Wounded Paw FX: Battering Ram V.2.0

WOW! Long time no post! Things have been really crazy lately and I haven't had the time to sit down and write some reviews (and haven't had the means to record new clips until recently either).  Oh well, I hope to get back into the flow of pedal/gear reviews and hopefully keep the cycle going.  So recently the guys over at Wounded Paw Effects updated the circuit of their fabled Battering Ram Guitar/Bass fuzz pedal.  They changes were minor, consisting of a "split" switch that allowed the fuzz portion of the circuit to be accessed without the overdrive part of the circuit coming first.  As always you can find more information at www.woundedpaw.com/effects Here is what they had to say about the updates: "The Battering Ram now has a new feature, the Split switch.  The Battering Ram was developed to run the Overdrive sides in parallel when the Fuzz is switched on, but bowing to pressure we've changed this.  The Split switches allows you to run the channels in parallel or separately.  With the Split switch in the up position, when you hit the Fuzz stomp switch, the overdrive gets switched off at the same time." There were a lot of things that I liked about the ram and I also remembered a lot of the things that I didn't like about the ram as well. Overall I think that it wounded better to my ears, but at the same time I have a completely different rig and bass than I did when I owned it before. Like I think even the cables have changed, haha. The overdrive section definitely added some girth to my tone that I really enjoyed in the lower gain settings. The higher gain settings definitely were to muddy and fuzzy for my tastes. I think that when the gain was in the last third of the dial, it was into what I would call fuzz territory. Aggressive! I really liked either having the Hi knob at noon for lower gain warmth or at like 2 or 3 o'clock for higher gain settings (my favorite setting with my P-bass with flats, great stoner/doom setting). On the down side, I thought that it got muddy fairly quickly and isn't really good for that modern brash sounding OD, but great for that stoner/doom sound. The fuzz side, like the OD side, also sounded better than I remember. It felt like it was fuller and ballsier than I remember, but again that could have everything to do with my current bass/set-up. It is fuzz is really well rounded, IMO, maybe even more than the OD side. The octave up switch added that cut throat brash-ness to the signal that was the first time I felt like I liked that sound, even if the upper end of the frequency spectrum wasn't fully perceptible in a band setting to my ears. It may be perfect with a wah for that Cliff Burton kind of fuzz/wah sound. My favorite way to use the fuzz, other than to go from sweet OD to killer rock god fuzzy-ness, was to turn down the output of the fuzz side and use it with my Iron Ether Nimbus for those super huge volume swells that Brian Cook from Russian Circles does a lot. This allowed me to have a boost for my OD and have a reined in fuzz sound without having to knob twiddle on my Pickle Pie B mid-song (which I hate doing). I had never thought about doing something like that the first time that I owned the pedal. One of the cool things about playing with a pedal the second time through. My main gripe with the Battering Ram the first time I owned it was that because the two sides of the pedal were wired together, if I found an OD setting that I liked, I felt like I had to compromise the setting on the fuzz side. And vice versa. The "split" switch solves this problem and really opens up the versatility of this pedal, IMO. Even though I now don't feel like I have to compromise with either side of the pedal in order to get the sounds I want, and use the signal with out the switch, I think that this is a vast improvement over the previous version, from a versatility stand point. Whether this is because I have the fuzz tone that I was trying to get covered with my Pickle Pie B and now I can use the fuzz in a different way, or if I am just happier with the tone of the Ram with my current set-up, I can't say. Perhaps I am just more experienced with fizzes in general. Sound clips with my Highway One Precision with Flats and my Ibanez BTB676 with Rounds: http://soundcloud.com/mothertonegear/sets/battering-ram-od-fuzz/ As always, feel free to comment! -Colin mothertonegear@gmail.com

Wren & Cuff Tall Front Russian

Alright.  I first heard about the Tall Front Russian from Wren & Cuff from their periodical newsletter (you mean you haven’t signed up yet?!?) and of course immediately checked out the clip of their upcoming pedal.  Needless to say I HAD to have one, but I just couldn’t drop the cash at that moment (a really new development ::rolls eyes::).  I acquired my Tall Front Russian in a trade over on Talkbass. 

The Tall Front Russian is an attempt by Matt over at W&C to recreate a particularly awesome Sovtek Russian Green muff.  He chronicles his journey to recreate this particular muff and to bring this pedal to life over on his site (very interesting read).  Anyways, here is the nitty-gritty about the Tall Front Russian:

• True hard-wire mechanical bypass
  • Standard “Boss-style” 9VDC (-) tip power supply jack or 9V batt operated
  • Small foot-print
  • The best jacks available mounted off the circuit board
  • Alpha pots
  • CLIFF brand foot-switch
  • Genuine USA Davies “Daka-ware” knobs
  • Expert clean, tight, wiring that makes the insides just as beautiful as the outside
  • Incredible attention to detail

Just like it says above, this pedal’s construction is top notch, just like my other two Wren & Cuff pedals which will never leave my board.  This pedal also comes with the optional (FREE) clean blend, which I highly recommend.  Even if you are someone who doesn’t like to use clean blends with your fuzz pedals, this is a neat addition to the circuit because you have the option of going 100% wet or blend in your clean signal with Matt’s patented approach.  Side note - this shit is not just hype.  His clean blends really do have a noticeably different sound; much more musical and natural sounding than traditional clean blends.  The trick to using the blend feature on Matt’s pedals is to remember that the Volume and Clean Blend knobs work together.  As you bring more of your clean signal into being, you then turn the Volume knob clockwise to bring back more of the fuzz signal.  The two work together to bring the Heavy.

