The original or a clone?

OriginalCrash · #1 04-15-2009, 10:12 PM

Which do you prefer, simple as that... Feel free to share why.

Brian

whoatherechunk · #2 04-15-2009, 10:18 PM

i'm interested to see the results. i haven't played any of these!

rcubed · #3 04-15-2009, 10:38 PM

This reminds me that I need to build my clone. I'm missing a couple of parts I need to order.

**TheMutt** · #4 04-15-2009, 11:07 PM

Personally, I'm loving my Barge Concepts Grinder. I'd love to say that I could compare it to the other three, but I must confess that I have not had the luxury to try any of the others.

I would say that the Groove Regulator definitely wins in the cheapest (about $200), smallest footprint, and easiest to set.

As far as I can tell, the Meatwad is a very faithful clone and comes in at around $300.

The Grinder is the most expensive clone at $400, but has a lot of extra features.

Of course, there's also the original Meatball which is upwards of $500.

I guess it really comes down to what features that you want, and how much you want to spend on it.

markjazzbassist · #5 04-15-2009, 11:11 PM

never tried the others, but have owned 3 meatballs. loved all of them (except for the broke one). i've found that my Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II is in the same league of tone. Versatility is different, but the tone is there.

bold statement i know. but my want for another meatball has been put to rest for now.

**TheMutt** · #6 04-15-2009, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

never tried the others, but have owned 3 meatballs. loved all of them (except for the broke one). i've found that my Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II is in the same league of tone. Versatility is different, but the tone is there.

bold statement i know. but my want for another meatball has been put to rest for now.

SHOCK!!!

I had a 00Funk Mk. I, but it was so long back that I don't remember how it sounded. I'd love to hear some comparison clips, but I don't think anyone has both pedals.

Joe Gress · #7 04-15-2009, 11:53 PM

As someone who has always wanted to try one or all of these, this thread is interesting. Has anyone who has tried all or more than one of these, do they all kinda have the same inherent tone?

kevteop · #8 04-16-2009, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMutt

Personally, I'm loving my Barge Concepts Grinder. I'd love to say that I could compare it to the other three, but I must confess that I have not had the luxury to try any of the others.

Same here. I love my Meatwad but I've never compared it to the others, so I'm not voting.

The main reason I went for the Meatwad was because Mario was very positive about the custom stuff I asked for.

fightthepower · #9 04-16-2009, 06:24 AM

I love the Grinder and my vote goes toward it for a few reasons. It's a full clone of the meatball with upgraded high quality parts (ie buffered effects loop and tb pop suppression) in a smaller package and only one that retains all of the features of the original. The build quality is excellent and operation is dead quiet. The 3leaf is missing some controls that I want in a filter and the Robot Factory stuff I've seen has paled in comparison to the build quality of the Grinder. The Meatball is pretty damn cool but I'll take the smaller size, mild improvements, availability and lower price of the Grinder.

I wish there were more filters with the same level of control to choose from.

markjazzbassist · #10 04-16-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

I wish there were more filters with the same level of control to choose from.

you say that now.....

seriously though that's the thing that got me on the meatball. endless tweaking to find "the tone". after months of so much tweaking i just sold mine and got a vintage mutron iii. the "plug and play" filter. from one extreme to the other

CliffD · #11 04-16-2009, 08:40 AM

I can't really comment on all of them as I've only played a Grinder, which I've had for about a month now and absolutely love it. Basically for all the reasons that ftp stated, it's the only complete clone with needed improvements in certain areas and is still pretty small. It takes a lot of work the get to know the pedal but once you do it sounds great. If I had to pick a second form the list I'd go for the 3LGR as I've heard nothing but rave remarks and its build quality along with the Grinder's seems far and away much better than the robot factory.

Edit: Oh and to add to Mark's comments about the Chunk A00FMII, I'll be able to comment later once mine arrives today.

**grygrx** · #12 04-16-2009, 08:47 AM

I've tried the meatball and the grinder. I think the grinder was better in almost every way (no diss to the lovetone... it was there first), but in direct compare the grinder felt like a very loving and faithful clone with some of the little rough edges cleaned up.

That said, both pedals are too complicated for me to deal with. I find myself overwhelmed into inaction when faced with that many choices. I'd be curious to give the groove regulator a try for that reason.

**TheMutt** · #13 04-16-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

you say that now.....

seriously though that's the thing that got me on the meatball. endless tweaking to find "the tone". after months of so much tweaking i just sold mine and got a vintage mutron iii. the "plug and play" filter. from one extreme to the other

How come you always get the awesome vintage/discontinued gear that I have to get the clones of because the read deal is too expensive?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CliffD

Edit: Oh and to add to Mark's comments about the Chunk A00FMII, I'll be able to comment later once mine arrives today.

