Product: Monkey FX Custom ABY Box
Price Paid: US $137
Submitted
03/25/2004
at
09:55am
by
marco
Ease of Use
:
10
Extremely easy to use...then again it was designed to my exact specifications by Andi. All inputs are clearly marked. It can be powered by 9volt battery or an adapter. There is a Red Led light on the top and only one switch for on/off.
Sound Quality
:
10
I currently use a stereo set up. My main guitars are Fender Strat Plus' which are split between a Fender Twin Reverb 65 reissue and a Late 60's Traynor Bassmaster Head. I use the Twin for clean reverbed tones (obviously) and the Traynor for that brittle woody plexi sound. I needed a pedal with a true bypass that would allow me to add the Traynor into the mix along with adding effects to my Twin with one click. So it's like this..
A -> EQ -> MXR -> Twin
B -> Traynor
A is on all the time but I needed to be able to add in B along with the EQ and MXR distortion + pedal to A all in one click.
So it's bassically a ABY box with an added effects loop. I've always been a bit obsessive compulsive of having really great tones and was a bit worried before I actually recieved this item. I've been getting a lot of compliments lately on the tones that I get from this pedal...I've been able to accomplish what I've always wanted..super saturated distortion with clear definition between each string. It has made my life a lot easier...less tap dancing on stage. The circuit is very quiet all point to point hand wired. Unlike those dreadful Morley boxes.
Reliability
:
10
I recieved this item in a padded envelope expecting it to be in a well padded box. Before I opened the package I thought..Either Andi has total faith in his work being indestructable...or..this guy's nuts. This thing is built very well!
The enclosure is a lightweight yet very strong metal case..Aluminum possibly? It almost looks like an industrial grade conduit shaft cut down to size. I don't forsee any problems with this, all electronic parts are very easy to get to in case it actually did need work at some point.
Customer Support
:
10
Andi is a pro, he walked me through this piece from the very begining making sure that all of my needs on this pedal had been met. The lines of communication where wide open during the making of this pedal as he kept me constantly updated on its progress from machining, to wiring to testing, to shipping.
If this box was ever lost or stolen I'd have him make me a duplicate without hesitation.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing music for about 10 years, I currently play various styles of music from Shoegazing, to Punk, to Slowcore, to Math Rock, to Emo, to Bossa Nova. This box has given me a lot of freedom since I do a lot of cross-genre music...that in itself makes the creative process a lot more fun..and productive. I use quite a few different stompboxes so it's fun to kind of mix and match with the effects loop.
I was really suprised that this box wasn't something ridiculous like $300 USD... probably the best purchase of the year as far as gear is concerned.
