player opinions
MXR M-103 Blue Box
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Name: Ben
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Band: Outside
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Model Year: -----
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Price Paid: $100
Performance
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The Blue Box is simple to use. You have a volume knob, a mix knob (from pure fuzz to fuzz with one and two octaves down mixed in to just the octaves down), and an on/off switch. Easy. If you want an adapter, better order the right one because the adapter hole is of an unusual size/shape.
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Performance Rating: 10
Sound Quality
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It's a pretty cool pedal, but it's too quiet. I'd say it's more of a studio pedal than a live pedal, though you can use it live if the rest of the band isn't going full throttle. If you put it at full volume, it's about even with your clean volume. Booo! The actual sounds are pretty cool, though. Good industrial sound. It has some kind of noise suppressor in it, which makes it spooky-quiet when not playing notes. Kind of stutters out when it looses sustain (which I think sounds cool — probably a result of the noise suppressor). It can give you infinite sustain or no sustain, just depends on how you hit the notes. When you set it to low octave only, it sounds like old synth. Bleep bleep, bloop bloop. Sounds best for riffs played high on the fret board (12th fret and above). A low E chord is extremely muddy unless you mix out all the low octaves. I don't use it for chord work, just riffs and sounds.
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Sound Quality Rating: 8
Construction
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Very solid and compact, seems reliable. Next to my Danelectro tuna melt, it's my smallest pedal. Cool color, cool look. I've had it for three months. I don't use it a lot, but it's a cool flavor of the month type thing. Even if it leaves my pedal board for live playing, I won't sell it because I can use it for cool sounds when recording.
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Construction Rating: 10
links
Average Ratings
- Performance: 10
- Sound Quality: 8
- Construction: 10
Ratings Key
- 10: Excellent
- 0: Useless
Available At Guitar Center
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MXR M-103 Blue Box Standard
Company
- MXR