Prescription Electronics Experience

I don't know why anyone would find this pedal difficult to use. After I plugged it in, it took me about five seconds to dial in absolutely killer tone the way I like it, and tone that absolutely smokes probably tens of thousands of dollars worth of other pedals I've owned/tried. So fat and musical, probably the best sounding octave effect I've tried (only to compete with other PE pedals I've used), and the swell is swell.

I AM USING THIS PEDAL WITH BASS GUITAR. BASS GUITAR. BASS GUITAR. Yes. It sounds absolutely fantastic on bass guitar. Thick warm bass fuzz, oozing tone. The fuzz on this thing absolutely slays on bass. Not for the faint of heart, but if you've got the balls you will love this pedal. And the octave fuzz! This thing "tracks" extremely well, EVEN BELOW the 12th fret. Ridiculously gnarly, perfect for that rocking psychedelic breakdown, with or without the swell. Or multi track with it and fire your superfluous rhythm guitarist. Who needs that shmuck when you've got a bass player with the right tools to fill his sonic space anyways. Anyways, I've owned and used tens of thousands of dollars worth of pedals with bass guitar, and there are only a few that have blown me away and deserve a ten rating. This is one of them. If you play bass, and you're not one of those guys that plays like "doonk doonk doonk", or in other words you like to ROCK, this is a supreme pedal.

My Experience pedal is several years old. Still operates like brand new, and sounds as good as ever. No complaints.

Haven't ever needed to deal with them, but just the fact that every pedal by this company I've tried gives me absolutely killer tone is better to me than customer service.

Ok, if you can't get killer tone out of this pedal, I think you should seriously consider the possibility that you just plain suck. It's ridiculously easy to dial in, and just plain rocks. What more do you want? A little guy that pops out of the pedal and plays your guitar for you? Even at the price this pedal currently goes for (I believe about $260 new) this is a fantastic value for me. Very few pedals rock hard enough to instantly make me stoked when I turn them on. And inspiration is priceless. So don't be afraid to blaze your own tone, and play like you want to play. That's what it's all about.

From a tonal standpoint, all the "Presctiption" stuff I could get a great tone out of "BUT" VERY NON-ROADWORTHY/RELIABLE! I own three of their pieces (Experience,Vibe Unit and Germ) and all within a year broke down. I sent them back and forth especially the Vibe Unit,that they never sent me back they just kept it!!! These units were all housed in a very protective road case and nurtured by a great guitar tech, still they kept failing. I don't know how these guys stay in business? They make lemons!!!

They're laughing at us all on their way to the bank!

It's straight forward other than the swell mode which needs a certain technique to work.

This is not a very subtle effect. It is a raw balls out square wave fuzz. Stellar double stop bends, endless sustain, and spot on octave fuzz are it's strong suites and no other pedal can touch it on those points.

A lot of fuzz pedals sound good in isolation, but just turn to mush in the mix. No worries here. This pedal is a hot knife and the mix is warm butter.

Probably more gain than was available on any of hendrix actual pedals. I don't consider this pedal retro. I would say don't buy one if your goal is to perfectly recreate the hendrix sound.

I have owned many other fuzz pedals over the years such as zvex, dunlop, boss, electro-harmonix, voodoo lab etc... and nothing comes close to the raw power, sustain, and cutting tone of the experience fuzz.

Used by mogwai and eric johnson, probably a lot of other famous players also.

Never a problem

Never needed

I am a huge fan of this pedal. I have owned it for many years and have bought and sold a couple dozen other fuzz pedals in that time.

A true icon in the world of pedals, up there with the ts-808, big muff, and fuzz face.

Plug and play. Follow a couple of the suggested settings and your on your way. This is my first octave/fuzz and I had it sounding good within a couple minutes. After tweaking for about ten more minutes I was simply blown away.

I found that using it with a clean-ish amp tone had better results than fuzzing out an overdrive/gain tone. Plugged into the clean channel on a Hotcat30 or a Dr. Z KT45, the fuzz is Thick, and chewy. Add the octave and you get cool, creamy screams along with the fat fuzz. The swell option was INSPIRING to say the least! So unpredictable yet always musical. It was worth the purchase just to get this effect. With this pedal a Wah, a delay and a good chorus unit you WILL be hailed as the next big thing. (after me of course)

The pedal is as sturdy as any other boutique pedal I have. Those true bypass switches will all go eventually. Some have complained about the finish not being 'baked' on.

Talked with somebody on the phone once but since I haven't needed repair it's anybody's guess. I use local techs when I need work done.

I am so sick of people saying things sound like Hendrix this and Trower that and Stevie whoseit's. I admire and appreciate their music as much as anybody. But for crying out loud create your own sounds. That's what's so great about this pedal, it inspiries me in MY OWN musical experience.. Bottom line, this pedal is a great fuzz and a cool octaver. Add the swell function and you've got something like no other. But don't bother getting one of these you probably wouldn't like it..

experience pedal, purchased early february 2006. even though it's brand new, there are no LED's! go figure. otherwise, four knobs (volume, tone, sustain, swell) plus dc jack. when i first received the pedal, i naturally floored the potentiometers (vol-tone-sust turned fully clockwise). hmmm. then backed them off a bit. mm-hmmm. then yanked this one this way & that one another way. then the opposite. then some twisted combination of the two. hmmmmmm. then i logged on to harmony central. did a little reading. found ara kalaj's post (06/02/03). tried his recommendations of having ALL THREE knobs at 12:00 or less. EUREKA! or if i were inclined to swearing, M***ERF***IN' EUREKA!! who woulda thought that a guy like me, who buys a fuzz pedal cuz he likes FUZZ & who prefers treble over this "7-string guitar-.013 string sets-downtuning two whole steps" low-end nonsense, would set the tone & fuzz knobs @ 10:00? i mean, c'mon!!

1976 gibson s-1 w/lindy fralin p-90s > radial dragster > mcdoober buffer > tc jauernig luxury drive > prescription experience > isp tech decimator > bbe sonic stomp > 1961 gibson ga40 tube amp. luxury drive knob @ 3:00, experience settings: vol 12:00, tone 10:00, sust 10:30. decimator set to kill the noise when strings are still, & the sonic stomp... hey, don't laff 'til you've tried one. the sound (i hate the word "tone") w/this set-up? sorta like a hi-gain amp, but ALIVE. UNPREDICTABLE. ABLE TO TURN ON A DIME. these are all things that i feel hi-gain amps are NOT. i suppose this opinion would be denounced by a vast majority of the distorted signal-guitar-playing horde; so be it. if you own a mesa boogie or soldano or a krank, what're ya reading this review for? isn't the entire (& i do mean "entire") sound you want already built into the amp itself? why add od/dist/fuz pedals to an already heavy & clipped sound? but for those who may be reading this who own a fender or vintage or low-wattage tube amp that either runs clean or w/a small amount of "break-up", the prescription experience is a pedal worthy of investigation.

da guy's been in "the biz" since 93 or 94. that alone should say something. studio use only, in my case. so no beer-spilling, boot-stomping, or brandishing as a weapon against club owner who won't pay up. don't be dumb.

i would like to once again take the opportunity to say that i hate this category.

my own formula for coming up w/a number in this category is to mash sound quality versus price. sounds reasonable, doesn't it? anyway, 260 clams is alot. seriously. but, if you're serious about your sound... & even though the experience comes in at about two-&-a-half benjies, they seem to get snapped up pretty quickly at the on-line dealer of my preference (pedalgeek). want a quick tip? here ya go: experience (vol maxed, tone 9:30, sust 9:30) > prescription vibe unit ( intensity 7, speed 7, volume 9) > maxon ad 900 (delay time 12:00, repeats 10:30, delay level 10:30). enjoy.

First of all, operating this pedal is not something to be rated. Basically you have to learn how to use it. If you put some effort into studying what it does, once you master it, you will never forget it and it will blow you away over and over again.
One of the tricks is don't floor the knobs right off the bat. Gradually increase them. The smallest increment carries a lot of weight. Another thing is if you don't use a Tube Amp, forget about this pedal. Also I read a lot of negative reviews knocking the Swell Mode. This is one of if not the best thing this pedal does. You have to use the knobs in unity with each other to get the Magic going. And the Magic is there to high heaven. Unity between the Volume and Swell knobs is essential to get the Swell flowing. Start with both of them at about 9 O:Clock One more thing get a good analog Fuzz face [I have an old unmodified 90's Dunlop] and put it in front of it. I also put a Boss NS-2 in front of "everything". Time delay in the Effects loop is also a blast. It is worth the effort to master this pedal.

Like I stated once you learn how it operates you will enter Dream Land. The high up on the neck Octaves and Swells are smeary sneering siren tone nirvana.
I use Pro Gear. Too numerous to list. Of course this pedal is for the virtuoso lead work. As far as I'm concerned this pedal is a true 10.

I had this pedal since 1993. It's never let up.
Gig it with no problems. Of course it's one of the secret weapons.

I have several Prescription pedals. The fellows at Prescription always treated me right. Through the years I got Mods, new knobs, never a problem.

I've been playing for 38 years. I love the Virtuoso Guitarists. The Experience is one of my prized pedals. I got a kick out of what Greg Bittar wrote.
"There's a mystique about the Experience, the way it works and the way it sounds, it's like someting that fell off the back of a carivan from a magic show."
I Love that Greg. That statement is so fitting for this Pedal. Prescription should use that as a sales pitch to plug the Experience. That just knocks me out. That's so inspiring. If you learn how to work the Experience pedal it will take you higher.

I have two Experiences. This review will attempt to break it down. I refer to one as old, and one as new, but in truth the differences may vary from pedal to pedal, regardless to when they were made. So says Jack, the man who makes the Experience.

