The scream of the Nux pedals also affects the West

Today we often hear not very positive terms of products "made in China", but it is from the empire of the Great Dragon, from the lands of the East, from China ("with fury"!) That the pedals for Nux guitar.

Year 2009. In the study of Massimo Varini in Vitinia (RM) I saw for the first time i Nux pedals, with an aesthetic aspect that is not very convincing but timbre already very interesting, especially considering the rather low price. It is in 2015, however, that the Nux presents the DeLuxe series, aesthetically much more appealing and with functions that make sounds even more versatile. Today in my hands, or rather between my feet, I find myself the "DRIVE CORES" and the "TIME CORE”: Two pedals with metal chassis very sturdy even if light and not excessively bulky.

But we proceed with order.

The test was done with guitars Paul Reed Smith, Fender e Gibson connected to a head Bandmaster and mine plexy with 4 × 12 case, which through the Cabclone come straight to a sound card Digidesign.

DELUXE CORE DRIVES

Technical considerations

This is a boost - overdrive true bypass, that is, it allows you to deactivate the pedal without interfering with other effects in the chain.
It comes with four potentiometers: the clean boost; the drive, with a push-pull that activates a “More Bass”; the tone and the level. A three-way switch allows you to choose whether to use the pedal as a simple boost, as an overdrive, or in the central position with a mix of the two functions. The pedal can be powered either by a 9V battery, conveniently housed under the base, or by a standard transformer.

After connecting the pedal, I can not help but notice that, by turning the drive core on and off and adjusting only the level pot, the sound of the guitar is not particularly changed. In mode boost, which goes from 0 dB to a maximum of 20 dB, bringing the clean boost potentiometer to the center, I can already hear the mid-high frequencies being emphasized: this feature doesn't drive me crazy, but it can be very useful to get out of the mix with an arpeggio or a forced phrase. The tone potentiometer works well and allows you to effectively intervene on the frequencies. The drive mode is the one I prefer: it goes from 20 dB of gain up to 40 dB, it does not color the original tone very much, maintaining a fluid, light and very bluesy, and if you want a thicker drive you can always split the potentiometer, thus activating the More Bass. By turning the switch to the mix function, boost and overdrive become one, even if you get an emphasis on the dry signal but not the gain that is lost a little.
Particularly suitable for rock blues, I have not found it difficult to use the pedal in contexts anymore pop or even fusion.

Let's now pass to the second pedal mentioned above.

TIME CORE DELUXE

Technical considerations

The Time Core is a pedal with six types of delay different plus one function loop.
Like the drive core, it is very robust and not particularly bulky, two inputs and two outputs for a stereo connection plus a mini USB socket to connect it to the PC. Also on the Time Core we find four potentiometers, one for each of the seven delays present: tape, digital, analog, ping pong, pan, reverse and hold to activate the loop station.
There is also a time potentiometer to adjust the time of the delays, feedback to adjust the number of repeats and mix for the amount of effect. A three-way switch placed between time and mix allows us to have a “normal” true bypass function which, in fact, bypasses the effects circuit. Another mode is the one called “tail mode” which maintains the effect of the last note produced. Finally, there is a very convenient “t-lock mode” function which stores the set parameters. The possibility of tap tempo should not be overshadowed by pressing the pedal for two seconds.

Let's analyze the 7 delay modes:

• Tape, simulates a tape delay with slightly saturated repeats
• Digital, with very clear and crystalline repetitions, a little cold (I don't prefer)
• Analog, with a slight modulation on the repetitions, very welcome
• Ping pong, appreciable with a stereo output connection with repeats ranging from right to left
• Bread, also to be listened to with a stereo connection with the repetitions going from right to center and then to the left
• Reverse, with repetitions played backwards but perhaps too noisy
• ., from which the loop is activated which records up to forty seconds with the possibility of overdubs.

Field considerations

I mounted the Nux in my pedalboard, and both live and in the studio I have not felt a strong lack of boutique pedals, which cost double or even triple. Also, I had no signal loss or unwanted noise. While with the Drive Core I replaced the classic overdrive that we all have, obtaining a sound perhaps even a little more defined, with the Time Core I felt the tranquility of not finding modified settings in switching the delay on and off thanks to the t- lock.

Conclusions

To conclude, I believe that Nux pedals are very competitive on the current market especially considering the quality-price ratio. I have tried other pedals of the economic range and I have always found the necessary differences with the more expensive ones, obviously I refer a lot to the sound aspect. With this Deluxe series the made in China defends itself well. Other than "It's all Chinese stuff"!

DELUXE CORE DRIVES
Pro:

• sound
• versatility
• rapporto qualità / prezzo

Against:

• boost mode (I don't prefer)

TIME CORE DELUXE
Pro:

• practicality.
• versatility
• rapporto qualità / prezzo
• t lock

Against:

• reverse mode
• digital mode

Useful news

Recommended price for the Drive core € 59,00
Recommended price for the Time core € 79,00
Distributor in Italy www.frenexport.it
Official website www.nuxefx.com

Thanks www.ciaravola.it for product availability.