Menatone Working Man's Blue

I'm reviewing here the (new?) 8-know version of the WMB; this is necessary to state, because of previous incarnations of the pedal. There's nothing here that will throw any experienced player; further, because the quality of the signal is spot-on, it's not challenging to "sound good", right out of the gate. The overall design of this version is excellent - a full EQ section, plus the added "Sag" dial, and particularly, the INDEPENDENT adjustable boost circuit, makes this pedal a joy to use.

I play a Fender Strat w/ Joe Barden p'ups; a Reverend Club King HB; and a PRS Mira. Main amp is a Genz-Benz Black Pearl, class a 30-watt, EL84-based, 2x12" combo. Musicial genre's primarily are blues of all ilks; soft-to-hard "classic" rock; fusion-oriented jazz; "modern" (i.e., non-twangy) country. My playing criteria is to maintain a full-bodied, high-quality CLEAN signal, and when effected, to maintain the harmonics and playing dynamics of my guitar. The WMB lets me do this. It gives me the experience of playing an amp (hence, the Menatone moniker, "Amp-In-A-Box"), due to it's EQ, gain structure, and quality signal. Having the independent boost is a very nice added feature, that allows the WMB to function like two pedals in one. (It fress-up my RC Booster for other duties.) The WMB is my first Menatone "Amp In A Box" pedal - i have a 4-knob Red Snapper as well, which is an excellent OD box; but this WMB is in another league altogether. I'm also on a waiting list for the new Kar Krash; i'll write a review of this one once i've had a chance to work with it.

So far, so good. The overall build-quality and parts going into this box are top-flight. I don't expect to have any short-term problems.

No opinion. (My dealer is excellent.....but THAT doesn't count :-) )

I would recommend this pedal to anyone looking to add a new dimension to their setup, ESPecially if you own high-quality guitar(s) and amp(s). The WMB gives you a way-cool and usable range of tones & textures - not JUST JTM/Marshall-eque, so i wouldn't classify the WMB as a "one-trick-pony" by any means. It will absolutely treat your best guitars with great respect, by ADDING to their inherent quality, NOT subtracting from them. Whether you're playing live or recording, that's something that's just NOT tolerable to a player. The WMB will not dis-appoint.

It takes a bit of tweaking, but that comes with alot of flexibility. The EQ is very interactive and effective. Likewise the gain knob.

I play an ASAT and a Standard tele into a DRRI or Twin. Mostly funk, soul stuff. Gig heavily.

Ok, it's quiet, has tons of gain, and is hugely flexible. It can be a bit dark sounding, and a bit grainy through an amp that is running cold (low volume or very cold bias).

What really sets this pedal apart is it's dynamics and the EQ section. I set it up in the shop next to a row of boutique OD's including FD2, Maxon 808 and TS9, Austone Millenium, other menatones, you name it really. The Menatone really stood out for it's lack of compression and ability to dial in all sorts of mids and lows to taste. NO OTHER pedal had such an uncompressed and punchy feel. It's not "uncolored" (come on, what OD is really?) but it is transparent in terms of feel. All the bounce of my DRRI is maintained, and alot of that has to do with the low end transparency (or boost if you want) of the pedal.

The EQ also allows for alot of options. You can get a fairly clean (though smoky) boost. You can get some rasp if you want it. Or you can make a tele into a Deluxe sound like a 335 into a marshall. Really! Or (a favorite) you can get that Scofield, barely breaking up, thick thing happen with a tele by cutting the tone on your guitar and boosting the bass and mids on the pedal. This pedal works VERY well with your guitar's tone control.

What is a bit hard is to get a fat lead sound that will clean up to a more very clean rhythm sound with your volume knob. But to get that you'd need one of them tubescreamer type pedals that cuts bass. Also, if you're a home player, or you like syrupy, compressed distortion, you may not like this pedal because at higher gain settings you need a bit of volume from the amp to get past a bit of grainyness.

