Siegmund Guitars Micro Tube Overdrive

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it??? good sound????

it sucked, noisy.
had a couple les pauls at the time i owned this. and a strat. a marshall anniversary head and cab w/weber speakers.

was malfunctioning upon delivery.

i bought this several years ago so specifics as i recall are fuzzy. but here goes.
i called mike about all the noise and he was a real smart ass. i guess i did not explain the trouble i was having well enough.
it turned out-when i spoke to a buddy- that the unit had a common problem and somehow HE was able to return his for repair. he had a deffective unit as well. i forget what the problem was specifically... i ended up trading mine to the above mentioned buddy.

NO! would have to pay me to owne one.

Very Easy Self explanitory

Mayby My tone quest should have ended just before I got this? I played this through 3 different amps Mesa Blue Angel, Peavey Delta Blues, Top Hat 20 watt 2x12, same result across the Board. Just toss a blanket on your amp you will get the same result. Then bring up the vol. drive and gain to where you want it. Starts to sound good, then bypass the ped. and bring your amp up to the same gain and vol. In all three cases the MFG. Orig. Amp. sounds way better, Clean is Cleaner, Gain is present and defined. The sparkel is there in the Orig. Amps Tone. This ped. does not do it. Plus the 48 hr. return is about 45 days to short. I tested this every way I could think of.
I wanted it to work. thats why I paid 350.00 bucks. Now I would like to have my money back. If you think I am wrong call me and I will sell you this for 300.00

Whos had one very long?

this 48 hr. return is way to short! It took 3 days Just to get it up to my music room where I could give it a real check out.

I play 50.s 60.s rock and that blus country swing thing
I have Played electric sence 1966
1991 Tele., 1998 58re paul, custom ricky tele paul strat thing. and a 1965 Lyle 335 copy w/ mod.'s
main amps Mesa Blue angel Mead w/ 2x12 abrown soun cab w/ the hemp tone tubbies and a Fender Vibro King
you don't need this pedel O>B> won ka no bee

Four knobs: Gain, Bass, Volume, Treble.
Three position toggle switch: Full, Normal, Bright.
On/off true bypass foot switch.
LED indicator on side indicates bypass (green) or active (red).
The Gain knob is also a push/pull switch which bypasses the Gain while still allowing for tone adjustment.
No markers on the knobs or box, but there is a hole in each knob where a screw holds the knob on. You can use this to get a visual of each knobs position if necessary, but in my case, I keep everything at the same settings.
The bass knob is a sort of multi-positional knob with about 12 or so positions (I don't have the pedal in front of me). Just as you can feel the various positions of the Bass knob as you rotate it, the Treble knob "locks-in" at just one point (12 o'clock position) as you rotate it around. The other two knobs are completely free-floating.
While everything is easy to use, I too find that the lack of markers, although not an issue for me, deserves a loss of a point.

I am running this into a Reverend Hellhound Combo for a clean boost. As the below review describes, it is capable of distortion, but not intended as a distortion pedal. It utilizes Class A circuitry and a tiny tube to produce its magic. The tube is soldered onto the circuit board. I wondered about what to do when it might need replaced but Chris Siegmund told me this tube should last 15-20 years so it shouldn't be an issue for quite some time. As I stated, this isn't intended to be a distortion pedal, it is an overdrive pedal. As an overdrive pedal it is a must have for tube amp lovers that demand the absolute retention of their tone. This thing does an excellent job at preserving my tone. Not only does it preserve it, it enhances it. In the past with other overdrive pedals and/or distortion pedals I've always insisted on having true bypass so I can revert back to my guitar/amp's natural tone. In this case however I never turn the thing off! I can play softly without unwanted distortion, and as my attack increases, so does the response of the overdrive with an increase in distortion. It's a great distortion at that. Breaks up really nice and sounds very natural. Great definition and great clarity.
I use it with the gain up full, and the bass on about the third position and the treble about even with the bass. I keep the toggle switch on Normal. The other two selections (Full and Bright) don't seem necessary to me and I wouldn't miss them if they weren't there.

Built like a brick. Very solid and heavy for its small size. I thought my Boss and my Rat were solid. They now seem like tin cans compared to this box. It's probably about 80% the size of my Rat but more than twice the weight.

I have spoken with Chris Siegmund and he is very knowledgable and helpful.

I almost feel inclined to buy another one in the rare case something might happens to mine. My search for the perfect overdrive pedal is over. This pedal has no distinguishing sound of its own and that is its strong point. Your equipment retains its personality.
It's amazing what that tiny tube can do. I wonder if it is less prone to coloring your tone than a standard preamp tube. Either that or it's the high quality circuitry that make this pedal shine. I don't know, but I love it!

This unit is very simple to use. Gain, Treble, Bass, Volume. The Bass knob is set in increments that you feel as it is rotated. Furthermore, there is a three position mini-toggle that lets you choose the relative amout of boost: normal, bright, full. The gain is a push/pull which bypasses the boost and lets the unit simnply act a line buffer and tone enhancer when desired. A push/pull is often not desired on a pedal designed for foot use but in this case it makes perfect sense and maintains the aesthetics. I'm taking a point away simply because the supplied knobs have no indicators.

This is where the Siegmund shines. The musicality and transparency are second to none--no doubt do to superior design, parts, and that magic little tube. Keep in mind this is aclean boost, not a distortion box. Tube screamers and most other overdrives are interseted in boosting and distorting. While this unit is capable of producing some nice distortion sounds, this is not its intent and not where it is most capable. To qualify my comments, here's a list of what I've owned: TS-9, TS-808, Fulldrive 2, Klon Centaur, Mesa V-twin, Fulltone Fat-boost, Sobbat Drivebreaker 3. OF these, several produce noec distortion and two do a nice clean boost. The Klon is the closest to the Siegmund but noticeably changes the pick attack and transients. The fat-boost is nice for the price but flattens the sound. The siegmund enhances the signal in every way without changing the feel of the instrument. The switches give a nice range that its versatility well beyond anything else on the market. The push/pull gain bypass does allows for a touch of EQ shaping and sustain increase without boosting the signal. This is a MASTERPIECE!

I haven't had it for an extended period of time so I really can't rate this but the build quality is outstanding. It's casing is heavy, it uses a fine power cord, and is packed with high quality components. The pots and jacks are top notch--I don't expect and problems.

I contacted Chris Siegmend not long after receiving the unit for a small personal modification. He was extremely helpful, quick, and courteous. Only charged me for the part and shipping!!!

I've been playing for about 15 years and haev used this unit through several amps--most notably my Toneking Comet. It doesn't seem to prefer any type of pickup and is extremly quiet. I would recommend many pedals for their nice overdriven distortion flavors but nothing else for a pure clean boost. I play jazz, country, metal, rock of all types, and classical. All of the clean tones benefit from this pedal and the distortion of high gain amps can be slightly eq'd with a hint of sustain added--very nice. I like this pedal so much I'm planning on getting another just for the sake of it.