Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal 

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

This write up is meant for beginners or those who have found themselves having problems finding a way set this pedal up. More experienced players, pro musicians, or those who've already found success with it may find all of this a little basic and probably humorous.

I've owned this pedal for 3 years, I've read the reviews and can vouch for the positive stuff and also relate to the frustration some people posted. IMO the negative posts result from mistakes made by the user in set up or application. It also seems that in general players who are only experienced with modeling amps or those getting into pedals for the first time are the most frustrated. I will also admit that I made all of these mistakes myself before finally getting it right, or at least mostly right. Here's a short list of Do's and Don'ts.

Don't:
1. Think you can really buy Joe's sound in a box. This is a JUST a distortion box (albeit an exceptional one) and it's only one small part of the end sound that most of us are going for.

2. Don't plug it into a modeling amp. Many people have tried and noted that it sounds terrible. It does. I plugged it into my Peavey Viper 75 and it sounded like about 17 angry cats in a 75 watt tin box. Beginner's mistake. Modeling amps don't need or want pedals and are actually designed to avoid them. Sadly most sales people will not steer you out of a purchase so don't feel bad if you find yourself in this situation - you're not the first and you won't be the last.

3. Don't run it into a high gain channel on a standard tube or solid state amp, UNLESS you're dialing the amp gain way back. Distortion pedal + high gain channel = sonic gumbo.

4. Don't run the "tone" knob too high. This was probably the second biggest mistake I kept making. The most common advice we get regarding any kind of knob is "start at 12". IMO the 12 o'clock position is already way too high. Try it around 9 or 10. I don't know why they built so much top end into it - guess it's there if you ever needed to play Eruption on a 5 string bass. Seriously it's got a ridiculous amount of top end, but it dials out easy enough.

The "DO's":
1. Partner it with the right amp. If you only own a modeling amp you're faced with 2 choices. Go get a traditional ("non modeling") amp or return the pedal. Disclaimer: Since this would probably result in you having only the amp and "saturator", you'll quickly realize you need more pedals....so I recommend hanging onto your modeling amp while you build your pedal collection over time. Seems this is pretty much how everyone's pedal journey begins.

2. When searching for setting's start by setting your amp EQ to flat 12 o'clock positions. Ensure any other EQs you might have are likewise.

3. Start with the tone knob at about 9 o'clock (relatively low).

4. Try a clean channel first, then experiment with different channels or levels of gain on the amp - start low and go from there. You'll find tons of cool sounds doing that.

5. Try an overdrive pedal IN FRONT of this pedal. It works great.

6. To thicken up the end result you'll want to try a chorus or a delay.

My amps:
Blackstar HT-5 combo or Orange Dark Terror
I run them into an Orange 2x12 cab with Celestion V30s.

Signal path:
Wah - Overdrive - Saturator into the front of the amp. Chorus - Delay - Reverb - Looper into the amps effects loop.

The Dark Terror is a high gain single channel amp, but with the gain dialed between 1/4 and 1/3, and the volume dialed up it takes the Saturator pedal very well. It's really brilliant with the HT-5 on both channels. If you plan on searching for a new amp I'd recommend a two channel one.

I'd classify myself as a "dedicated hobbyist/enthusiast" who loves music, sound and guitar noise. This set up works great for the house. I'm happy to leave the stage to the many talented pros and sit out in the audience for the show.

With a lot of patience and experimentation I found what I was going for with this pedal and a whole lot more. It's a great piece of gear once you get thru the learning curve of how to set it up.

Good luck and hope this helps.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

I use this stomp box for all of my classic rock tones..I have a lot of the other name brands and this is a great addition to my board!

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

The Satchurator's 'More' switch is the wild card in an already stacked deck. You can dial in any amount of gain, even max it out, and 'More' will give yoi more. It's really great with the gain around 10:00-1:00, as one 'channel' and then kick in 'More' for an explosive high gain 'channel'.
It's also relatively quiet as compared to other pedals even when maxed out. I have a MIJ Boss DS-1 that sounds awesome and it's much noisier than this Vox pedal.
The tone control is very flexablr as well and allows note articulation and picking dynamics to shine. This isn't a smear of distortion it's a palette of beautiful colors to create beautiful art with.
The control layout is good, not cramped together where you are kicking knobs instead of switches. However, this is because the Satchurator is larger than most pedals meaning you may have to rearrange your pedalboard to make it fit.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

I was so looking forward to the Satchurator when it came out. I play in a popular cover band every weekend where we go from disco to metal all in the the night so pedals are important to me. The idea behind the Satchurator is well conceived, especially the More feature, but it is poorly executed.

The biggest problem as others have noted is that the tone knob is useless beyond 11:00 o'clock. Even Satriani keeps it between 9 or 10.

The other issue is that the pedal simply does not sound good with all amps. When I use it with my Peavey Triple XXX on the clean channel it does sound good. It I use it on my Marshall DSL-100 or my Marshall TSL 122 it really sounds thin and fizzy no matter how I dial in the amps. And these are both quality tube amps.

When used with my Vox 100vt or any solid state/modeling amp the sound is horrible. As others have mentioned, it apparently is not designed for these types of amps. The type of guitar you use makes a difference in sound quality too. Strats sound thin and fizzy.

