Reviews

Reviewer Of The Month

October Reviewer Of The Month will win an Ernie Ball Wah Pedal!

We are happy to announce a Reviewer Of The Month (ROTM) contest as a way to thanking everyone contributing to Jemsite's Product Review Program by submitting all those great reviews!!!

The first ROTM will be elected for the month of October 2009 and will be announced on November 10th. The...

Featured Reviews

Boss GT-10 Pedal

Best guitar effects unit I've purchased

Review By PortlandAxe

Ease Of Use:	I've owned one other Boss multi effects unit, the ME-10, from back in the mid 1990s. Even that unit had quite a bit of complexity for its time, but the user interface was pretty intuitive. And now, after about a month with my GT-10 I can say that while its capabilities are one hundred fold better than the ME-10, they have taken MANY steps to create an interface that is easy to navigate. The "EZ Tone" feature is absolutely incredible. A press of that button takes you through various screens. The first asks you about kind of pickups you'll be using, as well as your output path...
Sound:	I'm mainly using an Ibanez JS1200 and an Ibanez JEM7V guitars. I have a DAW setup in the studio with MOTU 24i audio interface, as well as a Blackheart 5W tube amp. Quite frankly, I am very impressed with its amp simulation. I really believe the GT-10 sounds best going direct into a mixer or PA, than it does into an amp. I did turn off its preamp/simulation features and plugged it directly into my Blackheart 5W tube head, and I was able to get some good sounds through the amp after a ton of tweaking, however plugged directly into a PA or into my direct audio input to my DAW yields...
Reliability:	It seems very tough. There's even a bar which prevents you from accidentally kicking the knobs when you're hitting any of the patch select pedals.
Customer Support:	Thankfully I've not had to deal with any problems yet.
Liked about it:	I love the EZ Create feature. The ability to tweak the effects chain ordering is fantastic. And the SEND/RETURN effects loop makes this unit incredibly flexible.
Didn't like:	Why have a USB interface if you're not going to have some robust sound editing software on the PC? There's a patch librarian, but what I really wanted was something like what is available for the Line6 "Pod" units where any parameter is tweakable right from the PC while the unit is connected via USB. I'd also have liked to have a VST plug-in for my DAW.
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Carvin V3 Head

Very versatile Tube head with an appealing price.

Review By THEE HAMMER

Sound:	When the Carvin V3 arrived at my house straight from Carvin I was not expecting what I got. I ordered mine with Brown Saddle leather and A diamond plate faceplate (that I had to install). ALl of it came out to a grand total of just over $900 delivered. The first two channels are voiced alike, but they can be tweaked and adjusted to be very independent. Personally I don't believe the similarity of the channels to be a drawback at all, it simply gives you the option of having 2 crunch channels, 2 lead sounds, or a mixture of both. Every channel has switches that act like frequency filters...
Reliability:	Every carvin I have owned had excellent quality for price and except for tubes, rarely needed any work. Carvin has an excellent return policy too.
Customer Support:	Carvin has been hit or miss when I called, but the email responses I have gotten about their guitars and amps have left me happy.
Liked about it:	-Massive bass -Smart loops -Price
Didn't like:	-Having to replace the front plate myself. -Doesn't make you say "hey that's a V3" when you hear it. -Stock tubes are kind of mild.
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Soldano 4x12 Slant Speaker Cabinet

Top of the line 4x12 cab

Review By Severinsteelsmith

Sound:	I mostly play a Gibson Les Paul through a Egnater Mod 50 head in the metal and jazz styles. I have owned lots and lots of cabs in my life, and this is one of the 3 4x12's that I have kept (at one point I had 9 cabinets!). Compared to my Marshall and Boogie cabs, this is a very very smooth sounding cabinet. It has a super warm sound that records very well. With that being said, it may not be the most suited cab for sticking out in the mix; its strength is blending. It sounds great quite, and even better loud. Its input is set at 16 ohms and it is mono, but I never use stereo for a single cab.
Reliability:	This is an exceptionally well built cabinet. There is no need for a backup with this guy. Metal handles, solid baltic birch ply, excellent quality all around. One time a wire to one of the speakers disconnected, but I just took about 10 minutes to solder it back on, and no issues since.
Customer Support:	I have emailed Soldano a number of times with questions, and they were always helpful.
Liked about it:	Excellent sound quality Excellent build quality Very smooth tone
Didn't like:	Expensive Can sometimes blend too much 'Plain Jane' looks
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Mesa Boogie 2x12 Horizontal Rectifier Cabinet

