Thursday, May 1, 2014

First impression: ISP Theta

We are now in May, time flies when your gear & guitar shenanigans keep you occupied. At least this applies to me. Trust that everyone had a good May Day holiday today.

I've been busy today with a single piece of gear- seen above, the ISP Theta. Nothing evolutionary, just a pedal incorporating a pre-amp section as well as a 2-channel distortion. To top it all off, there's noise gate to keep things at bay because the amount of gain on offer is obscene.

The real initial impression is the one at the store when I first tried this pedal (that would be Davis GMC) but the more applicable account would be the one today when I get to use the Theta with my own gear. The 14 knobs on board might scare many of us especially when we want something functional & to the point but I'm glad ISP did it this way. The controls ensure the pre-amp & distortion sections keep the 2 offerings detailed, not overlapping & dedicated in the delivery of tone. They are in fact, standard EQ, gain & level knobs which are details familiar to us, nothing new, yes? With this in mind, especially the pre-amp inclusion, you would only need a good clean channel to propel your preferred tone. I tried both tube & solidstate amps for this one & both manifested fine tones, nothing averse to report. 

I've only tested the Theta with a humbucking guitar today so hopefully, the next installment would disclose some single coil chemistry, I hope to plug in a P-90 equipped guitar in there as well.

Some closing words: The Theta is worth it if you wish for a dedicated gain source. It's made pleasant by that noise gate which the ISP name is renowned for- no-brainer combo goodness, this one.

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