My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal

[deepestend]

Yeah, the mammoth is a very simple circuit.

 

[Lebowsky]

Love my Mastotron. Took me a while to find a sub-heavy wooly fuzz that crushes. Hasn't left my board in years now.

 

[theunknowndude]

My understanding is that the Mastotron is mostly the same circuit as a Wooly Mammoth just with added impedance adjustment (the push/relax control) and Subs switch, as the Mammoth is known to be very sensitive to input source (it wants to see a passive input, and an active input of any sort either instrument or activated pedal will make it misbehave). I can’t say for certain if these two pedals are in fact so similar- I’ve played through a Mammoth but never next to a Mastotron or opened one to compare circuits. I know they are incredibly simple circuits though, probably 30 or less components each. For some reason the Mammoth has been cloned a bunch but not so much the Mastotron.

I have a vertical mastotron clone… but it was made by a Russian small pedal builder so kind of hard to get again so even though I’ve not currently got it on a board im still keeping it (like everyone else does the og hah!)

 

[sunbeast]

Yeah, the mammoth is a very simple circuit.

Here's a US listing for a Mastotron clone with top jacks and more traditional orientation: Mastotron Fuzz Clone | Reverb . They don't have a current listing, but they still make a Mammoth clone I see listed now so maybe you could message them to see if they'd make a Mastotron again. There are current Reverb/Ebay listings for a Russian clone as mentioned above, but no shipping to the US at the moment

 

[deepestend]

Here's a US listing for a Mastotron clone with top jacks and more traditional orientation: Mastotron Fuzz Clone | Reverb . They don't have a current listing, but they still make a Mammoth clone I see listed now so maybe you could message them to see if they'd make a Mastotron again. There are current Reverb/Ebay listings for a Russian clone as mentioned above, but no shipping to the US at the moment

Just saw that Aion has a kit. Might have to get one when they are back in stock: Penumbra Bass Fuzz / ZVEX Woolly Mammoth

 

[sunbeast]

Just saw that Aion has a kit. Might have to get one when they are back in stock: Penumbra Bass Fuzz / ZVEX Woolly Mammoth

Interesting they replace the Mastotron impedance control with a transformer. I like the different tones the impedance allows as you sweep it, but the transformer should get a more “authentic” Mammoth tone from an active bass using a transformer. I’d want to have both options if I made one!

 

[el murdoque]

Well, has it arrived? Or did Hans somehow manage to avoid upsetting his wife-in-the-golf-cart by failing to pack it up for you...

It seems that either Mrs. Thomann's anger tantrum threw him off or he managed to avoid it altogether by letting my parcel fall short of the loading bay on his rushed way out.
For reasons unbeknownst to my person, the parcel got a tracking number and was flagged as shipped on Saturday, but did not move until this morning.

Thomann is not a small sender of things, and I do suppose they have their own hub - their parcels usually arrive one day after being sent out while others take two for that distance (I don't think you can live in Germany and have more distance to the Thomann HQ).
Tomorrow it should be, then.

To keep me occupied for the night, the Flats for my Dingwall arrived along with the FT Elettronica Meatball clone.

 

[el murdoque]

I'm really enjoying this chain at the moment:

Broughton hpf >
Sushi Box slampegg >
Creation audio labs grizzly >
Way huge Pork & pickle >
Source audio spectrum >
Broughton omnicomp

Hpf nixes the room boom and allows me to goose the bass on the slampegg. Slampegg > grizzly is sweet (with volume knob, I can go from grit to hair to overdrive)... add the pickle fuzz and it crushes, all while maintaining ample low end. Shoving all of this dirt into the spectrum (meatball setting) really makes it sing. Omnicomp to finish keeps things neat and juicy.

I do think that before this thread disappears in the depth of the TB database for good, I shall have tried a grizzly myself. It has some weird voltage requirements, does it?

I had this and while it sounded good, I had some user fatigue with all of the internal and external options. I just couldn't get my head around it. It taught me that I need something a lot simpler if I'm actually going to use it.

I learned from the Pork Loin that most of the options were basically passive tone controls or clean/dry blends - and with dead flats on my bass, I run all the tone controls wide open at all times, which makes it a lot easier to handle.

What I like about this pedal is that you can have a very mild, warm and easy overdrive on your board that you can turn into a nasty fuzz with the flick of a switch.
The clever volume layout of the pedal (when you raise the gain, it does not affect the output level) lets you flick the switch mid song and dial in the amount of face melt you want your bandmates to suffer through without throwing off the mix.
So you can actually bring a mean fuzz even if you think you won't need one, without wasting any precious real estate - it only occupies the room you need anyway for your mild overdrive.

 

[deepestend]

I do think that before this thread disappears in the depth of the TB database for good, I shall have tried a grizzly myself. It has some weird voltage requirements, does it?




I learned from the Pork Loin that most of the options were basically passive tone controls or clean/dry blends - and with dead flats on my bass, I run all the tone controls wide open at all times, which makes it a lot easier to handle.

What I like about this pedal is that you can have a very mild, warm and easy overdrive on your board that you can turn into a nasty fuzz with the flick of a switch.
The clever volume layout of the pedal (when you raise the gain, it does not affect the output level) lets you flick the switch mid song and dial in the amount of face melt you want your bandmates to suffer through without throwing off the mix.
So you can actually bring a mean fuzz even if you think you won't need one, without wasting any precious real estate - it only occupies the room you need anyway for your mild overdrive.

