clean blend that wont break on me..

asherthemachine · #1 06-30-2009, 12:11 AM

So ive had 2 barge VB's, and both of them have crapped out on me. bad impression and experience with barge thru all of it, so im done buying their products. which sucks, because i loved the vb-jr before it broke. so... what bypass loop with a clean blend can i find? the blend is most important to me, considering the size of my chain and whatnot. im also trying to conserve space on the board, so the smaller the better. point me in the right direction please!!

bongomania · #2 06-30-2009, 12:42 AM

There's a Radial Bigshot Mix FS in the classifieds; very rugged and reliable, but read up on its specific blend function to find out whether it's right for you. Otherwise the Boss LS-2 is a trooper, and the Xotic X-Blender has performed like a champ for me under heavy use.

asherthemachine · #3 06-30-2009, 01:35 AM

i most def. want something with a blend knob, so by the looks of things the boss and radial are out. i like what i see from the Xotic, but the side jacks and size are kindof a turn off. ill have to dive deeper i guess.

bongomania · #4 06-30-2009, 01:42 AM

Look again, both the Boss and the Radial have clean blends.

fightthepower · #5 06-30-2009, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Look again, both the Boss and the Radial have clean blends.

Yep. The Boss has multiple modes, including a 'clean blend'.

OP- That too bad about the VB's dying on you. I find my Barge Grinder to be the highest quality pedal I own, hands down.

asherthemachine · #6 06-30-2009, 12:14 PM

yeah very suprised about them busting. i might try one more time with them and just hsip both blenders back to get checked up on and hopefully fixed. they seemed really cool thru email, then just kindof flaked out and stopped returning emails. im sure they are super busy building pedals and fixing one pedal isnt top priority

lowbass68 · #7 06-30-2009, 06:46 PM

ParaBlender from Solid Gold Sound Labs is small and works rather nice. You can use as a clean blend by plugging an effect or chain of effects into the A channel loop and looping the B send into the B Return. Or plug another pedal into the B channel and blend the two different effects. Link below:

http://www.solidgoldfx.com/blender.php

.

LuvMusic · #8 06-30-2009, 07:57 PM

The Wounded Paw Blender has caught my eye. In addition to a blend, it also has a volume control. May be too big though, if you have space constraints. Link:

http://www.woundedpaw.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=141

asherthemachine · #9 07-01-2009, 04:41 AM

yeah the wounded paw does seem a bit large considering what i want it for. damn i wish barge hadnt hooked me up with lemons.. to the email cave!

rratajski · #10 07-01-2009, 05:43 AM

Email Wounded Paw. He might be able to get you a smaller box. I got a kit from him and built it in a 125B enclosure. It would fit in that jawn. I LOVE my blender from Wounded Paw.

jetofuj · #11 07-01-2009, 06:13 AM

Wounded Paw is big, but I love this picture of blender

asherthemachine · #12 07-01-2009, 10:20 PM

yeah maybe i will shoot him an email. thanks rratajski

Vic Winters · #13 07-02-2009, 11:07 AM

Wounded Paw.

Jerry J · #14 07-04-2009, 10:01 AM

That's really a drag to hear that there are any problems with the Barge stuff. I have a VB Jr. that seems very solid. I just don't use it enough to give it a workout.

What exactly happened with the vb jr.?

asherthemachine · #15 07-04-2009, 12:22 PM

e verytime i stomp on it it cuts the volume drastically, that or it just mutes my whole signal until i wiggle or put pressure on the pedal. what do you think? loose wire or something? it only happens when i stomp on the switch.

bongomania · #16 07-04-2009, 04:57 PM

3PDT switches actually "go bad" pretty often. People like Barber that build pedals specifically for touring pros often avoid using 3PDT switches for that reason. It's not something small-time builders have to deal with typically, but Barge may have bought a crappy batch of switches.

mr.hughes · #17 07-04-2009, 05:19 PM

I'd keep emailing/calling Geoff at Barge Concepts. I've had two VB's and both have worked flawlessly.

For the second one, Geoff rushed to finish it so that he could hand deliver it to my hotel when I was in NY for some shows. That's great customer service IMO. (Not returning emails about a faulty product isn't tho)