Ease of use - the newer one is easier to use. It has LEDs and they are smartly laid out. You know before you click it whether it's going to be on octave, swell, or regular fuzz. No surprises. The new one also has the DC jack in the back - out of the way from the crammed pedal board. Next - the new one has the knobs up high off the floor, and I can read the dials better since they have markers on them - easier to read all around.

The old one has usability problems.

Old one sounds better. Creamy octave, like something Jimi was talking about. It sounds like birds, seagulls, with a sun shining behind them. It's a picturesque sound, it generates images.

First of all, it helps me to think of this pedal as an octaving pedal with three intensities: light (fuzz), med (octave), and heavy (swell). I can also jazz the light one down enough so it sounds like a Yardbox - smooth fuzz, with a little octave on top of it. The distortion doesn't have the complexity of a Fulltone '69. The '69 will let all the fretboard sound come through, and add to it. (This is a big difference between Fulltone and Prescription fuzz.) The Experience (and the Yardbox) will take your fretboard sound and flatten it, smooth it. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes that's bad. I prefer the '69 for fuzz, but there's no way it's getting the crazy sounds the experience is capable of.

The tone swings wildly from bass to treble. It's like an envelope filter.

People say the swell doesn't work. It does. You just have to follow directions. Get the bass going all the way on your experience tone and on your guitar, and use your neck pup, jack the sustain and swell, use only your fingerpicking, and you'll find it. It's not the most useful effect, but it's there. The problem is that fingerpicking implies harmonies, and octaving doesn't like harmonies unless they're 3rds or 5ths. It likes linear, and swell likes it slow as well. Truly an 'effect'.

The new pedal doesn't have the tonal variation, and the octave is scratchier. It's still good, but not as impressive.

so far, so good.

Fulltone has a longer warrantee: five years versus one.

Well, when it comes to Sound, this distortion pedal is my favorite.

There's a mystique about the Experience, the way it works and the way it sounds, it's like something that fell off the back of a carivan from a magic show. I wish I had one of the earlier ones with the swirly paint.

I agree about this pedal being difficult to master. It's so easy to get harsh annoying sounds that it really takes some knob twiddling to find the good stuff. The good stuff being the octave fuzz and swell.

I've been playing my '54 Tele with Fralin Blues Specials through my '59 Deluxe with a mid 60's Celestion Bulldog 12" speaker. I have a Fulltone '69 Pedal and it does the Fuzz Face thing ALOT more pleasingly than the Experiance. The Experiance Fuzz is much brighter and harsher...and sounds less like Jimi Hendrix. But it does do the Octace Fuzz thing beautifully and the swell effect makes the octave/fuzz effect sound a reel to reel tape being played backwards. Very Hendrixy.

I've owned mine since they first came out years ago...still works perfectly.

I had to send one I bought already broken that was used back to Prescription Electronics for repair and it came back working perfectly. Took some time...about one month or more.

I'll tell you the truth...a good TS-9, Boss DS-1, or the Fulltone '69 blows the fuzz part of the Experiance Pedal away! I never use it for fuzz. If it's supposed to be a Fuzz Face clone, the Experiance does not sound as smooth and pleasing as my Fulltone '69. The Fuzz/Octave thing and Swell are super cool effects...but I'm not sure those effects alone make the cost of this pedal worthwhile. I want to hear the new Prescription Pedal that IS a Fuzz Face & Octavia clone...it's on the Prescription Electronics website. But I'm also disappointed because the Experiance Pedal was originally marketed as being a Fuzz Face/Octavia clone and apparantly it isn't. The Guitar Player rave review Prescription Electronics has on thier website implies that the Experiance Pedal sounds like a Fuzz Face. I guess they were wrong...

if you can use any rack effect,the exp is pretty simple.keep in mind a small change in any knob setting causes a big change.

i use the exp with 2 marshall plexi slp 100 half stacks with both heads jumped {cross channeled using both hi treble and normal channels at the same time.and clean overdrive in front of it make a big difference in clarity.. i use a sparkle drive.the unit is very quiet for a FUZZ.also is best with single coils i use strats.i find its tone to be 70:s jimi.

have not had any problems and i have had two units sense 1995 although they eat batteries.still sounds good with ac adapter i added mine to 1 unit the other is factory...

have not delt with perscrip. yet

I have been playing for about 36 years dead seriously and owned most vintage pedals when they were new on the market,the experience is one of the best at the fuzzface/octavia thing but great care must be taken with the type of amp used.stock 4 input marshalls or hiwatts are best, watch the treble on the amp and the sustain knob on the pedal.. higher settings will give a much more fuzz type sound rather than the half fuzz half overdrive jimi tone.for my style, a EJ meets satch type thing, when fuzz is called for the exp is the one.for normal overdrive though I use a ADA tube preamp as a overdrive the head room is off the scale.It is very expensive. that in it self is its only libility

Like anything, it's easy to use if you read the "manual" (one page photocopied sheet) and experiment. Needs more thought than a Fuzz Face but not as much as an Eventide harmonizer. My brain can cope.

I'm on my second vomit paint job Experience (stupidly sold the first one) and the one I have now is every bit as good as the first. This was the coolest pedal on the planet when it came out and I still think it's great. Grinding fuzz, very clear upper octave and the nifty volume swell equals LOTS of fun. If you phrase like backwards guitar playing it can sound quite convincing, with practice.

I currently use it with a Tom Anderson Pro Am, Mesa/Boogie Rocket 4-Forty (4x10 Jensens) and George L's cables, along with other boutique pedals.

Mine have been reliable, but I had a Prescription Outbox a few years ago that had a dodgy footswitch. Seems to be the biggest (un)reliablity factor with this company - failing footswitches.

Not the greatest. Not that I've ever needed it mind you, but still... the website is in desperate need of updating, and I don't think the company even have an email address (that they publish anyway).

For what it does and the way it sounds, there's still nothing like this pedal. A classic.

It's pretty standard. Until you get to the swell. W/O any instr.(mine came W/O a box or man. New from W.LA Music.) The trick is to set the Vol. at 10-11:00 Tone at 9-10:00 Sustain at 11-12:00 and then the MAGIC unfolds!!

OCTAVE IS AMONG TOP 2 or 3 EVER MADE. BAR NONE!! Fuzz is not lacking anything, However I prefer the '70.SWELL is the ExPeRiEnCe!?. No noise on batt.(Don't know the polarity on A.C. I dont use it.) Warmoth Strat or '67 SG+Monster+EXP+Vox Clyde+Mojo vibe+AD900 into G/T Solo 75 and Marshall W/ 25's= A MESS IN YOUR UNDERWEAR!!

Stomp button failed after 5-6 mo's.(it's almost a year old now)

Haven't yet called Rx. to fix mine (I can't bear not having around.) But he was cool when I called him for a manuel.

HENDRIX FANS MUST, I SAID MUST HAVE THIS IN THERE SET UP!

This pedal takes some getting used to. I am wary to be too harsh on its ease of use, however, because it does so much. It is hard to imagine a simpler configuration for such a versatile pedal.

It isn't exactly intuitive, but that is due more to the fact that the effect itself is extremely unique. If you are attempting to get a traditional sound out of this pedal then it would be more complicated than some other octave OR fuzz OR swell pedal.

I wouldn't recommend this pedal to someone who is looking to directly imitate a famous sound, even that of Jimi Hendrix. There are easier and cheaper ways.

My biggest ease of use complaint with the device is its lack of an AC jack. I have an older, uniquely painted version, and I am reluctant to modify it irreversably. Without an AC jack, it really doesn't fit in with my pedal chain.

I use this with a wide variety of guitars and amps. Humbuckers, single coils, solidbodies, hollow bodies. This works well with all of them.

Its sound quality is remarkable. It is very unique. It has an excellent fuzz that sounds unlike any other. If you turn the tone down nearly all the way, the pedal makes your guitar sound like an analog synth. Turn the tone up more and it sounds somewhere between a fuzz face and a Sola Tonebender.

The octave alone is the best octave fuzz I have heard. It sounds great on its own, doesn't need to be used with another fuzz or distortion. Plenty of gain, and the octave is audible no matter what note is played.

The swell mode is really interesting. Its an incredibly unique sound. If you are exceptionally skilled you can do an imitation of Hendrix's backwards octave fuzz solos. Getting that effect live is not an easy task, and this is probably the best pedal to accomplish it on stage. Not something everyone can do, however.

This is really something unique, however. It's not a traditional volume swell like a slow gear, nor is it a reverse. It is something different. It definitely sounds like it was inspired by Hendrix, but it is a genuinely new animal. As much as I would like to be the creative genius who uses this device to generate some sonic masterpiece, but I suspect it will be someone else. The potential is there however.

This is really a fantastic pedal for someone who is looking for something that is both unique AND musical.

This is well made. The paint falls off easily...the box should have been run through a toaster oven at least.

The jacks, switches and knobs are wired independantly from the circuit board...that is excellent, when you break something, you don't necessarily break the whole thing.

I have no personal knowledge of their support. Fortunately, the experience pedal has yet to require service.

A truly fantastic pedal. Unique, musical, and versatile.

It certainly requires more creativity than most rock musicians possess, however, that is not a slight to Prescription Electronics at all....it does however say something about todays musical talent.

Just an FYI in response to a previous post. I don't own this pedal but another reviewer didn't know why folks were trying to compare the swell to a reverse tape delay. I think probably becuase many read it at MusicToyz web site http://www.musictoyz.com/pres.htm: "The Experience also features the 'Swell ' mode which simulates a backwards tape effect."

This has been covered, but I'll reitterate. It's not a plug-n-play type of box like a plain old fuzz box might be. You need to familiarize yourself with what this effect can do, and with what each control does. Spend some time with it. Once you figure it out - it's a piece of cake. But, if all you're looking for is a simple fuzz face clone - you're barking up the wrong tree anyway - go get a fuzz face.

