OMFG...Vox Satchurator Is Waaay Better Than It Looks On Paper

I had a coincidence happen recently, mayhaps even...a synchronicity.

A friend is trying to fight some legal hassles with his licence, I need something to replace my Bad Monkey, and..."just got paid today, got me a pocket full o' change"...

...so for fitty bones I took a chance on a Snatchurator.

I very nearly kicked it outta bed without even eating crackers. "Oh great...dammit...fucking DS1 clone?" and up on Craigsfist it went.

"To Assume makes an ASS of U and ME."

So after accepting that I have much to learn on drums and still don't even know what I like yet...figured what the hell, I'm here, may as well try the fucker out.

Grabbed my new favorite beater, a GFS/Slick SL59 with Dimarzio Super Distortion Soapbar, and SnatchMo, and proceded to give some corporate slaves some migraines.

First to a Line 6 jobber for tuning. And even older uglier fuck than yours truly was about to check out an EVH guitar.

"Just tuning real quick..."

"Go right ahead, you look like a shitty player anyway. Just kidding!"

"Oh, am I that transparent?"

He was a halfass Eddie wannabe but oftentimes that's enough. Nothing great but well played.

Took the two pieces over to the pedal station, Fender Princeton. Nice. Santa Monica, they sell lotsa booteek stuff at that store.

So cranking bass and treble and zeroing all else, some volume...ok...click.

The Satchurator will be instantly familiar to the billion or so people that have tried or used a DS1. I set it midway and instantly jerked the volume up. It does boost past 2 o'clock, it's no "HOLY schnikes" experience like a Way Huge or Catalinbread, but boost there is and in my opinion, all you need.

Having loads of gain on tap is ok I suppose, but doubt I'd ever dime a Swollen Pickle. I could see *not* wanting to dime it it - stage volume, errant foot, and a blown set of speakers later, for instance.

Instead, what we have here is a pedal for those who actually know how to use them. Much like a Tech 21 box, it's so straightforward I suppose it confounds the dummies.

Getting a kinda Suhr Riot "Marshall in a box" thing going on was not hard, but to be honest I have a Laney AOR, a TRI-A.C. & a good Whiteface Rat clone (Eno Myomorpha) so I thought meh nice but all set on this.

This is where I stopped letting Average Forum Dork think for me.

Why does one listen to Average Forum Dingus? Well oftentimes it's better to tap into someone else's OCD (the disorder, not the overdrive) and wallet, not having infinite time or money.

However, as a longtime HCFX trench warrior can attest like few others can...the forums are full of idiots and assholes. Some you recognize like helpful folks over time in the same forum - "JimmyP" on Talkbass is a known quantity to me, as is Vegas. Both great, with it guys by the way.

But if you don't recognize the archetypal asshole pattern in a particular poster or group you can easily talk yourself out of a "perfect for you" piece of gear.

Archetypes such as The Cork Sniffer.

This ass poo-poos production pedals and essentially anything under $300. Generally compensating for a variety of existential ailments. Talks up, say, a Red Witch Empress, and goes on about the build quality and blah blah blah, John Mayer uses one. John can afford a few backups for when the hand soldering takes a (completely reasonable!) dump, and has to be shipped to NEW FUCKING ZEALAND to be fixed.

Oh no a completely comparable production alternative half the price and available in every GC or CL in the land? Who wants THAT, amirite?

So anyway, Mythbusters Time, Snatchurator Edition.

Myth 1: Not Enough Output.

BUSTED

On both guitar and bass you are reaching Unity at about 2-3 O'clock and boosting thereafter. Not a silly amount but comparable to say...a Bad Monkey. Which boosts fine, tankyewveramuch.

Myth 2: "More" Switch = Diming The Gain

BUSTED

The More switch boosts voltage and does so quite audibly past the limits of the gain knob at '10'. Try yourself - turn on, low gain setging, engage More. Sounds dimed? Ramp it up while sustaining a note or chord. Way gainier and beefier. Dime the knob, More off. Now hit More. More sustain, lows...similar to engaging a Micro Amp, there's a gain boost with light compression going on.

Myth 3: A Pedal Designed For A Lead Guitarist Will Suck On Bass Guitar

BUSTED

The Satchurator has more lows than a DS1, and at 9 o'clock and lower on the tone knob will actually boost bass slightly.

The stock MIT DS1 is actually surprisingly great on bass. Same scoop as a Big Muff. But Distortion, even less of a fuzz than a Muff is. Burly and can be used similarly to a Rat.

The More switch is great on a bass application regardless of where the gain knob is set. Full up and More engaged, tone down volume up...in the same league as a Swollen Pickle, & likely easier to tame. The Pickle is DAMN hard to dial in a great sound that doesn't disappear in a mix, but sounds boss solo.

Keeping my fingers crossed for the Vox on bass in a mix, because I spent more time on the B112 with a Gio Soundgear than I did at the Princeton with one of my favorite personal guitars.

JCM 800 Time...The Real Test

All well and good, but I was auditioning a Bad Monkey replacement, remember?

Which, in addition to traditional Tubescreamer use, is also a great bass overdrive and a boost. Gain down, level up and bass and treble well into boost...BURLY.

I lower the gain all the way in front of the JCM 800...1982B, Greenbacks...level up, tone to taste...and the JCM goes from mildly overdriven to monstrously chunky and...uh...Satchurated.

Gain can be piled right on, and maxed with More engaged is perfectly usable, infinite liquid Soldano-like sustain that makes Joe, Vai or Eddie style licks just pour, instead of being some redonkuluous feedbacky mess.

Must work well, EVH Wannabe wasn't strutting much anymore on his way past me.

Conclusion:

I wasn't expecting a "fancy DS1" to be the solution to a few of my overdrive and distortion needs. Wasn't expecting a serious contender in the Bass Fuzz Free For All, either.

Joe, Vai, Cobain and others haven't exactly been living under a rock. (Ok, 2/3rds of that statement still holds up!)There are plenty of flavors out there, but when three of the most copied guitarists of an era all used the same box despite all the "cooler" options, perhaps it's worth noting. Particularly when you contrast the styles of Joe and Steve with Kurt, gives you and idea of what can be done with one "average" box. See also TS9s and SRV, Devin Townsend.

Joe's version of this perennial standard has many things going for it.

MORE IS MORE...this alone makes it twice the pedal others are. Not a gimmick. Not just diming the gain knob, & if you wanna cover this ground, prepare to add a SD1 or TS9 to your DS1.

Better bass response. Alone all many would need to hear. A low end junkie myself, nothing to fear here.

Better gain than a stock MIT DS1.

Overall much more refined than the cheap modern day standby.

It's made in Japan with full sized components and is exceptionally low noise. GC is loaded with fluorescent bulbs bad power and other noise sources, the dimed JCM 800 preamp adding to the challenge. Studio quality.

The Keeley DS1 is a more apt bogey, or a MIJ Boss. Either will fetch more than the Vox will. And both are superior to the not bad MIT DS1.

For the 50-90 this will fetch, worth every penny. If you ever wanted shredworthy overdrive via clean Fender or semi dirty Marshall, grungy chunky rhythms or a nasty, beefy bass distortion, don't fall for the antihype. More than the sum of it's parts, & at least the equal of a MIJ or Keeley, all told.

I would "Cream Of The Crap" this, but it's actually the opposite, a misunderstood and overlooked piece of pro level modern gear. $50 all day long on GC Used or Reverb or elsewhere, 75-90 for a museum piece.

Everything old is new again...fine by me.