Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:49 pm
Ohhhh it's the sheeit. You and Eric need to punish that beast witchya'lls thick strangs. 
hee. you dirty.
yeah man. SO looking forward to it.
Page 3 of 10
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:18 pm
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:00 pm
No reviews makes me sad. C'mon fellers!
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 2:37 pm
Ohai Guyze! 
I'm not on this Tour Box 
, but John Lyons and I have been having a very nice ongoing conversation about fuzz and, long story short, John sent me what he's referred to as the "used car" version of a Basic Audio Tour Box to evaluate. 
More like "Certified Pre-Owned Lexus" if'n you ask me , but it does include some early versions of Basic Audio classix, and a few proto-versions of new and to come pedals.
With your indulgence, I'm going to post my impressions on each of these lil' gems here because, well, it seems pertinent.
The fuzzes I have from John include a Squarewave+ (which is bought, paid for, lock, stock and barrel mines!); a two-knob Gnarly; a three-knob Spooky Tooth; a Wildcat; John's current version of his expansion of the Roland Double Beat/AF-50; an early version of the Zippy sans mode switch; and, last but not least, a little black mystery box tentatively identified only with a blue-taped ?, now identified by John as his early take on a yet-to-come Basic Audio fuzz which has it's roots in the Os Mutantes fuzz.
Because this will certainly become tl/dr, I'm going to post separately on each of these as time allows over the next several days.
Seeya!
I'm not on this Tour Box , but John Lyons and I have been having a very nice ongoing conversation about fuzz and, long story short, John sent me what he's referred to as the "used car" version of a Basic Audio Tour Box to evaluate. More like "Certified Pre-Owned Lexus" if'n you ask me , but it does include some early versions of Basic Audio classix, and a few proto-versions of new and to come pedals.With your indulgence, I'm going to post my impressions on each of these lil' gems here because, well, it seems pertinent.
The fuzzes I have from John include a Squarewave+ (which is bought, paid for, lock, stock and barrel mines!); a two-knob Gnarly; a three-knob Spooky Tooth; a Wildcat; John's current version of his expansion of the Roland Double Beat/AF-50; an early version of the Zippy sans mode switch; and, last but not least, a little black mystery box tentatively identified only with a blue-taped ?, now identified by John as his early take on a yet-to-come Basic Audio fuzz which has it's roots in the Os Mutantes fuzz.
Because this will certainly become tl/dr, I'm going to post separately on each of these as time allows over the next several days.
Seeya!
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 4:14 pm
OK--Here are my impressions of the Basic Audio Squarewave+:
The Squarewave+ is John's take on the mid-to late-1970s Univox Square Wave fuzz, which had Balance (effect volume) and Wave Shape (tone) controls. As some of you know, Univox was a Unicord brand name, under which guitars amps and effects were all marketed, most famously for us effects junkies, the original UniVibe, and the Univox (Shin Ei) Super Fuzz. From 1975, Univox products were made in Japan--until the brand was phased out in 1978 and replaced by Westbury (the name of the Long Island town where Unicord had its headquarters, a few miles from where I grew up). Unicord was eventually purchased by Korg. The Square Wave was first produced in 1976, and discontinued in 1978, making it a pretty rare bird.
The original unit gets fairly mixed reviews today. It doesn't generate a square wave, but instead a crumbly fuzzstortion with a texture that won't appeal to the crowd that doesn't make friends with fuzz easily, but is of great interest to those latter-day fuzznauts searching for unique attack and decay characteristics to make their riffs stand out from the pack. As such, a clone was a worthy goal--to bring this circuit to an appreciative user base that likely couldn't justify the expense of a possibly unreliable vintage original.
If all John had done was produce a reliable, affordable clone I personally would have offered a hearty huzzah and placed my order; but John has gone well beyond that limited, though worthy, goal.
The first thing John did was ditch the rather uninspiring tone control, which to my ears merely afforded the user a choice between the stock crumbly-but-full-bodied fuzzstortion and (somewhat pointlessly) a slightly muddier version. It didn't, for instance, provide the level of tone shaping provided by the standard Big Muff tone control, which many DIYers chose to graft on when they made their own Square Wave clones.
