The Squarewave Parade the Mingrod

Submitted by grizzlor from Springfield, PA (736 points) on Jun 15, 2008
As stated by the previous reviewer the Mingrod is a passive ring modulator that leaves it's carrier source up to the user. Simple, small and very effective. Definately not like other Ring Modulators, most of those other ones have built in low frequency oscillators to modulate the source signal. So it's versatility in ANY setup is well assured. Being passive it doesn't need batteries, and it's not very big, giving you room in a travel suitcase for other effects, it's an easy bring along for "just in case" you might want to switch up your normal setup in a live situation. I've tried a lot of different things as carrier signals, anything from radios, tapes and records to straight squarewave oscillators and white noise generators. even an odd keyboard or two. I have one of the first Mingrods that have the carrirer and source jacks on one side and the out put on the opposite, so it appears to look more like a cable splitter.
Good Points: it's small, cheap, and sturdy. and highly adaptable to any situation.
Bad Points: Mine is one of the first ones that didn't have quite as sturdy of a paint job, but newer models have been corrected of that problem.
Price Paid: US$60.00
Purchased At: thesquarewaveparade.com
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Submitted by Frenzied Destruction from Cold Spring, MN (136 points) on May 7, 2008
This is awesome. its a passive ring mod, which means it doesnt generate a signal itself to modulate your input with.thats a good thing! you can use *anything* in the modulate input--Cd's,synths,tapes,contact mics,feedback loops.etcetc, giving you a seriously huge amount of range.PLUS it works as a octave up if you dont put anything in the modulate input.its cheap, and adds alot to any setup.Also does not need batterys,which is always a plus.
Good Points: -cheap -wide range of possibilities -adorable aesthetic quality -octave UP!!!
Bad Points: -Doesnt create its own signal to modulate things with, only a bad thing if you are looking for your usual ringmod sounds.(But you can create those sounds by playing the right kind of sound through a cdplayer into it...) So actually, no bad points.
Price Paid: US$80.00
Purchased At: the squarewave parade
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