From ynottnaro@yahoo.com Tue Apr 08 08:07:22 2003
Subject:RE: Amp rig strategy/Fulltone

Fulltone is a line of pedals made by Mike Fulltone.
(www.fulltone.com) They're kinda pricey (average
price is around $200 per pedal, except his
ChoralFlange which is a whopping $300+). But they're
very good products, built indestructibly like
Speakeasy products. However, his customer service
bears no resemblance to the Speakeasy model
unfortunately. When and if you can reach him via
phone, he'll pretty much let you know that it's his
way or the highway as far as tone goes, and if you
disagree with him...well, let's just leave it there.
He's slow to respond via email. But the bottom line
is his products are really VERY good. I play bass as
well as keyboards, and I have owned or owned a
Fulldrive II, Bassdrive, Fatboost (a wonderful box for
bass, guitar or clavinet...awesome one-trick pedal)
and I tried a ChoralFlange which is pretty happening,
but I'm just too damn cheap to spend that much money
on a pedal that does "that".

The bad news is, his pedals are expensive, and used
they're not really that much cheaper. The good news
is, those pedals really retain their value and I've
actually hunted and found deals on these things and
sold them at a profit.

My advice: get a Speakeasy if you don't have one
already. If you do, or if you play other instruments
as well as keys, then take a look at the Fulltone
stuff. Buy it on Ebay or buy it direct from Fulltone;
he doesn't cut dealers any break, and you can buy
cheaper from him than you can from them (much to their
chagrin). But....if you go to a store to check his
stuff out (and you won't find his stuff at Guitar
Center, SamRash, or any of the superstores, you'll
have to go to a "boutique" guitar shop), please do
right by them and purchase from them if you do. I
think it's a raw deal he cuts them by charging them
list for his pedals when he'll sell to you cheaper,
and it's a disservice to himself that he does, since
the only way to find that these work for you is to
plug in and check them out; and if he ends up
alienating ALL of his dealers, you'll be forced to
purchase based on a soundclip of someone else playing
it...which, while helpful, isn't as good a sales tool
as holding, playing and hearing the product in front
of you.

Anyway...his stuff is really good. I actually used the
Fulldrive II between my Electro and Speakeasy and into
my leslie, and it got Jon Lord for days...pretty much
no matter WHAT I did to the knobs! The Speakeasy
Howler did it fantastically (as does replacing the Au7
in your 122 amp with an AX7), but when you want to go
back to subtler tones, all you have to do is shut the
Fulltone off. They're quiet, feature true bypass, are
attractive looking, and sound killer. But, I just had
to have the Howler and Classic in one box, so I bit
the bullet and had Speakeasy build me one. If you
can't afford to do that right now, I totally recommend
the Fulltone alternative. Oh...and if you buy 2 or
more pedals, there's a 10% discount. Expect to pay
between $140-$175 for a used Fulldrive II...and DO NOT
BE TEMPTED to buy the "Yellow Special Edition" FDII's
you'll see on ebay for $250+: those modifications
being touted are now standard in his pedals.

Tony

Tony
--- Dan Sevush wrote:
> Fulltone? Yet Another Toy to acquire.. WHY am I
> asking what it is?
>
> Okay, Tony - que pasa Fulltone?
>
> [I'm *SO* going to regret this]
>
> > I totally recommend the Fulltone Fulldrive II as
> well
> > as the Fulltone Bassdrive. I've used those units
> with
> > my Electro with and without the leslie. You can
> get
> > incredible Lord tones using the FDII.
>

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