Chromatic Pedal Tuner

Quick Test
Planet Waves Chromatic Pedal Tuner £85
either of the outputs, which is useful,
and we’d happily say that the display
would be easily legible under all but the
brightest of stage lighting.
Verdict
With the TU-2 at £69 and offering
similar features, it’s more affordable
than the Planet Waves. However, it’s not
quite as cool looking and that could well
swing it for many of you...
RATING
Dunlop SW95 Slash Crybaby Wah £209
142 AUGUST 2006
KEY INFO ❘ PLANET WAVES PEDAL TUNER ❘ PRICE: £85 ❘ TYPE: FLOOR-BASED CHROMATIC TUNER ❘ TEL: SUMMERFIELD 01914 149000
IN THE LAST FEW
years many fl oor-based
tuners have come on the
market, most notably the industry-
standard BOSS TU-2. Trust Planet
Waves to come up with a similar unit
that, in the words of Nigel Tufnel, is
A pedal tuner chock-full of features that can double as a fashion item! by Simon Bradley
The legendary gunslinger fi nally gets a signature wah loaded with a secret weapon by Simon Bradley
RATING
with ease. The wah itself is fairly toppy
and middly, meaning that the sweep
isn’t all that it could be, but if it suits Mr
Hudson, we’re not going to argue.
Verdict
The retail price of £209 is pretty much
the going rate for a wah of this quality
and heritage, and if the searing Slash
style is for you, then so is this great
pedal. If not, we can recommend the
equally excellent Fasel-powered
Crybaby Classic, yours for £149.
the ultra-cool metallic red chassis – not
least a battery compartment sited
actually within the treadle itself.
Accessible via a removable part of the
rubber slip, the power comes from a
pair of standard nine-volt batteries
creating, as Dunlop describe, extra
headroom and clarity.
The pedal also includes a distortion
circuit that’s controlled by volume and
gain pots, and accessed via a small
knock-switch sited on the pedal’s right
side. It’s only operational when the wah
is turned on too. Two sets each of a pair
of LEDs – blue for wah and red for
distortion – guarantee that you’re never
unsure of what’s switched in and out,
and as with all the Crybaby range, it
could survive a drop from the top of
Canary Wharf.
SOUNDS: In operation the drive circuit
really opens the wah up nicely. It’s
extremely fi erce by itself but, if you
tailor it to your own rig and have a
driving amp to begin with, it’s an
effi cient boost for solos, cutting through
SLASH HAS BEEN A CRYBABY
man for many years and there are
several new features included within
Looking good: style
and substance are
both on offer from
Planet Waves
I don’t need your civil
wah: the drive circuit
makes the Slash
Crybaby a beast
CHROMATIC TUNER TEST RESULTS
Build quality
Features
In Use
Value for money
■ WE LIKED The streamlined and very
modern design
■ WE DISLIKED Not as affordable as the
BOSS TU-2
DUNLOP SLASH WAH TEST RESULTS
Build quality
Features
Sounds
Value for money
■ WE LIKED The cool vibe and seriously
cool drive circuit
■ WE DISLIKED The somewhat limited
sweep
“one cooler”. Boasting a more compact
design than the TU-2, not to mention
the very smart black chrome chassis,
this reassuringly heavy tuner is based
around a circular display with a central
section illustrating the notes and a row
of lights showing the tuning process.
There are two modes, Sweep and
Strobe, which can be swapped between
via the Mode button, plus a Calibration
option that ranges from 435-445Hz:
scroll between these extremes with the
up/down keys.
This unit offers an single input
alongside a pair of outputs: if you wish
to take advantage of the amp-muting
function, use the main out, if not go for
the bypass output.
IN USE: We found that the Sweep
mode was best for us, and as you’d
expect, we could tune electrics,
acoustics and basses with ease. It also
operates without anything connected to
KEY INFO ❘ DUNLOP SLASH WAH ❘ PRICE: £209 ❘ TYPE: SIGNATURE WAH PEDAL ❘ TEL: JHS 0113 286 5381
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