HX/DA INFO (and my NAD 50 W Head(s)) Share your HXDA knowledge with the world!

Short review on the Xotic EP-booster pedal, used with the HX/DA:

On the outside, I'm not sure if there has ever been a smaller, more simple pedal than the EP-booster from Xotic. My cell phone, and old iPhone 6, could easily cover two of them completely, it is that compact. One footswitch, one knob on top. 1/4" input one side, 1/4" output on the other. 9V power socket on top. That's it. A pretty inauspicious first impression, but looks can be deceiving.

I hooked it up alone, with no other pedals in the path, to get a good grasp on what it does. One cord to the EP from the guitar (a Hollowbody Spruce and 513 were the testers), and one cord to the input of the HX/DA. Without pedals, the HX/DA gains just below noon, master just past, gives a great crunchy tone that cleans up respectably when you roll the guitar volume back to 5-7, and is very "pick sensitive" in the 7-8 area.

The EP is left in its stock settings, as it does have some DIP switch controllable options internally. I put the EP dial to straight up noon, and kicked it in. Wow... it sure boosts the level! Even at that setting, the volume jumps, and saturation becomes much higher gain, similar to cranking up the gains on the HX/DA. The boost capability of this pedal belies it's diminutive size, and I never needed more than half the range. Interestingly, the quality of the sound was really good and not squashed at all, and without the pushed mids you get from overdrive pedals.

I played around with settings and found the best settings for me were to lower the channel gains (about 11 o'clock HX and 10 o'clock DA) and roll the Master up a bit (to about 3 o'clock). In this way I could explore a lot more of the clean to crunch tones without the EP, then kick in the EP to add push/gain to any setting. Rolling the guitar volume up with the EP on produced a killer lead tone that I probably wouldn't have been able to sit in front of long without the beloved Ox Box keeping my ears safe.

The EP-Booster is a winner of a pedal, and I imagine it will be just right for pushing my Fender amps into breakup too. The number of pedals that are this useful and fit in a shirt pocket is low, and this is one of the very few that I think would be useful on any pedalboard. But especially if you own a single channel amp, it is just the ticket for taking your amp over the edge of distortion in a completely musical way. Keeper!
 
Last edited:
And so, my friends, this is where I am going to cap my HX/DA story! I could bore you endlessly with more and more information about my personal journey with this incredible amplifier, but I think the foregoing tome has sufficiently conveyed my high level of satisfaction with this masterpiece of amp building. It is my sincere hope that this will be helpful to future HX/DA owners, who can find the input and experience of many in this one thread.

I am testing preamp tubes, so it is entirely possible I might fall off the wagon and add a few entries here. But I'll refrain from the "I turned this knob, and guess what happened?" updates. :)

Paul Reed Smith and Douglas Sewell (and all the people at PRS), should you ever read this, please know that the guitars and amplifiers you design and build continue to inspire, generation after generation. And this guitar player appreciates it. Thank you!
 
Last edited:
Echoplexes and Plexis went together like peanut butter and jelly back in the day, so it was no surprise that a re-creation of the Echoplex preamp (which the EP Booster is) worked very well with my HXDA when I had an EP.

Check out this Zep pic; sitting on a pair of Plexis is a pair of Echoplexes. Page used them basically as boosts, even when the tape wasn’t running.

GHU9e5b.png


When I got a Fulltone Tape Echo, the EP Boost became superfluous, so I sold it. But it's a great pedal.

The all-time classic preamp tube for a Plexi is the NOS Mullard 12AX7. I think it's pretty easy to hear the difference when one is installed. Our pal here, Boogie kinda pushed me in that direction, and he was 100% right.
 
I also mentioned the ChaseTone Secret Preamp, which is my next tester. GE Smith leaves one on all the time as the last pedal in his pedalboard, much like Page was doing there. There were several iterations of the Echoplex preamp, and the ChaseTone accounts for the three of those. I expect it to add another dimension.

I remember fiddling with those tape loops, cleaning heads and rollers, etc... don’t miss that! But the circuits used then have stood the musical test of time.
 
I remember fiddling with those tape loops, cleaning heads and rollers, etc... don’t miss that! But the circuits used then have stood the musical test of time.

