ElectroniX GeminiDrive Review

[Chronicle]

Grabbed this little bud off of fellow TB effect addict, bigchief. I wondered why he got rid of it...forgot to ask...maybe he'll tell us here but anyways, with as many distortions I have- this one IS the most versatile.

Construction
The construction is really good. A peak inside, you can see a TON of wiring but it's pretty neat and they even added some electrical tape on the board to protect the components. I'm amazed at the resistors and caps on the bypass switch...some skillful soldering there .

Sound
The sound is pretty...I don't know, it's like I've heard it before but not all of the sounds in one pedal. It has a nice grit like the Polish Love but when it's cranked it sounds like a big muff...almost...

One thing though, it was a little confusing figuring out the switches...like when the Gemini setting is on or off...I think I figured it out but arrows would've been easier


Soundclips

DI'd
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7471793

Mic'd clip
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7473276

[Bassenstien]

Is it replacing your PL?

[Chronicle]

Originally Posted by Bassenstien

Is it replacing your PL?

On my main board? No. On my Mini board? I don't know...it's a fight between the Polish Hate or Love for the Mini board I guess.

[Fetzu]

Good for you. I wanted that the other day when it popped upon the sale forum, but just didn't have the cash then. Thanks for the review and clip.

[Joe Gress]

Cool review!

BTW, this may be of interest to you:

Originally Posted by Musicelectronix

Here is the basics of the arrangement:

MOD 1 up / MOD 2 up => 2x1N914 and 1x1N914
MOD 1 up / MOD 2 down => 2x1N914 and Red LED
MOD 1 down / MOD 2 down = > Red LED and Red LED
MOD 1 down / MOD 2 up => Red LED and 1x1N914

Basicly, you will be getting 3 different assym. clipping and 1 LED sym. clipping options, on top of the Gemini mod and other controls.

And:

Ok, let's clarify some stuff Gemini toggle => at simplest terms; it switches between two completely different mixing of clean boost and overdrive.

Up position -> Gemini MOD

Overdrive channel => Roll of frequencies over 340hz and changes how it clips (make it more tamed, rounder). This established a nice overdrive sound, without being boomy/mushy. Sits well in the mix and blends perfectly with the below clean boost.

Clean channel => Roll of frequencies under 6-7Khz. Take away the sizzle and leave that part to the overdrive channel. It is there to suport its evil twin, completes it. By itself, it will sound like as if you roll off your tone knob, but the effect is less pronounced.

GeminiMod is a new way of mixing I implemented to overcome the drawbacks of plain blend. As far as I know, no other pedal utilize a similar technology. The other unique feature is the clipping diode MOD sellector toggles, located just below the gemini toggle.

Down Position -> normal MOD

OverDrive Channel => Untamed high gain overdrive with lots of high end sizzle (can be rolled of with the tone knob). It rages like a frustrated angry dog, just had been interrupted while following her/his primal instict. Some of you may even think of it as a very high gain (but organic, not synthish) fuzz based on how it sounds. If your pickups are microphonic, this mod will let you know at that instant.

Clean Channel => Unfiltered HI-FI clean boost, lots of headroom.

[bigchiefbc]

Hey good to see you got it. The clip sounds great. Is it gonna stick around on your board?

As for why I got rid of it: It's nothing against the Gemini at all, its just that I have a specific OD sound in my head.

I've tried a lot of ODs in the last year or so, and come full circle. I've decided that the EHX Germanium (which has been sitting in my collection the entire time) is the OD I've wanted the whole time. It's not the most versatile pedal on the planet, but it does that one sound better than anything else I've played.

[beyondthe48]

ive been waiting for one of these to pop up on the electronix ebay store for over 3 months now, whats the deal? anyone know anything?

[Joe Gress]

Originally Posted by beyondthe48

ive been waiting for one of these to pop up on the electronix ebay store for over 3 months now, whats the deal? anyone know anything?

Here you go:

Originally Posted by musicelectronix

I will start to ship GeminiDrive and FaceDrive on a limited basis. This won't be a limited run, but it is going to be a way for me to control the demand. Basicly; I will take 5 orders at a time via soon to be activated limited at musicelectronix dot com , build them and ship them. Then take another 5 until there wouldn't be any immediate demand. The e-mail account is opened, but it is not active yet. So don't send any e-mails as they will bounce back. After the quota is full, I will again deactivate the account. So if you can't reach me there, better luck next run I want to say I am sorry in advance for this. In my defense, I want to release both pedals ASAP and I can't possibly build i.e. 20 more orders within the promised 4-5 days lead time. I will post an entry at the mainpage of the website, you can follow it there. I will also post here.

He already did another run of them. You can probably shoot him an email and find out when the next run is.

[beyondthe48]

i did 3 months ago, he just said to keep an eye on the ebay store - no action yet

[Joe Gress]

Originally Posted by beyondthe48

i did 3 months ago, he just said to keep an eye on the ebay store - no action yet

That's the thing. That post was at the beggining of the month. I don't think he is going to be putting the Gemini's for sale on the ebay store; only through the musicelectronix site.

[rcubed]

I can see why he's not doing a huge run of these. The wiring is rather involved and must be a pain with such little room in that enclosure. I'm not big on OD pedals but I want to check this one out.

[B.C.]

I just got mine on Friday. Man, this is my favorite OD pedal out there today. The rest just seemed to be lacking but this thing, IMHO just kills.

Great review Chronicle!

[IPS]

my gf got mine a few weeks ago, she has been evil enough to not allow me to try or even see it until my birthday

[Joe Gress]

Haha!

[tomhanzo]

dude at the end of the clip, it started to sound a bit like a bit crush fuzz.

amazing sounding pedal man.

[Chronicle]

Thanks everyone, joe-- that does clear things up a whole lot!

[Chronicle]

Mic'd clip is up! I'm going through the Mods when you hear a slight difference in sound. Also, picked up a pick at the end for all you dirty pick users ;P

[fishtx]

it sounds to me like it's blended with the clean signal...To my ears, the clean signal comes through and blends nice with the drive...I like it...

[Joe Gress]

Two channels. One clean one dirty. Blended together into one output.

[fishtx]

ok...that makes since...thanks Joe...