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12 Years Ago Today I Joined HCFX


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When I first posted I had one simple question and I owned about 6 pedals at that time which included a Crybaby Wah, an MXR Distortion + and a couple DOD pedals including a Delay and a Flanger and and an MXR Phaser.

My question was what pedal or pedals do I need to sustain a lead note in a solo as long as I want it to last. Seems like I got about a half a dozen replies and one of them was that I needed a "compressor" and a ProCo Rat. I went to a local music store and asked for both, the older gentleman (Fred) brought out the Rat pedal and then a cardboard box that had this grey pedal with the name Ross on it which was the compressor. He said "nobody wants that thing" and sold it to me for $20. It had been in the display case for years apparently.

When I got home and plugged them in, the compressor first in line and then the Rat - and I wailed on for about 2 hours and erupted at the pure joy of being able to sustain lead notes for what seemed like forever. I remember thinking - man that HCFX forum is the cat's meow and the next gig I played with my new pedals in tow was fabulous. My solos lasted twice as long and a couple guys in the band probably wanted to murder me. icon_lol.gif

That's where it all started. I sold that compressor for $450 a few years later when their popularity went thru the roof after the band Phish guitarist was seen playing thru one and everyone wanted that old grey Ross compressor. By now I was convinced I needed a compressor in my rig (forever) and that's when I bought my first "boutique" pedal - a Keeley Electronics compressor. It was quieter, tighter and oh so perfect and exciting that I wrote my first ever pedal review in decades of playing the guitar since I was 12 when I first started. Since then my love and interest for pedals really exploded. And so did my pedal reviews. I wrote tons of them and my passion for those shiny metal boxes became a real quest for tone and I created my own little Church of Tone and cranked out those reviews for years.

My Rev's Pedal Pick of the Month drew literally tens of thousands of hits on my band's website for years topping hundreds of thousands of reviews for over 72 countries worldwide each year. I no longer do the "Pedal of the Month" as I have only been purchasing a few pedals a year now that I have so many cool.gif This led to me actually meeting and talking to some of the all time greats like Robert Keeley and having hundreds of conversations over many years with Dave Fox of Foxrox, Geoffrey Teese of RMC Real McCoy wah fame, Bob Sweet of Sweetsound and many others too numerous to mention. All these guys are truly great people and guitarists who love the search for tone and have devoted much of their lives to perfecting some of the greatest effects we will ever see.

It's been a great ride and I now own over 300 pedals of almost every make and model available. Many were purchased to assist with follow up questions after I reviewed a pedal when people would email me and ask stuff like "how does that delay compare with a Boss DD-3 and stuff like that. So about a hundred of those off the shelf ones were purchased just for a side by side comparison and not necessarily because I actually wanted to own a particular pedal.

Yes there is hype in the pedal business as there is in any marketing endeavor, but many of the higher dollar stuff does actually merit the cost especially when you're gigging every week and your miles from home and you just can't chance any equipment failures when you're that far from home and you've built your sound around a particular setup. Many of them are also at their best at gigging levels and you really need to cut through the mix. I have often said if you're just a stay at home player entertaining your dog, the wife and kids, you probably don't need the higher dollar stuff when you're just playing at bedroom levels. And alot of the off the shelf stuff - like Boss, MXR and other long time manufacturers stuff, is as reliable as any of the higher dollar stuff as well so its all good. Tons of tone across the price range scale and more toys than we've ever had before. It's all good for every player alive and kicking. I've had a ball and I've had the privilege of the company of many of today's pioneers and I am forever thankful for that.

Any span of that many years also came with life's losses. My Mom died 10 years ago, my brother 7 years ago and my Dad 5 years ago. Lost a lot of life long friends too along the way and quite frankly, if it wasn't for my music and the great consoling quality of making music - I probably would not have survived it all myself. The great and memorable friends and connections I have made because of my association with Harmony Central and it's worldwide family of many caring and wonderful people have been a true joy or more occasions than not - and good medicine at times when I thought I would slip away mentally. So for that and all the wonderful friends and memories this place has provided for me - thank you so very much to all.

Please remember to treat each other with respect and compassion as you never know what someone else may be going through along life's path. You might be that one bright spot in someone's day that helps them make it through to the next day and beyond. Carry on, rock the hell on and thanks again Harmony Central & crew!

Rev wave.gif

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Rev,

Its been quite a journey. I do have fond memories of you always being around. Guys like you, bieke, dot dot dot, Olle', Fernmeister, and many others made it worthwhile to stick around and get good gear summations.

I remember back in 2000, finishing college, colleges back then were just getting tons of computers everywhere, both inside the classrooms and out, and i spent an enormous amount of time on the HCFX after i realized they were there (had always just read user reviews)


Hats off to you

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Quote Originally Posted by macadood

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RIP HC User Reviews cry.gif

 

Agreed.


Thanks for posting Rev, I don't see you post much anymore and I assumed it was because of how off-topic it can be around here at times. I think PKTrono got it right, the negativity definitely needs to take a back seat to what (I think) is a great forum.


I also have gone from few to more than enough pedals. I wish I played more often and I wish I were in a band, but such is life. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and reports on all the goodies that they received or got for themselves.


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My first post was in the Revs OD lounge since then I got to meet him and jam with him and when I was doing my lawman duties the Rev would drive across town and buy me breakfast We never had enough time to talk about gigs and gear but always had a good time and I always stop by when I hit his sector also the man can burn up a fret board

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