MXR M182 El Grande Bass Fuzz came in today!

[rustynuts]

Whew! Now this is some serious bass fuzz....It came in this afternoon and I've played around with it for about a half hour or so. Right now I like it set with tone maxed out and the fuzz at about 1 (or 7:00 as you look at it). Turn up the fuzz and it starts to get blatant, like rip-your-head-off-and-____-down-your-neck blatant.

The Deep switch adds a nice depth to the sound too (well, d'uh, right?). And this pedal pumps out the boost.

Best of all? TWO bright (very bright!) blue LEDs!

Love this pedal....

Also in today, a second HM-2. I've got it run out of the first HM-2 right now, playing around with them in series to see what happens.

Back to it!

[OptimusPrime]

Very cool. Pics? Care to compare it to the Blowtorch? Is it as buzz-saw-y?

[Darkstrike]

Rockin'

Subscription!

Question! Is it worth having both this and the Blowtorch?

[rustynuts]

Okay, I've set the bass down and set a few pedals occilating and now I'm back to add a few more thoughts. I'll get pics up in a few minutes.

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime

Very cool. Pics? Care to compare it to the Blowtorch? Is it as buzz-saw-y?

It's not nearly as buzz-saw-y. The El Grande has an overall darker sound to it than the Blow Torch, similar to turning the torch switch off on the Blow Torch, especially with the mid shift set at 2K.

The Blow Torch is, obviously, capable of a lot more tonal possibilities than the El Grande but the M182 is sooooo easy to dial in on a great tone. It took all of a second and a half to find one I was happy with.

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Question! Is it worth having both this and the Blowtorch?

I think so. They're different enough that I'm going to keep both. I like the bright, brilliant, "buzz saw" fuzz that the BlowTorch is capable of and I also like the down and dirty, darker output of the El Grande.

If I had to choose one and only one of them, it would be the BT, only because it offers more. If all you want is a deep bass fuzz then the El Grande would be the one to get.

Now, if you want truly ****ed up noise, plug your bass into a Bass Drive -> Boss HM-2 -> second HM-2 -> Cream Pie -> Blowtorch -> El Grande -> SVT III Pro. I almost had to change my clothes!



Pics in a minute. Be back.

[OptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

Now, if you want truly ****ed up noise, plug your bass into a Bass Drive -> Boss HM-2 -> second HM-2 -> Cream Pie -> Blowtorch -> El Grande -> SVT III Pro. I almost had to change my clothes!

Haha! I'll have to try that with a Bass-Drive, Blowtorch, Bluebeard and Hematoma at the end of the month.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

I think so. They're different enough that I'm going to keep both. I like the bright, brilliant, "buzz saw" fuzz that the BlowTorch is capable of and I also like the down and dirty, darker output of the El Grande.

If I had to choose one and only one of them, it would be the BT, only because it offers more. If all you want is a deep bass fuzz then the El Grande would be the one to get.

Thats all I need to know, its on my shopping list! Be sweet to have a darker fuzz as an option, for heavy sludge asaults. I love my Torch, so I was hoping this would be different enough.

Originally Posted by rustynuts

Now, if you want truly ****ed up noise, plug your bass into a Bass Drive -> Boss HM-2 -> second HM-2 -> Cream Pie -> Blowtorch -> El Grande -> SVT III Pro. I almost had to change my clothes!

Now that sounds like fun, gotta crank the amp though, every little counts!

[rustynuts]

This is how it looks:



And this is how it sounds:



I need to totally redo my board....But I'm going to wait until I get a few more of these pedals in. I love being able to switch between the various dirt pedals. Deep dark sounds for one passage, bright and cheery ( ) for the next.

[OptimusPrime]

You sure do like bright fuzz, all your tone knobs are cranked.

[rustynuts]

Nah, not really. I was just tweaking when I took the pic, seeing what I could drive through the speakers. I do like the tone cranked on the El Grande though, lower settings are a bit too muddy for my taste.

I am, after all, a retired thirty year guitard.

[Mark Olson]

Would you say the El Grande is a muff clone? They did say it was based on a classic 70's fuzz circuit...

[rustynuts]

Mark, I'm probably not the best one to ask that since I've not plugged into a Muff with a bass yet. I played through an early muff on a guitar years ago but passing time and a different instrument doesn't make for a good comparison.

[Valerus]

I want to try one

[OptimusPrime]

Man ... now I can't decide if I should order a Blowtorch again or if I should order one of these. Damn. I guess my darker fuzz tones will be taken care of by the Bluebeard. I guess I'll re-buy another Blowtorch. But I'm thinking that a Hematoma and El Grande might be a nice pairing. Hmmm ... I have some thinking to do before I decide which are the last 2 pedals I buy for a LONG time. Hematoma and Blowtorch? Or Hematoma and El Grande?

[rustynuts]

If you liked the darker side of the Blowtorch, get the El Grande.

[Valerus]

Hema and Grande

[rustynuts]

Great....Now you've got me thinking about the Hema again.

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

Great....Now you've got me thinking about the Hema again.

Okay, buy the Hema and sell me the Grande.

[rustynuts]

Originally Posted by Valerus

Okay, buy the Hema and sell me the Grande.

Oh, hell no!

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

Oh, hell no!

It's that good?

I might try it out. But I do have a Little Big Muff and an Electronix MessDrive Hybrid

[rustynuts]

I'm really happy with it. Then again, I love my blowtorch too. I should try the Hybrid +, it's cheap enough. I'd also like to try the new Bass muff when it comes out to see how it compares.