Neunaber Iconoclast

[Del Pickup]

I saw a vid for this pedal and it got me thinking that this might be a good way to record and practice without annoying anyone late at night and also as a backup to an amp for gigs.

The various vids I've seen all make it sound pretty good but I wonder whether anyone has any hands-on experience of this pedal (or anything similar) and how they've found it in practice?

As usual, there don't seem to be any dealers stocking them in NZ so I'd have to buy online and take a gamble on it doing what it's supposed to do so I'm really looking for some input from someone who's actually used one before putting money into one.

Cheers

 

[kiwi blue]

There is one dealer in NZ:

(link removed)

It's still an online purchase but they have a 14 day return policy.

(link removed)

$399 aint cheap.

 

[Del Pickup]

I decided to go for it. Sent an email to Neunaber (before I saw your post) and got a reply within 24 hours telling me about Tone Lounge. So I bit the bullet and handed over the readies and the pedal arrived in the mail within 48 hours. Pretty good service all round!

And I can report that the pedal is every bit as realistic in creating 'real amp tones' as the vids suggest. I've A/B'd it alongside my own amps (57 Twin RI, EC Tremolux and Ampeg GVT 15) and it sounds great. I'd go as far as to say that, in a blind test, anyone would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the tones coming from the Iconoclast and a suitable OD pedal and a good tube amp.

To my ears, the best tones seem to come from using my Crowther Hotcake but I also like the tone with a TS808 or EH Soul Food. All different but equally authentic.

So, yes, it was expensive, but I think it's a valuable tool to have in the arsenal - either as a back-up for a live gig (or instead of taking an amp to a gig), silent practice or recording.

 

[kiwi blue]

How did you evaluate it? Through a PA? Headphones? Recording?

Sounds like a good bit of kit. I do a lot of DI recording because I often have to work late at night when the family are asleep. I can't often crank an amp into the sweet spot. I recently bought a Laney IRT Pulse valve preamp, and it does a very good job of it, but I'm not so keen on its inbuilt speaker emulation. I've had the best results by bypassing the speaker emulation while recording, then reamping it with amp and mic when I have the house to myself. A really good speaker emulation might make reamping unnecesary.