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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#47,561
cornfarmer said:
Well, still no bass, and I found out today that Boult is 'transferring ownership'. Now I know why they've been giving me the fukkkin run-around since Nov. Looks like a lot of people who bought from them recently are also left beating their meat in the wind with nothing to show for it. 1st world probs, yo, but talk about schittty timing.
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Had the same thing happen with lava cable. Hopefully the new ownership brings better customer focus
 
#47,562
Initial thoughts on my MIT HM-2 vs. BYOC Swede:

Overall - This is the closest thing to a perfect clone I have ever heard. The biggest difference is in volume. My Swede always required the volume knob to be further than the HM-2, but with plenty of travel left (about 1ish). Th Swede seems slightly less compressed, and at identical settings slightly more trebly (though less trebly than my DOD Super American Metal) on guitar. This could also be due to component drift over nearly 30 years of use on the HM-2. With a little knob twiddling, I got tones that were nigh indistinguishable from each other, and likely indistinguishable in a mix. Noise level for each pedal is comparable, though I would venture to say the Swede is a tad noisier (again, component drift losing clarity on the HM-2?).

Guitar - more volume necessary than on the original, more trebly, slightly less compressed than the HM-2.

Bass - I could tell no difference between either pedal on bass. The tones were identical to my ears, even more so than the incredibly similar tones I got on guitar. Identical settings yielded identical tones, with different amounts of volume required.

TLDR - best overall straight HM-2 clone I’ve ever played. If you just want to chainsaw stuff without bells and whistles, and don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices of an original HM-2, grab one.

I wonder if the MIJ version would be more similar to the Swede, since it’s technically based off of the MIJ pedal? Never had an MIJ to test.
 
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#47,563
cornfarmer said:
Well, still no bass, and I found out today that Boult is 'transferring ownership'. Now I know why they've been giving me the fukkkin run-around since Nov. Looks like a lot of people who bought from them recently are also left beating their meat in the wind with nothing to show for it. 1st world probs, yo, but talk about schittty timing.
Click to expand...
Might explain why they never gave me an estimate on a build I had sent them an email on.

Didn't really want to 'like' your comment, but cracked up over 'beating their meat in the wind'
 
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#47,564
cornfarmer said:
Well, still no bass, and I found out today that Boult is 'transferring ownership'. Now I know why they've been giving me the fukkkin run-around since Nov. Looks like a lot of people who bought from them recently are also left beating their meat in the wind with nothing to show for it. 1st world probs, yo, but talk about schittty timing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, same with me. I probably should have figured, My friend ordered a Flying V for them Black friday last year and had nothing but issues. He got the guitar many months after with a damaged neck, his replacement guitar never arrived, and the replacement to the replacement guitar never arrived either. I'm going to do a charge back most likely next week.
 
#47,565
kleinenenten said:
Initial thoughts on my MIT HM-2 vs. BYOC Swede:

Overall - This is the closest thing to a perfect clone I have ever heard. The biggest difference is in volume. My Swede always required the volume knob to be further than the HM-2, but with plenty of travel left (about 1ish). Th Swede seems slightly less compressed, and at identical settings slightly more trebly (though less trebly than my DOD Super American Metal) on guitar. This could also be due to component drift over nearly 30 years of use on the HM-2. With a little knob twiddling, I got tones that were nigh indistinguishable from each other, and likely indistinguishable in a mix. Noise level for each pedal is comparable, though I would venture to say the Swede is a tad noisier (again, component drift losing clarity on the HM-2?).

Guitar - more volume necessary than on the original, more trebly, slightly less compressed than the HM-2.

Bass - I could tell no difference between either pedal on bass. The tones were identical to my ears, even more so than the incredibly similar tones I got on guitar. Identical settings yielded identical tones, with different amounts of volume required.

TLDR - best overall straight HM-2 clone I’ve ever played. If you just want to chainsaw stuff without bells and whistles, and don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices of an original HM-2, grab one.

I wonder if the MIJ version would be more similar to the Swede, since it’s technically based off of the MIJ pedal? Never had an MIJ to test.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the review! I'll be ordering my Swede kit tomorrow!
 
#47,566
Kriegs said:
Thanks for the review! I'll be ordering my Swede kit tomorrow!
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You’re quite welcome. Let me know what you think. Wish I had the confidence to try some building myself. There’s another HM-2 kit out there I’d love to compare to my current HM-2 stable. And I’ve debated getting other contemporary clones of the HM-2. You know, for science.

Graviton Metal Distortion Kit - Boss HM-2 Clone - Aion FX
 
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#47,567
kleinenenten said:
Wish I had the confidence to try some building myself.
Click to expand...

When I have mental capacity to think and no more cub scouts to worry about, I'm going to try buying and building one of the Mammoth looper kits. If I can pull that off, I'll make the jump to something else. I can do basic soldering, but I dunno how good I'll be with all the fiddly little bits.. it seems easy enough, but something tells me that like everything the actual practice is way harder than it looks.
 
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#47,568
TSmith92 said:
Yeah, same with me. I probably should have figured, My friend ordered a Flying V for them Black friday last year and had nothing but issues. He got the guitar many months after with a damaged neck, his replacement guitar never arrived, and the replacement to the replacement guitar never arrived either. I'm going to do a charge back most likely next week.
Click to expand...
Now that you mention it too, Monolord had sig models with them, yet when I saw them a few months back, they were still playing Gibson and Dunable. Maybe even they got effed...
 
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#47,569
gfen said:
When I have mental capacity to think and no more cub scouts to worry about, I'm going to try buying and building one of the Mammoth looper kits. If I can pull that off, I'll make the jump to something else. I can do basic soldering, but I dunno how good I'll be with all the fiddly little bits.. it seems easy enough, but something tells me that like everything the actual practice is way harder than it looks.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I’ve done cap swaps and changed the pickups in my guitar, but that’s about it. Not sure I’m up for a whole pedal.
 
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#47,571
kleinenenten said:
You’re quite welcome. Let me know what you think. Wish I had the confidence to try some building myself.
Click to expand...
This will be my first pedal, so we'll see how it goes.

There’s another HM-2 kit out there I’d love to compare to my current HM-2 stable. And I’ve debated getting other contemporary clones of the HM-2. You know, for science.
Click to expand...
Of course, for science! lol
 
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#47,573
xJasonSmithx said:
Man, if I can build pedals anyone can. Just take your time and read the instructions very carefully and you will be fine.
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yep! its not too bad, really. Just go slow, double check the parts list and the layout, pay attention to part markings and polarity and do one component type part at a time (ie resistors first, then diodes, then caps, then transistors, then flying leads to wires/connectors) and you'll be fine. Also go through after you solder up the board and double check your work and where everything is, etc.
 
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#47,574
Pedal making from a kit is relatively easy. When i started out making them I started with kits from Fuzz Dog pedals. my tips would be:

  • Double check everything (you can mix up resistors easily, have a resistor chart handy if you need one)
  • Make sure your solder work is clean, it makes troubleshooting if it doesn't work easier
  • Be prepared for it not to work the first time! If it doesn't don't worry just check everything over a few times, walk away and come back to it if needed
 
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#47,577
I've built eurorack synth kits. Pedals, especially fuzz/distortion/OD are usually pretty simple compared to those. Start with a boost or fuzz with few parts.

Batsquatch said:
So I’ve noticed a few players who post here (or have at one time) having their bands album popping up in “best of 2018” list in various sites. I’ve seen Space Metal and Benthic Realm pop up in a few. Very cool
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And Khemmis too.
 
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