Modtone Pedals

[andy]

Has anyone had any experience of these pedals?

The website is quite funky looking, and has some seriously hyperactive video demos, but doesn't go into any real detail about the ins and outs (no pun intended) of the pedals. Ok, so they aren't true bypass, but are they fully analogue? Vintage spec parts compared to what? Not that it matters too much, but it leaves you wondering. Anyhow, they seem to sound pretty good, I was just hoping that someone else has a bit of prior experience to help me decide if they are worth adding to the list!

I'm looking specifically at the chorus actually- I've re-done most of my board, and my Boss CE-5 (which has served me very well for years) is the last possible link to upgrade. I was hoping to find the holy grail of small (MXR size), analogue, and true bypass. It doesn't seem I'll find all three in one, so I'm looking at either the Boss CE-2 or the Analogman Mini Chorus. The Analogman will cost a bomb with postage and import tax, and as the Boss is neither small nor true bypass, I hope the Modtone chorus might be a happy medium???

www.modtone-effects.com/Aqua-Chorus_df85af770bee8c35f408.html

[newey]

Andy-

No experience with Modtone pedals, and I didn't see a single review on Harmony Central. Which means they're either very new or very obscure.

They list a dealer in Akron, Heritage music, but Heritage's website doesn't show that they carry them.

There a dealer in Columbus with an online store here. $79.99 seems reasonable, don't know if they'll ship to the UK or not, or what tax would be.

I love some of the "over-the-top" copy on their website, like this :

Where some would simply stick it in a box and be done, our crack team of designers decided a pedal line this good deserved special packaging that reflected their commitment to tone and made sure each heavy duty transport box (with a cool magnetic lid) included a collectable instruction card with all warranty (5-YEAR) and website info.

Collect all the instruction cards! Trade them with your friends! ;D ;D

[newey]

Same price from Canada here, although in Canadian dollars, presumably.

Do you pay the same taxes on imports from Commonwealth countries? If there's a lower rate, might be a way to go.

BTW, I noticed that the dealers they list all seem to also be Indiana/Devlin/Morgan Monroe guitar dealers, so Modtone may be tied in with that group. My tech guy is an Indiana/Devlin dealer, I'll ask him about it.

[andy]

Thanks for looking so hard, Newey! I've actually found a place which sells them in (or to) the UK. It's a .com, but has prices in pounds, and the Aqua Chorus is going for £49.95! That's pretty good as these things go. I was wondering more along the lines of the tone of the thing, volume balance, noise, and the quality of the buffer. Like you say, there aren't any reviews up in the usual places, so I was just throwing it out there in case anyone here has used one. If not, I guess it simplifies my choice, although I don't know what I'll do without that instruction card for my scrap book...

[newey]

At today's rate, the $79.99 USD price would be £50.4. So it's even a tiny bit cheaper for you.

EDIT: Before you scratch it off your list, check to see how liberal a return policy that website has, If "Sounds like a steaming pile . . ." is a good enough reason to return it, it might be worth a trial go.

[andy]

Good point! It looks like I'd only have 7 days to work it out, so I'd better wait till I have a bit more spare time, but I may well give that a shot. I just missed another great priced CE-2 on Ebay, so when my next run of work finishes, I'll see how the land of chorus lies.