30 Pedals in 30 Days 2015: DigiTech Polara, Obscura, and Ventura Vibe

IMG_7700

 

I know I don’t have to remind you to check the vids and the Randall Give-Away at the bottom. 

We might be nearing the end of 30 Pedals in 30 Days 2015, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t still have a few surprises up our sleeves. For the first time ever, we bring you a triple montage of some of DigiTech’s best pedals. Today, we’re going to show you folks how to build a great tone from DigiTech’s Polara, Obscura, and Ventura Vibe pedals.

Earlier this month, we covered how the Ventura Vibe can go from mellow vibrato to making your head spin with the crank of a knob. We were so impressed with DigiTech’s new direction that we decided to see how some of their newest and brightest worked together. And, we weren’t disappointed.

Normally I would start with what each of these pedals does, but this is about building tone. So, let’s start with a dry tone. If you can get a good dry tone from the outset, it will only make your pedals sound better in the long run. That’s not saying that you won’t have to dick around with some dials once everything is in your signal chain, but starting with a good dry tone is always a good start.

Minimally, a good pedal set-up will always begin with a delay and a reverb. Enter the Obscura and Polara, respectively.

Let’s get obscure.

While the Obscura can take typical delays and bend them until they’re so twisted that you might think you have entered some reverse-dimension, it can also handle the classics as well. With Tape, Analog, and Lofi, you can pretty much emulate any classic delay. But the fun comes when you start to push the boundaries. Then, you got the Reverse delay which drags you through the wormhole where everybody is evil and wears goatees. (Star Trek reference if you’re keeping score)

Next you have the Polara. With this pedal, reverb had never been so sexy. Again, all the classics, but so much more. Incorporating modulation, this pedal will make you feel like you took way too much acid. Which you did. And we all know how hard you’re tripping right now. Yes. I’m talking to you. You really are freaking out, man.

Tone King first added the Obscura to the mix and then added the Polara, both through the FX Loop. Delay to repeat the unaffected guitar signal, then reverb to give it ambiance. Order is important here. You might be able to get some bendy shit by switching the order, but this is more of the classic set up. But, experiment is the key to invention or something like that. The point is: Don’t be afraid to mix it up and have a ball.

Next, we plugged the Ventura Vibe through the front of the amp. Why? Because we said so. And you’re on acid, so you’re in no shape to make technical decisions. Seriously, though. Dudes like Hendrix were able to tell a one thing through their utter drug-induced delirium; that great vibe tones come when you plug into the front of the amp. Also, because the Ventura Vibe has a gain component, this helps drive the preamp section which is only accessible through the front of the amp.

Building great tone is like a puzzle. Sometimes, it takes some experimenting, but once you get it to work, there’s no rush quite like it. Most importantly, though, if you don’t have the right pieces to begin with, you’ll never make it all fit. That’s why when it comes to putting the pieces together, DigiTech’s new line of pedals is the way to go. TheToneKing.com had a blast combining the Obscura, Polara, and the Ventura Vibe for this year’s 30 Pedals in 30 Days. Now, go find a place to mellow out, man.

Quick Features of each pedal (in a nutshell):

  • Obscura : TAPE, ANALOG, LOFI, REVERSE
  • Polara: Room, Plate, Reverse, Modulated, Halo, Hall & Spring
  • Ventura : UNIVIBE, Vibrato, Rotary/Leslie

 

 

 

 

The Give-Away (Don’t forget – DAILY PRIZES and a GRAND PRIZE!!!)
► Give-Away
► Randall Facebook

Additional Randall / Washburn Gear links :
► Randall Amplifiers
► Washburn Guitars
► PXL20B Demo and Review
► PXS20FR Demo and Review

SUBSCRIBE & CONNECT with TheToneKing.com
► Subscribe
► Website 
► Facebook
► Subscribe

Tiny URL for this post:
 

SubscribeTTKsYTChannel

Filed Under: FeaturedNewsEvents3P3D-2015

About the Author: Marc published his first novel Becoming in 2010. It’s a kick-ass book with monsters and dreams and stuff, and you should buy it. Since then, he’s written thousands of articles for TheToneKing.com, many of which have been picked up for circulation by manufacturers and other news outlets. His next book, Drugs and Pancakes, should be available early 2014 if his alcoholic editor can find time to work on it in-between destroying his liver and screaming about punctuation. He graduated from Roosevelt University with honors, which means that he’s not as dumb as he looks. He’s been playing guitar for over 25 years, which is almost twice as long as most of his students have been alive.

RSSComments (0)

Trackback URL

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.