Mambo pedal prototype

[jonmambo]

hope to clarify a couple of points brought up in the discussion...

the mambo pedal discussed here is a simple e.q. pedal, it isn't pretending to replicate a fender (or any other) preamp, just the tone controls .

it doesn't add any distortion or compression which you would expect from a valve preamp, that's another thing entirely. The e.q. pedal's electronics are designed to be as transparent as possible, low distortion, low noise, high headroom etc. so it is isn't a harmonic enhancer, or overdrive etc. by any means.

the pedal's purpose is just to add tonal range to an existing amp with minimum fuss, I designed it because I wanted to add some other classic tones to the mambo amp, without messing with the amp's internal design.

obviously the tone circuits are based on well known tone circuitry from a particular era... this is basically for familiarity; these tone control circuits are tried and tested and popular ... you can get the same tones out of parametrics etc. of course, but this is much more convenient and quick IMO.

the apparent warming effect is most likely due to the guitar's own harmonics being heard more prominently due to the mid cut, which will tend to accentuate the higher harmonics

mid cut on the AB763 setting is centred about 400Hz.

[Keira Witherkay]

Looks interesting and great concept ..... Imagine the uses to "spice" up those powered speakers or ss amps with minimal or horrid preamps onboard .... Very handy indeed for us working musicians .....

[kris]

is it EQ?

[Steve Z]

Any chance of a video / sound samples? Dig the concept of the pedal.

[Franz 1997]

Any chance of a video / sound samples? Dig the concept of the pedal.

I thought about that, but I'm generally cynical about most vid demos ( especially for jazz gear- why are they always too tonally bright, or demo-ing on the back pickup etc...''here's Buzz from Saw music, whassup dudes, gonna hit you with a few outside lines on alt Vs, back pickup, through a pedalboard...). Also, most computer speakers are a big limitation.

In the case of the mambo amp ( and others) what you have is a flat sound with a moderate amount of eq range. The mambo amp happens to have a particularly warm basic flat sound. What this ''pedal'' does is to dramatically expand that tonal range, so you can get 2 different extra sounds ( based on a fender AB763, and on a 5E8 which can also produce Gibson amp tones) in addition to the basic sound- and, with much greater eq range.

Result, an amp that tonally can cover most of the required bases for most type of gigs - or, that can allow you greater scope for fine-tuning tone for a particular guitar. Personally I think it brings out the best in any 175. Plug a tele into the fat channel, great Ed B kind of tone...

Jorge will be reviewing this pedal soon as well...he's a good player who understands the whole pedal thing, I'm sure he'll make some useful comparisons with other devices that members are more familiar with than I am

I'm sure the box will work well with other amps too, but doubt if it can turn a poor basic sound into a killer one..and, as rpg pointed out, they may be fender-ish sounds, but there are no hot tubes in the box...so, just another v useful tool really.

[jorgemg1984]

I am not a big fan of that too... but let's see what I can do. I will try the pedal into the Henriksen head and the Mambo head into a Mambo 10 cab - and will compare it to the Barb EQ. I don't think my conclusions will be any helpful for non flat frequency amps... Chris if you hit the studio soon (which I am not very likely to) you may try to do a record like you did for the Mambo 8 back then

I personally find my Henriksen with a BYOC Reverb 2 and a Barb EQ trough a big 1x12 cab to sound better than a lot of Fenders I have played... This might seem a bit crazy but it's true. I bet the Mambo EQ wil be just as good.

[Steve Z]

Thanks for the info guys.

[Franz 1997]

Jorge I've got a recording of a coffee-house gig last week; L4CEs + mambo 10+ pedal on AB763 ( blackface) as a comping tone. Left it like that for solo ( or, you may feel, "solo"...)

YouDon'tKnowWhatLoveIs

[jorgemg1984]

Sounds good Chris (we have the tendency to be too hard on ourselves), a lot like early Jim Hall - but not as scooped / bright as I would expect...maybe the recording? Or did you had the tone control rolled off?

[Franz 1997]

This is the the blackface setting with the mid control set at about 80% Jorge - if you set the midrange to 40%, it gets much more scooped; you can suck the mids right out of it at 20%. The mid control has much more range than a real fender amp. Yes, guitar tone control @ 50%

I just find that I like this as a ''general purpose '' sound with a Gibson. Anyway, see what you think with the X500.

As for the recording, it was only a zoom set up on a table!The espresso machine come through loud & clear..

[jorgemg1984]

Wow my ears are getting better Good to know the mid knob operates like that barbeq - from fender scooped to tweed fat... that's an excellent feature. You were sounding quite like Jim Hall and that's a big complement

[Franz 1997]

thnx - if only the note choices sounded like Jim Hall as well......

Yes, pretty good ears, esp from such a rough recording!

I dunno, it's always difficult posting recordings, especially when in a band context with other instruments/ voice etc, as it's so different from a ''guitar only'' recording, properly recorded with a mic.

There IS one aspect where these rough recordings are useful, and that is to see how a particular guitar tone blends with other instruments - we are always trying to balance a good comping tone with a good soloing tone, with enough mids.

I'm still working on that last bit, I guess most of us are. As most of us know, what ( tonally) works for practice doesn't necessarily work in a combo. It's fine to adjust volume, but sometimes soloing needs more mids, for me at least. That's where these boxes can really come in useful ( if you remember to hit the switch!)

[jorgemg1984]

Yeah true - hearing an amp in a band context is a whole different thing... I agree a scooped sound for comping and a fat middy tone for soloing is usually a good ideia - so the two-channels of the Mambo might prove VERY useful...