Tasty delay, drive, and modulation come together in an inspiring, unconventional echo machine. The PG Mile End Effects MTHRFCKR=RPTR review.
Unconventional dirty and warped echoes. Control layout is a visual and tactile delight. Cool potential as outboard studio effect.
Expensive for a digital delay. Big if you are pedalboard-space obsessed.
$320
It's funny to consider the time guitarists spend in search of filth. The only thing funnier, perhaps, is imagining legions of old-school audio engineers shaking befuddled heads (or turning over in their graves) as guitarists undo the work of decades spent questing for pure, distortion-free sound.
The Mile End Effects MTHRFCKR-RPTR digital delay, like so many creative modern effects, embraces distortion to an almost perverse degree—probing not just the realms of fuzzy overdrive, but mangled modulations as well. This design motivation is a product of Mile End founder Justin Cober's fascination with cassette tape degradation.
Exploration of tape distortion is not a new concept. Anyone who builds an Echoplex- or Space Echo-inspired pedal usually seeks to replicate the irregularities of the tape medium. But Mile End's take puts the wiggly, mangled, and mutated possibilities of the form front and center. And while it's perfectly capable of lovely normal delay sounds—with dark, modulated delays that would tickle any Deluxe Memory Man devotee—the MTHRFCKR=RPTR shines brightest (or dirtiest) when you use it as a force for weird.
Advantages
Hands-On Advantages
A lot of folks are bound to take one look at the MTHRFCKR=RPTR in its 7.4" x 4.7" Hammond 1590D enclosure and decide that it's too big for their pedalboard. That's fine. But obsessions with pedalboard space sometimes obscure the ergonomic and tactile virtues of larger effects. Take the old Deluxe Memory Man: Its size, control layout, the resistance in its knobs, and the way it fits a player's hands and fingers all conspire to enable creative control manipulation that, in my experience, isn't easily replicated with an expression pedal or small-form knobs arrayed in neat little rows.
Mile End seems to understand much about these ergonomic advantages. The MTHRFCKR=RPTR's knobs are laid out so you can simultaneously manipulate delay time or repeat controls with your thumb, the LFO rate or speed controls with your ring finger, and the volume or gain control with your pinky. If you tend to set and forget your delay settings, this type of functionality probably won't interest you much. But for players that use delay as a second instrument as much as an effect, it cracks open a multitude of expressive possibilities. And it's easy to see how the MTHRFCKR=RPTR could be enormously appealing to experimental and prepared guitar players, keyboardists, and synth artists, or engineers and artists itching to break free from the constraints of in-the-box studio effects.
Space Dirt and Cosmic Dust
Though digitally generated, the sound of the MTHRFCKR=RPTR's echoes should please any old-school analog delay fan. Even before you apply the gain and LFO-driven modulation sounds, you hear soft, blurry decay in each repeat. There can also be a little digital tone neutrality in the repeats—at least compared to true tape and bucket brigade delay devices—but it leaves ample headroom for the copious color that comes via the addition of gain and modulation.
Generally speaking, the controls have conservative tapers, and tone shifts can be subtle—even within a 30- or 40-percent increase or reduction in a given parameter. Players eager to exploit the MTHRFCKR=RPTR's more radical potential might be disappointed by these limitations. But I found the smoother, more subtle tapers to be a big advantage, and more musical, when using the controls interactively.
The Mile End doesn't overwhelm you with tone shaping options. But the wet switch, which removes the dry signal entirely, and the waveform switch, which toggles between random, non-cyclical square waves and uniform sine wave modulation, are simple-to-use additions that can be transformative. The random-cycle square waves best replicate the capstan-motor-gone-wrong and stretched-tape funkiness of vintage tape delay units. At subtle levels it adds authenticity. In heavier doses—and particularly with a fat dollop of gain from the pedal's preamp section—the random waveforms add a dreamlike haze that makes slow, spacious solo improvisations kinetic and rich with color. The all-wet setting has less utility in straightforward playing situations. But for abstract, deconstructed sound collage and improvisation, it's incredibly liberating—especially with generous sides of dirty gain and random modulation. Some of my favorite MTHRFCKR=RPTR sounds dwell within these settings. There's also a soft-relay footswitch for driving the pedal into self-oscillation.
