Ayan Enterprises Smooth & Slim

Simplest thing I have ever bought. Two knobs: Bypass/Smooth/Slim and Normal/Dark. Input and output jacks. No battery, no ac adapter. Pretty easy. As noted in other reviews, unit is intended to be last in the signal chain before amp input. I tried it in all settings at various points in signal chain. Needs to be where recommended to work correctly.

I was very happy with my tone before the Smooth & Slim. I thought I would try it, you never know. My rig: PRS --> Fulltone Effects --> Smooth & Slim --> Rivera Amp/Cab. In "Smooth" and "Normal" settings, where I leave it, the unit seems to lower overall output and shaves some bass signal off. This is what is intended. You then reset your amp to create your tone. The unit is aptly named, it smoothed out my sound. At home when I first tried the unit, I wasn't overly thrilled -- my rig sounded a little bass shy as compared to the bypassed sound. I turned up my bass on my amp and ramped up the gain a few notches. The amp seemed to "breathe" more than before.
Before the Smooth & Slim, with the PRS's humbucker and single coil sounds available, sometimes the amp seemed too bassy when the single coil sounds were dialed in. Now, with the Smooth & Slim, the overall tone is much more "uncluttered" and less muddy -- it really stood out when I played with the band and noticed the overall sound had been cleaned up and "mixed" better in the overall sound bandwidth. I am no longer stepping on the bass player or the other guitar player who uses Music Man --> Carvin amps. My guitar really stands out in the tonal range and gives the whole group a more even sound. My tone seems richer and fuller and I am eager to get into the studio to complete my final overdubs for our upcoming CD with this box. I use Fulltone effects and this box seems to complement them very well. The Deja Vibe (Fulltone's Uni-Vibe) really is lush now -- but the Clyde wah is now even more gorgeous and usable with all the sounds I can get from each of the 5 settings on my PRS's. Overall the tone is more touch responsive because the amp is no longer working with as much muddy low end overtones. It is not as dramatic as it might seem by reading this, but the Smooth & Slim's effect is a real improvement in my tone, it seems to focus the guitar tone and let the amp work with more useful sound frequencies and not waste energy trying to amplify the muddy lower subsonic stuff.

When the unit showed up, a nut had worked loose on the "normal/dark" pot. I fixed this easily enough, but the input jack seems very close to the pot inside. Overall no big deal though. With unit plugged in and settings set, you needn't ever touch it again. Sturdy little aluminum box.

Gil Ayan answers email very quickly. No phone number ever given, he does these with a partner in California. Offered with a seven day trial period, because you are probably not going to find one locally. Nice guy who will tell you what box does and does not based on your rig and sound. Offered quick apology for loose pot, was really kind with payment problem that was beyond my control, but happened. He only makes this pedal as far as I can tell, so unless everyone going orders one, support should stay pretty good. Good guy, good product.

The Smooth & Slim was not bought to correct any problem with my sound. I was very happy with my tone. This box made my rig sound even better. I can switch between all my single coil and humbucker sounds and remain much more even sounding. I do not have to manipulate the volume pot as much to match output levels with the different single coil/humbucker sounds. Cleaned up the muddy stuff from my wah and Deja Vibe - they really sound warm and smoother (pun not intended) - the Smooth & Slim let them come through the amp with more clarity. I like the fact that the amp is now less focused on frequencies that just clutter in the mix anyhow and is now more responsive to my touch in usable frequencies. Headroom has increased on both channels. I can now bring up the gain and bass on the amp with out any farting out or loose-sounding flabby bass. Distortion now is more focused and you can hear it real well on stage. Tightened up my tone and lets me sit in the mix much better with another guitar player and a busy six-string bassist. The distortion on the Rivera Rake is even sweeter now and it has really made my Rivera Knucklehead much more versatile - less edgy. Bravo to Ayan for an intelligent product that does what it is supposed to.

