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Wounded Paw Battering Ram users?

autodidact

autodidact

Mar 13, 2011
2,054
101
#1
I've been looking into one of these lately. I like the idea of having an OD/distortion built right into the fuzz pedal.

I'm currently using a Fuzzrocious Grey Stache as my only fuzz and while I like it a lot, I cant help but be tempted by other pedals. I only have the money to keep one so getting the Battering Ram would mean returning the Stache. I heard that the Battering Ram is usually a guitar pedal, does it still hold a lot of the bottom end on a bass?

Does anyone use a Battering Ram that would be willing to share their first hand experience?
 
#2
I used a Battering Ram for several years and it was an amazing dirt pedal for bass. The overdrive section retains all of the low end and can function as a clean blend with the gain set low. It cut through a mix as good as any pedal I've tried/owned (which is a lot). Definitely can't go wrong with a Battering Ram. Kinda regret selling mine actually...
 
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#3
I have a battering ram and really like it. Sounds great following an OC-2 or synth pedal due to the octave up on the fuzz side. A lot of the bass is retained and the pedal is designed to be that way. I am not sure if this is due to the "low" switch or if it has to do with the overdrive running parallel acts like a blend to retain the bass. It really is great having the overdrive and fuzz in one pedal, however I am not a big fan of the over drive. The overdrive is good but prefer the electronix Geminidrive I have. I mostly use my Ram for outrages fuzz+octave up along with synthy sounds. This set up replaced my Source audio multiwave bass distortion pedal as my goto synth sound. The link I made about the OC-2 mod should give you an idea about what I mean:

Synth Mods done to a Boss OC-2 - YouTube

Bassfuzz.com has a great review of this pedal, which was one of the reasons I got my battering ram.

I will say I like the battering ram more that my swollen pickle. The Ram can stand alone and sound tastey but I always feel like the pickle doesnt sound as nice unless it is run through a VT bass.

The IE oxide seems better suited for the bass when compared to the Ram, seems to keep the bass and low mids a little better. However, the two have completely different sounds.

I wish I could compare it to some Fuzzrcious pedals but I have never had the opertunity.

Overall I am happy with the Ram and it would be staying on my board; however, I just ordered a FEA photon fuzz. I can image the FEA has a chance of knocking the ram off since the photon fuzz also has an octave up and from what I have heard seems to sound great. Further more the photon fuzz has a foot switch for turning on and off the octave; the ram has a switch. However, if I didnt have an overdrive that I already liked then I could see me sticking with the ram.

The pedal is well built, solid and has quality electic components.

So to sum up. A great fuzz and fuzz+octave. Awesome with an OC-2 or Synth. The overdrive is good but not great. Well built.
 
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#8
Another night owl chiming in. I actually just got back from a gig a two piece drum and synth/bass thing i play in, and I use the battering ram pretty extensively in it.

It sounds great on bass and synth, and can do some pretty outrageous fuzz effects while still maintaining a pretty solid bottom end. It works great with other effects like wah, octave and chorus, and just sounds huge. It's a really full range sounding pedal, especially with the fuzz on in octave up mode, almost sounds like two instruments layered on top of each other when you use it that way.

I actually have an oxide and a battering ram on my board, and i find i actually really prefer the ram. I'd say the oxide has the edge in a full band context due to the lows being a little bit clearer, but the battering ram lets alot of the low end thru, it's just less clean in the low end than the oxide. It absolutely kills the oxide in the two piece project. The oxide just can't get as wild sounding while keeping the notes under control. The OD is a bit tame and dark sounding, but that's why there's the ridiculously bright and wild fuzz side to the pedal. I strongly recommend it.
 
#9
I'm seriously looking at a battering ram - I'm going back to college and taking my whole pedal board with me wouldn't be practical. I sort of see this as a 'swiss army knife of pedals. Have any of you run an (active) 5 string through it? In my experience, pedals sometimes retain the low end to the E string but then have all the grunt sucked out of the B string (deal breaker).
 
#11
I had a Battering Ram for 6 months or so, sold it off because the OD side was great but I didnt like the fuzz side at all (too harsh and buzzsaw-ey with no note definition), went through a few fuzzes, landed at the Grey Stache and its my permanent fuzz now. So, I think going to a BR would be a downgrade personally, but YMMV.
 
#12
Battering Ram was my first ever bass pedal. It was too much for me. a lot of options on there for someone with little experience with bass pedals. sold it for a good price and now use a VT bass and a Bass Big Muff. I think if I had the pedal now I could get a lot more out of it. I liked the sounds I got but they didn't end up being usable in a band setting.
 

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