Others Feeling MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe?

[jufros]

I just got this pedal today and I can't stop playing around with it. I'm definitely into tube screamers on bass, and this is the best variant that I have ever tried.

The EQ controls are really powerful. There's a tone knob, but it doesn't function like a traditional one. Turning it counterclockwise from noon simultaneously cuts highs and boosts bass and vice versa. The tone is surprisingly very well tuned for bass. A minor turn to 11:00 will give you unity bass with no end loss and a little high end roll off that is very musical and very smooth.

It also has a mid knob that is equally sensitive. I gave mine a turn to about 2:00 and was astounded by the punch that I was getting. Noon will give you a transparent sound, so if you don't like the mid hump that most tube screamer clones have, this is really nice.

The character knob controls how much the overdrive effects your low end. More bass pedals should include this feature. It really helps you maintain clarity and note separation. I asked my non-musician friend who was over whether he liked OD A or B a few times when demoing pedals today, and he actually shyly commented that my notes didn't run together when I was using the Blue Boy, exactly what I wanted to hear.

The brightness knob is just that, and it's also really flexible. I was able to dial in a standard tube screamer tone, a darker tone, or a brighter tone very easily. 10:00 and 1:00 were, in my opinion, very tasteful settings.

The BBD is marketed as a low gain overdrive, but it has a lot more gain on tap than most tube screamers. 9:00 is extremely subtle, 10:00 is gritty, 11:00 is more pronounced, and 12:00 is a fantastic low gain sound with tons of sustain, a subtle zing, and plenty of clarity. I had perfect unity gain with gain and volume at 11:00.

I don't really see anyone talking about this pedal much here, so I was very hesitant to take the plunge on it. I use and love the MI Audio GI, and while I can set it for unity bass, I find it sounds better with more high end (same tone control as the BBD) and I just use it with a blender to get a huge gated fuzz sound.

But I borrowed my friend's Xotic BB, busted out the Sparkle Drive, Humphrey "Badder" Monkey, set the Gemini Drive for a low gain setting, and wound up falling in love with the low gain sounds that I got out of the BBD. I'm keeping the Gemini for higher gain OD but I'm extremely satisfied with this pedal. I'll try to record some clips the next time I head to the studio.

MI Audio is really putting out some quality products at very competitive prices. I now have two of their pedals on my board and have heard only excellent things about the Neo Fuzz.

[TheMutt]

Why does this title sound so dirty?

[dannybuoy]

Nice review, makes me wish I'd considered this option before splashing out on the BB! I'm pretty happy with the BB by the way, but this sounds like it could be even better!

[Smallequestrian]

I haven't heard any of the other MI Audio pedals, but based on my experience with the Neo Fuzz and reading about the others, they all seem to be very well thought out. The controls are very logical and effective.

I would be interested in comparing this one to my flipster.

[bongomania]

Must try one. TBH I'm generally turned off by "tilting" EQ's as described, where unity bass can only be achieved at the expense of highs, but sometimes it's best to roll the highs off an OD anyway.

[stflbn]

I had one for a week or so. It definitely had some decent sounds in it, but I didn't get the variety of sounds that I was hoping for. Everything I got out of it tended to sound like variations of the same overall tone. Just happened to be a tone that I wasn't needing at that time.

The EQ was flexible and versatile. From memory... seemed like the low end did seem to get a bit fluffy or non-distinct when boosted. I was using it with a J/MM config bass at that time that was fairly modern sounding.

[jufros]

Here's a really brief clip that I just threw together. Busy day but I'll do a much more comprehensive set of clips tomorrow or the next day. As you can see, the BBD is very articulate and can definitely do subtle.

I'm not using my main equipment but I can use it tomorrow. I just got my home USB interface in the mail so here ya go. I'm using an MIJ Ibanez SR800 with EMG P/J's and a BQC into a DIed Hartke 3500.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=972288

It's "bbd demo"

[Anarchyok]

I had a love hate relationship with the MI Audio Tubezone.

Loved the tone, loved the flexibility...

Hated the fact I could never get an even balance of volume across the strings on a 5er...

[jufros]

Another subtle one with the tone that I'm using regularly

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=972288

[jufros]

And one with more gain

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=972288

[jufros]

Bonus: BBD blended 50/50 with (GI Fuzz + Maxon AF-9) -> Boss CE-5

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...?bandID=972288