MXR FullBore Metal

126
&
£129
£249
ProTone Skumstortion
L
ike pedals of yore, the
Skumstortion has one
effect and minimal knobs,
so it’ll live or die on the
class of its distortion. ProTone
is confident, citing the “wicked
high-gain sustain that can rival
a stack of amps”, and promising
“from screaming leads to rhythm
work, it delivers the goods”.
So you clock the rotting skull
on the Skumstortion’s bulletproof
chassis and you think, “This is
going to be mental!” And it kinda
is. Set the Drive and Tone at
two-thirds, stomp the footswitch,
and you get a really brittle, biting
attack that’s totally satisfying for
old-school metal, giving good
note articulation and enough low
end to shake the ceiling.
Many rockers will happily stick
there, and their £129 will be
well-spent. But when the hairier
contingent crank the Drive to
the max on the hunt for savage,
modern, Mesa-style filth, they’ll
get diminishing returns, with the
Skumstortion never quite going
as crazy as its blurb suggests.
Or maybe our ears are just de-
sensitised after all these years.
Conclusion: The ProTone
Skumstortion might beat the
hell out of your amp’s distortion
channel, but in the bearpit of the
pedal market, it’s perhaps best
described as a ‘solid choice’, not
a life-changing one. With that
said, it’s the cheapest in this
Group Test, perhaps the most
roadworthy (the hand-made US
chassis is built like a Sherman
tank), and certainly the least
fussy, and would therefore make
a great first choice for rockers
with gigs booked. But don’t blow
your wad just yet…
For: Tough, simple, great rock sound
Against: Not as crazy as we’d like
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: The Skum is great fun
Rainger Dr Freakenstein Fuzz
It’s alive!
D
avid Rainger has
created a monster. “It’s
a very distinct type of
distortion,” says the
London-based boffin, and he
ain’t kidding. Operated by hand
(but sold with a foot-activated
pressure pad known as Igor), it
uses ‘oscillator synchronisation’.
This basically gives monster
sustain and freaky harmonics
based on the notes you play and
the position of the Osc dial.
Start off with the Osc full
up and you’ve got the most
traditional tone, and even that is
bonkers: a fuzzed-up, raggedy-
arsed, sustain-mungous, Matt
Bellamy-style grind that’s best
for single notes and can be
‘killed’ on a sixpence with the
noise gate. Spin the Osc and
things get weirder as the unit
adds harmonics, while using
the Mod and Rate dials to
automatically sweep the Osc is
more divisive, like a wah, phaser
and synth being abused.
The Igor pad is a cool touch
but its fiddly size (plus the fragile
main unit) suggests it’s one for
studio boffins, not road warriors.
Conclusion: Tough one, this.
TG would love to give this pedal
an unreserved thumbs-up. In a
world of identikit stompboxes, it
made us grin and – with a bit of
tweaking – gave us some mind-
blowing effects. But if you’re a
cash-strapped covers band in
need of a no-nonsense filthbox
for club circuit gigs, you’ll be back
at the shop in the morning with
the receipt. Your choice.
For: Unique, memorable, bonkers
Against: Too off-the-wall for some
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: Freak or unique?
Chassis ■
The metal chassis is
hand-built in the US
and solid as a rock
■฀LED
Stomp the switch and a
green LED confirms the
unit is on – great for live
■฀Osc
Mad effects and
monster sustain abound
as you cycle through the
oscillator dial…
■฀Mod
…or you can activate
the Mod switch for
hands-free sweeping
through the Osc
At a glance
TYPE: Distortion pedal
EFFECTS: Distortion
CONTROLS: Volume, Tone,
Drive
SOCKETS: Input, output,
power
POWER: 9V battery or 9V
DC adaptor
C O N TA C T: Sounds Great
01614 364799
WEB: www.
soundsgreatmusic.com
At a glance
Rainger Dr
Freakenstein Fuzz
TYPE: Distortion unit
EFFECTS: Oscillator
distortion
CONTROLS: Vol, Osc, Mod,
Rate, Igor pad, Power
SOCKETS: Input, output, 2x
Igor sockets
POWER: 9V battery
C O N TA C T: Rainger FX 0207
262 3050
WEB: www.raingerfx.com
■ Dials
We’ve seen more
buttons, but
minimalist is good
when you’re onstage
Switch ■
The unit comes alive
with a hand-operated
‘knife switch’: not
ideal for gigs
ProTone Skumstortion
Pedal to the metal
TGR196.gear_test 126 4/11/09 12:58:52 pm