| Splinter is a spectacular new overdrive / distortion / fuzz pedal that achieves similar full-range gain and tonality of a finely-tuned boutique tube amp. On lower gain settings, tone is bright and full of sparkly life. As gain increases, so does bass response and a beautiful character introduces itself. Due to the intense attention given to the completely analog circuit design, the harmonic content and signal breakup is very dynamic and natural. Pay attention to how backing-off on your guitar's volume knob will actually dial-in gain on higher settings! This incredible control and lossless tone at your fingertips brings to you a new performance standard. You will find many "sweet spots" with each pickup combo used with Splinter, however I'm sure you'll hear there's hardly ever a bad sound produced.
Start with a great clean tone from your amp (tube preferred) and Splinter will give it a few new colors for you to play with. Delving deep into Splinter's transistory soul, you'll find an uncanny grace of Hendrixian ambition: both spectacular and elusive. If you've ever heard a Harmonic Percolator (Interfax) before, this is like one on steroids! This particular beast feeds on single-coils and humbuckers alike, however single-coils are more noticeably enhanced. Also note that you will get great results with both electric and bass guitars alike...remember that experimentation is highly recommended!
CONTROLS:
Volume: More than enough output juice to satisfy the most timid of amps. Switchable modes. Pull the knob UP to get the more subtle gain of the �Spark� mode. DOWN lies the ferocity of �Flame.� Gain: Where it all begins. Gives life and attitude to your sound.
Voice: This has 3 dialable boosts (1st position is no boost) for a thick bottom-end and fatter distortion. Note that when Gain and Voice are higher, you can achieve incredible fuzz tones great for chording or soloing. If it becomes too much, lower either knob to satisfaction.
New/Old Switch: This alters the �Voice�s� presence to be either bold and bright (New) or warm and round (Old). Footswitch: Places your signal in or out of Splinter. True bypassing resolves vintage tone-loss issues.
AC Jack: Use a Negative-Tip, Regulated 9vdc 2.1mm barrel-type power plug here. Bypasses internal 9v battery.
Input: Plugging a 1/4" instrument cable here introduces your signal and idles Splinter with power, so unplug from Input when not in use to avoid battery drain.
Output: Mouth of the beast. Purrs and Roars come out from here.
Internal Trim Pot: Please do not overlook this important control! This secondary gain adjustment can help you achieve better tone and less noise. This is factory set to an optimal low-noise level, however you may change it if you like: use your ears and find the sweet spot that�s symbiotic with your gear. If the pedal has too much or too little gain for your taste, rotate this baby counter-clockwise for less gain, clockwise for more. Instant gratification! This will also clean up any squealing & extra noise.
AUDIO DEMOS:
HARMONY CENTRAL USER REVIEWS:
Sound Quality: 10
The pedal is fantastic because you can get so many different tones out of it. It's basically a fuzz box and overdrive pedal in one. The fuzz ranges from mild to extremely broken up and the overdrive is mild to moderate. The fuzz sustain is heavenly! The tones are nice and brite as the overdrive setting is very transparent. The pedal also comes with a new/old switch which allows you to simulate the more aggressive tones for today's music or mellow, smoother analog tones of the 70's. Additionally, the volume pedal can be pulled out for "spark" and pushed down for "flame". The flame setting gives everything more bite and growl. I absolutely love the variety of different tones you can get out of this pedal due to the numerous switches and settings!
Ease of Use: 10
The pedal is very easy to use as the instructions are extremely discriptive in reference to what each switch is for and what settings give you a particular tone. I found it very easy to get a variety of tones out of this pedal and that's what I've been looking for versus having to spend a ton of money on a variety of different pedals.
Sound Quality: 9
It offers a nice alternative to the usual fuzz, overdrive, and distortion units out there. Apparantly it shares some relation to the Interfax Harmonic Percolator, although I haven't tried that unit (which is extremely rare), so I can't give any comparisons in that regard. But to my ears, the audio clips are pretty representative of the sounds I can get out of it. In particular, the section of the guitar clip from "american woman" is what hooked me on buying this, and I can get that exact sound out of the pedal at home (basically, everything maxed, and the switch to old). Overall, this is a great unit if you want to develop a more unique sound. Take a listen to the clips, and if something catches your ear, it's worth checking this pedal out! |
