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Digitech Bad Monkey: Tell Me About It


elsupermanny14

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I currently run an Ibanez TS9 that I love. I bought about it about ten years ago before Ibanez started cashing in on the name and started charging through the nose for them lol.

 

Anyways, it's a great pedal. I'm just curious about the Bad Monkey because it has a high and low control and it's CHEAP lol. So I will not feel bad about it if I decide to buy one. Can the high and low controls be used sort of like a "poor man's" EQ?

 

I'm also curious about the comments that it sucks tone. I heard some clips on youtube and it doesn't sound bad. I'll admit that it slightly alters the sound when it's in the effects chain, but I don't think it makes the guitar sound "bad" or that it takes away from the guitar tone/sound.

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If you already have a TS9 that you love, stick with it. I had a BM for a few months, and never found a tone I really liked. It always sounded kind of fizzy to my ears, and didn't seem particularly responsive to picking dynamics.

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you have a ts9.







i don't understand the point of this thread.

 

+1

 

Why would you want a copy of the real thing when you have the real thing?

 

 

Though the High/Low EQ knobs rock and my Monkey sounds great if you don't push the gain knob too much.

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I believe hes asking because the bad monkey has bass and treble levels and the ts9 doesnt... Very few tube screamers have that....Bad Monkey and Garagetone Drivetrain are 2 that do., also its not uncommon to have 2 ODs one set light and one set on full and goosing each other, or just set for different songs etc; or like he implies to use it as an eq/boost

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I believe hes asking because the bad monkey has bass and treble levels and the ts9 doesnt... Very few tube screamers have that....Bad Monkey and Garagetone Drivetrain are 2 that do., also its not uncommon to have 2 ODs one set light and one set on full and goosing each other, or just set for different songs etc; or like he implies to use it as an eq/boost

 

 

Exactly! I'm looking into possibly adding a second overdrive in order to run two. Since I already have a TS9 I'm looking at different "variations" of tube screamers. I really like the idea of having a high and a low knob in order to have more flexibility. A lot of players run two overdrives and I think it's a great idea.

 

The only reason I was looking at the Bad Monkey pedal was because it's so cheap and I have heard a lot of people speak well about it. What would you guys recommend as great overdrives with high and low controls (thanks for the garage tone intro by the way) that would work well with a traditional TS9?

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I have A/B'd the two side by side - I own both.

 

I'd say go ahead and get the BM. Really, the EQ features on it are cool. I had a Marshall VS8080 (gave it to my son last year) and the BM was a great pedal in front of that amp. That Marshall, and many Marshalls, don't have the deep resonance of other amps (Like a Fender Black Face for example) and I found that a speaker upgrade only made a bit of improvement - even with that amp's bass cranked all the way up it still sounded shallow. But that Bad Monkey could easily add just enough extra bottom end to give that amp the resonance I wanted to hear (I prefer that type of classic tone over crunch). And I mean, I just had to add a bit more with the BM, too much and it got woofy.

 

Now on the A/B'ing, I found that the two were relatively close, maybe the BM was a bit more aggressive (it's been a while) but the thing I absolutely remember is that the TS9 had a more "spatial" sound to it. It was more like Stadium Rock overdrive tone whereas the BM had a bit more of a boxy overdrive tone to it. So I prefer the TS9, but if you're looking for a great little pedal with the extra EQ boost feature built in, then absolutely get the BM and add it to your clutter. ;)

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I have a green rhino which also has some EQ tweakability. True bypass, big green metal box, sounds good. Bad Monkey gets the good reviews as well though, it'd be worth a shot.

 

 

Wow! Did some research on the Green Rhino. That thing looks killer. Definitely looks like it has a great level of flexibility. Good price too!

 

Just out of curiosity, is it made in Benecia, CA? I know that's where Dunlop is located and as a Bay Area guy, I'm curious if it's made in my backyard.

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I have a BM and a TS10. To me they sound very similar. I like the seperate bass/treble tone controls on the BM.. gives a bit more tonal range. I always run three OD/distortion pedals on my board set at various levels. The BM has been a mainstay. You won't find a better OD for less money.

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I run a Bad Monkey with a TS808 reissue. Usually, the BM is a clean boost for the TS808. I don't know many other pedals that are as good for the money as a Bad Monkey. I love the controls. If it had a mid, it would be just about perfect.

 

I'm planning on trying a Monte Allums mod on my TS, so I might not need the BM anymore. The mod is supposed to give more gain to the severely lacking TS.

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Wow! Did some research on the Green Rhino. That thing looks killer. Definitely looks like it has a great level of flexibility. Good price too!


Just out of curiosity, is it made in Benecia, CA? I know that's where Dunlop is located and as a Bay Area guy, I'm curious if it's made in my backyard.

 

 

Not sure where they're made, but it does the job pretty darn good. I just use it as a lead boost, I should probably mess around with it for the more SRV tones. I would like to think it's a small step up from the Bad Monkey at least for the true bypass (plus I don't really like those Boss style switches too much). Check them both out would be my advice.

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I used to have one, and I would have to say that its best feature was that me and our female bass player could make jokes about my 'bad monkey' and how i was trying to keep it under control.

 

So it generated some humour, but I tried to use it as little as possible. If it is close to an Ibanez Tube Screamer at 3x the price, i DEFINITELY won't be getting one of those. :lol:

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I have a green rhino which also has some EQ tweakability. True bypass, big green metal box, sounds good. Bad Monkey gets the good reviews as well though, it'd be worth a shot.

 

 

The Green Rhino kicked my Bad Monkey off my board.

 

My board has changed many times over the past 6 years but the Bad Monkey has been a mainstay up until a month ago. I definitely liked the BM better than my TS9 because the bass control gives any amp a nice, warm, light OD tone. I think it deserves all the hype. Now, I have it set up for my bass which it also sounds great for IMO.

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