Janglebox: Your opinions?

jimbunch · Post by **jimbunch** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:44 am

I highly recommend the JangleBox. My Ric 360/12C63 with Fender Twin Reverb and the JangleBox nails the Byrds and Beatles 12 string sounds better than any else I have tried.

3ricks · Post by **3ricks** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:30 am

I am going to be the voice of disagreement here but I had a Janglebox last year and I heard all the hype about it and I thought what a complete piece of ****!!!It completely destroyed the beautiful tone of my 370 12 thru a twin reverb.I could not believe the racket that came from that thing..it never seemed to settle down at any setting..and when it was turned down enough to stop all the racket it didnt sound any better than as if I had nothing hooked up to it..since then I have tried various other comps out there but for the gent that started this thread I have to say this: theres nothing like the sound of a rick 12 string with or without compression..I have found that the 370 12 captures the Byrds and Beatles quite perfectly without anything hooked up to them..just wanted to let you know things are not always what they seem...happy pickin~

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:26 am

9 out of 10 reviews I hear are really good for the JB, and it's probably selling really well. I could never buy without hearing one. When will GC carry them?

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:22 am

Although I don't have a JangleBox, I agree with 3rick's assessment that, with a good amp, one doesn't need compression to capture Beatles/Byrds tone.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:48 am

I have a JB and I'm delighted with it. Haven't used it for a while, though. Hmmm......next weekend's project?

teb · Post by **teb** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:29 pm

It's pretty obvious that different peoples' ears hear things differently. In my opinion, and having owned three Rickenbacker twelves, played them through five different amps and having tried Ric round-wounds, Pyramid Golds and TI flats on them I don't think there is much question that the sound of the guitar with compression is substantially different from the sound without it. The guitars all had that famous R-12 tone (perhaps due to bright, clean pickups and the reverse stringing of the octaves?) but the compressor adds a certain "bite" when a note is plucked, a sound threshold kind of like a noise gate and just a hint of dirt. I haven't been able to duplicate that sound without one. I can't really even say that it's a pleasant tone, but it's very distinctive - think of the first four notes in the lead break for "Eight Miles High" and that sort of "hornet-buzz" agressive tone and attack that RM had on his twelve. The same for the fast, grinding low notes at the end of the song. Those notes are all about attack. To my ears, bright, clean, uncompressed tone, no matter how beautiful, won't be the same. I personally don't see how anybody can "nail" the Byrds' highly-compressed tone without compression. There is a good example of compressed Rickenbacker twelve sound here (third cut "It's Gonna Rain Soon"):
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=82095527

I also think lumping Byrds 12-string tone and Beatles 12-string tone into the same basket is a mistake as they generally seem pretty different to me. I think it's possible to come pretty close to most Beatles tone with a good, clean amp with high frequency response and no compressor (as in the intro to "Please Please Me"). Had McGuinn played those parts, they would have had a very different sound.

As far as I can tell, the Janglebox is just a compressor that's tweaked to help duplicate the Byrds sound. It adds a specific flavor to the basic Rickenbacker twelve tone that doesn't exist in the controls of a Fender Twin Reverb or any other popular amp. Your mileage (and your ears) may vary.

emjayw · Post by **emjayw** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:55 pm

I guess it really is a "One-trick Pony". But let me tell 'ya, it absolutely "nails" the recorded sounds of Mcguinn's 360/12 on those early cuts. I honestly don't use it for much other than the Byrds stuff. Don't much need it for the Harrison riffs. Yes, it's not cheap, but after searching for "that sound" for nearly 40 years, I would've paid a bunch more for it.

drumbob · Post by **drumbob** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:50 am

I emailed Steve over the weekend and he responded quickly both times, which I appreciated. I voiced concern over the price and the lack of availability of the JB in my area, and he told me he would refund my $$ if I was dissatisfied, less the restocking fee. I also asked about the interference issues. He assured me that they were rectified. Then, I listened to the sound samples on their wesbite, and was very impressed, so I have decided to buy one, even though I still think the Boss compressor sounds decent. Jeff, it's a shame you had a problem, but the overwhelming responses to the JB are positive, and as far as nailing the Byrds sound, it's exactly right. Maybe you got a bad one?

tennis_nick · Post by **tennis_nick** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:46 am

Great post Todd, one problem though.

