Akai D1 Shred-O-Matic

Pretty easy to use. Functions all seem logical. Rocker pedal isn't super smooth...

Peak in mids makes it unusable. I use a JC120 and a MUSICMAN 210 amp, with a les paul custom. The distortion sounds thin in either tube or diode mode. EQ is practically useless, and does nothing to counter the huge midrange peak. Great idea poorly exacuted. Someone mentioned its great after changing the valve. someone else said let it burn in for 30 hours first. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not going to waste my time fiddling with an ultimatly flawed design. Maybe mach 2 will be better, but from the looks of the headrush 2, I seriously doubt it.

Solid enough.

Don't know

I play rock music. If your after a really shrill nasal lead tone with good sustain, it may have a valid use for you. I like my distortion to sound full. This it doesnt deliver. In my live rig I use a akai headrush, which has certain design faults. I have tried the new version, and none of those faults were fixed. I guess what I mean is Akai seem to be trying, but have coped out just before the finish line.

seems easy enough. volume, gain, high eq, low eq. footpedal. switch from diodes to tubes to a mix.

if you're into mild distortion, then this unit may be for you. but if you want some over-the-top gain, no matter what this thing is called, you're not going to get it with this thing! there's little flexability in this unit. every tone you adjust sounds slightly different than the previous. to me, this thing sucks! not worth the heavily discounted price it's marked at. i played it in the store and i passed on it. however, i did a/b it in a ss amp. i can detect a slight warming up of the tone.

it seems quite sturdy. but since the tone sucks, it'll only be useful as a paperweight.

n/a

unless it has exactly the tone you're looking for (and you'll know it in 5 seconds) then avoid this paperweight like the plague.

Ok,this thing may be easy to use but you don't get a real big variety of sound.

I bought this to use with my ss jc 120 to get more of a tube sound out of it but I don't like the tube setting at all. The diode setting isn't bad.
I then tried it through a classic 30 and still am not impressed with the tube setting.
It does appear to be hissy on all settings except diode.

It seems to be reliable, made of metal. I wouldn't ever gig without a back up but you probably could.

n/a

I've been playing for about 15 years and I'm always looking for new things to try and this one just didn't do it for me.The diode setting is actually good for a heavy sound but the tube side is what I bought it for and it just didn't impress me and is a little too noisy for me. I'm being gracious and giving it a 7 only because the diode setting is decent.

Easy enough to operate. Bought it for the dual tube/diode drives and the selectable pedal features. Price was right.

Tone is quite subjective, what one might like, another might not. I consider the tone of this pedal is very opaque. As others have said, this pedal is very midrangey, rather nasal, the "high" and "low" tone controls have little effect, both in the tube and diode modes. I spent a number of hours experimenting with all kinds of different pedal settings, amp settings, pedal arrangements, etc., all with no success in achieving a the kind of round, balanced tone I want. Also have an Ibanez Tube King (real tube) and an TS7 Tubescreamer both of which I like alot, and they are each quite transparent compared to this one, no EQ issues to speak of. Tried substituting a 12AU7A which has a lower amplification factor than the stock Sovtek 12AX7; this resulted in a smoother tube overdrive, but did nothing for the EQ. If you're looking for a honking, screaming overdrive that pushes the mids, this is a good pedal, but it's not what I'm after.

This is a well constructed unit, all metal housing and pedal. The tube is not easy to change out, but that's due to the design which is intended to isolate and protect the tube. Pedal mechanism is rugged and well designed. I wouldn't worry about reliability, although I have not gigged the pedal.

So-so. I emailed Akai about a possible solution to the tone-sucking problem; I got a timely reply, but they had punted my email to 2 other non-Akai tech support outfits and the end result was "..cannot suggest a replacement tube".

Disappointed.
Pros: Great concept, nice features, well constructed. The pedal with its selectable options is pretty neat.
Cons: Too much midrange for my taste, no midrange EQ control, bass and treble controls do little.

Too many bells & whistles, The gimmicks don't add anything of value.
They just get in the way. Changing the tube is a major procedure, not
recommended for those unfamiliar with the insides of electronic devices.

Stock Sovtek 12AX7 is unmanagable, Way too much gain at lowest settings. Changed to 12AV7 RCA sounds very good with humbuckers,nice & crunchy. Dreadful sounding with single coils. Thin & nasal.

