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A very natural, rich sounding, subtle overdrive.
- Thread starter jmjbassplayer
- Start date
I think I'm the only one on this forum that hated the barbershop.
Don't know about the internal switch. I have used tons of effect pedals and a lot of the times I couldn't comprehend other people's complaints about tone loss, but in the case of the "soul food" it is so obvious. You don't even notice the loss of low end, when it is active? I'm surprised!
I was really underwhelmed with it at first, then I played around with the ratio of "Drive" and "Sag" enough to find some really cool tones...which helped me see what all the fuss is about.
But I don't like its sound when heavily driven, so I can easily see where the pedal might not have been good for you.
I got one and it's cool, very very organic. But the impression I get is that it is rather soft and dark overall...I think I need to play around with it. Also, I wish it actually had even lower gain at its lowest setting. Extremely natural sound, though.
Thats good news since I'm looking for something similar and have been on the fence about picking one up. Love the sound of my tube amps but every pedal I've tried just kills their open organic sound. Looking forward to the developments of your search.
The thing about the Barbershop is that it will not color your basic tone at all, beyond whatever drive characteristics it adds. So if you're looking for something that will, it's not a good choice. If you like your basic tone and just wanna drive it a little, it's perfect for that, which is why it's perfect for me. It's definitely a bit of a one-trick-pony in that it does not do higher gains well, but I use the Grizzly for that purpose -- the BS and Grizzly constitute a pretty fantastic one-two punch (for me). The Barbershop also does not play well with hot active basses (supposedly, I wouldn't know), so that's another thing to consider.
Anyway, one thing I've noticed after reading all these OD threads is that nobody ever has anything bad to say about the Grizzly -- people either love it or haven't tried it. Same thing with the 5th Gear and ss/bs Mini. Maybe there's something to that.
Anyway, one thing I've noticed after reading all these OD threads is that nobody ever has anything bad to say about the Grizzly -- people either love it or haven't tried it. Same thing with the 5th Gear and ss/bs Mini. Maybe there's something to that.
The Tronographic Rusty Box is not what you're looking for.
There is nothing warm about it.
It is a cold, clanky monster.
Subtle? Warm?
The Fairfield Barbershop comes to mind...
Yes...the Rusty isn't subtle or warm, but it's so very good.
I think you can dial out some of the coldness and get very usable tones out of it that aren't too ugly. I've been using it live for a long time and really find that some of the "clank" it has enables it to cut through very well, but it's never too overbearing.I'm using my newly acquired Barbershop in the studio right now and I don't find it uncolored at all. The color is certainly subtle and soft, but it's there always. Perhaps it's because I'm looking under a microscope right now and doing an album, but yeah: it's definitely got something going on regardless of settings. And I have to wholeheartedly agree: the Barbershop is better with lower output instruments.
It is definitely fantastic. I run one as a final tone shaper in my chain.Yes...the Rusty isn't subtle or warm, but it's so very good.
I was real close to selling mine at one point...until I spent a little more time , finding settings that REALLY work with the particular bass I am using.
Now that I have figured it out...well, I'm not selling.
It doesn't flatter your tone.
Results depend very much on the instrument running through it.
More so than other pedals I have tried.
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The EHX Hot Tubes Nano is surprisingly good for this application.
Tone switch on, Tone knob set to taste (I like it around 11:00-1:00), start Overdrive knob at minimum, then turn it up slowly until you find that sweet spot.
I don't like the Hot Tubes for high gain, but for subtle, low-gain overdrive, it's pretty sweet.
Tone switch on, Tone knob set to taste (I like it around 11:00-1:00), start Overdrive knob at minimum, then turn it up slowly until you find that sweet spot.
I don't like the Hot Tubes for high gain, but for subtle, low-gain overdrive, it's pretty sweet.
My guess is that's just the tonal alteration applied by the gain, which will happen with any overdrive. The sag can darken it up a tad if it's dialed back, but beyond that I find it to be pretty uncolored with my passive bass-- no weird mid bumps, no baked in high cut (although that option is there with the ME version), no bass boost. That's more what I meant and why I really like the pedal.
