Vertex Dumble Pedals Compared: Steel String, Ultraphonix and Ultraphonix HRM

[@NCtrailX]

Great playing and great descriptions of the differences in sound between the pedals/setups. That Ultra Phonix sounds great by itself! Thanks for posting.

[@mark5150ty]

The steel string has a really nice characteristic. I like that.

[@micheledibella9375]

It’s a sort of booster, to me it’s to much similar at my ep booster

[@mattw36]

Thanks for the comparison - super helpful!

[@IvorThomas]

Nice shootout. I've never tried the steel stringer but I'm sure I'd like it. I do have an Ultraphonix and it has bumped all the other drive pedals from my board. Why no knob tweaks, esp on the HRM?

[@LucasFowler]

This video was really just to show off the different characters of the pedals. I did a whole video dedicated to the Ultraphonix where I tweaked the settings and got different tones and I'm going to do one that is more in depth on the HRM soon. :) Original Ultraphonix demo: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIazlmOumsp5b8U

[@Livelaughlimpbizkit]

Thank you for being different and this with a humbucker, every other review has a strat and I wanted to see what p90’s sound like with the steel singer, this is close enough. Thanks man 👍🏻

[@richardchristensen1768]

Yep And every other review that I've found is by Vertex themselves So you know Vertex wouldn't have a biased opinion SMH

[@mediumshreddercheese]

Nice work man! Great demo, very helpful

[@srinip]

Great comparison demo, with very appropriately nice playing too! Personally, you've proved that the HRM is definitely not for me, but I really never expected the Steel String to have any hair at all - live and learn. The Ultraphonix wins hands down - for my applications, that is. Luckily you have an in-depth review of the Ultraphonix, which I am about to check out. Thanks so much for a very sober, technically proficient demo.

[@carpediem4413]

Did my own Vertex Steel String vs Ibanez TS808 vs Ibanez TS10 vs Fairfield Barbershop shootout… here’s what I learned: At first didn’t think Vertex was doing much and was redundant to the other pedals.. after much comparison, found Steel String adds a nice touch of grit/boost w/o getting in the way. The Vertex is balanced eq-wise - it doesn’t create a mid-hump like TS’s. The Fairfield is an awesome pedal but can get muddy as bass cut is necessary at higher volumes. Vertex seems to have a good balance between TS & Fairfield type pedals (Lightspeed, etc). So at first I thought Vertex wasn’t doing enough (because drive is usually maxed & you can only get a slight grit but nothing more - other than more volume/level) but it would be a great always on balanced pedal that gives you that crisp/slight edge tone. Don’t expect the Steel String pedal to give more than a slight edge to your tone - for that it’s great, you can keep it on - or kick it in without worrying if it will sound good. Vertex SS won’t get muddy at higher volumes but still sounds full at lower volumes - the TS sounds very bass cut at lower volumes. It pretty much is subtle enough to turn on anytime yet still gives your tone a noticeable improvement. You can get similar effect with many pedals but it’s almost like the Vertex is limited in how much gain it will do so you can’t screw it up. Almost like a handcuffed gain pedal or a tone enhancement rather than a typical drive.

[@aarondavis5850]

Great comparison and sound quality. Thanks!

[@mikec6733]

Great review.

[@jordandangelo180]

Man that HRM is a Rock n Roll machine. So glad I never sold it. The only Vertex pedal I sold was the TDrive and it was an awesome pedal too which I’m sure I’ll buy back some day.

[@jamesmccall8396]

What do you think of steel string stacked with HRM? Heard that is magic....

[@LucasFowler]

I like the Steel String stacked into everything. It sounds so good as a boost in front of literally everything I've tried it with.

[@jeremythesurfingalien3013]

Have you played a Supro Galaxy amp? If so, what’s your thoughts? If not, can you demo one? Thank you for the great content.

[@mattbradford1135]

Really great review!

[@nixoni.bogaine155]

Jack Orman mini-boost anyone? Or you could just go to check out Hermida for the other one? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 I wonder....

[@therealnafis3637]

Hi Lucas! I wonder if you ever got the chance to play the Steel String in front of your Black Spirit? I've been having trouble getting a fat clean sounds that doesn't break up and was wondering if you've tried this setup? Thanks man! Love your videos

[@LucasFowler]

I haven't tried that, but I will give it a whirl. There are of course lots of factors that go into a "fat" clean sound, have you tried using the "crunch" channel with a very low gain setting?

[@therealnafis3637]

@@LucasFowler Well that worked like [black] magic... I really appreciate it man! Wow!

[@LucasFowler]

Glad that helped. The BS200 is killer!

[@guitarmixvids]

How often do you use your guitar's tone control? It seems like that a lot of old school players that created classic tones used their tone control a lot to craft their sound and give themselves somewhere to go sonically and dynamically. Of course, this was before there was an infinite number of effects pedals/pickups and amps that cover every sonic color imaginable.

[@fabianthio4011]

The gen 1 and the HRM does both relatively have the same amt of gain? In you opinion.

[@LucasFowler]

The HRM definitely has more gain available.

[@johnmeeks9308]

Should have thrown in the steel string Slinger a little bit more there when you are jumping back and forth some of us don't need a whole lot of distortion just enough to make it seem I guess I'm going to have to go somewhere else in here it

[@markbundy1694]

All 3 are Winners!!!! Great Demo Lucas.... Rock Steady Brother!!!

