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Did some testing today...

sloppysubs

sloppysubs

Nov 24, 2002
1,862
49
Tarboro, NC
sweetsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
#1
I had a chance to stop buy "The world famous" Amp Shop here in LA. They've got a lot of great gear. Really blows GC out!

Anyway, I have a PE Depth Charge Fuzz and a HBE Hematoma that I love.

The Hematoma I will never give away and as much as I love my PE I have bene looking for something without a blend, as I feel they can be unneccesary, and sometimes it almost sounds a little thin.

So I played the Frantone Bassweet and Lo Tone Classic fuzz and the Ashdown Drive Plus.

Ashdown: Great pedal! Easy to use, cheap, sort of cumbersome due to its size. You can really get a good OD otu of this pedal. But that's it. The VU meter is cool, but doesn't light up like the amps. There is a 'tone' knob and depending on where you set it (bass or treble) will have effect on the amount of grit you set to your bass or treble.

Lo Tone - Not a bad fuzz. Not dark, sort of a light fuzz. Hold bottom very well. Very easy to use. It wasn't as agressive as I thought it would be, but it did really get loud and boomy. It was smooth and fast passages could be heard well.

Bassweet - Godsend! Dark, rich and full of goodies. Not at all unlike Columbian coffee. Held the bottom, smooth, agressive, loud. Very simple to use. Loved it. Think the clarity of the PE, plus the vintage Muff sound now multiply that by 10, add some bass and bang, there you have. I am really considering getting this pedal.

Just thought I'd let you all know.

That and sometime this week I will have the chance to try a Hematoma with some kind of mod. Brian something or burnt... starts with a B.
 
#2
Cool report, thx. I really like the Bassweet too, but I think the Lo-Tone might be what I need, I like a less extreme fuzz. How would you compare the "flavor" of the fuzz of the Lo-Tone vs. the Bassweet? For instance, I hear a sort of "breathy" or "woofy" quality from the Bassweet. Was the Lo-Tone similar in that regard, or???
Thanks!
 
#4
zongeek said:
That and sometime this week I will have the chance to try a Hematoma with some kind of mod. Brian something or burnt... starts with a B.
Click to expand...

I think you're referring to the Burr Brown IC mod. It makes the Hematoma more hi-fi and clear. If that's your sort of thing, you might like it. Personally, I like the stock version better. Different strokes and all...........

Also, thanks for the heads-up on the Frantones!
 
#5
This is right up my alley, because I own both the Hematoma and a Depth Charge as well. And while you can pry the hematoma from my cold dead hands, I always felt the Depth Charge (while very capable) wasn't quite what I was looking for, but I've been sitting on it as "good enough".

One things about the Depth Charge is the blend knob fully maintains lows esp. on the B string. Did you sample the Bassweet with a four or a five?
 
#7
hey, thanks for the review. i have a PE depth charge which i really like, and i was wondering if you could tell me how the bassweet and hematoma compare in tone?

JR
 
#8
Thanks for the review. I love my hematoma and Depth Charge as well.

I have found (for you depth charge users) that a whole new world of sounds exists by putting either a sansamp or MXR bass DI AFTER the depth charge.
It can really smooth out the fuzz and give it a completely different response to your playing.

I've been very curious of the Bassweet myself, might have to look into that one.
 
#11
cool, that makes them both useful for different things. to take it one step further, how do they compare to the PE depth charge since that is my point of reference at the moment..

JR
 
#12
JGR said:
cool, that makes them both useful for different things. to take it one step further, how do they compare to the PE depth charge since that is my point of reference at the moment..

JR
Click to expand...

Again, the PE is a fuzz. So really, you can't compare it to the Hematoma as the Hematoma is an overdrive.

However, compared to the Bassweet, which also is a fuzz, I'd say it's a little thinner. They're two different fuzz pedals. The bassweet is dark, thick and full. It doesn't have a blend knob and it's a great pedal. The PE does have a blend knob, can get dark, but can also be lighter sounding, I also think it might have a little more clarity.

Hope this helps.
 

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