Ayan Enterprises Smooth & Slim

I don't understand how this unit can be used,,,it just whipes out bass,,,way too much in my opinion. I tried it with a farty tube amp & yes it removes fart, but it also removes bass to an extent where it's just not useable.
I tried it in different places in the signal chain, all to no better result. it may work for you,,,,who knows but the way it was marketed to be used, it just whipes bass out way too much.

ATTENTION BIG MUFF USERS,,,,, Well like I said earlier it sucks,,,,,,BUT,,,,,I thought,,,well why not try it before my old Big Muff to see it it will tighten the sound some.
My Big Muff is an very early 80's version with the tone bypass function.
With the tone bypassed, it has more balls, with the tone pot not bypassed it would sound splatty & crappy & not as thick.
So in order to get the crunch I always would have to EQ it with my Ibanez WH-10 wah pedal to get the chunky crunch as it was very dark, thick & bass heavy to a point where it just didn't cut through & pinch harmonics were not as prominent.
Low & behold I tried feeding my Muff with this passive device & it just made my Big Muff sound so much clearer & crunchier, I find the Ibanez wah isn't nessisary any more & my distortion is actually more natural sounding than it was with the wah as an EQ.

If you have an older Big Muff like mine,, that is so dark & thick that you desire more definition & chunk,,,,try this pedal out,,,it has to be before the Muff, & use a bypass loop selector with them in the loop for best results.

I have to say,,,for a device that dissapointed me in the beginning,& to end up so happy with the way it works for me in the way I chose to try it out,,,,is a surprise.
I was going to sell this thing on Ebay,,,,until & tried using it in my Big Muff distortion loop.
I'm very glad I didn't. This Smooth & Slim is much cheaper than what you would pay for an Ibanez WH-10 these days.

Very easy to use. This unit has a series of different capacitors to switch between to get different sonic results.
No power or battery required.
It works very well for what it is designed for and will produce a smooth sustaining tone and adjust the frequencies required for the type of guitar or amp you use. Ease of use gets a high score, it does what it`s designed to do and is very easily set up and adjusted.

What i really ike about this unit is it can easily fatten a Tele and Strat tone perfectly, and if required will take off some bass frequencies from Humbuckers if needed.
Good examples are: Stratocaster or tele through any good tube amp including vox AC30, Marshalls and Fenders. My Strat sounds glorious running on the dark/fat setting and into my Victoria 45410.
Talk about boutique tones.! Without the smooth & slim the Strat sounds good but it`s just so much better with it. All the Strat tones are still there,like clarity and bite but the signal is fattened up perfectly. I have tried a couple of different EQ. pedals in the past, but they cant nail the sound of this thing.
With a gibson type guitar you have the choice of 2 stages of rolling of the bottom end with either the smooth or slim setting.
Stager 1 is smooth and will take off so much bas and then slim will reduce the Bass signal even more. This is very helpful with Humbuckers at high drive levels. I know the tweed type Bassman amps are quite bass heavy when cranked and this unit will help with that alot.

Has been sturdy for several years of playing.

Have not needed any assistance.

Fattens fender guitars just right and slims down Humbuckers with two choices of frequency roll off.
I have heard a Strat through several amps with this unit and i say there is always an improvement in the tone.
A great unit and easy to use.

Well covered, a passive tone filtering circuit.

I have owned two of these, and had dramatically differen results. First, I used one with a boogie lonestar, and loved the effect it had. The Ls' preamp sections were pretty muddy if you tried to add any bass, and this cleared that right up. I was extremely pleased, but I sold the amp and the S/s with it. I recently purchased a boogie mark I and tried the s/s again, to see what all the hype was about. I was honestly disappointed. I felt it took away too much from the basic tone of the amp. I run the boogie very clean, and get my overdrive from a hermida zendrive, barber ltd or a fulltone fat boost, depending on which guitar I'm using. I wanted to love this little box again, but I just couldn't get it to work for me. I don't want to bash it, because I think that it does exactly what it advertises, I just don't think that's the sound I am after. I found that, with carefull shaping, I can get adequate bass out of the Mark I, without losing any meat to the tone. It just takes a great deal of time. To be fair, I've always had a bit different approach to my tone than most players, I don't like shrill bright amps or guitars, and I set pedals differently than most.

