Carl Martin Plexi Pedal

[VH5150]

Anybody try one? What do you guys think of Carl Martin pedals?

There are a lot of good reviews on HC but was just wondering

if any of you guys know anything.Thanks

[CFC]

I have a Carl Martin boost kick pedal and its very good,does just what is says on the box!

[Rid]

Just do not expect the Plexi to sound like a Marshall through some small Fender amp, if so try to change the speaker to a Celestion type speaker.

It likes Brit voiced amps.

And using some honky humbuckers is also good;)

Or for more VH sounds of old, use humbuckers that are more open and with alittle more bite.

Niels

[Goofball]

i've been using a plexitone for over two years now (hundreds of gigs!). the core sound is pretty cool and i really dig it.

 

having said that, there are two things that i would change in a heartbeat if i could.

 

1. the sweepable tone control - this pedal really needs separate bass and treble controls. i end up using a reverend drivetrain to boost the bass some.

 

2. the boost function is practically useless. it has 20 db of boost - way more than anyone would ever need! if you move that knob just a tiny bit, it'll throw the level of stage volume out the window. a 5 db boost would be a lot more practical.

 

other than that, i do like it otherwise it wouldn't have stayed on my board all these years.

 

hope they make some improvements and release the plexitone 2!

[Rid]

Boost the bass??

There is alway a first one;)

Additional eq ads noise, no way around that.

The booster is easy to fix, I do not think we will make a Plexi2.

Niels

[Durango_Kid]

Neils

Glad to see you keeping tabs on things. Just remember that you need "hear" what the customers are saying, not just listen. Not a lecture, just an observation. I think you make great stuff!

 

So what is the easy fix for the boost? I don't think you need to make a Plexi2 but perhaps you could let us know if you plan to change it in the future and perhaps offer a $20.00 retrofit program to fix the boost since it seems to be something you have heard before.

 

I have been looking at the Plexitone for quite some time now but the clean boost is an important feature. and I already have one on my Traynor that is overboard (i.e. useless).

[VH5150]

 

Originally posted by Rid Just do not expect the Plexi to sound like a Marshall through some small Fender amp, if so try to change the speaker to a Celestion type speaker. It likes Brit voiced amps. And using some honky humbuckers is also good;) Or for more VH sounds of old, use humbuckers that are more open and with alittle more bite. Niels

 

 

What about a boogie dc-5?

[Rid]

Actually what I hear the most is...too much lowend;)

Or too much gain..hehe

You can send the pedal to us, if you have one, and we can change the pot for another one, the shipping will be the only cost, anyways it is a loud pedal, there is really no way around that.

It is still a pedal made for those who have big Marshalls and Hiwatts, or AC-30 tops, or other highpower amps.

Anyways another pedal is coming out soon, based more on Voxamp like sounds, more mellow and swampy, the plexi is just what it is, just like any other gear, works for some and not for others,

Mesa DC-5, well since Boogies are voiced like Fenders to some degree, do not know, nothing to do but try it:)

Niels

[tele0507]

Originally posted by Rid Actually what I hear the most is...too much lowend;) Or too much gain..hehe You can send the pedal to us, if you have one, and we can change the pot for another one, the shipping will be the only cost, anyways it is a loud pedal, there is really no way around that. It is still a pedal made for those who have big Marshalls and Hiwatts, or AC-30 tops, or other highpower amps. Anyways another pedal is coming out soon, based more on Voxamp like sounds, more mellow and swampy, the plexi is just what it is, just like any other gear, works for some and not for others, Mesa DC-5, well since Boogies are voiced like Fenders to some degree, do not know, nothing to do but try it:) Niels

 

change the pot for another one, what will this do for the plexi ?

 

I might want to send mine in.

 

[Rid]

I'll try to see what works best tommorow, then I will get back to you with this:)

See if the pot can wander alittle longer, but it will still be 20db at the pots end.

Niels

[Rid]

Well I have tried a few options, and found one that works, it is not as loud as the normal one, but it is still loud enough.

Niels

[Goofball]

Niels -

I, too, am glad you're keeping on top of things (thanks, Durango Kid, for speaking up!). Since you work for Carl Martin and while i'm not sure, it seems you had a hand in designing the Plexitone, let me first say, i really do like this pedal! the plexitone is an awesome distortion pedal and fits in nicely with my sound. but - that's not to say it's 100% perfect.

 

i also went through a ton of amps until i settled on an ac-30. the vox and the plexitone create a mini-Marshall for me - and a set up that i can easily haul to clubs. and as i said, the fundamental tone of the plexitone is awesome. it is my main rock and lead sound.

 

now, just as Durango Kid said, i would hope you listen to what the users of your products say. i've shown tons of other players my rig and i give the plexitone all its credit due AND a ton of compliments. BUT - i'm not the only one who has popped on that boost switch and been puzzled as to the range of the boost. i have never run into anyone who has a use for a boost that can go up to 20 db. if stage volumes are set, anything more than a few db's would destroy everyone.

 

i know of what I speak of, man. since the pot's "0" setting is at about 7 o'clock, i think the max movement i've EVER done has been to about 8 o'clock (or 8:30) just to make it jump out a little more for leads. however, because the knobs are rotary and seem to move easily, a few dancing girls on stage have knocked my settings more than once. Once, it was moved to about 11-12 o'clock and i didn't notice it. you would've thought a bomb had hit when i stepped on it! the guitar was sooo loud and even though i turned it off within a few seconds, that didn't stop the sound man from chewing me out for almost blowing his mains!

