Pete Cornish guitar pedals

[Jose Mrochek]

After some searching for the ultimate in guitar pedals.. I came to the conclusion that these pieces are top of the line.

Anyone using these ? thoughts ? which ones to get ?

I plan to build slowly (buying one every few months) around a VOX AC-30. Now theres the AC-30 with celestion speakers that costs 600$ more ? What are the differences ? Should I try to swing for the "better version" ? ? etc.. thanks!!!

[Ruudman]

PC's are one of the best, no doubt.

And they're buffered, makes a good combo with an AC-30 IMO
My AC always hated pedals, except TS-9 and the original RAT
plus a few EH's. Cue: pedals with good buffering.

Blue Celestions are a good match for VOX.


ruudman

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by Ruudman

Blue Celestions are a good match for VOX.


ruudman

So you definetly think I should swing the 600$ more bucks ? Or put that money into another pedal instead ?

[writethis]

If you want THE AC30 sound, you have to use the blue Celestions. They are an absolutely essential part of that tone. Sounds like you're trying to take your time and do this right. If that's the case, the blue's are IMHO a no-brainer.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by writethis

If you want THE AC30 sound, you have to use the blue Celestions. They are an absolutely essential part of that tone. Sounds like you're trying to take your time and do this right. If that's the case, the blue's are IMHO a no-brainer.

Yes sir, I'm trying to do this right for a change. I've bought alot of crap during the years, and want to build a rig slowly.. but surely, knowing that everything I buy I will keep for a long time. thanks for your advice !

[Amplove]

amp is key. the old silver alnicos are killer too but try and find old blue or silver celestions that are in perfect working order. the old speakers just sound better and you'll pay the price for them too and for good reason. pedals mostly end up masking the amp anyway. As you find the sweet spot with an amp, you'll find your self working your pedals less and less. I went through so many overdrive pedals until I settled on a Klon but then as soon as I started playing my 67' 50watt plexi through it's matching cabinet, at full tilt, I rarely touch that Klon...or my fuzzes for that matter.

sorry...too much information.

go for the blue celestions.

[Matt Grondin]

I was thoroughly disappointed with the Cornish SS-2. I don't think me and Pete would see eye to eye on what a good overdrive sound is, but Dave Gilmour does get some incredible guitar tones. I traded the SS-2 in on a Cornish Linear Boost/Mute and it's a fantastic guitar pedal... very transparent with mucho boost on tap. For overdrive/distortion, I don't think you can go wrong with Analog Man's stuff... he's the man. Good luck.

[Jose Mrochek]

Thanks you all ! I started a thread about pedals/amps sometime ago, and the amount of options that surfaced made it so difficult to decide. So I just decided on the Cornish stuff and VOX.

The truth as we all know is in the hands of who plays, but It's always good to know you have made a purchase that you won't regret in a little while. Specially with the Cornish stuff.. I haven't seen any dealers in the Miami area, so I will probably order by phone. And want to be sure I understand what i'm buying. Thanks again for your time!

[GJS]

If you are in the market you should check out the KLON Centaur. I think it's a fantastic sounding pedal. I lent mine to Tad Kubler, who plays lead guitar in a fantastic NY rock band called The Hold Steady. It sounds better with him stike

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

So you definetly think I should swing the 600$ more bucks ? Or put that money into another pedal instead ?

why not buy the cheaper cabinet and get the blue celestions yourself. I bet its cheaper

[cdog]

Jose,



About the Pete Cornish crap.... man, I don't wanna come off as harsh on PC, but that guy is more like an overpaid rodie than an FX designer.

He takes Boss etc. type pedals and puts them into buffered loops in a "pretty" custom case and charges out the wazoo for the whole jammie.

YES tube buffered designs are cool, YES he had made some cool routing crap, YES he made some crappy fuzz pedals that someone liked once, but honestly there is a WHOLE BEAUTIFUL WORLD of FX pedals to be seen, PC FX are like, the Hoboken of the FX world.... yeah, its pretty cool.... if you've never been out of New Jersey.




If you want to hear some high end FX design check out SE's MOD MAX series, Lovetone, Foxrox, Death By Audio, Teese, Effector 13, Zvex..... among many quality FX designers I've mentioned on other similar threads....

http://www.musictoyz.com/guitar/pedals/newpedals.php


OTOH

I think the latest Vox Reissues are pretty damn good. I wish they had kept making the HW series on the side (now they cost ) but the HW's were just the prelude to making virtually the same amp all in China, for half the cost.

The Blues are sweet speakers (never heard the Neodogs)....

