Who: Pete Cornish
What: G-2
Price (MSRP/PAID): £444.15/ Loan
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: 5″ X 7″ X 3.25″ (Approx: including Jacks and knobs)
Available from: Direct and Dealers

Comments:

It takes awhile playing with a pedal that costs this much to really get past how its value and just start listening to it. I’ll say right off the bat that this pedal isn’t worth the price, especially if you are buying it with the idea of using for bass. This isn’t to suggest that the pedal doesn’t sound good, because there are several settings that sound very very good.

The size is expansive, but everything is well laid out and easy to access. The labeling isn’t quite top notch in the art of finishing, but does cast a serious industrial attitude that is hard to ignore.

This pedal is perhaps the most transparent fuzz i’ve used. I know that sounds pretentious and a bit stupid, but each bass retains it’s own unique flavor more than i’ve ever experienced. I actually liked it best with my five string active, which also makes it the first fuzz I’ve been able to say that about. Cutting through in the mix and low end loss are going to be problems on some levels, but I’d be afraid to take it out of the house anyway! Noise levels are very low and it worked well when recording overdubs to a dry signal.

In conclusion, save your money unless you are serious crazy loaded or an obsessive collector, but if you have a chance to give one a whirl, do so!

Who: Monolith Effects (Not Currently in Operation)
What: Oracle
Price (MSRP/PAID): Not available/ $320 (Used)
Battery:Yes
Power Supply:No
Size: 4 3/4″ X 7 1/2″ X 3″ (Approx: including Jacks and knobs)
Available from: Used market

Comments:

The first and most striking thing about this pedal and the first thing you”ll notice when you see it is… it’s huge. Its proportional so it doesn’t look that big in photos by itself, but I was actually a bit surprised when I took it out of the box. The pedal has a nice hammerite finish that is quite solid and can handle a bit of abuse without showing it (don’t ask how I know this!). The images and labels on the pedal appear to be the water-slide type that have been clear-coated over. These are well cut and fit the top of the box perfectly, and gives the top a professionally finished look, only the company logo on the back panel really shows the edges of the label. The internals of this pedal are some of the most interesting you will ever see. OCD wiring with turret board construction and mojo parts to the max.

Not a pedal that is designed for bass use, but many settings do maintain plenty of low-end. The center tone knob “color”, can be pulled out to bypass the tone stack and this is generally the most useful setting. The “density” controls the amount of fuzz, and sometimes it feels like it really only has three positions (rather than a graduated scale of fuzziness); cranked, 50%, and almost off. Cranked gets pretty gnarly, with quite a bit of grind when you lay into it. The 50% setting actually has quite a bit of flavor to it and gives nice lower gain sounds.

Who: ProCo
What: Juggernaut
Price (Street/Paid): $175/$115 (Used)
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Forgot to Measure (Approx: including Jacks and knobs)
Available from: Dealers

Comments:

This one of those pedals that has been lurking around the background of my a thoughts for awhile but took a long time for me to really get a handle on. I had finally written a review for it in January and my laptop took a header while I was out and about and poof… Gone. So a few photos on my desktop and the unedited video have sat ever since. I’m finally motivating myself to clean up these old messes and reclaim things the best I can.

Who: Way Huge
What: Purple Platypus
Price (MSRP/PAID): Not available/Trade
Battery:Yes
Power Supply:Yes
Size: 3 7/8″ X 5″ X 2 1/2″ (Approx: including Jacks and knobs)
Available from: Used market

Comments:

The Way Huge line of pedals is one of the significant milestones in the birth of the boutique pedal market. I’ve always been curious about their application on bass guitar and a recent trade has landed the Purple Platypus on my door step. The loss of access to a video camera has kept me away for a bit, but this pedal seemed an easy way (only two knobs!) to get back on the horse with the new camera.

Certainly not a pedal designed with bass in mind and sadly it shows. Manipulation of the Dirt knob from anything but the maximum position acts as an extremely strong gate that decimates the bulk of your signal. This impacted all of the basses I tested both active and passive. The highest levels on the dirt knob yielded some interesting, if still low ending robbing, results. It’s something that may be worth exploring if you or a friend happen across one, but hardly worth the price they demand on the secondary market