The preamp gain section, which really enhances delay and modulation textures, produces harmonically balanced and very organic overdrive sounds. It can sound a touch fizzy at the very highest gain levels—almost in the fashion of a tweed Deluxe amp cranked to the gills. But it's a delight at most settings, even without the delay or modulation in the mix.
The Verdict
The MTHRFCKR=RPTR is not exclusively or indulgently eccentric. It's a very practical digital delay with a heavy and authentic analog flavor and an extraordinarily fun and creative control interface that sparks unconventional sounds and ideas. It's certainly a digital delay analog heads can love. But it's also likely to find fans among engineers and artists—pro and homebrew alike—that will embrace it's tactile and ergonomic advantages and unconventional tones to unique ends in mix and production tasks.
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Pure nickel wound strings designed to capture classic tones. Available in popular gauges (9s and 10s), these strings are intended to offer rich, warm tones and longer string life.
The Seymour Duncan Antiquity series of pickups have always given musicians access to the true vintage tones of the most famous guitars ever produced. To further our commitment to capturing these influential sounds, Seymour Duncan is now pleased to offer the perfectly voiced companion, a set of Antiquity Vintage Modern Strings.
Before nickel-alloy plated strings became commonplace, pure nickel wound strings were found on most electric guitars. Their rich, warm tone became a crucial ingredient to the sounds of classic blues and rock & roll. An added benefit of a pure nickel wrap is a longer string life and a more consistent tone between string changes. Now our Antiquity Vintage Modern Strings bring you even closer to the sound of electric guitar’s early heyday. Pure nickel wound and available in your favorite modern gauges (9s and 10s), Antiquity Vintage Modern Strings are the perfect start to your signal chain in the quest to unlock your favorite classic guitar sounds.
For more information, please visit seymourduncan.com.
L-R: Gibson’s Cesar Gueikian, Mesa/Boogie’s Randall Smith and Gibson’s JC Curleigh, pictured when Gibson acquired the brand in 2021.
Over three-and-a-half years after Randall Smith sold Mesa/Boogie to Gibson, Smith has completed his time with Gibson as the brand’s master designer and pioneer. Through his ground-breaking work at Mesa/Boogie, Smith was responsible for innovative modifications that gave small amplifiers more input gain, making them much louder, as well as creating an all-new high-gain distorted guitar tones.
Mesa/Boogie began as a small amplifier repair shop and was founded 55 years ago in 1969, in Mill Valley, CA by Smith who simultaneously respected and improved the vintage classics with his inventions. Smith’s ear for tone, passion for tube technology, and vision for building handcrafted high-performance amplifiers continues to redefine how we experience sound. Beginning at Prune Music in Northern California, Smith reconfigured amplifiers for more sound and power for all the great San Francisco area bands over 50 years ago when vintage gear was new. Being close to so many great guitar players, from Bloomfield to Santana and The Rolling Stones, Smith learned the virtues and shortcomings of the era’s gear and began a process of innovation, excellence, and invention that continues at the Mesa/Boogie craftory in Petaluma, CA today. Mesa/Boogie was the first boutique amplifier builder and revolutionized amplifier performance in ways that impact rock music worldwide.
Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s a score of additional innovative and patented improvements saw Mesa Engineering emerge as the leader in tube amplifier technology. Today, Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and cabinets are renowned worldwide and unparalleled in performance and quality, every product is still hand-built, and our artisans are tenured with an average of 15 years at their post, many for much longer. We still hold true to the simple but increasingly rare principles Smith used to catapult Mesa/Boogie onto the world stage, hand-building the very best amps and cabinets and treating each customer as we wish to be treated.
