i opened it up and discovered an Energizer 9-volt, circa 1980 or something (!) which had managed to not break open and corrode! it was indeed loose and rattling around. the insides are overall very clean. i replaced the battery, plugged it in to my little amp, plugged in my guitar and expected the worst. lo and behold -- it works and sounds really nice. it's currently hooked up to my microKORG, and i'm messing around with some arpeggiated stuff to see how it sounds.
i'm not an effects snob by any stretch of the imagination (i LOVE my Virtualizer Pro!), so i'm having a hard time discerning between the Small Stone and the inbuilt Phaser in my mK. however, one area where i hear a difference is in the low-end. the Small Stone seems a bit thinner to my ears -- like the bass frequencies aren't coming thru as much. i guess 'cause it's a guitar effect? i have no idea, really. it also sounds a lot... i don't want to say smoother, but i guess that's it. it sounds "wetter" if any of you can get your head around that description.
it's quite noisy -- the switches i mean, not the effect itself. i guess a lifetime of sitting in a junk heap will do that. anybody know the name of that stuff you spray on noisy pots/switches to de-whatever them?
anyhow, that's all. here's a pic, too, for anyone that cares to see it. hey, i even snapped a pic of the old battery, 'cause you like it.