Whether or not this pedal actually emulates the famed Sovtek Russian Green Muff (like the one Grygrx reviewed recently) is up for debate, and considering that I don’t have one at my disposal at the moment, I can’t say for sure.  What I can confirm is that this is one kick ass fuzz pedal.  The controls on this fuzz are labeled Volume (duh), Distortion (sustain), Tone (traditional mid -scoop) and of course the clean blend knob that is located on the side of the pedal.  

Right off the bat I noticed that this pedal was much more scooped in the Mid - range frequencies than the Pickle Pie B (you remember our first review right?).  I normally run my Pickle Pie B with the Tone control set at around nine o’clock, but with the Tall Front, I preferred the tones that I got when the Tone control was set past noon and closer to 3 o’clock honestly.  I think that, at least on bass, the true character of the fuzz really comes out in the upper Tone settings.  This pedal really starts to snarl then.  It could be that when playing more lead type lines on guitar the lower Tone settings will help you get that thick 70s fuzz tone (sick).  When you start boosting the mid-range and upper frequencies on this or any fuzz pedal, you start to experience a perceived loss of low end - even if the pedal doesn’t actually loose any of the lower-range frequencies.  In times like these, I just dial in more of my clean tone (I did mention that was a FREE upgrade, right?), and all is well with the world.  

Comparing this pedal to the Pickle Pie B is quite a challenge, because not only are they very different beasts, the Pickle Pie B is hands down my favorite fuzz ever (with the Earthbound Audio Supercollider coming in a close second [review soon!]) and is pretty much impossible to beat for me.  It brings that heavy, doom sound that I really dig.  The Tall Front Russian is a superb pedal, and the tones that I was getting playing with a pick on my frankenstein Fender Precision were just incredible, snarling tones.  I wish I was in a heavy band where I could use my Precision because that tone was so sick.  I will say, however, that the Tall Front has an overall lower output than the Pickle Pie B, so not quite as DOOM, so take that for what you will.  I’m going to let these clips do the talking for me.  I recorded two clips with each pedal, one finger-style and one pick-style and tried to make a broad showcase to show the full range of the two pedals.  

Wren & Cuff Fuzz Shootout

So if you are looking for a Green Russian muff, but don't want to deal with the backwards jacks made out of plastic, missing knobs, battery option only (yuk) and ridiculous size, I highly recommend taking a look at the Tall Front Russian from Wren & Cuff.  

There are also a slew of clips of the Tall Front with guitar and bass on Wren & Cuff's site.

Interview with Brian From Small Sound / Big Sound!

Smallsound/Bigsound effects is a hyper rad custom/small batch pedal company based out of Philadelphia, PA.  They make killer fuzz/OD/glitchy weird pedals for guitar and bass, like the Team Awesome! Fuzz Machine!  Also, look out for the new Mountain Range boost / OD coming soon!




1. What is your name, where are you from and what do you do?

My name is Brian Hamilton and I live in Philadelphia, PA, where it's always sunny!  I run a little operation named smallsound/bigsound where i design, build and obsess over effects pedals.  I also play keyboards in a super band named Cymbals Eat Guitars!

2. Tell us a little more about yourself?

In high school, I dated a girl whose father owned/operated a pedal/string company.  We went out, then broke up for awhile, then got back together again in our junior year.  Sadly, during that interim period of about 2 years, her father passed away and her family sold the business.  I just started playing piano around the time we started going out again and as her mother saw my growing musical interest, she offered me some of the pedals, etc. that were just lying around in their basement.  I respectfully declined them; and why not?  I was serious about becoming a jazz musician and i had no idea how/why i would even use a guitar pedal.  Yeah.

3. How did you acquire your craft/art? 

I was in college (Berklee School of Music) studying performance and synthesis, so a lot of my core knowledge of signal flow and sonic manipulation came from studying sound design.  After I finished school I started getting interested in analog circuitry, effects pedals and circuit bending.  I worked at a coffee shop at the time and met a Northeastern University electrical engineering professor who really helped me a lot with electronics basics.  I actually got my first fuzz pedal working in one of the school labs!  Also, my great friend Jordan Levantini, who fixed studio consoles and tube amps was a real mentor to me - I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for him.  Either of them... they were really just so supportive.  I read a LOT, asked a lot of questions and wasn't afraid to make mistakes starting out.  My first projects were overly ambitious and really helped me learn a lot of things that one should NOT do.

