Members ck3 Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 In all honesty, I was hesitant to purchase one of these, mainly due to Behringer's piss poor quality control history. However, after I read a good number of positive reviews from reputable sources, I finally caved in and got one. At the current ~$30 price, resistance became increasingly futile with time. The pedal arrived last weekend via FedEx from AMS. Once I unpacked the VD1, I noticed that it came in the same type of container that most toy manufacturers use for action figures. Though this led to even more preconceived notions about the pedal, I was soon floored by its price-to-performance ratio. Upon striking my first chord, noodling, and then turning a few knobs, I noticed that the VD1 had an incredibly wide sweep to its tone range, a decent amount of gain and sustain, and a great built-in noise gate. It is nowhere near as jagged and fuzzy as my Barge Concepts BB-1 (Roland BeeBaa clone), but definitely exemplifies the best characteristics of all of the cheaper, Muff-like fuzzes that I have tried (DOD FX52 Classic Fuzz, Ibanez FZ7) ... and even more pricey ones (Bigtone Music Anthology). The only aspects of the design that I found objectionable were the wanky switch, needlessly oversized chassis, and cheapo battery compartment/storage mechanism. The bypass has demonstrated no evidence of adversely affecting my tone and did not seem to create issues with buffer-sensitive effects. Also, the chassis seems pretty solid for thin metal. Overall, the VD1 is a steal for its current price IMHUO, even with its less desirable qualities. It could easily be mistaken for a pricey, boutique Muff clone if it were in a fancier enclosure. If nothing else, this pedal is a prime candidate for a rehousing experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrMunky Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 http://www.inrerocknroll.com/tunes/Vinnach.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BandofThievesâ„¢ Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 Always a good idea to shop with your ears and not your eyes.I have one set up side by side with a tweak fuzz..Haven't sold a tweak fuzz.Sold out of VD-1's.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockstrongo Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 I have one, and I love it. You have to run the Sustain and Volume controls pretty high (it doesn't have a whole hell of a lot of volume), but it pushes my Marshall in a very pleasing way. Very smooth sounds can be had, and its a great stoner rock fuzz for guitar. It stomps the {censored} out of the Black Big Muff, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted January 31, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 Originally posted by rockstrongo It stomps the shit out of the Black Big Muff, IMO. I almost invested in one of the newer Sovtek Muffs recently (with the intent of getting it modded). In retrospect, the VD1 was definitely a better choice, especially from a financial perspective. I'm sure that it probably sounds identical to the many modded Muffs out there ... if not better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members runbeerrun Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 I also enjoy the aformentioned pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grob-bucket Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 I love mine. The tiny SMD circuit board might not have a lot of vintage cred but it gives much lower noise than the original. Cheesy packaging but a killer pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members space cred Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 agreed! sounds wicked awesome on bass too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockstrongo Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 You know, after looking at the board I wonder if there is any way to mod it for more gain by fooling around with the diodes. They seem like the only components that could be "workable". Isn't there a Muff mod that can boost the gain by doubling the clipping diodes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 when are they making the fuzz factory and ooh wah clones? Didn't someone say they were releasing them at the summer namm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Speeddemon Posted January 31, 2006 Members Share Posted January 31, 2006 Originally posted by rockstrongo You know, after looking at the board I wonder if there is any way to mod it for more gain by fooling around with the diodes. They seem like the only components that could be "workable". Isn't there a Muff mod that can boost the gain by doubling the clipping diodes? you could also replace the diodes with LEDs= more output, slighty less drive, but a more crunchy type of drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cokeman Posted February 4, 2006 Members Share Posted February 4, 2006 We're talking about this one right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Craigfnh Posted February 4, 2006 Members Share Posted February 4, 2006 "VD" means vintage distortion? Not were I come from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joegrant413 Posted February 4, 2006 Members Share Posted February 4, 2006 Cool! This is just the cheap Behringer I was waiting to hear about, and I am lacking a fuzz pedal. -- Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dot-dot-dot Posted February 4, 2006 Members Share Posted February 4, 2006 I just got one too - it's not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joegrant413 Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Just got it!!! Great bang for the buck, no doubt. It sounded better going to my Pro Jr. than my Nano, though it sounded very good in both. I was pretty impressed that this $29 pedal had very good tone and little noise, except when I cranked the input. BTW, I never had a Big Muff, so I'm learning how to tweak this beast. The only objection so far is the battery compartment. I taped the battery to the plastic holder so that it doesn't come loose and move around in the pedal. I also compared the distortion between the VD1 and my Keeley Ultra DS-1. Hey, guess what, my Keeley has better overall tone quality... No surprise, but I was just checking to see how different the 'fuzz' on the DS-1 maxed was compared to the VD1. The VD1 fuzz is different enough from the DS-1 that, so far, it merits a place in my gear. Again, this is my first real fuzz pedal, so I'm just trying some different things. I also pushed the DS-1 at a clean setting into the VD1, and it yielded some pretty cool, but manageable, high-gain results. BTW, as is the case with just about everything, my Katana boost pedal after the VD1 makes it sound even better. Anyway, big thumbs up for my first Behringer clone! I'll keep my eyes open on HCEF for other clones worth pursuing. -- Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Seth Carmody Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 How's this compare to the DOD FX52? They're both cost around the same to pick up, but the DOD obviously has the size advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gatordoc Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Originally posted by dot-dot-dot I just got one too - it's not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shepherdspy Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Originally posted by Seth Carmody How's this compare to the DOD FX52? They're both cost around the same to pick up, but the DOD obviously has the size advantage. I have both and like both. The Classic Fuzz is more fuzzy and can emulate other fuzzes better. The VD is a little more distortiony and has the Big Muff character all the time - not quite as much of a chameleon. The VD is more scooped but not terribly so. The VD is quieter. Both are great value for the money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members space cred Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 i have both as well, and agree with sheperdspy on most things, but i haven't ever found the fx52 to be noisy. also, i think its a weird comparison...the two can sound exactly the same a lot of the time, but the VD has slightly more potential towards distortion. thirdly, i've found so far that the VD workds a lot better with other OD's (most of the time). The greatest thing about the VD has to be the ability to EASILY tweak the knobs with your toes! the NYC reissue always bothered me with its "better" knobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MadSkillzMan Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 wow..that sounds really nice! i love behr, great bang for the buck in my expereinces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CurtisM Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Not to go too off topic, but has anyone played the vintage phaser? Its a clone of the small stone, i believe. I couldnt find any clips anywhere though. Also, thier site says it has true, hard wire bypass. Is that really true bypass, or a creative wording for something else? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratStevo Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Just ordered one from Music123 THANX for the GAS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cokeman Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 They must come in 2 colors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sstim8or Posted February 18, 2006 Members Share Posted February 18, 2006 Can someone post a gut shot of one of these? I'm rehousing a Sovtek Big Muff right now, and I'd like to see if the Behringer could be done the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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