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Guyatone SV-2
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Hook up this small stompbox and add new life to your sound. Envelope-controlled volume effect produces volume swells, bowing effects, and tape-reverse simulation
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Searched Guyatone SV-2 in Reviews
The rebirth of a Rare Boss classic 
| Ease Of Use |
For those of you who don't know, the Guyatone SV-2 is actually somewhat of a remake of the rare and expensive Boss Slow Gear pedal. I don't think Boss made the pedal for very long cause people didn't know what the heck it did, so it didn't sell well.
Aside from being one of the more rare boss pedals, the Boss Slow Gear is also one of the more unique. The concept behind both the Boss and Guyatone pedal, is to eliminate the attack of a note or group of notes, and have the sound actually swell. I will discuss this more in the sound section.
Like all Guyatone pedals, the Slow Volume is quite easy to operate. It has a speed control and a threshold control, like that of a compressor or gate. The speed control affects the speed of the volume swell, and the threshold knob sets the threshold where the effect comes in.
Much like a compressor, you are going to have to spend some time dialing it in. Everyone plays differently and has a different rig, so your threshold will be set depending on those factors. The speed control will be determined more by your taste and application
The micro series of pedals is great because they take up barely any room on your pedalboard. The only gripes I have are that the enclosures are a little on the thin side, the switches are a little cheap feeling, and it is tough to change the battery. Instead of using a compartment or a plate and some screws, Guyatone uses a thin bottom plate and a rubber 'gasket' that wraps around both the enclosure and the bottom plate. This is what secures the bottom plate to the pedal. Sometimes it is a little hard to apply the gasket on the pedal again, once you have replaced a battery.
Aside from the small gripes, this pedal is great and very easy to operate.
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| Sound |
My main rig is an Egnater Mod 50 head with the Bassman and SL2 modules through either a Mesa 4x12 or 2x12 cab. My main guitars are a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Eric Johnson Strat.
Well the Guyatone Slow Volume is a very cool pedal that fulfills a niche once filled by the Boss Slow Gear. The Slow Gear has long since been discontinued and Guyatone has decided to remake the hard to find rarity.
The SV-2 is basically a footpedal that can emulate the swell trick that guitarists achieve with the volume knob on their guitar, but without the hassle of having to physically turn a knob. I guess the compromise, is that you have to set the swell speed on the pedal, as opposed to controlling it via your hand. The whole point of the pedal is to have everything be done automatically. You don't have to fuss with your guitar's volume knob or even perhaps a volume pedal.
You just play the desired note, and it swells in. Simple, but in the right passage and with the right tone, it can sound very awesome. The pedal doesn't alter your tone whatsoever, it just automatically swells in your guitar sound from nothing to full volume.
It is MUCH more effective with a clean sound, and MUCH MUCH cooler with a delay after it. You can get some pretty synthy sounds with the right pedals after it, but even just by itself, it really sounds cool.
My only real gripe is that the speed knob doesn't allow for a really slow swell. Ii would be really cool to have a super long swell, but you would probably need a compressor circuit to achieve the sustain in order to have a swell of considerable length .
Aside from that, it sounds great and really adds some options to an otherwise simple rig.
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| Reliability |
It seems a little fragile if you might really stomp on it, but otherwise I am sure it would last.
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| Customer Support |
I actually emailed Guyatone once about replacing an LED, and the emailed be back quite fast with the specs for one. Great customer service.
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| Liked about it |
Unique pedal
Great volume swell effect
Nice and small
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| Didn't like |
A little fragile
Swell pretty fast
Hard to change battery
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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