Tag Archives: TC Electronic

GEAR 513 • TC Electronic UniTune

Most of you know I have been a fan of TC Electronic’s Polytune Clip for a while now (review linked below). The Polytune Clip does really well with alternate and open-tunings on acoustic guitar; it latches on to notes quickly, has good tracking, and even does well reading the lower bass notes we sometimes tune our sixth strings to which other clip-on tuners can have trouble with. So I still love the PolyTune Clip even though I spend most of my time in open tunings and hardly ever use the PolyTune function. Recently, I learned that TC Electronic had partnered with music retailer Sweetwater to produce the Uni-Tune, which is just like the PolyTune Clip in every respect but without the PolyTune mode. (Also it is about $15 less expensive.)

As with the Polytune Clip, I found that TC Electronic’s Uni-Tune clip-on tuner latches on to notes quickly and accurately, has excellent tracking, and picks up the low 6th string bass notes well (even down as low as Bb). So if you use mostly open / altered tunings, or can otherwise live without the PolyTune function and want to save $15, you might consider the almost identical UniTune clip-on tuner from TC Electronic.

GEAR 504 • Polytune Clip with Open & Altered Tunings

Not long ago I picked up the Polytune Clip from TC Electronic and have since been very pleased with the way it works on acoustic guitar in particular. (Of course it also works on electric guitar and other instruments as well.) I do a lot of open and altered tunings and this tuner handles them like a champ. In addition to latching on to notes quickly and accurately in chromatic mode, the Polytune picks up the low 6th string bass notes well (I tune down as low as Bb). Tracking is great and you can see the note steadily move into tune as you turn the tuning pegs. Of course the polytune mode doesn’t really work with open / altered tunings, but the Polytune Clip works so well as a chromatic tuner that it’s worthwhile for that alone. Highly recommended.

TC Electronic: http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-clip/

You may also like:

Video on the Gotoh 510 tuners I have on my guitar here

Here Comes the Sun fingerstyle guitar arrangement

How to tune your guitar to Open G

GEAR 409 • Analog vs Digital Delay Pedals, Carbon Copy vs Flashback

This is a two part video about the differences between analog and digital delay. Part one discusses the general differences between analog and digital delay effects. Part two compares popular analog & digital delay pedals: the MXR Carbon Copy vs the TC Electronic Flashback.

In terms of sound, analog delays tend to sound warm and round. The repeats loose some definition and clarity, however there is generally more body and texture to the repeats. In general, analog delay works well when there is more space in the mix and you’re not running a bunch of other effects. It’s perfect for anything from classic slapback sounds to spacey classic rock. Analog delay can round out a brighter sounding guitar and amp.

Digital repeats do not have the high-end roll-off of analog and generally sound crisper and clearer. (You also tend to get longer delay times and more features with a digital pedal.) Digital delay works well with other pedals and is also the delay of choice for acoustic guitar. The clean, clear repeats sit well in the mix because they don’t have as much body / girth as the repeats on an analog delay.

It should also be noted that there is some overlap between these sounds, with some analog units more on the clear/crisp side (like Seymour Duncan’s Vapor Trail) and some digital delays more on the warm/round side. Some digital delays can produce a convincing analog sound and let you do some things you couldn’t normally do with an analog pedal, however the simplest way to get an analog sound is with an analog delay pedal. Really I recommend owning one of each if you have the means (provided you like delay; also note, they are readily available used). In addition to being useful in different contexts, it can also be fun to run the two delay pedals together. (Maybe I’ll do that in another video one day.)

For the sound demo in part two, I compare the MXR Carbon Copy with the TC Electronic Flashback. Really, this is not meant to show you everything the pedals can do, but to give you a taste of the different sounds that are commonly used – namely a short-to-medium delay to add body. (I do play around with some weird sounds for a bit though.) The Flashback especially is a fairly versatile pedal, however I will focus on the Analog / Tape / LoFi settings, which still sound ‘digital’ in comparison with the Carbon Copy.
The playlist embedded below has both parts of the demo.

This demo was recorded with a Fender MIM Strat (w/ Texas Special pickups) and a Fender Champ II (Rivera, with Eminence Ragin’ Cajun speaker) amp miked with a Sennheiser e906 dynamic microphone.

MXR page for the Carbon Copy: http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m169-carbon-copy-analog-delay

TC Electronic page for the Flashback: http://www.tcelectronic.com/flashback-delay/

You may also want to check out my demo of the Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail analog delay.

GEAR 408 • TC Electronic Trinity Reverb T2

Here is my three part demo of the TC Electronic Trinity Reverb T2. The “T2” means this is the second version of the pedal, which comes loaded with nothing but ambient reverb presets. (The first version had a mix of ambient sounds and stock Hall of Fame presets.) The presets are mostly based on church / cathedral and long plate type algorithms that feature unusual modulation of the reverb. Some of the sounds are nice and lush; others are just plain weird. In fact, at least half of the settings are a little ‘too much’ for my taste, but there are several that I do like. And while I demo a few short room / slap back sounds, this pedal really excels at long, washy reverb sounds. People who are into ambient sounds, shoegaze, worship music, etc. will probably like this pedal. Yet, also keep in mind that you can get some nice ambient sounds from the Hall of Fame pedal’s stock church and modulated settings, as well as the tone print slot. This is a 3 part demo (because it’s the Trinity, of course), where parts one and two explore stock settings on the dial. Part 3 compares the T2 to the ambient sounds you can get from the Hall of Fame stock settings plus the Sigur Rós tone print, and also pairs the T2 with the TC Electronic Alter Ego V2 (the T2’s sister analog / tape delay pedal). The playlist embed below has all three parts of the demo.

This demo was recorded with a Fender MIM Strat (w/ Texas Special pickups) and a Fender Champ II (Rivera, with Eminence Ragin’ Cajun speaker) amp miked with a Sennheiser e906 dynamic microphone.

TC Electronic Pages:
Trinity T2: http://www.tcelectronic.com/t2-reverb/
Hall of Fame: http://www.tcelectronic.com/hall-of-fame-reverb/
Alter Ego V2: http://www.tcelectronic.com/alter-ego-2-vintage-echo/