Picked up a new dirtbox

Never even heard of these until I came across one for sale locally on CL



Snagged it for $40

It's more of a thick distortion than a true fuzz (IMO) but for the current band I'm with it was exactly what I was looking for. Other than this I really have only ever had tube screamers for overdrive/distortion. Also, looking into the Xotic AC or BB booster/preamp. Any other favorite dirt boxes out there?

Have a good one!
-Dave

Bargain and very cute! I tried one of the AC boosters once and thought it was very nice, BUT when I tried it I was playing someone else's gear which included a '59 Esquire and a '64 Vox AC15 so anything would have sounded good really!

My current dirt pedal setup is a Catalinbread Rah which I'm using as a dirty 'channel' for my Twin and baby Bassman amps, and a G&L Buckshot overdrive for lead.

I'm not big into distortion, so a ProCo Rat covers my needs. I also found an Eden Analog Austin overdrive recently. I love the sound it gives between a large MFD and my Fender Bassman Ten, but having the battery rattle around because there's not padding is a bit annoying.

I haven't tried the Buckshot yet, but the Double Barrel I got for my last LR week can pretty easily get my Blues Junior into overdrive.

What I've been hunting for is a good bass fuzz. The local GC had a used Malekko B:assmaster (yes, that's what it's called!) a month or two back. I didn't get a chance to play it without half a dozen shredders or slappers going wild nearby, but from several videos on YouTube I wasn't impressed with the sound on bass. Hopefully anybody with ideas for a good bass fuzz will weigh in...

Ken

the jetter gain stage blue and gain stage red are great dirt pedals. also the precision drive by xts electronics.

Hey Dave,

Also, looking into the Xotic AC or BB booster/preamp.

I have both the AC and the BB (both in the 2 channel + versions). I highly recommend them. Extremely transparent - They won't colour your sound like the tube screamer (no where near the mid hump). In fact my board now consists of an EP, RC, BB and AC!

Anyway, that certainly seems like $40.00 very well spent

Scott

I'm waiting a BB+... so I will have an opinion pretty soon...

And that fuzz is... How to say ?... Yellow !

Hey Dave,

Also, looking into the Xotic AC or BB booster/preamp.

I have both the AC and the BB (both in the 2 channel + versions). I highly recommend them. Extremely transparent - They won't colour your sound like the tube screamer (no where near the mid hump). In fact my board now consists of an EP, RC, BB and AC!

Anyway, that certainly seems like $40.00 very well spent

Scott

i love the ep booster, but i was unfortunate to try the ac, rc boosters and the bb preamp against a precision drive by xts and a providence sov and a few others, and in comparison they didn't sound that good. not as open, a bit nasally. i was disappointed as i was looking forward to getting one of them. this is why i never buy pedals through ordering, i want to hear them and compare them.

Hey Dave,

Also, looking into the Xotic AC or BB booster/preamp.

I have both the AC and the BB (both in the 2 channel + versions). I highly recommend them. Extremely transparent - They won't colour your sound like the tube screamer (no where near the mid hump). In fact my board now consists of an EP, RC, BB and AC!

Anyway, that certainly seems like $40.00 very well spent

Scott

i love the ep booster, but i was unfortunate to try the ac, rc boosters and the bb preamp against a precision drive by xts and a providence sov and a few others, and in comparison they didn't sound that good. not as open, a bit nasally. i was disappointed as i was looking forward to getting one of them. this is why i never buy pedals through ordering, i want to hear them and compare them.

I haven't had the chance to try the xts, but if i do come across one i would certainly like to give it a go. Dave, the exotic stuff works so well for me as i am running my route 66 which is a single channel head with only 1 volume a bass and treble knob. I really like the eq capability on the exotic stuff (you get both treble and bass controls) which you don't see on many gain pedals. For me it really allows me to shape the amp to my liking and to the room. If you can find one it is certainly worth playing through.

Scott

Thanks for the input guys, I'm definitely going to check out the xotic stuff, waited a little too long and missed out on a very well priced RC booster locally. Also came across this:

[youtube]G48-_ITlfQY[/youtube]

Very interested in trying that one out, and the original maker (T.C. Jauernig) started producing them again, so you can get a handwired Version 3 or a copy of the original through TRex

-Dave

Re Ken's bass fuzz question, the best I've tried in recent memory was an Ashdown "James LoMenzo" pedal. It left the low fundamentals intact-ish, and crunched above them. Still very meaty, but somehow also clear.

