Rather than prattle on and on about my new, custom-made, hand-carved, toucan-beak backplate on my Spector NS-2 with spalted maple top, hand-rubbed oil finish, and a Kahler 2410 tremolo, I would like to present my updates as a critique of my previous post.
My Fulltone is still around, as is a newly-acquired DOD FX-17 Wah/Volume. Good pedals, but the Fulltone has become somewhat...dated...and the DOD is a wah for the really, REALLY unhip. I fit that mold, because I wear baggy pants. I can't pull that super-skinny, hipster jean look off, and I'm better for it. You young 'uns have no idea how ridiculous you look, and yes, you DO care what people think about you.
My opinion on this issue has not changed. I still say the middle ground, represented by the 105Q, will probably win you more gigs, and is significantly easier to source locally. Yet, I have come to loathe the bypass, and the build quality of Dunlop pedals has declined somewhat in recent years. My friend has broken, through regular, proper use, three standard CryBaby guitar wahs in as many years; I responded by informing him of some other options that begin with the words "Wilson" and "Effects" and "dot" and "com." Yet, somehow, I manage to have only broken one pedal, and it was a Q-Tron. All of the 105Qs I have ever used, and that would be the two I owned, remained perfectly reliable, up through the times I rid myself of them, because their bypass is truly appalling.
I've fallen in love with the Morley PWB of yesteryear. I have one; I think it's fantastic. It's big, bulky, and uses a light bulb. It also works as a volume pedal. It has become my favorite wah pedal.
Oy, Gott. This is absolutely appalling. I am ashamed of this writing, and I do humbly apologize for insulting your intelligence with this...well, I wouldn't call it purple prose. That, at least, has some inherent humour to it.
Having written that, I find myself in complete agreement with most of this statement. The Mold Spore did have a very mediocre frequency sweep, and it was almost all in the top end, exactly where it doesn't belong. It was built shockingly bad; I expect a plastic Behringer to break; I'm not happy that it, eventually, will break, but at least the $20-35 price tag is fair warning. The Mold Spore cost at least $130, and it was made of metal. Should be a winner, right? Wrong. It was squeaky, and I had absolutely no confidence in the switch. And the store where I tried it shuttered its doors on Jan. 1 this year. Having never liked its selection, which consisted entirely of cheaply-built guitars that even Beijing wouldn't stock, drumsticks, and an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone - The Russian one, not the American - I was not at all upset by its departure. It actually works out for the better, because I can now use its parking spots when I go to the Barrymore.
That, however, should not be a strike against the pedal, but the store does have another branch, on the other side of the city, in one of the absolutely worst possible locations - University Ave. is not so much under construction, as it is gone. Safe to live in, and there is a great grocery store down the street that sells mix-and-match bottles of microbrew, and local cheeses (yes, you do all envy a Wisconsin man this night). It is, as far as I am aware, still open, and they still sell ESP and PRS guitars, Mesa/Boogie amps and Fulltone and Electro-Harmonix effects. It is this very store which veteran TB posters will remember as the store where I purchased the following:
EHX Russian Small Stone and Bassballs
EHX Q-Tron, Bass Micro Synthesizer and Stereo Clone Theory
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe
Line6 AM4. Yes, I have to own up to this, the only trade I truly regret.
This store now carries both Snarling Dogs Mold Spore Psycho-Scumatic wahs from the previous store. They will never sell them, no matter how hard they try.
However, the Snarling Dogs does have some positive qualities:
I own a Morley PWB. I knew full well that it would be enormous. I still use it, knowing that it will probably occupy 45% of a Pedaltrain, Jr. Big pedals no longer bother me, as long as they are built well. I run into similar issues at work (substitute "Morley PWB" with "any UPS Toshiba or Mitsubishi make," and "Mold Spore" with "Powerware 9335," and you have my "job" instead of my "personal interest"). It is longer, I believe, than my Morley, but I haven't used on in some time, and I can't be bothered to try it again, so don't hold me to that. As for the platform heels jibe, I am probably the last person on Earth who should be dispensing shoe advice; I wear through a pair in less than a year. Yes, being overweight does probably take three months off of my shoe life, but when I was thinner, I used to go through a pair in a year. I hate these damned orthotic inserts.
The ring modulator is operated with an expression pedal that isn't detachable from the unit. This means that you do not have to buy a separate expression pedal. This saves you both money and real estate. This is a very, very positive quality, indeed.
It is powered by a standard Boss-type 9v, center negative barrel-type power adapter. Good on them for the standardization.
