Pamparo in Toronto

It took forever to get the pedal shipped that my excitement had died down and had been replaced with anxiousness, second-guessing and to be honest, annoyed that it took more than 2-weeks from US to Canada. I’ll bet those people in Customs were all watching the Winter Olympics!

Regardless, it is here now and that’s what matters!

Apparently, this device is using the same chip that was on the DamageControl Timeline (SHARC AD21369). That is a lot of processing power and it’s evident that the engineers has put in a lot of efforts in creating this.

Pros:
1. Great analog sounds especially with the Bucket Loss
2. Tap-Tempo with dotted-8ths/triplets
3. Modulation can be very subtle to “warble’y” sounds when maxed

Cons:
1. Power, why does it have to use more than 100mA!!! oh well
2. Can’t go back to default non-tapped setting without changing the speed dial

On a side note, I compared it side-by-side with my Diamond Memory Lane (v1). Although the Brigadier sounded good by itself, it could not match the way the delay degrades on the ML. And this is not a knock against Strymon but I was just a little surprised that the ML really stood it’s ground.

Anyhow, here’s some random noodling that I did as soon as I got this baby!

Random noodling with Strymon Brigadier

The verdict after 30 minutes of playing with it … it has a velcro and a place in the board!

Pedalboard as of March 2010 (with Brigadier)

Obviously, I have to put more mileage into this to be able to utilize and judge all the features. But right out of the box, it produces very usable tones. It’s not as pristine as a digital delay even with the bucket loss at 0. And this is not what it was intended for. It was intended to simulate the bucket brigade analog chips which are really getting close to extinction. It does a great job at doing that … and a whole lot more. This will definitely stay with me for quite some time!

Does that name scare the heck out of you?!

Well, it’s time to re-tube my beloved Traynor YCV-40WR. Thanks to the auto-biasing (i think it’s more of a fixed-bias) feature of this amp, it makes it easy for me to swap tubes in & out.

So far, here’s what I have tried with it:
- Sovtek 5881 WXT (don’t even think of using this stock tubes!)
- JJ 6L6GC (very clear & sparkly highs. tons of clean headroom to boot)
- Tungsol 5881 (very nice when cranked and not a lot of headroom. Easily pushed to break-up)

And now, it’s time for a Winged-C SED SV6L6GC!

First impressions … I like this the best from what I have already tried. I played with a Les Paul & Telecaster. While they sounded different, they are both pleasing to my ears. The clean and over-driven tones sounded articulate and with great harmonics, too!

Anyway, I think this image will explain how I feel a lot easier:

YCV-40WR with Winged-C SED SV6L6GC

I was walking around Canadian Tire today to get some fluorescent bulbs when I heard somebody say “Isaiah 12:39″ thru the PA system. I thought I was imagining things, but I heard it twice so I took note of it. Well, apparently, Isaiah 12:39 does not exist! Just goes to show how much I know about the Bible. But despite of this exact verse’s non-existence, I was amazed that the 12th chapter of Isaiah only has 6 verses and it was a great song of praise.

Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, O LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

So maybe God is revealing something to me … READ MY BIBLE!!!

Oh, and btw, there was actually a person named Isaiah working there and they’ve been trying to get his attention!