It looks like a rock inside, well soldered and well put together, so I think it'd last a lond time.

No dealings,

As I said, please don't let my review dissuade you from checking this out, but it may or may not be what you're after. Hats off to Ayan for finding something that so many people can't live without, I really am sorry I couldn't find a place for one on my board.
I must say, pedalgeek is the place to buy these, they let you try it out for a week to be sure it's right.

Very easy to use.

Using this with my Mesa Boogie Lone Star 1 x 12 combo with a aNaLoG MaN-modified Tube Screamer and Bi-comp compressor. This amp has a fairly flabby distortion sound, which this unit is obviously supposed to address. And it does, to a degree.

The promise of this unit is that is removes the flabby distortion characteristics of certain amplifier designs, specifically traditional Fender and Mesa tube designs. So, if have bought this unit or are considering it, then you understand what the issue is. If not, lets just say that these kinds of amps do not like much or any bass dialed in with any significant levels of gain or distortion, or they sound like crap.

The unit DOES significantly (but not dramatically) improve the distortion sounds of these amps, so I will keep it. The issue is, in my mind, the value. It does not remove all of the flabby distortion artifacts, it simply improves them. In fact, this unit is nothing more than some form of passive low-cut filter. I would guess there is somewhere near $3-$5 worth of passive RCL's in this little box. You could probably mimic what this box does with a nice EQ box. Just need to figure out what the center frequency range they cut and how wide.

They sell this thing for $119 retail Nice markup. This box should be priced fairly somewhere in the $30-$35 range. Not worth the price, IMHO.

Nothing to wear out except the switches.

N/A

It does help, not a panacea, terrible value.

Extremely simple to use. In/out jacks and two switches. No manual needed, but there is a small one avalable. Mine is the series II.

Excellent quality. I use it between my Strat or Tele and either a Deluxe Reverb, Pro Reverb or Super Reverb. In each case, it cleans up the low end. The most significant improvement is that at higher volumes you can hit the bass strings and not fart out. There is some minor volume attenuation, but just turn the amp up a notch and no big deal. As others have said, you notice the effects most at higher volumes. I get a slight deep hum out of it at high volumes, but only noticeable when you stop playing and really pay attention to it. Point deducted for the hum.

Seems 100% reliable. Rotary switches, box and jacks seem to be top quality. If it fail, I pull it out of the chain and keep playing, so no backup needed.

Have not had a need to contact the company. Website has a fair amount of info and contact information.

I use this playing single coils into vintage Fender amps. It's a great match for any type of music. It essentially cleans up the low end of your EQ and keeps it from muddying up. It's simple, it's easy. You forget it's there. Then one day you bypass it and remember why you have it. Great little product. Again, deducted one point for the slight hum.

Easy to use. A passive, unpowered device you plug into and turn on; a pair of chcken head knobs offer two settings each.

I play this on a good sized Furman pedalboard, after an Analog Man MBC, an Xotic AC, a Teese RMC1, and a Jauernig Diabolical Gristle Tone Manipulator. I'll be damned if I can figure out what this box does aside from slightly attenuating my volume as well as offering slight eq options. I was looking for a little more of the Carlton/Ford smoothness, but my tone tends in that direction anyway, and I was close (to my ears) to begin with. Maybe, as some have suggested, this box works best at moderate to loud volumes. At my normal stage volumes I notice very little difference in my tone when this is engaged.

Not much to break on it, not even a footswitch. Unless I backed my car over it I can't imagine what would damage this pedal.