Smith has positioned his legacy to be carried forward through the Mesa/Boogie team's continued commitment to quality and tone, and for the last two decades has been training the next generation of Mesa/Boogie designers.
Smith has been instrumental in growing the Mesa/Boogie portfolio with exciting new product offerings and overseeing the launch of the popular new Gibson Falcon amplifiers.
“I am incredibly grateful for Smith’s pioneering insights, design, and trust in Gibson,” says Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson. “Randy’s DNA will always be present, and over the last few decades he has trained the new generation of designers that have been leading the way for Gibson and MESA/Boogie amps. As we evolve our Gibson Amps collection, including our Gibson and MESA/Boogie brands, Randy, and his original design ideas, will continue to inspire us to make the best and highest quality amplifiers we’ve ever made.”
“We’ve all talked about this day and have prepared for it in many ways over the years, but Randall Smith is a ‘force of nature’, and you can’t imagine it coming to fruition,” adds Doug West, Director of R&D at Mesa/Boogie. “Now, I reflect on the fact that few in this world ever get the chance to be mentored, coached to excellence and to perform at their consistent personal best in the ways our design team, and everyone here at Mesa/Boogie, have under his tutelage. Randy leaves us in good stead to carry on his legacy and tradition of excellence. With our respect for him and our shared love for what Gibson and Mesa/Boogie represent to music, Randy can bask in the contentment of knowing he has spread Tone and Joy the world over with his creations and that his contributions to music have made an indelible mark on generations, and the sound of electric guitar and bass over the last 55 years.”
For more information, please visit mesaboogie.com.
This Delgado 6-string tres reflects the instrument’s global history. It’s made with a Sitka spruce top, Mexican rosewood back and sides, a Macassar ebony bridge, African ebony fretboard, and African mahogany neck.
Our columnist traces the history of the 6-string Cuban tres—from Africa, to Cuba, to the top of American country music.
I love that I was taught by my father and grandfather to build a variety of string instruments. I have continued to do this—I have built so many different types, and I learn from each one. I am currently building a nanga, a rectangular, harp-like African instrument played by the Ganda people of Uganda.
As I have been building this instrument and learning from the musician who commissioned it, I am often reminded of the influence Africa has on so many instruments, from drums to the banjo, or akonting as it was originally named. A popular instrument that I have recently been getting more requests for that is equally influenced by Africa’s music is the tres cubano, or Cuban tres.
In comparison to other chordophones—instruments whose sounds come from the vibration of stretched strings—from around the world, this instrument is relatively young, appearing first towards the end of the 1800s. The original tres is said to have three courses with a total of six strings, and while the 9-string version is now more associated to the Puerto Rican tres, a 9-string iteration of the Cuban tres is documented as early as 1913, though it’s believed that the Puerto Rican instrument influenced the additional strings.
Most early models of the tres have a similar body to a classical guitar or the requinto romántico, but the more common shape now is a smaller, pear-shaped body offered either with or without a cutaway. The tres has only begun to get more visibility in the past 25 years, so sizing can vary greatly from luthier to luthier, but to help players who are unfamiliar with this instrument to get a better idea of the size, here are some specs from a Delgado model.
“The note placements of the tres in a changüí summon something deep inside any musician who is stirred by tempo and a hypnotic rhythm.”
One of the models I make has a body depth of 4″. The upper bout is 9″ and the lower bout is 14 1/2″ with a scale length of 545 mm, or 21 1/2″. The tuning also depends upon the player, but the traditional tuning is G–G–C–C–E–E. The outer string pairs—the Gs and Es—are each tuned an octave apart. Their gauges, from top to bottom, are .031–.011–.014–.014–.012–.023.
Again, you will see a range of string placements, gauges, and differences in tuning, but this is the foundation to help give you a basic understanding.