A 2x12 cab that can hang with a 4x12 cab

Review By Severinsteelsmith

Sound:	My main guitar/ amp setup is a Gibson Les Paul with 490R/ 498T humbuckers through an Egnater Mod 50 with the Bassman and SL2 modules. I play metal and jazz styles. I purchased this cab so I could have a more portable cabinet for practice and smaller gigs. My first experience with this cabinet is when a friend of mine brought his over to jam. I was plugged into my Boogie Mark 3 (which is a loud amp) and a Marshall 1960B 4x12 with vintage 30's. He had a Boogie Single Rectifier at the time. When is fired up his amp and started playing some riffs I was blown away by how huge the cab sounded. It...
Reliability:	Just like all Boogie cabs, this one is built like a tank! All solid birch ply, impeccable craftsmanship, and excellent materials make this cab very reliable. There is no need to gig without a second cab unless you just need crazy volume. I have never heard of a Mesa Boogie cab breaking down on the gig.
Customer Support:	Never had to deal with them.
Liked about it:	Excellent tone Very very very well made Slick looks (and lots of custom choices)
Didn't like:	Expensive Somewhat heavy for a 2x12 Speakers very low to the ground (but that is the deal with horizontal 2x12's)
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Marshall Supervibe Pedal

Worth a look even if you are already using a multi FX unit.

Review By nickcoumbe

Ease Of Use:	As with most stomp boxes, adjustments are made by rotating the control knobs on top of the pedal. So pretty easy. The manual has some good examples of the basic sounds you can achieve. Some manufacturers don't do this, but with a pedal that is capable of a reasonable range of effects it is important to get a jumping off point. The battery housing is under the pedal and is secured by a screw. This can be turned by a plectrum, just about. I think that is a bit of a faff and I wouldn't want to have to do it on stage. The reflective knobs look cool, but the position marker is a black...
Sound:	In bypass I notice a slight drop in volume from normal. It does give me that feeling that some of the tone is being sucked out, but it is hard to put a finger on. When switched on the quality of the effects is very good. You can get a wide range of chorus, rotary and slight flange sounds. I suspect that if you want all those effects and use them a lot you would be better off with dedicated units, but this does a good basic job and the chorus element is nice. It works equally well with clean or distorted channels. In particular this pedal is very good at the subtle end of the controls....
Reliability:	Built very well with metal housing and and rubberised base. It feels solid, and I have never had any issues with it.
Customer Support:	Never had to contact them
Liked about it:	Good range of chorus effects The sound quality is good Stereo output is an added bonus
Didn't like:	In bypass there is still a slight drop in volume, so I suspect that there is a bit of adjustment to your native sound The battery cover. I just think that there must be a better solution than a screw. As the knobs are shiny and reflective, and the position marker is a black line it is difficult see in low light.
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Line 6 Pocket POD

Great for portable practicing

Review By PortlandAxe

Ease Of Use:	As I write this, I'm sitting up in the loft on my leather couch, guitar in my lap hooked to my Pocket POD, with headphones plugged in that I'm wearing. (Laptop on the coffee table, of course!) I'm sitting here experimenting with the vast plethora of sounds found in this little "amp for your pocket" device. I'm quite impressed. I think this is where the Pocket POD excels: Ease of use. The controls available to you are a four-position rocker selection switch, four multi-function knobs covering Drive, Effects, Delay, and Chan Vol. The knobs double as Bass, Mid, Treble, and Reverb...
Sound:	I've used it with my JEM7V as well as my JS1200. What surprised me about the Pocket POD were the wide range of amp and cab models that this unit emulates, which is very reminiscent of Line6's full sized POD family of guitar effects units of which I've owned a few. Honestly, I wasn't expecting such full functionality for a unit that is battery powered and fits in your pocket! The presets show off the wide range of sounds really well, and I'm going to say that at least through my headphones, I'm as impressed with the quality of sound from this Pocket POD as I was with my full sized POD 2.0....
Reliability:	Its constructed out of plastic. It seem all that durable and I wouldn't feel comfortable dropping it. Other than that it seems reliable so far.
Liked about it:	1. Being so portable, it is great for practicing from anywhere. 2. The sound quality is better than I expected. 3. I find the user interface pretty easy to navigate.
Didn't like:	1. I'd have liked it a bit more if it had a metal case. 2. Some of the effects sound a bit too "digital". 3. The sounds really aren't appropriate to be piped directly into a guitar amp.
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