I play a variety of music in a couple of bands. I recently culled a lot of my stuff but am still a bit of an overdrive junkie and general gear geek. Playing this into a Mark III Mesa I was hoping for sonic nivana, but it's not really here for me. YMMV. Not a ripoff; I simply suspect I would notice more of an impact if I were playing at concert volumes more often than I do. At club volumes this doesn't impact the tone much at all. If stolen... Well, $85.00 could get me my DynaComp mod or another Pedalsnake... I think this is a pedal that requires subtler ears and higher volumes than I use...

Ya got about 4 choices...plus bypass...EASY. And you may WANNA bypass when you're playing softly. This Baby does it's tricks when yer crankin.

No noise...it's passive. It's cut's your signal...this is what you WANT. Some think slamming pre-amp tubes w/a huge signal makes tube distortion. It makes hash & mud. This guy lets the power tubes start to sag...THAT'S the sound we love. I use Twins...this makes em sing by removing flab.

Some may look inside & feel it's too pricey for what's in there. But the guy is honest...has done his homework...and it's built like a battleship. Thank you sir for a fine product!

I've heard good things....doubt I'll need to contact Gil.

I'm a pro...play w/big name acts. Not only does the Smooth & Slim come to every gig...I also get compliments from sound men...who say they have never heard a Strat sing so sweetly as mine! I go into a Blackstone Appliances Overdrive...into a home-made booster....Smooth & Slim...twin.
Yummy stuff comes out!

Smooth and Slim, This device is just about the easiest effect ever made. The device changes the bass freq. going into the amp and allows the player to have more headroom and a much smoother response to your guitar playing. At first I was a doubter but I purchased one from Pedalgeek.com and I have to say that the pedal does everything that the maker claims and alittle more. Two knobs, one is for bass freq. and the other is normal vs dark in case your guitar has to much treble. Input and output jacks, the device is passive and doesn't require any power.

I have three strats, Eric Clapton model, 57 GT LP, CS 336 and a custom shop nocaster. I run my signal from my guitar to a Fulltone Wah - Maxon 808 - Direct Drive - Full Drive 2 - Choralflange - Maxon Delay - Fulltone fatboost - Smooth/slim - Super Reverb amp. I notice that the overall sound improves because you have more control over the bass freq. The amp is much smoother when pushed into overdrive and feels more responsive. Where I was most impressed is that with my guitars with Humbuckers and the EC strat I am able to have a better headroom to work with and the pickups don't overdrive to point that it is hard to get a clean sound.

Should last my lifetime.

Never needed it so I really can't say.

If you love blackface amps like I do than this is an absolute to have on your pedalboard or the in the back of your amp. If it were lost I would buy two more so I would have a spare. Every once in a while something comes along that is actually helpfull and this device is one of them.

two knobs, each with two positions, for a total of four settings. which one of the four sounds best with your guitar & amp? found it? leave it there & never touch it again. move to the head of the class.

1976 gibson s-1 w/lindy fralin p-90's > one of many fuzz/distortion pedals > dan armstrong orange crusher > ayan smooth & slim > custom- built 3-watt tube amp w/8 inch speaker. i'm a home pro tools recording kinda guy (as if the 3-watt amp didn't give that away). lemme tell ya, this set-up is giving me a (relatively) quiet sound that KILLS! i'm not smart enough to say just what the hell the smooth & slim is doing to my sound (i hate all those terms that people throw around--"bottom end","cleans up nicely","boutique", etc.), the ayan website is where you should go if you wanna read the technical stuff. what i DO know is that my lead guitar sound, both through the amp & tracking in pro tools, is getting a major thumbs up from my friends who notice & care about such things. one point deducted cuz, at least with my set-up, when playing aggressive rhythm, the sound gets a little too shrill. so out comes the toneman rangemaster in place of the smooth & slim. this minor beef aside, for solo guitar, the smooth & slim is a total winner. & my guess is that some of the people reading these reviews "like" to play lead guitar.