Here's the real reason I wanted to post a review. Some people have bashed this pedal as sounding horrible or only being suitable for death metal or nu-metal. I may be going out on a limb here, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you're into playing that music, than you wouldn't know what to do with this pedal.

That said, this pedal does everything that PE claims it does. It is a very over-the-top, psychedelic kind of sound - which is what the whole point of this pedal is. If that's not the kind of sound you're after, you've got no business buying this pedal. You have to tweak it and spend some time with it as I mentioned, but once you find that sweet spot (depending on your tastes) - it's outstanding. Very "hendrixy". I love the swell mode. I don't care what anyone else says. It adds a whole other element of surprise. I don't really understand the comparison to a reverse tape delay effect however - that's not what it is. It's a volume swell. Plain and simple. It's like quickly rocking a volume pedal with each attack of a note. But, if you typically play fast leads (shred) and articulation is your goal - I'll say it again - you're barking up the wrong tree. It's very sensitive to you're picking dynamics - which makes it a very personalized pedal. I like that. If you want to know what this pedal is capable of, think "Machine Gun" from Band of Gypsies or "Star spangled banner" from Woodstock. It's very "hairy" man. Very groovy!!! It's like a tube amp meltdown on acid. I love it. Exactly what I needed. A 10 because it inspires me to get freaky.

Well, mine is close to ten years old I suspect. It's got the old "tie-dye" paint job. Still going strong with no issues. I wouln't need a backup.

Don't know.

I'll give it an eight because this pedal can not be all things to all people. You either love it or hate it. I love it. It's a very unique pedal, but versatility is not it's thing. If you're looking for a plain, predictable, basic fuzz tone - look elsewhere. But, if what you're after is what I described in the sound rating - give it a shot, and spend some time tweaking. It just may inspire you to put on some purple shades and loose yourself in a wall of sound!

This pedal is very simple to use. The modes work like layers. Fuzz is the first, then octave, then swell. The manual explains it all. The first thing you need to know when using one of the older pedals (ones without LED lights) is to turn the volumes all the way down before you step on the switch. You can't tell if the unit is switched on until you turn on your amp. The manual says you can triple your gain, so if they are all the way up you will blow out you eardrums and speakers. Adjust accordingly.
You can get any fuzz sound you want out of this pedal, from deep bass to mosquito buzz. The octave effect is clear at all registers. I've never really used any other octave effect, but this one nails the Hendrix tone. The swell mode sounds like your amp is stroking out and blowing up. When you space out notes at one-second (or more) intervals it sounds like a tape-reverse effect. It's not something that will give you immediate results, so be patient and experiment. It rewards creativity and good taste.

I use strats, telecasters, SGs, and Les Paul copies through a Marshall Valvestate head and a cabinet with Sheffield speakers. I run the clean channel cranked all to hell. I run a line out to a 50-watt Marshall combo with the channel overdrive. I run this stereo with a Fender Bassman head and cabinet.
This unit sounds great with wah, swirling, Leslie-like chorus, and delay.
I run the fuzz channel with more bass end. This seems to accentuate the swell mode. I turn the octave all the way up.
This pedal has true bypass switches. You get no noise when it is off.

You could shoot this thing with a bazooka and I'll bet it would still be usable.
Hell yes I would use it without a backup. If it broke I would just crank the hell out of my amps and piss on them.

Never had to deal with the company.
I don't think it would be possible to upgrade this thing.

I play loud. Very loud.
I have been playing for ten years. I have more guitars and fuzzboxes than God above.
If it were stolen I would have to buy another. After I got out of jail for kicking the guy's ass who stole it, I would hold it gently in my arms forever.
I have all kinds of great and shitty pedals. This one is the best piece of equipment I own. I bought it on faith that it would be good. It got really good reviews when it was first made.
Of course, there are other great fuzzboxes. I don't have space to name them all. If you are some malcontent dickhead, you can probabaly find something wrong with this pedal. But I can't. Fuzzboxes have their place, so do octave effects and fucked-up noises. At least in my mind.
You might find something equal to this, but not better. Hendrix himself would get a hard-on from this piece of metal.

Got it used without a manual, but I figured it out I think. Easy to get a good Octave sound out of the pedal but the fuzz is kinda skanky.

It is a unique pedal of high craftsmanship and is well thought out but I just could not find a use or a reason to use the pedal as a standalone fuzz nor could I be bothered with the swell function as it required a different touch and technique on the guitar to even be fully realized. The poor pedals saving grace is it's fine octave mode sounds. It does do a great Jimi at the Fillmore East immitation! My buddy though was able to get some pretty far out, almost synthesizer tones from just the fuzz channel and he really likes the pedal. But it don't sound like any vintage fuzz or anything although it does do a kick ass In A Gadda Da Vidda or maybe some Black Sabbath Paranoid album stuff through a Marshall stack. Not convincingly but close enough.

Looks reliable, seems lightweight (aluminum?), I would like it better if the battery retaining clip wasn't attached to the circuit board though. It's a real tight fit on the battery, requiring more pulling and yanking to get the battery loose than I'd like considering it could bust the circuit board.

Overall I liked the octave part enough to prompt me to actually Pay for a Fulltone Octa-Fuzz. My pal who got such bizzare fuzz/synth sounds out of this thing bought it off me for a more than reasonable $50. If this pedal would do away with the silly *Swell* mode, get a good germanium fuzztone and maybe throw in something useful instead (since this company seems to be bent on throwing other things in that aint needed) like....tremolo, I'd buy one. Or keep the next free one that came my way.

After reading a review of this pedal in Guitar Player, I developed visions of sugar fuzz bombs in my head. Fast forward six months later to a visit to Make N' Music in Chicago. What do I see under the counter? A gorgeous swirl of blue, grey and red psychedelia. I couldn't believe my luck. Know in order to understand my excitement, you have to realize that this was just before the boutique craze was starting up (1995)and rarely did you see something out of the Boss/DOD/Ibanez pedal loop. I immediately asked to try the pedal out. The salesman gave me a brief prepping on the pedal functions and off I went. Delighted in the sonic anarchy I was creating, I eagerly plopped down my visa and the pedal was mine! The EXP came au' natural, no box, no manual, no nothin'! Since I read the GP review of the pedal and was further enlightened by the sales staff I knew what this pedal was supposed to do. Know if I plugged into the EXP with no knowledge of its functions, I could see where things might get a tad confusing and frustrating. Firstly, there is no LED to indicate pedal/function status. Three stomp switches are mounted on top of the unit which from left to right are labeled; fuzz, octave and swell. These modes operate in chained fashion, i.e. fuzz can operate all by its lonesome self, but the octave can only be operated with the fuzz activated and the swell works only with the fuzz and octave on. I could see where if this wasn't explained, I might mistakenly believe one of the modes to be defective. The front face of the unit has four knobs, which are labeled from left to right; vol., tone, tone, and swell. The first tone knob acts as a traditional tone control i.e. treble and bass balance. The second tone control acts as a fuzz gain. I know that Prescription eventually added an LED and changed one of tone knobs to read fuzz, but I'm telling you about my unit. Anyway, is the Experience pedal easy to use? Not if you haven't had the functions explained, but after playing with it a couple of times it becomes apparent which mode the unit is in and the tone knob redundancy mystery is old news. Any guitar player should be able to elicit usable sounds with the EXP in fuzz mode. While not as flexible as the fuzz mode, the octave setting will inject a new vocabulary of sounds and ideas. Lastly, although it takes a little practice to become familiar with the picking attack and decay, I found the swell setting to be highly intuitive.

I use this pedal with a 91' Charvel Surfcaster and a 65' Fender Jazzmaster thru a reissue 65' Fender Twin Reverb. With a firm stomp on this swirly beaut, my clean and gorgeous twin becomes a filthy fire spewing beast! I tried playing the EXP in conjunction with a wah, flange/phase, etc., but I found out that I prefer to play the EXP just by itself. Other effects played simultaneously seem to distract from the EXP's unique sounds. Before I purchased the EXP, I owned a DOD Classic Fuzz (great pedal for $35), which I've since sold to a friend. Since my EXP ownership I have bought a Lovetone Big Cheese and Ring Stinger. The EXP has the raunchiest and most clipped sound of the three. 60's/70's hard rock, Davie Allan and the Arrows, 90's Japanese Noisecore and Smash Mouth sounds can all be easily achieved with this pedal. I've heard many complaints about early octave pedals not tracking well, but this baby tracks perfectly at every note on my guitars. With the octave mode activated I can nail Adrian Belew's "Big Electric Cat". Also, by using the out of phase pickup setting on my Surfcaster and dialing in a heaping dollop of reverb......"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" at my finger tips! You can also conjure up ring mod sound and interesting beat effects with two note chord and note bending. The EXP's octave is bit more clipped and fuzzy than My Ring Stinger's geranium transistor octave fuzz. Both octave fuzzes have their unique character. Before writing this review, I've read all of the prior reviews and am dog gone flabbergasted that some people find the swell mode unusable. This is my favorite mode! Hint - use classical finger vibrato and think out of the box (yeah I know that's a cliche but so what!) I can do all sorts of Are You Experienced/Revolver era psychedelia. I can also get the fuzz/synth/trumpet sounds which Robert Fripp was playing with in the early 80's. Roll the units treble off, dial in some reverb and glide into some minor penatonic scales for some gorgeous oriental exotica. Find a guitar with an out of phase pickup selection, dial in minimal fuzz, place the first tone knob at 12:00 and pick lightly near the bridge for sitarish sounds. Unlike the reviewer from Guitar Player, I can't get happening sounds from this unit if I roll off the guitar's volume knob. This trick works major magic with my Big Cheese.

