From the maker:

Description:
Harmonic Octave Analog Distortion Pedal

The Malekko Barker ASSMASTER is inspired by the original Maestro Bass Brassmaster octave pedal. Hand-built by us, this modern version delivers the same octave overdrive/harmonic generation effect in a quiet, fully controllable pedal. It features a recessed LED indicator, a pop-free true bypass switch, and a tough lexan face. The 5 controls provide complete control over the tone, overtones, harmonics and mix of the dry and wet signal.

We now offer an expression jack for the sensitivity control. Very cool! Get an expression pedal for hands-free sensitivity freakouts!

The pedal is powered by a 9v DC adaptor (neg tip) or internal battery snap.

The ass volume controls the volume of the distortion signal
The ass switch selects the tone of the distortion
The bass volume is the dry signal control; also provides massive gain to the dry signal
Harm selects the harmonic spectrum of the effect
Sensitivity controls the depth and response of the effect from subtle to excessively saturated

The Malekko Barker ASSMASTER GERMANIUM has all the same attributes as the original Barker ASSMASTER, with the addition of germanium components creating a smoother, more “vintage” feeling face-peeling distortion. Comes with sweet blue LED. Moms love it!

The silverburst edition has two germ transistors instead of one and also also has a enhanced frequency range. The original maestro design didnt allow super low frequencies to pass…this one does.

Initial thoughts:

A little sheepish towards Brassmaster clones after a run in with the Prescription Depth Charge and the insane about of “bee attack” that you get if you happen to play through a cab with a horn (or DI). I’ll admit the joke name/look of this pedal eluded me, until my wife walked in the door and saw one sitting on the counter. “What’s with the big gay man pedal?”, she said. I was shocked and blew cola out my nose. To this day, I have no idea what is with the deal with the “big gay man pedal”, but I very quickly learned that big gay man pedals have a lot to offer.

I’ve never had any experiance with an actual Brassmaster, but the basic look and control layout is similar on the surface. I was confused by the large glittering number on the back and when I got the second one (a germanium version) that looked no different from the first, I assumed that the number was used to delinate them. Yeah, no so much. The number is part of the sense of humor imparted to the entire lineup by the jokers at Malekko. Plastic teeth will never be the same again.

So unlike most of my other reviews this is kind of a three-in-one fest of Assmaster goodness. I bought a standard one (silicon), traded for a second (germ version) to compare, and then a silverburst special edition (double germ, changed eq) came to me on loan from talkbasser vegas523. This whole process got a little bigger and more convoluted than I intended, but finally I’ve gotten the review together!

My initial conversations with Josh from Malekko have been nothing but positive. If you are curious about the goings on of a curious mind, be sure to read my interview with him.

Video Overview

Out-takes

Samples – Silicon

Positions for Testing:
*Knobs noted in O’clocks.

1. Ass Volume 8, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity 10, Ass: Left, Harm: Left
2. Ass Volume 10, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity 2, Ass: Left, Harm: Right
3. Ass Volume 12, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity 3, Ass: Right, Harm: Left

Note: Headphones or good speakers required. Bass samples!

P Bass

Active J

Fretless

Short 5

Samples – Germanium

Positions for Testing:
* Knobs noted in O’clocks.

1. Ass Volume 8, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity 10, Ass: Left, Harm: Left
2. Ass Volume 10, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity Expression, Ass: Left, Harm: Right
3. Ass Volume 12, Bass Volume 1, Sensitivity 3, Ass: Left, Harm: Right

Note: Headphones or good speakers required. Bass samples!

P Bass

Active J

Fretless

Short 5

Samples – Silver Burst Double Germanium

Positions for Testing:
* Knobs noted in O’clocks..

1. Ass Volume 8, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity 10, Ass: Left, Harm: Left
2. Ass Volume 10, Bass Volume 2, Sensitivity Expression, Ass: Left, Harm: Right
3. Ass Volume 12, Bass Volume 1, Sensitivity 3, Ass: Left, Harm: Right

Note: Headphones or good speakers required. Bass samples!