this box has less knobs/switches/buttons/pulleys/whatever than any piece of gear i own. it would take an act of god specifically aimed at my studio to FIND the thing, let alone DENT it. if it came down to that scenario, smart money's on the smooth & slim.

didn't deal with ayan. from everything i've read, it seems like they're cool guys who care about guitar sounds & guitarists. can't beat that. i bought the pedal from pedalgeek.com. i've waxed poetic about these guys in a couple other of my reviews, so, lest people think i'm a stockholder, i'll keep it short here: pedalgeek rocks, they deserve your business.

the dilemma i face when submitting reviews for obscure, high-end guitar pedals is--should i submit the review at all? i mean, i (and a few others, i'm sure) worked hard to get the cool sounds i'm recording. buying lousy pedals, or ones that may be good but just didn't please me, mixing & matching, changing the order of the pedals in the chain, tweaking knobs a hair this way & a hair that way-- all to get a sound that is both inspiring & uniquely yours. dilemma: why should i share this scientific data? well, first off- i don't think many guitar players really worry too much about gambling their dough on unknown gizmos that may take some experimentation to produce sounds not already pre-approved by the cd-buying/concert-attending cognoscenti. take a listen to the "tones" by "wealthy""hip""rock""stars" on the radio right now-- bloody awful, isn't it? seems to me you don't have to lose any sleep wondering if someone's gonna steal yer ideas off the internet if "the kids" are going to worship this current crop o' chart-topping bozos. secondly, i feel it is important to let the people who design, manufacture & distribute cutting-edge gear know that their work is appreciated. i don't know how to work with capacitors, soldering guns & high voltages; thank god somebody else does. & lastly, if someone out there is inspired to try some of the dumb ideas in one of my reviews & stumbles upon a sound or two that makes the tubes glow red-hot & the landlord call the cops, it'd make my day.

* It's very easy to use and get a good EQ out of (S&S is a passive lo-pass filter device).
* No Editing patches here.
* The information provided with the S&S is clear, complete, and precise.
* This model reviewed is the 1st version of the S&S, the newer version having negligible EQ differences.

I own and play a few very nice lefty guitars. For some time I have gravitated towards Fender Strats as the all-purpose instrument of my choosing. My lefty Les Paul, ES-335, SG, and PRS sound wonderful through the S&S as well. I've used the S&S through various Fenders: Blackface Vibrolux Reverb, Silverface Vibrolux Reverbs, Brownface 63' Vibroverb Re-Issue, Bassman 4x10 Re-Issue, Blackface Bassman Head & Marshall 4x10 cab, Silverface Super Reverbs, and last but not least the Mesa Boogie( MARK I )Re-issue.
* No noise. Because the S&S is a passive filter device, it simply means that the S&S acts more like a filter which re-aligns the lo-end frequencies/harmonics in order to remove flab from the sound.
* There will be some volume drop through the S&S, but by gaining up your amp/effects in order to compensate, then everything is fine.
* I almost always have the S&S settings at: Smooth and Normal, when utilizing my Strats or my Tele (I'm a real utilitarian, get it?), and the sound difference is very NOTICEABLE at higher volumes.
I have (4)-Basic Setups which incl. #1) 57' or Mary Kay Strat-> MesaBoogie V-Twin (GrooveTubed)->Kool Kat Chorus Or Ibanez CS-9 stereo chorus->BOSS DD-3 Or H&K Tube Replex->S&S.
#2) 57' or Mary Kay Strat->Budda Wah w/Foxrox Wah Retrofit->Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive->Foxrox Captain Coconut I with speed pedal for Provibe control(FUZZFOOT->PROVIBE->OCTAVE)->S&S.
#3) 57' or Mary Kay Strat->Rockman X-100->S&S.
#4) 57' or Mary Kay Strat->Korg Pandora FX->S&S.
* I can get great TOYT ( "tight" in Goldmember lingo) sound out of any effects rig because the S&S delivers on what it promises TOYT and powerful bass without the flab.

