Hematoma or Blowtorch

[Bassbasixx]

Ok I did a search but have not seen these two in a back to back shoot out. They both look pretty good can someone give me the pros and cons?I already have a sans amp bass driver Di that I have set at the svt setting that I use just for tone on all the time and love it, but I want a little more grit and boost to blend in with the tone I already have, not full blown distortion or chainsaw to fatten up things during guitar solos. I do know the blowtorch is true bypass and has a blend control which I here is the way to go with effects is the Hematoma true bypass as well with blend? I don't like a lot of high end and nothing muddy or muffled sounding I play hard rock and tune down. I have a Hartke Ha 5500 paired with a Avatar 2x10 and 1x12 horns disconnected. I have no access to try the Hematoma. GC only has the Blowtorch that I will test out when I get the chance. opinions wanted from those who have tried either or both help a brother out thanks

[eyvindwa]

I tune to low G, play progressive death metal, and love my blowtorch! It can be subtle with the right use of the blend, and does not sound muddy at all. Can be quite buzzy though. Also, I have found that it reacts very differently to different basses, so try one out if you can! Never tried the hematoma.

[TheMutt]

The Hematoma has true-bypass, but no blend. Plenty of gain on this thing for crazier sounds bordering fuzzy annihilation. There is some low end loss that I have noticed in certain settings, but the eq shift switch means that there are a large range of tones, most of which are useable (from pure mud, to warm and mellow, to biting and trebly). I've never tried a Blowtorch, but as far as overdrive, my need is fulfilled.

[OptimusPrime]

Dude ... I had to make that same decision a little while ago. In fact, I have a thread about each.

Blowtorch:
Blowtorch for OD?

Hematoma:
Homebrew Hematoma

I went with the Blowtorch. But am seriously considering buying the Hematoma too.

[kevteop]

I've got the Blowtorch. Basically it's this: The on-board EQ with the 3-position midrange boost and the blend pot mean you can tailor your distorted sound quite a lot, which is great - this is a genuinely useful distortion pedal and they've obviously thought about it quite a lot.

On the downside: It really has no voice of its own. It sounds totally generic.

I suppose it trades off being tame enough (I mean you can get a lot of distortion, but it never sounds out of control) to stack well with other pedals, against being boring-sounding on its own.

I still use my big muff more.

[Geddyfleaharris]

Originally Posted by kevteop

On the downside: It really has no voice of its own. It sounds totally generic.

I still use my big muff more.

I agree with both of the above poster's comments. I am in the same boat. I have both on my board. I use the Blowtorch when I want something subtle during a song but when it is time to go over the top.........I stomp on my LBM.

The Blowtorch is a good, solid pedal. IMO it is very synthy or digital sounding. I have never tried the Hematoma.

[plasson]

I own both.
The Blow Torch is a GREAT fuzz with no lowend loss at all.
The only way I use the Hematoma for is with the Whammy doing high pich stuff. It does looses a lot of low frequencies in some settings.
I wouldn't have even bought it if HBE didn't present it to me (I won the sample contest).
Anyway, it's great for what I use it for (whammy stuff...) and is very silent... But I would nevere spend 160€ for this unit...

[zongeek]

Originally Posted by TheMutt

The Hematoma has true-bypass, but no blend. Plenty of gain on this thing for crazier sounds bordering fuzzy annihilation. There is some low end loss that I have noticed in certain settings, but the eq shift switch means that there are a large range of tones, most of which are useable (from pure mud, to warm and mellow, to biting and trebly). I've never tried a Blowtorch, but as far as overdrive, my need is fulfilled.

I agree with everything he said. I haven't tried the Blowtorch either.

I also had a Burr Brown chip put in my Hematoma which smooths stuff out a little bit. But the range of sound in this little box is amazing and the boost function helps a lot also for pushing it.

[Mark Olson]

I've owned them both and I can assure you that the Blowtorch and the Hematoma are vastly different pedals. The Blowtorch is generally more of a synthy fuzz while the Hematoma is more like a warm overdrive/distortion.

Just something to think about: I found that no matter where I set my Sansamp (even bass and treble at zero) it had a very mid-scooped sound. The Blowtorch is a very mid focused pedal, and people claim the Hematoma is based on a Tubescreamer although I don't know if it is true. That would also make the Hematoma a very middy pedal. Running them through a sansamp has the potential to cut out the focus of either of those pedals. If you intend to run them through the Sansamp, maybe you'd want to think about a pedal that's not as focused in the mids?

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by kevteop

On the downside: It really has no voice of its own. It sounds totally generic.

I've used enough fuzz pedals to know that the Blowtorch sounds very little like any fuzz pedal on the market. It's one of the most UNIQUE pedals I've used.

Not sure where you got "generic" from... technically, the Big Muff is the definitive "generic" fuzz (although it sounds damn good ).

