Electro-Harmonix Freeze

136
&
£89
£117
Electro-Harmonix Freeze
W
hen we reviewed
Electro-Harmonix’s
Cathedral Reverb
in TG199, we
loved its Infinite Reverb mode
for sustained synth pad-esque
sounds. The Freeze Sound
Retainer is a standalone pedal
version of this effect.
It works by sampling your
guitar, but unlike a looper it
takes a snapshot of the signal
running through the pedal at
the moment you stomp, and
sustains it until you reset the
footswitch. This creates a
backdrop that lends itself well
to post rock and electro music.
The toggle switch lets you
flip between Fast, Slow or Latch
modes. In Fast mode, the pedal
starts sustaining as soon as you
stomp, and stops when you
release your foot. Slow mode
gives a variable-speed fade in
and out to the sustain, which,
when you’re switching between
chords, is much smoother than
the slightly unnatural on/off
reaction in Fast. The stomp
switch can also be used in Latch
mode, so you can take your foot
off for long sustained periods.
While you do get an effect
level knob that controls the
volume of the sustained tone,
we’d like to have seen an option
for controlling this with an
expression pedal, too.
Conclusion: The Freeze
effect is ideal for creating thick
soundscapes and drones with
your guitar – especially when
you run it through other effects
like wah, tremolo or delay. Yes,
it’s a specialist pedal, but it’s
great if you create a lot of non-
traditional guitar sounds.
Stuart Williams
For: Full-sounding guitar textures
Against: No use for Back In Black
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: Cool as a cucumber
Vox Satriani Ice9 Overdrive
A versatile overdrive purchase for more than just Satch fans
F
ans of Joe Satriani have
had plenty of signature
gear to be excited about
over the past two years,
and the Ice9 is the fourth pedal
from Vox to bear Satch’s name.
Sharing a similar control
layout to the Satchurator
Distortion, the Ice9 has Vintage
and Modern modes, plus Gain,
Tone, Bass and Level controls.
Next to the bypass switch sits
Satch’s trademark More button,
adding 14dB of clean boost on
top of the overdrive. But you
likely have two questions: what
if I don’t like Satriani, and do I
need another overdrive pedal?
If you’re not a fan of Mr S,
it doesn’t matter. This pedal
adds a chiming, Vox-flavoured
overdrive to singlecoils and gives
a meaty rock ’drive when used
with humbuckers. Regardless of
pickup type, it sounds defined
in a way that we haven’t heard
from a stompbox since trying
the Satchurator, with open
strings cutting through nicely.
Switching from Vintage to
Modern introduces a germanium
diode into the circuit, offering
extra bite and more attack than
Vintage mode. All proof, we
think, that the world really does
need another overdrive pedal.
Conclusion: The Ice9 is a
pure classic rock, indie and
blues machine, and we’d urge
non-Satch fans to look past his
connection or risk missing out.
So, whether you’re Surfing With
The Alien or not, get surfing the
web for the best deal.
Stuart Williams
For: Classy, defined drive sounds
Against: Non-fans could miss out
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: Ice, ice, baby!
Fade in/out ■
By moving the toggle switch
when powering up, you can
select various fade in/out
times for smoother transitions
■฀Level
This balances the volume of
the sampled notes against
your original signal
■฀Boost
The More switch acts as
a clean boost on top of
your overdrive sound
At a glance
TYPE: Sound retainer
(sampler)
CONTROLS: Fast, slow,
latch, level
SOCKETS: Input, output,
power
POWER: PSU (included)
C O N TA C T: EHX info@
ehx.com
WEB: www.ehx.com
At a glance
Vox Ice9 Overdrive
TYPE: Overdrive
CONTROLS: Gain, tone,
bass, volume, more,
vintage/modern switch
SOCKETS: In, out, power
POWER: PSU (optional),
batteries
C O N TA C T: Korg UK
01908 857100
WEB: www.voxamps.com
■฀Toggle switch
The toggle gives you
three options for
‘freezing’ your sound
Electro-Harmonix Freeze
Experience texture in a box with this chilling e ect
■฀Vintage/Modern
Switching to Modern mode
adds a Germanium diode to
the circuit for extra bite
Gain ■
Don’t expect bucket-loads
of distortion – the Ice9 is all
about full-sounding overdrive
GO ONLINE
TO HEAR
THIS
PEDAL
www.totalguitar.co.uk
TGR207.gear_halves 136 9/10/10 2:08:58 PM