An interesting FYI for DOD Gunslinger owners...

[E5RSY]

I think this pedal has been a little misunderstood. Many think it sounds a little off with certain amps (myself, included).

Found these blurbs from the designer, Tom Cram, on the DOD/Digitech Appreciation group on Facebook. The Gunslinger makes a lot more sense to me now:

"The Gunslinger is meant to be a Hot-Rodded JCM800 in a box for use with Fender-style amps. It's mid-emphasis was tuned by Billy with our in-house Fender Twin, it isn't really meant to pair with mid-heavy British amps."

"The Gunslinger was a little ahead of its time. And because of that I didn't really market it correctly. I didn't want to say it was limited in use, and the whole MIAB thing had yet to happen."

Good to know, because it does what it was supposed to do very well.

 

[pi]

"The Gunslinger was a little ahead of its time. And because of that I didn't really market it correctly. I didn't want to say it was limited in use, and the whole MIAB thing had yet to happen."

This is a bizarre claim to me, considering the Gunslinger was released in 2015. Lots of MIABs were around by then.

 

[E5RSY]

This is a bizarre claim to me, considering the Gunslinger was released in 2015. Lots of MIABs were around by then.

2015 was actually the year a bunch of them came out. I believe the Box of Rock and the Dirty Little Secret were the only two around pre-2015. I could be wrong, though.

 

[bluesholyman]

I believe the Box of Rock and the Dirty Little Secret were the only two around pre-2015.

I think you could count the Boss ST-2 Power Stack, which came out 2010.

 

[drmordo]

2015 was actually the year a bunch of them came out. I believe the Box of Rock and the Dirty Little Secret were the only two around pre-2015. I could be wrong, though.

In the DIY community, "amp-in-a-box" has been around since at least 2004, and there are at least 8 or 10 well-loved designs. The pro stompbox builders definitely watch the DIY forums because they literally steal the DIYers' designs and tweaks.

As far as the DOD pedal, it sounds like poor judgement and/or wishful thinking kept them from explaining what the pedal was intended to do. They hoped it would have more applications than it did, but hope is not valid a marketing strategy.

 

[ahiddentableau]

Yeah the MIAB/AIAB pedals were absolutely a thing long before 2015. How long has the King of the Britons design been around? All those runoffgroove designs? A long, long time. That's a weird claim and I suspect the latter part of the explanation about it not being marketed well is the bit we should pay attention to.

At the same time, it's really cool that the designer takes questions and offers some insight like that. That's great.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

This one is on me,

I have a recurring habit of buying/trying distortion pedals that I'm attracted to say in a demo ( Andy/ PGS), but are just too powerful or aggressive for the kinds of music ( old school R&R / Blues ) and moderate volume I really play!
Like 'your eyes are bigger than your stomach!!

And the Gunslinger was one of those.

I kind of thought of it as a Rat with separate Treble and Bass controls, maybe but found once I dialed in the Gain/ Drive setting I liked ( pretty saturated- but I liked it!) the volume/Level was super loud even at its lowest setting.
I just couldn't work with it in my small gig/ Blues Jr. setting.

No problem, it's fun to try out stuff

 

[E5RSY]

It's the cat's ass with a BF/SF Fender amp, regardless.

 

[E5RSY]

I think you could count the Boss ST-2 Power Stack, which came out 2010.

I liked the Combo Drive.

 

[E5RSY]

Yeah the MIAB/AIAB pedals were absolutely a thing long before 2015. How long has the King of the Britons design been around? All those runoffgroove designs? A long, long time. That's a weird claim and I suspect the latter part of the explanation about it not being marketed well is the bit we should pay attention to.

At the same time, it's really cool that the designer takes questions and offers some insight like that. That's great.

Yeah, the first statement quoted is really the one of note, here. I probably shouldn't have even quoted the second one that has garnered the most reaction/distraction in the responses.

 

[ahiddentableau]

Yeah, the first statement quoted is really the one of note, here. I probably shouldn't have even quoted the second one that has garnered the most reaction/distraction in the responses.

What I really appreciated about the bit you cited was the designer telling everybody, clearly and with no attempt to muddy the waters, 1) exactly what the pedal aims to achieve and 2) the context in which it is supposed to be used. That's pretty remarkable. I have often wondered how many pedal circuits/designs get written off because we aren't given that kind of information. Perhaps it should be an expected thing when a pedal is released, the designer/manufacturer saying, "this is what we are aiming for and this is the guitar/amp combo/rig that we used to dial it in." At least then you know you're giving a pedal it's best chance at success and buyers would be able to read between the lines regarding whether a pedal would be a good fit for their rig. I assume that's precisely the problem, companies are afraid players would ignore pedals that don't suit their existing rigs, so they never do it.

 

[JustPlayItLoud]

He may also not have really been referring to the Gunslinger specifically, more the circuit. It’s based on the Digitech SC-2 in one of the those modes. That’s part of the Hardwire series that was probably 2004-2005ish maybe? The MIAB thing was a bit newer at the time, and honestly the whole Hardwire series was far better than it got credit for at the time so the SC-2 flew way under the radar.

 

[MilwMark]

Great lead pedal. So crunchy and so middy. Almost like a cocked wah.

 

[beyer160]

I guess that explains why it sounded so awful with my Ampeg. For $30 I wasn't really worried about it. Maybe I should dust the box off and give it a whirl with my Deluxe.

 

[E5RSY]

I guess that explains why it sounded so awful with my Ampeg. For $30 I wasn't really worried about it. Maybe I should dust the box off and give it a whirl with my Deluxe.

Be interested to hear about the results.

 

[leonard d rock]

good to know. i thought it was a very good pedal and for a while it was my replacement for the hm2 but the too much mids probably was ear fatiguing. i remember using it with a borrowed roland cube 80 and it sounded so nice. i'll try to look for a used one again

 

[11 Gauge]

He may also not have really been referring to the Gunslinger specifically, more the circuit. It’s based on the Digitech SC-2 in one of the those modes. That’s part of the Hardwire series that was probably 2004-2005ish maybe? The MIAB thing was a bit newer at the time, and honestly the whole Hardwire series was far better than it got credit for at the time so the SC-2 flew way under the radar.

This hits the nail on the head, IMO.

And after tracing out some bits and pieces of the circuit, it's definitely not really MIAB as would come to be roughly a half a decade later.

Not only that, but it doesn't even borrow circuitry from something like a Marshall Guv'nor, which pedals like the M.I. Audio Crunch Box and Suhr Riot would end up using for the bulk of their foundations.

...But it is your somewhat basic op amp and diode clipper type circuit. At least the initial stage is fairly similar to a TS. IIRC, the SC-2 basically is like a Gunslinger and Bad Monkey in one enclosure, depending on the mode. And the Bad Monkey is basically a TS that also has a bass control.

So based on all of that, I'd say that probably what the Gunslinger is most similar to is the Xotic BB Preamp, which is basically a really hot TS with pumped-up mids, and Baxandall tone circuitry for bass and treble. Funny that this is something that I only realized just now.