Ordered this little guy last Monday and it got here yesterday:
I was on the hunt for a dead transparent clean boost in a 1590a, and I believe it was NShuman who tipped me off to Hamish Hains of Southampton Pedals in Ontario. I've been wanting to replace my beloved HBE Bajo Mos because even though it's totally transparent and the bull's balls artwork is the best ever, it's in an unnecessarily gigantic enclosure. So N said the All Things Equal was transparent, Hamish confirmed it, and I took a chance.
I got it just before I had to leave for my gig, rushed out the door with it in hand and set it up very quickly because I was almost late after forgetting my stage shirts. Sounded pretty good to me during the set. Played with it a little on break...yep, sounding pretty transparent to me there, but I still had to confirm the results at home. Did brief recordings of me playing my passive Precision with a 10 ft cord into the REDDI, then added a 3 ft cord and plugged into the All Things Equal (going to get really sick of typing that, but the abbreviation is ATE so I think I'm stuck typing it out). Yep, it's totally transparent, so my quest has ended with the first pedal I tried, and that makes me very happy!
It's a rather unique design based on the buffer circuit in the Klon Centaur...instead of the footswitch being on/off, it switches between two volume controls, and the LED lights up in red or blue depending on which one you're using. That way, it's always buffering, which is fine by me. Couldn't really make out much of a tonal difference with my Precision between the 10 ft cord straight into the REDDI vs the All Th...er...ATE buffering the signal. Usually you get a little extra treble response, but I couldn't really pick up on anything noticeable. The 10-footer is a cheap cord, but it must be pretty low capicitance.
The setting of the knob labeled "red" in the picture is what I came up with for unity gain comparing the different signals in the DAW I was using. I could be slightly off but it's very close. The amount of boost you get past unity isn't quite as much as you get with the Bajo Mos, which is based on the AMZ Mosfet Booster, but it's plenty enough for all but the most extreme PA-blowing boosting needs. The only odd thing about it is the jack for the power supply...it sticks out a bit. But it's a very solid feeling plastic that it's made out of, and I would assess the risk of damage as about the same as a pedal where it doesn't stick out. Haven't opened it up yet but I guess he has a lot of stuff jammed in there and had to make the PS jack fit somehow. Glad he did that instead of going to a larger box for sure.
I am not endorsing Southampton and paid full price (which is an excellent price BTW), but I know a lot of you folks want a dead-on transparent clean boost in a 1590a, and this one does it so I thought I'd tip you all off to it if you haven't heard of it before. Plus I emailed the guy on a Saturday afternoon, he replied within 15 minutes, and had the pedal built and in the mail by Monday afternoon. That is pretty darn good CS if you ask me. Don't know much about what else he does...he has a couple other pedals he makes...but his clean boost kills, and he's quite reputable...I gave him money, he gave me a pedal. Gives indie pedal builders a very good name
southampton pedals - Home
I was on the hunt for a dead transparent clean boost in a 1590a, and I believe it was NShuman who tipped me off to Hamish Hains of Southampton Pedals in Ontario. I've been wanting to replace my beloved HBE Bajo Mos because even though it's totally transparent and the bull's balls artwork is the best ever, it's in an unnecessarily gigantic enclosure. So N said the All Things Equal was transparent, Hamish confirmed it, and I took a chance.
I got it just before I had to leave for my gig, rushed out the door with it in hand and set it up very quickly because I was almost late after forgetting my stage shirts. Sounded pretty good to me during the set. Played with it a little on break...yep, sounding pretty transparent to me there, but I still had to confirm the results at home. Did brief recordings of me playing my passive Precision with a 10 ft cord into the REDDI, then added a 3 ft cord and plugged into the All Things Equal (going to get really sick of typing that, but the abbreviation is ATE so I think I'm stuck typing it out). Yep, it's totally transparent, so my quest has ended with the first pedal I tried, and that makes me very happy!
It's a rather unique design based on the buffer circuit in the Klon Centaur...instead of the footswitch being on/off, it switches between two volume controls, and the LED lights up in red or blue depending on which one you're using. That way, it's always buffering, which is fine by me. Couldn't really make out much of a tonal difference with my Precision between the 10 ft cord straight into the REDDI vs the All Th...er...ATE buffering the signal. Usually you get a little extra treble response, but I couldn't really pick up on anything noticeable. The 10-footer is a cheap cord, but it must be pretty low capicitance.
The setting of the knob labeled "red" in the picture is what I came up with for unity gain comparing the different signals in the DAW I was using. I could be slightly off but it's very close. The amount of boost you get past unity isn't quite as much as you get with the Bajo Mos, which is based on the AMZ Mosfet Booster, but it's plenty enough for all but the most extreme PA-blowing boosting needs. The only odd thing about it is the jack for the power supply...it sticks out a bit. But it's a very solid feeling plastic that it's made out of, and I would assess the risk of damage as about the same as a pedal where it doesn't stick out. Haven't opened it up yet but I guess he has a lot of stuff jammed in there and had to make the PS jack fit somehow. Glad he did that instead of going to a larger box for sure.
I am not endorsing Southampton and paid full price (which is an excellent price BTW), but I know a lot of you folks want a dead-on transparent clean boost in a 1590a, and this one does it so I thought I'd tip you all off to it if you haven't heard of it before. Plus I emailed the guy on a Saturday afternoon, he replied within 15 minutes, and had the pedal built and in the mail by Monday afternoon. That is pretty darn good CS if you ask me. Don't know much about what else he does...he has a couple other pedals he makes...but his clean boost kills, and he's quite reputable...I gave him money, he gave me a pedal. Gives indie pedal builders a very good name
southampton pedals - Home
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