In it's place, John has added a Gain control allowing the user to dial back the gain of the signal heading into the clipping portion of the circuit; a Clamp control which continuously varies the amount of diode clipping present in the signal, and a clipping selector, which allows for a choice between the stock germanium diode pair, a silicon diode pair, and a diode lift (no diode clipping). Obviously, the Clamp control doesn't effect the signal in the diode lift mode.
The sum total of these three very interactive controls is a variety of distortion textures ranging from a very slightly dirty boost, through smooth and/or fizzy/crumbly overdrive textures, to classic rock distortion, the original signature crumbling fuzzstortion, crushed kazoo-like tones, whooshing synthy decays, subtle uper-octave emphasis, and, when voltage starved, some very nice ring-mod-like tones.
The Germanium diodes, with maxed clipping and fuzz gain, will produce some of the more outrageous tones--this is where synthy and octave-up tones start to blend in with the base fuzzstortion. As you dial back the gain and/or the guitar's volume, the attack and decay characteristics increasingly stabilize and then begin to produce more overdrive-like sounds. On this clipping setting, however, the overdrive tones are definitely of the whooshy/fizzy variety and exhibit a quality reminiscent of a clean-blend--the fuzzyness seems to ride on top of the less distorted primary signal. With a Telecaster, many tones similar to a Harmonic Percolator were available in this mode. Turning the Clamp control clockwise reduces the amount of diode clipping--bring up the volume and bass content of the signal, and resulting in smoother, less fizzy and compressed, more integrated clipping characteristics. Another note--volume knob cleanup with the Gain control maxed is very smooth, without the shelving effects found on many vintage fuzz designs, and without the increase in treble sparkle that stems from varying load effects from the guitar. I found that this fuzz was exceptionally responsive to both volume and tone knob adjustments from the guitar. Note, however, that with the Gain control on the pedal rolled back, rolling back the guitar volume will also reduce the output level from the fuzz to a much greater extent than is the case with the Gain maxed.
In silicon diode mode, you get a comparable range of tones, although in all cases the signal is proportionally less crushed, compressed, or fizzy, with a more full-bodied tone. Based on my experimention with diode types in other circuits, I expected the silicon diodes to be much more middle-of-the-road, classic rock sounding than the germanium, and there is no doubt, you'll find it much easier to dial in the classic 70s fuzzstortion tones with the silicon diodes selected than with germanium. But, the Clamp control allows for much more overlap tonally than a selector switch alone would, and the most extreme clipping settings with the silicon diodes provided plenty of strangeways pump and bloom--in fact the closest I've heard to the tones from the Squarewave+ with silicon diodes selected and Gain and Clamp "maxed" is from a Rat clone with germanium diodes in a negative feedback path.
Lifting the diodes creates a volume boost, and both lessens the extreme degree of clipping compression and overload characteristics found with the diodes selected, and smooths out the inherent attack/decay characteristics of the circuit, bringing it somewhat closer in nature to a Silicon Fuzz Face, although still retaining it's own aggressive personality, and to my ears a tighter bass and less-scooped EQ pofile than the Si Fuzz Faces normally afford. This is the mode that allows for the most variance in lower gain clipping characteristics, with tones ranging from a nearly clean boost with Gain or guitar volume rolled back, through many classic overdrive, distortion and fuzz textures. This is also the mode you should go to if you want to take a break from the crumbling characteristic. I also found voltage starving the circuit to provide a greater level of adjustments to the overall feel of the pedal in this mode.
As always, YMMV, and do note that the fuzz is very responsive to the signal it is fed--both the lower and upper limits of the clipping range are different depending on whether you feed the box single coils or humbuckers, high level or low level signals. I personally loved it with everything I threw at it, but obviously humbuckers will result in a lot more saturation, and will more readily result in complete overload, with certain settings resulting in paradoxic effects such as the volume swelling as the note decays. For the greatest number of sweet-spots, I kept going back to my trusty Tele, but I also loved the tones with P90s, Filtertrons and other Mini-Humbuckers, and DeArmond Dynasonics. This is a bonus to me, because I find that many times the Dynasonics and Filtertrons have a somewhat coquettish response to my other fuzzes.
I'm not in a good position to do demos right now, but luckily, John has blessed us with demos which, imho, are very true to the sound from the actual pedal, and there have been other really good demos from users in the various Tour Boxes and otherwise.
John--please correct me if I've mis-stated anything. Special thanks to edkoppel, 'cuz you know why.
