OK, no clips here, but some more words. Had a great session with Chankgeez Friday, and some weekend exploration (still waiting for a band rehearsal after March northeast nor'easter #2 canceled last week, so no high-volume band-mixed impressions), but in a word FWOAR!
More words? D Rock has cooked up something special here. The starve and bias allow for a huge gradient of cranky, crackly, clashy, clangy lower gain sounds, not to mention splat. The essential voice of the pedal, even without pushing the bass control, is full. Comparing it to a Dirge and a Fredric Utility Perc, there were more points of comparison with the diodes switched off on the Fredric and Dirge. At one point I was able to get a near identical tone from D Rock's and the Fredric with diodes out and gain max'd. But D Rock's is an Ultra Perc and it's got serious range way beyond that.
Although, as I mentioned, its essential voice is fuller than the other percs, even when the other percs had the diodes switched out, there are settings on D Rock's that get well bright and splatty. Pushed by a boost or another Perc set up with volume high, D Rock's edged up past perc territory and into chaotic HEQ-1 territory (yeah, I said it). Dial in some of the bonus low freq motor-boaty oscillation sounds you can find with controls pushed to extremes, and then slammed in the face with another gain source, this beast howled in a unique way, more swash than fuzz-fac, with lots of complex throbbing/chirping (but not howling or out-of-control) vocalizations.
And while I didn't burden Chank with the more, shall we say, sedate volume knob rollback overdrive range of the pedal, it's all there.
So far every perc I've tried or heard has had its own distinct personality within the still identifiable perc family resemblance. D Rock's is the Boss--large and in charge, and with the discipline and tools to lead the family to a new level of bandwith domination. It doesn't get lost in the splat or clang, but it can whip it out just to show the young pups who is dangling the alpha pair.
At this point, I am in a strange zone where I am more in love with this circuit than ever. I mean, that Dirge
Magical bright grind!
But I know I can explore further with the calm confidence that I already have *one* perc that contains the platonic ideal of perc-ness and so much more. This pedal was a steal....
Sorry for the gush; just honestly didn't expect this, despite the strong hints from the deep control scheme and beautiful and bullet-proof build....
Did I miss anything Chank?
)