4. What inspires you?

Sound as an object in and of itself.  I know that probably sounds pretty pretentious... oh well.

5. What is your creative process?

I draw lots of little pictures, block diagrams, mock up effect ideas using software effects in ableton live or logic.  I have lots of little piles of paper in the shop that are organized in a really weird way and probably just look like trash to most people.  I also talk to myself about new ideas and projects like a crazy person; not exactly yelling or anything like that, but I do get excitable.

6. What do you find to be the secret to your success?

It's most likely appreciative and supportive people who spread the word.  Though it may also be the chest hair...

7. Where are you now in your creative business and where will you be in the future?

I'm trying very hard to make sure things grow at the right pace for myself, for my customers and for my retailers.  I'm not really interested in complacency, but also don't want to overextend myself... I think I'm exactly where I should be and hope to still be where I should be in the future!  That all sounds weirdly cryptic.

8. Any words of wisdom to share with fellow artist/crafters?

Treat others as you would like to be treated and try not to take yourself too seriously.





9. What is your most favorite build so far?

I really love the fuck overdrive.  I left it at the shop before our last band rehearsal and noticed just how much I use it in the set and how integral it is to my sound.

10. Why do you love doing what you do (what fuels the fire)?

I can't put into words how I feel when when someone is inspired or excited by something I've built for them...

11. Shameless advertising = Win. We want all your info!

http://www.smallsoundbigsound.com/
http://smallsoundbigsound.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/smallsoundbigsound
https://www.facebook.com/smallsoundbigsound

Fuzzrocious Momster

Fuzzrocious Momster

This pedal was, I believe, the third original offering from the lovely people over at Fuzzrocious.  The Momster is a high(er) gain take on the first offering from Fuzzrocious, the Grey Stache.  They got the name for this pedal with input from their son, who apparently loves his Mommy very much.  

The Momster has all of the proprietary Fuzzrocious elements: true-bypass switching, great build quality (yay for NO BATTERIES, standard center-negative only kiddies) and hand painted cute-sy graphics.  My Momster was #002 and it had a Violet LED that indicated when the pedal was on and off.  The Momster sports four knobs.  The upper three knobs from left to right read Volume, Chomp and Roar.  If you don’t know what the Volume does by now, ring your call button and Tommy will come back and hit you over the head with a tack hammer!  The Chomp knob performs the same function as a “tone” knob on a traditional Muff-style circuit, with the Roar knob controlling the Saturation.  The Momster differs from the Grey Stache in another way, with the addition of a Gate (the fourth knob) circuit.  This is toggled on and off with the left foot switch.  

The first thing that I noticed about this pedal was that right of the bat, this had a LOT more gain / saturation to it than the Grey Stache.  I thought that the Roar knob was cranking when I first turned on the pedal, but then I realized that it was at about nine o’clock.  Pretty tame, haha.  Just like the Grey Stache, this thing preserves a TON of low end, even without a clean blend, so you have no worry about dropping out of the mix.  As you crank up the Roar knob, things get raspier and heavier, but with out loss of low end.  Things do get a bit ridiculous when the Chomp knob is also cranked, I.E. there is some....well not low end loss, it’s just that the Mids and Highs are a lot more present (looks like the Chomp knob is doing it’s job, eh?).  Either way, Gnarly.

I did miss the extra control over the sound of the pedal that the Grey Stache offered through the Mids knob and the three way toggle switch to change between the two different types of diodes in the clipping section.  It isn’t that the range of the Chomp knob is limited, quite the opposite, and in fact, you might not even ever notice.  I just think that if you have trade the Grey Stache first and then go to the Momster, you might miss the extra degree of control.

GATE.  So, this is where this pedal really starts to differ from the Grey Stache.  Instead of a tone bypass or an oscillation circuit, there is a gate circuit that lets you get all sorts of cool synth-y, 8-bit style fuzz tones. Put this with an octaver in front of it, and you are in synth heaven.  I really dug being able to go from Doom fuzz to gated 8-bit Mario riffs on the fly.  Some general observations:  the Gate knob works from right to left.  So if you put the Gate knob fully clockwise, you won’t really be able to tell a difference between the modes.  As you turn the Gate knob counter-clockwise the Gate circuit bites down on the circuit causing it to glitch and sputter (if those are the right terms) and turn into Super Mario Brothers.  

The only real improvement that I could say about this pedal would be to add a second LED to signal when the Gate circuit is engaged.  With higher settings on the Gate knob, it is pretty obvious that you are in either the doom fuzz or gated glitch mode, but with more subtle settings it can be a bit confusing (especially on stage).  

After experiencing the awesome in both of these pedals, the Grey Stache and now the Momster, I think that the best of the two is.....................................a hybrid.  Wait a minute, they did that with the GREY STACHE PLUS, and a custom ordered mash up for Behndy that included the full Grey Stache circuit with the gate feature of the Momster.  Sick.  Reading over the little blurb about the Grey Stache PLUS, it seams that all of my qualms with the Momster have been answered.  Separate bypass LEDs for the Gate mode, full control over the mids and the clipping section.  It’s like Ryan is INSIDE MY HEAD.