I do however absolutely LOVE the Ice 9 Overdrive. Great pedal regardless of which amp I use or which guitar. However it is an overdrive pedal not a distortion pedal.
It would have been nice to see a dual tone control. One to control the ridiculus amount of treble and one to add bass.
Battery compartment cover keeps falling off. Paint is very thin and chips way to easily.
A bit on the expensive side when you consider you can buy 2 Boss DS-1's for the price of the Satchurator and they are practically the same unit when you hear them side by side.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

This is a great pedal for the money, you get that full classic stack sound without spending thousands on a classic stack.
I bought this pedal to warm up my sound, and that is exactly what it has done for me. I especially like the extra punch I get from kicking on the more button. This is no one trick pony either. You can dial up several distinct distortion sounds. This is my go to pedal when I want that classic distorted sound that still lets the sound of my guitar shine through.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

I use this in front of a PV XXX head. I love the XXX tone, but I needed a "low gain" channel.This pedal has alot of gain versatility, if not alot of tonal versatility (by itself.) It sounds amazing across the whole range of gain sweep. Low gain settings are great for open rock/blues rhythm tones. High gain tones are actually quite similar to the XXX, except more open in the mids. There is more touch sensitivity and less compression. The tones could be from the same amp. The Satchurator on high gain sounds like the XXX ultra channel, except without (an imaginary) "fat" switch engaged. That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but it is. Imagine a more touch sensitive and articulate PV ultra.I keep this set with the gain low for a mild breakup cleanish tone. Can use the "more" to get a more rockin tone, and then switch over the the amp channels for more gain. Of course I also use the satchurator on high gain when doing satch covers.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

Overall, I would recommend this pedal to anybody that is serious about tone, no buzz, and good distortion. I'm not sure if it has a true bypass, but it sure acts like it. There is never a buzz in the pedal. Also, it is so user friendly that even if you don't know how to set a pedal correctly, you will get a good sound out of it. Any setting on the pedal is good, whether you like cranking gain or playing with a heavy overdrive. This pedal has it all.
This pedal gives you Satriani's tone in a box. I play an Epiphone Les Paul through a Crate V18 and this pedal is OUTSTANDING. Any solid body guitar with decent pickups through a tube amp will make this pedal sound amazing. The tone knob is similar to a wah pedal. All the way down, it has a great, low, bassy rhythm tone. At half you can get away with a rhythm or lead sound. and all the way up will give you a "Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing" type sound or "Up In the Sky" or even some "Satch Boogie" tone. The gain knob is also fantastic. At a low setting it has a close to British rock type sound. At a middle setting it's a heavy rhythm tone. All the way up, the harmonics are beautiful. If you play a knot past the 12th fret on the high strings and hold it for a few seconds, the note will automatically jump an octave up because of the gain. What's nice is that the gain is controlled and not buzzy or overpowering. The high gain makes good for doing improv pinch harmonics, which Satriani uses a lot to get a classic rock type sound. Then theres the "More" button...what every pedal should have. This pedal kicks in EXTRA gain to give a heartwarming yet complete rock tone. It sounds SPECTACULAR with any hard rock music. The Satchurator also has a pad switch, so if you're pedals don't cooperate with the Satchurator, you just switch the pad. It's a good thing to use with a wah pedal or other high output pedals. The LED's are very bright for knowing that the pedal is on. The footswitches themselves are easy to click. Also, it has Satriani's signature on the back of the pedal, which makes it worth buying.
The quality of the pedal is great. The only problem I had was scratches on the pedal from being on my pedalboard with other pedals. The paint seems a little thin in the sense that my slide and whammy bar fell on the pedal and made a scratch. Other than that, the pedal is pretty light weight, the knobs are easy to use, foot switches are easy to click, and theres a easily accessible 9 volt adaptor. Everything was weighed, placed, and set up perfectly on this pedal.
Being a young guitarist working at a job that pays minimum wage, It is a little pricey. But for the quality and effects this pedal holds, the extra money is WELL worth paying rather than buying a BOSS or MXR pedal.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

Bought this pedal after a lot of research online. I didn't try other pedals so can't compare, but I did spend many years playing through a really nice Marshall head, so had a good reference point for good distortion. I loved it from day one. The pedal is very simple, Gain-Tone-Volume. With those 3 knobs, you can dial in a very versatile set of distortion sounds, from the subtle crunch to mega-crunch. The more button is really cool. I do a lot of stuff where I play with my volume set at around 5-7. The more button allows me to add some really rich distortion for leads even at that setting.
versatile with simple, yet cool features
sounds great...period
I guess it's more expensive than some other distortion pedals, but it sounds great, so that's all that matters to me.

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

First and foremost: WARNING...DO NOT BUY THIS IS YOU ARE PLAYING THROUGH A MODELING AMP. No matter what the settings are, your sound will always have too much gain and treble. Unless this is the sound you're going for, please do not buy this pedal and rate it all "1's in a review. Anyways, when played through a tube amp, the tones you can get are easily Satriani, and if the eq is dialed in right, it can do metal amazingly. Max out the gain, with the tone knob at the center, and adjust the volume to your likings. It's the setting that The Satch himself uses =D For more bluesy tones, roll off the gain, and put on the 'more' switch when it's time for a solo. the results are stunning! For even more of a gain boost effect, roll off the guitar's volume too, and stun everyone when it comes to your solo!

Comments about Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal:

Amazing pedal, gives you amazing distortion tones. Lets you sound just like the man, if that is your desire. The more switch is a great thing to have. Dialing the guitar volume down and putting the gain low on this pedal gives you an awesome Hendrix tone.