In Classic mode the Carpe Diem goes from cleanish edge of breakup Jimi tones, through to classic rock cranked amp gain. In Hot Rod mode the pedal has more gain on tap an recreates the high energy rock tones of the late 70’s and beyond. The Presence knob is a post gain treble adjustment allowing you to match the pedal to a variety of amps without having to change the main settings. Bass Gain and Treble Gain knobs recreate the setup of a “jumped” plexi head where you would jump the two different pre-amp sections allowing you to blend both into the signal. This allows you to dial in more or less gain separately for bass and treble allowing for combinations such as a creamy thick top end with a cleaner, clearer bass response. The Master volume control sets the overall output of the pedal and the last control is a Lead switch that gives you a pre-gain boost that doesn’t make the pedal much louder, but does give more gain and thickness to the sound.
One thing I have found true about many of the Fire Custom Shop pedals, and which is certainly true about the Carpe Diem is that there is a lot of harmonic and overtones present. Pick squeals, tap harmonics and general second order harmonics show up naturally in your sound and give their pedals a real life that isn’t found in many other pedals. The pedal is very quick and has a great representation of your attack transient which is key to a pedal that is invoking the Plexi character as palm muted chunky playing feels great.
If I am going to try and find any faults in this incredible pedal (full disclosure, I am selling them which could bias my opinion, though honestly I am selling them because they are insanely good), I’d have to say that the Lead switch is awfully close to the knobs which worries me a bit about using it in a live situation. Normally I’d be using a switching system of some sort so the bypass switch isn’t an issue for me, but a remote jack to activate the Lead would have been a greatly appreciated feature. Other than that the foam that is in the cool metal tin they ship their pedals in tends to be stuck to the pedal when you first get it (not really their fault but more of a shipping thing), it’s a little annoying but comes off easy.
All in all the Carpe Diem by Fire Custom Shop is on my list of pedals that will stay on my board full time (with another list of rotating pedals to keep it interesting) and hasn’t disappointed me when plugged into any of my amplifiers.
INCOMING SHAMELESS PLUG!!
You can buy them now (or pre-order if they are sold out) at our Reverb store.
The main shipment from Fire Custom Shop in Brazil is finally here, and with it many Carpe Diem pedals. The pedals are up for sale both on Reverb.
A definitive “Marshall-in-a-box” pedal from JHS that faithfully recreates the sounds of the JCM800, the Angry Charlie has been a staple in the high gain arena for a while now. In its latest incarnation JHS has added a full Marshall tone stack with Bass, Mid and Treble controls that both cut and boost. Turn down the mids and bask in the joy that is 80’s scooped metal, boost it up and enjoy more classic rock sounds full of mid driven sustain. All of the controls here are powerful enough to get a good variety of tones, as well as voiced in just the right sweet spots so that just about any setting sounds good.
The JHS Morning Glory is a low to medium gain pedal based on the Marshall Bluesbreaker, giving it a clear, smooth style that works great for both rhythm and lead playing. Version 4 has some reworked controls as well as the additional port to connect a Red Switch allowing you to switch between the gain settings using your foot during a live set. The difference in gain is not huge, so this isn’t going to give you the big step up an additional pedal or boost would provide, but more of a compressed thicker sound that is just enough to smooth out your tone when you don’t need the clarity and attack of the lower gain setting.
Now before you go and switch off the default treble setting, I implore you to give it a shot first as there is some method to the madness that is a treble booster. When the treble frequencies are boosted into an already cranked and compressing amplifier, something special and perhaps unexpected happens. The treble compresses even more, making it creamy smooth, while the rest of the frequencies get a boost as well bringing them up closer to the treble volume in the mix. The final results being a creamy over-driven amp that is perceived to have less treble. Go figure.
Here it is, the Stratocaster that I often refer to as “the first”, “the original”or if I’m channeling my inner Stevie, my “Number One”