Effector 13 Improbability Drive Proto 001

This is a tough catagory to sum up into "ease of use".
Frankly you can plug in and play, but this pedal comes with no instructions, and I am starting to learn its with good reason.
This is DEFINATELY an experimental pedal. Meaning, if you are looking for a stand metal distortion, this thing is not for you.
Looking for a fuzz with something raw, strange, different to it, than this is it.

Ease of Use? varies from confusing at first, but fairly easy to figure out after some twiddlin of the knobs and experimenting.

Experimenting is a must with this pedal, nothing is straight forward.

I use a Tokai Love Rock original/vintage (les paul replica), and an Ibanez ICX120 due to its small body design, I find this Ibanez to be sweet for a guy like me because I am a nipple-ridder with my strap, and this guitar has the perfect shape for me to feel comfortable.

Pedal wise I also use:
-Keeley Compressor
-Keeley Modded BossDD3
-Xotic Robotalk
-Digitech Rp3
-Maxon AD999
+ random homemade gear, tremolo, delay, chorus, etc...

Sold... (to buy E13-ID & other)
-Line 6 DL4
-Boss RC20XL



Now to the pedal...

This pedal is gnarly. I am very happy with my purchise. I sold my two most expensive pedals Line 6 DL4 & Boss RC20XL to purchise this and another item.
The sounds created with this pedal fit perfectly into the mold of the sounds I already use. Strange, experimental stuff.
Very creative based approach, hands on "tweekable", great with drum machine samples. Some sounds are like a broken motor, a dying battery, a blown speaker, along with more sounds I honestly can't describe, but for the most part, its based of a Fuzz pedal sound, but the detail starts to grow from there.
Personally, this pedal is new to me, but I love the sounds out of it.
This is for a more experimental type of person, not a straight forward guitar player. I play guitar, drums, bass, turntables, drum machines, piano, along with other random instruments. I am always looking to grow my own sound, this pedal felt right at home as soon as I started to experiment with it.

Overall sound quality - sounds perfect for experimenting, sounds bad for a straight forward player looking for a "metal sound"

I find just riffin on my guitar, it reminds me of the sound of the white stripes at times on a more minimal setting.

Still new, but Effector 13 is well rounded in communication and quality from the looks of the pedal, and the reviews I have read.

See reliability ^

Friendly.

This pedal is *Discontinued*

I am not sure if I own a "prototype 001" but I have bought one of the last of the stock. I searched the net for one for a few months, only to find the last one available from everyone I contacted. Cost me a lot more than I would EVER spend on a fuzz pedal. I have no idea why I am in love with this pedal as much as I am. Normally I would give a 9 to a pedal that makes stuff sound like its blown, or broken, but sweetness is all I think when I start messing around with it.
I usually go through pedals quite a lot, buying and selling to experiment with what each pedal offers. With that in mind-> price wise, it was a bit much (also keep in mind its discontinued and hard to find these days), but I don't see myself selling it anytime soon. I think this one will grow old with me. Along with my Keeley gear...

Those who look at this thing and expect to control it like any typical fuzz pedal will surely be confused at first. There are three knobs distinguished only by numerical value (I, II & III), two switches (A & B, which toggle different degrees of oscillation) and two gain knobs (one controls overall volume, the other is extra gain), none of which clearly state what they do. Each knob alters the texture and intensity of the fuzz more or less randomly, as when one knob is at a certain setting, the other knobs react differently. Any of the knobs can control the shape of the fuzz at one point and act as a blend at any other point. Getting a good sound is quite easy if you sit and work with it for a minute or two prior to serious use, altering the knobs one at a time to tailor the desired sound. Pushing all the knobs to the maximum setting tends to give you a very weak, broken pedal type sound which would drive anyone who's used to the BOSS pedal mentality insane... the harshest setting is not that easy to find, but it's definitely present.

I tend to use the guitar to pedal to amp setting with this guy in order to explore its immense capabilities, and as such i've had this thing produce very subtle overdrive, thick foggy fuzz, 'vintage'/60's sounding fuzz, Hendrix-esque octave fuzz, searing metallic distortion and overwhelming sentient distortion that obeys nobody. On some settings the treble is enormous and painful (could be good or bad), but if necessary this can be done away with by lowering the amp's treble setting. Using this in conjunction with the amp's distortion can add even more texture, though this does tend to drown out some of the ID's character. I've used this in conjunction with other effect pedals, particularly chorus, tremolos and ring modulators, and their effects are generally chewed up and spat out as part of the ID's sound regardless of where in the chain you put them.

It's sturdy enough to withstand a good amount of stomping and battering about.