I'd characterize this as an excellent gigging pedal if you need a range of lead sounds, don't like generic compressed OD, like alot of dynamics, play single coils but like a fat HB lead sound sometimes, etc. Not the best pedal for that TS9 style "blackface" (and it's not to my ears anything like a cranked twin) SRV, hair on the dog thing (which I hate btw). It's a fatter sound.

Just for fun a few gigs i put an old chandler real tube next to it. The chandler was more "open" and had more harmonics happening, but i really find the Menatone to be more my sound with it's low end punch.

Built very well. Really nice lead dress and well supported components.

However...if you think that, by definition, point to point construction is superior to PCB in sound or reliability you're an idiot. Yes the components on the board make a difference. No the traces or wires don't. And how hard is it to figure out that components machine soldered to a pcb are much more likely to stay in place?

I suspect poor Brian Mena has to spend 10x's the amount of time and charge 4x what he probably would otherwise mainly because there's so many idiots out there who believe in voodoo. Ok, at 200 bucks a pedal he's probably not complaining, but anyway....

Apparently the guy's a recluse. Which is fine with me. Likely any store selling his pedal will get it fixed for you if it breaks. Otherwise do you really need him to chat with you on the phone while you babble away in abstract terms about your very special tone using disgusting words like "warm" and "smooth" and "eric johnson"? if I had to risk that experience i wouldn't answer my phone either.

sorry, i'm crabby--insomnia.

If you like the sound, it's a most excellent pedal. The EQ and dynamic response REALLY set it apart. More of a gigging pedal than a studio or home pedal in my book. I...LIKE IT.

No manual comes with any of the Menatone pedals. No problem. This unit is quite different from most, though, so dialing in a great sound may take some time. The fact that they tout it as a Blue Collar with a full EQ baffles me, though. It's not the same sound. It's also not very "Marshall-esque", as they say it is. Very good pedal, nonetheless.

I use mainly Teles, but also an Alamo Tonemonger Strat and an EVH Ernie Ball/Music Man through a Carr Slant 6V 2x12. Other FX in use on my pedalboard are Blackbox Oxygen, Boss TU-2 tuner, Menatone Top Boost in a Can, Fulltone Supatrem, Rat, George Dennis FFTB Phaser and Line 6 DL-4.

It's not a noisy pedal at all and build quality is top-notch. As far as "sounds of favorite artists"...I don't really do that too much. It will provide a Bassman vibe, though. The closest it would come, for me, to a Marshall type sound was a BLuesbreaker type sound. It's versatile enough for most folks, but it has a certain trait that can't be dialed out. It's a certain roundness to the transient. Most of the time that's good, but in this case it doesn't work as well for my country/rock/blues style.

It does do Chicago blues sounds pretty well, though. (best I've heard from a pedal in this vein) It works very well with other units, too, for fattening them up or providing boost. (this pedal, and most of Menatone's pedals, provide a HUGE amount of boost...if desired) It has too much in the treble range, though, for a Tele. Thankfully, it's still a very useable pedal when the treble is turned all the way off. It's not harsh...just spikey with a Tele if you turn up the treble at all. I will say it also works fairly well with a Compressor.

The best applications for this pedal, to me, are: to fatten up your sound without using too much OD, clean-type boost, bluesbreaker or bassman vibes, chicago blues or for little or no transients. (if you find your rig and pedals are producing too much in the pick attack) Great pedal, but for my use with a Tele there are too many other great Menatone pedals to be used. The marketing misnomer was kind of annoying, too, but don't let that stray you from trying this great pedal.

Absolutely the best manufacturer (overall) of pedals I've come across. Reliability is certain with Mena's products. Take a look inside one of his pedals and you'll certainly appreciate it if you know about electronics. Backup for Menatone? Nah....

Never dealt with him, but hear he's top-notch. Bill Chapin at Chapin guitars is also very helpful with Menatone products. That's a plus, because it's supposed to be hard to contact Brian Mena.

I've been playing professionally for a while now, and recommend Menatone to everyone that doesn't build their own pedals. Great stuff. It just happened that this pedal isn't the best match for my style. No sweat. It's still sounds great, and I received plenty of compliments on the sound, but I'm just picky because music is my profession in the studio and stage.