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Southampton Pedals show some love thread!!

#761
pbass6811 said:
So, the awesome @DirtyDuke got me a line on a Utility Knife. I'm excited about it, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet because I'm not sure I want a jack-of-all-trades modulation pedal. I've already got a chorus pedal, a flanger, and a phaser on my board. The chorus pedal is pretty solid(Strymon Ola), but I'm seeing it's limitations. I'm not a super fan of my flanger(Strymon Orbit). I really dig my phaser(Seymour Duncan Polaron), but it's got a lot of bells and whistles I may not use. I don't think I've ever used tremolo in my life, so that's not a factor. There's not much in the way of demos for bass out there, so I'm relying on you guys for some guidance...

Talk to me about the Utility Knife, please. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I’m digging the Utility Knife.

All the options are very musical, and super useable, without being generic sounding.

All are good, and could have easily been standalone pedals.

In other news, I not only finally just pulled the trigger on an Ictineo, but did so on Serial #001!

:woot::bassist:
 
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#764
I really like how usable
pbass6811 said:
So, the awesome @DirtyDuke got me a line on a Utility Knife. I'm excited about it, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet because I'm not sure I want a jack-of-all-trades modulation pedal. I've already got a chorus pedal, a flanger, and a phaser on my board. The chorus pedal is pretty solid(Strymon Ola), but I'm seeing it's limitations. I'm not a super fan of my flanger(Strymon Orbit). I really dig my phaser(Seymour Duncan Polaron), but it's got a lot of bells and whistles I may not use. I don't think I've ever used tremolo in my life, so that's not a factor. There's not much in the way of demos for bass out there, so I'm relying on you guys for some guidance...

Talk to me about the Utility Knife, please. Thanks!
Click to expand...
The Utility Knife is great for me because I needed to free up space on my board, simplify power needs, and add usable modulation. I'm only planning to use chorus in a band setting (maybe tremolo) but it's nice to have phaser & flanger there if needed.

I like a lush chorus that has a bit of an echo quality. The UK has that, and more subtle character, but it's not going to have all the bells and whistles of your Strymon Flanger. The controls are more like standard effects (Boss, DOD, etc) but voiced very well. I felt I was washing out my tone a little so a roll off of the depth brings the body back.

I'm not going to sell my FoxRox Paradox TZF any time soon. But it's not going on my main board anymore either. ;)
 
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#765
I couldn’t get the UK to helicopter chop the way I wanted.

I tried for sometime as one of our songs had a chop intro that I was able to get with another pedal before I ended up selling that pedal.

Couldn’t quite get that hard chop with the UK but I got it in the ballpark I guess.
 
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#766
gh0st42 said:
It gets pretty choppy when you crank the depth.
Dunno if I’d go so far as describing it as Square Wave though.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
Square wave choppy is the extreme tremolo you can get with the Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge. It's so choppy that it does a prominent click. Not for everyone of course, but useful for synth stuff (which I like to do). Anyway, it's not a must for me, I was just curious. All I need is a simple, easy to use, musical multi effects modulation pedal in a small format, and this one seems perfect for my needs.
 
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#767
Hypercaffium said:
Thanks.
Square wave choppy is the extreme tremolo you can get with the Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge. It's so choppy that it does a prominent click. Not for everyone of course, but useful for synth stuff (which I like to do). Anyway, it's not a must for me, I was just curious. All I need is a simple, easy to use, musical multi effects modulation pedal in a small format, and this one seems perfect for my needs.
Click to expand...

Yep, for that use, I’d say it’s possibly best in class. At least out of what I’ve tried.

Has all that and top mount jacks too!
 
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#769
cosmicevan said:
You guys are giving me utility knife GAS. Anyone compare one vs a Broughton mod station? The mod station didnt do it for me
Click to expand...

Just did a quick side by side of the two yesterday as the fates would have it.

Broughton Modulation Station-
Flanger and Chorus.
Very transparent and fairly subtle.
More knobs to tweak and adjust.
Can control what freq is effected.
Beautiful finish and appearance.