* Two of my favorite tones are: #1) effects setup through a Fender 63' Vibroverb with (Pair of RubyTubes ToneBone Class A tube socket converters) which reduces the 2X10 combo volume from 40W to about 10-12W Class A power "truly TOYT!". #1)effects setup through a Fender Blackface 66' Bassman Head (4ohm) Marshall 1965-B 4X10 35W Celestion (8ohm) cabinet. Utelyyyysing (again Goldmember!)a jumper from the Normal to Bass Instrument Channel. Truly awesome tone!!!!!!!!!!!
* Wouldn't leave home without it, if I could afford it I would purchase a S&S for (each/every amp that I own.
* The S&S is very dependable.

Gil is very helpful so there's no problem here, no upgrades or repairs, no need.

When I said I wouldn't leave home without it, I really meant it. When I play, I play loud, TOYTNESS gets lost especially with open-back cabinets like Fenders. The S&S TOYTENS the sound noticeably so, especially at higher volumes where this feature is required the most.
* This is why the S&S should be a quintessential piece of equipment that every Guitar or Bass player should own.

using the smooth and slim is so simple as all the best thinds tend to be, read the manual, takes 1 min and you are set.

my guitar is a yamaha sg2000, i also have a barber direct drive and boss dm2 and dm3 analogue delays. these go into my boogie mk1 reissue amp with evm12L 200 watt speaker. the boogie is the amp this product was designed for as it is a bass/mid emphasised amp , the yamaha sg2000 is also a very very midrangey item too......this leads to fartiness if you overcook the bass. its taken me 6 months to tweak the boogie to where i want it to be. i choose the direct drive cos i find it to be a match made in heaven with the other gear. the smooth and slim is set to normal and slim, , this drastically removes the frequencies which cause the flab headaches.

im now setting the amp to volume 1 (6) volume 2 (2) treb (8) bass (4) mid (5) with fx loop with jumper set to (2) , with a guitar as thick as the sg2000, its taken me 6 months to make the most out of its tone and avoid the fartiness. with direct drive off, its awesome blues tone, with direct drive on its gary moore sustain , im overjoyed to find my amps sweet spot and its thanks to the smooth and slim. if i took it out, the bass would overpower everything and it would sound horrid.

no sweat !

gil answers emails and i found him very helpful.

i play santana, moore and lots of other music where big fat guitar is essential, the boogie mk1 delivers massively and its all down to the smooth and slim.

The Smooth & Slim is dead easy to use. If you need the manual, it's on their web site.

I play a cherry Epi LP (no mods) w/Bigsby through a bunch of pedals into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The Bass and Mid controls on the HRDx are wierdly tied together and I always kept them at 3 since it just sounded too muddy at higher settings. I plugged the Smooth & Slim between the end of my pedal chain and the amp, set it to the suggested setting for humbucker pups, and turned my amp volume up a notch to compensate for the stated slight drop in volume. My amp just came alive. No mush, beautiful tone, Fender chime. I jacked the bass and mids up, and still no mush, just beatiful, focused tone. Wow!
Messing with the other settings produce some nice variations. When switched my pedal chain into the signal path, each of my effects definitely benefited from having the Smooth & Slim in the chain. Very well done.

A nice, sturdy aluminum Hammond box, so I don't see a problem here. Plus I take good care of my stuff.

Doubt if I'll need it, but they were very responsive to questions I had before purchasing.

If you play a tube amp, buy one. You won't be disappointed.

Very easy: plug and play.

FABULOUS - the best improvement to my sound since
the VHT-Valvulator 1 !

It smoothens the signal and sings and is sooo FLUID ...

You cannot play Les Paul without it !

