FX32 Meat Box

I've gotten some great results with this using a guitar tuned to an open C through a Fender hot Rod Deluxe.  I put it behind a ZVEX Fuzz Factory which is an AWESOME pedal, but it (like many distortion pedals) cuts the low end from your guitar, and... holy ******** ****, man!!  It sounds like what I would imagine a frigging T-Rex growl sounds like.  I worry about my amp a bit with the depths this thing produces, but it is an amazing, earth-rattling, phlegm-loosening thing of pure beauty.

Well... I got this free so I can't complain, but the switch is totally bunk.  I just leave it "on" and unplug it when I'm not using it, because it takes me stomping the living **** out of it to switch from on to off. DEFINITELY for recording and not gigging.

I inherited this from a friend of a friend, tried it, was like, "wtf?", Googled it, figured out what the knobs did... yep.  This forum helped a bunch. : )

I play experimental Indie Rock (with this pedal anyway) a la Sonic Youth, Sebadoh, Neutral Milk Hotel, Pavement, but I imagine it would be great for blues and metal too.  I've been playing and recording for about two decades now.  I own a lot of second-hand, bootleg, ******* up instruments (too many to name) and a couple fancy-ish ones too. I will probably replace this if (when) it dies, but I wouldn't pay more than like... 30 bucks or so.  Well, it does sound pretty badass... maybe I'd go as high as 40.

First off, you really have to have a semi decent bass amp to actually get this thing to work.  It generates very low subharmonics, but on a cheap 20watt amp it may sound like a buzz, it needs big speakers and power to come across.  On a bass amp of at least 100 watts with the MEAT control at 12 oclock it will definitly add thumpage and ultra low end to your tone.  I normally have RUMP (30Hz) maxed out and FLANK at 2 oclock for a perfect boost in low end.  For a really subtle sub harmonic enhancment I put MEAT at 10-11 oclock.  If you push MEAT past 12 oclock your dry signal starts to drop off quite fast and all you are left with is the sub harmonic signal which does not sound that great by itself on the E and A strings becuase it is not perfectly defined, but works OK as a Synth type bass on the higher strings. This box really shines in live situations through a really powerful amp (300w+) or through a powerful PA with a SUB.  With MEAT at 12 oclock and RUMP boosted you will just shake the entire building.  It does not seem to work as well with direct recording.  The box really seems to need to go through a big speaker to reach its potential. It will make even the cheasiest cheap ass bass sound enormous and fat. Well worth it if you can find one.

FYI, there is alot of confusion on what this pedal is.  I have seen several people call it a distortion box or a bass boost pedal.  To set the record straight, this is NOT a distortion box or just a bass boost!!!  It is a Sub-harmonic generator, period!  The confusion comes from the fact that most of the used pedals have no manual included with them, and DOD's website does not have the manual.  I have the manual, and it clearly states it is a Sub-harmonic effect made specially for Bass guitar.  The controls: Meat = blend knob between dry signal and sub-harmonic.  12 oclock setting is 50/50 mix. Rump = 30Hz boost.  You can't really hear this, you really just feel it.  Its what this pedal is all about, adding chest thumping meat to your tone. Flank = 60Hz boost.  Adds a bunch of bass to your tone, but use sparingly, it can muddy things up too much. LBS = Volume

Here we go with the myths: Myth 1: The Meat Box is a subharmonic synthesizer or octaver. Wrong. It doesn't generate subharmonics. Myth 2: Meat is the mix of wet and dry signals. Wrong. Meat sets the level of the effected signal, but even when turned to 5 o'clock (which ironically removes the effected signal), a small part of the original signal can be added using the LBS knob. On the other hand, turning the LBS knob down (to 7 o'clock) removes all of the signal. Maybe LBS is the "real" output knob, who knows. Myth 3: The Meat Box can only boost frequencies. Wrong. Both Rump and Flank are neutral when set to 12 o'clock. When turned to the left, lower parts of the signal are cut. Myth 4: Rump is a 30 Hz EQ, Flank is a 60 Hz EQ. Wrong. Rump affects signals up to ~200 Hz, Flank affects signals up to 400-500 Hz. Myth 5: The Meat Box is a distortion. Wrong. Only when you turn Rump and/or Flank past the 3 o'clock position, the unit will distort - depending on the signal levels. Flank distorts at lower levels than Rump. So, after all, as it is only a highly interactive EQ, what is the sound quality? It's very silent, not noisy at all. The switch is a bit noisy. That's it. I have read the reviews of people thinking it's an octaver. It's not.

DOD switches stink. They are unreliable. The battery door is, well, poorly engineered, but works if present. The casing and the pots are solid.

This effect is hard to understand. You might think "it's got four knobs, is this guy retarded?" No, I'm not - it's hard to understand because most of the knobs (Meat, Rump, Flank and LBS) are interactive. Changing one changes the effect of the other ones, too. I did some signal analysis and will dispel some of the myths surrounding the Meat Box. Enjoy.

Here are two settings that I developed: Bypass: This thing always sucks a bit of trebles when on, but the best "bypass" setting I found is Meat: 7 o'clock Rump: 12 o'clock Flank: 12 o'clock (both neutral) LBS: 3 o'clock. Low-end-boost: Meat: 7 o'clock Rump: 3 o'clock Flank 9 o'clock LBS: 3 o'clock. As always, if you steal this review, please mention where you got it from, thanks.