Dredge-Tone Angler

nad · #1 02-09-2009, 06:45 PM

Angler bypassed
Angler 1
Angler 2
Angler 3
Angler 4

Samples recorded using a passive j-bass with both pickups and tone knobs on full, straight to the board. When this pedal arrived (after years of searching), I was expecting a warm, low gain overdrive with a lot of dynamic sensitivity. It certainly does that, and can range from thumpy to bright with barely a hint of dirt for good measure. What I did not expect was a grindy, aggressive beast of a distortion box. On high Dredge and Tone settings, this pedal is flat out mean. Just to make sure my hearing wasn't off, I compared it to a Rat clone, and even on that pedal's raunchiest settings, the Angler can easily get much more aggressive. Oddly enough, it does not have a lot of gain on tap, the aggression comes from the treble character of the distortion rather than endless layers of saturation. It also retains a lot of low end on most Tone settings, and not in any artificial way that I can hear. The bypass is very good, run in front of a long pedal chain it keeps nearly all of the original tone intact, something I can't say about my usual signal path.

I have two rehearsals, one recording session, and a gig this week to get to know this pedal in a band situation, and I'll update the thread accordingly. Given its very aggressive presence with certain settings, I'm thinking it will do quite well in a mix.

bass-shy · #2 02-09-2009, 07:08 PM

Nice clips! I guess the tone in those clips is why the Angler is so highly sought after. To me, the distortion character of the Angler sounds a lot like the clips I have heard of the Hematoma. As someone who has owned both, how do you think the two compare tonally?

whoatherechunk · #3 02-09-2009, 07:10 PM

you are a sick man nad.

nad · #4 02-09-2009, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bass-shy

Nice clips! I guess the tone in those clips is why the Angler is so highly sought after. To me, the distortion character of the Angler sounds a lot like the clips I have heard of the Hematoma. As someone who has owned both, how do you think the two compare tonally?

Pretty different pedals really. The Hematoma is a medium to high gain, mid-focused pedal with a good bit of treble rolloff that can get pretty dark, and the Angler is a very biting, low gain unit. The Angler can get dark on lower Tone settings though, there could be some similarities there. It has been some time since I've used a Hematoma though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

you are a sick man nad.

Distinct possibility.

excane · #5 02-09-2009, 07:35 PM

Sweet! Love it.

excane · #6 02-09-2009, 07:36 PM

I love the hint of fuzz it has on the higher settings....

Thanks for adding fuel to my angler-search fire

Jared Lash · #7 02-09-2009, 07:37 PM

Hmm, different people hear different things I guess. To me the Angler doesn't sound like a Hematoma so much as it does a Blueberry but with the "center" frequency of the dirt shifted up higher.

I loved the fat, bassy dirt of the BBOD but I bet the Angler cuts through the mix a whole lot better.

Nice clips.

Jared Lash · #8 02-09-2009, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excane

I love the hint of fuzz it has on the higher settings....

Thanks for adding fuel to my angler-search fire

Who knows when (or even if at this point) they'll be finished, but there's a second generation of Anglers on the way. Email John Joseph to get on the list.

excane · #9 02-09-2009, 07:41 PM

I love my Hematoma (never tried a BBOD) but the main reason I took the Hema off the board was it was just too dark (as Nad said as well) to cut through with my band situation.
Doesn't mean there's anything negative about the pedal, it's just voiced very differently than what I hear from the dredge-tone.

excane · #10 02-09-2009, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

Email John Joseph to get on the list.

Preaching to the choir....I contacted him many moons ago

Bruno89 · #11 02-09-2009, 08:25 PM

Heh, thanks for this, just last night I was looking for soundsamples and now this. Gonna listen to it now, really interested how it sounds.

OhThePeacock · #12 02-09-2009, 08:29 PM

Every time I see clips of this pop up I want one more and more.

One day I swear I'll have one.

SnakeAnthony · #13 02-09-2009, 09:45 PM

No one else has technically said it...

First dibs if this thing ever leaves you.

katri · #14 02-10-2009, 01:38 AM

Thanks Nad, you've just made my wait on the list for the new one a little bit more agonising

**5stringwonder** · #15 02-10-2009, 06:28 AM

Arrrgghhh...wonder if he'll ever finish the next batch...seems like I've been on the list forever...

SnakeAnthony · #16 02-10-2009, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5stringwonder

Arrrgghhh...wonder if he'll ever finish the next batch...seems like I've been on the list forever...

Been more than a year for me now.

Max Roberts · #17 02-10-2009, 10:51 AM

Where did you find yours? I couldn't believe it when Toasted offered me his. It was a dream come true

The BurgerMeister · #18 02-10-2009, 11:52 AM

i love the 2nd and 3rd clips and hated the last two... but it's good to know the angler can make those sounds. thanks for the well-rounded collection of clips, nad!

nad · #19 02-10-2009, 10:34 PM

Okay, I've now tried this in a band situation, and I can easily say that this is the best distortion pedal I have ever used. It does not get buried in a loud rock mix at all. These samples do not do the pedal justice, frankly even at home through my amp the sound doesn't really WOW me, but I thought that in a mix it had the potential to sound amazing. It does. Turns my bass into a snarling death beast of death. I am very pleased.

Oh yeah, I got it on eBay.

nad · #20 02-11-2009, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

To me the Angler doesn't sound like a Hematoma so much as it does a Blueberry but with the "center" frequency of the dirt shifted up higher.

I loved the fat, bassy dirt of the BBOD but I bet the Angler cuts through the mix a whole lot better.

Okay I've tried to respond to this about three times now, and have failed with each attempt. Reason being is that because while I agree that it is similar to a Blue Berry, as you say just with a different center dirt frequency, at the same time the two pedals are worlds apart when it comes to, well, everything. Including that. Which doesn't make sense, hence the multiple failed attempts to respond in terms that are clear even to me as I edit my own words, let alone to anyone else reading this post.

I suppose that both pedals do the whole organic sounding overdrive thing very well, although they achieve very different goals. To my knowledge there really is nothing else out there like a Blue Berry, other than the gooey amps driven to the brink of power tube madness that it emulates of course. Alone, much like those cranked tube amps, the sound is to die for. In a mix, not so much. I was never happy with the Blue Berry in a band situation unless I was creating a Wall-O-Sound, and the same is true for a variety of tube amps I've owned. Of course that is the glory of the Blue Berry really, you get all that wonderful, warmed up, raging tube sound at the flick of a switch. The Angler's drive, when cranked, is not warm at all. Consequently it doesn't sound too great when alone, but in a mix it works extremely well. Since my tonal goals generally involve cutting through a mix rather than blending together, the Angler is a much better fit for me. Of course, having one of each would certainly cover a vast range of the distortion spectrum.