I just got this awesome pedal. Since there's not a whole lot of discussion of it on TB, figured I'd add my experience to the mix for anyone thinking of picking it up. TL;DR version at bottom.
First off, this pedal is meant for live use and meant to be played LOUD. Nate Mendel has to compete with 3 loud guitar players in Foo Fighters so he wanted this pedal to cut through the mix. It does that in spades.
Admittedly, my first impression playing at bedroom levels was a bit underwhelming. The controls are a little weird. Master Input for both drives and no tone knob. It never sounded bad, but didn't really blow me away like I was hoping it would after watching Nate's demo.
Then I took it to band practice. I play in a loud indie rock band and a blues rock cover band that plays everything from The Black Keys to Jimi Hendrix with two super loud guitar players. I'm usually able to hold my own with my Ashdown ABM and Fender p, but I've been on the hunt for some dirt that helps me cut through the mix a little better.
The NM2 excels at warm, harmonically rich overdrive. Both Drive 1 and Drive 2 have a noticeable amount of high roll off, but when used as intended, it's not really missed. Drive 1 reminds me a lot of the EBS Multi Drive (on tube sim setting) with its really warm character that can go from mild to saturated but never getting hairy or fizzy. Drive 2 is definitely different from Drive 1, but not as distinct as I'd like. Both are fairly similar at low gain, but Drive 2 definitely gets into distortion/fuzz territory when cranked. Its kind of a more tame version of the Muff. Both drives retain bottom end completely, and maybe add a bit.
I thought I would miss the tone knob, but I really don't in a full band setting. Mostly because this pedal is designed to accentuate your midrange and add fullness and harmonics rather than top end grit. At lower settings it actually responds well to adjustments to my pickup selection and tone knob. (I get plenty of definition by turning the tone and bridge pickup up.) And I prefer turning the Input knob up almost all the way for a fuller sound, but backing off on that will give you a little extra definition when compensated with a boost to the master level.
All in all its a great dirt pedal that anyone playing in an overly loud rock band should check out.
TL;DR Version:
Recommended if you like:
EBS Multi Drive
Fulltone Fulldrive/Bassdrive
Solid Gold FX Beta
Blueberry (kinda)
Most tube screamer copies or warm/phat overdrives
Works well as an "always on" or as tastefully loud beefy overdrive.
Sound clips coming eventually!
First off, this pedal is meant for live use and meant to be played LOUD. Nate Mendel has to compete with 3 loud guitar players in Foo Fighters so he wanted this pedal to cut through the mix. It does that in spades.
Admittedly, my first impression playing at bedroom levels was a bit underwhelming. The controls are a little weird. Master Input for both drives and no tone knob. It never sounded bad, but didn't really blow me away like I was hoping it would after watching Nate's demo.
Then I took it to band practice. I play in a loud indie rock band and a blues rock cover band that plays everything from The Black Keys to Jimi Hendrix with two super loud guitar players. I'm usually able to hold my own with my Ashdown ABM and Fender p, but I've been on the hunt for some dirt that helps me cut through the mix a little better.
The NM2 excels at warm, harmonically rich overdrive. Both Drive 1 and Drive 2 have a noticeable amount of high roll off, but when used as intended, it's not really missed. Drive 1 reminds me a lot of the EBS Multi Drive (on tube sim setting) with its really warm character that can go from mild to saturated but never getting hairy or fizzy. Drive 2 is definitely different from Drive 1, but not as distinct as I'd like. Both are fairly similar at low gain, but Drive 2 definitely gets into distortion/fuzz territory when cranked. Its kind of a more tame version of the Muff. Both drives retain bottom end completely, and maybe add a bit.
I thought I would miss the tone knob, but I really don't in a full band setting. Mostly because this pedal is designed to accentuate your midrange and add fullness and harmonics rather than top end grit. At lower settings it actually responds well to adjustments to my pickup selection and tone knob. (I get plenty of definition by turning the tone and bridge pickup up.) And I prefer turning the Input knob up almost all the way for a fuller sound, but backing off on that will give you a little extra definition when compensated with a boost to the master level.
All in all its a great dirt pedal that anyone playing in an overly loud rock band should check out.
TL;DR Version:
Recommended if you like:
EBS Multi Drive
Fulltone Fulldrive/Bassdrive
Solid Gold FX Beta
Blueberry (kinda)
Most tube screamer copies or warm/phat overdrives
Works well as an "always on" or as tastefully loud beefy overdrive.
Sound clips coming eventually!
