Long journey to the Custom Cool

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Long journey to the Custom Cool

Postby bigal » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:16 pm

My biggest pedal regret was selling my small box Gainster a few years ago. I loved that thing but found myself in a group that called for a different sound. I ended up replacing it with a DD w/ mod board (my first Barber pedal was actually a regular Direct Drive, which was eventually replaced by a Small Fry). The DD mod board was great but when that project ended, I found myself writing more on my own and wishing I had that Gainster back. The Gainster had an edge that I always just imagined in my head when I wrote parts- it felt more like "my" voice than any other OD. It was rude but not high-gain. It just had a "tough bastard" sound. I'm a mild mannered dude so it felt like my alter-ego.

When the Custom Cool came out I was tempted but unemployed. My wife was supporting my butt through grad school and I couldn't justify the purchase. I did manage a trade at that point, however- my Small Fry yielded me an LTD SR w/ mod board. I had read the SR would do most of what the Custom Cool could do. Again, it was a great pedal, which I happily used for a while, but it still never completely felt like the tone I imagine in my head when I'm writing something. When Dave was blowing out Tone Pump EQs a few years ago, I jumped on that (I was done with grad school and employed again). Really liked it, but joined a group that needed something more aggressive. I eventually sold the Tone Pump in order to pick up the ultimate Barber rock machines- the Trifecta and Dirty Bomb (and I still had the DD w/ mod board on my shelf.) Super cool pedals. I wrote some really fun stuff with them. But that project died on the vine after a few members moved. When the Gain Changer was released, I was psyched to try a compact pedal that might cover high and low gain tones and give me a slightly different voice than the LTD SR I had had. BOOM. When I got the GC, I think I posted here that I thought it was Barber's best work and I've gone through almost the whole Barber lineup! I adore the GC- I'm fully bonded, committed and pre-nup has been signed. The fat-flat setting knocks my socks off. But the GC and I talked and decided that we would be even stronger if we added that old "aggressive and edgey without being high-gain" voice to the table to allow the GC to do what it does best and give me the other flavor I'm really looking for. I found a great deal on a used Custom Cool a few weeks back and jumped on it.

Well, sometimes long journeys end terribly. This one did not! I'm still in the honeymoon phase but I think the CC matches that elusive voice in my head even better than the Gainster did. The Snarl eq, the ability to dial in just the right amount of compression (not much, but some) and just the feel of the pedal is stunning. It is really what I've been after all this time. This thing can rock hard when a ham-fisted player like myself bangs on a guitar- you want garage-rock, this thing can crush it. It can also get sophisticated in the hands of a skilled guitar player like Monster Mike. Anyway, this is just another phenomenal achievement from Barber. Thanks, Dave and Ronni!
Tone Press, Gain Changer, Barb EQ[/color], VFE Alpha Dog
(MXR Chorus, Boss Tremolo, TC Flashback)
Guitars: American Standard Telecaster (Dimarzio Area T Hot/Area T Neck), Richmond Belmont, Godin LG Signature, PRS SE Soapbar II
Amps: Rivera Quiana (Weber Legacy); Clark Beaufort Spec. (Mojotone BV30H); Traynor Darkhorse (Eminence Ragin' Cajun)
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Re: Long journey to the Custom Cool

Postby David Barber » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:07 pm

Quite a journey, Thank you Bigal!
PRS SE One, PRS SE EG, PRS McCarty rosewood neck, Anderson Hollow T, Anderson Hollow Classic, Hamer Artist, Fender Strats and Teles, All Barber Pedals, Barber Echelon, Barber Energy cab.
http://www.barberelectronics.com/sounds.html
http://www.barberelectronics.com/pickuptest.htm
http://www.barberelectronics.com
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