Re Ken's bass fuzz question, the best I've tried in recent memory was an Ashdown "James LoMenzo" pedal. It left the low fundamentals intact-ish, and crunched above them. Still very meaty, but somehow also clear.

Thanks for the tip, Nick. I'll have to track one down and try it out.

This thread led me to a website/blog devoted to bass fuzz boxes (Bassfuzz.com, IIRC). The writer suggested the current Way Huge Swollen Pickle as retaining a lot of bottom end and having a lot of versatility. Has anybody here tried one, on guitar or bass? I'd love to hear any opinions of it.

Ken

This thread led me to a website/blog devoted to bass fuzz boxes (Bassfuzz.com, IIRC). The writer suggested the current Way Huge Swollen Pickle as retaining a lot of bottom end and having a lot of versatility. Has anybody here tried one, on guitar or bass? I'd love to hear any opinions of it.

Ken

Bassfuzz.com sounds like a place I need to be...thanks!!

no intention to hijack the thread but regarding the title i thought it was not necessary to create a new one... so...

new (double) dirt box here as well !





gut shot !



sounds pretty cool so far... very intuitive... still not have the opportunity to try it on my main amp and with the guys which is the real valuable test...

Very interested to hear your thoughts on the BB+ Meursault!

I've got a clearer view now of my needs after a couple weeks of band practices. Basically it's this, I have a Vibrolux Reverb, which has gorgeous cleans. The other guitarist is using a Mesa Mark IV, our sound is developing to be a little heavier than I anticipated. So I would like a dual drive type box that has a good med gain side for rhythm and a nice clean-ish boost for the occasional lead.
AC+, BB+, Gristle King, Barber Dual Discrete and Jetter Red2 are on the radar currently. Going to see how many I can find locally to try out, but my guess is I'll only find the xotic stuff locally.

well... i was a little bit laconic...

to be a little bit more "complete", i'd say the sound is actually quite nice and on the side of Marshall, which has nothing to displease me ... the knobs are fairly linear, efficient and independent ... It is true that the gain rises quickly but you can still have a slight crunch quite easily ... it nicely color the sound... comp enabled or not, it still sounds pretty compressed but not too much... but it is far from the dynamic of a Rodenberg or even my mxr distortion III ... the comp makes me feel rather cut the highs slightly and add bass ...

Last edited by meursault on Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Very interested to hear your thoughts on the BB+ Meursault!

I've got a clearer view now of my needs after a couple weeks of band practices. Basically it's this, I have a Vibrolux Reverb, which has gorgeous cleans. The other guitarist is using a Mesa Mark IV, our sound is developing to be a little heavier than I anticipated. So I would like a dual drive type box that has a good med gain side for rhythm and a nice clean-ish boost for the occasional lead.
AC+, BB+, Gristle King, Barber Dual Discrete and Jetter Red2 are on the radar currently. Going to see how many I can find locally to try out, but my guess is I'll only find the xotic stuff locally.

for what you are describing, you need an epicenter audio valve boy. if you can find one, you'll be blown away. it is 2x 12ax7's and high plate voltage at that.

Very interested to hear your thoughts on the BB+ Meursault!

I've got a clearer view now of my needs after a couple weeks of band practices. Basically it's this, I have a Vibrolux Reverb, which has gorgeous cleans. The other guitarist is using a Mesa Mark IV, our sound is developing to be a little heavier than I anticipated. So I would like a dual drive type box that has a good med gain side for rhythm and a nice clean-ish boost for the occasional lead.
AC+, BB+, Gristle King, Barber Dual Discrete and Jetter Red2 are on the radar currently. Going to see how many I can find locally to try out, but my guess is I'll only find the xotic stuff locally.

Cancel that, just got kicked out of said band for "not being heavy enough"

Having a stellar Monday

Bummer Dave, I'm surprised they didn't discuss it with you. Something else will show up, just hang in there.-- Darwin

Bummer Dave, I'm surprised they didn't discuss it with you. Something else will show up, just hang in there.-- Darwin

Thanks Darwin, I was surprised too, we only had five practices after each I got compliments on my tone etc. seemed like a real bs reason to me but I couldn't drag a better one out of them

Last edited by Dave_P on Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry to hear it, Dave. It does seem fishy that the other players weren't willing to discuss things before earlier.

Ken