The pedal has excellent raw, phat, analog sound. It can make everything from a smooth tremolo or chorus to crunchy robotic noises and even something akin to a telephone. For a subtle effect that won't make your listeners forget what instrument you are playing, I recommend keeping the mix fairly low. I've managed to replicate Elliot Randall's guitar tone for the final crazy solo on Steely Dan's "Green Earrings".
I'm playing an Epiphone "Dot" through a Fender Blues Junior amp. This pedal is best complimented by a bit of distortion. The Blue Ringer has just a tiny bit of noise, but it is completely manageable. I find the distortion should be placed before the ring mod in the effects chain, otherwise the noise gets boosted by the distortion.
Reliability/Durability:
It is a very solidly built pedal. I trust it more than any other pedal I have. I wouldn't bother having a backup for this odd of an effect.
Ease of Use:
I plugged it in and within 5 minutes had figured out to get whatever sound I wanted out of it. The controls are fairly self explanatory. The frequency knob covers a very large range... I find it is only useful between about 45% and 75%. The one page "manual" doesn't offer any great insights, but it has all of the basic info needed. It takes a little experimenting, but it's fairly easy to get the sound you want.
My only complaint is that the "frequency" dial is extremely sensitive. I haven't tried the CV input with a control pedal yet -- which would allow adjusting the "frequency" control in real time. I think that using a pedal that limits the range would enable more precise and smooth adjusting of this function.
Customer Support:
I purchased it from a second hand source, and thus haven't talked directly to the company. It does have a warranty, so I have no concerns.
Overall Rating:
I play jazz funk and rock, and with this versatile of an effect, there are many ways to incorporate it into different songs. Most of the sounds this thing makes are fairly avant-garde, so it is definitely best used in moderation. If lost or stolen, I would replace it, if I had the money to do so. I haven't tried any other ring modulators, but this one makes all the sounds I want and more. It's a blast to experiment with, but it takes some discretion in its application toward actual music. If you want to thicken your sound a bit and make it a bit synth-like, this is an excellent tool to do it. If you like far-out sounds, this pedal has plenty of them, too.
It is expensive, but well worth it. However, it is probably the least important component of my sound -- just the icing on the cake.