Here are some SOUND CLIPS.  Yep that's right, bitches.  The first one is a finger-style clip of my Franken P-Bass into the Momster, into a Lexicon Alpha, and then into Logic.  Clean first, then DOOM:

Momster Fingerstyle DEMO

This next clip showcases the Gate circuit.  Same setup as before (finger-style P-Bass).  First is clean, then DOOM fuzz, and then gated mode (so you can hear the difference between the two).  Then I through in my Aguilar Octamizer in before the Momster for good measure:

Momster Gated DEMO

As always, comments, questions, concerns are super welcomed, you don't even have to leave your name! Just let me know what you think!!

-Colin (mothertonegear@gmail.com)

BOSS DD-7 DIGITAL DELAY

Boss DD-7 Digital Delay

So for the longest time I anguished over the delay that I wanted to go on my pedal board.  My first delay pedal was actually a Line 6 DL4.  Waaayyy too much delay for a first time user, in my opinion.  Too many options and controls that I didn’t fully understand, though, the looper was pretty fun.  I eventually narrowed my search down to two dealays; the EHX Stereo Memory Man, and the Boss DD-7 Digital Delay.  The Boss was the first of the two that I had the pleasure of owning.

From Boss:

Even with the best-selling delays in compact-pedal history, BOSS continues to push the envelope and innovate. The new DD-7 takes the best features from its predecessors and expands the creative potential with Modulation Delay mode, classic modeled Analog Delay mode, External pedal control options, longer delay time, and more.

1. Expanded delay time, up to 6.4 seconds
2. Modulation Delay mode offers natural, chorus-type sounds
3. Analog Delay mode models the classic warm BOSS DM-2 analog delay sound
4. Tap tempo controllable via external footswitch
5. Delay time, feedback, and effect level can be controlled via external Expression pedal (sold separately)
6. Up to 40 seconds of recording for sound on sound (Hold mode)

Right.  I love how full of themselves Boss are.  I guess Ampeg or any other company that has been around as long as they have is just as egotistical.  

Cool things about this pedal are the construction (obviously, it’s a BOSS), which is top notch and will last for years.  Secondly is the feature set.  With a pedal like this, it is really amazing how many really neat features are in a pedal of this size.  And I’m not just talking about different delay modes either.  I’m talking about looping, tap-tempo and a crazy amount of signal routing options, too.

Let’s start with the modes.  There are EIGHT different settings that you are able to select via the right most rotary knob.  From 50ms to 3200ms of Digital Delay, a Sample and Hold feature (which is sort of like a looper), a reverse delay, analaog delay emulation (my favorite) and a modulated delay that will produce chorus/vibrato sounds.  Neat.

The other knobs on the top of the unit are the Balance control (just a wet / dry blend, no real boost in the signal to speak of).  The Feedback knob and the Delay Time knob are the two that control the amount of repeats and the length of the delay time, respectively.  My favorite thing about the Boss Digital Delays is that you can send them into self-oscillation madness relatively easily, with just a twist of these two knobs.  I LOVE being able to get those oscillation noises.  Just remember that A) you can blow your speakers, and B) the oscillation takes a quick second or so to stop, once you have turned the unit off or reset the Feedback and Delay Time knobs to a different setting.  

Tap Tempo for me is something that I find that I really NEED in a delay.  I’m not sure why, maybe it is because the delay sounds that I am after are the super quick slap-back kind of delay tones, but are much more beat-centric.  That is one of the reasons that I was drawn to the DD-7 in the first place as opposed to the DD-3 or DD-6.  Unfortunately with the DD-7 the tap tempo is sort of odd.  In order to access the internal tap tempo, you have to hold down the foot switch for more than 2 seconds.  Some people find that this is easy enough and use it well live.  I, however, find it confusing and distracting, because I’m not sure if I’m accidentally going to switch on the delay in the wrong moment of the song, or something like that.  The cool thing is that you can attach and external momentary foot switch (like the Boss FS-5U) and have the ability to access the tap tempo feature of the DD-7 on the fly.  The only downside to this is that you either have to take up more valuable real estate on your pedal board, or you have to put it on the floor (which works well, btw) and increase your set up time.  

Lastly, the looper.  It is important to distinguish this feature on the DD-7 as not really a looper, but really a Sample & Hold feature.  The loops sound decent, but you can’t really layer more than one or two loops together before they start to degrade.  It is neat for playing a lead riff over chords or harmonizing with yourself, but for full featured looping, look elsewhere (like the Boss RC-2, RC-3, RC-20XL, or RC-50).

This is a really neat pedal and I miss the ability to make this bad boy oscillate, but I don’t miss having to set up my tap tempo switch every time we played a show.  It takes long enough for me to set up with my head, two cabs, pedal board and bass non-sense.  WORTH IT.

Robot Factory Tentacle Love Super Fuzz!

