Product: Route 101 Guitars UM-1
Price Paid: US $40
Submitted
09/22/2000
at
09:53pm
by
Emily B.
Email: Jayde_Belladonna at hotmail<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
9
The UM-1 is a year 2000 metal pedal with a feel that's reminiscent of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". It's very easy to get a good sound. It has a distortion control, and a low and high EQ.
The small manual is a bit hard to read from the print quality, but is easy to understand otherwise.
Sound Quality
:
10
This thing roars. Crank it up, play a chord, and get blown away. As long as you keep a good distance between the guitar, pedal, and amp there is VERY little noise. (I think half the noise is the fault of my amp [an extremely old KV25 Schaeller].) I got this pedal because when I heard the sound clip on the site, I loved it. I'm going for my own music style, so I wasn't aiming for the sound of a particular band when I ordered, but I could easily see covering some metal bands with it.
Reliability
:
8
It's pretty small and lightweight (which can be a plus in shipping and usage), but that and the plastic casing lead me to believe that it couldn't stand up to a major beating. I don't gig, but if I did I would bring a backup solely for the reason that I would never gig without one just because anything can happen that has nothing to do with durability, persay. I don't mean by that that the pedal feels flimsy and easily breakable, just that it isn't a tank (as I stated on my distortion pedal review).
Customer Support
:
10
I've purchased from Route 101 before, and they are a very friendly, courteous company who always respond to questions quickly and ship efficiently. The pedals come wrapped in foam inside of their boxes inside of the shipping box, which is packed with popcorn. No problems in the shipping process (besides the fact that UPS was a day late on delivery, but that can be expected from them).
Overall Rating
:
10
I play classic rock, some modern rock, and some metal. This is excellent for the latter two, and can be used for the first. I've been playing guitar for only six months, and don't own much gear, but I know good quality sound when I hear it. If it were lost, I would replace it without question. I don't hate anything about it, and my favourite feature is the distortion option. I bought it because I just loved the sound.
