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Gear Tips
Mark Sullivan's Guitar Page - March 2008
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 Welcome to Mark’s guitar page for January.
This month I have a few new pedals for you to consider. We recently received the catalog of pedals from Red Witch. They offer a foursome of tone modifiers from the other side of the world, New Zealand. All of them are a very high build quality and offer unique voices to some familiar formats. They are not attempting to create clones of past products nor are any of the pedals extremely esoteric devices that could only be used sparingly. All pedals operate on either 9-volt battery or optional standard barrel power supplies. All feature heavy duty true-bypass switching and are completely tonally transparent when turned off.
Red Witch Empress Chorus
The Empress is an analog chorus/vibrato pedal with some unique tonal control. The controls are as follows:
- Mix Knob – clean sweeping between effected and non-effected sound.
- Depth Knob – A very wide range between slight shimmer to insane detune
- Velocity Knob – Speed range is impressive on this pedal. Is goes from a slow that is almost frozen in time to so fast that you can’t perceive the gaps between cycles.
- Voice Knob – This is the most unique feature of the Empress pedal. I enjoy a variety of chorus pedals on the market and use different units depending on the tonal application because they all have a unique “voice”. The Voice control on the Red Witch pedal allows you to variably adjust the delay time. A shorter delay time provides a tight clean chorusing and as you extend the time of the delay it spreads out the detune from the original signal and sounds thicker with more obvious pitch bending. The range of this knob goes from shimmer to being sucked down a whirlpool. Somewhere in the
first third of the knobs range you can wide variety of chorus sounds that you are familiar with. Most chorus boxes have a fixed delay time set to their sound. With this knob in conjunction with the other knobs allows you to have all the sounds.
- Bright Switch – If you want that extra lilt of air in the tighter chorus settings, flip it on.
- Chorus/Vibrato switch – Yes it is also a Vibrato pedal. With all of the same variables available as with the chorus function. You may have quite the decision to make on how you use this pedal.
Red Witch Deluxe Moon Phaser
The Moon Phaser is also a unique take on a familiar effect. This is kind of a hybrid of a pedal combining an analog phaser with a tremolo pedal. Their term for it is “Tremophase”.
The three-knob layout at first seems fairly simple:
- Velocity Knob – controls the speed/rate of the sweep from slow rise to hyper-fast pulse.
- Trajectory Knob – provides a variable adjustment on the shape of the waveform.
- Cosmology Knob – Is a six position switch that selects between 3-different phaser settings 2 settings for combined tremolo with phaser and 1 tremolo without phaser setting.
While I love my original Phase 90 this pedal is not anything like it. Nor does it try to be. Or like any other phaser you may have heard before. The variably waveform adjustment of the Trajectory knob gives the pedal some uniquely different character that other pedals have not touched upon. There are completely different voices of swirl that you have never heard before. While sometimes I prefer the simplicity of one knob and an on/off switch the range of tones in this pedal will have you finding new sounds and inspirations for years to come.
Red Witch Fuzz God II
While there are a multitude of Fuzz pedals that have been produced over the past 4 decades, very few have much degree of controls. Although fuzz is very interactive with the input signal that is put into it, how you shape it after the fact can unleash enormous varieties of tones and performance characteristics. While the 60’s and early 70’s produced roughly a 1/2 dozen great fuzz pedals out of the scores of units made, the last couple decades have brought us nearly countless fuzz boxes that attempt to mimic and plunder the tones that have come before. Don’t get me wrong, Jimi left us a legacy of gorgeous sounds evoked by his Strat plugged into a Fuzz Face but this is the next century, let’s move on. I know that’s heresy; I am a heretic, direct you comments or hate mail to the address below.
In the 90’s Zachary Vex (ZVEX) gave us the 5-knob highly interactive fuzz pedal, which would become the flagship product of his company, the Fuzz Factory. I thought this would open the floodgates to more innovative fuzz products in the marketplace. But few pedals designers have his talents and what we got was mostly even more clones of 60’s and 70’s standards. But Ben Fulton, designer at Red Witch appears willing and able to take up the torch and dare to try something new. That brings me to the pedal at hand, the Fuzz God II. Controlling the God is as follows:
- Volume Knob – This is the output volume. Know where it is set before engaging.
- Fuzz Knob – Amount of fuzz from mild to chainsaw.
- Sputter Knob – variable from a smooth sustain to choppy gated spit and sputter.
- Wrath Knob – This is where all the destruction takes place. It is can be switched on/off Via the lightning bolt footswitch. This part or the circuit can introduce Sub harmonic frequencies, squealing self-oscillations, notes that will Sustain until you come back to pick them up and in general complete mayhem.
- Lightning Toggle Switch – It doubles the gain. Scary.
- Ear Toggle switch – This is a treble boost.
I like the variety of sounds that you can evoke from this pedal. From a great cutting sustained lead tone to completely outer-worldly chaos. The ability to toggle the wrath control on/off means that you can set up a good useful tone and then selectively completely change it. It’s like having two pedals for the price of one. But rarely could any two pedals be this interactive.
Red Witch Penatavocal Trem
Why does this tremolo have 5-knobs and 2-switches? These folks at Red Witch are not content with keeping anything simple. Thank you. Some of the controls are exactly what you want and would expect. But the others put this pedal into new territory.
- Velocity Knob – well it’s the speed of the trem sweep of course. But this one can go very slow.
- Depth Knob – Intensity of the trem effect. No surprises here.
- Volume Knob – Controls output volume. The has a boost in it to compensate for how your sound can fade away when using trem. The effect of tremolo is a rhythmic sweeping of volume. By it’s basic nature for most of the cycle your volume is being cut. This compensates for that fact and can increase the average volume output.
- Voicing Knob – As labeled it give you 5 differently voicings for the Trem effect. Hence the name “Pentavocal” tremolo. The settings allow for most any feel you would want to have.
- Bottom Knob – This is very different option for a tremolo. When turned to the left
it has no effect. As you rotate it to the right it increasingly adds a high and midrange roll-off to the volume decrease. This gives a faux vibrato effect to the trem as the tone shifts with the cycle.
- Wave Footswitch – Switches from smooth trem to a square trem. This is very nice for quick emphasis to a passage. And combined with the 5-different voicings essentially doubles the type of trem sounds available.
- LED – While not a control, the green LED pulses in tempo when engaged, a nice touch.
As always I can be reached at Daddy’s Boston store 617-247-0909
Or at msullivan@daddys.com
Mark Sullivan is a well known New England guitarist, composer, recording artist and gigging musician. Mark is also Sales Manager of our flagship Boston, MA location.
Mark brings to Daddy's an incredible wealth of product knowledge, especially in the guitar, guitar amplifier, and effects areas. He truly is an "expert" in these areas.
You can contact Mark at 617.247.0909 or visit him at our Boston location!
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