Damnation Audio Fan/Appreciation Thread

[johnk_10]

Has any of MBD users in here ever owned a CAL Grizzly to compare the low gain OD/slight breakup capability of one Vs the other? Would love to get some first hand insight

i hada grizzly and a holy fire (48V version) for years. i really liked both of them but i prefer the MBD over them so i sold both of them.

 

[JimboP]

Has any of MBD users in here ever owned a CAL Grizzly to compare the low gain OD/slight breakup capability of one Vs the other? Would love to get some first hand insight

I had the Grizzly at one point but found it too dark with flatwounds as it only has mid scoop and high cut tone shaping. I recently got the MBD-2 for exactly that low gain OD role and am really loving it. The shaping possibilities of tone, low passed clean blend, depth and the mids toggle switch make it way more flexible and usable for me.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Has any of MBD users in here ever owned a CAL Grizzly to compare the low gain OD/slight breakup capability of one Vs the other? Would love to get some first hand insight

I had a Grizzly years ago when it was the flavor-of-the-month transparent OD around here. It sounded good but wasn't flexible enough; the cut-only EQ didn't fix the frequencies I needed and the lack of a blend also hurt. It was dethroned by a Broughton Terraformer and traded to another user here, and I haven't looked back.

MBD2 is much, much better IMO.

 

[father of fires]

Yeah. Obviously you made the MT to address buffer hating fuzz. For fuzz that isn’t finicky, how would you describe the difference in the “clean signals” added back by the Bloop vs the MT?

I wanted to make the MT stand out a hair so I changed the recipe slightly on the parallel blend. It rolls off a few Hz sooner and at a slightly sharper curve.

To be honest it's not something you'd notice if I didn't tell you it was there. But it's something I may explore in future designs.

There is a delicate balance between the blend and the loop which makes it blend well but also leaves very little room for tweaks.

 

[johnk_10]

I had a Grizzly years ago when it was the flavor-of-the-month transparent OD around here. It sounded good but wasn't flexible enough; the cut-only EQ didn't fix the frequencies I needed and the lack of a blend also hurt. It was dethroned by a Broughton Terraformer and traded to another user here, and I haven't looked back.

MBD2 is much, much better IMO.

i agree. i had a terraformer too. i wanted to like it after reading other user's opinion of it, but it just didn't do it for me so i sold it.

 

[Johnny Mac]

i agree. i had a terraformer too. i wanted to like it after reading other user's opinion of it, but it just didn't do it for me so i sold it.

I keep thinking I'm bored of the Terraformer, but every time I try to replace it beats whatever it was competing with (including the MBD2, though it made it onto my board anyway). Maybe it's just my setup, but at 24v I just really dig the smoothness of it. Plays really well with flatwounds and stacks really well with other dirt.

 

[WorktheWood]

I had a Grizzly for awhile and really wanted to like but thought it ultimately looks much cooler than it sounds. I didn't find the Grizzly to be all that natural sounding and just didn't sit in the mix right. Like everybody else, I've tried a ton of OD pedals looking for the pushed SVT sound that I prefer. The MBD-2 has been the best at that for me that I've heard.

Has any of MBD users in here ever owned a CAL Grizzly to compare the low gain OD/slight breakup capability of one Vs the other? Would love to get some first hand insight

 

[johnk_10]

I keep thinking I'm bored of the Terraformer, but every time I try to replace it beats whatever it was competing with (including the MBD2, though it made it onto my board anyway). Maybe it's just my setup, but at 24v I just really dig the smoothness of it. Plays really well with flatwounds and stacks really well with other dirt.

it found it to be smooth too, but everytime that i bypassed it i thought that my tone and touch response was better. it just seemd a bit too veiled for me. to be fair, most pedals are like that for me, with a few exceptions.

 

[WilbursaurusRex]

have there been any sound clips/demos of the MBD with flat wounds? Id love to hear them before making a purchase

 

[psychovox]

I had a Grizzly for awhile and really wanted to like but thought it ultimately looks much cooler than it sounds. I didn't find the Grizzly to be all that natural sounding and just didn't sit in the mix right. Like everybody else, I've tried a ton of OD pedals looking for the pushed SVT sound that I prefer. The MBD-2 has been the best at that for me that I've heard.

I run an MBD-1 into a Broughton SV-PRE. Every time I plug in I still can't believe I'm not running an SVT into a fridge. Daily goosebumps.

 

[gregmon79]

View attachment 3839492

Can’t believe I slept on this for so long. IDGAF that it’s comically oversized, it sounds amazing through headphones so far, bet it’ll slay through my amp.

well, sh’ya! I could’ve told you that!!!! glad to see you’re on the SS MBD. Gotta come back after you’ve jammed with it in a loud environment. Really want to hear your thoughts...

 

[J Posega]

well, sh’ya! I could’ve told you that!!!! glad to see you’re on the SS MBD. Gotta come back after you’ve jammed with it in a loud environment. Really want to hear your thoughts...

Oh how I wish I could jam it out with others right now. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity to write some good tunes with a band, but of course nobody wants to get together right now. Hopefully things calm down soon and I can get a new project started.

 

[Johnny Mac]

have there been any sound clips/demos of the MBD with flat wounds? Id love to hear them before making a purchase

I'll see if I can put something together, but I use flatwounds and the MBD2 won a spot on my board. Haven't been able to test it in a band setting, for obvious reasons, but I'm happy with it so far.

 

[JimboP]

have there been any sound clips/demos of the MBD with flat wounds? Id love to hear them before making a purchase

No sound clips but I've been playing the MBD-2 with my Stingray & flat wounds and it sounds great in a band mix. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[gregmon79]

No sound clips but I've been playing the MBD-2 with my Stingray & flat wounds and it sounds great in a band mix. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I can second this. I’ve used flats on my P and J basses and used the MBD1 with them and they sounded awesome. It’s a perfect drive for flats imo.

 

[kevk]

Simple, straight forward...but killer sounding amp + ampLess DI board...

My trusty MBD-1 is a huge asset to getting beyond amazing clean (and distortion) tone out of the DG XU—drastic thickness difference, if MBD is bypassed...which is never—always on.

 

[willsellout]

After almost 3 years of owning this pedal, it's still the best dirt box I've ever owned. In fact it's the only thing on my pedalboard that has lasted. It works with everything. Rounds or flats, active or passive, doesn't matter. I always find what I want with it.

 

[johnk_10]

here's a clip of my JMJ mustang bass with flats thru the MBD-1 (large box) with various settings:

 

[BklynKen]

here's a clip of my JMJ mustang bass with flats thru the MBD-1 (large box) with various settings:

That sounds fantastic, John.

 

[monsterthompson]

here's a clip of my JMJ mustang bass with flats thru the MBD-1 (large box) with various settings:

Man. If that doesn't sell me on that box, nothing will.