You listed Please Please Me as a 12 string song, when really it's George and his Gretsch playing Octaves.

peewee · Post by **peewee** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:17 am

I'll echo 3ricks here. I have a spankin' new JangleBox that was bought just this past January. I have to say that it's the noisiest pedal that I own and as a result it still sits in it's box after only a few hours usage. I contacted Steve via telephone - he's local - and asked if this were a normal occurrence. His reply was that there were possibly 4 factors that could contribute to the excessive noise in the signal:

1) Low grade cables. (I use George L's)

2) A shielding problem within my Rick. (possible, but it happened with every guitar I plugged into the JangleBox and not just my two 360/12s - 6 instruments in all.)

3) A grounding problem with my amp. (Not possible as the amp in question - my '66 Deluxe Reverb - is and has been my main gigging amp for 17 of 20 years and is used 2-3 times each week.)

4) Bad connection with the 9 volt adapter resulting in outside interference. (Not relevant as I use a battery.)

After ruling out each possibility, Steve was stumped. I surmised that I just happened to get one that was faulty and he offered to swap me with his. I continue to use my old MXR Dyna Comp and it's much more quiet than the JangleBox. I also like the Diamond Compressor with the Rick; very smooth and quiet. Just my take.........

janglebox · Post by **janglebox** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:11 am

Just saw the thread this morning.

Many thanks to those who've offered kind words about their JangleBoxes. We're very grateful for the support.

For those who have issues with our product, please contact me directly and I'll do my best to accommodate you: [email protected]

J. Phelps: it's doubtful that you'll see JBs in Guitar Center anytime soon. Big box bricks & mortar chains really aren't a good fit for our small company for any number of reasons, and truthfully, we're at capacity right now with direct sales via the internet.

In the coming weeks we'll be updating our web site with new JangleBox swag, etc. And sometime this summer or early fall, we hope to have a bigger surprise.

teb · Post by **teb** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:42 am

That's very interesting Nick. OK, then use "If I Needed Someone" as an example instead. It's probably the most "Byrd-like" of any of the Beatle recordings, but the twelve is very clean and doesn't have that obvious, highly-compressed sound and aggressive, almost distorted attack that McGuinn used (TTT, MTM 8MH, etc). I don't believe that anybody with a Rickenbacker twelve and a good clean amp would have much trouble getting believable tone for most Beatle stuff, but when you can clearly hear the massive amount of compression on most of the classic Byrds tunes, I don't know how people are expecting to get a really good representation of it without a compressor. Granted, good, clean Rickenbacker twelve tone will still probably sound excellent on those tunes, but if you actually sit down with your guitar and the record (CD for you youngins) and match McGuinn note for note, the tone and the attack, just as you pluck a string, may not be anywhere near as close as it first seems without adding a lot of compression and treble boost.

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:42 am

Let me throw in a little variable into the discussion here. How many of you are attempting to play McGuinn's licks, (with or without a Jangle Box) without using metal finger picks on your middle and ring fingers?

As a life long finger picking guitarist, finger picks vs. fingernails makes a big difference in the sound you get; or even the flat pick you use too, for that matter.

JimK

bitzerguy · Post by **bitzerguy** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:45 am

I a/b'd a Diamond and a Keely at the TO confluence last September (no JB to try, unfortunately) and I was very impressed with the Diamond (bought one the next day). It is very smooth, and very quiet through my Valvetronix amp. With the right amp model, my 660/12, and the Diamond, I can get that Byrds tone, or back it off and get the Harrison tone, or tweak a little more and have the cleanest boost I have ever heard. Very flexible and very quiet. More like a studio or a channel strip type compression than a guitar effect.

I wish someone had a JB at the T.O. gathering. I would like to hear one live.

...Dean

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:10 am

Since I jammed with Mike on Friday night, I gotta say that I was amazed at how "Byrd-like" his tone was, even with a purty Mapleglo 360/12. I am assuming that you were using the janglebox, Mike, which I didn't get much chance to look at the other night, there was so much eye-candy around!