A 'Bone of my Own!

[duhvoodooman***]

After reading of Spudman's rapturous delight with his Radial Tonebone Hot British pedal and Nelskie's equally effusive praise for the Tonebone Classic he purchased, I found myself suffering extreme GAS pains. There was only one way to cure it:

I went to the doctor, and the doctor, he say,
"Gotta fire up your PC & get your butt on eBay!"

So I did. I was able to locate a couple of used Tonebone Classics up for bid, with one of them being sold by the same guy I bought my Delta Blues from! Coincidence or kismet?? Probably some of each! Anyway, to paraphrase Julius Caesar, I came, I sniped, I won ($112). Then I PayPal'ed, I waited impatiently for a few days, and I got it Monday afternoon.

Kiddies, let me tell ya that ol' Spuds & Nelskie weren't foolin'! This sucker is somewhere between a pedal and a whole new preamp section for your amp of choice! The range of control over tones, textures & volumes is incredible. To summarize the controls afforded by this little electronic marvel in the same format that Spudman used for his Hot British....

Attachment 283

Like the Hot British, the Classic has 5 knobs and 3 switches (see attached image). Some have exactly the same function, but some are quite different. The knobs, from left to right:

Level: Master volume, essentially. Doesn't change tone.
High: +/-10dB @ 4.3KHz (12 noon = flat)
Low: +/-14.5 dB @ 100Hz (12 noon = flat)
Filter: Balances the high frequency ratio between the amp & the Tonebone
Drive: The "gain" knob; adjusts overall amount of gain/distortion

The three switches each have three selectable positions. From left to right:

Top End: Bright = +6dB @10KHz; Flat = no effect; Dark = -6dB @ 3.3KHz
Mid Boost: Out = no effect; 7dB = +7dB @ 360Hz; +12dB @ 360Hz
Drive Gain: Boosts gain at preamp input. Low = 0dB; Med = +9dB; High = +20dB. Select your gain "range" here, then fine-tune with the Drive knob.

So where the Hot British model aspires to recreating the overdriven tones of our rock idols from across the pond, the Classic aims for a more American sound. But both have so many ways to tailor your tones, that I'll bet there aren't all that many sounds you can get from the one that couldn't be pretty well mimicked by the other, with a little fiddling around. I know I plan to be doing some serious SRV tone-farming in the days ahead! Gonna be floodin' down in Texas, as Nelskie would say....

As Spudman described for the Hot British, the Classic is a tube driven distortion pedal, using a single 12AX7 (a.k.a. ECC83) vacuum tube, the same ubiquitous tube type used in so many guitar amplifier preamp stages. As such, this pedal is capable of very high gain levels. Also, unlike most cheaper pedals, it has true bypass, i.e. when it's off, it is electrically "out of the loop" between your guitar and amp input, so doesn't have the tone-sapping tendency of some pedals. It is also very, very quiet, generating do discernible hum or buzz of it's own when brought online, another contrast to many cheaper pedals. With all these tasty features & capabilities, you can definitely see why these things list for $250 and sell for $190 new. But finding a good used one brings to price down to a more reasonable and affordable level.

I've only had a couple of hours to fool around with my new 'Bone thus far, so I've really only scratched the surface of its impressive tonal capabilities. But there's a warmth or richness to the tone that I've just never experienced before with my other SS overdrive pedals. I'm lovin' this baby so far, and I expect that my affection will grow stronger with continued use and increased familiarity!

[SuperSwede]

Congrats voodoo! I really would like to try one out myself

[Katastrophe]

Congrats, man! Sheesh, I am SO far behind the loop on cool equipment !

[/gratuitous whining off]

Post a clip of that bad boy when you can, DVM. I bet it sounds crazy on the Valve, Jr.!

[Nelskie]

I bet it sounds crazy on the Valve, Jr.!

That's the understatment of the year.

But through a juicy, tube-powered combo like the Delta / Classic series amps . . . it's about that close to heaven.

[duhvoodooman***]

I bet it sounds crazy on the Valve, Jr.!

Actually, I haven't even had a chance to hook it up to the VJr yet; been running into just the DB so far. Goo d thing for me to try tonight!

[Spudman***]

Welcome Voodoo to a whole new "bone world." It's pretty grand yessiree!
I'm keeping mine forever...









or untill I want another guitar. Just kidding.

[SuperSwede]

or untill I want another guitar. Just kidding.

Shhh... Dont talk so loud spuds
So are you considering getting the classic version as well?

[Spudman***]

Oh my! You heard that? I was twying to bwee vewee qwiet. Shhh.

[Mark]

Wow I just picked one up too, the classic that is. It been a while since I posted round here, been busy retraining after many years of rust. Im just now getting to try it out with my Strat and Blues DeeLuxx lots of Tonal possiblities with this thing. This is the product of my latest GAS attack brought on by this site LOL.