Rosetti have recently announced anew budget range of guitars and accessories under the brand name Vision, thereby tempting a spate of bad gags about 'lack of Vision' or 'Visions of the future'. However, I for one do not intend to resort to such tactics unless sorely provoked! What I will say is that all the gear is being imported from the Far East, and comes from the factories of companies with well-established names in the UK, so don't be too surprised if it all looks very familiar.

First to become available for review are six effects pedals, all very much of the 'Where have I seen this before?' variety. They all feature a tough ABS casing with a steel baseplate giving the unit some weight and some electrical shielding for the circuitry. The rather dull grey colour is offset by the brightly-coloured tops to the nicely positive controls. Easy access to the battery compartment is provided by a sliding panel above the footswitch itself; the latter covered by a non-slip mat with a 'V' design upon it. An effect status/battery check LED and a socket for a 9-volt power supply complete the picture.

PH-1 Phaser

RRP: £44.50

The phaser is getting a bit long in the tooth these days, and many guitarists seem to regard it as merely a sort of sub-standard flanger from the early Seventies. I don't personally agree with this opinion; phasers sweep through a completely different set of harmonics to flangers, and I think that they can still be useful effects. The PH-1 is a fair example, with no surprises, but with a rich, smooth sound. The three knobs control Rate, Depth and Feedback, with the latter at full tilt providing a wonderful wooshing sound not a million miles away from the old Roland Jet Phaser. The most useful setting that I found was a slow sweep with the Depth turned right down, giving a very subtle effect that kept the sound moving without being too obtrusive. In fact, the sort of thing you can leave on all the time — ask Brian May.

DS-1 Distortion

RRP: £36.00

Next under the boot was the DS-1, the cheaper of the two distortion pedals on offer. After working up some enthusiasm for the phaser, this fuzz-box was rather a disappointment. Indeed, the title of fuzz-box is all too appropriate, I'm afraid, since even the most patient twiddling of the Level, Tone and Distortion pots failed to find a sound that wasn't decidedly gritting and harsh to my ears. Mind you, considering the low price, it's no worse than some other, more expensive units, and I can be a fussy so-and-so sometimes!

CH-1 Stereo Chorus

RRP: £54.95

This chorus pedal, whilst sounding no different from several others that I've tried (and that doesn't mean that I didn't like it), scores by including a Depth control along with the usual Rate and Intensity ones. Like the phaser, this allows for some nicely subtle and not too processed-sounding textures, with an extra output offering a phase-reversed Stereo effect.

FL-1 Stereo Flanger

RRP: £62.00

Once again, no surprises here. The FL-1 includes the usual controls plus stereo outputs and does its job well with no complaints from me.

AD-1 Stereo Analogue Delay

RRP: £105.00

Although I can quite easily find reasons to call for the revival of the phaser, I must admit that I think the Analogue Delay can no longer compete with the new generation of compact DDLs, unless the price drops significantly. However, taking into account the price war going on between the music shops at the moment, a good discount on this particular example could make it worth checking out for its good performance at short delay times. Useful slap-back and ADT-like effects are easily obtainable, although longer repeat echoes dissolve rapidly into the muddiness so characteristic of BBD-based units.

UM-1 Ultra Metal

RRP: £44.95

I've deliberately left this little box of tricks until last because, to be brutally honest, it is the shining exception to an otherwise average range of effects. The inclusion of separate Hi and Lo eq, plus the fact that the distortion circuit itself sounds sweeter than that used in the DS-1, makes the Ultra Metal pedal capable of some very smooth, sustaining tones that should firmly establish it as one of the very best examples of this type of effect. These same controls also give you a wide range of sounds to try; from a fairly gentle Blues sustain to a blistering HM overdrive. Add all this to the reasonable price tag of 45 quid, and you have a device that's a real winner — despite the atrocious name!

To sum up then — a range of effects that do the job well enough to make them good alternatives to those already on the market, with a very honourable mention for the UM-1, a Vision that's well worth looking at! (Oh bugger... I promised not to say that sort of thing!!)