- a great bunch of effects

- Présets configuration is really easy. There's is also an EZ edit for even more quickness.
- The LCD screen and the effect chain diagram are well designed: in one look you see the active effects

- classic effects are ok, but it seemed to me that they sounded différent than the boss pédals.
- you can also find some "exotic" effects like the feedbacker, accoustic simulator etc. Some of them are cheap and some are really interesting (like the accoustic simulator used with the pickup simulator)
- Hated the "tube heads distorsions simulators", sounded thin and lifeless to me (Probably my fault: at that time i connected the GT3 in front of a transistor amp but didn't set the 3 band EQ as the manual advice)

***WARNING: THE FOLLOWING (RATED G, FOR GENERAL AUDIENCE) REVIEW APPLIES FOR THE BLACK RUSSIAN-MADE ELECTRO HARMONIX BIG MUFF (THAT ON THE PICTURE ABOVE), NOT THE EARLIER (USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE) TANK-GREEN MODEL WHICH MAY SOUND DIFFERENT***

This analog stompbox is something in-between a distortion and a fuzz. The controls are Volume, Tone and Sustain (which also controls the amount of distortion). No D.C. in, and the input and output jacks are reversed compared with ALL other pedals that I've ever seen or owned... Please note that although some units (like mine) were provided with a true-bypass switch, not all were... This model is no longer produced, replaced by the U.S. Big Muff which is said to sound a bit cleaner.

Well, three mere knobs... could be worse, couldn't it?

It took me some time to get used to this very dark, grainy, almost experimental kind of sounds. I rarely use it alone, most of the time I have it follow a cheap overdrive which gives the Big Muff the mid frequencies that it lacks, and the whole provides for one HUGE distorsion sound...

The way the tone knob shapes the sound is a bit surprising as you get in no time from an almost total lack of treble to a shrieking sound. This pedal is rather versatile as it goes easily from punk to vintage rock to a growling metal sound (needless to say that in the latter case you definitely shouldn't expect a sharp-edged sound -- hey, that's a FUZZ).

This is an analog, single-channel amp simulator in a pedal. Apart from the basic (self-explicit) Level, High, Low and Drive controls, you have three 3-position switches to help you shape your tone:
- Amp: determines which kind of amp will be emulated. Possibilities include Tweed (Fender), British (Marshall-ish sounds) and California (for Mesa-esque tones).
- Mod: choose between Clean, Hi-Gain and Hot Rod.
- Mic: Since this pedal includes a cab simulation, you can choose how your virtual mic would be placed, choose between Classic, Center (close miking at the center of the loudspeaker) or Off-axis (close miking once again but this time with the mic at the edge of the speakercone).

Beware: contrarily to the GT2's celebrated predecessor, the Sansamp Classic (or the original SansAmp for, the lucky -few- ones who have one) the cab sim on this model can NOT de deactivated: the GT2 was NOT designed as a "normal" distortion box, but aimed at being plugged directly in a mixing board/recorder/soundcard (NOT an amp), as a sort of DI box --which by the way makes it all the more a shame that no XLR output is provided in addition to the 1/4 jack, doesn't it?
With the poweramp stage and the cab being emulated, an effect loop (even one with an insert like on Marshall's original Guv'nor) also would have been welcome...

The manual is clear, yet it will take you a little while to get through all the possible configurations, but everything is rather simple to understand... And if you just can't, well, consider yourself lucky not to have spent more in a real amp.

I can hardly compare these simulations with the original amps but they all sound good to me. I use it with a Mexican Fender Fat Strat and occasionally with a cheap mic (but the GT2 can be used with a bass too).

I don't like the British (Marshall) settings too much as it's a bit too much in the high-mids, but the Celifornia (Mesa) mode is perfect in my opinion as far as distortion is concerned. Both provide powerful sounds although none tend to range on the modern side (it's OK to play ACDC, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana or early Metallica, but don't expect modern heavy or nü metal sounds). Oh, and by the way, turn your guitar's volume knob WAY down if you expect any clean sound from either of these two modes -- even with single coils...
The Tweed (Fender) emulation is in my opinion one of the strongest points in this unit. Not only does it give a great clean sound, but it also reacts surprisingly well to virtually any distortion pedal placed ahead of it (I tried with a Big Muff, a Boss DF-2, a cheap Belcat OD, a Metal Muff and a Zoom Tri-Metal), which can make up for the lack of a second channel.
The cab sims sound average to good, sometimes a bit muddy, but at least from one setting to another you definitely can hear a difference.

The GT2 does respect the dynamics in your sound and contrarily to many other amp simulators its organic sound WILL give you the sensations that you'd feel playing on a REAL amp -- even if you play it with headphones!!! In high-gain settings there tends to be a certain hiss but a good noise reducer (ISP's Decimator for instance) will do the trick.

