Bixonic Expandora 2000R

[Kev]

okay my first review, lets see how it goes.

Bixonic Expandora 2000R. rrp £115

This pedal i bought on a total whim after its shiny little case caught my eye. Its the reissue of the legendary pedal used by all the old skool guitarists. the reissue particularly interested me as it had a bass/guitar switch, which the original did not. so it works very well as a bass distortion.

Ease of Use : 8

Okay the pedal has the usual 3 fuzz knobs: Volume, Filter (tone) and gain. These ar self explanatory, the filter just cuts highs. Its the 2 switches above the knobs which make things interesting. the pedal is classed as having 3 different modes: crunch, overdrive, distortion and 'forbidden zone'. it takes a bit of getting used to, so i give it an 8

Sound Quality and Features : 9

the crunch setting is when the two switches are up. this gives a beautiful valve tone, cliche i know but it really can sound sweet, and with the bass switch, NO low end loss. The overdrive mode is when the left switch is down and right is up. This is exactly how it sounds, and overdrive, more gain than the crunch, but still pretty reserved. The next mode distortion is selected by settin the right switch down and the left back up again. this again is just more gain than the overdrive, however with the gain turned right up, its breaking into out of control territory. which is where the last mode comes in, the forbidden zone, which is both switches down. this is insanaly high gain fuzz, which is crazy good! great features, one of the best units iv ever used, and trust me iv tried plenty! it doesn't quite get that muff fuzz tone that i love, so for that reason its a 9.

Build quality: 10

Bulit like a little brick, a shiny circular brick ran off 9vdc, or a battery. cant see it breaking anytime soon.

Overall: 9

Overall, a great multi stage distortion pedal, certainly a great one for bass, and would certainly recommend it!

[Muppet]

Glad the reissue works well for bass - I had the original that I bought for peanuts and sold for a lot more and it was terrible for bass. Made the sound very thin and weedy on all settings.

[Kev]

all important bass switch changes everythin

[cheddatom]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='169366' date='Apr 3 2008, 07:33 PM']all important bass switch changes everythin [/quote]

Everything or just the low end responce?

I met a guitarist who had an original. He said that it was a special edition and that ZZ Top had the other 3 of 4. I don't know whether to beleive it though.

Ta for the review Kev.

[Kev]

the originals had the distortion stage switches inside the pedal, which was a rubbish idea

and the 2001 have no switches at all

this is the best expandora imo, certainly for bassists anyways

[Jarhead]

Just as an aside, Billy Gibbons has 6 of these in series, into a little amp that I've forgotten the details of.

Zach