FX32 Meat Box

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.