~TOURBOX REVIEWS ~ Swedish Meatball 3 MP+Mystoury
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:34 amWhat a delicious sampling of Swedish delicacies. For the taste tests, I used my old Strat and a Les Paul, played through both a TopHat Emplexador for the Marshall tones, and a Victoria 35-210 for the old Fender Tweed tones. Both amps were set at medium volumes and clean.
MP Deep Blue Delay:
With delay settings up to a very useable 600ms, the DBD simply excels at producing a rich and natural delay sound. Even though it is digital, it doesn?t have that artificial, too precise, i.e. sterile delay sound. Unlike the EchoTap, which seems to add a touch of presence, the DBD better retains the straight guitar sound. I think the DBD is better suited to those applications where one wants to hear the delay, as it?s somewhat hard to get a real subtle echo effect. For just a breath of slap back echo, I found my old AD-9 better suited for those applications. But for more spacious tape type delay effects, the DBD leaves the old Ibanez sitting on the shelf.
MP Mighty Red Distortion:
In a nutshell, the distortion is rich and thick, without any of the typical mushiness. Too many higher gain distortions are too thick, and end up in a band?s mix sounding too choked. Ultimately they become a struggle to get the notes out. Like the Fetto Deluxe, the MRD retains enough clarity to work with you, not against. The MRD seems voiced a little further down the frequency range than the more mid-rangey Fetto. The pedal works great with both single coils and humbuckers. With the bridge pickup on the Les Paul, the Fetto sounded like vintage Billy G., whereas the MRD has a more modern tonality. Thick yet articulate, it?s quite the musical combination.
Mystoury Drive #11:
This is my second time around with this overdrive. This pedal is an excellent alternative to those who love their 808?s. Compared to a vintage TS-808, the Mystoury Drive retains the sharp attack and clarity of the original, with just enough compression to stay focused on stage with a band. But the Mystoury pedal has more of a high end spread, which when compared to the 808, gives it more zing than honk.
MP Little Green Wonder:
I?m very impressed with the dynamics of this pedal. It?s almost like a marriage between a Honey Bee and a Tubescreamer. Although the official blurb states that this pedal has a ?Body knob for adjusting low-mid content and treble,? to me the Body knob takes you from fat and hairy, to lean and muscular. To gain the most dynamic affect, you can adjust the Body knob to accommodate your picking strength?from limp-wristed to more robust. It almost sounds like someone took the up and down toggle clipping options on a Landgraff DO, and replaced it with a blend pot. This is one of the best overdrives I?ve tried, especially with the Les Paul, for really capturing all the nuances in picking dynamics, which makes it a wonder for those who like to use a combination of pick and fingertip attacks. Overall the pedal is voiced a little on the richly dark side, but not so much to muddy out the neck pickup of the Strat. I was able to get some very pleasing ?Wind Cries Mary? tones out of that pickup. However, it might not be as well suited to those who love getting an ice picky twang out of their bridge pickups. It?s a well balanced pedal, with plenty of gain on tap, which helps to make playing guitar an experience, and an exploration.
Thanks to Donner and Bjorn for making these pedals available.
MP Deep Blue Delay:
With delay settings up to a very useable 600ms, the DBD simply excels at producing a rich and natural delay sound. Even though it is digital, it doesn?t have that artificial, too precise, i.e. sterile delay sound. Unlike the EchoTap, which seems to add a touch of presence, the DBD better retains the straight guitar sound. I think the DBD is better suited to those applications where one wants to hear the delay, as it?s somewhat hard to get a real subtle echo effect. For just a breath of slap back echo, I found my old AD-9 better suited for those applications. But for more spacious tape type delay effects, the DBD leaves the old Ibanez sitting on the shelf.
MP Mighty Red Distortion:
In a nutshell, the distortion is rich and thick, without any of the typical mushiness. Too many higher gain distortions are too thick, and end up in a band?s mix sounding too choked. Ultimately they become a struggle to get the notes out. Like the Fetto Deluxe, the MRD retains enough clarity to work with you, not against. The MRD seems voiced a little further down the frequency range than the more mid-rangey Fetto. The pedal works great with both single coils and humbuckers. With the bridge pickup on the Les Paul, the Fetto sounded like vintage Billy G., whereas the MRD has a more modern tonality. Thick yet articulate, it?s quite the musical combination.
Mystoury Drive #11:
This is my second time around with this overdrive. This pedal is an excellent alternative to those who love their 808?s. Compared to a vintage TS-808, the Mystoury Drive retains the sharp attack and clarity of the original, with just enough compression to stay focused on stage with a band. But the Mystoury pedal has more of a high end spread, which when compared to the 808, gives it more zing than honk.
MP Little Green Wonder:
I?m very impressed with the dynamics of this pedal. It?s almost like a marriage between a Honey Bee and a Tubescreamer. Although the official blurb states that this pedal has a ?Body knob for adjusting low-mid content and treble,? to me the Body knob takes you from fat and hairy, to lean and muscular. To gain the most dynamic affect, you can adjust the Body knob to accommodate your picking strength?from limp-wristed to more robust. It almost sounds like someone took the up and down toggle clipping options on a Landgraff DO, and replaced it with a blend pot. This is one of the best overdrives I?ve tried, especially with the Les Paul, for really capturing all the nuances in picking dynamics, which makes it a wonder for those who like to use a combination of pick and fingertip attacks. Overall the pedal is voiced a little on the richly dark side, but not so much to muddy out the neck pickup of the Strat. I was able to get some very pleasing ?Wind Cries Mary? tones out of that pickup. However, it might not be as well suited to those who love getting an ice picky twang out of their bridge pickups. It?s a well balanced pedal, with plenty of gain on tap, which helps to make playing guitar an experience, and an exploration.
Thanks to Donner and Bjorn for making these pedals available.
