.
THE most usable pedal demo I've come across in quite a while, with a variety of the most well-known guitar types. Great video, and based on the video: I reckon a great product (but I wouldn't really make a conclusion on products based on a video).
Thanks! Glad you liked the vid!
Great playing
Listening to your vid a 2nd time and wow, when you bring in that slide at 2:00, omg, nothing better than that, eh?
I use a revival drive custom in front of my blackbirds clean....its awesome
Did not realize the tone controls were passive, have been auditioning so many preamp tube pedals on YT that I must have confused others' specs with this. Sounds awesome indeed, but lots of competition.
It’s fantastic. The clean channel alone is worth the price. Takes solid state pedals really well though I run a Kingsley Page into it and it’s sublime. 2 pedals, 4 vacuum tubes and all the dirt I need.
@@winstonsmith8236 Funny, I just detoxed from preamp/OD pedals for a few days and now, revisiting them, none of them sound much more than "meh" but I do like this and the Gurus Double Decker, not because of the tubes but because they do one thing exceptionally well, and as a gigging guitarist, that may not be what I need, but it's what I want! My teens/twenties were through a Fender Super Reverb, could really only get variations on a theme but sentimentally that's "my sound" and these 2 pedals remind me of that "take what you have and run with it" vibe.
The Blackbird's clean channel is totally clean. The dirt from 4:00-4:45 is because the output is cranked and it is overdriving the front of the amp it's plugged into.
Great and awesome demo video ever seen on RUclips. BTW, Blackbird's clean channel would do the job of SRV sound when associated with a TS-tube screamer type pedal?
Thanks :) Glad you enjoyed the vid. Yes, the BlackBird's clean channel would make an awesome base paired with a TS for Mayer-inspired tones.
Damn!
Why do you not have a ton of subscribers? Great videos! New Sub here! Have you tried the Two Notes LeClean? I use that live right now into a Two Notes Cab m+.I'm thinking of trying the Blackbird though into the Cab m. Thoughts?
Thanks! I've unfortunately never had the chance to compare the BlackBird to a LeClean, but it should be an interesting test (the BlackBird's Lead channel will give you access to some more modern/Dumble-style tones).
Great demo. Very comprehensive. Do you get better results plugging it in front of the amp or into the effects return?
I'd think you'd have less compression in the effects return. In the loop itself it might work pretty well. Less reliant on the settings at the front of whatever amp you're going into .
I prefer the return. The drive sounds he gets from the clean channel around 4:10 are actually coming from the front of the amp he's plugged into. The green channel is totally clean (and beautiful!).
It's really a matter of personal preference. I always prefer running things in front of the amp, but lots of players prefer using the FX Loop. 👍
@@ElectricMojoGuitars Have you tried putting some kind of boost pedal in front of Blackbird? 12:17 is still a little too loosey goosey for proper metal.
@@mutantbaby1672 The BlackBird works really well with other drives/boosts. But, I wouldn't really recommend it as an option for metal. Maybe the Diezel VH4 or the Jackson El Guapo could be interesting?
Hi, great video, very detailed exactly what I was looking for :)
there is an amp/cab sim in it right? is it possible to bypass it to use the balanced out into a torpedo Cab M to use our proper cab sim before the audio interface? thanks
I just got my Blackbird. No it does not have cab sim, but it kinda has amp emulation. This is what the manual says:
Balanced Direct Out ¼” TRS (stereo) jack socket allows connection of the Blackbird to mixing desk, computer soundcard or external audio capture device. This output is balanced and transformer isolated, eliminating earth loops and reducing hum to an absolute minimum. The Triad Magnetics audio transformer also imparts it’s own character , further enhancing and sweetening the tone. This output is driven by a discrete class AB amplifier circuit - essentially a miniaturised power amp output stage. There’s no substitute for the sound of a real tube amp moving some air , however the direct output is useful for recording in venues with poor room acoustics or excessive background noise. Reverb, eq or cabinet impulse responses can be added post recording to obtain a very realistic approximation of a miked guitar amp in an ideal acoustic space.
So I don't believe there's any need to bypass anything. I think running this through a Torpedo would be killer, but I don't know about preamp pedals, into cab IRs, into DI as I don't record yet. I run mine from the regular output, into a stereo effects unit, then into an ADA GSC-6 cab sim, then into a pair of studio monitors and it sounds great. It's ideal for the apartment and low volume practice. The tubes make a little noise here and there, but I guess that's the exchange for that tube sound.
You can email Effectrode from their website and perhaps get some professional advise. Don't know how good they are about responding, especially these days. Good luck. Stay well.
Matthieu Croset I recorded my first EP using the blackbird directly to the interface, then I used the two notes wall of sound. The plugin has power amp simulator and the cabinets. Worked great!!!!! Actually the best results I get from the effectrode is as a preamp, I run it to the effects loop of my amplifiers and it’s just great!!!!! If you use the external switch you can even take advantage of the 3 modes as different channels.
I think the early units had Cab Sim, but then they changed that for a transformer (an IR cabinet is a better option than a fixed analog emulation, IMO).
@@javiceres Correct!
@@javiceres Exactly. The previous version of the BlackBird had a cab sim, but it was changed on the latest version of the pedal. 👍
I ma wondering if this would be a good preamp in an ampless situation. I would put nobels odr-1 and nux Cerberus analog drive section in front of it, then going to a nux solid studio to simulate power amp and cab sim. Do you think it would make sense?
Yes, should be a cool solution to warm up your tone a little :)
Can you take the output of this pedal and plug into the "power in" or "Effects Return" of a tube amp?
Hey Doug! Sure, you could use the BlackBird in your amp's FX Loop. I prefer running the pedal in front of the amp, but it might be cool/useful in the FX Loop too.
I have an older Blackbird with a bias switch located where the current pre-emphasis switch is. Do you know if the pre-emphasis switch performs the same functions as the bias switch on the older models?
Hey Clint! The pre-emphasis switch would do something different. On the newer models, Effectrode put the bias trim-pot inside of the pedal.
Why doesn't mine sound like that??
What are you plugging into?
@@ElectricMojoGuitars sold it now mate so no longer a problem. Cheers!
I just don’t understas why you use the pedal infront of a preamp? It is a preamp fgs!
The BlackBird was designed to be used in front of an amp. By placing it last in your pedal chain, you can use it to shape the tone of your other effects (beef up the tone of a thin-sounding pedal for example) before they hit the amp. You can also use the BlackBird to get more out of your amp (sort of like adding a second channel to your amp).
Is there mum or hiss from the blackbird? The kind a normal tube amp has
No, I wouldn't say the BlackBird is any noisier than any other drive pedal.