Cons:
Chorus in particular has a lot of built in delay.
A bit more detuning/doubling than I tend to prefer.
Flanger isn’t very thick.


Southampton Utility Knife-
Flanger, Chorus, Tremolo, and Phaser.
Very simple and straightforward controls.
Gives you the essentials for knobs.
ALL 4 effects are very solid and usable.
For it’s size, It packs a staggering amount of modulation tone coverage.

Cons-
No presets.
Very flexible, but requires some quick knob adjusting to switch between modulation modes. (Luckily controls are simple and lend themselves to quick and intuitive adjustments.)
Jack of all trades, and not jaw dropping at any of them. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really good at all modulation types, but it isn’t a Small Stone, or a ADA Flanger, etc.
There’s better out there, but nothing that does all of them this well, in a small enclosure.

TLDR
Between the two, I prefer the UK so far.
Thicker and more flexible mod tones, and very easy to dial in on whatever you are looking for.

Need a Mod pedal that covers a lot of ground, and does it all without Midi, for a small pedal board?

100% the Utility Knife.

024BB823-E421-4BE7-8F7E-B304A3A899C3.jpeg
 
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#770
gh0st42 said:
Just did a quick side by side of the two yesterday as the fates would have it.

Broughton Modulation Station-
Flanger and Chorus.
Very transparent and fairly subtle.
More knobs to tweak and adjust.
Can control what freq is effected.
Beautiful finish and appearance.

Cons:
Chorus in particular has a lot of built in delay.
A bit more detuning/doubling than I tend to prefer.
Flanger isn’t very thick.


Southampton Utility Knife-
Flanger, Chorus, Tremolo, and Phaser.
Very simple and straightforward controls.
Gives you the essentials for knobs.
ALL 4 effects are very solid and usable.
For it’s size, It packs a staggering amount of modulation tone coverage.

Cons-
No presets.
Very flexible, but requires some quick knob adjusting to switch between modulation modes. (Luckily controls are simple and lend themselves to quick and intuitive adjustments.)
Jack of all trades, and not jaw dropping at any of them. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really good at all modulation types, but it isn’t a Small Stone, or a ADA Flanger, etc.
There’s better out there, but nothing that does all of them this well, in a small enclosure.

TLDR
Between the two, I prefer the UK so far.
Thicker and more flexible mod tones, and very easy to dial in on whatever you are looking for.

Need a Mod pedal that covers a lot of ground, and does it all without Midi, for a small pedal board?

100% the Utility Knife.

View attachment 3802409
Click to expand...


So would presets per something you would be interested in?
 
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#771
DirtyDuke said:
So would presets per something you would be interested in?
Click to expand...
Yes and no.

Being able to switch between a couple presets would doubtless be nice, but at the same time, part of what I really like most about the Utility Knife is how quick, simple, and tactile it is to tweak your setting.

Adding presets would probably need design compromises, that would undermine what it is already incredible at. Adding more knobs/size, having to save presets, dealing with knob position vs preset settings...

It’s already astoundingly good.

But you’d certainly have my interest if it could be done without too many compromises!
 
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#772
DirtyDuke said:
So would presets per something you would be interested in?
Click to expand...
Personally, I wouldn't be interested. The best aspect of the UK is imho its simplicity and versatility. As a bass player, I don't use modulations very often and when I do I usually need just one effect depending on the genre I'm playing. Mostly chorus. I like having options but with simplicity. I understand that this is 100% personal preference.
 
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#775
The Southampton Utility Knife looks like a perfect fit for my limited mod needs: “widening” sonic footprint went needed, sections of music that require more production elements or some kind of delineation, as part of analog synth chain and most importantly, Fun.
One of the tactics I am found of for the “widening” thing is using little or no modulation static detune. To me it sound a lot like a harmonizing which I love in general.
This is a lot to ask given the brilliant design concept and ease of use that attracts me to this pedal in the first place, but I’m sure someone here can quickly answer that and given my intended use, perhaps inform me if the Utility Knife is the right tool for the job no pun intended.
 
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