update on the NOCTURNE..those keeping score

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

I'm Incinerator wrote:

This review is LONG overdue, but given my free time the last few months...it's probably expected.

I received the beautiful tangelo Nocturne #57 from Tavo wayyyy back in October. Right as I received it is when we were in the middle of re doing our basement...so my guitar room was taken apart.

Finally after going through enough no-playing through all of my gear, I resorted to strumming my spectra sonic unplugged to feed the fix.

Today, I got a little break from playing nursemaid, and an empty house(!). So I dragged my amp out, and some other pedals (Timmy, TR-2, and DL4) and I fired up the TopHat club royale, and set the knobs where TV recommended to set them (ironically, I also got this amp from him way back in May of 05). I plugged in the Nocturne only at first, and away I went.

The tone on my amp w/o nocturne was just alright. I stepped on the nocturne, gritch set at 3 and the bass off. Still I wasn't getting the sparkle I was getting, it sounded nice, but not there. Then I remembered that the "Cut" knob was set at 5 o clock instead of 7 to let the high end in. I adjusted, and Beatiful! My sparkle, chime and klang were back. I goosed the gritch knob to 4, and it started to get the amp cooking more...now I have my amps MV wide open, and the vol set at a pretty high rate anywhere from 11- 1 o'clock and during the test I went as high as 3.

I put the nocturne through the rest of my chain and it did wonders going into my Timmy, and made the DMM setting on my DL4 sound gorgeous...gotta learn me some "Sleepwalk".

My TR-2, when engaged, started to make a horrid noise...not sure why...I took it out of the chain, and even more glorious tone was allowed to get through.

Now, at first I was expecting huge amounts of volume jump from bypassed to ON...but that wasn't so. The tone was pretty similar from bypassed to on. I did hear more focus...and the notes seemed to jump out more, and it did want to make my amp breakup more so, especially with the gritsch at 5. I am really eager to get a power supply for this and see what difference that will make compared to a 9 volt battery.

So, Tavo speaks the truth about this not being a boost, or a drive box, and it's not a compressor or an "Xciter". Yes, the bass cut does work....I kept mine off for the most part set higher it was putting my speakers in a headlock.

Oh, and I also figured out I may need to get a new trem!

Hey I am SOOOOO happy you got to fool around with the pedal finally! Sweet!
Did you muck around with the settings I post for ya? Its real hard to get a " crazy wild" response from the nocturne in master volume amps so I'm thinking if you stay out of the fat switch positions with your MV totally open and cut wide open and gain low it will behave best. Also in the blonde
bassman it is totally necessary to turn the bass almost off on the amp when using the
preamp. I used to scratch my head as to why setzer had the bass down at 2 and the
treble n presence so high but thats needed to balance the color of the re301 preamp.
My pedal is designed to deal with a short input cable but you still have to work out the
bass issue.
The Preamp gives the amp plenty of low mids so instead of making it fight the amp and blur things. turn the amp bass almost off and turn up the preamps bass..see what you get?
Regarding your Boss TR-2 trem.. Do u have that set after the Nocturne or before? I run my nocturne into my Fulltone Supatrem and now I actually like the tremelo more! Seems more like amp trem instead of a pedal.

I had it set where you recommended it. I I had the cut set so no highs were coming through, and it was total classic rawk, then I had the cut so all the highs were coming through and that's what I liked the best.. I kept the bass below 10 o clock...usually I would have the mids and bass above 12 o' clock, but I haven't tried that setting with the Nocturne yet. I will try getting more bass from the pre-amp nect chance I get. I never really kept the master wide open on the Club before, it does add a whole new dimension. I did have the gain set from 11-3 o' clock...and it really didn't seem as loud. Ofcourse I had the back of the cab up against the wall.

I had the Nocturne first in the chain and the Tr-2 after the Timmy. The last time I was playing through the TR-2, before I got the Nocturne, it was making a really weird crackling noise.

Okay.. time for input. you guys helped me decide how the Cola Sparkle should play
out with stripes n knobs...

So... The Cola Sparkle is a keeper for sure...YET
.. I found a pseudo Gretsch Annie Color and ordered some in it..
Do I go weird and to black pinstripes with black knobs? Do I two tone
the top with a light green creme ala 6118?
Do we lay a big black sticker across the top with creme border and blonde
knobs??

love to hear the dream teams suggestions on this new color:

Definitely two tone green! I would love to see black & silver pinstripe on this!

Dark green has to be on it in some capacity for sure.

some sweet cream barrel knobs would kick a$$

Tavo, dark green pinstiping...go the anni. route. BTW...sold my Country Club and Hot Rod for a new Black Phoenix...wanted the larger body of the Country Club with the simple design of the hot rod...Man she's sweet with the nocturne and my blonde!!!!!