Simple. Two knobs. One chooses between: Bypass, Smooth,or Slim setting. The other is for Normal/Dark. Smooth is used for most guitars, Slim offers more drastic bass balancing (I don't want to say reduction b/c it's not simply cutting the bass) for really bad culprits (e.g., a 335's neck position). The box is designed to be a set and forget. You don't switch it on or off like an effect (once you hear it on you won't want it off!). The Smooth setting is the only one I generally use. I switch between Normal or Dark depending on if I'm using humbuckers or single coils. It goes last in your signal line, just before the amp's input.

The box helps focus the bass response of a guitar's signal prior to it being sent to the amp. This is done to prevent the muddy, buzzy, flabby, farty bass you get out of a lot of tube amps, particularly when the bass control is turned up and/or you're playing with a neck humbucker. Supposedly it realigns the harmonics or something. It is not a simple bass cut. It doesn't really take out the fundemental frequencies; it just seems to get rid of the freqs that cause things to get muddy. For more details, check out the web site at http://home.earthlink.net/~ayan As a side effect of focusing the bass, it increases the sustain by eliminating buzzy transients making things much more fluid and musical. My deluxe reverb sings with it. It does a great job!

Well built (steel box) with quality parts and simple to use. You don't stomp on it so it should last forever.

Gil Ayan is a great guy. He responds very promptly to email and will answer any questions you might have about the unit. He also offers a money back guarantee if you try the box and find out it's not for you. His web site even suggests amps that would or would not benefit from the S&S.

This is a permanent part of my signal chain now. It's gotten rid of the flabby bass that I've always hated when I play using my LP's neck humbucker and has smoothed things out so my amp seems to sing. It's a very subtle effect but at the same time is very noticeable once you listen carefully. The bass is much tighter and more focused. Now that I've been using it for a bit I don't know how I could stand my amp without it. This is definitely for anyone who is troubled by muddy bass response from a tube amp. The Smooth and Slim works great with every Fender amp I own...

The Smooth & Slim (S&S) is very easy to use. There are two switches on it: one for "Smooth", "Slim", or "Bypass" and one for "Normal" or "Dark". There is one input jack and one output jack. It is made to be used between your guitar and your amp input. If you use effects, it goes after your last effect and before your amp input.
* How the unit works (as far as I understand it!) - Generally speaking, the S&S works by tweaking certain frequencies of your guitar signal. When you run a guitar signal into a tube amp, the gain stages before the tone controls amplify everything a little bit so the tone controls can do their thing. The pre-tone gain stage(s) tends to amplify too many harmonics and such from the low end. You would think that this would make everything nice and rich, but it usually tends to muddy the sound. You may not even notice the mud, but once you've used the S&S you'll probably dig how much richer mud-free tone can sound. With your guitar plugged into the S&S and then into the input of your amp, some of the bass content of your signal is reduced. By tweaking your amp's tone controls a little bit, you can add back in all the bass you had before (plus more if you wish) but now you'll have a big rich sound with no muddiness and no "farting-out" on the low end. I usually play very clean and the S&S is essential to playing clean and loud and BIG, but the S&S is equally as effective on medium-high-ultrahigh gain stuff. Your guitar sounds smoother and richer and has more life and sustain without sounding muddy or farty. The difference in your guitar sound is like hearing a great album on a nice stereo in another room - it sounds great even through the wall, but when you walk into the room that the stereo is in it just opens up and sounds big and clear and present - no more mud. Using the S&S is like being in the same room with the stereo.
* Smooth/Slim/Bypass - This is the heart of the S&S. Bypass obviously bypasses the circuit. Selecting "Smooth" kicks in the circuit that smoothes the sound and kills the muddiness and fartiness in your guitar sound. Selecting "Slim" kicks in a circuit that does basically the same thing as the Smooth but the effect is stronger. For me, the "Slim" circuit slimmed down the signal too much. Some "boomier" guitars will need the Slim choice, but most probably sound best with the Smooth choice. I always leave the S&S set at "Smooth" and never use the Bypass. In a sense, the only thing the bypass is there for is so you can hear how much better your guitar/amp sounds with the S&S kicked in!
* Normal/Dark - "Dark" darkens the sharper, treblier sound of single coil pickups, so if you're switching between a Gibson and a Fender you can leave your amp's tone controls alone and just switch it to Normal for the Gibson and Dark to tame down the Fender. Being a Fender guy myself, I wouldn't have labelled it that way! I leave this switch set at Normal - if my Fender's too bright I use its tone control! I can see how this switch would be very useful for some folks, though. I'll give them a "10" in this category 'cause it's incredibly easy to use - just switch it to "Smooth" and leave it there forever!