Robot Factory Tentacle Love Super Fuzz

Alrighty, so this pedal was co-designed by Grygryx over at BassFuzz.com in an attempt to produce the ultimate bass fuzz pedal.  Whether or not they succeeded in creating that pedal is subject to debate as well as personal taste, but I was able to get my hands on one of these pedals for a month or so and got to know it pretty well.  According to the initial release from bassfuzz.com:

BassFuzz.com (October 26, 2008):

• 
  Things are moving along very well in the fuzz project I have underway with Mario of Robot Factory Pedal Co and I thought it was time to start the sharing. Here is a photo of the prototype for the ‘Tentacle Love Super-Fuzz'.
  This pedal is a melding of my lust for bass friendly fuzz and his wild mechanical genius. This pedal is born from the Shin-Ei Superfuzz, but to call it a clone is doing a disservice to what is going on here. Here are a few highlights:

• Buzzwords: True bypass, buffered, clean-blend
• Both modes of the Superfuzz are available via a stomp (with a light to inform you what mode you are in).
• Each mode has it's own adjustable volume.
• The Timbre control will manipulate the amount octave up signal in ‘Saw' mode.
• Small enclose with top mounted jacks and power (note: no battery inside… NO ROOM!).

• 
  There are some other details I'll address as we get a even closer. Our goal is to provide a kick-ass heavy fuzz (not subtle fuzz) with a wide range of flexibility. An initial run 10 pedals will be produced to ‘test the waters.' Details of timing and price will be worked out shortly.

More info over on the Effects Database!

CONSTRUCTION:

The knob to pedal-size ratio is pleasantly high with this ultra boutique pedal and with top mounted in and out jacks, it takes up virtually no room on your pedal board.  This pedal is actually about the size of an MXR sized pedal (a la the Phase 90) except that it is aligned horizontally, and maybe just a bit wider.  The fact that they were able to cram six knobs and two switches into such a small pedal says a TON about Robot Factory’s attention to detail.  Super sturdy true-bypass switches round out this little guy.

One interesting thing to note is that the skinny MXR sized enclosure that is pictured above was only done for a short while.  Unfortunately due to time and insanity constraints, the guys and gals over at Robot Factory decided to move to a bigger enclosure like this one:

TONE

It’s hard to describe a super fuzz variant if you haven’t heard one before.  It isn’t very similar to a classic “muff” type fuzz sound.  There is a much harsher, snarl to the fuzz that is very in-your-face and biting with a bit of octave up, not laid back, smooth and creamy.  If that makes any sense.  

So the right foot switch on the TLSF bypasses your signal (on and off, duh), while the left foot switch toggles between “Saw” and “Hook” mode.  Try and think of it like the Saw mode being the “standard” tone and the Hook mode to be in addition to this sound. 

The two controls in the middle of the six knobs are master controls for both sides of the pedal, with the Clean Blend control balancing your dry and wet (or effected) signal and the Fuzz knob controlling the total drive or gain level of the pedal.  On the Saw side of the pedal there is a volume knob (each side gets it’s own independent level control) and a Timbre control.  The Timbre knob controls the amount of the fundamental relative to the octave up in the fuzz signal.  In addition to the volume level control on the Hook side of the pedal, there is the Filter control.  The Filter knob controls the amount of mid-scoop depth.  It is important to note that the Hook side of the pedal is set for maximum octave up regardless to what setting the Timbre control is set to on the Saw side of things.  You can also use an expression pedal to control the amount of mid-scoop in real time!

FINAL THOUGHTS: BYE BYE

So at least based on this pedal, I think that the super fuzz sound is just not what I’m looking for in a fuzz pedal.  As I said before this pedal is very in-your-face and I think is better suited for lead-ish runs and snarling riff-age, not DOOM.    I thought that the Filter setting did do a decent job of getting more of a muff type of tone, but I didn’t think that it was what this pedal was really shooting for.  I loved the independent volume controls for each setting and I really liked the way that you could switch from one mode to the other while the pedal was bypassed and thanks to the LEDs, you could tell exactly which  mode you were in.  Very handy.

You can pick up the newer (brand new!) version of the Tentacle Love Super Fuzz direct from Robot Factory HERE.  Of course, it will be the larger enclosure, and it will be $250 plus shipping (ouch).  If you are patient and look around, you can find the “Talkbass.com Edition” mini TLSF for sale on ebay and on TB’s effects sale forums from $200 to $250.  Mine made it’s way all the way to Australia.  Happy Hunting!

Fuzzrocious Grey Stache

Fuzzrocious GREY STACHE

Here is another pedal from the lovelies over at Fuzzrocious: The Grey Stache.  I’m not really sure where they got the whole mustache thing from...except that beards are SOOOO in right now.  All I know is that the original General Guitar Gadgets muff clones that they used to build were called the Green Stache, so this is a natural extension of that line of thought.

