Macheen or Cosmo?

[angrykoko]

Hello, I'm trying to decide what to build next.. would like some opinions please.

Between the Macheen or Cosmopolitan.

I like the idea of the Macheen but I haven't read anyone who seemed to go crazy over it.  Not many videos of the real Machine either.

The Cosmo seems like a cool beast too.

Not looking for any particular sound out of this.. mostly just looking for something to build to keep me out of trouble and that may be a bit off the beaten track.

Cheers!

[jkokura]

I'd bet the Cosmo would get more general use. It does things from the typical 'drive' sound through to fuzz. The Macheen has less variety, but is itself pretty cool.

Jacob

[culturejam]

I never understood the purpose of the Macheen (the circuit, not the layout). I built the very first one way back in the day (to verify madbean's layout), and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. The best tones I got out of it was when I adjsuted the bias really funky and it made cool "spaceship" noises. Otherwise, I think it should've been called "Box of Ass". 

[angrykoko]

LOL!

Ok, so both help and it goes along with what I was thinking that macheen may be cool for a day or so but then... just get put to the side and forgotten.

I'll let this question bake a little longer see if anyone else cimes in but I can see that a cosmo may be a lot more fun in the end.

I also ordered a Chunk Chunk board, I've never built a pedal that required biasing and this has 4!!    Also it looks like it goes to "11" and the perfect match for the sustain of my LP.

Later!

[ckim715]

I said it a couple times already on this forum, but the Cosmo is awesome. It's super super versatile; so much so that I feel comfortable with it being the only dirt on my board other than a booster.

[angrykoko]

Thanks.

I started ordering the parts for a Cosmopolitan.

[pryde]

You won't be disappointed. The cosmo is super-cool. I just finished one and will be posting a build report tomorrow.

[angrykoko]

Finally got time to finish my Cosmo, its amazing!
I love this pedal.  I mean it hasn't been turned off since I got it working and I cant hardly find settings I don't like.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[GermanCdn]

It's a moot point now, but I don't know if I'd go as far as "Box of Ass" for the Macheen layout.  It's an acquired taste, and on it's own, mehh, not crazy about it.  However, I was short of enclosures, so I put it in front of a Wolfshirt in a BB and plugged my bass into it, and it makes for a nice combo.  Would fit well in a three piece where the bass player needed to cover some ground during the solos and so forth.  Anyway, sounds like you like the Cosmo, and I'm really off topic here anyway.

Later

Curtis

[angrykoko]

If I understand the point of Machine from ZVex's site... it's to give your sound that extra "something" to put it over the top and stand out when you go into a lead.   

It's not meant to be a stand alone pedal , it seems like the sound it generates is meant to complement your fuzz/overdrive/distortion pedals or amp.

But I could be way off base as I've never heard one in person, just guessing from ZVex's site demos.

Anyway, it seems an interesting idea from him that I'd like to try out one day.

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

The best tones I got out of it was when I adjsuted the bias really funky and it made cool "spaceship" noises. Otherwise, I think it should've been called "Box of Ass". 

Now that's amazing!

I found the circuit to be usual-able alone or in conjunction with others. It's very over the top and it really shines with single note leads, big bends, double stop bends. It adds a lot of harshness/octave to chords that makes it really intense. I found variation plugging it in before a pedal compared to after as well. IIRC, I got good results with a Univox Super Fuzz -> Machine. Made the octaves even more pronounced, more gain, more just overall craziness. I also like the "blooming" effect.
Seems like I'm the only one who likes it!