Thanks for pitchin in guys.. I took the ideas to the pinstriper and he would want double
for two tone pinstriping so I am gonna have to make some choices this weekend.

the Nocturne labels are outlined in black with white words (they'll turn a super light
creme when the urethane covers them) so .. dark green pinstripe or creme pinstripe
or black or silver pinstripe. Knobs are creme, black or white.. I've been tryin to
find pictures of old 30s ford rat rods n such to help capture a vibe for it as well.
the 6118 annie has a light green creme top so that may even be the right choice
for a pinstripe color with black knobs.. Its up in the air as I still have not seen the
color physically yet, only pictures. They are being drilled in NY right now suppose
to ship end of the week now.

As well I am going to start doing a black version with red pinstripes and white knobs to
take the place of the steel billy.. Its a traditional look of course.

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

mjcodina wrote:

Ooooo I coulda called that last comment. I think I said the B word once and then I had it handed to me

...its just cuz there are a buncha old fart naysayers waiting to catalog this Nocturne pedal as a
flavor of the day boost jobbie and thats not true by a longshot. Its a dang re-301 preamp in a lil' box, but if you dont have any love for rockabilly and you are an old hippie then its easy to catagorize all pedals as either
"fuzzboxes" or "boosts".

I know that isnt what Ossi is sayin at all, plus he probably doesnt know that the while circle of pedal builders is like a group of caged salon workers. I hope I dont become part of that. Especially since my new project is a mini Blonde bassman the size of a princeton.

was just reading through the posts on this, how about the term 'sonic enhancer' it seems to sum up better what the nocturne is doing to, all you lucky guys that have one, your setups

chunkymac wrote:

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

mjcodina wrote:

Ooooo I coulda called that last comment. I think I said the B word once and then I had it handed to me

...its just cuz there are a buncha old fart naysayers waiting to catalog this Nocturne pedal as a
flavor of the day boost jobbie and thats not true by a longshot. Its a dang re-301 preamp in a lil' box, but if you dont have any love for rockabilly and you are an old hippie then its easy to catagorize all pedals as either
"fuzzboxes" or "boosts".

I know that isnt what Ossi is sayin at all, plus he probably doesnt know that the while circle of pedal builders is like a group of caged salon workers. I hope I dont become part of that. Especially since my new project is a mini Blonde bassman the size of a princeton.

was just reading through the posts on this, how about the term 'sonic enhancer' it seems to sum up better what the nocturne is doing to, all you lucky guys that have one, your setups

I've just now got a steel'billy finished Nocturne that has a super slight blem in the finish for 15% off if that helps?

if i can get my paypal to work i will snap your arm off for that, especially if you throw in a t-shirt lol, i had to get my girlfriend to pay for my marsh through her paypal in the end.
But she already thinks i have to many pedals so wouldnt be willing to do that again for me. Will pm you my paypal address and if you send me an invoice will try and send you the money.

chunkymac wrote:

if i can get my paypal to work i will snap your arm off for that, especially if you throw in a t-shirt lol, i had to get my girlfriend to pay for my marsh through her paypal in the end.
But she already thinks i have to many pedals so wouldnt be willing to do that again for me. Will pm you my paypal address and if you send me an invoice will try and send you the money.

pm'd ya the scenario! watch out for those women! My wife was savy to my guitar expenditures once
she became my sound"person" many years back.

its all good fun, its a good thing really has stopped me buying every bit of crap gear that gets 5 stars in a mag and really makes me think about what i really want, and when im truly convinced then i put it to the board of directors of home operations and if it passes that scrutiny than im allowed to get it

Got it...



awesome pedal and so strong. I tried it i at home first and i had to disconnect the telephone in that room because of some weird noise.
But the sound blows my mind, haleluja! what a pedal.

I don`t play a bassman, i own a Blues deluxe with different tubes and speaker . But i guess with this pedal a Roland Chorus Amp sounds like a bassman.
A complete review will follow and maybe i`ll make a little video in german for the cats here at home.

Great work Tavo, f*****g brilliant pedal.

Brett wrote:

Got it...



awesome pedal and so strong. I tried it i at home first and i had to disconnect the telephone in that room because of some weird noise.
But the sound blows my mind, haleluja! what a pedal.

I don`t play a bassman, i own a Blues deluxe with different tubes and speaker . But i guess with this pedal a Roland Chorus Amp sounds like a bassman.
A complete review will follow and maybe i`ll make a little video in german for the cats here at home.

Great work Tavo, f*****g brilliant pedal.

yah dude glad its workin for ya!! So are we really gettin a demo of you and the Roland Jazz Chorus amp? you could use subtitles too!

maybe, Sir...

