FH Algal Bloom: Thoughts
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:40 pm
It's really good.
Ok, some details: My first instinct was to just crank the gain, drop the starve and crank the fuzz and see what happened, and I got a really solid, chunky fuzz tone. Then I had some less than successful trial settings for awhile until I learned the knobs and learned what the choke switch does. At first I was suspect of the lack of a tone knob, as I tend to dial in highs/mids and play licks over power chords like an ass, but I realized how really great the bloom, gain, and starve knobs are at cleaning up and shaping the sound. I can dial in great lead and chord settings that can be clean enough to articulate, but fuzzy enough to saturate. It takes a bit to understand what the knobs do, but once I started to get the hang of it I was very impressed.
Sometimes I use my hoof with an overdrive in front to make a sort of scooped, fuzzy metal sound for squealing leads and what not, so I tried an OCD in front of the AB. This didn't really do anything, but I could get good pinch harmonics and decent squeals with just the gain knob. The hoof is also garbage (like most fuzz) with a wah pedal, so naturally I had to try that also. To my complete surprise and delight, the AB takes a wah pedal--a standard crybaby--perfectly (again, I suspect, because of the gain stage).
I don't think I'll be flipping it anytime soon, unless it's for another AB with different artwork. I haven't used it in a full band setting or at band volume, though. However, just the wah capability alone makes it golden. My only complaint is that the LED bulb cover is orange, but when you switch it on it's yellow, which looks sorta shitty with the blue artwork. I may ask tom for a purple plastic bulb or something if I can't get over it.
If Tom has other pedals that are of AB quality please let me know. I tried an Arc Flash that I liked a lot but didn't love and flipped it months ago. (I might get another anyway though for the bacon graphic)
Ok, some details: My first instinct was to just crank the gain, drop the starve and crank the fuzz and see what happened, and I got a really solid, chunky fuzz tone. Then I had some less than successful trial settings for awhile until I learned the knobs and learned what the choke switch does. At first I was suspect of the lack of a tone knob, as I tend to dial in highs/mids and play licks over power chords like an ass, but I realized how really great the bloom, gain, and starve knobs are at cleaning up and shaping the sound. I can dial in great lead and chord settings that can be clean enough to articulate, but fuzzy enough to saturate. It takes a bit to understand what the knobs do, but once I started to get the hang of it I was very impressed.
Sometimes I use my hoof with an overdrive in front to make a sort of scooped, fuzzy metal sound for squealing leads and what not, so I tried an OCD in front of the AB. This didn't really do anything, but I could get good pinch harmonics and decent squeals with just the gain knob. The hoof is also garbage (like most fuzz) with a wah pedal, so naturally I had to try that also. To my complete surprise and delight, the AB takes a wah pedal--a standard crybaby--perfectly (again, I suspect, because of the gain stage).
I don't think I'll be flipping it anytime soon, unless it's for another AB with different artwork. I haven't used it in a full band setting or at band volume, though. However, just the wah capability alone makes it golden. My only complaint is that the LED bulb cover is orange, but when you switch it on it's yellow, which looks sorta shitty with the blue artwork. I may ask tom for a purple plastic bulb or something if I can't get over it.
If Tom has other pedals that are of AB quality please let me know. I tried an Arc Flash that I liked a lot but didn't love and flipped it months ago. (I might get another anyway though for the bacon graphic)
No hype man, this is soooo good... Especially after the Algal Bloom which you can hear on both channels real well... Heavy and chewy is what I've been talkin about all day at work... Crazy and Sexy like every woman I've ever known... 
