Today I did a narrowly focused comparison of three BJF-designed bass pedals that I meant to use for light overdrive. They were
The background
Lately as I do final auditions of my pedals in preparation for a new pedalboard, I become reacquainted with certain pedals. Revisiting them in the context of my planned board layout, each has to play a role; both in itself and in relation to other pedals on the board. This has been educational.
In one loop of a bus pedal (aka a loop switcher) will be a raucous, metallic, very high gain distortion pedal into a warm, tube amp-in-a-box type of pedal. For bass guitar, I found that the hand wired Menatone None More Black (NMB) destroyed the PCB Leqtique 10/10 that previously was allocated for the first spot.
Today I sought to finalize the second spot, previously allocated to the Hooker’s Green Bassmachine. HGB worked well with NMB in this arrangement. But I wondered if I could do better.
The comparison
So I did a round robin comparison of HGB with these other two BJF bass pedal designs. On intuition or something, I chose not to include the One Control Blue 360 AIAB or Sonic Silver Peg, which among the BJF bass pedals I own might have been usable, too.
I found that when I used them for light overdrive, playing them with a Fender Custom Shop Jazz Bass with attributed mid-1960s to early 1970s Fender pickups and dead roundwound strings, the three pedals were as follows.
The results
Hooker's Green Bassmachine 3-knob was dark, with a tough, slightly resonant, midrange forward voice. Its Treble control was tuned low, in the area of clang below zing or sibilance. Even cranked it was noticeable, but subtle. So much so that I started to think of it as a rolloff only. Unlike the other pedals’ equivalent controls, the HGB’s Bass control is post-saturation. It is an EQ control. To this day, even after this comparison, there is just something special about HGB. I have read opinions to the contrary, but I think it is special. In comparison to the other two pedals, HGB sounds like what most players call an effect. Amp-esque, but as related to a processor used between a bass and an amp as to just a bass and an amp.
The One Control Blackberry (not to be confused with the BJFe hand wired version) impresses me anew each time I play it. I think my expectations of it were somewhat dim, and it keeps exceeding them by far. Anyway, in comparison to HGB this Blackberry felt and sounded very relaxed and open. It sounded altogether more like an amp-in-a-box, and was less inherently tough sounding. Its Depth control is pre-saturation. So if you use it for more low end by addition (not the only way to achieve that, by the way), you will introduce more saturation of the low end. I enjoyed searching for shades of sound and feel in the low drive range that was my objective. With careful volume matching, there is a lot to be found. A beautifully made and useful pedal.
My Blueberry Futura is what I think of as a transitional design, since it features a Treble control, but with the traditional Nature control instead a Bottom control. Not surprisingly it shared the relaxed and open feel of the Blackberry compared to HGB. However, unlike the other two, Blueberry Futura could be way open: its Treble control lets it present frequencies as high as sibilance and give a sense of air. Since, albeit with its different controls, I was able to dial in timbres equivalent to those I liked most in Blackberry, and since I liked its more ragged and fluttering texture at any given degree of drive, in the end it was Blueberry Futura’s Treble control that won it the pedalboard spot. Tough enough, and big and textured, it proved much more versatile for a variety of playing styles.
Afterword
There were no losers here. If anything, I renewed or discovered my affinity for each pedal in the comparison.
It occurred to me that I don't know for sure whether the new version of HGB, the 4-knob, simply relocates the Bass control from a micropot to a knob, or if it also has different treble response. I mention this since I watched a demo video of the 4-knob version in which at one point it sounded quite bright and metallic, which my 3-knob one just won't do.
Another thing that struck me was the rather handmade and somewhat loose feel of the BJFe pedal vs. the industrial feel of the One Control pedals. In any case size, those One Control pedals feel heavy, solid, and tight.
- One Control - Hooker’s Green Bassmachine 3-knob (HGB)
- BJFe - Blueberry Bass Overdrive Futura (3BOD4K)
- One Control - Blackberry Bass OD (3BOD4K, too apparently)
The background
Lately as I do final auditions of my pedals in preparation for a new pedalboard, I become reacquainted with certain pedals. Revisiting them in the context of my planned board layout, each has to play a role; both in itself and in relation to other pedals on the board. This has been educational.
In one loop of a bus pedal (aka a loop switcher) will be a raucous, metallic, very high gain distortion pedal into a warm, tube amp-in-a-box type of pedal. For bass guitar, I found that the hand wired Menatone None More Black (NMB) destroyed the PCB Leqtique 10/10 that previously was allocated for the first spot.
Today I sought to finalize the second spot, previously allocated to the Hooker’s Green Bassmachine. HGB worked well with NMB in this arrangement. But I wondered if I could do better.
The comparison
So I did a round robin comparison of HGB with these other two BJF bass pedal designs. On intuition or something, I chose not to include the One Control Blue 360 AIAB or Sonic Silver Peg, which among the BJF bass pedals I own might have been usable, too.
I found that when I used them for light overdrive, playing them with a Fender Custom Shop Jazz Bass with attributed mid-1960s to early 1970s Fender pickups and dead roundwound strings, the three pedals were as follows.
The results
Hooker's Green Bassmachine 3-knob was dark, with a tough, slightly resonant, midrange forward voice. Its Treble control was tuned low, in the area of clang below zing or sibilance. Even cranked it was noticeable, but subtle. So much so that I started to think of it as a rolloff only. Unlike the other pedals’ equivalent controls, the HGB’s Bass control is post-saturation. It is an EQ control. To this day, even after this comparison, there is just something special about HGB. I have read opinions to the contrary, but I think it is special. In comparison to the other two pedals, HGB sounds like what most players call an effect. Amp-esque, but as related to a processor used between a bass and an amp as to just a bass and an amp.
The One Control Blackberry (not to be confused with the BJFe hand wired version) impresses me anew each time I play it. I think my expectations of it were somewhat dim, and it keeps exceeding them by far. Anyway, in comparison to HGB this Blackberry felt and sounded very relaxed and open. It sounded altogether more like an amp-in-a-box, and was less inherently tough sounding. Its Depth control is pre-saturation. So if you use it for more low end by addition (not the only way to achieve that, by the way), you will introduce more saturation of the low end. I enjoyed searching for shades of sound and feel in the low drive range that was my objective. With careful volume matching, there is a lot to be found. A beautifully made and useful pedal.
My Blueberry Futura is what I think of as a transitional design, since it features a Treble control, but with the traditional Nature control instead a Bottom control. Not surprisingly it shared the relaxed and open feel of the Blackberry compared to HGB. However, unlike the other two, Blueberry Futura could be way open: its Treble control lets it present frequencies as high as sibilance and give a sense of air. Since, albeit with its different controls, I was able to dial in timbres equivalent to those I liked most in Blackberry, and since I liked its more ragged and fluttering texture at any given degree of drive, in the end it was Blueberry Futura’s Treble control that won it the pedalboard spot. Tough enough, and big and textured, it proved much more versatile for a variety of playing styles.
Afterword
There were no losers here. If anything, I renewed or discovered my affinity for each pedal in the comparison.
It occurred to me that I don't know for sure whether the new version of HGB, the 4-knob, simply relocates the Bass control from a micropot to a knob, or if it also has different treble response. I mention this since I watched a demo video of the 4-knob version in which at one point it sounded quite bright and metallic, which my 3-knob one just won't do.
Another thing that struck me was the rather handmade and somewhat loose feel of the BJFe pedal vs. the industrial feel of the One Control pedals. In any case size, those One Control pedals feel heavy, solid, and tight.
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