Wampler Tweed '57 verdict

[skankdelvar]

There's a whole heap of voodoo being talked about these: "outstanding tone, captures the Tweed thing, great flexibility, sensitive to playing dynamics, expensive but worth it", etc

I'm a sucker for voodoo so I bought one.

And it's all true. Best pedal I ever bought.

[dlloyd]

Does it do the same/similar as this little fella?



I had the 65 deluxe reverb version and it was a fantastic pedal

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1385910709' post='2293475']
Does it do the same/similar as this little fella?

I had the 65 deluxe reverb version and it was a fantastic pedal
[/quote]

The Boss and the Wampler are in the same ballpark - amp in a box designed to replicate the 'Tweed' sound. The Wampler claims to get close to a range of tweed amps - champ, deluxe, twin, bassman etc - and seems to get it by tweaking the tone controls. More mids and treble gets you a small amp. Roll off the treble, up the bass and you get an approximation of a larger cab.

The cool thing is the toggle switch which offers normal, 'bright' and 'jumpered'. There's a big difference in sound. Jumpered is quite gain-y.

Anyhow, normal + (bass off, mids and treble up) gets close to a Claptony Layla champ. Jumpered + (bass and mids up, treble down) gets an SRV-ish sort of sound. Bright + (gain at 1pm, bass slightly down) gets a Keefy sort of Twin.

Seems to prefer lower output single coils to hotters s'c's and a treble bleed is useful when pulling the volume down at the guitar. Roll it down to 5 and everything starts to chime! So far I've only run it through a 10" SF Princeton NR combo, but when I get a chance I'll try some other stuff and see what happens. Such fun!

Wampler do a 65 blackface pedal too (but no internal reverb unlike your Boss, IIRC).

Here's the vid (one of many on YT) that sold me into the Tweed:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjKVQy4JB8k[/media]

Edited December 1, 2013 by skankdelvar

[Beer of the Bass]

How well does the "amp emulation in a pedal" idea work in front of an actual amp with its own voicing and character? I always wonder if it might end up over-egging the pudding a little, though I imagine a midrangey tweed emulation in front of a slightly scooped BF/SF Fender could be quite useful.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1385931779' post='2293840']
How well does the "amp emulation in a pedal" idea work in front of an actual amp with its own voicing and character? I always wonder if it might end up over-egging the pudding a little, though I imagine a midrangey tweed emulation in front of a slightly scooped BF/SF Fender could be quite useful.
[/quote]

I used to use my Boss pedal in front of a Marshall MG series amp... it made a sh*t amp sound really, really good. It probably didn't sound exactly like a Fender deluxe.

You obviously want to start with a fairly neutral tone. I was trying to get rid of amps all together and DI it... didn't quite get it right.

[Kiwi]

I've been looking into these for a while and heard good things about the Wampler. The problem with listening to recordings is that they don't give much of an indication of the dynamics of shifting air. I love how real Fender amps have such chimey, scooped clean sounds and it's possible to feel some compression on the highs when the clean sound is at higher volume settings. That compression makes chord stabs so much more spanky-sounding and with a crybaby wah, I'd probably be in heaven.

I'm guessing the Wampler (or any other modelling pedal) isn't going to replicate things to that degree. I'm really curious to know how it might sound in front of my Burman (which, is a fairly neutral sounding amp all things considered).

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1385981097' post='2294205']
I've been looking into these for a while and heard good things about the Wampler. The problem with listening to recordings is that they don't give much of an indication of the dynamics of shifting air.
[/quote]

You're in that Londo, aren't you? Hie thyself unto Chandlers or Regent Sound - they're Wampler dealers. Plus some more around the M25 periphery - Wampler dealer page [url="http://www.wamplerpedals.com/dealers/"]here[/url]

As for the chimy stuff, you may wish to try the Wampler Black '65. Catalinbread SFT does a nice Keefy-y Ampeg chime too.

[Ancient Mariner]

There's an Andertons video demoing a range of Wampler pedals, including the Black '65 (not my cup of arabica) if you're still looking. Also worth a quick try are some of those Joyo modeling pedals that replicate the Tech 21 series. I have several including the American sound, and it's a good Fender-in-a-box pedal, though certainly not a boutique job.

Actually this thread has made me wonder if I should be using it a bit more instead of all those little Eno pedals that look so nice in the case, sound great for drive, but aren't being used for what I'm playing right now.

[skankdelvar]

Having bought the Tweed '57, I have since acquired a Plexidrive and a Cranked AC.

I'm very sceptical of product claims and honeymoon reviews but what this guy Wampler does is just remarkable. These little boxes get you very, [i]very[/i] close to the sound but don't 'feel' like pedals when you play them. Set and forget.

I've only tried them through a 1x10 15w so far. May get a bigger head and a 2x12 out this weekend to see what it's like.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1385999775' post='2294455']
You're in that Londo, aren't you? Hie thyself unto Chandlers or Regent Sound - they're Wampler dealers. Plus some more around the M25 periphery - Wampler dealer page [url="http://www.wamplerpedals.com/dealers/"]here[/url]

As for the chimy stuff, you may wish to try the Wampler Black '65. Catalinbread SFT does a nice Keefy-y Ampeg chime too.
[/quote]
Thanks for the tip. I might go visit Regents anyway this Saturday given I need to get a couple of sets of strings and a small cable.