NPD - Fuzzrocious BDPG

I just snagged this little beast in a partial trade/sale transaction. So, of course I ran home to plug it in. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but i think I've got it sorted now. No manual or labels on anything does make for a bit of a hunt but thanks to the internet, answers aren't that hidden.

First run with it was into my Demeter VTBP M 800 D > Barefaced Two10 cab with my J bass. My impressions are that small dial moves make a big change. Getting the tone over noon is more bass than I want or need, but it's enough to make the solo bridge pickup on my Jazz a mean metal machine. I was impressed at how it adds just enough grind and color to pop out (when playing along with the stereo) vs. the clean tone. It isn't radically dirty, but enough. A little goes a long way.

I'm going to have fun with this beast. I guess they weren't terribly popular based on them being discontinued, and the fact that only a dozen were ordered out of the final production run (stated in a thread here).

 

Tried a bit of that. You can see my board in the background. So far, I liked it best alone, but I can see/hear I might find good stuff mixing and matching

 

wow. this could kick the BBBOD off my board.

 

Ran it with a passive J and liked it. Also tried it with the OBP pre equipped Spector I have. Pretty nice.

What's the deal with a the later versions with the extra volume knob? Isn't the pre and master on the three knob enough?

 

Ah. I'm happy with the 3 knobs.

What a gem of a pedal. I remember looking at it a while back and not "getting it" based on the clips. Now that I have it, I get it. Running it into my very clean and polite amp makes just the right amount of difference. A little warmth and compression, but still fairly transparent and dynamic. I'd never been thrilled with the J bridge pickup before, but this changes the game. Bravo.

 

Played around with the P bass and Darkglass compressor through the Demeter and Barefaced 210. The pedal certainly responds in a different fashion. I found the gain worked better lower. I also found the EQ/tone doing different things. Lower gain with bigger bass settings (clockwise) worked best and gave a smooth vintage/Motown vibe. The P wasn't doing it for me in more rock/heavy sounds, like the J had been. The J has more bite and snarl. The P just got congested at higher gain.

Placement of the comp before/after was tricky. It has a wet/dry blend and level and it rolls off some highs, so it gets dark with the BDPG. Still figuring things. With the P, the comp may not be needed. Still need to try with my less voiced cabs.

Gonna try running my Enabler into it soon.

 

Tried running a hot Enabler signal into the pedal. I didn't care for the distortion generated. Moved the Enabler to later in the chain to level out the output when changing the gain and volume on the BDPG.

 

Better. I find I often like the lower gain settings with the eq closer to noon or higher. However, it's tough to keep unity gain. The enabler is really more for a level boost than eq or tone.