 

since then, i've put little pieces of duct tape at about the 9 o'clock position to wedge the knob if it does happen to get moved.

 

no, dude, doesn't matter the rationale - - a 20 db boost is impractical and unusable! now, i do like the idea of wider range of travel in the pot - that may be a happy compromise.

 

the "bass problem" that i mentioned before seems to be subjective. again, i've had other players play my rig and i've never heard the comment that the plexitone has "too much bass", nor have i ever heard that here on the forums or in the user reviews. i'll give a little on this since the vox isn't a real bass-heavy amp. even so, i've played the plexitone through half-stacks with various amps and an assortment of combos - boutique and mass-produced. i've never noticed the bass to be "overpowering" in any way.

 

in fact, i've been playing les pauls almost exclusively to give it a little more chunk. now again, this may be more than subjective but i always thought the plexitone would jump from a "very good" to a "really great" pedal with the addition of separate bass and treble controls. i don't why that wouldn't seem like a good idea. a couple of years ago, i had even posted threads to some of the pedal builders on these forums to see if anyone could mod this for me. no takers, sad to say b/c it seems it would come down to altering the circuitry within the pedal rather than just putting in a capacitor here and there and what not.

 

well, there you are, Niels. didn't mean to go on and on like this but like Durango Kid said, we're the consumers of your pedals and it would seem to be a good idea to listen to what the actual users of your products have to say. If i wanted a product from a company that could care less about my satisfaction/comments then i would have a board filled with Boss pedals. As it turns out, i, like many others here, took extra steps to seek out and demo all sorts of equipment in order to find the best sound. i found the plexitone and liked it - and still like it - but it doesn't mean that it couldn't benefit from some feedback and/or improvement. i've posted on these forums tons of times espousing the cool features of this pedal and have shown it to a ton of players here as well - not to mention that i use this pedal constantly. i think that proves that i will stand up for a product i believe in.

 

thanks for your ear, Niels!

Dave

[Rid]

Hehe that was some post:D

Thanks for the inputs.

Well as for the additional eq, that is not going to happend to this one, it would mean a complete workover, hence a whole new pedal.

It was designed this way because the sound was the purest in this setup, any kind of filtering changes the basic sound.

This is why it sounds like it does:)

Back to the lowend thing, I use a big mean Hiwatt DR201 200 watts plus head, with a 4x12 with G12H30's, this amp is unforgiving, and a great base for final tests, it had alot of that classic Marshall thump when using the Plexitone on it.

I have also used it on a 1987 Marshall head, that one gave the same lowend, also on the 1959 Marshall head, no loss of lows at all, but like everything else it can change from setup to setup, I just tested the lows on those classic amps, and found them intact:)

So it is there.

Well I tried it on a Bluesbreaker combo, it nearly chocked on itself, it defently did not agree with this one, once again it was made this way because that had the purest sound to me.

Maybe you should use it with a low and highpass filter eq??

Anyways the boost thing has a workable sollution, as for lots of boost, nobody complains over Z-vex's Super hard-on;)

Back to the Plexi, it will follow your amp and speakers range, it is still just an overdrive and not a magic wand.

I hope this helps you some, while it might not be what you wanted, sorry about that, but again this is how it was designed:)

Feel free to ask more questions, we can make the booster less aggressive, as for lown, we can also install something that can change between two caps, but it is no really good sollution on this one, since the gain has to be increased, and the resistor is not far from just being directly send to ground, so it is already set pretty extreme in the circuit.

No my best shot is an additional eq for more lowend, or a different cab??

Once again thanks for your posts and input, they will be taken into account for sure.

Best regards Niels

[Goofball]

thanks for the reply, Niels. i do appreciate you looking over my comments.

 

yeah, i do realize that it just may be differing setups that may cause our different perceptions. not the end of world by any means, it is still a good tonal tool for me and i'll continue to use it.

 

actually, if you knew just how many props i give this pedal to others, it might make my above "rant" a little more understandable. the "integrity" of the sound IS a lot purer than some and i'm a little surprised that the plexitone isn't a bigger deal to a lot of players. it serves me well, for the most part, and it's definitely one of my better buys.

 

i have tried the eq pedal both before and after the plexi but found that it compromises the purity of the tone somewhat so i took that off the board. as i mentioned before, the reverend drivetrain adds a little "oomph" to it. (i've been a fan of this pedal for this years too). yeah, it does change the tone a little but i use it as a mild overdrive/clean boost and that fills out the sound a little.

(oh, btw, i do have a z.vex SHO and thought the same thing with their pedal. true, i've seen less complaints about the volume boost on that but i don't think it's near the boost of the plexitone. to be fair though, that didn't last long on my board either. good tone but a little unneccesary with my setup).

 

it'd be interesting to try this through a hiwatt. i've tried the plexi through fenders, marshalls, peaveys, boogies, bogners, etc. but never a hiwatt. THAT would be a good match, i would think.

 

i DO get compliments on the plexi/Vox combination though. a little more low end and i would have "the" sound for me, I think.

 

 

thanks again, Niels.

Cheers, man!

[Rid]

Yep the Vox and plexi is quite nice, very creamy, borrowed an old AC-30 head through two old greenbacks in an old Marshall cab, very nice sound, fluid stuff.

I love Hiwatts, most clear and fullsounding amps I ever have used.

Back to the drive, the same will happend when you add eq to the circuit, it will sound fake in some way.

No worries about the Plexi, we have shipped quite a few of those now, the players using them do not use these boards.

I have a few mates at the Duncan board who has Marshall heads, they love their Plexi's, that is quite nice to know:)

Niels