CATALINBREAD Formula No. 5: tested and tasty

[B_Y_O_Bass]

Well, this pedal is based on the Tweed DLX 5E3 which is a revision of BLAHBLAHBLAH.

You want to know how it sounds on BASS, right? Well, I'm going to start with a disclaimer: that with active pickups, don't bother The extra dB input signal makes this pedal a beast to control, with fuzz abounding at 85% of the Gain/Volume combinations.
So, pull out that battery boys!

With a standard, PASSIVE Jazz set on a Fender Road Worn series (just what they had at the shop, mates. no endorsement), pretty magic little box here.
You can get Tube-Amp-Like cleans with minimum Gain (first 33%) & any [fx] Volume knob setting until 90%, where it gives you full saturation regardless of Gain knob setting, JUST LIKE THE REAL AMP. That is how the Tweed DLX responds, so you should not expect this pedal to behave any differently.

HOWEVER, you can control this runaway Tube-sounding fuzzbuzz with your Instrument Volume knobs, & just a little backing off will reward you with those magic tweedy Bassman tones you were wondering if you could get with this pedal.
Plus a little extra bollocks when you dime your instrument volume.
OK, roll the [fx] Volume down back to 40%-90% & the Gain knob becomes useful again & you can set per usual, with Gain to taste & Volume to control output.

BTW output is MASSIVE.
Very loud.
This pedal is a foundation pedal, meant to be used as a preamp, as "on all the time".
So, once I had a tasty tone, I tried to bypass the Effect for the clean sound & the output volume from the amp all but disappeared (-24 or so). So, use it at your discretion, maybe with an FX looped compressor to rein in that volume level.

The Tone knob is similar to others, a Low Pass filter with plenty of range. When set at 0% it would filter most signal above 800Hz. I only found myself reaching for my instrument's tone knob when I was looking for those deep dub tones, & the combination of using instrument and [fx] Tone knobs will get the job done for 90% of the tunes.

Now, about those FUZZ tones I mentioned,
Oh, you want to know about THOSE???

Okay, well owning & using a real Tubes Only Preamp (no chips no clips) that does the actual Tube generated Fuzz tones, this one will get you 98% of the way there. Sounds delicious with a bass for that dirtier than usual "amp's gonna blow" fuzz (done that too, thanks Me.Bo).

ABSOLUTELY NOT a germanium / silicon / big muff / tone bender / foxx tone type of fuzz. This one is amp gain at 11 fuzz tones without the treble-y 'icepick' boost (like the above vintage fuzzers & most modern 'factory' fuzzers, that kind of tone jumps to the front of your signal)
Scraping fingernails on chalkboard? NO, thems your strings!
The noise is pretty well controlled, but try not to solo those single coils? They hum like a kazoo.

What, you want MORE descriptive adjectives?
Well, this type of fuzz, as a Tube Amp emulating wave shaper, is neither a Square Wave rectified OR a Triangle Wave rectified fuzz tone.
It's akin to a Sawtooth, & in Synth terms, it can sound like a Square wave oscillator run thru a Triangle wave amplifier to produce juicy bass fuzz that does not sound like a Merkin or a DLS or a Teaser Stallion (collect 'em all).

This hidden (no one else has posted a review about its usefulness on Bass) gem will; 1: NOT step on your string attack, 2: with the instrument volume backed off will give you a juicy amp vibe clean tube-type tone, 3:will not shred your tweeters in exchange for good fuzz tone, 4: will not make your bandmates run for the restroom cuz you wanted to "fuzz it up a little".

Just remember to back off on your instrument volume 10% or so because just like the magic of being a good player is knowing when NOT to play, the magic of the fuzzbox is knowing when not to use it.

Comments, suggestions? DLS, Merkin, Teaser Stallion reviews pending. Enough requests and I'll shake my fingers a little faster
I also love using my PEI Germ and Subdecay F-Bomb, and no, I am not from Portland. Just my pedals

[bigchiefbc]

I said WIIO, because I want to see if it will displace my Tech 21 Leeds. Since they're both supposed to be Hiwatt-in-a-box.

But I really want to hear more clips of the Pareidolia, too.

[B_Y_O_Bass]

I think my next review will be the Dirty Little Secret (version 2).

I need to educate someone on the sound of a bass thru a Marshall stack.

I would love to review a WIIO, but sadly I have none to test.
If one ever turns up used in this town, I will plug it in and give it the 4 fingers

Anybody else care to chime in?
I know the trolls will get here eventually, so don't feel bad if it's down the line. I just didn't want to put this topic in the Reviews page, as that's no place for a tone discussion.

[SoonerMatt]

Originally Posted by bassolp

pedals ?? comon

you play bass right ??

Also, voted for the DLSv2.

[JBTucci]

Perseus please!

I'd love to A/B that with a Granny Puker at some point ...

[Eric!]

I know gnasher1993 loves a WIIO, and i've been curious on one for a while.

and the Perseus.

I like your review writing style.

[calebbarton]

Nice. Good review of a great company. They are just around the corner from us. Really nice guys.

[B_Y_O_Bass]

Thanks calebbarton.

don't worry, the F-bomb is on deck.

So many bassists are going to be wishing they had one of these green meenies!

here's a sneak:[ Chris Wolstenholme ]

now let's see how many fish this dynamite rustles up!