Fender Classic Series Volume and Tone Pedal

it's easy to use, no power required, really great concept of the horizontal and vertical movements in one pedal.

the volume and tone sound really nice. the volume tends to peak a bit early in the sweep or me, but nothing that would cause an issue. the tone side is actually a very useful tool, especially with using a looper and adding several layers of sound - after a while the same guitar tone just sounds messy. with the tone control on the pedal you can record a bassy under-sound then build it up, and finally play over your loop with a nice treble boost. fantastic.. so i bought it.

too goo to be true for a ??45 right? correct. this thing sucks tone like you would not believe. i recorded it to show just how bad it is - http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8076639 or search on HC effects forum and you'll find the thread i made about it.

i really should have tested plugging direct into the amp before i bought it, coz it sucks a huge amount of high frequencies out of your guitars tone. and i'm using the pedal correctly, guitar straight into it and i've tried buffered pedals before and after it and the problem is still there. it really destroys your guitar signal to the point where even tweaking amp eq won't bring your guitar back to life. put this after a buffered pedal and the volume will still work but the tone won't.. wtf.. either way it still brings 'the suck'.

sorry Fender, but this is a piss-poor product. i'm taking it back today. i haven't written a review on here in years, so this is testament to how bad this pedal is.

looks and feels solid. i was hoping this would be a perfect 2-in-1 pedal that would be the basis of my pedalboard for volume swells into delays and reverb and looping etc.

i wouldn't start rocking the pedal left to right like a maniac though. i don't think it's made for that. since i've only owned it a week i'm going to have to give a 'no opinion' here.

i honestly don't think this is a one-off 'bad' pedal. i've posted on Fender's Forum asking if this is fixable or can be modified in anyway, but have had no response. i'm not technical enough to be able to look at the circuit/wiring and know what's wrong with and don't want to void any refund by opening it up and clipping bits off the circuit... more to the point i'm pissed off that i don't get to use such a brilliant (in theory) affordable pedal.

i think i've said enough. i'm not convinced Fender are doing their absolute best with their pedals. i've had a Fender Blender reissue and that sucked tone, and the other 'classic' pedals aren't getting the best of reviews for noise issues etc.

i'll score it more than 1 overall simply because it's a great idea and at least someone is making it. it just fails. hard.