The little bit of occasional maintenance I do on the new tape echo machines is trifling. And I'm a guy who puts off putting new strings on guitars because it's so fiddly! ;)

I like the way real tape sounds. I have some very cool digital gear, but for mysterious reasons I still don't fully understand, tape is altogether different sounding. Each has its place.

The new tape echo machines are way more robust, have hard-wearing modern tape heads, and the tape itself is better, meaning that it sheds less oxide on rollers and heads and doesn't hiss. The wow and flutter of the old machines has been vastly improved. The ownership/maintenance experience is simply a lot better now than it was in the late '60s/early '70s.

I used the big open reel analog tape machines in my studio for many years, until the end of the '90s. Built toward the end of the tape era, they had no mechanical problems, the heads lasted forever, and the tape was both less noisy and caused less wear to the machines. Basically, they'd solved the problems with the early machines, and the technology was mature.

So I felt pretty confident getting the Fulltone, since it employed decent motors, better tape, better heads, etc.

I'm sorry I sold my studio tape machines off, to be honest, but I was seduced by the new digital machines at the time, and when hard disk recording matured, the workflow became faster, so I embraced it. But if I knew then what I know now, I'd still have the analog machines, even if I only used them occasionally for tracking or mixdown. (Then again, I'd have taken better care of my body, too!)

I've done plenty of stupid things when it comes to gear over the last 30 years, but getting rid of my analog tape machines and a console that was in perfect shape was the most regrettable. C'est la vie.
 
True, Les. I think that’s why it seems the whole world is chasing after classic tones, even in music completely different from the kinds where they were originally invented. I enjoy a lot of the new gear, and find it works well incorporating classic pieces into the new tech. As you pointed out, they all have their place.
 
True, Les. I think that’s why it seems the whole world is chasing after classic tones, even in music completely different from the kinds where they were originally invented. I enjoy a lot of the new gear, and find it works well incorporating classic pieces into the new tech. As you pointed out, they all have their place.

You bet! Whatever sounds good works. No rules in this stuff.

"But Les, you draw the line at modeling amps, so you're kind of full of it when you say that."

"Dude! I'm full of it regarding everything I talk about, what else is new?"
 
You bet! Whatever sounds good works. No rules in this stuff.

"But Les, you draw the line at modeling amps, so you're kind of full of it when you say that."

"Dude! I'm full of it regarding everything I talk about, what else is new?"
What do you mean? Guitars and modeling go together well!

A6aKzIz.jpg
 
And so, my friends, this is where I am going to cap my HX/DA story! I could bore you endlessly with more and more information about my personal journey with this incredible amplifier, but I think the foregoing tome has sufficiently conveyed my high level of satisfaction with this masterpiece of amp building. It is my sincere hope that this will be helpful to future HX/DA owners, who can find the input and experience of many in this one thread.

I am testing preamp tubes, so it is entirely possible I might fall off the wagon and add a few entries here. But I'll refrain from the "I turned this knob, and guess what happened?" updates. :)

Paul Reed Smith and Douglas Sewell (and all the people at PRS), should you ever read this, please know that the guitars and amplifiers you design and build continue to inspire, generation after generation. And this guitar player appreciates it. Thank you!

Did you ever finish reading a good book, and wished that it continued? This thread is like that. Keep the conversation going!

I’m glad you like the xotic EP. I love mine and I leave it on almost all the time.
 
Did you ever finish reading a good book, and wished that it continued? This thread is like that. Keep the conversation going!

Maybe I should create a new HXDA clip, something different and sonically interesting. Like, maybe something really clean, or using lots of effects, but certainly using the new McCarty Trem.

I'll try to do a little something over the weekend. I've been involved in Orchestral Music World for the last few months, so it would be interesting to get back to guitar music. No promises, if things aren't happening I can't force them.
 
Maybe I should create a new HXDA clip, something different and sonically interesting. Like, maybe something really clean, or using lots of effects, but certainly using the new McCarty Trem.

I'll try to do a little something over the weekend. I've been involved in Orchestral Music World for the last few months, so it would be interesting to get back to guitar music. No promises, if things aren't happening I can't force them.

That’s a great idea!
 
Back
Top