Bee Baa video & written comparison

[phantasmagorovich]

So, the Bee Baa craze has hit me recently. I've now had two weeks with it or so, I also bought the Barge Concepts Clone because Abanoise conveniently put it up in the bst.

I got the original for a ridiculous deal and I was actually thinking about flipping it for a profit but it just sounds so awesome. The plan was to replace the Roland with the Barge but alas not only is the Barge very lacking in the Mojoez department but it simply doesn't sound so good. Here's my findings:

ROLAND BEE BAA vs. Barge Concepts BB-jr

The Roland has MUCH more volume on tap.But it really depends on which tone setting you are on. You set it to a nice volume (earcrushing) and then you think: "hey, let's hit the tone stomp" and either it's instant death for your eardrums or you disappear completely. Both settings are just too far apart volume-wise for the stomp to be actually usable. I think the barge people tried to even out the two tonal settings because that's a big problem with this thing. But what happens is that the Barge has much less volume. You need to go past 12 for unity. That's just as stupid as the Roland with the hugely differing volumes. Also it just feels weak.

The thing I really love about the Roland is to dial the sustain all the way down and hear the sad crackle of the notes as they don't decay but get mutilated, rot and burn. It can be sooo gated and totally sing forever if you crank the sustain. The Barge can sing just as well, most of the in-between tones can be dialed in on the Barge, but apparently the Barge doesn't go so low on the sustain dial. It won't go into crackley gate territory, which is a shame, because that is the sound I love the most out of this thing.

This version from Barge doesn't have the Treble Boost like the original. At first I didn't like that sound but I am getting more used to it. Seems like a mean rhythm crunch to me now.

Apart from the volume stuff, the Roland has some irritating features that should not be left unmentioned: Vintage pricing, battery only, HUGE box, switching it on is by a switch on the end of the dial of the sustain pot. So you can't just leave your setting on that pot. If you forget to turn on the pedal it will mute if you step on the stomp. On one hand it's really nice that you don't need to pull the cable but on the other it might even be easier to forget to turn that pot all the way down.

The clone doesn't get the sound I like the most from the vintage Bee Baa, so it's obvious which one wins. Second reason: MOJO.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRlwIqixzVk[/youtube]


I will probably use this in the Doom project I have so it will replace the Megalith. The sounds are not really related but I like to boost the 'Lith with a clone of the Harmonic Percolator. Then the sound gets into the same ballpark. Still not really super similar, but I think I can justify replacing one with the other.

[sonidero]

Quit tellin people till I get one...

[Derelict78]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRlwIqixzVk[/youtube]

Your vid is private

[phantasmagorovich]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRlwIqixzVk[/youtube]

Your vid is private

iMovie is a bitch. Should work now.

[univalve]

Thanks for the insight view. Still wondering how the Black cat may compare.