P Bass

Active J

Fretless

Short 5

Picture Gallery

Scientific testing clearly indicates that the pedal sounds better with the teeth left inside the box. That said, additional testing proves that the skill of the player increases on a parabolic ratio to the length of time the teeth have been worn with an inverse logarithmic scaling prorated to the player’s ugliness on the cullina/whale-hump scale (methodology discussed here.) So you will have to make that hard choice for yourself.

Construction and cosmetic concerns:

Each of these pedals is well constructed and uses high quality components. The rattle test leaves only a the slight sound the long battery cable touching . The form factor of the pedal is a little bit larger than most people end up being happy with, myself included. Strangly the switch is located near the center of the pedal, rather then closer to the edge as you normally see. This position can create a little bit of a reach depending on the layout of your pedalboard. If there was a significant improvement I could ask for it would be to squeeze one of these bad boys into a smaller enclosure.

The fit and finish of the boxes is very nice, espcially the silverburst edition, though the wiring runs are some of the longest I’ve seen inside a pedal. On the two regular models, the only way to tell the difference between them is one has a pink LED (silicon) and one has a blue LED (germanium). Sure the cardboard boxes that they came in are different, and the inside cover of the enclosure indicates the difference with a sticker. I’m sure not having seperate configurations saves on the time and effort side for Malekko, but I still think that not having a significant look-and-feel difference is a bit of an issue, espically for junkies who buy and sell pedals on the internet on a regular basis.

My other quibble would be the battery. Tons of room, but and instead of a clip or a compartment the battery is wedged into the corner of the case by the circuit board. A soft piece of foam is attached to the rear cover to keep it from bouncing against it. While this suceeds, you need to be careful when taking the back off, because each time I did so the battery was pressed into the foam enough that it came with the back and put a little stress on the cable attaching the battery clip (until you finally remember and stop doing it).

Conclusion:

I have several conclusions that I came to during this process.

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
• The silicon and germanium pedals sound extremely different. Different enough that even though they share the same basic circuit they could (and should?) be marketed as different pedals.
• I really like the design.

All models:

The seperation of the ‘ass volume’ and the ‘bass volume’ really allows a tayloring of levels beyond that of most other pedals I’ve used. It doesn’t seem to matter what peice of equipment you throw at it, you can really dial in the “your flavor”. The ass and harm switchs shift the sonic fury to and fro creating even more sounds by altering the tone and spectrum of the effect.

The sensitivity knob controls the saturation of the fuzz (from subtle to wall of fuzz) for yet another avenue of customization.

Silicon:

The sound on this guy is the most brash of the bunch, and has more of what I associate with other brassmaster samples I’ve heard. There is always a box of bees hiding behind the bushes waiting to strike. In my opinion the octave effect is most noticable in this pedal. I find this configuration to be a little to ‘honky’ sounding for my liking. It’s clearly the most cutting and biting of the group. Additionally I would later discover that I really enjoy the expression pedal on the sensitivity knob (though your mileage may vary, the mod is available for this pedal now).

Germanium:

This pedal has the expression modification done to it where you can control the sensitivy knob using an external rocker. This is an extremely cool feature and can be used to modulate your sound in a way that sounds similar to a tremolo. On the whole this pedal is a lot smoother and less honky then the silicon version, sadly the total range of the pedal seemed somewhat reduced when compared to the silicon version (which swings from light multi-layer grind to brutal shock wall).

Silverburst Double Germ:

Best of both worlds? The enhanced frequency range of this pedal and the extra transistor (I’m not sure in what ratio these things are responsible) create a much larger specturm of sound than the straight germanium and includes much higher gain settings. It still maintains the smoother and less intense sound that I preferred in the Germ version. In the words of Ferris Bueller: “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

Which one you will like is going to be a matter of taste, and will be partially based on what you are trying to do with the pedal. Many people will find them to be so different that owning one of each wouldn’t be out of the question. The circuit has a unique flavor, but it is something that I very much enjoy. The silverburst edition Assmaster is one of the best fuzzes I’ve had the chance to try in terms of control and sonic possibilities.

As always, if you have any questions, leave a comment or let me know

Note: A rating of 5 = acceptable and should considered a ‘good’ basic score

Barker ASSMASTER

Barker ASSMASTER germanium

Barker ASSMASTER silverburst double germanium