John--thank you for work and for sharing this hunk of fuzz. Next up--AF-50(ish)....
The Squarewave+ is John's take on the mid-to late-1970s Univox Square Wave fuzz, which had Balance (effect volume) and Wave Shape (tone) controls. As some of you know, Univox was a Unicord brand name, under which guitars amps and effects were all marketed, most famously for us effects junkies, the original UniVibe, and the Univox (Shin Ei) Super Fuzz. From 1975, Univox products were made in Japan--until the brand was phased out in 1978 and replaced by Westbury (the name of the Long Island town where Unicord had its headquarters, a few miles from where I grew up). Unicord was eventually purchased by Korg. The Square Wave was first produced in 1976, and discontinued in 1978, making it a pretty rare bird.
The original unit gets fairly mixed reviews today. It doesn't generate a square wave, but instead a crumbly fuzzstortion with a texture that won't appeal to the crowd that doesn't make friends with fuzz easily, but is of great interest to those latter-day fuzznauts searching for unique attack and decay characteristics to make their riffs stand out from the pack. As such, a clone was a worthy goal--to bring this circuit to an appreciative user base that likely couldn't justify the expense of a possibly unreliable vintage original.
If all John had done was produce a reliable, affordable clone I personally would have offered a hearty huzzah and placed my order; but John has gone well beyond that limited, though worthy, goal.
The first thing John did was ditch the rather uninspiring tone control, which to my ears merely afforded the user a choice between the stock crumbly-but-full-bodied fuzzstortion and (somewhat pointlessly) a slightly muddier version. It didn't, for instance, provide the level of tone shaping provided by the standard Big Muff tone control, which many DIYers chose to graft on when they made their own Square Wave clones.
In it's place, John has added a Gain control allowing the user to dial back the gain of the signal heading into the clipping portion of the circuit; a Clamp control which continuously varies the amount of diode clipping present in the signal, and a clipping selector, which allows for a choice between the stock germanium diode pair, a silicon diode pair, and a diode lift (no diode clipping). Obviously, the Clamp control doesn't effect the signal in the diode lift mode.
The sum total of these three very interactive controls is a variety of distortion textures ranging from a very slightly dirty boost, through smooth and/or fizzy/crumbly overdrive textures, to classic rock distortion, the original signature crumbling fuzzstortion, crushed kazoo-like tones, whooshing synthy decays, subtle uper-octave emphasis, and, when voltage starved, some very nice ring-mod-like tones.
The Germanium diodes, with maxed clipping and fuzz gain, will produce some of the more outrageous tones--this is where synthy and octave-up tones start to blend in with the base fuzzstortion. As you dial back the gain and/or the guitar's volume, the attack and decay characteristics increasingly stabilize and then begin to produce more overdrive-like sounds. On this clipping setting, however, the overdrive tones are definitely of the whooshy/fizzy variety and exhibit a quality reminiscent of a clean-blend--the fuzzyness seems to ride on top of the less distorted primary signal. With a Telecaster, many tones similar to a Harmonic Percolator were available in this mode. Turning the Clamp control clockwise reduces the amount of diode clipping--bring up the volume and bass content of the signal, and resulting in smoother, less fizzy and compressed, more integrated clipping characteristics. Another note--volume knob cleanup with the Gain control maxed is very smooth, without the shelving effects found on many vintage fuzz designs, and without the increase in treble sparkle that stems from varying load effects from the guitar. I found that this fuzz was exceptionally responsive to both volume and tone knob adjustments from the guitar. Note, however, that with the Gain control on the pedal rolled back, rolling back the guitar volume will also reduce the output level from the fuzz to a much greater extent than is the case with the Gain maxed.
In silicon diode mode, you get a comparable range of tones, although in all cases the signal is proportionally less crushed, compressed, or fizzy, with a more full-bodied tone. Based on my experimention with diode types in other circuits, I expected the silicon diodes to be much more middle-of-the-road, classic rock sounding than the germanium, and there is no doubt, you'll find it much easier to dial in the classic 70s fuzzstortion tones with the silicon diodes selected than with germanium. But, the Clamp control allows for much more overlap tonally than a selector switch alone would, and the most extreme clipping settings with the silicon diodes provided plenty of strangeways pump and bloom--in fact the closest I've heard to the tones from the Squarewave+ with silicon diodes selected and Gain and Clamp "maxed" is from a Rat clone with germanium diodes in a negative feedback path.
