Post by freekingprawn on Nov 16, 2015 22:48:47 GMT
The Pedal:
It’s a rather affordable 2 in 1 pedal. For 58€ you can get one of these brand new .
It is both a soft overdrive as well as a clean booster. Built like an absolute tank, you can through it under a bus and I can imagine it would still work. The footswitch is also of my personal liking. Doesn’t require you to put your full weight on it to engage the pedal, neither is it of that “clicky-clacky” annoying kind like those on the Deluxe Big Muff. It’s smaller but resistant. The knobs are made of metal as well and are placed like in a Boss pedal. Nice touch there.
On the underside of the pedal the battery compartment is access by unscrewing a small metal flat screw with a coin. It doesn’t protrude either, which is good. The 9 volt input is located on the top side of the pedal like most pedals are.
The layout is rather simple as well: 4 knobs consisting of Boost/Blues; Drive; Tone; Level.
Though opinions divide as to which setting the pedal is best at [Boost or Overdrive], you can achieve the boost function in the Blues setting as well; though it will not be as clean as in the proper Boost setting. It has its uses though.
One thing that seems to pop occasionally on various user reviews is the “amp like” quality the little bugger has. To which degree it sounds like a Marshall Blues Breaker amplifier I cannot say; never played through one. Does it behave like an amp? Indeed it does, to a certain degree. Dynamics is something it offers in spades if that is a must for you.
The Sound:
In its Blues/Overdrive setting, It’s an overdrive. A very soft and round kind of overdrive. Not of the gnarly and angry kind, though you can achieve that with some higher output pickups or using another pedal to drive it. The single coils in my Strat seem to enjoy it as is, specially the neck and neck+middle positions.
The Gain goes from absolute silence when turned all the way down [which is not that good], to full in a soft increment fashion [which is good]. There seem to be no sudden jumps in between positions. It also works in tandem with the Volume Knob like many dirt pedals do.
The Tone knob is also rather gentle. Doesn’t over mud the sound neither does it go over the top with the higher frequencies. It works quite well no matter how it is set [and depending of what you are after, but chances are you’ll find a good sound no matter how you set it]. There is a fair amount of mids on the overall sound as well.
There is one setting I particularly am inclined to use often: turning the gain all the way up and the tone all the way down, setting the guitar for the neck pickup with the guitar tone all the way down and engaging the compressor after the pedal, allows for a very pleasing and creamy sound tailored for a soft long solo. Adding an analog delay and a tad of reverb to this is pure heaven [keep in mind though that my guitar is tuned to Baritone [B-b] with a set of heavier gauge strings. Playing somewhere between the 7th fret and 15th on the thinner strings allows for a semi-flute like sound]. Though there are other uses for it alone, this setting seems to be the most pleasant one for my particular tastes.
I have but one grip with this pedal: It produces a lot of “breath” [or “air” if you prefer]. You may find it a charming quality though. It’s certainly not a bad thing in itself but, personally, I find it somewhat annoying as if something is “missing” there. Or better yet as if it begs to be filled with sound.
One way to counter this occurrence [or at least diminished it to some degree] is by rolling the tone all the way to the left. That “breath” is still there, but tamed. Another way is to roll the tone knob on the guitar. But here’s the thing: it’s not that it only happens when the tone is open wide or when there are higher frequencies being pushed; it’s more like a natural thing with the pedal itself to which I can only conclude that it’s the nature of the beast rather than anything else.
The Boost setting of the pedal produces no audible distortion. The Gain and Tone knobs are disengaged once you set it for the Boost function. Only the Level Knob will work, and there is a lot of volume on tap if the idea is to give an extra punch to your overall sound.
Many owners of the BB2 seem to rely more on the Boost than on the Dirt side, though opinions vary.
The Pros:
. Very affordable
. It’s a 2 in 1. A clean boost as well as a soft overdrive.
. Built like an absolute tank.
. Good footswitch.
. Dynamic. Responds very well to your picking
. Stacks well with other pedals. Putting a compressor in front of it will result in an extra roundness to its sound. Putting a compressor prior to it will drive it a bit further [if done within reason]
. Tone knob dwells well within the pleasant frequencies.
. Boost is clean and very reasonable.
The Cons:
. “Breath/Air” is very present.
. When driving other pedals it can become unpleasantly noisy if driving the BB2's gain to past 3. Be sure to use a noise gate in the chain if thinking about driving another pedal with it [the MXR Super Bad Ass became extremely noisy without a noise gate; the Deluxe Big Muff already has a noise gate on it so the noise resulting of the pairing was minimal].
. When the Gain is in its lowest position, there is no sound at all instead of remaining clean.
Afterthoughts:
Sometimes – and depending of what you are after – just a tad of dirt goes a long way. This is a good pedal for that, even more so for the boost function but, in my very humble opinion, the best use for it is when you crank the Gain, turn the Tone knob all the way down, select your neck pickup [especially if it’s a single coil Strat, in which case I also recommend turning the pickup tone knob down as well], engage a compressor after it, a tad of delay and reverb and solo to your hearts’ content. It's pure Soft Solo bliss time that will surely put a healthy smile in your face. And because it’s a dynamic pedal [or “amp like” as some refer] it will respond to your picking style nuances rather well.
A Noise Gate is a must as it is the case of many dirt pedals. By itself, I don’t find it noisy at all. Just that annoying “breath” that hangs over your shoulders. Stacking it with a distortion pedal that has no Noise Gate built into it is when the real problem begins as it gets extremely noisy at higher settings. My Deluxe Big Muff loved it [though I feel no need to pair it with the BB2, since it has a hell lot of gain and sustain by itself] but the MXR Super Bad Ass complained a lot [and I guess so did my neighbors].
All in all the BB2 is a pretty reasonable pedal that has its uses.
Thankfully the HB has some decent affordable pedals.