Most Divisive Pedal on TB

[Smooth_bass88]

I'm confused. The best pedal or most divisive??

 

[Bassist4Eris]

Not comps. TB has united: whatever Ovnilab says, that's what we think too.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I'm going to go with Muffs, but not just any Muffs. Specifically the EHX Bass Big Muff Pi (regular or deluxe; take your pick, and I've owned both). Those that eschew them in favor of a "boutique" clone version are often accused of elitism, but I really couldn't get the muff sound to work in a mix until I discovered the Stomp Under Foot Civil Unrest. I suspect any decent clone that also has a mid boost circuit will do the same trick.

 

[JRA]

others just love to hate.

i'm ready and willing....point me....

but this is not a hate thread

the explanation in this video tells it better than I ever will

16+ minutes to "rationalize" your point: valuable vs scam. it helps if you are a 'believer', IMO. while it's easy to hear the difference: you have to prefer the difference. IME: most don't.

 

[BunchyMutt]

Sorta divisive is the IE Divaricator
Pretty divisive are the Mu-FX Octave Divider and the OXDFX Divide by Zero
Most divisive? Definitely TWA Great Divide and the IE QF2, Brimstone XD-2, and VFE RUP.

I see what I did there.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Re: JHS they have had their business ethics called into question. How they clone/take credit/allegedly strongarmed other builders/etc. I don’t know all the details and I don’t have a strong opinion, but that is the source of divisiveness over them.

The whole JHS thing has less to do with quality, and more to do with shady business.
Stealing circuits. Cloning circuits but claiming them to be original. Etc.

A large part of it is also due to Josh Scott's involvement with International House of Prayer. They're pretty sketchy, though he's since left and claims his involvement was mainly with their music program.

I would say the area I disagree with people more are muffs. Just never found one that didn’t disappear with the band. Maybe if you’re in a one Guitar band with a guitar player that plays lead or uses a clean tone all the time. Or if you have three amps and three big muffs like Chris from Muse. Every version I tried disappeared with the band for me.

Dirt in general will make your articulation mushier, but Muffs also scoop midrange, so they tend to disappear in dense mixes unless they have a mid control. Most good clones add one, which helps significantly.

 

[DavidG]

BASS ONLY
View attachment 2858496

Favorite pedal of all time.
I bought one in the 80's for about $50; sold it about 5 years ago for $750.
Paid for just about everything else on my board. Love this thing!

 

[Mr. voodoobass]

H9

 

[pbass2]

My JHS Colour Box is the best preamp I’ve ever used.

View attachment 2858462

I use one of these for tons of stuff(not always, but specifically for the "colour" it imparts, even clean)--bass, guitar, synth, I re-amp stuff out through it, etc. Have run vocals through it for cool sounds. Killer pedal. Does it sound like the Neve it simulates? I guess that's the potentially divisive part? It certainly does something kinda Nevey....

But anyhow, I picked compressor. I'm one of those grouches always telling people to not use a compressor stomp unless they truly know why they need it, etc.

 

[cnltb]

Well, Barbershop is on the list, that's good. But "divisive?" I'll show you "divisive"! I think this thing is a riot. One of the guitarists I work with--and this is a guy with a pedalboard that has its own zipcode--ran screaming into the other room when I showed him this:

I think the Unpleasant surprise is fantastic!
Not seen much divided opinion on it thus far.

 

[themarshall]

Well, Barbershop is on the list, that's good. But "divisive?" I'll show you "divisive"! I think this thing is a riot. One of the guitarists I work with--and this is a guy with a pedalboard that has its own zipcode--ran screaming into the other room when I showed him this:

The dog is sleeping next to me and started fidgeting in her sleep when I played that vid.

 

[Nev375]

I love reverb. I see a lot of people who hate the idea of reverb on bass.

 

[nshuman]

DG is already on the list hey-oooooooooooo

I've heard it pronounced both ways.

 

[Adamixoye]

I've heard it pronounced both ways.

 

[vvvmmm]

I believe, and I hope I'm not repeating anybody, but by definition, the most divisive pedal would be any octave divider, no?

Or perhaps a multi-band comp or distortion?

 

[NOVAX]

 

[HolmeBass]

I am the one vote for Barbershop. I have thought it was a fizzy piece of something that didn’t work well with active electronics.

 

[birminghambass]

I believe, and I hope I'm not repeating anybody, but by definition, the most divisive pedal would be any octave divider, no?

Or perhaps a multi-band comp or distortion?

Correct, everyone but you missed the point of this thread!

 

[40Hz]

Well, Barbershop is on the list, that's good. But "divisive?" I'll show you "divisive"! I think this thing is a riot. One of the guitarists I work with--and this is a guy with a pedalboard that has its own zipcode--ran screaming into the other room when I showed him this:

You gotta be a real sadist to either design or use a pedal like that abomination.

Oh well, at least it was appropriately named. Not like Fairfield didn’t warn any of its potential customers.

 

[dxb]

Although I already voted I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw the BBE Sonic Maximizer/Stomp into the fray. Opinion is usually strongly divided over whether this pedal adds something truly magic to the sound -or- does absolutely nothing and is one of the most successful scams ever foisted on the music market.

View attachment 2858618

Opinions run very high regarding this thing sometimes. I actually have seen a fist fight break out over this pedal.

@line6man - this is one of those confusingly named sonic “enhancer” or “exciter” devices. Rather than try to recap what this thing does and how it does it, the explanation in this video tells it better than I ever will:

I think the problem with this pedal is BBE never clearly explained what it does, and as the poor guy reviewing it said, even he got it wrong initially. I don't know why BBE couldn't have just said something similar to the pinned comment under the video. If it had been marketed like this I doubt there would've been any confusion:

"this is a three band, phase corrected EQ with a mid-scoop when set to minimum on both knobs... it's not for everyone or for all contexts and it does impart an EQ signature at all settings"