[mcballs]

If what you're looking for is a Treble Booster, you might check out Scott Humphrey's treble booster pedals. He offers them with both modern transistors and old-school germanium ones. I have the latter (he calls it the Crispy Cream Vitamin G Booster). I paid about $200 US for it, which is a lot less that a PC one. Check out his site at http://www.treblebooster.com

He's got some great sound clips on their, too. One neat thing about his pedals is that you can change the cut frequency of the high pass filter by swapping input capacitors (he gives you a variety of them). This allows you to get tones like Brian May and also get great rhythm tones like on Bryan Adams' Waking up the Neighbours record (BA used a Pete Cornish pedal with his AC-30 at the time, btw).

[teleboy]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

After some searching for the ultimate in guitar pedals.. I came to the conclusion that these pieces are top of the line.

Anyone using these ? thoughts ? which ones to get ?

I plan to build slowly (buying one every few months) around a VOX AC-30. Now theres the AC-30 with celestion speakers that costs 600$ more ? What are the differences ? Should I try to swing for the "better version" ? ? etc.. thanks!!!

I have had at the same time for a personal shootout A PC SS2, Way Huge Red LLAMA, Centuar Klon, Analogman King of Tone, and BJF Baby Blue. If you have an amp that already produces natural distortation I would advise against the PC pedals. The best pedal
amongst the above for both amps that already produce natural distortation and the cleaner amps is hands down the Red LLama. Klon was a second choice .What we all seem to forget is that yes David Gilmore had an awesome sound with his PC pedal, but I would be willing to bet that much tweaking went into it to match his rig. YMMV.

[Jack Luminous]

Originally Posted by teleboy

I have had at the same time for a personal shootout A PC SS2, Way Huge Red LLAMA, Centuar Klon, Analogman King of Tone, and BJF Baby Blue. If you have an amp that already produces natural distortation I would advise against the PC pedals. The best pedal
amongst the above for both amps that already produce natural distortation and the cleaner amps is hands down the Red LLama. Klon was a second choice .What we all seem to forget is that yes David Gilmore had an awesome sound with his PC pedal, but I would be willing to bet that much tweaking went into it to match his rig. YMMV.

I'll second the Red Llama. I did not want to believe the Way Huge hype until I was lucky enough to come across a really cheap Red Llama. I bought it and it does sound amazing.

[84K]

We have all the pedals that have been discussed so far in this thread.... The Cornish stuff is awesome. The Way Huge is great too. My favorite Way Huge pedal is the Green Rhino and the Aqua Puss Delay.

The Cornish SS-2 is one of the greatest pedals ever. The P-2 fuzz is cool, and the Linear Mute Boost is SWEET! Definitely get the Cornish SS-2 and the P-2 (I like it better then the G-2).

[A33]

Here are some pics of a PC i had. Sounded amazing...

[somedude74]

Originally Posted by 84K

...
The Cornish SS-2 is one of the greatest pedals ever.

I recently upgraded my amp setup this year, and after settling down on an Orange Rocker 30 combo with a closed back Bogner 1x12 external cab, my amp tone situation was fine.

I then went on a search for a good fuzz/overdrive pedal. I played an SS-2 pedal, loved it, went back to purchase it, and it was sold. I placed an order for one, and 5 months later, I ended up with an SS-3 (the new modal).

Ok, the story ends like this. This pedal is the perfect companion to my Orange. The amount of bite the SS-3 gives my guitar is complement to the warmer distortion of my amp. This pedal allows me to play more in the 20-22nd fret zone without it sounding too thin or tinny. It kinda gives the high notes some balls without mellowing or dampening the high frequencies.

In concliusion, with all of the added benefit of tone and high quality circuitry, I think that the Pete Cornish pedal is a bagain, because it was cheaper than buying another amp.

The SS-3 rules... for me.
- GTR

[retropete]

PC FX are like, the Hoboken of the FX world... -- cdog

HEY HEY HEY tutt



haha

[kissingonstilts]

I bought an old Vox piggy back Berkeley in 1980 - it had green celestions ($400) - sounded nice. In the mid-90s I found an earlier model with blue celestions ($700) - it sounded better. I tried all of the re-issue versions, but they weren't the same. The vintage prices got a bit wild, and, have stayed there; but that sound from the originals is singularly unique in my experience.

Subsequently traded the Vox and went through some vintage (pre-'72) Marshalls, Tone Kings, and finally settled on a Vero Gotham. The new handmade amps from the smaller makers are quite nice.

Also purchased a Pete Cornish G-2/SS-2 Duplex pedal - I find it the most useful with both pedals on, run through an additional compressor (mine is an old Boss). This is a useful sound and adds dimension, but the voice of the amplifier weighs greater in the scheme of one's sound.

My experience has been that the natural distortion of the amplifier is far more interesting (and less fatiguing) than any effect; the amp is the entree' and the pedal is a spice.

[Kestral]

Pete Cornish is overpriced crap imo.

I own a Vox AC15tbx (that's a 15 watt version of the AC30 with the alnico speaker) and imo the two best sounding overdrives on it are the MXR Distortion II and the original vintage gray DOD 250. Way better than a tube screamer (the mid range hump doesn't work well with the Vox amp).