The experience pedal seems very rugged and dependable. I have owned it for six years and have never had a problem with it. The unit is also very kind to batteries!

I've never dealt with Prescription Electronics, Inc.

I'm going to try to prevent another "I bought this pedal because Eric Johnson said that he used it, but I have no friggen' clue how a distinguished tone connoisseur like Mr. Johnson could get any use from this pedal, oh and Jimi sure as hell wouldn't find any use for this sonic turd!" posting. So my very important bit of advice for all prospective buyers is, "If you only play Blues/Blues Rock/Roots Rock than please DO NOT buy this pedal!" I love and play those styles of music (Hell, I'm going to see Chuck Berry and Ike Turner at the Chicago Blues Fest this week), but this ain't the pedal for those styles of music! Not all pedals fit all players! This doesn't mean that one style of music is superior to another, but just like you would put pepper on your potato, but not on your ice cream, each player should look at which flavors compliment their style. I have been subjected to countless occasions over the years where a talented guitar jammer has tried an effect which is incompatible with his/her style and instead of switching to a different style, they bash the effect! I've seen people jam Stevie Ray licks with the swell setting. It's sounding awful, but like the energizer bunny, they keep on going and going. Eventually they finish and set the guitar down, cross their arms and firmly state that the effect is no good! HUH?! This pedal is great! I've used the octave and swell settings in many creative and musical ways; psychadelia, ambient, post rock, exotica. I've never had a chance to hear another EXP pedal, so unless the quality control with these units is poor and some are just plain lemons, I don't understand how anyone can be upset with the octave and swell settings. This was my first boutique pedal purchase and I still love and this pedal. My swirly psychedelic Experience pedal has a unique sonic character and a great funky vibe, which I would definitely try and replace if it were ever to part with me.

It sounds AWESOME, but no question, there is a learning curve with this. The relation between the 3 buttons isn't real intuitive. I'm kind of afraid to use this too much live until I'm more comfortable with the setting.

KILLER PEDAL. I'm running an vintage Marshall JCM 800 custom moded by John Suhr with really sweet Mullard tubes into a Pacific 2x12 cabinet with EV's. For effects I use a Proco Rat, Fulltone DejaVibe, Cry Baby Wah, and Roland GP8 multi-effects unit.
The pedal can get too loud if you don't set it correctly, but once you get it down it sings. The octave stuff is by far the best I've heard (and I've been playing guitar for 20 years). The fuzz is a bit too muddy for me and I would only use that as a "special effect" but again, that octave stuff is killer. The swell is really interesting and I will use that when recording here and there, but I probably wouldn't use it live since it can get noisy and tough to replicate time and time again.

I only have the pedal 2 weeks and so far it has worked fine.

I haven't spoken with the company, but from the looks of their web site (fuzzbox.com) they are very small. Probably some guy in his basement builds this stuff.

I play the same kind of music that everybody else plays, alternative rock ya da ya da ya da. To narrow it down, I'm a huge Jeff Buckley fan. I also like everything else from Kings X to Pat Martino.

This pedal requires tweaking to use properly. I have spent a fair amount of time with it and every guitar and effect combination requires adjustment. Although this should be obvious, it is evident that many people don't get it. The knobs are there for a reason. Use them.

There are lots of tones available with patient adjustment. The rating reflects the fact that the pedal is probably generally mis-understood for starters, and the fact that the interaction of the controls is crucial to getting the pedal to do what it does.

The pedal can be fairly noisy as is expected from many fuzz boxes. Poor quality guitar cables, physical location and numerus other factors can contribute to unwanted noise (like radio stations) being introduced into the signal. This is not unique to the Experience pedal obviously, but extra care needs to be taken to ensure a clean signal. The noise seems most noticable when the fuzz (volume) is high and the tone control is toward the treble end of the scale. This characteristic is common to most fuzz boxes with volume and tone controls it seems.

The fuzz can be set to clean up with the guitar volume, which is great. The tone control is very usable and can be adjusted to go from clean-ish synth-like lower register tones to over the top screech and scratch.

The octave up is extremely good and tracks flawlessly. It seems to work in lower registers better than any I have used although the best octave up still occurs around and above the 12th fret.

The swell effect is sometimes difficult to dial in. It requires a combination of guitar volume, swell level and sustain settings in addition to pick attack in order to use effectively. But once you get it nailed, it is a very cool effect. It is obvious that those who aren't getting it have not tried, because it works great when you have spent the time to figure it out.

Back to the fuzz, it can be set to be fairly subtle (to the point where you can get an almost clean sound by rolling off the guitar volume) to outrageous. In between there are sweet spots for each guitar. Hendrixy tones are definitely in there with any of the single coil equipped guitar I have tried (mostly use my Tom Anderson Classic). The fuzz can be set for fat or brittle and most things in between with proper adjustment of the volume, guitar volume and the tone and sustain controls. Again, obviously some people are not actually using the controls or they would have observed this too.

The unit seems to be reasonably well built, but the knobs look like they need to be treated carefully. No idea how well it will stand up to constant use just yet. I exactly don't throw my pedals around anyway.

The mechanical and electrically reliability are not really know to my at this time, but the reliability of getting the same tones consistently is a variable since the pedal requires some careful adjustment to get things just right. This chaos factor can actually be fun and interesting but maybe not for everyone if you are trying to get the precise same thing happening every time.

No idea here. I doubt I'll ever try and use it.

It would be nice if the swell and octave could be used separately. Sometimes it is difficult to tell what mode the pedal is in until you actually engage it. Better indicators would be a great value here. The external power jack is a great feature, one that every serious pedal should have.

The pedal is not the sort of thing that is always on, but it is always in the signal chain.

The bypass acts weird soemtimes and I am not yet sure why. Every now and then (but not always) when the effect is disengaged the clean signal volume fades in rater than immediately switching over. This leads me to believe that the pedal is not a real hard-wired true bypass.

For what the pedal is, it is great and unique. Overall it is not my favorite pedal, but that is a matter of personal preference, and there's nothing I would replace it with.

Again, I cannot emphasize enough, if you ca't get a decent sound out of the box, either fuzzes are not for you or you haven't tried hard enough.

The fuzz is pretty easy to use, but the swell is difficult to get any good or usable sound from it. The manual is a sheet of paper with some settings on it. You have to spend some time experimenting to learn how to use it. I've had it for 3 years and still haven't found any use for the swell which really is not a backwards guitar sound, it's more of a clipped volume pedal sound.

I play an Amer. Strat > Crybaby > Marshall 602 60watt combo, with chorus and echo in the effects loop. I have put the Experience pedal at various locations in my setup, but it doesn't seem to matter. The fuzz sound is alright if you want to play Korn or Slayer or Danzig type "music". It has a heavy bass tone to it that is reminiscent of early Black Sabbath. I find nothing in this pedal close to Hendrix's sound, with the exception of playing it fully cranked with a chorus pedal to get a Star Spangled Banner Woodstock world war effect. It definitely is not a Robin Trower sound. There is nothing smooth about this pedal. It is over-the-top screaming noisy fuzz and every time I play with it I wind up playing that way.
The octave can only be used with the fuzz on and the swell has to have the fuzz and octave both on. This pretty much limits the sounds you can get from it. For the amount of money it costs it should have been set up to allow these effects to function independently.

So far it has worked without a problem. I would never gig with it, although I play with it at practice sometimes when I am bored.

I've been play for 30 years, mostly blues and hard rock. This might be a good pedal for Death Metal. I was expecting "Hendrix-in-a-Box", but this pedal does not deliver what it claims. One of the reasons I bought this pedal was because of the claim that Eric Johnson liked it, which now shocks me because of the quality of his tone.
There is no such thing as "Hendrix-in-a-Box". If you want to get his sound, use the stuff he used - Vox Wah or Crybaby, Fuzz Face, Big Muff, UniVibe, Marshall.

Former reviews on this category are interesting. This unit is very easy to use, in fact, that's probably the difficulty. Three modes; fuzz, octave, and swell. Each operation dependant on the other. Fuzz first, octave, then swell. Fuzz is the only mode that operates by itself. The fuzz works great especially if you turn up the bass on your amp and tone it down on the pedal. The octave tracks well and screams in unison with the fuzz and other overdrives and/or a wah. The swell is super cool and builds to a crescendo depending on pick attack. Simulates more of volume pedal than a backwards motion. In fact, it doesn't sound backwards at all. Nevertheless, a very easy pedal to operate. I think reviewers are confusing reliability and quality with ease of operation. This unit is poorly manufactured with cheap switches, inputs etc. I'll give you the lowdown on this later.

The unit sounds great through my Strat and Bassman reissue. Easily conjures up many Hendrix and Trower tones. The octave adds plenty of spice to solos and the swell just accentuates that tone. The unit is only practical for searing high gain solos. Nothing tame or clean here. Again, the footswitches and overall fragility of this unit detracts from its potential. My unit will go in and out between modes and will sometimes not engage when a switch is hit. Evidently, other reveiwers commenting about this company's whole product line have made this observation. This wouldn't be so bad except that most of these PE products are well over a $100.00. More like $150.00 or more. It's hard to rate what would be a neat sounding unit if it wasn't for the unprecedented lack of quality control. That's the problem with these mom and pop operations is they start out with a good idea but can't keep up and consumers end up suffering as the manufacturer climbs the learning curve.

This category is easy to slam this unit. Obviously, you cannot depend on this product to perform consistently. It's simply to fragile. That does not mean that every unit is faulty or will break but based on the volume of comments by other reviewers it's obvious this product has quality problems. Other reveiwers even indicate the manufacturer helped them out by upgrading switches on units. The manufacturer has definitely changed his tune on this approach, however, and will ding you for $50.00 starting just to talk to him about what is inherently faulty.