Extremely helpful and generally quick to respond to any email inquiries. Ever is much more professional and friendly than most people i've dealt with.

In my opinion, given the ID's unpredictable yet profound nature, it would best be suited as a staple in any recording studio. Anyone wanting just about any organic fuzz sound can get it after tinkering with for a minute or two, as compared to shuffling through anything a digital rack mount might offer. Anyone interested in severe noise should also look into this, as on certain settings you will hear things never before heard in a guitar pedal or rack mount or anything else. If stolen, I would definitely try to buy another one... nothing else can match, let alone top what this guy has to offer. As an added bonus, this thing features some of the best artwork i've seen go into any pedal... the footswitch is flanked by trupeting angels drawn in the seemingly combined styles of Gustav Klimt and Alex Grey.

this category does not apply to this pedal (in my opinion), i will explain. since this is the first and only fuzz of this design structure that i know of, it cannot be judged easy or hard. it in reality is fairly difficult to use at first, but to make it easier would be to limit or change it's capabilities. so it's a little hard, but i would have it no other way! what makes it challenging, is what makes it cool. 1 volume knob (with 20 db of boost!), and three HIGHLY interactive gain knobs. these knobs behave like nothing else i have ever experienced! not every setting sounds good or does much, but there are sweet spots where the interaction of these knobs becomes so amazing and versatile. also turning one control will change what the other two do. confusing at first, but this way 3 knobs can do the work of 10! add to that 3 different modes to vary the fuzz madness. got it? well, my advice is get out a pad and pen and write it all down as you discover it. it really does an astounding amount of sounds. if you want to just plug in and play, move on. if you don't like being challenged, or don't want to challenge others, move on. me? I LOOOOVVVVE IT!

bearing in mind that this pedal fits a specific personal requirement of tone that no other modern, re-issue or boutique fuzz pedal can touch, i give a 10 all the way! the only other fuzzes with this kind of tone are some of the old 60's boxes, which suck your tone when their off. to be more specific, this pedal excels at BRIGHT, cutting mind splitting truly psychodelicious fuzz insanity!!! no other fuzz out there will do this. sick, splattery, white noisy, octavey, crackley, raspy, brassy, sassy, wildman fuzz from another world......but that ain't all!
this baby can also do smooth fuzz, rich fuzz, volume swell fuzz, octave swell fuzz, lower octave fuzz, scrambled octave, more conventional silicon style fuzz with a nice cleanup, fuzz with gated decay, dying battery style decay, almost no sustain, almost endless sustain, ring mod fuzz, oscillating mayhem fuzz, sitar like fuzz, mellow rich fuzz, volume knob psuedo theremin and the list goes on and on!!!!! all this with just three knobs plus volume. hard to believe, but it really does all these sounds, and i'm sure a ton more i have not found yet! and, it does them all really well. unity gain on the volume knob seems to be around 1 or 1 1/2. at this setting , you will get a really bright, cutting tone (with a clean tube amp). with a slight boost in volume, it's a little less bright, but still fairly cutting. as you boost louder (and this baby goes LOUD!), the sound gets fatter, and richer. though you can find some settings on the pedal that are less bright without all the boost. at certain settings, knob 3 will act like a tone knob, and mode three is richer and mellower. also with a slightly overdriven amp she will darken up noticeably ( perfect for you Hendrix wannabees, though if your only after one sound, move on).also, this baby is whisper quiet. at some crazier settings there's a little hiss, at some settings it's actually quieter than with it off. and that is even with some volume boost! all in all the coolest fuzz ever ever ever ever!

my first effector 13 pedal, seems very well built, i have hi-hopes

i lost the auction for the original IDrive proto 001 on ebay, contacted Ever, he whipped me one up straightaway! #2 with custom paint job (photo at website). very responsive to my plethoric overabundance of emails, and always with wit and humor. thanks again Ever (Tim?)

i rarely give 10's no really!........... no really!!
i play 60's psyche, garage noise, rock, trippy stuff. some mellow, some heavier and nastier, most in the middle. i use a Vox re-issue ac15, and strat like guitar. i have other pedals for the Hendrixy fatter fuzz, but mostly prefer brighter fuzz. got this pedal to replace my Maestro fz-1s.. got way more than i bargained for. got this pedal mostly for studio work, as it was explained to be too feedback inducing (the bad kind). i don't know if it's my setup, but i've only gotten good feedback out of this thing at loud volumes. she's comin to shows. it is bright, but in a really good balanced sort of way. of course i'm biased. if you've played the Maestro fz 1s, this pedal is brighter than the regular setting, but darker than the bright setting. anyway, for me, this won't be the last fuzz i Ever buy (i have a little problem), but the last fuzz i will ever need!