[@purpleguitar6008]

What gauge strings do you use on your dgt guitar? Thanks

[@LucasFowler]

11-48 or 11-49, whichever is available :P

[@rustycage5351]

The Steel Stringer is perfect. I own it.

[@shaunw9270]

I liked the Steel String the most . I imagine a Les Paul with Super Distortions into the last one must be like instant Love Gun era Ace Frehley !

[@benpowersguitar]

All great. But the both the Ultra Phonix were awesome. Very different uses, but great.

[@LucasFowler]

I looove the Ultraphonix. It's such a sweet sounding drive.

[@DragonofLimerick]

Nice sounding pedals!!

[@charllieville5038]

Steel Stringer is best suited for single coils , mine does not tear until you turn the drive 3/4 up, it does open the door to more vista to sound.. Free the tone steel stringer eats them all

[@john-zw9rw]

Personally. I've been through all these pedals.... I'm done...It always ends up going back to the Zen with the fantastic Vertex clean Boost.. In my world , all these lack exactly what the Dumble delivers...if you haven't experienced the Zen w/ Vertex Boost, don't cuz the search will most likely end

[@Newnodrogbob]

I have a strong sense of deja vu...is this a repost of an older video?

[@LucasFowler]

No, but my licks probably get repetitive :P

[@Newnodrogbob]

Lucas Fowler lol, I appreciate your humor, but I feel like I’ve seen you talk about these pedals before. Your playing is great...

[@LucasFowler]

@@Newnodrogbob I did a review specifically about the Ultraphonix a while back and I mentioned the Ultraphonix and Steel string in my pedalboard video recently, though I didn't have the HRM at that time.

[@Stashmanfpv]

If you’d like to try the BEST Dumble tones in a pedal? Look no further than the Cornerstone Gladio! It’s an amazing pedal!!! 🔥 ✌🏼

[@charllieville5038]

Ultraphonix = sound with a winter cap on , Ultraphonix HRM = I've just come out of the shower and still have water in my ears... not like the dumble HRM clone which I have ..

[@Jaysteenn]

I have the steel string and it's an interesting pedal. You can crank it and not hear much depending on what guitar you are using. I'm still trying to find an actual use for my steel string. When I ordered it, I was suppose to get the Ultra Phonix so I'm still gasing for an Ultra Phonix.

[@LucasFowler]

I use it for two different purposes. I set it up with the gain around 11:00 and then I set the volume so that when I switch to single coil pickups, it makes up the difference between the output of single coils and humbuckers. Then I use that same setting as a boost in front of either the Ultraphonix or the HRM to give them more drive for a lead sound. It stacks in front of other drive pedals REALLY well IMO. It also sounds great with something like a Tubescreamer in front of it :)

[@Jaysteenn]

@@LucasFowler Awesome, Thanks for some tips and telling me how you use it!

[@jordandangelo180]

I have all 3 of these plus a TDrive and the key with these for me is stacking them. The Steel String is the best stacking pedal maybe on the market. It stacks with any pedal amazing well. Delay, a tube screamer, a fuzz pedal...any drive or fuzz is made better by the Steel String. The MXR Sugar Drive is one of my favorite stacks with the Steel String. The Sugar Drive is not compressed at all, it’s wide open with that sparkly Klon touch sensitivity which complements the SS well. Another trick I’ve found is using the Origin Effects Cali 76 or the Boss Compressor/Sustainer also adds an amazing level of sustain and really makes when playing with your fingers each note really pops. I have a Blackstar amp with some built in delay, I turned up the gain and then added the SS and the tone was amazing.

[@30smsuperstrat]

The HRM sounds like you plugged into David Grissoms amp.

[@johnpulaski3293]

10:50 Alice Cooper FTW.

[@BlindTom61]

Steel String sounds like kazoo or a Coral Sitar.

[@poodlenme]

All business, no smiles today. We all have those. Cheer up, maybe you will get guitar gear from 🎅

[@LucasFowler]

I think that's probably because I kept getting interrupted while I was trying to shoot this one :P

[@jeffmazzei8520]

Your playing through a Legend Amp that’s a Solid State amp ?? Your not getting the true sound of these pedals !!! Why would you take the DGT pickups out of your guitar ???? I’m really sorry but I’ve heard way better demos of these pedals! ! You really should redo this video! I know it’s old but you misrepresented these products.

[@LucasFowler]

The Legend is a hybrid amp, it has a full tube preamp(three 12AX7's) and a solid state power amp. I was capturing the "true sound" of these pedals through my preferred amp. I took the DGT pickups out because Planet Tone made a set of pickups for me, to my exact tonal preferences. Perhaps you should do your own demo video with your DGT with stock pickups, and with whatever amp you think sounds best, so that the products will be properly represented. Also, in the interest of providing you some constructive criticism in return, "your" is possessive. The correct word for the context of your sentences is "you're", which is a contraction meaning "you are". Thanks for your comment!

[@Stashmanfpv]

Great job Lucas! Except for the fact that it’s Vertex! The dude has been and STILL IS a con-man. Read up about him and his practices, past, and present. He’s a total douchebag on every level! Best to you Lucas! ✌🏼

[@pieve5516]

Vertex? Buy from more reputable companies.