Manufacturer was helpful indicating where I could send the money and unit for repair but after that forget it. In fact, if you call him more than once he will flat out refuse to repair the unit. He told me to not send the unit to him for repair and that I could just forget it.

If you buy these products you are definitely taking a chance. You may not even be able to return the unit for repair down the road if you don't approach this manufacturer just right. Jekyll and Hyde.

Not the easiest of all pedals to use. For each of the three effects in it, you have to change the settings to achieve the right sound. Not very practical.

I think the sound of this pedal sucks!!!
It's great if your'e into Dimbag or Korn or something like that. But other than that, there are little Hendrix tones in this sucker. The main dissapointment that I had was that it wouldn't work with any of my other effects. I had to put all my effects into an effects loop and just use this pedal as my main unit. That is not very practical. Also it doesn't matter what kind of guitar or amp you have, it destroyes the signal so bad that you couldent tell the difference anyway.

No and no.

Don't know.

Fof my style, I don't like it. I'm selling it to by a MXR Distortion+.

The Prescription Electronics Experience pedal has quite a number of ways in which it can be tweaked. There are 4 knobs to turn to do it's magic, and this can get quite complicated to get all 3 effects of the Experience to work well individually. For example, to use the "Swell" feature, (a "backwards guitar" effect) you have to set the 4 knobs to a certain setting and all 3 footswitches must be activated. This is a hinderance because once setting the "Swell" effect, you have to re-configure the knobs for the the "Fuzz" and "Octave" effects to be used individually. This is one of the more complicated stomp-boxes I've owned - it really needs to be tweaked to get the most out of it.
I think most users would be lost without the manual to understand the 3 indivdual effects and how to set them. I know I was. I owned the latest purple-coloured model with 3 LED's. The LED's are a really good upgrade because it would be hard to determine which effect is on without them. I would definately prefer to own the latest model rather than the original "psychadelic-swirl" paint job models that didn't include any LED's. I would have to give the "Ease of Use" rating for the Experience a very low "5".

I should preface the "Sound Quality" rating with my opinion on what "Fuzz" sounds I prefer. The first fuzz-box I owned was a modified Jim Dunlop Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face re-issue. The "mod" was an added "tone" control to change the amount of treble/bass in the effect. I love the smooth fuzz sound of germanium transistors. After purchasing the Fuzz Face, I decided to try the Experience out to see if it would be worth the "upgrade". I was very disapointed. The fuzz circuit was silicon-transistor based and the fuzz sound wasn't as warm as the germanium-loaded Fuzz Face sound I was used to. The sound for a silicon-transistor based fuzz is really good - it just wasn't what I was looking for. The fuzz is more reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix's "later" fuzz-type sounds. (Jimi used germanium-loaded fuzzes early on in his career but later replaced them with silicon-transistor fuzzes because he could place them anywhere in the signal chain between his guitar and amp without any technical problems) The "Octave" effect is the star of the show as far as I'm concerned. I believe this
is the same "Octave-Up" circuit as used in the Foxx Tone Machine from the 60's. The tracking on this thing is PERFECT - and it has a great tone! Even Guitar Player magazine noted that this is one of the best Octave-tracking devices they've heard. It's phenomenal. It sounds so cool. It works best higher up on the neck. I was disappointed with the "Fuzz" on the Experience, but I was BLOWN AWAY by the "Octave" effect. The "Swell" effect is one that differs from almost all other stomboxes on the market. This effect emulates a "backwards guitar" sound which is a REALLY cool concept, but it is quite difficult to master. As mentioned earlier, all footswitches have to be in the "On" position to use the "Swell" effect - you can't use it indepedently of the other effects, which sucks because you can't set the tone and level for the other effects individually.

I only owned the Experience for a few days and returned it because I
was disappointed with the "Fuzz" sound. Prescription Electronics pedals are built TOUGH and I think they could withstand some heavy punishment. I have given a "N/A" rating for the "Reliability" rating because I didn't own it long enough to give a fair opinion.

I never contacted Prescription directly for any Customer Support
because I didn't need it, so I will give a "N/A" rating for the
"Customer Support" section.

Although I was disappointed with the "Fuzz" sound in the Experience, I was incredibly excited to hear that Prescription produced another "Fuzz/Octave-Up" stomp-box with germanium-transitors called the "Face Lift". I bought the Face Lift and it is EVERYTHING I wanted in a "Fuzz/Octave-Up" stomp-box and more! (You can read my review for the "Face Lift as well) But for those who love silicon-loaded fuzz, this box must be heaven. I love the "Octave" (I believe this is the same circuit used in the "Face Lift") and "Swell" effects. It's too bad that the 3 effects can't be used independently.
Overall, I believe this is one of the best stomp-box EVER created!!! I really think it's an ingenious design and many Hendrix fans must be in their element with the Experience. True-bypass, hand-wired, and 3-effects in one box - incredible!!! :-)

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This is not a "plug and play" pedal, nor is it for the faint of heart. Its four controls are HIGHLY interactive, and it responds very differently to different guitars and amps. This is, no doubt, why the reviews posted here are so apparently contradictory. The manual is brief, but gives all the essential information (It is a pedal, after all) necessary to get you started. The section on using the swell mode is particularly useful, as that is the trickiest feature. My unit is the newest version--yellow with red graphics--so my comments are only applicable to it, not necessarily the purple or swirl-colored versions. I have worked with it quite a bit, so I'm familiar with its personality, and therefore it is "easy to use." There was a fairly steep learning curve getting to this point though, so I have to give it a 5.

I've used the Experience with a 68 Les Paul Custom, an old Strat, and an 80's Tele, played through several amps (Marshall, ADA, Fender, etc.), and it sounded very different with every combination. My particular pedal is not noisy, even when cranked.

I've only had it for a few months--though I've used it a lot--and it has worked fine so far. I don't have backups for any of my pedals, particularly the expensive ones:-)

Jack is very helpful and friendly, but I haven't needed to have my pedal repaired, so...

I have numerous fuzz and distortion pedals, and I've tried most of what is available, including many vintage models. The Experience is one of my favorites because it has lots of personality and its own unique voice. I have grown very attached to it in the short time I've had it, and look upon it with fondness. It isn't cheap or easy, but it's worth the trouble.

a bit difficult to make the swell mode work good but over all
as easy as any dist box

with strat & fender amps quite silent great fuzz with lots of bass the
octave is th e closest sound to Jimis band of gypsies lp.

Bad switches .. humidity makes them stick,, gotta keep spraying them with de[ox[it then they work for a good amount of time.

N-a

Good for getting Henderson type strat sound with tribal tech
The octave sound is excellent as a fuzz much better than the Fuzz Face,

This pedal can be quite easy to use if you have the one with the LED's on it. Mine doesn't unfortunately. The average first-time Experience user might have difficulty with this pedal especially if they are not familiar with octaving and swell effects. I don't understand why companies that manufacture pedals would dismiss putting a status indicator LED on their products. Anyway, this pedal consists of your average fuzz/distortion layout with volume/tone/fuzz and an on/off switch; with another two switches for the octave and swell effects and another knob that controls the amount of swell. Since mine doesn't have LED's, it is very difficult to know which effect is on and which is not. Also the way the knobs interact with each other is really quite bizarre, you really have to tweak with ALL the knobs to get a certain octave or swell effect.

I use this pedal with a Les Paul-Experience-MXR Phase 90-Fender deVille 2X12 setup. I usually use a Dunlop 535Q wah but could not get a wah sound at all with the Experience following the wah.
This pedal is very quiet, unless you max out the volume control.
And now, how does this thing sound? I spent a good two hours zoning on it when I plugged it in for the first time, and this was through an absolute P.O.S. Crate practice bass amp that happened to be lying around. The fuzz is absolutely beautiful. Smooth with tons of bass, like a Foxx tone Machine(P.E. cloned the circuit(!!!)) The octave is, well, not only beautiful but right on target for Hendrixian madness. The swell effect is really responsive to your playing, but this is what makes it really cool. It really reminds me of Pete Cosey on Miles Davis' live albums Agharta, Pangaea and Dark Magus. Sick sick tone. The more you tweak the knobs the more varied sounds you get out of it.

This pedal seems to be pretty sturdy, but I've only had it two months and used it at only one gig. A backup would cost another 200 bones or so. I don't know......

I haven't dealt.....

Live I only use this for the octave and swell, for moog-like lines and the mosquito-like backwards psychedelic-trippy-whoa-acid sounds. And for this particular application, it does a damn fine job, and then some. I don't like to use the fuzz live because you'd be bent over twiddling the damn knobs all night, resetting it for fuzz, or octave/swell. The fuzz settings don't work very well for the swell, at least on my Experience. I bought this pedal because-

1. I wanted an octave(up) effect.

2. It blows away the other octavers like Dunlop's and the Voodoo Proctavia, IMHO and it also has the swell.

3. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than a Foxx tone Machine, Tycobrahe Octavia and Boss Slow Gear purchased at the same time. (about 1200 bones)

4. I didn't want to slave away trying to clone those three devices mentioned above together in one box, the novice pedal-tweaker that I am.

The only thing I wish this pedal had was LED's. Would make a big difference. (I'm thinking of doing this mod myself.)
This thing definitely helps turn heads.

Easy to get a good sound...good is subjective though...this thing sounds INTENSE...not to sweet...but I don't want another boring blues tone. The one page manual is pretty good. It says it can blow your amp and speakers...it has a TON of output. It is pretty easy to get a unique tone from this little fuzzbox.

I use a Jerry Jones or ASAT Classic semi-hollow into it and then into an Aqua Puss and a Supe-Trem and a Top Hat King Royalle. It works very well with all my other stuff. Sounds great into my '64 Vibro Champ too.

