NPD x2 - EHX Deluxe Bass Muff and Knockout

[Shadoof]

Hi guys,

I posted this in the effects forum in a thread for the DBBM but I thought i"d put it here in case anyone was interested.

Originally Posted by Shadoof

Haven't put it through the paces at full volume rehearsal yet but my first impressions from bedroom playing are awesome...just in a different way than what I expected. I've been using a Swollen Pickle for over-the-top fuzz bass tones and was thinking the Deluxe Muff could take its place. I found that the Muff really shines at lower gain with little over 50% clean blend, giving me just a little grind for an overdriven sound. It does get really heavy and fuzzy with the gain up, but as far as blow-your-head-off cut-through-the-band noise explosion, the extra flexibility of the Pickle makes it a little more useful to me in that regard. If I didn't have the Pickle, I wouldn't be the least bit disappointed using the DBBM for all my bass fuzz needs.

I was really interested in this because of the dedicated clean out (granted - the original had this too, but by the time I was ready to buy a new pedal I had already heard about the Deluxe and decided to wait for it). My bass amp has two parallel preamps feeding a single power stage, so I have independent EQs and volume controls for each the dirty and clean output. This opens up a lot of possibilities for me that I'll be trying out. I found the crossover gives me some more flexibility in the overall fuzz texture, too, as it responds to the different cutoff of frequencies being fed to it. It would be neat if I could engage the crossover without the fuzz circuit being activated, but that's far from being a necessity. I'd prefer if the clean out was on the same side as the standard output, but that's not a big deal, either. Noise gate works well and doesn't color the tone too badly. I haven't used it, but DI out seems like an odd choice since there's very limited EQ and no amp or cabinet modelling. I would use the DI on my amp before I even considered using the one on this pedal. The only was I could see myself using it is as a desperate last resort if my amp totally {censored} the bed on me at a gig.

I actually went a little crazy with EHX this month - ordered a Knockout and Germanium 4 Muff, too. The Knockout is absolutely awesome with my Rickenbacker bass...it scoops the mids and gives it a clearer, punchier sound. I find the Ric is naturally midrangey which leaves me competing a bit with the guitar in a mix, but this seems to be solving that problem. Might just be an always-on pedal. I can definitely hear the difference playing with guitar, too, but I appreciate it more with bass. Using it with my SG Standard gives it a snappier, almost Strat-like sound but sometimes the highs can get a bit harsh. I can tell the sweet spot is going to be different on every guitar. Germ4 is fun but I've been focusing on using the other pedals with my bass rig for now.

Full band practice this weekend - if I have any different feelings about the DBBM after that I'll follow up.

tl;dr version: DBBM is super cool, but I'm surprisingly liking it better for low gain drive than balls-out fuzz.

The Knockout is by far the gem of this last batch I got in. I'm not really set up for recording video, but at the end of this demo the guy uses it with a P-Bass -

. Pretty good example of what it does on bass. This video is what sold me on it and I have to say it does a great job with my 4003. It doesn't exactly transform your bass into a different instrument, but for someone who wants some more flexibility without bringing an extra bass to a gig it's a peach. The classic Ric sound still has a place in my rig but I'll probably be using the Knockout more often than not.

I know, I know...blasphemy, the Ric is perfect the way it is, I just don't know how to use my amp's EQ, etc. Whatever. I like it.

[lug]

That's one nice pedal!