Seems to be solidly constructed,although light in weight.Would benefit from a heavier bottom plate.Switch & knobs are all smooth and solid.

n/a

No match for a REAL TUBE.

like the pedal format, easy to use, nice lay out

I used the clean channel of a Marshall JTM to check it out
It seems to have nice distortion charecteristics. The tube can be creamy and solidstate side crunchy.
Unfortunately, the EQ sucks so bad I wanted to kick somebody ass.
the midrange has a 20+ db spike or something. Even with the Bass and Treble maxed its not even close to being flat, much less good for NuMetal :)
I changed out the tube, tried tweeking the trim pots inside, which will alter the gain structure in good and bad ways,
but theres nothing that will help the tone...
I was so disappointed, that when I put it on eBay, the best I could do was "Quote" akais marketing blurb.
Reading these reviews, all I can say is thank God Somebody likes these things, so I won't feel THAT guilty for foisting it on another unsuspecting soul

mechanically, it looks pretty sturdy. Didn't keep it long enough to work the switches, (or heat up that tube)

no idea

currently use marshall jtm combos, carvin 1/2 stack, or rack.

This might be a kick ass distortion pedal, if the EQ wasn't so fouled up...
Maybe somebody with a schematic can figure out how to fix that ?
I'm pretty happy with the Digitech Hotrod I replaced it with, and am looking at more distortions to rebuild the pedal board,
but It'll be a cold day before I recommend the Shred0matic to anyone

and Putting an LED behind the tube to fool people into thinking the tubes glowing, borders on Fraud ?

Easy to use, to get the right sounds you'll need to play a little with your amp's "Clean" channel. The special thing on this effect is the "Volume"/"Drive Level" pedal, this is good to use in stage sitiuations -but be carefull: always look down when you want to bybass/unbypass the effect, sometimes I hit the pedal and ....(silence) .
The manual is short, but gives you enough information in english, french and german.

I play at first place a "Career" LP-Style guitar(very,very nice!!!) and second an Epiphon Strat-Style guitar(not so fine). These babys run through an "Ibanez WH-10" into the D1 then through an Akai P1 Phaser (SWEET!!) and a DigiTech DigiDelay then in a Carlsbro GLX 80 solitstate Combo (80 Watts/ Celestion GT12 speaker). All effects are powered paralell with a 1000mA PSU (stabilized). Until the Amp, this setup is totally noisefree, no noise, no huming ore anything. For Recording i use the same setup exept the amp(it's noisy as hell!) in run the signal through an old Yamaha FX550 unit, only using the speakeremulation an a little reverb. This gives a monstrous sound! From Clean to HighGain- everything is possible. No Noise at all!
For the D1 alone i have to say: The intresting thing about this pedal is the fact that you can switch between two distortion modes 1) You can use the 12ax7 tube sound, the sound is a gritty, dirty - blues, grunge style.Strong mids emphasis.
The 2.) Diode Mode, smooth, creamy sound. Metal, HighGain Style.
The Pedal can be used as a volume sweller, to create string-like sounds or to set the drive level (for this i use it) .
I like the Tube-Sound more than the Diode-Sound because auf the nice overtones. This box has a lot of it.
The controls are Volume, Bass, Treble, Drive Level, Drive Mode and Pedal Asign.
The tone controls are more for adjusting than sound forming. Drive Level doubles the pedal (if it it is asigned to that funktion) and sets the minmal drive level. For my propose i like it to set maximum level, so a minus on that one). The Drive Mode switches between Tube and solid state distortion or you can blend between the modes(i don't like this function, because it's too dificult to control...)
The pedal is true-bypass! So if it fails, breaks down or something, you can still play leaving this pedal in the signal way.

This box has solid metal housing, and one of these nice metal buttons to bypass the effect. The Pedal is also metal. The jacks are metal to. I use my D1 for about one year now, and ist was lot carried around in this time, it has shown no problems with that.
Only the switch, to select between the functions of the sweller, has some problems. This may be only a contact problem, but it should not happen! (even if i don't use this setting)

Never dealed with them in relation to the guitar effects. I only contacted them ones for a question on my S2000 sampler, that time they where good. (Only can tell for German support)

I play rock/punk/stoner in a live band and do some homerecording on various styles of music. For me it fit's perfect. I play for 10 years electric guitar and experimented a lot in this time. This Box is not a plug-and-play box. It gives a variety of sounds if you invest a little time playing with your equipment. You wil get great sound of it but don't expect a wonder. If you look for a distortion pedal, wich has an own sound go for it. You will not find anything for this price with this possibilities. But leave your hands of it if you look for an overdrive! It's distortion, it's a shredder!

Easy. It is what it is. Read further as I comment on some of the above complaints.

I use this with a modified Les Paul Standard, heavily modded Tele, modded Explorer with locking tremelo, and other guitars into a 67 Deluxe Reverb, BF Bassman, Bassman 100, modded Line 6 and several amps of my own design. (The above Tiffany and I build amps and guitars. She has acquired many more amps, speakers and guitars since she wrote her review.)

