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I Present the IdiotBox Effects's Blower Box

#521
cnltb said:
Naaaa... Not duct-tape :)
I don't see metal there either-just a design I don't like.
Another thing I am wondering about is what the two lights atop are doing. What are they for?
If it's just a power on light, one would do that just fine. No?
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I assume you are not a Voivod fan? The design was done by the drummer Away who is responsible for all Voivod imagery and art over the last 30 years. Matt is not going to change that. Pretty tremendous he got him to do the pedal design. You will have to mod it if you want to enjoy the tones. The dual lights? Why not? I like it. But they do not do anything. Look at Matt's other designs. They all play with the power on light in varying ways. Some do have a function like the Mad stutter. For the Blower they are just ominous. And again, why not? He's having fun and I am a fan.
 
#522
catgut said:
I assume you are not a Voivod fan? The design was done by the drummer Away who is responsible for all Voivod imagery and art over the last 30 years. Matt is not going to change that. Pretty tremendous he got him to do the pedal design. You will have to mod it if you want to enjoy the tones. The dual lights? Why not? I like it. But they do not do anything. Look at Matt's other designs. They all play with the power on light in varying ways. Some do have a function like the Mad stutter. For the Blower they are just ominous. And again, why not? He's having fun and I am a fan.
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I have never heard of that band but will check them out an do understand that the fact of someone one admires contributing to an effect pedal can be attractive to some.
But to me, this is entirely irrelevant if I don't like the design and being all into function over looks I just don't like gimmicks.
I am sure, plenty people will be into it though and can understand why, but I am just not.
Liked the sounds I heard however. Quite a bit at that.
 
#524
Well I just took delivery of the Blower Box that I bought from the sassifieds here. I'm very impressed. It's probably the best Rat variant that I've tried on bass. I'm already considering contacting Matt to see if he could build a box with a second gain/volume setting so that I can do grindy overdrive (which this pedal is stunning at...it may kick my BK3 off of my board) and full-on raucous distortion/fuzz. I suppose that it might be cheaper just to buy a second BB given how inexpensive they are. In any case, big props to Idiot Box for an outstanding distortion box. I'll be checking out their other offerings too.
 
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#526
cnltb said:
I have never heard of that band but will check them out an do understand that the fact of someone one admires contributing to an effect pedal can be attractive to some.
But to me, this is entirely irrelevant if I don't like the design and being all into function over looks I just don't like gimmicks.
I am sure, plenty people will be into it though and can understand why, but I am just not.
Liked the sounds I heard however. Quite a bit at that.
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Then your all alone. Not saying this is a bad thing... Just saying. If you like what you hear than what else matters? Size is somthing you can change cheap with a little time and materials.
 
#527
Got my first taste of this pedal from my actual cabs yesterday. Definitely had to ramp up the OD in reference to my headphone unit to get that sound I wanted, but now it's SOOO much better. That fine-tuning really helped out. It also sounded better through my headphone amp. I'm finding I prefer to get the treble from this pedal from the distortion knob, and not the treble knob. Anyone else find that as well? That's very counter intuitive to me, as I typically prefer pedals on lower distortion settings, so ADDING distortion would not have readily occurred to me. Luckily, my guitarist buddy was with me, and he's used to that raging distortion sound, so he helped me out.

Random question: I thought I read somewhere that the EQ knobs on this pedal are boost only. Is that true? Doesn't really matter, but I just like to know my gear. Thanks everyone! And thanks again to you, Matt, for making an awesome pedal!
 
#532
Any Rat Tail owner could give a good side by side comparison? (other than gregmon whom I've read the reviews 20 times earlier in thread)

Soundwise this seems very interesting, but a bit disappointing to find such a small circuit in such a big enclosure...

grygrx were you ever able to test it?
 