I use the S&S with every amp I play, from an old Fender Vibro-Champ to a Crate tube amp to my main rig. I keep my S&S with my guitar at all times ("Be prepared" the Boy Scouts say!). My main rig is a Mesa/Boogie DC-5 amp with two Mesa/Boogie Thiele ported 1x12 EV cabinets. I usually play my Fender Custom Shop Tele Jr (mahogany, set neck, P-90 pickups). The sound quality of the S&S is excellent. If you've got it set to bypass, it's in true bypass and virtually transparent. If it's set to Smooth or Slim or whatever it's even better! I don't use effects much (maybe some wah sometimes), but I've always gotta have my S&S or it's gonna sound like crap (I'm spoiled now!). The S&S is probably even more essential to restore clarity if you're using effects. They get a "10" in this category 'cause the S&S is all about giving you excellent sound quality.

The S&S has two switches and two jacks. If you tried really hard you could probably break one of those - but you'd have to really try! The S&S is not a powered circuit, so it requires no battery or power adapter or anything. I'll give the S&S a "9" for this category because you could theoretically break a switch.

I made the mistake of letting the other guitarist in my band try mine out. Now she wants one! So I contacted the guys who make the S&S (Gil Ayan and Carlos Holquin) and asked them to make me another with a slight customization. They were very responsive and glad to do it. There's basically nothing on this box that can break, but I'm sure they would replace or repair anything promptly if you had some kind of trouble. Check out their web site (the previous review has the URL) for more information and for their online "owner's manual". I'll give them a "10" in this category because they are, in fact, "incredibly kind and helpful". Actually their kindness is more like "credible" and "good business", but it's the same idea!

If my S&S were lost or stolen, then my guitar would've been lost or stolen too and I'd be seriously unhappy - my S&S goes where my guitar goes. I would buy another one right away. It is essential to my sound. I can play any amp and still sound like me - Champ, Twin Reverb, DC-5, Matchless, Marshall, whatever - but without the S&S I don't always get comments on my great tone like I do when I've got my S&S. I hear it and my friends (and/or the audience) hear it. I think the S&S is a little expensive at $70, but when I paid that they were still making them like Ma & Pa - one at a time. I think they've already reduced their expenses a little and may be charging less now. This box is so important to me though, that I would pay more if necessary. I'll give them a "9" in this category 'cause it could be a little less expensive.

The whole purpose of this pedal is to allow you to dial in some killer sounds from your amp without getting a muddy bottom end, that simple. There are two controls on this unit: one that offers two different types of "mud extermination" types (positions "Smooth" and "Slim" respectively), and another knob that dials either "Normal" or "Dark" sounds. This last knob allows users to switch from single coil to humbucker guitars without having to redial sounds on their amps. There is an on-line version of the user's manual, which can find at Gil Ayan's web page: http://home.earthlink.net/~ayan, in the section called Smooth & Slim.

This little box works great both for clean and distorted sounds. If you have some overdrive happening, the Smooth & Slim makes it sound "cleaner" in the right places. Without sacrificng sustain, the sound becomes smoother and much more articulate. Used on cleans sounds, the result is more sustain from your amp as well. Gil explains these things in his page, which also includes a Frequently Asked Questions section. Once you make this box a part of your setup, you won't look back; mine sits on top of my Fender Deluxe Reverb since I got it, it's always on.

The Smooth & Slim is built in a Hammond aluminum box. The construction quality is excellent, as are the parts used throught, so I don't foresee having any problems with it.

A wonderful little box that has allowed me to get a significant improvement in my tone. Gil insists this box in not necessarily for evryone, but as I said before, I have never turned mine off since I got it.