Friday, December 30, 2022

EH: Snake-stortion (2)


The highlight of the Elektrik Head Snake-stortion pedal is its clipping modes. There are 4 on board; LED, Asymmetrical, Symmetrical & Hard. I specifically asked for these to be included because it alters both the intensity & voicing to make tone fiddling more exciting. Also, I do not wish to switch pedals for this to happen, eg. Tube Screamer for symmetrical clipping tones & BOSS SD-1 for the asymmetrical alternative, etc. 

Here's a list of observations, based on my live experience regardless of what each mode is supposed to do theoretically. It's more objective to share with you what I hear rather than offer an interpretation of what each clipping type is doing to the signal:
  • LED. Smooth, quick attack. Edgy tones when your treble is excessive. 
  • Asymmetrical. Smooth, edgy, slightly fatter, a tad more sustain. I hear less gain influence here. Harmonics are easier to manifest in the LED mode compared to this one. If single note definition is your thing, stick to this mode.
  • Symmetrical. Fatter tone, rather prominent. If clarity is important to you, treble needs to be pumped up, otherwise, you will be rooted in the overdriven woman tone territory.
  • Hard. Meanest voicing, capable of being fuzzy but I hear a volume drop, not marked but noticeable. 
NOTE: The summary of the MODEs performance is based on both single coil & humbucking guitars used for the tone test. 

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