| MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz Review
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I decided to buy the El Grande after watching the youtube review by the "Bass Whisperer". One of the things he says about the pedal is "that El Grande, she's a hot one" and I gotta tell you, he speaks the truth. This pedal is HOT. I think it must be powered by depleted uranium or something, because it pours out searing hot liquid magma fuzz with barely a nudge of the controls. So let's break it down:
CONTROLS:
El Grande has your three basic controls - volume, tone, and fuzz - you can guess what each of them do. It also has a "deep" button, and some tweakable controls on the circuit allowing you to add or subtract 15db at either 87Hz or 113Hz (those controls are activated by switching the "deep" button ON). I would recommend against selecting the 113Hz setting, as it really muddies up the tone with the 15db boost.
SOUND:
As I said, this puppy is HOT. Unity is easily achieved with the volume knob no higher than 9:00 - turning it past 12:00 will result in your ears literally catching on fire. Tone-wise, I like keeping it around 2:00-3:00 so I can get access to those treble frequencies that cut through the mix so pleasingly. Even at that setting, your deeper frequencies remain fairly intact, but you can always hit the "deep" button if you feel you are losing them. For the fuzz setting, I keep it real low - 7:00 or 8:00 - and even still the fuzz is extremely aggressive. Again, I only recommend turning the knob past 12:00 if you are a fan of spontaneous combustion.
When I first tried this pedal out, I was running it DI into my computer via garageband and then out thru headphones, and I was very unimpressed with the tone. I thought it was flat and muddy. It wasn't until I went to band rehearsal and played it through my amp that I got to really hear it's true potential. Every time I hit the switch everybody in the room immediately focused on me with slack-jawed, dumbfounded grins on their faces. It cuts through the mix like an alien's acid spittle through the hull of a space ship.
CONSTRUCTION / DESIGN:
El Grande is your basic pedal design, and it's well enough constructed. Not inspiring in it's beauty, but also not falling apart in your hands. The knobs turn a bit too easily for my taste - I find sometimes that in stomping the switch I accidentally adjust the volume and fuzz knobs. Other than that it's nicely compact and won't take up too much space on your board. Bypass is true bypass, which is nice.
SUMMARY:
If you want just a standard fuzz, one with the capacity for subtlety and nuance, you should go elsewhere. El Grande is an out of control, balls to the wall nutjob of a fuzz pedal. If it were a person it would be condemned to a maximum security psych ward. It's loud, aggressive, harsh, intense, heavy, and just plain mean. It's definitely not for everybody, but I really love it.
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