Metaphysics (What is it?):

As I said before, the Grey Stache is the natural evolution of the GGG-Tuned Big Muff that Ryan used to build in the (pre)historic days of Fuzzrocious.  He took the basic circuit and blended it with the circuit from a  “Civil War” Sovtek Muff (the battle tank green one, that everyone loves).  He kept what he liked and got rid of the rest leaving one awesome fuzz in its place.  He also added a Mids knob to the circuit that helps give you a BIG boost in the mid-range frequencies so that you don’t disappear in the mix.

Knobblies (How you Control it):

The Grey Stache has four knobs, a three position switch and two stomp switches.  From left to right on the top row the knobs are Volume, Tone, Sustain and the bottom row holds the Mids knob.  The tree position switch toggles between the two different diodes in the clipping section...but if it is a three position switch..........I KNOW DAMN IT WE’LL GET TO THAT.............right.  Where was I? 

The three positions are as follows: left is a set of silicon diodes, the middle position is without either set of diodes engaged (there, happy?) and the right position brings a set of LEDs into the clipping section. 

The switch on the right of the pedal is the standard bypass switch, cleverly enough, it is labeled “bypass.”  The switch on the left is either a switch that bypasses the tone stack of the pedal destroying eardrums and killing small animals at ten feet, or it the switch forces the fuzz into oscillation depending on where the Sustain knob is set.  The coolest part about the ordering of the Grey Stache was (as in not in production anymore, we’ll get to that, too) that you could choose whether you wanted the tone stack bypass modification, or the oscillation mod.  Very cool.  

My pedal I got used from Behndy over on Talkbass, and he had his Stache especially ordered with a momentary foot switch instead of the standard latching foot switch.  This is really neat because you can toggle in the oscillation into your signal when you want it.  NEAT.

TONEZ (How does it sound?):

Let’s start with the silicon clipping section.  Silicon diodes are the sort that are traditionally used in most Big Muff’s and their variations.  Silicon diodes are more compressed, with less overall volume, but they are nice and warm.  Perfect for a muff, right?  This setting has all of your traditional muff tones in it.  With the Tone and Mids knobs pulled back a little bit you can get a really smooth sounding muff tone.  Classic.  Cranking the Tone and Mids brings the signal back into your face without every wanting to leave.  Killer.

The middle toggle switch without any diodes engaged in the clipping section creates a big jump in overall volume (good thing there is an output volume control, huh?).  This mode is fuller and bass-y-er, but not quite as warm as the silicon section.  Disengaging both sets of diodes also reduces the overall gain on the circuit which I liked because it let me dial back the amount off fuzz and clean things up a bit.  

The third clipping section uses a LEDs (yep, just like in everything else) to create a loud, brash and open sounding fuzz.  This was probably my favorite setting on the fuzz and with the Mids and Tone knobs cranked gave you a really snarling sound that I is really great for quick riffs.  I kind of wish I was a pick player, because I have a feeling that this setting would be killer for that sound.  

Now for the oscillation.  The oscillation on this version of the Grey Stache is completely dependent on the setting of the Sustain knob.  Anything lower than 7 (out of 10 or maybe 2 o’clock) won’t really sound like much.  The pedal will feed back if you are next to your speakers (awesome), though.  Pushing the sustain towards max causes the circuit to emit this really awesome feedback oscillation that really sounds wild.  It isn’t really like what happens when a digital or analog delay starts to get into infinite repeats.  It is more like you gain the ability to control the frequency of the feedback.  Sweet.

This pedal is, alas, no longer in production (limited runs are sooooo boutique), but fortunately for everyone Ryan redesigned and expanded the circuit into his Grey Stache PLUS.  You gain (see what I did there) the ability to send the Grey Stache Plus into oscillation on a toggle where it automatically throws the oscillation and sustain on full.  Sick.  Let’s just say, I WANT IT.

Also, coming up is a review of the MOMSTER.  Another Fuzzrocious beast of a pedal that is like a higher gain version of the Grey Stache, with a built in Gate.  

As always, feel free to send me an comments, criticisms, or concerns.

-Colin (mothertonegear@gmail.com)

Aguilar TONE HAMMER

Aguilar Tone Hammer

I love Aguilar stuff.  I’ll be the first to admit it boarders on the unhealthy.  This is one of the few companies that I literally want EVERYTHING that they make.  Even if I obviously have no use for half of it at anyone time (doom rig anyone?).  There is something about their approach to bass gear that just grabs me.  Maybe it is the super clean lines, or their commitment to quality, but I love their stuff and I want to try it all.  The Tone Hammer was my first introduction to Aguilar’s product line, even though it is oddly enough a pedal, not the high end bass amplification that Aguilar is known for.

From Aguilar:

This preamp/direct box is so strong and powerful it could only be called the "Tone Hammer"! Based on the respected OBP-3 preamp, the Tone Hammer features fully sweepable midrange frequencies in addition to bass and treble controls. With the Tone Hammer's pristine D.I. you are set for the studio or the stage.