I don't know...I had a C.O.B. that I sold to get this...it never gave me any problems.

called them once and never got a response. I am sure they are good guys though.

I wanted a NASTY and over-the-top tone to kick in once and a while and this is just the thing. The octave is GREAT and so is the swell. Not a generic traditional tone...more BIG MUFF than Fuzz Face...very HUGE sounding. The best octave I have come across.

Again if you want to get some avant-guard tone this is the one.

Well the fist thing you definately need is patience! I would think for the average guitarist, the biggest problem would be on how to use and combine all and each effect musically. It took me a good 30 minutes to get the sound I was looking for out of it. I ended my search recently for an older MINT physcedelic vanilla/sherbert swirl version(Thanks EVO!). Fuzz & Octave are easy to use, but the most difficult is the swell effect. I found an easy technique to expedite this. Close your eyes and THINK and LISTEN to Jimi Hendrix's "Are you Experienced?". My personal setting are as follows: Volume>4 Tone>5 Fuzz>10 Swell>4 Leds are VERY needed, sometimes I can't tell if I have it on octave or swell because they sound almost identical! I don't use the swell very much so I won't make a big fuss. I don't know why my year version doesn't come with a AC adapter input? Oh well, time to buy batteries by the bulk at Costco. Manual is alright, didn't need it though. Patience is needed more that a manual.

Overall sound quality is excellent. Fuzz tone is similar to a Fulltone 70' but with a little more bottom end and gain. Octave is excellent, pure musical tones. Swell effect is AWESOME and very accurate. This pedal is incredibly quiet, but does pop a little upon switching. My set up is as follows: 57're-issueFenderStrat.-> FulltoneC.Wah-> EXPERIENCEPEDAL-> ChandlerTubeDriver-> FulltoneFulldrive2-> T.C.SCF-> E.H.Mem.Man-> AlesisMV4-> FurmanPow.Cond.-> 77'FenderTwinRev./Soldano2x12cab. Monster/Spectraflex cables. My set up is somewhat noisy, but 98% of it is from my single coil pickups, other than that noise or no noise its all musical to me! I also read that shy fella Eric Johnson, used the experience pedal alot on the "Venus Isle" cd. Listen to the solo on #3 "All about you". The first couple bars he uses the Experience Pedal(fuzz only), awesome technique!

This pedal is made of excellent hand made quality. My true bypassing switches are heavy-duty! The housing is a durable dicast aluminum/metal? Sherbert-swirl finish is excellent! The knobs are kinda located in a weird spot, and unless your drunk off your ass, you shouldn't have the problem of stepping on them. I wouldn't tests its durability because it would be difficult to replace, since they don't make this version anymore. No problems at all.....

These guys are very prompt and friendly. I called them in Portland,OR and needed a manual and they had one sent to me at work via fax in seconds! They also answered all my questions with the utmost confidence. It was cool how the sales rep. talked about Eric Johnson's opinions on the Exp.Pedal. I got off the phone a happy man!

My overall rating for MY version is going to be a 8 because of its lacking of leds and a AC adapter input, other than that it would be a 10 in my opinion. I've been playing for 20 yrs now and I can say this IS one of my favorite pedals next to my TS808 and Fulltone69 amoung others. If it were lost or stolen it would be VERY difficult to find another like this one. I've seen this version at a Portland guitar show for 350.00! Probably would get another one, used though. I don't believe in paying NEW prices. I love its Eric Johnson/Jimi Hendrix tone. A very different tone all in all. I would reccomend it greatly for its coolness and awesome musical tone!

This pedal is not the easiest to use right off the bat, but I don't think it's nearly as difficult as some of the other reviews suggest. I found sounds I loved right away. The part that some people haven't figured out is that the two tone controls are very interrelated especially in the "Swell" mode. These controls are key to making the "swell" effect sound good. For anyone having difficulty, the "backwards" guitar effect is easy to acheive in the swell mode by setting the following: Fuzz control: 10 o'clock, Tone #1 at 11:00, Tone #2 at 1:00 and swell volume 10:00. The key is keeping the 1st tone control rolled back a little bit. I have not tried this pedal on a gig yet but I don't think it will be a problem. I wish it had status LEDs, I think the later models have them.

Sounds is ecellent, the octave tracking is the best out there, period. The fuzz is very good too, but there is no way to turn down the amount of fuzz, only the volume. At time I wish there another knob to control the gain... however at less the full gain the octave part probably wouldn't work as well. I love the sound of this thing! It gets all kinds of wacky sounds, some musical, some sick.

It looks extremely well built. I worry a little about the knobs being placed right on the front side that faces your foot. Also the 3 switches are pretty close together, I'll see if that's a problem live or not. I 'm going to rate it a nine because it looks so well made. My pedal is an older one that has different switches, I think the newer ones with the black switch tips might be less heavy-duty. I had one of these type of switches break on another of my pedals.

The guy has a good rep, haven't dealt with him yet.

I play a wide variety of stuff with a few different bands, and also do some home recording. I will only use this pedal for a couple of songs live probably, some 60s and 70s era rock & funk, but I can imagine all kinds of wild things I could do in the studio with it. This thing can really make some cool sounds, especially the swell/octave mode. The only thing I don't entirely like is that to make the swell mode work good, you have to roll off some highs on the fuzztone, so that the fuzz is kind of darker ant thicker sounding than I'd always like. So if you were wanting to switch between modes that might be a problem. For the money I paid second hand for this box, I'll give it a ten, if I was buying it new for $200 maybe a nine.

read the directions first! if you do so you will be rewarded. the experience is not a plug in and play pedal. once you memerize a few of the sample settings the rest is easy(especialy the swell mode).

the sound of this thing is superb in either mode. this is the best octave unit i have played. it remains distinct through out the entire range of the guitar. the swell mode can be a pain but it is worth the effort i promise. there is no clean octave,when the pedal is on so is the fuzz. the octave can be foot switched in and out as can the swell mode. lows can be tight or floppy take your pick. the eq has a long sweep. highs are crispy to "blunted" for the lack of a better term.the swell mode is hard to discribe---backwards guitar is the best i can do.the attack of the note is lopped off and the note swells in volume and then decays slowly or quickly depending how the unit is set. i use this pedal to deconstruct my sound- apocolyptic sounds-screams-farts-gurgles-it's all there. i rate it a 9.tone is subjective folks.

here's the rub. i am on my third experience. #1 had a cracked PC board and a bum switch.#2 had another bum switch.both problems caused the pedal cut in and out or not come on at all.#3 is perfect no problems just a truly unique sound. DO NOT LET THIS MAKE YOU LEARY OF THIS PEDAL! prescription took care of me ASAP. they even called me on a sunday.i was shipped a hand wired unit(#3) in 5 days. the previous problems have been taken care of.

couldn't have been better. very nice people who care about there product.

if your lookin' for a tube screamer or clone there of go elsewhere. if you want to be unique look no further. a little secret-try different pedals in front of and after the experience. this can be very rewarding. i have up with some truly bizarre almost other worldly sounds. this one is a keeper.

like any other effect,If you are playing in your bedroom it`s easy to set up"read the manual"If you are using it live,experiment where you have it in the effects chain.This is an EFFECT,not a TONE pedal

It does what it is suppose to do.A strat works great with the hendrix kind of stuff,try kicking in in once and a while with a Paul,you will turn some heads

no problems.Take care of it.It can break.Would you throw your cordless phone in a suitcase and sling it around?All effects are some what fragile.

I have been playing guitar forever,I play rock,blues,etc.If I lost it I would buy again,My Fulltone octafuzz could never take it`s place.One thing I want to add.All of these state of the art effects are no better than the Cables you use.Always buy Good cables.There is no such thing as a Good cheap cable.A microphonic cable can turn a pedal into a nightmare,A bad cheap cable could make a 59 les paul sound like an epiphone copy.BUY GOOD CABLES.Whirlwind cables are great.I don`t mean buy the most expensive cables you can get,Try one out shake it around,turn the gain up on the amp.Does it make noise?Don`t buy it.((% of all the problems I and many of my friends have had with pedals and guitars were because of a bad cable...So Let It Be Written,So Let It Be Done

It takes some time to get used to it.But its time well spend.

This is without an doubt the most intereting effect I own.Especially the interaction with the amp and other effects is nice.Try to use it with a wha-wha pedal either before or after the effect(I`m using an Jimi Hendrix special)in the swell mode,you will get some musical and otherwordly tones from it. I bougt this device because I wanted the cool gated "prodigy" sound,but I discovered a myriad strange and beutiful sounds. I'm currently using it with a telecaster and a Mesa mk 2 amp and some other effects,but it does interesting things to all the other equipment i own aswell(Try connecting it to a drum machine for example)

You can not depend on it.The experience pedal is sounding different from day to day(which is great).And somtimes the stompswitches refuses to work(which can be a bit annoying).

I have not talked to the dealer yet about the problems with the stompswitches so I don`t know.

If you'd like to sound a bit different,try this. In addition to the special effects it has a good basic fuzz sound. Highly recommended a 9 because of the small problems

I used to hate people who flamed products, but now I understand. This is not easy to use. There is no variable setting for the fuzz or octave. It is either on or off, loud or louder. The instructions are minimally helpful. The box has an external power supply jack, but no voltage/polarity indications. And of course the infamous "swell" which sounded so cool on the manufacturer's web site, is supremely difficult to setup. (I haven't got figured yet).

I'm playing this with a Strat/Hot Rails through a Carvin Vintage Tube amp. The Experience fuzz is very solid state "transistory" sounding and, as noted, not controllable. The octave sounds kinda interesting, but can only be used with the fuzz. In fact, the effects are not independent - to use the octave you have to have fuzz on, to use swell you have to have octave and fuzz on. My unit is very noisy. I get some hum with the fuzz on (even turned down)and not playing anything, or even with strings muted. Overall this is seriously disappointing given the hype, the wav files on their web site, and the price. This is not an "Experience" you want to have.