No problem in 2 years

No need but they did reply to one Email

The best unit for any serious and pro player that uses
the very best gear and all tube amps and preserves
the original, virgin signal of the guitar:

A MUST PURCHASE and the best kept secret in the industry :-)

Extrmely easy to dial in what you need. It took me about five minute to find my preferences. (smooth and normal

Matchless chieftain with a strat (kinman pickups).Dead quiet. My favorite guitar tone is that of Larry Carlton and this helps me achieve that sweet, clear, singing quality. I already had killer tone but this took it over the top. It seems to clear out any debris that makes things inarticulate. I had sustain for days, now it sustains for weeks. It works beautifully with my other two pedals, a baby blue overdrive and a keeley compressor.

Seems solid to me

Very helpful, responsive, and friendly

I play blues, rock and jazz. This helps in all respects.Been playing professionally 35 years. I don't know what kind of magic is in this thing, but I love it!

Dead easy - you need 1 second :-)

All my guitars sing through my numerous tube amps ...

I plug my Les Paul or Strat to the Dunlop Cry Baby wah --> Fulltone Fulldrive 2 -->
--> the Swedish Blue Baby --> British Awards Session JD20 --> Ayan's Smooth & Slim
into the British custom made butique Cornford tube Harlequin MkI combo : what a TONE, man, wow !

100%

Do not need it but good web page

I play since 1960 and am certainly one of the richest and most experienced
guitarists around who has ALL the very best gear that exist ... I buy it all
and test it in my studio and with my band ...

So my recommendation is simple: You play guitar seriously and use TUBE amps?

Then buy the Ayan's Smooth & Slim, period.

This device is very simple to use, it does take a bit of fooling around with your amp's settings, as they respond differently when using the smooth&slim, but I found it to be very easy to get a great result. The manual and website have lots of tips for using it.

My setup is a G&L ASAT into a fulltone fulldrive 2, into a fulltone fat boost, into the smooth & slim, into a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. I bought the deluxe because I wanted a lower powered amp that was easy to transport with a good tone for a reasonable price. The amp straight out of the store sounded OK, kind of brittle, kind of mediocre. I took the amp to the local amp guru, and he did a few things that warmed the sound up, the fulltone pedals helped too, and the tone was pretty good, but still not working for me. I live in Vancouver, Canada where there is a shocking void of boutique amps for a city this size, there's virtually nothing handbuilt to choose from, so there isn't the option of trying out a bunch of primo amps and choosing the one you like the best, and ordering a boutique amp from Canada is a VERY expensive prospect(you can pretty much double the price that you see in US dollars), so it had better be the right one! I decided to spend a day and scan every single manufacturer under the effects section of harmony central, and read the reviews to find some device(I thought probably an overdrive of some sort)that could help me out before I gave up on the deluxe and began the big expensive search that us electric guitarists are cursed with. After reading through everything, the things that intrigued me the most were the klon centaur and the smooth & slim. The centaur was $350 US($600 canadian after exchange, shipping, duty, taxes)and the smooth & slim was $85, so that's what I tried first. This little box is the single most effective device I have ever bought. The deluxe still has loads of fender character, lots of sparkle and chime, but without the ugly bottom end that messes up the lower range of the guitar. The amp has a real vibe to it now, I'm even considering not using pedals anymore, the amp is responding to the way I touch the strings like it should.

The box is sturdy and it's not getting stepped on like pedals. I don't think I need a backup in case of damage, although I am considering a back up in case of theft. This box is part of the amp now, without it the amp is not functioning properly for me.

I originaly tried to order the smooth & slim from Gil Ayan himself, but he emailed back and said that he was temporarily out of stock and recommended that I order one from one of the stores who sell them, so I phoned Real Guitars in San Francisco and ordered one through them. They warned me that it's expensive to send to Canada, so they do collect shipping(or something)where they send it and I take care of all the expenses on my end, so I said fine, I just wanted the thing. How much could it be? $72! That's how much. I don't understand why they couldn't just use regular mail. Oh well, the great result with the product far outweighs any gripes I have, it was worth it, but I do wish that I had bought it directly from Gil.

