Calling all Phat Phuk users

[scubaduba]

Just got my Phat Phuk pedal. First of all, very nice paint job on these things. Wow! But the pedal seems very sensitive to different basses. I've got three different bass guitars an the Phuk reacts very differently to each. While I certainly expected this to some degree I'm surprised at the extremes.

For example, my Fender Jazz when turned up all the way will make the PP clip much earlier than my Tobias bass. The Fender sounds much "phatter" with the pedal. My Pedulla makes the PP scream. Almost like the bass is too hot for the pedal.

Is this the experience others have had with the Phat Phuks? I'm considering turning down the germanium adjustment inside.

[Waterpilot]

Yes, if I understand you correctly... For me the hotter the signal the faster is starts to break up (hope I'm saying that correctly). I use a passive P, 9v active 5 string, and 18v active 4 string. With my 18v active it gets a little distorte, but I can balance that out by turning the volume down a little bit on the bass itself. I use my P-bass 98% of the time so it's not something I've worried about very much though...

[P-oddz]

Not a Phat Phuk user, although I consistently drool over them daily and then talk myself out of it....

It just sounds like your pickup output. Some are just a hotter signal than others. Obviously your active instruments are going to be more output than the passive.

Heard really well here:
Fender TV Combos - YouTube

Watch until 5:14. You can hear how the output of the active hits the front end much harder than the passive, causing more extreme clipping.

The "phatter" response, I'm guessing, is just due to the tonal frequencies normally produced by your bass. The Fender may have a wider tonal range than the Tobias (and hotter pickups), hence the difference in tonal reaction and clipping range.

[godblender]

I don't own a Phat Phuk....but may I suggest that those who do be referred to not as Phat Phuk users, but as Phat Phukers??

[topo morto]

An active bass with the volume up full is going to be driving it too hard. Unless you find some special 'magic' combination I don't see the point in using a clean boost pedal with an active bass... at least, not with the bass in active mode.

I reckon the Phat Phuk would make a nice preamp in its own right (hence this thread!)

[scubaduba]

It's an awesome pedal to use as a preamp. I use my Submarine for that though. What I plan to use the PP for is to create a bit of a boost for the bridge part of songs or when I need to stand out a bit more.

[topo morto]

With active basses I don't think it's going to be able to do much for you that that you can't do already with a deft flick of the volume knob... and why risk that sexy paintjob?