Whoopysnorp
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- Mar 16, 2009
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I got the module I sent to Trace back today, and first of all I want to say that I'm very impressed with Trace's work and customer service. The work on the module is extremely clean, and he even included a tube swap at no additional cost! Of course, tone is what counts the most, and I think I have a winner here. I always thought the stock Blackface was okay, but I think the midrange notch it has is a little too severe, and it can't be dialed out even if you dime the mids. The low end is also a little on the tubby side, and overall the tone is a bit uninspiring. The Voodoo Twin is a different animal altogether. It has a much more present midrange and a good deal less treble than the stock mod. In fact, when playing clean, I find myself turning the treble up to 9 or so on the Voodoo, and that's with the bright switch turned on.
I have a stock Blackface right now, so I decided to record a little comparison. I used my Peavey Odyssey with DiMarzio pickups, and my setup for this was a preamp into the power section of an Egnater Tweaker through a Mesa combo cab loaded with a Celestion MC90. The first half of the recording is a comparison of the clean tones, with the pickup selector in the middle position. The settings on the Blackface were roughly Gain=5, Bass=4, Middle=7, and Treble=6. The Voodoo was set similarly except the gain was at 3 and the treble was at 9. In the second half, I dimed the gain on the Blackface and took the Voodoo's gain up to about 8. I dialed the treble down a bit in both cases to compensate. In both comparisons, the stock module is first, then the modified one. The recording is here.
Overall I'd say Trace's mod gets rid of all the bad things about the Blackface, while keeping the good things. I still need to experiment with it a little more to see if I can get the notched midrange sound, which I think is pretty emblematic of a Twin (the Salvation Twinface I tried did this very well). Overall though, I think the Voodoo Twin is an excellent choice for anybody who wants solid Fender Blackface tone without a bunch of switching options.
I have a stock Blackface right now, so I decided to record a little comparison. I used my Peavey Odyssey with DiMarzio pickups, and my setup for this was a preamp into the power section of an Egnater Tweaker through a Mesa combo cab loaded with a Celestion MC90. The first half of the recording is a comparison of the clean tones, with the pickup selector in the middle position. The settings on the Blackface were roughly Gain=5, Bass=4, Middle=7, and Treble=6. The Voodoo was set similarly except the gain was at 3 and the treble was at 9. In the second half, I dimed the gain on the Blackface and took the Voodoo's gain up to about 8. I dialed the treble down a bit in both cases to compensate. In both comparisons, the stock module is first, then the modified one. The recording is here.
Overall I'd say Trace's mod gets rid of all the bad things about the Blackface, while keeping the good things. I still need to experiment with it a little more to see if I can get the notched midrange sound, which I think is pretty emblematic of a Twin (the Salvation Twinface I tried did this very well). Overall though, I think the Voodoo Twin is an excellent choice for anybody who wants solid Fender Blackface tone without a bunch of switching options.