Save it for the Guitarists!
Model Year: 1999
Price: $60.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Sam Ash
A Distortin pedal with lots of
Good for guitar not bass. It s
Seemed okay to me. There are m
Looked at many. Own a Boss ODB
Model Year: 2005
Price: $120.00 AUD (new)
Where Obtained: Ebay seller
Usual Russian Green Big Muff.
Use with EB MM Stingray 5, Fen
Not programmable. Very easy to
Looks pretty solid to me. All
I loved it but didn't need it as my multi effects models it (to an extent). I would reccomend it though, it sounds like a real fuzz box should.
Where Obtained: A friend
Built in NYC, Volume, tone, and sustain knobs. Easy enough.
I got this thing for 40, which is pretty cheap. I've recently sold it for 20, it was getting kind of old and abused I didn't need it because of my multi effects ME-50B. I suppose it would fit metal and basic fuzzy rock like a nice new suit, but its not what my band play. However I do highly reccomend it. It bypassed very well indeed, without ruining your sound.
Not programmable, but I had to mess around with it a bit to get the sound I needed, I'm not too experienced with distortion boxes. I suppose thats my problem though. Its deadly easy to use.
It's an NYC made, so its hugely durable. Its one big metal box.
This unit probably can't be any better. Maybe if a booklet
were included that detailed the settings famous bassists/guitarists
used to create their tone, and what other effects they ran the Big
Muff Pi through to get their sound might make it better, but as far as
sound goes, this is THE distortion/sustain effect pedal.
Where Obtained: eBay auction, second owner
It has 1 input, 1 output, and three control knobs: volume, sustain,
and tone. 9V battery or AC power (the adapter is, of course, extra
$). The tone is pretty wide, it ranges from a VERY deep bass sound
to an almost nasal tone. Set it about 1/3 of the way up and it's
good. Volume is particularly useful, you can really boost your bass's
signal. Sustain though, is where the real part comes in. It can go
from almost no distortion to amazingly crunchy sound.
I use this with a Fender Jazz bass, stock everything, and either a
Hartke KickBack 12 or an Ampeg SVT-350 head and Ampeg
4x10HLF cab. It sounds great through both, but obviously the
Ampeg really makes the room shake.
Extremely simple. Amazingly easy to get a good distorted sound.
The best distortion/sustainer around.
Alright, well, to start, this thing is huge. I mean MASSIVE. Electro-
Harmonix builds these tough (regardless, my vocalist dropped a
couch on my first one, the volume knob got forcibly removed, so be
careful). It comes in this great pine box with a sliding lid, makes
carrying it around a pain, but protects it really well.
This is the American-made version that I am talking about and it is made much better than the Russian version, so spring for the made in NYC unit if you're in the market for one of these. It does not have problems with cables coming loose like the Russian one, it looks cooler, and it will not let you down.
Price: $80.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Guitar Center
Has three controls, volume, tone, and sustain (amount of fuzz). It can run on 9V or AC.
I play this with my Schecter Stilleto Studio 4-string through a Fender BXR 100. It's not distortion it's not overdrive, keep that in mind. This is fuzz. If you don't know what that is, check it out at a store or listen to some Ben Folds Five, their bassist, Robert Sledge, uses it a lot. In my opinion fuzz sounds better on bass than distortion. It's a very specific effect that sounds great. Unfortunately, when it's off it kills your tone. I plan to remedy that by installing a 3PDT Switch from Fulltone.
Very simple to use. Once you get it out of the box you'll have the sound you want within 5 minutes, guaranteed.
Very sturdy. If I were attacked while playing I could use it to defend myself.
If you like Cliff Burton's sound, buy this pedal. Don't look at some cheaper thing, don't look at some space-age high-tech thing, just buy THIS pedal. And for under $75, who shouldn't. The sound of this pedal is just phenominal. I mean come on, $55!
Model Year: 2003
Price: $55.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Sam Ash Music Store
This is the only bad part about the pedal. There aren't a whole lot of features. The other problem is that it can only be powered by a 9v battery. It has one metal switch to turn on and off. And there is also 3 plastic knobs that control Volume, Sustain, Tone
I use a Hartke Amp and a Yamaha/Spector Bass. If you play Hard Rock or Metal this is THE pedal for you. The Sound Quality is so awesome. If like the sound that cliff burton had and would like to create it, this is the exact pedal he used.
This pedal is SO easy to use. I took it out of the box, fiddled with the knobs for about 5 minutes and then i got the exact sound i wanted.
The pedal is quite durable, plus it comes in a very nice wooden box that will make it easy to transport. The only bad part about the hardware is that the cords can come out somewhat easily.
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