Janglebox vs. Ric-O-Sound
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:23 pm
This our first posting on the site, although my son and I visit it frequently. We were interested in the recent Janglebox discussion and thought we might add our two cents' worth. By way of background, I should point out that we own a 350V63, a 360/12, a Janglebox and a Ric-O-Sound unit. We also have an Apple computer where we do the Garage Band thing. We'd like to share a story and an observation about the "jangle" sound.
We live in Kansas City where my son (who's almost 14) participates in Rock U, a local private school that teaches kids how to join and perform in a rock group. In April, his band was invited to open a multi-group show at the Uptown Theater, which is a long-standing and prestigious music venue in KC. (Gordon Lightfoot played there two weeks ago, for example.) The event was the owner's 50th birthday party and evidently somebody had the idea that having a group of youngsters open up would be appropriate. Anyway, the owner sent word over in advance that he would like to hear some Beatle songs. My son's band dutifully dusted off What You're Doing, which they had played at an earlier gig, but before we bought our Janglebox. The night of the show, we packed up the 360/12 and the Janglebox and headed off. The stagehands hooked him into some kind of Marshall amp which was there for all the bands to use. Several hundred people were in attendance and I would consider them to be a fairly discriminating audience that included many musicians and regular concert-goers. When my son hit his first note on What You're Doing, it was Jangle heaven! You could almost see the jaws drop and I can't help but think several dozen people sat there and thought "How is he doing that?" I wondered how long it had been since the old music hall had heard a sound like that.
Now for the observation; we like our Ric-O-Sound unit but it's fairly cumbersome for live use. You really need two amps and although it sounds cool, it doesn't create much jangle, particularly. With our Apple, however, we've been surprised with the clear, ringing jangle it produces when plugged straight into the board. (It sounds nothing like its live effect.) Conversely, the Janglebox, while still useful, seems slightly more harsh and it does buzz somewhat on the bright setting. Our point is that if you're wanting to jangle in the studio you might check out the Ric-O-Sound first (or a suitable replacement as discussed elsewhere on this board). You could be surprised and completely satisfied, for less money. If it's the live jangle you want, on the other hand, the Janglebox will turn heads. We're happy we have both. We think they have slightly different attributes.
P.S. While they were playing What You're Doing, one of the stagehands (not knowing I was a father) tapped me and said "Man, that's a great song. I haven't heard that in years!"
We live in Kansas City where my son (who's almost 14) participates in Rock U, a local private school that teaches kids how to join and perform in a rock group. In April, his band was invited to open a multi-group show at the Uptown Theater, which is a long-standing and prestigious music venue in KC. (Gordon Lightfoot played there two weeks ago, for example.) The event was the owner's 50th birthday party and evidently somebody had the idea that having a group of youngsters open up would be appropriate. Anyway, the owner sent word over in advance that he would like to hear some Beatle songs. My son's band dutifully dusted off What You're Doing, which they had played at an earlier gig, but before we bought our Janglebox. The night of the show, we packed up the 360/12 and the Janglebox and headed off. The stagehands hooked him into some kind of Marshall amp which was there for all the bands to use. Several hundred people were in attendance and I would consider them to be a fairly discriminating audience that included many musicians and regular concert-goers. When my son hit his first note on What You're Doing, it was Jangle heaven! You could almost see the jaws drop and I can't help but think several dozen people sat there and thought "How is he doing that?" I wondered how long it had been since the old music hall had heard a sound like that.
Now for the observation; we like our Ric-O-Sound unit but it's fairly cumbersome for live use. You really need two amps and although it sounds cool, it doesn't create much jangle, particularly. With our Apple, however, we've been surprised with the clear, ringing jangle it produces when plugged straight into the board. (It sounds nothing like its live effect.) Conversely, the Janglebox, while still useful, seems slightly more harsh and it does buzz somewhat on the bright setting. Our point is that if you're wanting to jangle in the studio you might check out the Ric-O-Sound first (or a suitable replacement as discussed elsewhere on this board). You could be surprised and completely satisfied, for less money. If it's the live jangle you want, on the other hand, the Janglebox will turn heads. We're happy we have both. We think they have slightly different attributes.
P.S. While they were playing What You're Doing, one of the stagehands (not knowing I was a father) tapped me and said "Man, that's a great song. I haven't heard that in years!"
