XPEWT1 - Christmas Pedal Exchange World Tour 1

[Pepe]

It has to be the Boss VO-1! Is it?

You are absolutely correct!

I received a BOSS VO-1. What a great pedal!

Without microphone (the additional gear that I meant) it works kind-of like a guitar synth and produces choir-like waveforms in the Choir mode. This can sound heavenly if you only blend a bit of it to your guitar signal. All the other modes need a microphone or they won't work. The VO-1 does the talkbox like Peter Frampton/Jeff Beck in a very realistic manner (I owned the Rocktron Banshee Talkbox years ago, so I know how a talkbox should sound like). The two vocoder modes are great for modern sounds (Daft Punk, "Around The World", etc.) and '70s robotic sounding stuff (Kraftwerk, "Autobahn", "Trans Europa Express", "Robots", "Spacelab"). I also like the way a vocoder can be used like in "Big Girls Walk Away" by Steve Winwood. All these modes can sound funky as hell ("Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. can be mimicked easily), but also very annoying if you overdo it (or don't use it in the proper way). My kids wanted to try it out before I had the chance to speak into my microphone.

Thanks so much for the pedal, Admin! I'm going to keep it. And I will use it at the next open jam session.


Admin received a rehoused and modified Johnson EAD-2 Echo Analog Delay from Pepe
received: 24th December, guessed by: chromandre

chromandre received an Arion SFC-1 Fat Chorus from Joske Turbo
received: 20th December, guessed by: Pepe

Dirk received a Guyatone MOm5 Micro Octaver from fuzzbuzzfuzz
received: 28th December, guessed by: Pepe

fuzzbuzzfuzz received an Ibanez SF10 Swell Flanger from Dirk
received: 25th December, guessed by: Pepe

Joske Turbo received a Behringer UV-300 Ultra Vibrato from chromandre
received: 26th December, guessed by: fuzzbuzzfuzz

Pepe received a BOSS VO-1 Vocoder from Admin
received:5th March, guessed by: chromandre

[Admin]

Thanks so much for the pedal, Admin! I'm going to keep it. And I will use it at the next open jam session.

You're welcome! I'm glad it's a keeper. This wouldn't have been possible without Gasgano as well. Thanks Gasgano for the help of being and intermediary!
I can't wait to see a demo of this pedal on your Youtube channel. I had a different pedal I was about to purchase when I became aware of the Boss VO-1's price in Canada and knew it would make an interesting pedal for the exchange. I've always sent pedals that most people would never think about buying, but I hope they enjoy receiving.

This was a great pedal exchange, despite my delay. I only wish Canada would have been able to participate. I look forward to the next one!

[Pepe]

This was a great pedal exchange, despite my delay. I only wish Canada would have been able to participate. I look forward to the next one!

Yes, it had been great if our Canadian fellows had had the chance to take part. It had made the tour more versatile. But it was a lot of fun anyway. And I'm sure that most of us are happy with their Christmas gifts. I am, despite the delay!

[Gasgano]

Thanks Gasgano for the help of being and intermediary!

My pleasure. No need to tell you I've bought one too (I had already owned one in the past and kind of missed it). I just struggle to make it work in live situations and I wonder if my microphone is to blame (Sennheiser e835). Maybe now Pepe has one, he can make it work and give us pointers on how to use this in live situations.

BTW: This HAS to become a demo subject. It's not a matter of IF but WHEN.

[Pepe]

I have a Sennheiser e840S and it works great at normal volume levels at home. I will definitely try it live on stage next time (end of the month) and give further feedback.

I'm eager to do a demo of it very soon. A real song perhaps.

[laurie]

Nice! One of the best pedals ever on a tour

[Pepe]

And I've been the receiver!

[Dirk]

Wow, I would never have guessed that, I understand the kids' enthusiasm now!

[Admin]

...I've bought one too (I had already owned one in the past and kind of missed it). I just struggle to make it work in live situations and I wonder if my microphone is to blame (Sennheiser e835).

We used those mics at a church I used to attend. They sound amazing and don't suffer from proximity effect BUT that makes them susceptible to picking up all the sound around them, and also A LOT of feedback. This was before in-ear monitors where popular. If your stage volume is loud, you might want to try a different mic. Even a cheaper mic with more midrange may help. I have a couple different mics, I'll let you know if any work better than my SM-58.


Pepe - I totally forgot about it needing a mic, luckily you have one, but I should have thought of that.

[Gasgano]

This was exactly my thought. I think it might be too good of a microphone, in fact, to perform well with the pedal in live situations...