I play guitar for a living, I play whatever the gig calls for, but my favourite music to play and listen to is american roots based. People at the top of my list are ry cooder, los lobos, jeff beck etc., music that demands strong, dynamic guitar tones and serious vibe. The smooth & slim has really helped me out.

This small unit is easy to use: Just put it between your last effect (if you use any) and the amp's input jack and set the two knobs (chicken-head type) for the desired effect. You do have to spend a little time dialing in different settings on the amp to get the best sound, but the results are well worth the effort. The manual is online, and is very easy to read and understand.

I bought the unit for use with a Rivera "Jake" Studio combo. The two guitars I use the most (McCarty and Axis) are humbucker-equipped. I'm pretty happy with the sound of the amp's high-gain side, but the clean side can get pretty flabby in the low register, particularly at high volumes. Before purchasing the "Smooth & Slim," I tried to compensate for the channel's inherent mushiness by either rolling off a lot of bass, or avoiding low notes altogether when playing loud. With the the use of the "Smooth and Slim," the clean channel's flabbiness disappeared and all notes became much clearer and well- defined--very tight and punchy with more sustain.

I've only had it for a short while, but it's very sturdily built and works flawlessly. I may get another one just in case I lose this one, but I don't worry about its dependability.

Gil Ayan is very helpful and friendly. He answered all my emails quickly and provided extremely useful information concerning my amp-type and how it should respond to the "Smooth & Slim." He also said that if I found the "Smooth and Slim" wasn't right for my paricular rig, I could send it back for a full refund. Needless to say, this was much appreciated, but I won't be sending it back.:)

A great product! I would definitely buy it again--well worth the price and then some.

While the effect itself is easy to use--there are only five possible settings, including bypass--you will need to rework your amp settings to get the best tone out of the S&S. You'll get a good tone out of it right away, but if you really want to see what this thing can do start playing with the amp tone settings. It'll take a few minutes to find the best setting--and when you do, write it down (I always do this, anyway).
The manual is on-line, which is a nice touch.

I'm using this with a Suhr Classic and a couple of Gibson ES-series guitars, with a '76 Mark I, Fender BF Pro Reverb, and JC-120 amps. The device is dead quiet, and placed at the end of a very full pedalboard. The S&S enhances the impact of your effects, because it improves the overall sound clarity and reduces harshness. You don't have to crank the treble just to compensate for the normal muddiness in the lower registers. The clarity the S&S produces is unlike anything I've heard before.

I'm going to buy another one just to keep with my guitar (when I don't lug the pedalboard around), but yeah, I think it's 100% reliable. There's no battery, and it's a set-and-forget device. Take my 10 with a grain of salt, however--I've had it about two weeks.

Gil Ayan is a gem to work with. He's sent follow up mail to me twice since I've received the unit, just to make sure everything was OK. I didn't have a lot of questions about the unit before I bought it--I'd heard good things about it, and had noticed a problem on my own with a really muddy, mushy lower register with certain guitars. I figured it was worth a shot, and that the unit would stand or fail on its own.
Too bad I can't give 'em an 11, because he deserves it.

This has been the missing piece for my setup. I taped my first session with the S&S, and I must have listened to it 50 times in two weeks. I simply cannot believe the clarity and tone I get from my guitars and amps with this device. It's a 100% absolutely first-class, professional sound.
Gil says it's for the Mesa Boogie Mark I class amps. Don't you believe it!

This being a passive,set and forget device it could not be any easier to use.

