Difficult to dial-in pedals

[Wissen]

My answer for this one is the Atomic Bass Box. I was stupid excited when it first came out, so I finally ordered one when my finances and their inventory intersected. After a week of testing it went right back on the market.

It has the added complexity of being able to change the parameters of the controls through a software interface, so somehow I was able to screw things up even further when I changed what the knobs do.

After a factory reset I got the knobs to a point where I got a sound that I could at least compare to the SCR-DI, but then I was turned off by the layer of software between me and my sound. It felt artificial. And I just couldn't get past that.

 

[SlowpokeJoe]

My answer for this one is the Atomic Bass Box. I was stupid excited when it first came out, so I finally ordered one when my finances and their inventory intersected. After a week of testing it went right back on the market.

It has the added complexity of being able to change the parameters of the controls through a software interface, so somehow I was able to screw things up even further when I changed what the knobs do.

After a factory reset I got the knobs to a point where I got a sound that I could at least compare to the SCR-DI, but then I was turned off by the layer of software between me and my sound. It felt artificial. And I just couldn't get past that.

That Atomic Bass Box looks really cool, but I can see it get complex really quickly

 

[cusar5]

The old DOD FX25 filter has an amazingly fat, juicy sound, but I found there was only a very narrow section of the Sensitivity control where it would actually sweep, and not just stay completely open or closed.

 

[droo46]

I gotta put the Way Huge Swollen Pickle out there as one of the hardest pedals to dial in I've ever owned. Some of the knob labels don't immediately make sense, and the manual doesn't do a great job of explaining what they all do. That's kind of problematic since there are 7 knobs on thing, 5 on the front and two internal pots. Everything interacts with each other so there's a lot of interplay you have to be aware of when you're fiddling around with it. If that weren't bad enough, the knobs on mine are pretty low friction, so they have a tendency to get moved around when it's my case. I had it for years before I decided to really dig into it, but now that I get it, I get a ton of utility out of it. Very flexible and versatile fuzz, but man, is it a pain sometimes.

 

[NerdyOcean]

Great pedal, but takes a while to dial in with capacitor option and it's sensitive nature.

 

[basstalkname]

EHX Blurst. I know that there are cool things to be found. Some days I like it and others I want to forget about it.

 

[FilterFunk]

Mojo Hand Wonder Filter.

Every time I got close to a sound I really liked, it ended up being just too much, or just not "there."

 

[Feral Feline]

Never tried one, but the Lovetone Meatball is supposed to be a bit of a challenge.

 

[ThaCoast]

This may seem as a weird choice given its simplicity - but MXR Bass D.I. +. Honestly, it's a great piece of gear to have around, & having a switch to select the Distortion channel is awesome. Through the years i've had it sound Awesome, while other times it just couldn't deliver. It's been on my board forever until after my band recorded our first album. Then i promptly took it off to kinda simplify my signal chain, but also my dissatisfaction with its dirt side. Until yesterday...

I've been eyeing the rattler bass by Jam pedals for a while as i've enjoyed the RAT circuit on bass (& i have a proco rat in my guitar rig). But the Jam rattler bass brings a mix control into the equation, & a "high gain" boost function footswitch without having to tweak controls onboard (or a dedicated boost knob to dictate how much boost). & i had toyed with my 6 band EQ & Proco Rat with my bass & I got it to sound pretty gnarly. Which got me thinking last night on my way home: "what if i tested the bass D.I. & treated it as a 'Rat + EQ' in one box?". & pleased to say, after reviewing the controls in a non traditional way, i was able to get the distorted sound i had in my head. Still need to test it within my band, but thus far, i'm enjoying it.

 

[jthisdell]

I find I like Drive/OD pedals with a Blend function, this gives you alot more variance in OD levels. DG Vintage Microtubes is the one I always go back to. Overall I find I like pedals with fewer knobs. My fave compressor is the EBS Multi Comp, Gain and Compression with a mode switch. My fave modulation is Southampton Utility Knofe, Depth, rate and volume and a mode switch to toggle between the modulation types. If a pedal has six knobs I can't find any good settings in general.