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March 2012 Guitarist 139
QUICKTEST
MISCELLANEOUS
CONTACT: Korg UK PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.voxamps.com/uk
CONTACT: Guitar XS PHONE: [phone] WEB: plutoneium.wordpress.com
plutoneium.wordpress.com
QUICKTEST
MISCELLANEOUS
CONTACT:
Korg UK
PHONE:
01908 304600
WEB:
www.voxamps.com/uk
Plutoneium PU-236
Chi-Wah-Wah Bass
£195
Pocket-sized bass funk machine
The Bottom Line
We like: Robust build;
compact size; classic and
excessive wah sounds
We dislike: Although the
rubber feet help, this will still
move about in use, so it’s
best fitted to a pedalboard
GUITARIST RATING
Vox 22-Series £479.99
Affordable slice of class from Vox
Vox’s modern guitar range,
spear-headed by the Virage
Series electrics, is a class act –
even in this start-up 22 Series,
Indonesian-made guise. It
resembles a sort of modern SG,
and although the mahogany
body contouring is less curved
than on the high-end models,
that’s not to say it isn’t decent on
the front and back, including
the heel area. The 638mm (25.1-
inch) scale, 22-fret set neck is
pretty tidy too, a very playable
rounded ‘C’ profile that avoids
being too skinny. Like the
higher end models we get the
classy MaxConnect bridge and
acoustically we have a lively
and quite resonant ring. A nice
touch is the extended top horn
strap button, which subtly
improves the balance of the
guitar when it’s strapped on.
The dual-XLM ‘compact’
mini-humbuckers are
suspended from the 22-Series’
scratchplate and controlled by
The Bottom Line
We like: Good build and
design; lively response; crisp
and quite versatile sounds
We dislike: Non-standard-
size pickups
GUITARIST RATING
Really good
bass effects were
once a rarity but, fortunately,
this is one area of the market
that is constantly getting better.
Case in point is the highly
desirable Plutoneium PU-236
Chi-Wah-Wah, the designated
bass version of the popular
guitar model. Powered by the
mains via an optional
transformer lead, or by an
onboard battery, this is an
extremely robustly built pedal
that is pleasingly heavy yet
small enough to be transported
with ease. It comes with an
Allen key for removing the
bottom plate for battery
replacement and four rubber
feet that fit over these screws to
help prevent the unit from
moving during action.
However, in spite of its weight,
anything that requires
constant action when in
use is far better fixed
to a pedalboard.
Sounds
Three rotary controls
offer input level, for
optimising the bass signal,
contour, to regulate the
intensity of the wah effect, and
gain, which is used to adjust the
overall volume of the effect.
Take the foot off and the unit
allows the regular bass signal to
pass through. The wah sound is
deep, full and has fast tracking
so will warp your notes just as
fast as your foot can operate.
Verdict
The Chi-Wah-Wah features
a spring-loaded footplate so
doesn’t rely on the usual
rocking action from the foot
and in our opinion this makes it
a lot more user-friendly. The
wah effect offers great depth
and sounds dangerously funky
in use. [RN]
a reassuringly chunky, large-
tipped three-way toggle
selector switch; a smaller mini-
toggle switch switches the
humbuckers from series to
parallel humbucking for its lead
and clean voices.
Sounds
The combination of the long
neck and narrow aperture
pickups contributes to a bright-
edged but lively sounding
electric tone. There’s plenty of
punky attitude, perfect for
aggressive slashed chords and
wiry leads. The stringier
parallel tones work well –
especially with effects – as
they’re edgy and clear, and
when paired with a boost pedal,
suit a host of contemporary
rock styles. The neck
humbucker with a solo boost
lead tone is impressive too. A
pretty good, no-nonsense
classic/modern rock guitar.
Verdict
A classy axe, well spec’d for the
money. It’ll get you on the road
with rocking tones and a unique
look to boot. [DB]
GIT352.rev_quick.indd 139 1/26/12 3:06:02 PM