That's a good strategy, just to leave all the passive tone options wide open. I had a pork loin before and did love the sound, but again, just found myself messing with the controls too much. Same when I got the mini. If I ever get another one, I'll leave the appropriate ones wide open.

 

[deepestend]

Interesting they replace the Mastotron impedance control with a transformer. I like the different tones the impedance allows as you sweep it, but the transformer should get a more “authentic” Mammoth tone from an active bass using a transformer. I’d want to have both options if I made one!

This seems like a good solutions (the transformer). The Benson germanium fuzz uses the same strategy.

AFAIK, the mammoth type pedal is essentially a fuzz face, right?

 

[deepestend]

On that note, my favorite dirt right now is a Benson Preamp Clone that I built and added some bass friendly mods: Son of Ben: let more bass through?

I borrowed a buddy's Benson Preamp and confirmed that these mods definitely sound better on bass. The original is just a lot less open and doesn't have as much bass. Probably much better on guitar.

 

[sunbeast]

This seems like a good solutions (the transformer). The Benson germanium fuzz uses the same strategy.

AFAIK, the mammoth type pedal is essentially a fuzz face, right?

Yeah a Fuzz Face with a few additions basically

 

[Sugarbear08]

I do think that before this thread disappears in the depth of the TB database for good, I shall have tried a grizzly myself. It has some weird voltage requirements, does it?




I learned from the Pork Loin that most of the options were basically passive tone controls or clean/dry blends - and with dead flats on my bass, I run all the tone controls wide open at all times, which makes it a lot easier to handle.

What I like about this pedal is that you can have a very mild, warm and easy overdrive on your board that you can turn into a nasty fuzz with the flick of a switch.
The clever volume layout of the pedal (when you raise the gain, it does not affect the output level) lets you flick the switch mid song and dial in the amount of face melt you want your bandmates to suffer through without throwing off the mix.
So you can actually bring a mean fuzz even if you think you won't need one, without wasting any precious real estate - it only occupies the room you need anyway for your mild overdrive.

No weird voltage requirements on the grizzly... I run it at 9 volts. At present, I'm only using the overdrive section and, as I've indicated, am enjoying it quite a bit following the slampegg.

 

[el murdoque]

No weird voltage requirements on the grizzly... I run it at 9 volts. At present, I'm only using the overdrive section and, as I've indicated, am enjoying it quite a bit following the slampegg.

Ah right, I just looked it up. It's been a while since I looked at Creation. Back then, the pedal of choice was the Holy Fire - and that runs at 48V.

 

[Sugarbear08]

Ah right, I just looked it up. It's been a while since I looked at Creation. Back then, the pedal of choice was the Holy Fire - and that runs at 48V.

Considering you're on a dirt bender, I feel like you owe it to yourself to check out the grizzly.

 

[el murdoque]

 

[sloppy_phil]

View attachment 4999797

I assume this will be the S.O. tonight listening to your "practice"

 

[el murdoque]

First impression:
most of the warning labels I imagine stuck on a chainsaw headed for the US market could have well been placed on that little box with its unobtrusive blue-collar-blue coat.
I felt a bit like riding a wild mustang for the first time. A wild mustang someone stepped up to, lifted its tail and suddenly the chili they had in their other hand just a moment ago is gone now.

I will have to look at the manual for a second, then put it in an isolated slot and study it before I let it wreak havoc in my precious signal chain again.
When I rode it around, the lights in my house flickered and I still have not figured out if that was pure coincidence (which I rather hope) of if the Mastotron had to do something with it.

 

[el murdoque]

....but if we're honest, the Mastotron is not meant to be used in a way you'd use a mild overdrive pedal.

It's like comparing a Volkswagen Golf, a Paris-Dakar racing car and a Formula 1 car.
All are the same thing. Four wheels, engine, steering wheel - take you from A to B.
The VW wins when you want to transport 4 people and 2 suitcases in a city, but it absolutely stinks on a racing track with Formular 1 cars. I have not figured out yet how to properly use it, but I can tell you that it's not gonna sweeten up my clean sound a little. It's meant to rip.

That is why I took a drastic step and ordered another dirt pedal.
One of the classics, that hit the market in 1994.
One I thought I'd never buy.

I'm somewhat excited about it.

 

[sloppy_phil]

....but if we're honest, the Mastotron is not meant to be used in a way you'd use a mild overdrive pedal.

It's like comparing a Volkswagen Golf, a Paris-Dakar racing car and a Formula 1 car.
All are the same thing. Four wheels, engine, steering wheel - take you from A to B.
The VW wins when you want to transport 4 people and 2 suitcases in a city, but it absolutely stinks on a racing track with Formular 1 cars. I have not figured out yet how to properly use it, but I can tell you that it's not gonna sweeten up my clean sound a little. It's meant to rip.

That is why I took a drastic step and ordered another dirt pedal.
One of the classics, that hit the market in 1994.
One I thought I'd never buy.

I'm somewhat excited about it.

You aren't.... getting a Klon, are you?