NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

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NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Maggieo » Mon May 27, 2019 9:00 am

So, not all my amps have reverb or trem. I spent a bunch of time thinking about a Strymon Flint pedal, which has both. But then I saw the JHS vid about cool reverbs which featured the Caroline Guitar Company's Météore Reverb. Did some research on Caroline Guitar Compan and saw they made an equally cool trem, too. I did the math and I could get the two Caroline pedals for less than the Flint and the rest is modulation history.

With all the graduation and birthday parties this weekend, I haven't had time to play with them, but man, when I do...

I'm well chuffed I nabbed a purple, chicken-head knobbed Météore Reverb. Damn, that's cool.

Image

CME demo of the Météore.

Reverb demo of the Parabola.
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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by 601210 » Mon May 27, 2019 9:06 am

Whoa that's cool, I didn't know there's a purple one.

I have the pink/silver one and it's really become one of the cornerstones of my guitar playing. It's not the most feature-packed or versatile reverb ever, but there's just something special with the way it sounds.

I'm quite fond of running it into a long delay to really bring out those trails.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Maggieo » Mon May 27, 2019 9:11 am

601210 wrote:
Mon May 27, 2019 9:06 am
Whoa that's cool, I didn't know there's a purple one.

I have the pink/silver one and it's really become one of the cornerstones of my guitar playing. It's not the most feature-packed or versatile reverb ever, but there's just something special with the way it sounds.

I'm quite fond of running it into a long delay to really bring out those trails.
Nice! I'm looking forward to playing with the "havoc" switch. Do you use it much?
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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by 601210 » Mon May 27, 2019 9:41 am

A bit. With the delay after I like to ride the havoc switch and keep a constant drone going. It's also a small blessing (and intentional design choice) that the pedal doesn't have trails, because it lets you abruptly cut in or cut out the havoc.

The most common complaint I've heard about it is that you can't really just crank the gain without it getting overly percussive and almost slapback-like, but I don't have any problems just lowering the level a bit to rein it back in. And when I wanna go super nuts with the gain, again having a delay after it lets you smear it out.

Even if you don't wanna do weird cavernous stuff it sounds excellent as a straightforward springy reverb.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Gavanti » Mon May 27, 2019 12:43 pm

I’ll be interested to hear your take on the parabola. I’ve been tempted to pick one up because the Meteore and Kilobyte are so fun. Once you figure out what they are and how the controls interact, they’re both versatile. I use my Meteore as an always on light reverb, but the more out there settings and havoc switch are great too.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by hexes » Mon Jun 03, 2019 10:10 pm

nice score. Caroline stuff intrigues me. I just grabbed a silver and pink Météor in trade for some equipment repair for a friend.

I don't tend to like reverbs that have obvious delays to them. all the demos I've seen has obvious slapback echo. It's good to hear that those can be smoothed out by lowering the gain and run in front of a delay.

I just fixed a broken super ego and have been enjoying the freeze functions a bit. those too can sound like slapback delay and not as smooth as the 'freeze' pedal, but I've been making it work. I'm wondering if the meteor and superego can play nicely together, and if anything worthwhile comes of throwing the meteor in the loop of the super ego.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Maggieo » Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:00 am

Man, the drive section of the Parabola is really something else. Honestly, it could be used as a straight overdrive/boost. If I jack it up and run it into the Météor, it's instant MBV. Just wild.

That said, both pedals get wonderfully lush traditional sound out of them, too. I've just begun to explore what these amazing buggers can do.
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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Gavanti » Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:49 am

Maggieo wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:00 am
Man, the drive section of the Parabola is really something else. Honestly, it could be used as a straight overdrive/boost. If I jack it up and run it into the Météor, it's instant MBV. Just wild.

That said, both pedals get wonderfully lush traditional sound out of them, too. I've just begun to explore what these amazing buggers can do.
I've heard people say the same of the Kilobyte and Meteore drive as well. I haven't found the drive sections to be as useful on their own. The Meteore offers much less on tap than the the pre-gain on the Rm-1n. But the Caroline's drive is pretty amazing for interactively shaping the effects.

This sent me on a trem search a few weeks ago by the way. I've got a Matthews Conductor v.1 on the way in to test against my Monument. The Conductor seemed like it might have more live utility than the Parabola, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Parabola offers more interesting and usable combinations. That, and just gorgeous sound, seem to be the brand's strength.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Maggieo » Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:25 pm

Gavanti wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:49 am
Maggieo wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:00 am
Man, the drive section of the Parabola is really something else. Honestly, it could be used as a straight overdrive/boost. If I jack it up and run it into the Météor, it's instant MBV. Just wild.

That said, both pedals get wonderfully lush traditional sound out of them, too. I've just begun to explore what these amazing buggers can do.
I've heard people say the same of the Kilobyte and Meteore drive as well. I haven't found the drive sections to be as useful on their own. The Meteore offers much less on tap than the the pre-gain on the Rm-1n. But the Caroline's drive is pretty amazing for interactively shaping the effects.

This sent me on a trem search a few weeks ago by the way. I've got a Matthews Conductor v.1 on the way in to test against my Monument. The Conductor seemed like it might have more live utility than the Parabola, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Parabola offers more interesting and usable combinations. That, and just gorgeous sound, seem to be the brand's strength.
I hope you do an NPD thread- that sounds like it's going to be really interesting.

The Parabola has, near as I can tell so far, an insane number of sounds and feels in it. Some are straight-up vintage, some are trippy. Same goes for the Météore- and, like you mentioned, they all just sound good.
“Now I am quietly waiting for/ the catastrophe of my personality/ to seem beautiful again.”- Frank O'Hara
I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by hexes » Fri Jun 07, 2019 3:25 pm

I spent 10 minutes with the météor. No idea why I got this. the slapback echo time can't be changed. Boxed it right up and put it back for sale on Reverb. too bad I'm a newbie here, I'd have listed it for sale in the forum.
Last edited by hexes on Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Maggieo » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:13 pm

hexes wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 3:25 pm
I spent 10 minutes with the météor. No idea why I bought this. the slapback echo time can't be changed. Boxed it right up and put it back for sale on Reverb. too bad I'm a newbie here, I'd have listed it for sale in the forum.
It's not for everyone, that's for sure.

I just spent an hour with mine!
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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Gavanti » Fri Jun 07, 2019 6:06 pm

Dialing the size control up and the regeneration and drive controls down tames the pre-delay somewhat. Running it in dark mode helps too.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:48 pm

Got to play with one in a shop last weekend. Good deal too at $129? I think. It's a great reverb if you're wanting a spring-ish sound. That Havoc switch is it's selling point in my opinion. But in the end, I couldn't go with it because I need something more than a spring voiced reverb as a backup to my space.

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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:02 pm

Unicorn Warrior wrote:
Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:48 pm
Got to play with one in a shop last weekend. Good deal too at $129? I think. It's a great reverb if you're wanting a spring-ish sound. That Havoc switch is it's selling point in my opinion. But in the end, I couldn't go with it because I need something more than a spring voiced reverb as a backup to my space.
Have you tried the Reflection by Wampler? It's only two modes: spring and plate, and does them both very well. Bought it for my bass board, and I love it. Sorry for the derail.
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Re: NPD: Caroline Guitar Company Météore Reverb And Parabola Trem

Post by pj » Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:38 am

I got a Meteore used last year as a Father's Day gift for myself. Love it. Maybe a Parabola should be next?

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