until the 12:00 setting,
meaning low gain settings
were out of the question
from the get-go. From
here on if the volume
wasn’t dimed, it was set
at 2:00.
Fortunately after that
hiccup I started playing
with the gain knob and
was suitably impressed.
The 9:00 position gave
me the good low-gain
roar for which cranked
Marshalls are great,
but Idecided to try for
something creamier.
Pointing both the volume
and gain to 2:00 but
rolling the Tone and
Presence back to 2:00, I
achieved a magic setting
of responsive overdriven
goodness that kept up
with any style I tried to
throw at it. If you have a
chance to try this pedal,
I highly recommend this
magic setting.
I then decided to put the
Presence knob to the test
and see what it was made
of, diming it while turning
all the other settings back
to 2:00. I was surprised
at how the sound went
from cream Marshall to
harsh ‘90s distortion,
like a DS-1 with a Keeley
mod. Rather than playing
EVH I instead switched to
Kurt Cobain, and the buzz
of “Territorial Pissings”
didn’t sound out of place.
CONCERNS
The Volume knob
basically gives you
nothing before the 12:00
setting. Some more power
there could potentially add
to the tonal versatility.
It got even more
interesting when I dimed
the Tone knob, increasing
the buzz. The distortion
tone was still clear, but
now sounded filtered
through an AM radio
or like the battery was
dying even though I was
powering it with an AC
adaptor. Rolling back the
gain gave me plenty of a
bright, jangling top end.
Forget Marshall, for half a
second it sounded like a
cranked Vox amp and my
name was Brain May.
WHAT WE LIKE
For the price, the quality,
and the tone, the Golden
Brownie beats the pants
off most high-gain pedals
on the market. For ‘80s
distortion on a budget,
this is your baby.
ToneReport.com
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