Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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If there's some sound I can't get out of my synths (Prophet Rev2, Pro3, Ensoniq ESQ-1,Juno JU-06) then I look for samples and can get it with the Korg Wavestate, that also provides some wiiiild layering. Got the wavestate for $300 direct from Korg and did not expect to love it as much as I do. Build quality is real plasticky but we end up using it at home more than other synths because it's so light you can have it on your lap on the couch.


In other news I bought the CRV-Hybrid and I really like it. Couple little things but overall, no ragrets.

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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TylerDeadPine wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 12:37 pm In other news I bought the CRV-Hybrid and I really like it. Couple little things but overall, no ragrets.
That's awesome. Did you get a 2024 model?

I've got real jelly for hybrids. I wish I could have waited 6 months or the Forester Hybrid. I already paid mine off that I bought in December, but it would cost another $15k to get the hybrid model if I traded in. It was already not worth the $4k-$5k extra for a hybrid engine cost-wise, since we don't drive that much, which is the main reason we stuck with Subaru at the time. But there's a ton of hybrids in my neighborhood and when I heard that silent roar on the street, the FOMO is real.

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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cakes wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 12:48 pm
TylerDeadPine wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 12:37 pm In other news I bought the CRV-Hybrid and I really like it. Couple little things but overall, no ragrets.
That's awesome. Did you get a 2024 model?

I've got real jelly for hybrids. I wish I could have waited 6 months or the Forester Hybrid. I already paid mine off that I bought in December, but it would cost another $15k to get the hybrid model if I traded in. It was already not worth the $4k-$5k extra for a hybrid engine cost-wise, since we don't drive that much, which is the main reason we stuck with Subaru at the time. But there's a ton of hybrids in my neighborhood and when I heard that silent roar on the street, the FOMO is real.
2025, nothing really changed from 2024. I couldn't get a used 2023 for what they let this 2025 go for? Used market is nutty. I really like the hybrid, the gas transition is smooth, has nice acceleration and I got 40mpg going to work (vs 24mpg in my gas rav4). I got $3200 off msrp because apparently people in Southern California don't like black (sun).

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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Radial JDX-48 - it’s a DI box that sits in between your speaker and your cabinet. I bought it used and never quite found a use for it with either guitar or bass - even disregarding the room, speakers are a very important component of a sound and hearing the amp on a track without a speaker was kind of too much of one and not enough of the other. For thumpy bass I prefer a clean DI signal processed until it sounds like Motown or CCR (or a growly 70s english rock track w/ 1176 if using roundwounds) and if I’m using a guitar di it’s because I want something completely out in the weeds that this DI wasn’t giving me.

For moog synth, though, this DI is fucking great. I compared the synth > Ampeg V2 > Radial JDX DI to a synth > EA DI and synth > Ampeg V2 > EV 15L > “Warbler” Chinese U87 clone and the Radial DI really did something special, and I quite like the way that track handled the amp’s spring reverb. I’m definitely going to pull it out more often now.

Aside from stuff like the AC30 my favorite tube amps tend to be in the 60s/70s vein of being made to handle pretty much any instrument like Ampegs, Traynors, Bassman, etc, so since I’ve started messing with keys I think I’m going to be pulling this thing out of the box for synth and other nonstandard uses, especially w/ creative reamping. Any standard sound, especially with distortion, definitely needs the speaker and the room, though.

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 9:24 am Radial JDX-48
Been curious about these types of devices. My old Epiphone has a "monitor output" that is just a jack soldered off the speaker transformer with some amount of resistors for voltage/current divider type shit, but it is pretty noisy and it has always kinda freaked me out to use it. This would definitely be safer.

EDIT: Out of curiosity I looked on Reverb and found one for $80 so I picked it up. Been wanting to try one out for a while. I reamp vocals through the Epiphone for Reverb all the time and this might be a better way than just using a mic on the speaker or that weird noisey monitor out.
Was Japmn.

New OST project: https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/flight-ost
https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/numberwitch
https://boneandbell.com/site/music.html

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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Kniferide wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 9:40 am
llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 9:24 am Radial JDX-48
Been curious about these types of devices. My old Epiphone has a "monitor output" that is just a jack soldered off the speaker transformer with some amount of resistors for voltage/current divider type shit, but it is pretty noisy and it has always kinda freaked me out to use it. This would definitely be safer.

EDIT: Out of curiosity I looked on Reverb and found one for $80 so I picked it up. Been wanting to try one out for a while. I reamp vocals through the Epiphone for Reverb all the time and this might be a better way than just using a mic on the speaker or that weird noisey monitor out.
Cool, let me know how it works for you. I was worried about safety as well but am paranoid with tube amp speaker connections anyways so haven’t had any issues.

Voice would be a great thing to run through this amp di. It’d be cool to have an additional option hear the amp effects without the speaker and room - and of course nothing is stopping you from putting the mic in front of the speaker on another track anyways. A little more gainstaging but not much more in the way of setup.

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:41 amI was worried about safety as well but am paranoid with tube amp speaker connections anyways so haven’t had any issues.
Always makes me shaky too. having a transformer in between make me feel a lot better.
Was Japmn.

New OST project: https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/flight-ost
https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/numberwitch
https://boneandbell.com/site/music.html

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

959
llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Apr 30, 2025 9:24 am Radial JDX-48 - it’s a DI box that sits in between your speaker and your cabinet. I bought it used and never quite found a use for it with either guitar or bass - even disregarding the room, speakers are a very important component of a sound and hearing the amp on a track without a speaker was kind of too much of one and not enough of the other. For thumpy bass I prefer a clean DI signal processed until it sounds like Motown or CCR (or a growly 70s english rock track w/ 1176 if using roundwounds) and if I’m using a guitar di it’s because I want something completely out in the weeds that this DI wasn’t giving me.

For moog synth, though, this DI is fucking great. I compared the synth > Ampeg V2 > Radial JDX DI to a synth > EA DI and synth > Ampeg V2 > EV 15L > “Warbler” Chinese U87 clone and the Radial DI really did something special, and I quite like the way that track handled the amp’s spring reverb. I’m definitely going to pull it out more often now.

Aside from stuff like the AC30 my favorite tube amps tend to be in the 60s/70s vein of being made to handle pretty much any instrument like Ampegs, Traynors, Bassman, etc, so since I’ve started messing with keys I think I’m going to be pulling this thing out of the box for synth and other nonstandard uses, especially w/ creative reamping. Any standard sound, especially with distortion, definitely needs the speaker and the room, though.
I've got one of these. I dont use it a ton but there are a few things I really like it on. I've got an old Garnet stencil vibro champ clone that I use it on all the time. The amp always sounded a little ratty to me and I was on the verge of selling it when I tried it with the JDX. It sounds like a totally different amp with the speaker taken out of the equation. I shouldn't be surprised but the difference is huge. I should probably just put a different speaker in there.
I also really like it when I'm reampiing vocals through guitar amps.

Re: Micro-reviews of Gear You Just Bought

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out of curiosity, how does something like this affect the speaker load. I know a lot of old tube amps are pretty sensitive to having the right load and it can damage the output transfmr if you are too far under/over load. Also, how much over/under is actually a bad idea? I used to sit my Twin Reverb ontop of a Bassman 2x15" cab and use the second spkr out to be stupid all teh time when I was a kid and it never seemed to cause any damage. It was one of the 135 super linier things though. No idea what that really means. I've never really gotten too far into changing speakers/cabs out so I haven't really thought about it in a long time.
Was Japmn.

New OST project: https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/flight-ost
https://japmn.bandcamp.com/album/numberwitch
https://boneandbell.com/site/music.html

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