This pedal has "Shred" in the name. To maintain note clarity bass is intentionally restricted to avoid fartiness and bluring when playing fast or with complex chords. The majority of distortion pedals do this including the Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss DS-1 and most of their other distortions, etc.

It seems to like British voiced amps (Vox, Marshall, etc) and Celestions more than Fenders with Jensens. The tones in any amp I've used it in are useful, and tasty. I like a rig with several distortions, and this one is unique and very useful.

There is nothing more subjective than distortion. What you may like, I may hate and vice versa. And often, a distortion that sounds great in the bedroom alone, sounds lousy or gets lost in a band. A distortion that sounds bad soloed in the bedroom may cut and be perfect in a band setting.

I'm not interested in nailing the sound of my favorite artists, but like to get in the ballpark of specific artists, like Billy Gibbons (who uses all manner of distortion devices over the years from his simple Les Paul into a tweed Deluxe early on, to the constant use of a Rockman ((chorus and echo disconnected))nd other pedals and amps in the 80's to God-knows-what these days!)

Some of my favorite distortions sound strange and awful to some, but I love them. I have two 80's Washburn distortions that have a harsh, but excellent 70's grind that I can't find anywhere else.

The Shred-0-Matic covers a good range of mid focused distortion, with nice features. The tube is run at low voltage and although useful, a pair of germanium diodes would have worked nearly as well.

In bypass using the volume pedal, the unit CAN pass a small artifact of distortion into the clean guitar. I hunted this down and eliminated it with the addition of a jumper wire. It requires taking the bottom panel off to add this wire. It's simple. Anyone interested, please e-mail me.

Great build! I bought the schematics and service manuals for all the Akai pedals and the design is more like a stereo than an effects device. The tube is run at low voltage so it could run forever.

Akai is good, period. I had to buy a package of schematics ($35) when all I wanted was the schematic for one pedal, but I'm glad I did. Tiffany and I have found other Akai pedals and I like to have schematics for all our equipment.

This pedal will be in my rig. We play country to metal and need all the flavors we can muster. I've played since 1967 and own too much equipment to list.

If lost I'd find it. If stolen I'd hunt the skunk down. Tiffany's a good shot and I need practice~

I love the build and the sound quality. It has it's own personality. We have probably 50 distortion devices at home and this one has it's own place.

I added a switch to change the type of distortion diodes to add more versatility. I will add a midrange soon.

It's a great pedal. I wouldn't pay the original price, but for what I paid...excellent!

"Turn off the nightlight Tiffany...it's time to go to bed."

this things works itself

at first i wasn't sure about this. a few weeks later i retubed it and i was blown away. this is the distortion i've been looking for since i started playing. i play i rickenbacker through an ampeg bass cabinet and 2 twin reverbs and this thing is thunderous.

i've used this without a backup since i got it. they're easy to find and cheap on ebay so if something does happen it wouldn't be that bad. changing the tube is a bit of a hassle but it's only 5 or six screws once you get inside.

who knows

i play noisy rock and roll. the stuff that kills the neighbor's grass. i get any sound i need out of this, sometimes i use a big muff with it but not so much anymore. i love it. so far akai's pedals have all been great. too bad most of them are so hard to find

Great to use, the pedal's action is fast but you just have to remember to touch it gently on stage. Having smoothly variable drive adds sooo much to the dynamics of a gig. SOmetimes I get too loud by turning it up to fast, but thats great for going into a solo.

Electric guitar to wah to the D-1 shred to chorus to volume pedal to echo to a clean tube amp. Flawless, dynamic, and very controlable. Duh.

This is why Im writing actually. Mine Died. I need some help putting it back together. After a year and a half of faithful and daily hardcore rocking, the tube stage got all messy sounding. The diode only mode (my least favorite, the least powerful, but still ok sounding mode) was the only that still worked. THen an hour later no sound would go through. THe leds still light, and the cords and grounds inside are still fine, and there is nothing visibly wrong with the tube on close inspection. My roommate says the tube has probably just died and replacing it will make the whole thing work, but Id like some second opinions before I get my soldering iron hot.

bought the pedal direct online somewhere for like 60$ so if I can find that webpage Im inclined to buy another. Im too lazy to try to contact them when I know that YOU will tell me what to do. I imagine theyd want me to send the whole thing in anyway so I dont electrocute myself on my soldering Iron and let my parents sue them.

I give it a nine because It was my guitar and amps best friend untill it died last week. Some seriously cool tones and character. When I have the time I intend to buy another one anyway to look into making some unique modifications to one to further make it my own little secret, but in the meantime I recomend you pick up a cheap one (some places online want to rip you off for this pedal big time, trust me) and do some dynamic exploring. My biggest tip is to actually not use it fully distorted, because some of my favorite tones were somewhere in the middle of its drive spectrum.