First, I have to say I
do not have a means to records samples right now. Sorry.
Onward: I actually only bought this pedal because it uses a
limiter circuit to create the clipping (distortion), and I thought maybe it would be a cool-sounding peak limiter, not just an overdrive. Mmm, not quite. It does do some limiting, there is definitely compression at the clipping point, but not to where I'd recommend this pedal for that purpose. However, it's a really great sounding OD!
I'll have to describe the sound in words, which is obviously not a great way to convey tone, but that's what we've got right now.
Up to the hard-clipping point, it is a very fat, warm, wooly "clean boost". I use the word "clean" because all the coloration there is not expressly in the distortion range, but the tone is quite colored. It has a nice fat presence in the mids and low mids, and it does not lose
any lows! The highs aren't exactly lost, but "rounded off" maybe, so it is not nearly as dark/blanketed as the Blueberry, but neither is it bright or crisp sounding.
Once you hit the hard-clipping range, it can get buzzy. IMO it's "just right" when the levels are set so you only hit that range on your harder peaks, because at that point it sounds a
lot like playing through a tube amp. The clipping right on that edge is smooth yet biting. Once you dial it so the hard clipping is happening all the time, it doesn't sound so good to me. But even then, playing through cabs with no tweeters, the tone is pretty cool--so I just wouldn't use tweeters then, and I wouldn't recommend this pedal if you want more of a range of distortion.
I recently sold the VT Bass, the Holy Fire, and a Red Llama clone, and of course I've owned other overdrives. I still have and use the Blueberry. Compared to the VT, the Thinman has much less noise, and is not quite as versatile, but has a very similar flavor otherwise. Compared to the Holy Fire, the Thinman is nowhere near as high-fidelity, and has more of an EQ preshape. Compared to the Llama, the Thinman has less noise, and is less aggro. Compared to the Blueberry, the Thinman is not as extreme and not as versatile, yet it has much better highs.
It runs on regular Boss-type power, or you can run up to 12 VDC for a bit better headroom. TBP switch. The knobs themselves light up green, kinda neat. And here's the kicker: only $130! They have it at The Mad Ape.
Anyway, as soon as I realized it was not going to be useful to my compressor reviews, I was about to pack it up and send it back. But the more I play with it, the more I like it! It really adds warmth and "beef", and when I practice with backing tracks or a drum machine, the tone just sits in the mix perfectly every time.
Check it out sometime! (Oh, and he
is releasing a compressor pedal soon.
)
http://www.ddynamusic.com/home.html