Also... I wouldn't pit the Hematoma and Blowtorch against each other, as they're in two different "classes" of distortion. The Hematoma is an overdrive pedal at heart, and the Blowtorch is not. They don't sound like each other at all.

I've tried to get overdrive sounds out of the Blowtorch, and it simply doesn't respond like one. It responds like a fuzz pedal.

What makes it unique among fuzz pedals are its "synthy" and "buzzsaw" fuzz tones. I really wouldn't call it "grind", because when I think of "grind", I think of overdrive with the treble boosted.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

I've used enough fuzz pedals to know that the Blowtorch sounds very little like any fuzz pedal on the market. It's one of the most UNIQUE pedals I've used.

Not sure where you got "generic" from... technically, the Big Muff is the definitive "generic" fuzz (although it sounds damn good ).

Also... I wouldn't pit the Hematoma and Blowtorch against each other, as they're in two different "classes" of distortion. The Hematoma is an overdrive pedal at heart, and the Blowtorch is not. They don't sound like each other at all.

I've tried to get overdrive sounds out of the Blowtorch, and it simply doesn't respond like one. It responds like a fuzz pedal.

What makes it unique among fuzz pedals are its "synthy" and "buzzsaw" fuzz tones. I really wouldn't call it "grind", because when I think of "grind", I think of overdrive with the treble boosted.

Can you give me your buzzsaw settings? If I turn the treble or gain past 10 o'clock it gets to fuzzy/fizzy in the highs. I want a low buzzsaw not a high buzzsaw.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

Can you give me your buzzsaw settings? If I turn the treble or gain past 10 o'clock it gets to fuzzy/fizzy in the highs. I want a low buzzsaw not a high buzzsaw.

Don't crank the treble - in fact, you may want to cut some. Instead, try setting the midrange to 2KHz and boosting that.

Then, mess around with the blend and gain. See what you think of it and let me know.

For best results, IMO, the blend should be above 1:00 (how much above is up to you), the Torch switch should be on, and the gain should be fairly high.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Don't crank the treble - in fact, you may want to cut some. Instead, try setting the midrange to 2KHz and boosting that.

Then, mess around with the blend and gain. See what you think of it and let me know.

I have the bass at 1, mid at 2, treble at 10 and gain and blend at 2 normally. So if I set the mid freq switch at 2KHz and crank the mids some more it should be less fizzy?

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

I've tried to get overdrive sounds out of the Blowtorch, and it simply doesn't respond like one. It responds like a fuzz pedal.

Try this, gets me a fair overdrive sound -
Vol, 8:30
Bass, 2:00
Mid, 3:00
Treble, 1:00
Blend, 1:00
Gain, 3:00
Torch, OFF
Mid Shift, 2KHz.

Let me know how that works out Mystic.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Try this, gets me a fair overdrive sound -
Vol, 8:30
Bass, 2:00
Mid, 3:00
Treble, 1:00
Blend, 1:00
Gain, 3:00
Torch, OFF
Mid Shift, 2KHz.

Let me know how that works out Mystic.

Just tried that. Got some better results with

Vol, 9
Bass, 1
Mid, 3
Treble, 12
Blend, 12
Gain, 3
Torch, OFF
Mid Shift, 2KHz

You could hear the fuzz in the highs with the treble and blend set the way you had it.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

Just tried that. Got some better results with

Vol, 9
Bass, 1
Mid, 3
Treble, 12
Blend, 12
Gain, 3
Torch, OFF
Mid Shift, 2KHz

You could hear the fuzz in the highs with the treble and blend set the way you had it.

Oh sorry, that was for a overdrive sound, always works for me, but I play with the neck pickup.


I would also assume it depends on the way your amps set.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Oh sorry, that was for a overdrive sound, always works for me, but I play with the neck pickup.


I would also assume it depends on the way your amps set.

I know that was for overdrive. I was just saying you could hear the fuzz in the highs to much. But I play with the bridge pickup.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

I know that was for overdrive. I was just saying you could hear the fuzz in the highs to much. But I play with the bridge pickup.

Try dropping the mid's or the gain a little then, I'll mess with it later too.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

I've used enough fuzz pedals to know that the Blowtorch sounds very little like any fuzz pedal on the market. It's one of the most UNIQUE pedals I've used.

Not sure where you got "generic" from... technically, the Big Muff is the definitive "generic" fuzz (although it sounds damn good ).

You know, I could get tired of you and your fancy logic-based reasoning.

I'm not feeling very fluent today, but I meant that the Blowtorch - to me - sounds like a distortion you might find bundled into an old guitar practice amp or multi-FX. It just doesn't sound sweet enough somehow - it's strangely transparent-sounding, even with all the gain happening.

[Mark Olson]

As someone who's owned a lot of overdrives and fuzz pedals, I have to say the Blowtorch responds to the way you play like a fuzz, not really at all like an overdrive. I also don't think it sounds very much like an overdrive either.