As an former metalhead, I wouldn't even use this jamming along with with old records. Today, as a sonic Youth, Fugazi, Crystal Method listener, I

This box is absolutely the worsed thing to try and adjust I have ever seen. You can spend more time trying to get a usable sound out of it than programming a complex digital multi-effect unit. An absolute nightmare! A good fuzz setting makes for a bad octave tone and the swell (reverse) mode is a demon all to itself. There are some great ideas here but the pedal will drive you crazy trying to master it and I'm no beginner to dealing with effects.

The much acclaimed Experience pedal has a fuzz, octave (up) voice, and a "god it would be nice if it worked" swell mode which simulates backwards enveloping with a little picking technique. This unit has some interesting ideas but when it comes to trying to get a usable effect out of it, forget it. I have tried just about every combination of equipment I have to work this nightmare into my rig but I just can't get it stable enough to use in a band situation. Who wants to step on a pedal you got a great sound out of during set-up checks and then have your sound wash out into a blast of shorting out "gritchy" shit! The fuzz is OK for a fuzz, a ton of distortion, it peaks in saturation 3/4 up. The tone has good range from bass to high treble fizzle. The octave tracks resonably well for single note work as do most of these things. The Swell mode has a cool reverse effect you can get by using the neck pickup and using a little picking technique to enhance the envelop effect. BUT it is just cannot be controlled or repeated with any certainy. The slightest change to any control sends the unit off into "help my amp is blowing up sound". This pedal would be really cool if it could be controlled better. I have tried buffering the unit with tube preamps and everything under the sun including various guitars and amp types. If Jimi had one of these pedals he would have beat the hell out of it with his guitar! As I said this pedal has some great cool ideas but its just not controlable for live use. Maybe for studio or practice tinkering. An interesting note, the LED's on my unit would pulse in intensity to each note you played, it seemed too intentional to be a malfunction and it was pretty cool to watch, damn if it just tracked as well as its LED's! Perhaps the company should consider trying to isolate the swell effect this would be a great pedal if you could get it under control.

Very unreliable, very unstable. My fuzz bypass switch started to miss after the second day. You just can't depend on this unit to deliver the same sound twice.

I am seriously thinking about trying to return this unit. I haven't contacted them yet nor am I sure who I can get my money back from. I mail ordered it through one of the catalog companies.

I am totally amazed at the sound Charlie Sexton got from this box on his Under The Wishing Tree CD (Neighborhood), really cool. He must have worked with the box for days. Eric Johnson noted the fuzz and octave as being good which puzzles me because Eric is so critical of sound, why would he like this sort of fuzz? I can't recommend buying this pedal unless you just want something to tinker with. It's almost like playing a game with this unit, an experienced player (23 years playing) can exhaust themselves trying to tame this beast. It's more of a novelty than a main effect runner. As far as sound goes my Carvin Tube Simulator circuits on my SX200D's as well as my Ibanez Tube King and Boss Metal Zone have far better musical distortions. If this is a great fuzz pedal then I will stay with the former. It's a nice toy but don't attempt to integrate this unit into your live rig. I had great expectations for this pedal but I was quite frustrated in trying to use it.

i give teh ease of use an 8, because you have to be a pretty "experienced" fuzz user to get the sound your going for.

i use a strat with lindy fralin pickups and a blackface super reverb. the eperince sounds awesome through this rig and i play at very low volumes. even so, the experience's fuzz face sound is huge and very even top to bottom. the octave effect is also great. i've owned a roger mayer octavia and his classic fuzz units. the experience sounds much bigger and badder than those. the octave effect works everywhere on the guitar, as opposed to just frets 10-17 as on the octavia. put an overdrive pedal behind the experience (with octave) and you get an exremely smooth octave with great sustain and a swell into feedback tone that's cool. the thing with this pedal is that you really need to use a crabon-zinc battery for it to sound the best; that kind of battery gives a nice warm fuzz with a much better envelope than an alkaline. i think this is why some reviewers think this thing is harsh or gritchy at times (i.e. they're using alkaline batteries). the swell effect is ok, i'm still trying to figure out how to get those awesome backwards sounds, like the soundbyte at their website (fuzzbox.com).

i give it an 8 b/c my swell footswitch sometimes works when i step on it and sometimes doesn't unless i step twice.

called the company twice and they were very friendly and informative. i may call them about fixing my swell footswitch.

i've played many different fuzz boxes. this one is my favorite. i also love the fact that i can have a fuzz and an octave in one unit. the less wires an boxes in my rig the better the sound. i'm currently recording with this unit and i can sound like i'm screaming at high volumes with my fender on 1 1/2!!!! the engineer just loves this!

I am adding to my earlier comments, now that I have spent more time fiddling with the thing. I used to like it; now I love it and don't think I would ever let it go. Random thoughts: (1) It is very bass-heavy, so if you don't want too much bass, look elsewhere. (2) A good way to use the "swell" mode is to have all the knobs on full except tone, which is all the way to the left. This cuts down on the excessive treble. Used before a flanger, this is really trippy. (3) The pedal is much more responsive to the volume knob of my guitar than I had thought. All I needed was a fresh battery in the Experience, it turns out. If I turn the guit volume down, I can get really nice crunchy sounds that are not as nasal and not as bassy as turned all the way up. If you turn your guitar low enough and strum lightly, you can even get a nice chimey sound, kinda cleanish. (4) Someone mentioned the Foxx Tone Machine down below; yes, this is an exact copy of the Foxx, plus the additional swell circuit, which was not part of the Foxx. (5) I love Hendrix and do not happen to hear Jimi's sound in this box--just MHO. To me it's much more of a Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream" sound--but different from that, too. (6) Cranking the Experience into a cranked preamp really makes the sound smooth and creamy. Otherwise the sound is kinda gritchy, in a way I like.

Not easy at all, for a fuzzbox, because it has 4 very interactive controls and it takes quite a while to learn how they all affect each other. I've had it for quite a while and am still learning. (I have the older model, with the swirly paint job and no LEDs.)

Mostly using with Peavey Classic 20, 5150, PRS CE, and Japanese Strat. You MUST use this fuzzbox/octaver with a tube amp, not solid state. Sounds way too harsh on transistors. Using my PRS and Classic 20, I can easily get the sound of Presidents of the USA's "Mach 5," or "Chreub Rock" by the Pumpkins. It can make my Classic 20, a very small amp, sound like the huge 5150 (though with less volume). It really adds bass to the mix; it makes a tiny speaker sound HUGE in ways most effects can't. It takes a lot of tweaking. The controls all interact and the learning curve is steep. It's not easy to just dial in the tone you want. I have found one tone I like and pretty much stay with it. The octave/swell feature is really cool at low volumes if you're just horsing around in the house and want to sound like Jimi at Woodstock. Sounds like an amp blowing up--even at very low amp volumes, you feel like you're playing to an entire stadium and your rig is about to explode. You can really get that "Star Spangled Banner" tone. The Experience pedal is supposedly a good studio pedal, as it adds so much bottom end--it's a good way to sound cranked without actually cranking. Seems to do a good impression of an old Big Muff Pi, with a few of its own tricks up its sleeve. The octave and swell, though fun, seem somewhat gimmicky and are better suited to experimenting and horsing around than to stage work. A good way to get out of a rut. The fuzz is always over the top. Backing off on guitar's volume pot does little to clean up sound--sound just sounds muddy and flubby. Gotta play full throttle. Good for single-note leads and power chords, otherwise too muddy. There are many limitations to the sound--it's not versatile like my Daddy-O (an entirely different type of pedal, anyway). But if you want a HUGE sound, something like absolute THUNDER coming out of your amp, this cannot be beat. And it sound absolutely enormous at very low volumes.

Seems dependable. Batteries last forever.

Excellent for over-the-top fuzz, as in Pumpkins "Siamese Dream," Bush's "Everything Zen," and Pres. USA "Mach 5." No way to do nice, easy, warm distortion. HUGE sound. Very expensive. If stolen or lost, I would miss it, but would probably look into cheaper alternatives--e.g. Big Muff Pi, much cheaper. I love it because it sounds like God's amplifier; hate it because it's tough to find perfect setting. It helps make huge riffs.

7 This pedal tends to have a very extreme side to it. Wild fuzz. but it took me about me a while to find settings that felt good. Someone said Hendrix in a box,I agree!!

Great Hendrix pedal,seems to have octave below on the FUZZ by itself very fat!! I'm playing it through a stereo rig w/Fender Vibrolux and Mesa Boogie. pretty quiet compared to the anarchy that it produces. I recommend backing the settings back tone1-6 tone2-5 swell-5. I love tone Hendrix got on Electric Ladyland album. This pedal is made to revive those memories. Tends to bend my playing towards that style. But hey, there was only one Jimi..... I thought the octave effect is too extreme only good for screaming stuff.

N/A

This pedal is alot of FUN!! Very unique w/very wide paramaters. I've always been a fan of San Francisco psychedelic style Guitarists Garcia,I include Hendrix,Jorma,etc. And this pedal can serve those styles (in my humble opinion} pretty well. I love the Fuzz, I wish it had dedicated mix knob for the octave.could make it more practical. But it is what it is and barring it quits on me tommorow I will include it in my pedal chain . I love it!!

It's very easy to get a good sound out of this unit. The manual is decent,but the most exciting results are achieved by tinkering and tweaking it. I must admit it sounds best with a vintage Marshall, but any tube amp will do. Experiment with your own gear to get the best tone possible.

