So... my thoughts so far...
The Model D can handle 9-18 volts. Even though I have only tried it at 9v the range of tones is really quite incredible. I need to explore these volts a bit further..
One of the things that drew me to BJ's dirt pedals in the first place was what I refer to as a tangible feeling of a physical connection with what the amplifier is doing when you play guitar through it... pretty much a sensation of having control over and being able to manipulate the electricity flowing in the tubes and the good old heavy iron of the transformers as it translates into a speaker movement that is working in synergy with what your mind is telling your fingers to do on the guitar. I guess this is kind of how I experience the feel we all call 'dynamic'.... I hope that makes sense
I have never used a pedal with such delicious touch sensitivity until now. It is as if the circuit has an artificial intelligence that uses your playing dynamics to adjust gain and compression levels in accordance with what you play... quite remarkable! The clean up when you pull back is really natural without losing any boldness or fatness of tone.
I think the bloom, swell and edge usually associated with this style of amp is mostly reflective of a very accurate translation of what your fingers are doing and how you use them. That is to say, the design of the Model D has managed to capture this expressiveness and musicality in spades and it is this aspect that lets it succeed where the other D pedals don't even come close. The model D works in the third dimension whereas the rivals all seemed flat, unresponsive and 2 dimensional by comparisson. It is the sensation of playing along this axis which makes the Model D such a wonderfully pleasing experience.
The string separation is extraordinary all over the neck and the sustain is just beautiful... even at lower gain settings where a pleasant amount of natural feeling compression kept everything where I wanted it. At medium to higher gain settings there is plenty of 'skrink' and 'ffft' to be had... again showing the wonderfully dynamic nature of this pedal... an appealing representation of the emotional content within the tones chosen... expressive expressive expressive!!!
The edge control is total perfection. The range of smooth to ragged tones available covers pretty much any sound I would ever need and when fine tuned with the body control it feels like opening up different spectral colours within the lower mids. I think this is the sheer genius of this pedal, especially considering how broad the range of available gain is.
ok... the icing on the cake... I found this to be an incredible pedal to stack other dirt pedals into
Today in particular it was the Model R... although it is a darker sounding pedal by nature, the Model R perhaps feels a little bit like a distant cousin to the Model D and when run at low gain into the Model D I experienced that enhanced fat & juicy classic hard rock tone that just makes you want to play more... Lots of fun!!
Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:03 am
