Pharaoh vs Black Forest vs ?

[misterstomach]

this pharaoh talk sounds a lot like what you hear from people who haven't gotten a chance to play it really loud. not saying that's the case here, but if you haven't tried it you should before sending it back. or if you don't usually play loud, it's not for you. i didn't read the whole thread, so that may have already been addressed.

Dude, that all sounds fucking great. Especially for a prac recording.

How d'ya find working in a two piece? I think I might end up in a simialr situation soon and I thought it's be cool to hear it from someone doing it.
I spoke to Black Cobra once, but we ended up talking about cross country running and drop bears.

Thanks man! We are a two piece sort of by default at the moment. Had a bassist/vocalist but he bailed for some reason so it's just us 2 for now.

I really don't mind because I always do the writing/arranging anyway, but I'd welcome a bass player as long as he/she was truly into the music and lifestyle. It's nice to have somebody to bounce ideas off of, and my drummer can only jam once a week because of his job so having more frequency would be ideal as well.

pretty good practice recording, dude. i like the vocals. and the guitar sounds great. it's extremely rare for me to be into a two piece, so that being said, it'd be cool to hear it with bass. it's fucking good so you shouldn't have a problem finding one.

[HeavyXIII]

this pharaoh talk sounds a lot like what you hear from people who haven't gotten a chance to play it really loud. not saying that's the case here, but if you haven't tried it you should before sending it back. or if you don't usually play loud, it's not for you. i didn't read the whole thread, so that may have already been addressed.

Overall, the Pharaoh is a dark, muffled... Muff with a beautiful sweet spot in the midrange. It boosts an amp perfectly but is not clean and is not cutting.

- The tone controls aren't as intense as I would have liked. I didn't get a particularly bright sound with the tone and high knobs maxed out. The pedal does do the woolly sound well, which I can't really get unless I completely re-calibrate my amp settings.

I ran my amp a louder than usual. Feedback was a pleasant rumble, no screeching or wailing.

Unfortunately I already sent it back; but I don't have anything I could've boosted it with nor do I have the board space to buy more stuff to get it to sound right. I ran my amp quite loud, and I ran the pedal at max volume. I'm still unsure how the circuit didn't have more highs though... I used to have a LBMP that got harsh and abrasive with the tone control above noon. The Pharaoh didn't even begin to approach that. Not for me I guess.

[AngryGoldfish]

I use a Smallsound/Bigsound Sparkle Motion -> BAT Revelation Superbass -> Verellen Meatsmoke pre. Each one pushes the next one and hits my amp hard. I'm not in love with each pedal on their own, but the right combination kills.

That's pretty much my setup. I don't have a Meatsmoke but I do boost my Fryette with those two pedals very happily. Love them both. I want to have Mark modify my Super Bass to have a switch that can go between a low gain Super Lead and a high gain Super Bass tone. At lower gain settings the Super Bass is a little dark and muffled for my tastes, but at high gains it's amazing. I would love a switch that selected between 'presets', if you will, of medium gain crunch Super Lead and high gain Super Bass.

Unfortunately I already sent it back; but I don't have anything I could've boosted it with nor do I have the board space to buy more stuff to get it to sound right. I ran my amp quite loud, and I ran the pedal at max volume. I'm still unsure how the circuit didn't have more highs though... I used to have a LBMP that got harsh and abrasive with the tone control above noon. The Pharaoh didn't even begin to approach that. Not for me I guess.

Yeah, the Pharaoh is dark and muffled. You can't dial that out unless you dime everything, and even then it's still dark and muffled compared to a Tone Bender or a Rangemaster.

[jwojtysiak]

I like the idea of a switch. Let me know if you go though with it.

[benjuro]

boosting the pharaoh... i'm trying this.

We tried a few different things for tracking rhythm guitars on my band's new recording...and I ended up using an early Tone Reaper feeding a Pharaoh for all of them

dude i just tried this very combination, and i was fucking stunned. brutal. so fucking brutal.

Awesome

My main board has a newer Tone Reaper > Revelation Superbass, which is also quite gnarly in the best possible way

Pharaoh's not for everyone, for sure. To the OP, one of the Revelations might be more up your alley...you might also try emailing Mark at Black Arts directly, he's super down-to-earth and helpful and can probably help you figure it out.

[benjuro]

Unfortunately I already sent it back; but I don't have anything I could've boosted it with nor do I have the board space to buy more stuff to get it to sound right. I ran my amp quite loud, and I ran the pedal at max volume. I'm still unsure how the circuit didn't have more highs though... I used to have a LBMP that got harsh and abrasive with the tone control above noon. The Pharaoh didn't even begin to approach that. Not for me I guess.

You end up getting something else?

[HeavyXIII]

You end up getting something else?

Whahahappenedwuz the store only gives store credit on returns, so I exchanged it for a pedaltrain pro, if only to use all of it up ($20 store credit wouldn't have gotten me anything useful from their store; no tuners, strings, straps, cables or any of that nonsense)

I did get some dirt though and I'm quite pleased. I picked it up on a whim from greyscales, he had built a few dirt pedals and needed to part with them. So I picked up his Plimsoul and Naga boost clones for $75 together. The Naga does exactly what I want in terms of eq, and pushes my amp perfectly. The Plimsoul is nice, but ultimately I don't think I'll end up using it for what it is. The Naga does what I want better, although it has less gain. I'm sure the Plim would work great for one of these local guys who needs more gain and runs like a Fender Champ or something.

I'm still planning on picking up a Marsh Chapel from Nick when they're all ironed out, so long as funds allow.

[chutneyfarmer]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIhgX6TCcaE[/youtube]

I made this demo of the Black Forest. It can get really gnarly and deliver a shit load of low end. I mostly used it in front of an already dimed amp to make it scream even harder, but as a fuzz into a clean amp it works great too with the 6 position switch up around noon or higher. I've got a Pharaoh too and it does get a little bit louder. You can see the Pharaoh in this video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=854hPgW68wo[/youtube]

Honestly though, from what you're asking from these pedals I'd recommend the Revelation. It delivers a shit ton of volume. It is the only dirt pedal on my board and depending on how you set it, you can get a really fuzzed out tone.

Never knew that was your video. Thanks a million for it as it was the single video that sold me on the pedal. Have been using both the Black Forest and Pharaoh for my main doom tone for a while now. Up until the other day I had primarily been running the BF as a dark boost into the Pharaoh. The other day I swapped them around, cranked the gain on the BF, got it nice and thick sounding. Have the Pharaoh on germanium low-gain setting with volume and gain around 2 o'clock. Gives it a nice fuzzy undertone for extra thickness. Will be keeping them like this for a while to play around with. Such a versatile pair together.

[conky]

That Black Forest video is my one claim to fame, other than slapping Ric Flair in the back of the head at a wrestling match when I was in 6th grade.