Quote:
Originally Posted by marshman
The new Blackheart line of tube distortion stompboxes are getting good reviews, but I haven't actually seen one stateside yet (mind you, I haven't been looking for them)--all the UK mags have had their way with them.
|
That'll be Black
star pedals. They're getting some raves but need a 16v AC adapter which puts me off them.
I had a V-Twin but found it only useful for recording, it was just too much of a lump to carry around and the volume jump between blues and solo mode made it of little use in turning a Fender amp into a three channel rig. The old B K Butler/Tube Works Tube Drivers are good (at least Eric Johnson thinks so). You can get them built into SS amps too. There's one in the classifieds at the moment. You need a mains outlet at your board to run the pedal version.
On the whole I think SS stompboxes are more sensible and flexible. You either need a honking great dedicated PSU or the valve is run at such a low voltage that it's hardly worth having. At least ICs and transistors run well at low voltage and 9v batteries are available anywhere.