Now to describe the sound and style of the tres—I am literally moving to the rhythms I hear in my mind as I write this. While my heritage is Mexican, I feel so in touch with so many genres of music from around the world, and the music from Cuba is one of them. I like to describe this instrument as a percussive string instrument, because the note placements of the tres in a changüí—the Cuban music form that gave way to the Son Cubano, or “Cuban Sound”—with its strong African-infused beats, summon something deep inside any musician who is stirred by tempo and a hypnotic rhythm.
Like how Linda Ronstadt was key in helping bring audiences to appreciate and invest in mariachi music with the release of Canciones de mi Padre, I would argue that Ry Cooder did the same for Cuban music when, after traveling to Cuba, he helped introduce the world to Cuban artists as old as 89 on the 1997 album, Buena Vista Social Club, the creation of which was captured in the 1999 documentary of the same name.
Since the release of this album, we have seen the tres grow in popularity and availability. Many artists and bands have fused the tres into their music, using it in untraditional styles, but the sound is still recognizable. We have even built custom electric tres cubanos for clients! Pancho Amat, an ambassador for the tres and arguably one of the greatest living musicians to play the instrument, blends his classical and jazz backgrounds with the tres’ natural sounds to create a unique sound. Thinking in terms of a drum pattern and African roots, you will have a better grip on the method when trying this instrument for the first time.
Now, do yourself a favor. Find an evening to relax, mix yourself a beverage—preferably a mojito—and rent the Buena Vista Social Club … then give me a call for your Delgado tres cubano.
Through The Official Fender Certified Pre-Owned Reverb Shop, musicians can buy pre-owned Fender instruments that have been professionally inspected and come with a Fender one-year limited warranty at a significant discount to new gear prices.
“We’re excited to offer for the first time ever Fender Certified Pre-Owned guitars directly on Reverb. Pre-owned guitars have long been popular among players, particularly new players and collectors. Fender Certified Pre-Owned gives players of all levels the opportunity to own a quality instrument at an affordable price,” said Fender CEO Andy Mooney. “Fender Certified Pre-Owned guitars represent not only a fantastic value—allowing players to purchase an instrument that is professionally inspected, backed by Fender, and sold at a discount—but an opportunity to support a more sustainable guitar industry, giving the instruments a second, third, or fourth life and participating in the circular economy.”
Used music gear continues to grow in popularity among price-conscious musicians, with sales for used guitars on Reverb growing by more than 50% between 2019 and 2023. Certified pre-owned instruments offer the affordability of used music gear, plus the added benefit of warranties and easy returns. While certified pre-owned programs are common in industries like automotive and tech, Fender Certified Pre-Owned on Reverb is the first program of this magnitude within the musical instrument industry, launched by the world’s leading guitar manufacturer and the largest online marketplace dedicated to music gear.
“Over the years, many of my very best creative tools were bought from other musicians and the secondary market. In fact, The Hitmaker was from a pawn shop in 1973. These guitars come with stories and history that just make them special,” said Nile Rodgers. “The fact that you can now buy pre-owned guitars from Fender means that you get the character and the affordability of pre-owned gear, plus Fender’s seal of approval.“
The Official Fender Certified Pre-Owned Reverb Shop will feature unique pre-owned electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, with new instruments added weekly. All guitars will come with a Fender-backed one year limited warranty and have been professionally inspected and, as needed, refurbished by Fender’s sustainability partner MIRC. Since 1993, MIRC has kept thousands of guitars from going to landfills as the nation’s largest wholesaler of quality used guitars.
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to partner with Fender to offer musicians not only affordable guitars, but affordable guitars that have been meticulously inspected and, as needed, repaired to look and sound incredible,” said Reverb CEO David Mandelbrot. “It’s more important than ever that the music-making community has access to affordable musical instruments and Fender Certified Pre-Owned on Reverb will help many players get their hands on great-sounding guitars that fit within their budget.”
The Official Fender Certified Pre-Owned Reverb Shop is now open. Save the shop to your Favorites to be notified as new guitars are added.
For more information, please visit reverb.com.