I haven't known about the Sine Effects pedal.... looks good!
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I haven't known about the Sine Effects pedal.... looks good!
I had an Oracle and SV-Pre. I think my mini tube Slampegg compares reasonably with the Oracle... It is at least in the ball park and for me, for live use the Oracle form factor is just not workable.
I'm surprised that you settled on the C4 and Boss synths. I settled on the Future Impact, but in a compact housing. The extra couple of oscillators seems to make a huge difference to me. At least If I'm looking for fat, juicy and electric synth sounds. The FI is the mini-moog to the C4's ARP. I ran them both for bit. In the end the FI just won me over.
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Really nice, and the guy that makes them is a pleasure to deal with.
yeah, I just like easy. The big draw with both is that I don't have to twist knobs to find great sounds.
Might be a little bit of a specific question, but has anyone here tried the CA Grizzly BOD and the EBS Valvedrive as tone thickeners? I know obviously these pedals are not the same but I know I’ve heard people use the Grizzly to add a bit of heft and harmonic richness to their tone(not necessarily overdrive) and the EBS is obviously well known for that as well. I’m just curious to see if anyone has made that specific comparison between these two…any feedback would be appreciated!
Have not compared the two but I have been using the Grizzly for a few years now and I love it. I have been going through a bunch of OD pedals recently just trying out different flavors, however, have recently come back to the Grizzly for always on light OD. And with the mid-scoop and high roll-off options as well it is super versatile for any bass you put through it.
I had the C-4 but sold it after many frustrating tries to utilize the user presets.The After Shock is the same also.I've put a query or 2 on forum w/o much success.(did I mention that I'm technically challenged?) Anyhow I used the proceeds from the sale to buy a Subdecay M3 modeled after one of my favorite synths,Korg MS-20.Like you have cited it falls into the knob twister category, but the sounds are tremendous.Then for EZ I bought a Dirty Robot by Digitech.My Keely Synth1 is cool but it's fuzz based,and easy.Then I jumped into deep water without a floaty and got me a Meris Enzo.It gets huge and dynamic sounds,plus delay, flange and a wicked sequencer but a programmer degree from M.I.T. helps.This and my Ottobit Jr. is where I need to start with the DMC micro.The Future Impact looks great but it could be even more hands on than the Meris.I think I may be set with Synth peds.
I'm looking at the Boss SY-200. That might be my next purchase. That, and I've recently gotten sucked into bit crushers .. super
I owned the Grizzly awhile back, and I still have a Holy Fire, which is essentially the Grizzly without the mid. The HF is very touch sensitive, and can add a little growl to full on grind, and everything in between, with no loss of low end. The nice thing about the HF is that it is very touch sensitive - you can set it so that you only hear a touch of it, which is what you are describing. I would say it adds a little next and harmonic content with a little grit. It's definitely capable of high gain as well.
The VD is not high gain. It's definitely a tone thickener, but it's not quite as touch sensitive as the HF and it's creamier and smooth. You won't get the heft and harmonic content of the HF, but you'll get a thicker, smoother tone without much grit.
So HF/Grizzly - thick, harmonic content, gritty.
VD - smooth, creamy, rich
Really, any preamp pedal with a Fender Tone Stack will act as a thickener. A pedal with both gain and volumn control will allow much better control over how much dirt you get. Keep in mind tho that a Fender stack will give you a thicker, fatter tone but not necessarily heft or harmonic content. However, a boost pedal and a Fender stack would get you closer.
If you're looking at heft and harmonics, I would check out some light gain OD pedals. The Blueberry and all it's clones - body and heft, a touch of harmonics, but you can dial back the dirt. I think there was a thread awhile back about touch sensitive ODs, take a look at some of those recommendations. And of course, don't forget about the Fairfield Barbershop.
I had to go out of town for family and didn't even get a chance to plug this in. I'll send out a full report when I get home, which might be a lot later than I would have liked ...
I have the Fredric Effects Bug Crusher and it's a good 2 knob jobber, straight up bit crusher.I don't know if you're familiar with the Meris Ottobit jr.but it could be the Crusher King.Lots of controll over many things and it's stutter capabilities are the best.An extremely fun pedal and if you learn it's ropes you'll love it. All I really know on the SY-200 is it looks extensive and it's expensive.
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I'll check out the Ottobit. I'm looking for something with expression pedal control.
You summed everything up perfectly, really appreciate the detailed response. I had a VD a while back and I really liked the fatness it gave me, and it was like you said, very smooth and creamy. Really added girth…hehe.
But since then I’ve picked up a Broughton SSDI and that is a really game changer in terms of thickness and the ultimate tone stack pre. I’m wondering if running a VD into it would be a little redundant as I’m using that as my main DI to FOH. And ever since seeing the Ed Friedland(the GOAT) demo of the Grizzly, I’ve been curious to try it out since he uses it precisely to add harmonic content and heft to his sound. Haven’t tried a Blueberry type OD but it might be something I’m looking for like you said. Everyone raves about the Azure Drive but they’re hard to come by as are all Bro-tones…any favorite alternatives beside the Barbershop?
Yeah, it might be redundant. I sometimes run an AMT O as a drive into a Sushibox PAX. Both have the Fender tone stack, and I can get the sound to be super thick and fat, but it's not for everything, and definitely not an always on type of thing.
Keep in mind the Holy Fire is super cheap right now. It needs a dedicated power supply, but it's a really nice touch sensitive OD. I bought mine for $100 used in Reverb. Much cheaper than a Grizzly.
For Blueberries, I like the One Control and the Bearfoots..I settled on the Queen Bee because I was looking for something a little brighter. The BlackBerry (OneControl) is thicker and has more body.
Really good info here, thank you. Thinking the Blackberry might be the way to go but I haven’t ever tried the Barbershop so might buy it just to A/B. Now another possibly left field question - the Source Audio Aftershock has been on my radar for some time for different reasons than a touch sensitive OD, but have you gotten a chance to experiment with in that regard? Curious to see how it stacks again the other two contenders(Barbershop and BlackBerry) because if it can get me in that territory plus the added surplus of features it offers, the SA might be my answer.
The BlackBerry and the Barbershop are pretty different pedals, just fyi. The barbershop is more like pushing a tube amp type distortion - your tone, just dirtier. The BlackBerry adds its own (very nice) tone and body.
I haven't tried the Aftershock, but I've been very pleased by the C4. I can tell you that the C4 envelope filter sounds fantastic, but it not as touch sensitive as a MuTron or Joshwah, or other analog touch sensitive filter. I don't know if that translates to the other SA products.
I see…I think I’ll try both of them out but I have a feeling I might gravitate more towards the BlackBerry.
And don’t get me started about filters…I’m in the middle of a side-by-side that I might do some audio demos for, but essentially it’s the Proton V4 vs GR2 vs Wonderlove V1 vs C4 vs the old 90s EHX Qtron…I know I’m missing the JoshWah and the Mu-Tron IV which I think I might acquire here soon to complete the collection. Tbh, all the demos I’ve heard of the JoshWah haven’t been wet enough for me so that’s mostly why I have held off getting it. The Mu-Tron is a different story since they were unavailable but seeing as they’re back in stock, I might snag one as a Christmas gift for myself.
Not sure if you saw this thread ..
Envelope filters - MuTron vintage tone quest
Btw irl the Joshwah is plenty wet