#533
Lebowsky said:
Any Rat Tail owner could give a good side by side comparison? (other than gregmon whom I've read the reviews 20 times earlier in thread)

Soundwise this seems very interesting, but a bit disappointing to find such a small circuit in such a big enclosure...

grygrx were you ever able to test it?
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I can't do a side by side recording or anything because I sold my RatKing. But, I will agree with gregmon that the BB replaces the RK just fine. The RK has a bunch of options, two distortion levels, that great. But, I don't think a lot of settings are usable on bass unless you blend it. The BB has great low end retention, actual low end retention. I was afraid it would not do low gain AND high gain, but it does it just fine. I personally believe it does low gain all the way to high gain MUCH better than the RatKing, mainly because of the EQ.

I lost money on the RK, those things have like absolutely no resale value, and I wanted to keep it instead of losing money on it. I might have kept it if I also played guitar. But, honestly, after playing with the BB for a while, I realized I would probably never use the RK again. I actually had to remove dust from my RK before I put it in the shipping box :)

Also, by the way, the RK has a similar sized circuit inside... Don't be fooled, LOTS of builders fit MUCH more intricate circuits in enclosures MUCH smaller than what Fuzzrocious does. You should see my custom GreyStache, the enclosure size in the same as a RatKing and the insides could fit in something MUCH smaller.

Anyway, you mileage may vary, but I mix/blend 60% of all my dirt with a clean signal. I put the BB in the same loop/location where my RK used to be, but, when I use the BB, I can now lower the clean level or turn it off completely.

I really think the BB is THE RAT to beat now.

I don't want to make this an anti Fuzzrocious post or anything, but that is just the situation as I see it having had both pedals.
 
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#534
I knew I should've A/B'd em before shipping my Rat Tail off...

The Rat Tail has more nasal properties. I feel that's the best word for it, it's more snarly, On lower levels of distortion it's very bitey and can get pretty damn harsh. At higher distortion settings the definition is lost and becomes a smooth tube of fuzz without much in the way of harmonics.

At the expense of mid and high gain distortion, there's no real lows. Even with the filters cut to the off position there's a very noticeable loss of low end. If you don't blend it, you'll disappear from the band mix pretty much
 
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#535
I've never owned any Fuzzrocious Rats of any kind, but I've given them plenty of thought. Every time I check the website and youtube vids, the distortion just wasn't to my liking. But all the rave reviews made keep looking at them every so often. Never liked them. For this reason I was incredibly skeptical of the Blower Box. Every other Rat (or derivative) didn't sound right. Every BB video sounded amazing to me! Finally convinced me to buy one, and I don't regret it. Final band test tomorrow, but I'm not worried. :)

Nothing against Fuzzrocious or any other Rats, but if you're skeptical, just get it!

Thought my experience might help those who are on the fence or not typically Rat fans. I'm not a Rat fan, but I'm definitely a Blower Box fan!
 
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#536
TBH the Fuzzrocious demos on the youtube, etc are....well, "poor" would be putting it nicely. It's so frustrating, not just in the audio industry, when people are demoing something and use the worst methods to showcase it. Demoing a bass pedal recording through a cell phone is like showcasing film quality via a picture on a tv screen via a snapshot on a cell phone. That's not against anyone personally, tons of people do it.

The Rat Tail is a beast, and one of the reasons I didn't do an A/B is because side by side to me they sounded like very different beasts with a few common traits, that's about it. It happened to take what I was doing with the RT and replace it and add in its own character.
 
#537
NoxNoctus said:
TBH the Fuzzrocious demos on the youtube, etc are....well, "poor" would be putting it nicely. It's so frustrating, not just in the audio industry, when people are demoing something and use the worst methods to showcase it. Demoing a bass pedal recording through a cell phone is like showcasing film quality via a picture on a tv screen via a snapshot on a cell phone. That's not against anyone personally, tons of people do it.

The Rat Tail is a beast, and one of the reasons I didn't do an A/B is because side by side to me they sounded like very different beasts with a few common traits, that's about it. It happened to take what I was doing with the RT and replace it and add in its own character.
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Fair enough, but even the poorly produced BB demos made me want it! Probably the whole "different animals with similar traits" thing you mentioned.
 
#538
ImageUploadedByTalkBass1404163509.652439.jpg

Just dirt.
 
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