CONSTRUCTION:

This pedal is housed in a heavy duty steel enclosure that is near bullet proof.  The knobs are solid and the switching is true bypass.  Having said that, you must keep in mind that this was Aguilar’s first foray into the world of effects, and like all first steps, they aren’t always perfect.  Dave Boonshoft (president of Aguilar) caught some heavy flak from pedal heads for the design of this pedal. As you can see, in the photo below the enclosure of the pedal sticks out over the edge of the input and output jacks, seemingly in an effort to protect them (maybe?).  

The problem is that if the pedal is lying flat on a normal pedal board, you are only able to use straight 1/4” jacks or cables to plug in and out of the Tone Hammer, robbing you of valuable pedal board space if you don’t have a slotted pedal board like the pedaltrain pedal boards.  Once solution I have seen is to use a dremmel drill or similar minute grinding tool to cut away part of the steel enclosure to allow access to the input and output jacks by right-angled plugs.  

Another design quirk that comes along with this pedal is that the knob that holds the battery drawer (neat, BTW) in place is located on the bottom of the pedal, which makes mounting the Tone Hammer onto pedal boards without the (huge) rubber feet nigh on impossible.  Two solutions: either use a pedaltrain style board with slats or put a rubber pad on either side of the battery knob to help raise the pedal up off the ground.  Luckily for us, I believe that Aguilar started sending pads such as these to help with pedal board  mounting.

Lastly, some of these pedals left the production line with a slight grounding problem that introduces a hum into the signal chain that is similar to a 60-cycle hum or a ground loop hum that can’t really be avoided (even with the use of the ground / lift switch, because it is not a DI problem).  Good thing that Aguilar’s customer service is TOP NOTCH and they will take care of you in a hear beat if you send the pedal back to them.  

CONTROLZ:

The controls are pretty self-explanatory.  There are six knobs and two switches.  The left foot switch, labeled “Engage” is the master bypass switch for the pedal.  The second switch, labeled “AGS” toggles the “Adaptive Gain Shaping” circuitry on and off (more on that later).  The Tone Hammer features a three band EQ with Treble (+/- 18 dB @ 4 kHz), Bass (+/- 18 dB @ 40 Hz) and Mid controls, as well as a Mid frequency sweep from 180 Hz to 1 kHz.

There are also two mini switches next to the balanced XLR DI output that include a Gound / Lift switch and a Pre / Post EQ switch, which will toggle between sending your signal to the DI before or after the EQ circuitry.

TONE(z):

Let’s dive right in.  This pedal sounds terrific. Really versatile and POWERFUL equalization; be ready for that.  You can really get some terrific sounding tones out of this box and there are few (if any) dead spots in the circuit that produce less-than-desirable tones.

Just like the OBP-3 preamp for which it was based on, the bass knob on this pedal is very powerful and will give you a ton of low end if you aren’t careful.  In some ways I think that the boosted low end has more of a useful musicality to it than the OBP-3.  A more useful range if that makes any sense.  I actually liked this pedal so much that I got an OBP-3 installed in my SR506.  It was always on anyway, so why not?  P.S. It makes my bass sound KILLER.

I really like the way that you can shape your sound into almost any tone when going direct or with an additional preamp.  Slap, finger funk, clean solid-state clarity, it is all in there. 

Then there is the dirt.  The AGS side of the pedal is something that I think is fairly unique to this design. It isn’t necessarily like having two pedals in one box.  Even though you have access to both “pedals” in the Tone Hammer, you aren’t able to switch from one to the other on the fly as easy as you’d think.

The reason behind this has to do with the way that the AGS circuitry effects your signal and brings in the dirt.  The AGS circuitry is actually an integral part of the original equalization circuitry and isn’t really like “another pedal” at all.  It based on the settings of the gain knob, the AGS boosts or cuts specific EQ curves that change as the knob is increased (if I remember correctly).  

Right.  So what does that mean? Basically the idea behind this pedal is to be more of a tone shaping machine in the studio.  It’s not that it can’t be used live, but the feature set of this pedal I feel is more for use as a preamp in the studio, and not as an on/off part of your pedal board.  

Anyways, the overdrive sounds coming out of the AGS are particularly warm, and are very touch sensitive, meaning that the signal breaks up more the harder you play.  You can get some snarl out of this pedal with the right EQ settings, but it won’t get as much of a snarl as Aguilar’s AGRO pedal or rack overdrive (reviews coming soon!).  This pedal provides a really awesome, warm and thick overdrive sound that sits well in the mix.

All in all this is a fantastic pedal.  Even with some of it's quirks in the design, I think that it is an amazing piece of equipment.  Unfortunately I traded mine for an AGRO, but luckily for all of us, Aguilar recently did the unthinkable.  They took the idea behind the Tone Hammer and put a 500 watt power section behind it, creating the Tone Hammer 500, a 4 pound 500 watt monster.  They put all of the Tone Hammer into this single channel unit and gave it a DRIVE knob to help control the idea behind the AGS circuit.  DO WANT.

Be sure to check out the Tone Hammer on Aguilar's website 

And don't forget about CLIPS!