Lifting the diodes creates a volume boost, and both lessens the extreme degree of clipping compression and overload characteristics found with the diodes selected, and smooths out the inherent attack/decay characteristics of the circuit, bringing it somewhat closer in nature to a Silicon Fuzz Face, although still retaining it's own aggressive personality, and to my ears a tighter bass and less-scooped EQ pofile than the Si Fuzz Faces normally afford. This is the mode that allows for the most variance in lower gain clipping characteristics, with tones ranging from a nearly clean boost with Gain or guitar volume rolled back, through many classic overdrive, distortion and fuzz textures. This is also the mode you should go to if you want to take a break from the crumbling characteristic. I also found voltage starving the circuit to provide a greater level of adjustments to the overall feel of the pedal in this mode.
As always, YMMV, and do note that the fuzz is very responsive to the signal it is fed--both the lower and upper limits of the clipping range are different depending on whether you feed the box single coils or humbuckers, high level or low level signals. I personally loved it with everything I threw at it, but obviously humbuckers will result in a lot more saturation, and will more readily result in complete overload, with certain settings resulting in paradoxic effects such as the volume swelling as the note decays. For the greatest number of sweet-spots, I kept going back to my trusty Tele, but I also loved the tones with P90s, Filtertrons and other Mini-Humbuckers, and DeArmond Dynasonics. This is a bonus to me, because I find that many times the Dynasonics and Filtertrons have a somewhat coquettish response to my other fuzzes.
I'm not in a good position to do demos right now, but luckily, John has blessed us with demos which, imho, are very true to the sound from the actual pedal, and there have been other really good demos from users in the various Tour Boxes and otherwise.
John--please correct me if I've mis-stated anything. Special thanks to edkoppel, 'cuz you know why.
John--thank you for work and for sharing this hunk of fuzz. Next up--AF-50(ish)....
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:06 pm
Woah, radical reviewing there Daniel!!
The Squarewave "Edkoppel" lent me had silicon diodes as stock,
but the schematics I've seen have Germanium diodes.
A agree with your findings on tone/clipping/workings of the pedal.
Thanks for your time on this.
The Squarewave "Edkoppel" lent me had silicon diodes as stock,
but the schematics I've seen have Germanium diodes.
A agree with your findings on tone/clipping/workings of the pedal.
Thanks for your time on this.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:16 pm
murrrrrrrr......... you sir, are not making my wait for my Squarewave+ any easier. dirty human.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:23 pm
hm...maybe a voltage starve as another knob?
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:11 pm
behndy wrote:murrrrrrrr......... you sir, are not making my wait for my Squarewave+ any easier. dirty human.
Here--bite down on this while you wait:
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:14 pm
John Lyons wrote:Woah, radical reviewing there Daniel!!
The Squarewave "Edkoppel" lent me had silicon diodes as stock,
but the schematics I've seen have Germanium diodes.
A agree with your findings on tone/clipping/workings of the pedal.
Thanks for your time on this.
Kewl--I hate it when I say all the wrong stuff, and stuff.
I'ma email you a coupla questions about the AF-50(ish) before I post.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:01 pm
the Forbidden Zone always reminds me of the Negative Zone and Mr. Fantastic's pussy ass and what horrible, hentai-tentacle'd things i'd do to everybody within stretchy penis length if i had his powers.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:22 pm
behndy wrote:the Forbidden Zone always reminds me of the Negative Zone and Mr. Fantastic's pussy ass and what horrible, hentai-tentacle'd things i'd do to everybody within stretchy penis length if i had his powers.
Mr Fantastic's ass can be anything you want it to be.
Ewwww. I just self-nastified.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:46 pm
That was a pretty damn spot on review of the Bonerwave + good sir.
Can't wait for more reviews dude, especially the little black mystery box of unreleased fuzz love. That would be such a terrible name for a pedal.
Can't wait for more reviews dude, especially the little black mystery box of unreleased fuzz love. That would be such a terrible name for a pedal.
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:41 pm
"the little black mystery box of unreleased fuzz love"
You have a tap on my phone phone or something?
LBMBOFL
You have a tap on my phone phone or something?
LBMBOFL
Re: Basic Audio Tourbox Demos, Reviews, Etc.
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:18 am
awesome review.
classic movie.
classic movie.