Blackbox X-ray

I can't comment on its ease of use because the knobs seem to have absolutely no affect on its sound.
Three knobs, ... ??? I don't know, about this thing. STAY AWAY from it.

CRAP!! I don't know how this pedal is classified as a fuzz... It sure doesn't sound like one. I used this pedal with a Dr Z KT45 and a prs ce22, 1973 les paul deluxe, 52 reissue tele, 69 strat.... This pedal managed to make every one of these cool guitars sound like utter, pitiful CRAP!!! ( I am just pissed because I payed almost 200 bucks for this damned thing and I can't get it to produce a single sound that is remotely musical. (new batteries didn't help either)
the tone that it did produce can be easily blown away by any cheap mass produced pedal on the market. I thought I was getting a Boutique sound from Blackbox. Instead, i just payed the Boutique price.

???
I did talk to Lorren (owner) and he was very cool and helpful (promptly answered emails, etc.) Nice guy to deal with. I just hope the rest of his pedals don't suck like this one does

I am 24 years old, and I play blues, jazz, and rock and roll (no metal). I have been through my share of guitars and amps, and
I am a novice pedal builder myself. The casing this pedal uses can be bought at radioshack, along with most of the rest of the components. Total cost to build this can't be much more than 25 bucks (and probably less when ordering in large numbers). I made a fuzz pedal myself without a perf board and no box (yet). The circuit is on a piece of cardboard, and there is no on and off switch, and the wires are just twisted together---- but it sounds a whole bunch better than this X Ray.
I am really obsessed with tone searching. In this pedal I hoped to find a product that was as original and unique as I am - something to give me an edge to my tone that not many people knew about. If this is your scenario as well, then STAY AWAY FROM THIS PEDAL. Would never buy this pedal again, and I will never use it. This is not a professional pedal.

First off I am reviewing the latest incarnation of this pedal: a three knob pedal advertised as an overdrive/distortion pedal. I think earlier incarnations might have been a fuzz (or at least advertised that way. Perhaps it's the same pedal that's been "repositioned" as the marketing folks say).

I'm giving it a low score here for two reasons. 1) the "More" knob works by going in the opposite direction of the "volume" knob (counterclockwise). Kinda like the Yardbox I guess. I didn't get a manual so this threw me for a minute or two. 2) the "shape" knob is so subtle that it's hard to tell when it's doing anything really. You really gotta tweak this pedal to hear any changes taking place with both the "shape" and "more" knobs.

Well sorry about this Blackbox but this pedal just sounded horrendous to me. And my drummer agreed and what's he know about guitar? Thus my point. If a non-guitarist looks at you in horror when you step on this pedal, his unbiased ears can't be too far off from those of the average audience member.

First of all, out of the three knobs on this pedal the "volume" knob is the only one that has any real noticable effect. Interestingly, there is a single-knob prototype of this pedal pictured on Blackbox's Web site. The "more" knob adds a touch of fuzz only when it is between 80% and 100% up. For that other 79% of its sweep it seems to do absolutely nothing. And the fuzz it adds is that bumblebee-in-a-jar tone. Volume drops and it thins out when you crank that "more" knob up.

Okay fine, we'll just leave the "more" knob at 12 o'clock to be safe, right? Now about that "shape" knob. It only seems to do anything when the "more" knob is cranked into that dreaded bumblebee fuzz zone. And even then it's effect is so subtle that I can't even really tell you what it does. Change the mids maybe? Treble? It's so subtle that any difference it makes would be lost to a listener 5 feet away from your amp.

So now you're thinking "is this just a clean boost?" Well, no. If it was it might have some redeeming value. Rather than just clean volume, the volume knob adds this God-awful distortion. Second-order harmonics or whatever Blackbox calls it. They say this is how amps distort. If this is so then the X-Ray is emulating one nasty sounding amp. I can't describe the distortion this pedal puts out. It's not a smooth Tubescreamer distortion. It's not a blistering, compressed RAT type of distortion. It's not a warm, dark Fuzz Face distortion. It's not even a DS-1 distortion. It's just this God-awful buzzy noise. And it's always there no matter where you put the volume knob. Turn the volume knob down and it's still there just quieter. Turn the volume knob up and it's still there just louder. The distortion seems to always be the same just louder or quieter depending upon where you put the volume knob.