There. That's much better. It now makes less sense than it did before. But, it is written slightly better.
My Fulltone is still around, as is a newly-acquired DOD FX-17 Wah/Volume. Good pedals, but the Fulltone has become somewhat...dated...and the DOD is a wah for the really, REALLY unhip. I fit that mold, because I wear baggy pants. I can't pull that super-skinny, hipster jean look off, and I'm better for it. You young 'uns have no idea how ridiculous you look, and yes, you DO care what people think about you.
My opinion on this issue has not changed. I still say the middle ground, represented by the 105Q, will probably win you more gigs, and is significantly easier to source locally. Yet, I have come to loathe the bypass, and the build quality of Dunlop pedals has declined somewhat in recent years. My friend has broken, through regular, proper use, three standard CryBaby guitar wahs in as many years; I responded by informing him of some other options that begin with the words "Wilson" and "Effects" and "dot" and "com." Yet, somehow, I manage to have only broken one pedal, and it was a Q-Tron. All of the 105Qs I have ever used, and that would be the two I owned, remained perfectly reliable, up through the times I rid myself of them, because their bypass is truly appalling.
I've fallen in love with the Morley PWB of yesteryear. I have one; I think it's fantastic. It's big, bulky, and uses a light bulb. It also works as a volume pedal. It has become my favorite wah pedal.
Oy, Gott. This is absolutely appalling. I am ashamed of this writing, and I do humbly apologize for insulting your intelligence with this...well, I wouldn't call it purple prose. That, at least, has some inherent humour to it.
Having written that, I find myself in complete agreement with most of this statement. The Mold Spore did have a very mediocre frequency sweep, and it was almost all in the top end, exactly where it doesn't belong. It was built shockingly bad; I expect a plastic Behringer to break; I'm not happy that it, eventually, will break, but at least the $20-35 price tag is fair warning. The Mold Spore cost at least $130, and it was made of metal. Should be a winner, right? Wrong. It was squeaky, and I had absolutely no confidence in the switch. And the store where I tried it shuttered its doors on Jan. 1 this year. Having never liked its selection, which consisted entirely of cheaply-built guitars that even Beijing wouldn't stock, drumsticks, and an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone - The Russian one, not the American - I was not at all upset by its departure. It actually works out for the better, because I can now use its parking spots when I go to the Barrymore.
That, however, should not be a strike against the pedal, but the store does have another branch, on the other side of the city, in one of the absolutely worst possible locations - University Ave. is not so much under construction, as it is gone. Safe to live in, and there is a great grocery store down the street that sells mix-and-match bottles of microbrew, and local cheeses (yes, you do all envy a Wisconsin man this night). It is, as far as I am aware, still open, and they still sell ESP and PRS guitars, Mesa/Boogie amps and Fulltone and Electro-Harmonix effects. It is this very store which veteran TB posters will remember as the store where I purchased the following:
EHX Russian Small Stone and Bassballs
EHX Q-Tron, Bass Micro Synthesizer and Stereo Clone Theory
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe
Line6 AM4. Yes, I have to own up to this, the only trade I truly regret.
This store now carries both Snarling Dogs Mold Spore Psycho-Scumatic wahs from the previous store. They will never sell them, no matter how hard they try.
However, the Snarling Dogs does have some positive qualities:
I own a Morley PWB. I knew full well that it would be enormous. I still use it, knowing that it will probably occupy 45% of a Pedaltrain, Jr. Big pedals no longer bother me, as long as they are built well. I run into similar issues at work (substitute "Morley PWB" with "any UPS Toshiba or Mitsubishi make," and "Mold Spore" with "Powerware 9335," and you have my "job" instead of my "personal interest"). It is longer, I believe, than my Morley, but I haven't used on in some time, and I can't be bothered to try it again, so don't hold me to that. As for the platform heels jibe, I am probably the last person on Earth who should be dispensing shoe advice; I wear through a pair in less than a year. Yes, being overweight does probably take three months off of my shoe life, but when I was thinner, I used to go through a pair in a year. I hate these damned orthotic inserts.
The ring modulator is operated with an expression pedal that isn't detachable from the unit. This means that you do not have to buy a separate expression pedal. This saves you both money and real estate. This is a very, very positive quality, indeed.
It is powered by a standard Boss-type 9v, center negative barrel-type power adapter. Good on them for the standardization.
There. That's much better. It now makes less sense than it did before. But, it is written slightly better.