Mine is an older unit with the swirled paint job and no LEDs, and it's actually pretty quiet. I bought a couple of new ones, and they just didn't sound right. After returning them rather discouraged, I found the older one at a local music store. It was a bit more pricey than the newer ones ($225) but was well worth it.The fuzz is ungodly. I love Weezer and this gets Rivers' tone perfectly. I know he uses an original Big Muff, but this comes very close. The octave mode is particularly nasty. GREAT lead tones cranked. The swell modeis somewhat limited in its applications but is great fun and personally, leads me to experiment with other playing techniques and styles. It spits pretty bad, but I won't complain. It's just too cool.

I dropped it out of my car once unloading, and it didn't even scratch the paint job. Extremely stout little box.You can literally STOMP on this thing without any fear of it breaking. I would most certainly feel comfortable using one of the older units without a backup, but if youbuy anewer one, I would reccomend purchasing a backup. It seems to be pretty light on batteries, though some others reviewed on this page seem to lean to the contrary, but does include a DC outlet as an alternate option.

I've never dealt with them on the phone or otherwise. I must admit though, it is rather difficult to find dealers. They don't advertise much either.

I would most definitely buy it again. If I ever find one of the originals (red swirl paint job) I hope I have tha funds to pick it up. I just love the fuzz.I chose thispedal over the others just because it sounded better. I lean more toward the hand made pedals, so this was a natural purhase for me. If at all possible, buy an older model with the swirled paint job. They're a whole lot more reliable.

The pedal is fairly easy to use, there are 4 knobs, volume , tone, fuzz, and swell. There are also 3 foot switches. One operates the fuzz, the second the octave, and the third operates the swell. It might sound confusing, but you get used to it pretty quickly.

It,s a fuzz and octave pedal, so it's going to be a little noisy. My only problem is that it really doesn,t sound like a fuzz face, it,s a little too nasaly to get the Hendrix sound, not as deep as the sound Jimi gets on the live recordings.

I don,t think I could personally depend on, because about three weeks after I bought it the foot switches that activate the fuzz and octave modes went out. They didn't outright fail, they just didn't work all the time. It gave a new meaning to the word "stomp box". Anyway a word to the wise save your receipts, I ahd to take it and get it fixed.

Don't know

I don,t think I would, It's not a bad pedal, the Octave sounds good, the fuzz isn,t as fat or smooth as I'd like it to be. I'll keep it and use it as an octave pedal.

four knobs--sounds simple but prepare for some tweaking excitement

wow, this thing is quiet...especially for the amount of gain, the only sound problems i've had are variances in tone (large variances) depending on my amp's volume settings at high volume's this thing tends to break out of definite character whereas at lower volumes on the exact same pedal settings it's much more defined especially on the neck pickup; i'm playing through an es335 the distortion when your sweet spot's finally been found is incredible it's absolutely enormous.

this is where i've had problems--i absolutely love some of the tones i'm getting out of this thing, but i've only had it for 3 days and the switches are going weird on me. It frequently goes to only a quarter of the volume setting when i switch it on--it's muffled too. this is when the pedal is set for really damn loud. i've found that i kind of have to jiggle the switch with my foot to get it to fully kick in. this has been the case with all three of the footswitches; i'm returning it tomorrow. Mine's one of the newer ones--purple with two LED's one for octave other for swell, its got an AC jack too. for the amount of money i paid i was kind of expecting a little more reliability i'm kind of worried about the footswitch quality if i were to exchange it for another.

i'm calling the company tomorrow to see if they've had other problems with these.

i love the open, saturated tone, the bass is incredible-- but the reliability? has anyone else had these problems? i'm thinking of maybe taking a smaller chunk out of my wallet and getting a big muff pi reissue, but i don't know how or if the fuzz will compare--the five is for the headache this thing has given me--the tone is great though it does exactly what i want it to, just not when i want it to.

Very easy to use once you read the manual that it comes with, without the manual you'll need to experiment with the knobs

Great Sound! The best Fuzz I've ever heard and I've used the Big Muff, Fuzz Face Hyper Fuzz etc..

Extremely dependable, very sturdy box

I've talked to them and they are great people to deal with.

Yes, I would buy another one if I lose this

Okay. Four knobs sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. If you want to get some good sounds out of it, you're gonna have to do a whole lot tweaking, with the knobs on the pedal, and on your amp.

Some unbelievabley great fuzz tones lay waiting in this stomp box. Better than anything else out there, I think. You can get some wacked out, insane, over the top psychadelia if you dial everything in right. It's also got an octave boost and what's called a "swell" which is something that attempts to emulate some cool, hendrixy backward tape effects. The octave sounds great; you can nail a lot of Jimi's sounds with it, but the swell is just kinda weird. I don't use accept to screw around.

It's built like one of those vehicles which launch explosive projectiles during times of war.

Never dealt with them. From what I've heard, though, they're small enough so that you can reach the creator of all they're pedals on the phone. Eric Johnson uses two different kinds of P.E. pedals (this one, and the Yardbox).

If you want a fuzz tone that doesn't come out of one of those red, flying-saucer looking things, the kind everybody and they're mom can get at Guitar Center, pick one of these up. They cost a lot. But nobody you know will sound like you. Remember, though, if you don't like to tweak to get a good sound, don't get one.

The manual is very helpful in giving you starting points to get the sound you're looking for.The controls are sensitve and finding the sweet spots took a little time, but I soon got the hang of everything & now it's no problem.

The only real problem I have is AM radio frequencies getting picked up with distortion intensity(tone 2) settings above 3 o'clock. All three modes are useful, and contrary to what a few other people have said, the swell mode is very useful. A lot of the performance is dependant on how distorted or clean your amp is set and the settings on the pedal and your guitar settings. Very quiet for the amount of gain!

I've had it about 3 months & no problems yet.Still haven't had to change the battery.

No one around here(Lafayette, LA) had heard of this pedal, so I contacted the company & they were very helpful working with me an a local music store.

A little less bass on the regular fuzz would be nice, though I've gotten more used to it.I like to use it going into a distorted amp the best. This smooths out the tone more. I also go into a Big Muff(with all the settings about 9 o'clock) after the Exp.This smooths out the sound even more. I can't stress how much the settings of your amp affect this pedal. Experiment! Try turning your guitar's volume down halfway down when putting the Exp. into a distorted amp. With most of the Exp. settings about 11 o'clock (except the swell) I can get a very BIG Eric Johnsonish tone. If I crank my guitar's volume, it sounds more like a synthesizer, which can also be a useful sound. Anyone who thinks the swell mode is useless needs to listen to the opening cut on Charlie Sexton's "Under the Wishing Tree" CD. "Neighborhood really showcases what the Experience pedal can do.

The controls interact with each other quite a deal. I find it hard to get all features working with the same settings. It has 3 switches for fuzz (which is also an on/off for the pedal), octave, and swell (emulates backwards tape, like in Are you Experienced?)

The fuzz of the experience is incredible, but you can't get a cleaned up sound with your guitar volume, like with a Fuzz Face. Octave is nice but tone control should be low for it to work best. Tracking is good. I find the swell mode nearly useless. It only works with low tone levels, and at some positions of the neck. It takes a while to get it to sound like a backwards tape, but when you master it, it sound quite good. (rate 10 for fuzz, 9 for octave, 6 for swell)

Built in a diecast aluminum box. nearly undestructible.

I have an older model that only operates on batteries. I called them to ask about it and they offered me to put a DC jack for free. That's just too nice.

I'd get it again. It's a nice "Hendrix in a box" pedal. Amazing fuzz tone (full, fat and warm), but I wish it was a bit more dynamic. In this sense it is somewhat like Boss Hyper Fuzz. Eric Johnson uses one (he says it is like a Fuzz Face with more gain, well...).

The level, tone, and fuzz knobs quickly go from mild to ridiculous. It's tough to tweak the knobs a little bit -- they're overly sensitive. The foot switches are way too close to each other. Several times I have stepped on the fuzz and Octave switches together when I only wanted to step on the fuzz. Tough to use on a dark stage!

Experience Pedal is quiter than mass produced boxes and has true bypass switches. No LEDs. The fuzz is fat and rich at low settings for fuzz and tone, but quickly gets harsh. At these higher settings it does not sound like "Jimi". I play a strat and a Marshall JTM 45 all tube head. I still like to run an overdrive box in front of the Experience to smooth it out. The Octave is superb -- works anywhere on the neck (some loss of sustain). The Octave device is great for doing Purple Haze. The Swell setting is pretty useless except for experimenting by yourself.

It has never failed me, but I've only had it one year. It needs no backup and is fairly gentle on batteries.

I talked with the PE guys -- very friendly. No repairs needed yet.

I would buy it again. I wish it had wider-spaced foot switches. I wish the fuzz and tone controls were less sensitive -- more easily fine-tuned. It's boxy and can be kicked over on stage. I use it a lot -- it makes you sound unique! Again, I like to run an low gain overdrive (TS 9, etc.) in front of it to smooth it out. It is NOT a versatile distortion box -- it could be the only box in your arsenal. Just one of the cooler ones.

The Experience pedal was very powerfull ( one should take caution this pedal will make a marshall 100 wat plexi about four times louder) ! Thus causing damage to equipment plus hearing ! Once however you get used to the pedal it is great. I made sure to turn my amp volume down first then add volume gradually. The fuzz is nice and the octavia is definitly more versitile than the Roger Meyer model.

Once again beware of the volume I had the Marshall on 2 yes 2 on both channels and the Experience drove the amp well Very Hendrixy . The Experience can be noisy depending on how it is set. Strong fuzz ! Strong Octavia !

The Box can take what I throw at it . I'd trust it on a gig. Take along the 9 volts though it Gobbles those.

I would buy another one. I really enjoy the fuzz as well as the octavia. If your'e into Mr.Hendrix as I am check , this box out!

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