This is a review of Uncle Ernie's BassDriver -
www.uncleernieseffects.com. I got this pedal back in December for $199 and absolutely love it. Here's the review and a couple of clips.
The Pedal
The BassDriver is an overdrive/distortion pedal that consists of two circuits - a Boost circuit and and a Distortion circuit. The two circuits run in parallel so you can blend them together. If my memory is right, the circuits were developed by the maker of the pedal (i.e., they are not clones). The pedal can run on a standard boss-style adapter or a 9V battery.
The pedal has three knobs - Volume, Drive, and Boost. The Volume and Drive knob control the Distortion circuit while the Boost knob controls the volume of the Boost circuit. There is also a switch on the side that allows you to select the type of distortion you want - symmetrical (harsh) or asymmetrical (smooth).
There are two footswitches - Bypass and Distortion. You tap on the Bypass switch to engage the Boost circuit. Obviously, you hit the Distortion switch to engage your distortion. The Boost circuit must be engaged in order for the Distortion circuit to work.
Review
I really enjoy this pedal on all levels. The look is unique with the metal faceplate and the construction is top notch. The sound is great as well.
The pedal is extremely versatile. You can really get any tone you want because of the two circuits. It's just a matter of tweaking the knobs.
There are multiple ways to get similar, but unique tones. For example, you can get a light overdrive sound by either (1) keeping the Drive knob at a low setting, increasing the Volume knob, and leaving the Boost knob at 12 o'clock or (2) cranking up the Drive, keeping the Volume knob at 12 o'clock, and cranking the Boost knob. Either way you get a light overdrive sound, but the two sounds are unique. The possibilities are really endless.
For tube amp users, you may be able to get a great tone with the Boost alone. According to the maker, the Boost circuit has enough gain to drive a tube amp into mild saturation. I don't have a tube amp, so I can't verify this. It does appear there is plenty of gain on tap though. Unity gain (if that's the right phrase) on my passive Jazz bass was around 9 o'clock. In the clips, I have the boost set to around 12 o'clock and the volume difference is significant.
The one issue I've had with the pedal concerns the footswitches. There is an audible click when you engage them. It's not that noticeable, but you will hear it in the clips. In a live setting I don't think this would be an issue. Plus, I suspect this is something that can be remedied if necessary. Didn't Os fix this problem with the Gemini Drives?
Overall, this is a great pedal. The maker of the pedal is really great to deal with too. He was more than willing to answer all of my questions.
Clips
I originally did clips with the knobs in every possible configuration. I quickly changed my mind because I didn't think you guys would appreciate cycling through 100 clips of this pedal.
So, I just took the easy road. I left the Volume and Boost knobs at 12 o'clock and just adjusted the Drive knob. However, if there is any particular setting you guys are wanting to hear, just let me know.
The clips consists of 5 versions of my typical clip riff. The settings for each version are as follows:
1. Clean Tone
2. Boost Engaged
3. Boost Engaged and Distortion Engaged with Drive at 9
4. Boost Engaged and Distortion Engaged with Drive at 12
5. Boost Engaged and Distortion Engaged with Drive at 3.
I hope you enjoyed the review and the clips -
http://www.box.net/shared/zko1h9ojpq
I have now done clips using my passive Fender Jazz bass and my active MusicMan Stingray.