I thought the thing was broken but apparently this is how the pedal is supposed to work. Yes I tried a fresh battery. Yes I tried it with a variety of amps and guitars (Telecaster, Flying V, Strat) and cables and even locations in the house. And it always sounded nasty.

It's amazing to me that there are good reviews of this pedal. It boggles the mind to read comments like "bluesy, tube-like distortion." Huh?? Not even close! Perhaps this pedal becomes magical when running into a cranked-up 100 watt Marshall. Perhaps it's flavor of distortion blends magically with a TS or Klon or something when combined. All I know is that by itself it is just plain nasty. And yes I tried it through some cranked up amps in hopes that it would blend well with the amp's natural break-up. Not so.

I almost feel bad trashing this pedal like this as I'm sure the guy at Blackbox is a swell dude. I'm just saying I bought this pedal cuz I read these reviews and thought "that sounds like my kinda pedal!" Just goes to show ya I guess.

I suppose these are built well enough. But I gotta gripe about the packaging. I mean, spray-painted metal enclosure that was still tacky and stunk of spray paint odors. Lettering done by hand with a paint pen. That lettering looked like it could chip off real easy. Why can't more pedal makers spend a little more dough and do some decent silk-screening?

At this point I've pretty much covered it. I'll give it a 2 cuz Thurston Moore or somebody might dig this little noise box. All I'm saying is if you're looking for an "overdrive" pedal in the sense of a Tubescreamer THIS IS NOT YOUR PEDAL! Do not be fooled. Maybe I've saved a few unwitting souls by writing this.

The controls are kind of interactive, you have to experiment a bit to find what you like. The manual has some good suggestions. the higher gain settings are in the counterclockwise positions....which is a little different.

I play ASATS through a Rat, Klon, Fulldrive, X-ray, tc chorus, Line 6 delay modeler into a matchless sc-30. The pedal is not noisy. It doesn't sound like any other overdrive i've tried. It has a similar, cut through the mix effect as the Klon pedal , but it has more bass. I only use this with my bridge pick up. My bridge pickup has always sounded too bright with the fulltone and klon.......but with this pedal...it is perfect. It really sounds like an amp breaking up in a sweet way. I think it's funny when people argue over what the "best" overdrive is. It is so dependent on other variables. The way I do it is......Fulldrive for my neck pickup, klon for the middle position and the x-ray for my bridge pickup. It is a spendy setup but....that is how it sounds best. I think the fulldrive cleans up a little better than this pedal but.....the frequency range of this is so much fatter than either the klon or fulldrive. It's hard to explain. This sounds less "tubescreamery" and more like the master volume on my matchless.

Seems solid. Won't need a backup....can't afford one anyway.

I've spoken to Lorren a few times. He is really cool and helpful. He upgraded me to the current model for very little $$$$$$. He didn't have to be so nice.....e-mails get answered quickly

This is a great new overdrive pedal. Word at Willies American Guitars in Minneapolis is that they are selling very well in the area. It is just a matter of time before Blackbox becomes a houshold name. The other cool thing is the price....$50 less than fulltone, $150 less than Klon. It keeps up with both of those and has some qualities that surpass those pedals.

2 knobs (more and louder)...it's a no brainer. Came w/ an instruction sheet although I didn't really need it.

I use mine with bass. It sounds really good. Adds a nice bit of "fur" after the initial attack that surrounds the note on the more distorted setting, lots of warm, clean overdrive on the OD settings. Very transparent too.

No problems with it, well built, solid construction. I would have no hesitation gigging w/ it.

Never had to deal with them for repairs. Very helpful & friendly on the phone w/ my questions.

Overall, a really nice full range overdrive/distortion unit. It has it's own character, but doesn't impose on your sound. I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

One Knob controls volume and fuzz. Neato!

I use a Matchless amp, a G&L guitar and a buch of pedals. This thing is so cool,warm and organic. There is absolutely no loss of bass. It sounds almost big muffy but with way less noise.

no prob.

never had to deal with them.

It is truly one of the best, most useable fuzzes I've tried. He makes each one a little different so you always get a handmade original. I think these may only currently be available at Willies in Mpls.