-Colin (mothertonegear@gmail.com)

P.S. I just found this sweet look into Aguilar's production and history:

http://www.aguilaramp.com/pdf/news_reviews_aguilartour_bp022004.pdf

Blackout Effectors Musket v.1

Blackout Effectors is an effects pedal company that recently relocated from Canada to Asheville, NC.  Their pedals are unique takes on overdrive, fuzz and phasers that are "Handmade with Precision and Balls."  This is another company that I just totally lust after.  All of their pedals just get into my veins and I get swept away (why don't I have enough cash?!?).  The Musket is the first pedal that I have had the pleasure of playing through and hopefully not the last (::cough:: Whetstone ::cough::).  This pedal is well loved over on Talkbass.com and for good reason.

From Blackout Effectors:

The logical progression from then to now, the MUSKET is based 

on one of the raunchiest, best selling fuzz circuits of all time

-taken three giant muffy steps further.  With the addition of the

PRE, FOCUS, & MIDS controls, the MUSKET is able to traverse

the decades,, the continents and the many iterations of the

classic 4-stage fuzz circuit - from emulation to beyond.  If you

need fuzz and need it to be massive…..

And bass players, look no further.  The Musket brings the 

thunder to perfectly compliment your lightning.  You'll 

find the Musket on pro bass player boards

the world over.

CONSTRUCTION:

"Handmade with Precision and Balls" pretty much sums up this pedal's construction.  Solid circuit design and discrete soldering points (definite care in construction).  The knobs are sturdy and turn  smoothly.  Foot switch: good to go.

GRAPHICS: 

There have been many different graphic versions of this pedal over time, and they kind of give a history of the evolution of the pedal, circuit design and of Blackout Effectors as a company.   The original graphic design was the "Red Rifles" edition, which was an homage to the builder's grandfather if I am not mistaken.  The current version of the Musket (version 2 as far as the circuitry goes, but the third or fourth version graphically), is similar to the "Red Rifles" design, but it is all black and white.  My Musket was the first version of the circuit with the mountain of tone graphics (which incidentally is my favorite one they have released as of yet).  I think that the second version of the circuit is one that incorporates a greater degree of control through each knob (especially the MIDS and FOCUS knobs, which we will get to in a minute).  

Also, something that I think is a really cool touch about the style of this company is that on the inside of the pedal cover, they paint an artistic representation of the number of the pedal (mine was #157, I believe).  Sometimes this is just the number painted in a cool way and sometimes there is a kaleidoscope of awesome in there.  It just depends on who was working the day the pedal was finished and how creative they were feeling (the custom Storm Trooper is definitely up there on my favorites-list).  A really cool touch in my opinion.  It's really little touches like this that make independent builders stand out from the crowd.

TONE:

Here is the "balls" part.  BEEF.   For a muff based circuit, this pedal has an incredible range of tone. The bottom three controls are the traditional muff controls of Fuzz (saturation), Tone and Volume.  Pretty much standard issue as far as sound goes.  The top three controls are what really make this muff circuit stand out.  The PRE control knob acts like a pre-gain boost stage in front of the circuit (sort of) that lets you have greater control over the range of the FUZZ knob.  At a minimum PRE setting, the overall saturation of the fuzz circuit is pretty tame.  When the PRE and FUZZ knobs are both maxed - STAND BACK!!!!  Now you have a fuzz pedal that has complete control over the saturation sweep and you don't have to always set it on the maximum saturation setting to get a usable tone like you do with older muff circuits.  

The MIDS knob works really well with the TONE knob to shape the character of the pedal.  While the TONE knob is a sort of traditional muff-based mids sweep (counter-clockwise being really scooped, traditional muff tone), the MIDS knob will boost or cut the middle frequencies in pleasant new ways.  This is the main feature on this pedal to help keep the bass from getting lost in the mix.  Cranking the MIDS knob will give you an in-your-face snarl that demands your attention.

The FOCUS knob is an interesting and welcomed touch to this circuit.  This knob will take you from articulate crunch (clockwise) to sloppy low end awesome (you guessed it counter-clockwise).  For bass players, the focus knob really needs to be set in the left side of the knob's range (the sloppy side).  Not specifically because great gobs of sloppy molasses fuzz is awesome, but because as you get progressively further clockwise on this knob, the low end starts to disappear almost into lo-fi territories (for a bass).  Killer.  

I felt that this pedal's primary sound scape isn't necessarily focused on the DOOM side of things, however.  What I mean is that it wouldn't be my first choice for the heavy DOOM breakdown of a song (a la hammering down on the low B) or the slow drone of a stoner / doom metal type of band.  This pedal has a snarl and a bite to it that I think is better suited for quick riffing and that "Every Time I DIe" in your face kind of bass tone, which it excels at.  Different strokes.  

Killer.

Also, the Musket is also available in a dual pedal format with another of Blackout Effector's killer fuzzes the Fix'd Fuzz called the Twosome Fuzz.

Please go checkout the awesome clips and videos over at Blackout's webiste:

http://www.blackouteffectors.com

NOW.

-Colin (mothertonegear@gmail.com)