Fulltone Fatboost V3 is killer!

Crabby · #1 06-30-2009, 10:24 AM

I picked up one of these last night and am really liking it so far. I have been on a bit of a mission lately replacing pretty much everything on my board. The Fulltone Bassdrive has been officially replaced with a Version 4 OCD. As the OCD is much smaller I had some room and thought the Fatboost might be a nice pedal to have.

First off, its amazingly quiet even with a hefty boost in volume. It can be set to simply boost without changing the overall tone and I was amazed how well this worked.

I don't have much need to actually have a volume boost and really wanted this pedal to use either as an "alway on" tool to keep my signal to the amp nice and hot, or possibly as a very mild warm overdrive.

Well my friends, I can tell you the Fatboost works splendidly in either application. With the gain set to higher settings the Fatboost provides a very nice warm mild overdrive that sounds fabulous. The treble control is cut only and it sounds fantastic no matter where its set. The overdrive is more present with the treble cranked but the pedal gets so warm and smooth with the treble backed off.

The bass control is flat at 12 noon and has a nice range. Just turning it up a little provides a nice low end boost that i have to describe as "fat". Its not the same as turning up the bass control on my Stingray's preamp. The Ray's bass control is tuned very deep whereas the Fatboost's low end seems to incorporate some low mids as well. Its very pleasing.

I tried the pedal out in various positions on the pedalboard and preferred it just before the OCD but after my Compressor. The Fatboost into the OCD pushed the OCD harder and everything just gets warmer with more smooth overdrive.

The Fatboost is not fizzy or gritty to my ears but warm and smooth. It can give you a very tube like slight breakup or can be a very clean boost with very nice eq capabilities.

The pedal is built amazingly well and looks fantastic. I am so delighted as the OCD and Fatboost together are so much more usable then my Bassdrive was and they sound so good.

The two pedals on at once provide less noise then the Bassdrive did at higher gain settings.

I have raved already about how much better the OCD sounds then the Bassdrive. The Fatboost is a perfect companion to the OCD and I can see both of these pedals getting a lot of use.

CElton · #2 06-30-2009, 10:51 AM

Thanks for this. I've been eyeing this pedal too. I want to use it as an always on with my SR5 in front of my JDI for IEM gigs for just a little extra or added warmth. Sounds like the direction I need to go.

RDUB · #3 06-30-2009, 11:37 AM

Cool... I've been marginally pleased with my Bassdrive, and I've messed around with my guitarist's OCD in the past. I hadn't heard about the changes. I'll be checking out Fulltone's site today!

Gyoon · #4 06-30-2009, 11:43 AM

How does this pedal work as a compressor? On the website it mentions briefly that it has this capability.

Glenn

Crabby · #5 06-30-2009, 01:37 PM

I use a Diamond compressor and it certainly does a better job of compressing but I can see how the Fatboost would provide a bit of compression with the gain set higher. I wondered briefly if the Fatboost would be redundant having a nice comp already that's pretty much always on, but the Fatboost is completely different and for me will be used for things other then compression.

I was prepared to return the Fatboost if I found I just didn't need it, but I am amazed at how much I can do with it and the different tones it can produce. Its quite versatile and really sounds good no matter how its set.

Crabby · #6 06-30-2009, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CElton

Thanks for this. I've been eyeing this pedal too. I want to use it as an always on with my SR5 in front of my JDI for IEM gigs for just a little extra or added warmth. Sounds like the direction I need to go.

I was using my SR5 with the Fatboost and it sounded really nice.

bongomania · #7 06-30-2009, 09:01 PM

The Fatboost provides only a very subtle compression--enough to thicken the sound somewhat but not enough to regulate peaks in any useful way.

That's not a dis, by the way, the Fatboost is a great pedal.

cybersnyder · #8 06-30-2009, 09:36 PM

Yeah, I like the FatBoost too. I ended up taking the OCD back and got a FatBoost. The OCD is nice, but I just have little use for the distortion portion of the drive. Think the Fat Boost will suit me better. The kids are in bed so I couldn't crank things up tonight, but what I heard was pleasing to me. Gotta give it thumbs up so far, but I'm still in the honeymoon phase.

Crabby · #9 07-01-2009, 09:35 AM

I'm suprised you didn't keep the OCD but I could see the Fatboost being all you need for a very light warm overdrive. I am keeping the pair as a replacement for my Bassdrive. They take up the same space on my pedal board but offer so much better tones.

ArduaVinco · #10 07-01-2009, 03:38 PM

I'm runnin' a FB-2 in with my Depth Charge, and it kills. The Boost adds nice, dynamic drive at higher gain settings, while the Charge adds the full-out grind when I need it. Great combo.

cybersnyder · #11 07-01-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crabby

I'm suprised you didn't keep the OCD but I could see the Fatboost being all you need for a very light warm overdrive. I am keeping the pair as a replacement for my Bassdrive. They take up the same space on my pedal board but offer so much better tones.

The FatBoost does exactly what I want. I was running the OCD only at very low drive settings. It did sound good, but nowhere near as good the FatBoost to my ears. Quoting KJung, IMO and IME.

Crabby · #12 07-01-2009, 08:59 PM

I can see the Fatboost becomming a very popular pedal. I am so impressed with how simple yet versatile it is.

shakerattleroll · #13 07-01-2009, 10:06 PM

I'm gonna have to add one of these to the collection...actually, probably a Fat-Boost and an OCD.

SnakeAnthony · #14 07-01-2009, 10:36 PM

I've been planning on replacing my OCD with a Greedtone OD, but perhaps I need to try out a v3 in front of my OCD first. I loved v1, but absolutely hated v2, so I'm unsure, but this review gives me hope.

Crabby · #15 07-02-2009, 12:15 AM

What did you hate about V2? The store where I bought my V3 had a brand new V2 sitting next to it and it was actually about $15 more. It looked nice with the red paint job but I didn't even try it based on the info I had read about V2 being nowhere near as good as V1.

bongomania · #16 07-02-2009, 12:17 AM

I'm surprised by such strong feelings about V1 vs. V2. I owned both, at the same time, and they sounded nearly identical to me. The only difference was in the knob layout and the range of control per knob turn.

Crabby · #17 07-02-2009, 12:20 AM

now im curious to a/b V3 against V2!

SnakeAnthony · #18 07-02-2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

I'm surprised by such strong feelings about V1 vs. V2. I owned both, at the same time, and they sounded nearly identical to me. The only difference was in the knob layout and the range of control per knob turn.

The EQ felt really artificial on the v2 to my ears. Boosting the bass always left my tone feeling loose instead of powerful. I didn't get a wide range of boost out of it, and I could never get it as dirty as the v1. Nothing about it sounded even passable to my ears, at least as far as bass was concerned.

Then again, these were just my ears. So, you know...