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.

Introduction - Or, Why You Should Care About This Blog

Hi!

My name is Dan Muench. 

I'm a 34 year old amateur musician, tech, engineer and producer. I've had some great adventures I hope to share, some great tips about Squeezing Music From A Stone - navigating the maze of half truths, misinformation, disinformation, and advertising jargon that separates the fools from their money. 

When I was in high school and just learning to play guitar, I often read Guitar World cover to cover - whether from one I actually managed to scrape up the money for or just on the local rack. 

There was a great series of articles that were written for GW by J. Yuenger of White Zombie fame. J was one of my favorite guitarist of the time, and still is - the 'First White Zombie Album' to non-completists is a Stoner Rock Closet Classic - like Ministry by way of Kyuss and Fu Manchu. Later J would be more contemporary, but that first record was more timeless in it's synthesis of Sabbath, Hendrix, and Public Enemy style sampling. Thunderkiss '65 was a touchstone riff in my early years. 

J was even more influential in his articles however - at least to me. In the '90s he was talking about how the good fat years are behind us, how the industry is headed for a dive, and if you want to survive and actually exist as an artist, better take a page from the punk manual and learn to DIY. Things about the logistics of touring and the realities of being in even a signed band...paraphrasing from memory, "Here I am, guitar player in a signed rock and roll band, trying not to get mugged on my way home from work washing dishes."

Well, in the two decades almost since, I've gleaned some information on maximizing your value, making things work, what tears collaborative bodies (bands, crews, etc) apart, and the psychology of the business today - after all, you'll mostly be dealing with other human beings, not Platonic Ideals or Immutable Laws of Physics. 

I've worked for major 'big box' music retailers, was a veteran of the Harmony Central Effects Forum (aka the worst forum for flame wars on the net north of 4Chan), have been a guitar tech, tour manager, and other functions for touring bands, ended up playing guitar for Sky Saxon in The Seeds in 2007 after being their roadie earlier in the tour. I've gone from no gigs under my belt to playing 1500 people at Michigan Peace Fest with nothing but some intense rehearsal in between. And I have tone for days, always have, and I'll share some of my knowledge with you, because I've seen plenty of dudes out there who could play circles around me in my old days - but couldn't come within a thousand miles of my sound or craft one of the oddball riffs and hooks I've come up with. 

I'll help decipher and deconstruct the tricks that are played on us by retailers and luthiers - "you're not really playing unless you have this booteek XYZ Guitbox and Amp Du Jour, prices start at one kidney." The tricks we also end up playing on ourselves - convincing ourselves that X piece of gear is going to be the grand keystone in our rig where we finally just shut up and play what we have instead of the eternal chase to the Next Big GASsy Thing. In the end, the Mind Funkers only manipulate what, as Radiohead says, You Do It To Yourself, You Do, You and No One Else. 

We'll discuss recording hardware and techniques, building a rig, dialing in an instrument, modifying guitars, basses, and pedals, and how to take advantage of the Golden Age Of DIY and get out there making music - in a world that wants you to either chase a fame Will O' The Wisp endlessly (bleeding cash as you go) or just to give up and rot on the sidelines. 

There's no more Million Dollar Signing Bonuses for musicians (not for smart ones, as J pointed out nearly 20 years ago), and competition is tougher than ever - remember, Big Record Deal Band uses YouTube and Reverbnation and other 'indie' outlets too and competes with us small fish right in 'our' pond. If all that still doesn't deter you, great! You're an artist, and not just a Fame/Money Ho with an instrument or mic in your hand. The world doesn't need more of that, but it does need more heartfelt, soulful, real art - from you! And I'm gonna help you do it. Even if you gotta do it all yourself - I can take you from choosing your first guitar, bass, or microphone, to mastering your own recordings you made of your now badass (and cheap!) rig and be able to have a finished product worth promoting and sharing with the world. You'll be surprised at the difference between your early efforts and the more 'pro' sounding later work, and realize why so many artists hate leaked early versions (they're not done yet!). 

Happy Tone Hunting.