I await your sound clips with bated breath good sir!

markjazzbassist · #14 04-16-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CliffD

Edit: Oh and to add to Mark's comments about the Chunk A00FMII, I'll be able to comment later once mine arrives today.

looking forward to what you thinking cliff. i can give you some good preliminary "meatball"esque tones to start from.

pitch - 9'oclock to 11 o'clock. (nice range for bass)
smooth - noon
sweep - noon
squelch - noon and up (the more you dial in the more bubbly it gets which to me IS the meatball, that bubbly up filter)

if it gets to bubbly and not thick enough, turn up the smooth just a tad to smooth it out.

RCCollins · #15 04-16-2009, 10:53 AM

the layout of the og meatball seems to make the most sense

Jared Lash · #16 04-16-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCCollins

the layout of the og meatball seems to make the most sense

I'd agree with that. You aren't going to get too much real response in this thread because most people haven't tried more than one. And I doubt there's anyone on TB that has tried all four.

Personally, I've only tried the Lovetone. Fantastic, but I never would have bought one because it's too hard to set live. I assume (and it sounds like grygrx can confirm) that the Grinder is basically a higher quality version. And while $400 sounds like a lot, it IS still cheaper than the real deal. The Groove Regulator looks nice and I like the idea (cheaper, simpler, smaller Meatball) but a couple of the controls they removed are ones I really wish they would have kept.

Mark, cool to hear that you are digging the 00Funk. I decided to keep mine too.

CliffD · #17 04-16-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

looking forward to what you thinking cliff. i can give you some good preliminary "meatball"esque tones to start from.

pitch - 9'oclock to 11 o'clock. (nice range for bass)
smooth - noon
sweep - noon
squelch - noon and up (the more you dial in the more bubbly it gets which to me IS the meatball, that bubbly up filter)

if it gets to bubbly and not thick enough, turn up the smooth just a tad to smooth it out.

Gracias!

fightthepower · #18 04-17-2009, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

you say that now.....

seriously though that's the thing that got me on the meatball. endless tweaking to find "the tone". after months of so much tweaking i just sold mine and got a vintage mutron iii. the "plug and play" filter. from one extreme to the other

Hehe, I'm actually very comfortable with the Grinder now and can eyeball tones in a matter of seconds, including switching between hp/bp/lp as the controls are quite intuitive and don't need much adjustment when switching between pass modes and up/down filtering. Well done plug&play pedals certainly have their merit, but for the types of tones Im making, Im using filters a lot for shaping and modulating and really need the control over the envelope and ability to turn it off and modulate with exp. CV input is also becoming a prerequisite for new purchases; with the induction of the mp201 my tones are becoming more complex and dynamic, and I'm able to get more use of the CV pedals (grinder included) because I can program patches with it and recall them without having to bend down and touch as many/any knobs. Ive already removed pedals off my board that have become redundant due to the mp201's versatility. My rig is getting more modular and decidedly less plug&play, and I love it!

I'm still very much in the learning/experimenting stage, so having the hands-on versatility with pedals like the Grinder has allowed me to really learn the fundamentals and physics of signal processing. The ability to control the envelope level, patch in lfo's, control attack and decay, etc has taught me the relation of filters, envelopes, lfo's, etc in a way that I can really apply to other effects and synthesizing sounds in general.

RCCollins · #19 04-17-2009, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

Hehe, I'm actually very comfortable with the Grinder now and can eyeball tones in a matter of seconds, including switching between hp/bp/lp as the controls are quite intuitive and don't need much adjustment when switching between pass modes and up/down filtering. Well done plug&play pedals certainly have their merit, but for the types of tones Im making, Im using filters a lot for shaping and modulating and really need the control over the envelope and ability to turn it off and modulate with exp. CV input is also becoming a prerequisite for new purchases; with the induction of the mp201 my tones are becoming more complex and dynamic, and I'm able to get more use of the CV pedals (grinder included) because I can program patches with it and recall them without having to bend down and touch as many/any knobs. Ive already removed pedals off my board that have become redundant due to the mp201's versatility. My rig is getting more modular and decidedly less plug&play, and I love it!

I'm still very much in the learning/experimenting stage, so having the hands-on versatility with pedals like the Grinder has allowed me to really learn the fundamentals and physics of signal processing. The ability to control the envelope level, patch in lfo's, control attack and decay, etc has taught me the relation of filters, envelopes, lfo's, etc in a way that I can really apply to other effects and synthesizing sounds in general.

OK... so CLIPS PLEASE. it seems as if you're now doing more synthesis than most keyboard players!