ElectroHarmonix

153
£125
£169
Electro-Harmonix
Deluxe Memory Boy
E
lectro-Harmonix has
unleashed a trio of
Memory Man derivatives
recently, and the Deluxe
Memory Boy offers some
flexible updated features. It has
the largest spec of the series,
followed by the Memory Boy and
Memory Toy pedals.
If you find complex specs
rather daunting, you’ll be glad to
hear that EHX has done a great
job of making the Memory Boy’s
more powerful features easy to
use. The sub divisions let you dial
in Edge-style delays quickly, and
the modulation circuit applies
chorusing to your delay sound.
You can select triangle-wave for
a more retro sound or square
for a more immediate modern
sound. Want more? Hook up an
expression pedal for hands-
free control – this is particularly
useful for creating huge feedback
swells that remain controlled.
By using the effects loop, you
can chain in some other pedals
to just ‘effect’ the repeated
sounds. TG put a wah pedal in
the chain for some filtered delay
effects, but experimenting with
different pedals here can yield
some truly original results.
Conclusion: The Deluxe
Memory Boy has all the features
you could need from an
analogue delay pedal, and then
some. If you just want a straight
echo effect with no added frills,
you could save yourself some
cash and go for the Memory Toy
instead. However, the amount
of experimentation and control
that’s on offer from the Deluxe
Memory Boy means that you can
really get stuck in. We love it.
Stuart Williams
For: Great sounds, flexible
Against: Has fierce competition
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: Boy, is this good
MXR Custom Comp
High-quality compression in a Custom Shop stompbox
C
ompression. It’s the
effect that’s present on
every piece of music
you listen to, yet it’s
often forgotten when it comes
to your pedalboard. A decent
compressor can add sustain and
attack to your notes, even out
your dynamics for picking and
boost your signal for solos.
MXR’s new Custom Comp
stompbox is straight outta the
Custom Shop cased in MXR’s
familiar mini-housing. It’s true
bypass to avoid sucking your
tone when you’re not using
it, and there are two controls,
Output and Sensitivity, as well as
an internal Attack control.
As you’d expect, the Output
level controls the level, while
Sensitivity sets the ratio or
amount of compression you’re
applying, and the Attack controls
how quickly the compressor kicks
in. By setting the Output high,
with lower Sensitivity levels, you
can use the pedal for a subtle
levelling of your dynamics or
to give a boost. Turning up the
Sensitivity starts to squash your
sound more.
Although the Custom Comp is
fairly unintrusive, you’ll definitely
be aware of its presence if you’re
liberal with your settings.
Conclusion: If you’re playing
a lot of high-gain sounds then
you probably won’t notice the
Custom Comp’s subtle low noise
transparency, making £169 a
pretty hefty outlay for just one
pedal. Clean players after sharp
sounds, however, will lap it up.
Stuart Williams
For: Low noise, quality compression
Against: The attack control is inside
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: It’s solid, but not superb
Subdivisions฀■
Choose between
crotchet, dotted quaver,
crotchet/quaver triplets
and semiquaver repeats
■ Expression pedal
By adding an external pedal,
you can control all the main
features of the pedal
■฀Size
The Custom Comp is housed
in a standard MXR-sized case,
great for small pedalboards
■฀Controls
The Output and
Sensitivity are on the top,
but there’s an additional
Attack control inside
At a glance
TYPE: Analogue delay
EFFECTS: delay with
modulation
CONTROLS: Blend, gain,
rate, depth, feedback, delay
SOCKETS: Input, output,
send, return, expression
pedal, power
POWER: PSU only
(supplied)
C O N TA C T: [e-mail]
WEB: www.ehx.com
At a glance
MXR Custom Comp
TYPE: Stompbox
compressor
EFFECTS: Compression
CONTROLS: Output,
sensitivity, attack (internal)
SOCKETS: In, out, power
POWER: PSU
C O N TA C T: JHS
01132 865381
WEB: www.jimdunlop.com
■ Effects loop
Create some trippy
effects by plugging your
favourite pedal in here
Custom Shop ■
MXR’s Custom Shop
designs are built with
its highest quality
components
Electro-Harmonix
Deluxe Memory Boy
Vintage-sounding analogue delay worth repeating
TGR202.gear_halves 153 22/4/10 7:17:7 pm