MXR

July 2012 Guitarist 143
Quicktest
Crushsound
Farmer’s Mill
£300
A sound engineer’s nightmare?
The Bottom Line
We like: Utterly polarising,
but a welcome slice of
sonic destruction for more
leftfield noiseniks
We dislike: Currently
expensive, but we’re told
it’s set to become more
affordable soon
GUITARIST RATING
It’s reassuring to know that in
a boutique effects world
obsessed with cloning vintage
guitar tones, there are still a few
mavericks hoping to bring
something different to our ears.
Billed as the world’s first g uitar
pedal to let you “take control
over the infinite musical
potential of the broken sound
idea,” the Farmer’s Mill is
certainly not for purists.
Housed in a large enclosure
that may seem excessive for a
stompbox that’s more of a
special effect than a whole-set
staple, the design has the
advantage of spacing out the
unit’s trio of pots so that they
can be easily manipulated with
a mid-song toe nudge. Inside,
the pedal’s innards are wired
and cable-tied very neatly, with
the main board encased in resin
to deter cloning.
Sounds
With the onboard mix and rate
pots and the true bypass switch
at the back all self-explanatory,
the four-position mill control
offers incrementally more
chaotic degrees of crackle and
stutter akin to a malfunctioning
guitar cable or spluttering
amplifier in its death throes.
This is engaged only when the
footswitch is depressed, so your
signal returns to a normal,
healthy state when you lift your
GUITARIST RATING
more musicians. While it’s hard
to get very excited about a
stand, if you need to have
control surfaces, backing tracks
or lyrics right there in front of
you (and yes, there are now
teleprompting apps for the
iPad), you’ll wonder how you
ever lived without it despite, we
have to mention, the eye-
watering price. [MT]
The Bottom Line
We like: Easy to put together;
extremely lightweight;
compact design
We dislike: Looking like a
geek at gigs; expensive for a
bit of plastic
This reviewer has needed this
product twice in the last
month: first when using the
DigiTech iPB-10 (and wanting
the iPad control surface closer
to hand) and secondly after
trying and failing to read lyrics
off the iPad screen three feet
away on a table.
In Use
The D42MS (made by Jim
Dunlop) fits an iPad 2 (there
are also variants for the other
iPads) and thanks to the clever
multi-position clamp and
multiple mount options for
it, it will go anywhere on
your mic stand. Other iPad
holders we’ve seen are quite
bulky (Kinsman, for
example) where this is more
sleek and lightweight. On
the downside, it won’t self-
support on a desktop (like the
Kinsman does), so must be
clamped to a stand of some
description. There’s enough
range of adjustment to clamp
the D42MS to the thicker or
thinner part of a regular mic
stand, but not enough to use it
with a thicker speaker stand.
Its separate principal parts
(back support, clamp, ball unit
and thumbscrew) mean that
it’s easy to lose one, so we just
left it assembled… which is
then too bulky – with
measurements of 250 (h) x 200
(w) x 75mm (d) – to fit into a
gigbag front pocket.
Verdict
iPads are becoming a part of
everyday life for more and
foot off. Some readers may be
wondering how on earth an
effect like this can be used
musically, but if you’re familiar
with the way that Jack White
uses heavily gated, distressed-
sounding fuzztones with The
Raconteurs then you’ll get the
general idea.
From grainy old vinyl
textures on clean tones with
the mix set low, right through
to implementing randomised,
stuttering chaos with
additional pedal or amp
distortion, there are plenty of
ways in which the Farmer’s
Mill can add interest to your
sound. And it’s not just limited
to guitar either.
Verdict
Niche? Certainly, but for a
certain type of guitarist the
Farmer’s Mill is a beautifully
chaotic experience. [CV]
Want your iPad on a mic stand?
Sturdy Stand
D42MS
£44.99
CONTACT: JHS PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.jhs.co.uk
CONTACT: Crushsound PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.crushsound.com
GIT356.rev_quick.indd 143 5/16/12 11:18:32 AM