[robin watson]

Originally Posted by cdog

Jose,
About the Pete Cornish crap.... man, I don't wanna come off as harsh on PC, but that guy is more like an overpaid rodie than an FX designer.

He takes Boss etc. type pedals and puts them into buffered loops in a "pretty" custom case and charges out the wazoo for the whole jammie.

YES tube buffered designs are cool, YES he had made some cool routing crap, YES he made some crappy fuzz pedals that someone liked once, but honestly there is a WHOLE BEAUTIFUL WORLD of FX pedals to be seen, PC FX are like, the Hoboken of the FX world.... yeah, its pretty cool.... if you've never been out of New Jersey.

Hahahah....Except that those that truly make use of PC gear are world-weary, world famous musicians who have been to a LOT of places outside New Jersey, and can afford to pay the price for gear built by a military-trained engineer, to bomb-proof standards. I doubt even 0.5% of the folk here are even close to warranting the use of PC stage gear. PC isn't so much about effects design per se - he primarily builds Pro stage gear, which comes at a cost, apparently beyond your means (and I dare say, needs, also).

Sorry to be harsh, but we are talking a whole different ball game when you put Zvex up against PC (as per one of your 'suggestions').

[elambo]

Cornish is an uncommon brand. I doubt many of the people are are trashing it are basing their opinions on an actual test drive. You can tell by the descriptions.

Pete's stuff isn't magic. It's genius in many situations and it's ass in others. I happen to think it's world-class in general, but at times a standard tube screamer is leaps better.

[Kenny M]

I have just about all of Pete's pedals now. That fact alone must tell you what I think about them.

I've found that using these pedals requires a completely different approach than what most guitar playing pedal users are used to. I understand why some people think they suck. Plug one of these into your normal type of amp rig and I'll agree they sound like shit. You just can't follow the usual methodology employed by most such as stomping on a Tube Screamer into an already cooking amp.

As Pete advises you really need to be using a very clean balanced sounding amp. I find that most PC pedals will amplify most amps unique characteristics or distortions to a dysfunctional degree. It's only when you think in terms of each pedal being a different preamp section while your amp serves as a good clean balanced sounding power amp that you start to realize how great these pedals really are.

Regarding the rehoused Boss comments, there are only two that he uses the Boss circuit as a starting point (DD-2, CE-1) and that is mostly because the chips used in those aren't available or easy to find. I've seen the insides of these boxes and you are sorely mistaken if you think he simply plopped the Boss circuit board in there and added his buffer circuit and called it a day ching ching. Please do us all a favor and don't make statements that you haven't any real knowledge about.

Personally I do not like these pedals with a Vox type amp. Hopefully your results will be better. I have a lot of amps including several high end boutiques and the only amps I like them with are clean Fender based amps. Of all my amps my absolute favorite by a mile is a 65' BF Bandmaster. This amp doesn't really break up so it works great. I really don't like the pedals with Boogies, Marshalls, D13's (FTR37 is pretty good though) or Vox although I use the Bandmaster with a pair of Blue Celestions and I love those speakers. Obviously a Hiwatt will be great, but even looking at Gilmour's rig he uses (used?) an Alembec preamp and the Hiwatt power amp section. Since the Alembic is based on a Fender Dual Showman I think it's safe to say that Pete voiced his pedals to work well with a Fender circuit.

The other thing I think worth mentioning especially studio related is the Cornish buffer quality. I've had pedalboards and rack guitar rigs since the late 70's. Nothing has matched the sound of my guitar running through this pedalboard and I actually prefer it to plugging straight into the amp. It's subtle of course, but in blind comparisons I felt the sound running through his pedals in the off state felt more dynamic and was more artifact free and just generally felt better. I've done sessions where I just used the house amp and was told that it was the best tone they ever got from the amp. They thought it was because of a pedal I was using, but the fact was that I didn't have any in the on state, just running through them.

So as you can tell I really love every one of Pete's pedals. I think it's the highest quality guitar gear out there and worth every penny. That being said I understand why they don't float everyone's boat, but as mentioned it's more in how their rig is being operated.

[D.F.]

The build quality on his boards if absolutely fantastic. Almost indestructible and second to none. Perfect for the heavy touring musician (...with big stomping boots on tour weary legs). I believe he also gives an "anywhere in the world I'll fix it" insurance guarantee - but maybe that's just roadie mythology.

Julian Cope's one is simply an amazing thing! Quite a work of art. I'll see if I can dig out some pics. He has been lugging it around for years and it operates as good as new.

However - I must confess - I wasn't entirely sold on some of the sounds available, though admittedly I didn't get a chance to fully investigate the possibilities as JC was pleased with the settings he had.

I also believe that JC had several of his old favourite pedals made by other people put into this board...

All in all an expensive undertaking, but a once in a lifetime investment that if carefully thought out need never be worried about again.