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

yes.. but only if you swear to drink 2 shots of tequila and 2 coronas before you start.

ps. no coconut bras or grass skirts

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

yes.. but only if you swear to drink 2 shots of tequila and 2 coronas before you start.

ps. no coconut bras or grass skirts

OK......done deal!! Here we come!!

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

yes.. but only if you swear to drink 2 shots of tequila and 2 coronas before you start.

ps. no coconut bras or grass skirts

Hey, I play bad enough straight, I don't need no alcohol to make me play worse.

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

Well, they say bad luck comes in 3...

First, I realized that the steering wheel in my Falcon GT has snapped a spoke!!

Next, after realizing this I get a phone call from the guitar shop to say someone with more money than brains has offered $4200 for the Bassman and is picking it up today!! That's more than $300 what he was originally asking!!

So no dual Blonde shoot out tonite, BUT.... I'll still be going over to Rene's for a Blonde vs DeVille shoot out!! Rules have changed though as we'll drinking a very nice Shiraz instead of the Corona/Tequila route!!

Only thing that bothers me though is what do I have instore for part 3 of this!!

Pistol Pete wrote:

Pistol Pete wrote:

Hey Tavo, on Monday night Rene and myself will be making a vid with not one BUT 2 Blonde Bassmans and Nocturnes at the same time! Are you interested in seeing it at some stage??

Well, they say bad luck comes in 3...

First, I realized that the steering wheel in my Falcon GT has snapped a spoke!!

Next, after realizing this I get a phone call from the guitar shop to say someone with more money than brains has offered $4200 for the Bassman and is picking it up today!! That's more than $300 what he was originally asking!!

So no dual Blonde shoot out tonite, BUT.... I'll still be going over to Rene's for a Blonde vs DeVille shoot out!! Rules have changed though as we'll drinking a very nice Shiraz instead of the Corona/Tequila route!!

Only thing that bothers me though is what do I have instore for part 3 of this!!

NOTHING!!!! This is a one off case of things happening in two's so that's it, no more!!! I'm certain there's a better one waiting for you somewhere, besides my house that is

Maybe a Line 6 and Vox 15R comparison?

Hi,
yesterday i had the first practice with the Nocturne and my Band.
here my Review like on Harmony Central, i just use more catchwords because of my bad Gramma.


Ease of Use : 10
very easy to use, two controls:
basslevel and gainlevel (starts at 3 O´clock). I follow TV`s instruction and put it in the beginning of my effect chain. Means: Nocturne-Burriss Boostiest-KorgTuner-Danelectro Spring reverb and Red Repeat Delay. This chain works perfect. No weird noise.

Sound Quality : 10
amazing sound. very clear and very punchy and bright. It´s always on now. When i turned it off my guitar sounds like a Toy. Also with a Stratocaster it works well.
Fender Strat, Nocturne-Overdrive and Fender-Amp=SRV, Mary had a little lamb

Reliability : 10
fantastic work, looks so cool. Custom Pinstripes. Cola Sparle painting. Very compact and massiv box.

Customer Support : 10+, hey, it´s Tavo. The best you can get.

Overall Rating : 10
This pedal might be not a must for every player. But once you try it you will never turn it off.
Danger of addiction. hard to discribe but you`ll love it. I use a Fender Blues Deluxe with a new speaker and 2nd cabinet. It´s ok, but not a Bassman. With the Nocturne it still sounds like a Deluxe but the tone is much brighter. The Cleansound is unbelievable.
Bridge PU: warm and jazzy, ideal for Blues.
Middle pick up switch: twangy and the bells are ringing,
Bridge PU: Flying saucer Rock`n Roll.
I never give it back. If you like the Sound of Gretsch and Fender- Amps this pedal enhance your sound.
And not only for Rockabilly and Bassman user.

Video will follow.

Thank you....

I know this is part of) their nature, and I may need to look into a power source for the nocturne soon. (definitely), but I don't think Old skool germanium fuzz likes to have the Nocturne in front of it. I picked up a Tonebender MKII clone last night and it sounded great so I figured that it would go along well with the nocturne. Not the case, the nocturne made the fuzz seem gated and more sputtery maybe it was too much input for the MKII? I also thought about maybe it was the battery in the nocturne dying out? Well if one or the other was switched off it was like nothing ever happened. This is really my first experience with an old skool fuzz...I may be getting addicted...but I think that the nocturne has become an integral part of my sound.

Anybody else experience this with fuzzes?

Well...not directly ,
i tried the nocturne only before my Burriss Overdrive (it´s like a Tubescreamer) and behind. Behind was a very High-Treble and loud sound, particularly with a Strat and SD Pick up. But before the Overdrive it works well.

The Nocturne after the Tonebender is actually pretty sweet, I didn't hear any weird artifacts coming out of the signal, and it was a great 60's garage rock or classic rock tone. For a minute there I felt like Jimmy Page with the DM-3's echo going.