Category: First Impressions

What do I think about a piece of new (to me) gear at first? We all know first impressions don’t last, but at least this way I can look back and see how my opinion has changed from when I first tried something.

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First Impressions: Kinman Impersonator 54 Noiseless Pickups For Stratocaster

Back in November 2019, I picked up a set of Kinman pickups from Knighton Music Centre. I’d taken my wife there so that she could look at their impressive range of acoustic guitars, and while I was there, I spotted a promo poster for Kinman pickups.

I didn’t even know you could get these in the UK.

I bought a set, brought them home with me … and then they sat on the shelf here for several months. I’ve finally had them put into my Strat. What do I think of them? Read on to find out.

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First Impressions: Danelectro Big Spender Spinning Speaker Pedal

I’m a huge fan of the Danelectro Billionaire series of pedals. I’ve now got all of them except the tremolo pedal, and I’ve been delighted with the sound quality of each and every one of them.

This isn’t the last pedal to arrive before the pandemic lockdown, it’s just the last one for me to put onto the board and spend time with. How did I get on with it? Read on to find out.

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First Impressions: Xvive Sweet Leo Overdrive

Earlier this month, I picked up the Xvive Golden Brownie Distortion pedal (a JCM 800-in-a-box pedal), and I really liked it (once I got my head round it!).

With everything that’s going on right now, I wanted to buy something from my local guitar shop to try and support them, and it was my good luck that they had Xvive’s other dirt pedal in stock.

I’ve had a couple of hours with it so far. Here’s how I’ve gotten on with it.

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First Impressions: Anasounds Element Spring Reverb Pedal

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This is a bit of a difficult First Impressions for me to write. After years of everything being in the same place in the room, I’ve recently moved everything around. I’m still getting to used to how everything sounds in its new location – and in my new listening position.

Anyways. The Anasounds Element has just arrived, and I’ve had a couple of hours with it through my rig. Here’s my very first impressions of this pedal.

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First Impressions: Fender’s The Trapper Fuzz Pedal

I’m really not a fuzz kind of person. They pickup and amplify all of the noise on the dirty electricity we have here. I don’t enjoy playing through spitty, broken tones. And about the only time I use the bridge pickup on my Strat is to make sure it’s still there.

So what am I doing with one? And what do I think of Fender’s latest fuzz pedal?

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