The Small Clone is a monaural analog chorus pedal with only one knob and one (two-position) switch. Seems rather sturdy, although the (non-true bypass) switch on mine is kind of messed up (it is almost detached from the metal case, still works though). Uses 9V battery or can be plugged using an adequate 3.5 jack AC adapter.

I bought it used so there was no manual provided with it. The pdf available on Electro-Harmonix's website seems pretty useless though, unless you've never seen a stompbox in your whole life and/or don't trust your ears to set up that kind of basic pedals.

Used with a Fender Fat Strat through a SansAmp GT-2 with the Small Clone in between (although most people use it in their amp's effect loop that is after the preamp). In both clean and distorted sounds, this pedal brings both warmth (a REAL LOT of) and clarity to any clean sound, while it will smoothen the harshest distortion. I love the way it sounds, very reminiscent of Nirvana's Nevermind (remember the vintage Small Clone was one of Cobain's favorites before he turned to the Polychorus). With the depth switch drawn in the upper position, the chorus sound is noticeably detuned, which may remind of some 80s-90s experimental rock bands such as Sonic Youth -- thus not very easy to use in most context... With extreme settings of the "rate" knob the effect is a little more on the Leslie side. Contrarily to what I've read here and there I haven't noticed a drop in volume when this pedal is active -- maybe it's different in an effect loop?

It is an analog overdrive pedal based on the famous Ibanez TS series. Only three knobs (tone, level, drive). Although the pedal's price is cheap, the metal case seems rather sturdy (much heavier than a Boss for approximately the same size). The switch is a bit messy though, not only does it cause a strange "bleeep!" when you activate it but also it switches on automatically whenever you plug the pedal.

Don't remember if there even was a manual, but it definitely isn't needed -- hey, we're talking about a stompbox with THREE MERE KNOBS! If you can read, you can use it, period. And if you can't read... well, then what are you doing here anyway?

A good sounding pedal that can go from a nice boost to creamy overdrive with the drive knob all ways up and the volume kept down to a fatter sound with the volume control turned higher. Will do the job for any Hendrixian to Pearl Jamesque sound you could ever want, including everything in between -- but don't expect to play metal with it. It is also very efficient in boosting an Electro Harmonix Big Muff while providing the mids the B.M. originally lacks...

***WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW APPLIES FOR A JAPAN-MADE BOSS DF-2 - NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH LATER TAIWAN-BUILT MODELS WHICH MAY --well, most likely DO-- SOUND DIFFERENT***

It is a DS1-type distortion combined with a unique feature: an artificial feedback generator -- play a single note, hold the pedal's switch and your note is now repeated endlessly, well as long as you don't release the switch at least.

It has 4 knobs -- the classical level-tone-dist, plus an "overtone" feature that allows if need be to make the artificial feedback more bright-sounding, although the more you push it and the more synthetic it sounds. Of course you can keep on playing while the overtone is heard, which gives the impression of two layers of guitar sound stacking up -- hence the name "overtone" for the control knob I suppose.


A few facts about this pedal: The Boss DF-2 was produced between 1984 and 1994, first in Japan and then in Taiwan when Boss relocated its factory there. The first models bore the inscription "Super Distortion and Feedbacker" before Boss changed it to "Super Feedbacker and Distortion" due to a threat by Di Marzio (which owned the rights to the name "Super Distortion" ) to sue Boss for copyright infringement. This explains why the price of "Super Distortion" models is usually much higher than that of "Super Feedbacker" ones, although there's no difference in the way they were built.

Well, a 4-knobs stompbox can't be that much complicated, can it!? Regarding the manual I doubt anyone has kept it due to the long time this pedal has been discontinued, but you still can get a .pdf copy of it at Roland's website (yes, for those of you who don't know Boss belongs to Roland).

For once the manual is actually useful as it explains some subtleties which may elude you --especially regarding the way to get the feedbacker sound well-- , but once again with only four knobs you'd just have to tweak for a little while before finding your sound anyway.

The distortion in itself is, well, DS1/DS2-esque, that is just average in itself in my humble opinion. Don't expect anything good out of it with the tone knob over 12:00 to 13:00 (I usually keep it between 10 and 11). Where this pedal really shines is, of course, in providing this artificial feedback which is particularly suitable for noise/punk/grunge twisted sounds ala Sonic Youth.

I use it with a Mexican Fender Fat Strat through a SansAmp, but generally I have it followed by another distortion (TS9 clone, Big Muff or anything else) so that the other pedal should shape the distinctive distortion tone of my overall sound.

Also, the feedback sound is affected by a sort of tremolo-sounding vibration, which you may or may not like... but which should easily be cut off provided you know how to mod effect pedals (the schematics are available on the web).