I always have used Fender4x10 amps and fought with trying to get a rich tone for comping and a unmuddied tone for solos.When I first patched the Smooth and Slim in my rig I noticed an apparent loss of gain.I said apparent because I soon found out I could achieve more low end.I am now able to use much more of the available power due to the absence of unwanted sloppy lower frequencies.I can now be louder and cleaner . The distorted tones are more musical and the amp seems to have cleared it's throat and now sings very with a pure clear tone I tried it on a Fender Deluxe Reverb with great results. But when I tried it on my 11 watt '63 Princeton (non reverb) I liked the tone but it did cut the available volumn too much.

No back up required.

I dealt with Carlos via e-mail and he was prompt and helpful

I play blues/rock and have for 35 years. although I am playing less these days I still play over 150 nights a year.I use a 61 strat into a fuzzface into a Vox Clyde McCoy into a Univibe into a Kent Growlwah into a Ts-808 tube screamer into a Ns-2 noise reduction into a Ibanez AD-9 analog delay into a Smooth and Slim into a blackfaced 1963 Fender Super Reverb with Jensen P10-Q's The smooth and slim is the largest improvement I have made to my rig to date!

Incredibly easy to use. Just have it as the last device in your signal chain and away you go. The on-line manual is written from a guitarist's point of view (Gil Ayan's, I imagine) which makes it perfect for us players who are searching for that subjective "tone thing" that can't be quantified by numbers.

I'm using the Smooth and Slim with a Mesa Boogie Mark1 Reissue amp. Guitars I use are an older Gibson ES-335, Fender Stringmaster lapsteel, and Taylor acoustic equipped with a Fishman Matrix Gold saddle transducer pickup.
In the 8 or so years I've owned this amp, I've had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved it overdriven, but hated its clean tone. The amp is way too bass and midrange heavy and has none of the "sparkle" of a Fender amp, even though the design is based on a '59 Bassman. I added a BOSS GE-7 EQ pedal to try to trim back the bass, and this helps, but that pedal introduces noise, and imparts a bit of an artificial sound to the amp. The EQ was not a solution I was happy with.
The Smooth and Slim has solved my problem with getting a good clean sound out of the Mark1 Reissue! I can turn up the bass and it doesn't mush out, and with the Smooth and Slim engaged in the "Slim" mode with my 335 and pickup setting to "Normal", the amp on its own cannot even begin to approach the tonality that the Smooth and Slim brings out. It's a HUGE change!
For fun, I tried A/B'ing the Smooth and Slim with my EQ pedal and I could get fairly close to Smooth and Slim sound when cutting most of the bass frequencies radically, but the EQ setting added a lot of hum compared to the Smooth and Slim (which does not hum at all, unless you place it directly on top of your amp near the amp's inputs).
How's the overdrive sound? It sounds quite good, a bit different than running without the Smooth and Slim (and adjusting the bass and mids to next to nothing, which is what you must do on these amps). With the Smooth and Slim, the tone is more focused and cutting. In all truth, I haven't played too much with the overdrive tones yet, I'm having too much fun having a great clean sounding Boogie amp to play jazz guitar and steel through.

Looks bulletproof, and simple. The unit arrived in perfect condition. I wouldn't leave home without it, considering it makes my amp sound SO much better.

Gil is very responsive to any and all questions via email. I had a perceived problem with the overdriven tone when first using it (way too focused and hard) and Gil immediately diagnosed the problem (correctly) as running the presence too high. Gil's as nice as the folks at Mesa/Boogie (who are very nice and helpful) and a lot more accessable. And he has a lot of experience with Mark1 reissues (he's owned 2) and has a 335 so he knows exactly what the story is with this configuration.

I've been looking for a solution to my love/hate relationship with my Mark1 reissue for years. I've tried EQs, different power tube configurations, speakers, and amp mods. All had some effect, but I still wasn't happy with the result. The Smooth and Slim has a dramatic on the tone of this amp for the better, especially in the (previously) unusuable clean mode. I would recommend this device to anyone who has a Mark1 Reissue and misses the "sparkle" and "chime" of a good tube amp and also wants to have the sweet singing overdrive of the early Boogie sound on tap.

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.