Basic Audio Tourbox: a review
Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:09 pm
So the Basic Audio tourbox of pedals is halfway back to the mothership already, and I thought I'd share a few thoughts about what I'd played with for almost two weeks (thanks to the holidays and being the last guy on the tourbox schedule)...
The tourbox contained four pedals: the Lucky Number, Peak Freq, Squarewave+, and Wildcat.
Three of the four are dirtboxes, the Peak Freq is an adjustable resonant filter, sort of like setting a tuneable wah at a set position.
All of the units were extremely solid in their builds; fit and finish good, the internals were done cleanly and I was amused by the polka-dot circuit board. It's the sort of fit and finish you expect of a good boutique build - no cheap printed labels etc.
All require external power (standard Boss-type adapter (no battery clips installed nor did there look to be space for it added by the end user without re-housing).
Of the four, the Peak Freq was of the least interest to me by far - I have a ton of filters and options already, and this would have been a godsend twenty years ago when I started playing. The one notable thing on the unit, however, is there's a clean blend so it's not all or nothing like a traditional wah or filter, and that adds a bit of versatility that I could see coming in handy in a one-box solution if I wanted a good filter in a box.
Wildcat was a vintage-type fuzz, getting some classic garage-rock type sounds out of it. I'd put it somewhere between a Foxx Tone Machine and a Fuzz Face in basic sound, at least until it's cranked and especially if pushed by another dirtbox first. That's when the Wildcat came into its own - adding more fuzz/honk/grit to an already grimy signal but retaining some of the character of whatever you've pushed it with. I tried it with a sedate clean boost, and the Wildcat opened up significantly as well. Best results were with a clingy, Velcro-type fuzz hitting it hard, the Wildcat excelled at handling already sustaining notes and chords and adding a slight octave effect at higher settings. It was happy with whatever guitar I threw at it - Jaguar, a Jaguar with buckers, the Bass VI, Mustangs, etc.
The Squarewave+ is based on the Univox Squarewave, with germanium and silicon options in one pedal. I've never been a fan of original pedal it's based on, but I can say that there are some good grungy bits in the box for people looking for a little crackle and bite that's manageable. It preferred buckers by a wide margin, and didn't like the Bass VI a whole lot.
The Lucky Number is a more modern-sounding dirtbox - it's a high gain distortion with some fuzz elements and a significant amount of low-end available. The tone knob adjusts both the frequency range of the pedal as well as its responsiveness - cranked full, it's got a slightly loose and very round sound on both ends of the frequency range. There is also a ridiculous amount of gain available - goes from 80s metal to an almost fuzzy splat at the highest settings. Where it sold me, though, was in how it sustained magically like tape run at that grand spot right before it goes into saturation that bleeds across tracks, providing you hit it with a very hot signal. Like the Wildcat, it really, really responded well to getting hammered by something else first. It was the all-around winner of the bunch for versatility as well - I don't have a guitar that it didn't like. Jaguar, Jazzmaster, VI, Mustang, Strat, etc. all sounded good with it with very little tweaking.
I had the box for a couple weeks of evaluation (longer than the standard tourbox visit because I was last in line and the Thanksgiving holiday meant that it was going to just sit in a truck somewhere). During this time, I tried the pedals both solo and with my usual Saturday afternoon improv project, and was able to get a wide range of useful sounds through either my Mustang V/4x12 combo, Hot Rod Deluxe, or Roland Jazz Chorus. In a recording setting, all four pedals were very quiet unless I put them on abusive settings, and even then were fairly noise-free. High gain fuzz and mean aren't going to ever be pristine, but these come pretty close. Bypass sounded like me and my setup when the pedals were off as well, no tone suck or extra hum in an already long and convoluted chain of stuff.
Most importantly, I was able to get to using the pedals to make music right away - plug in, play, twist a knob at most, and I was inspired to do something. That for me is the measure of any piece of musical gear: does it inspire something immediately, and continue to do so past the first couple days of having it around. Two of the pedals I pulled out and swapped into my rig for the first time during a jam session - and was making useful, productive sounds right away like it was an old friend. I cannot complain about that in a pedal.
In a perfect world, I'd have purchased half the box without question. The Wildcat complimented what I already had in spades, and the Lucky Number just sounded good no matter what I wanted to do with it. Slamming a clean amp, hitting one that's already dirty, handling two or three pedals chained in front of it? No problem.
I ended up purchasing the Lucky Number because the thing just kept making me happy in ways that some of my other gear doesn't, and that's worth having when you're already the guy with over a dozen dirt boxes.
So for the summation: built well, reasonably affordable for boutique stuff, sounds good. Wildcat nets more traditional garage-rock type fuzz - I could see using it for Hendrix-style stuff without issue. Squarewave+ would be the ticket for a punk or nasty grunge-style stuff, and the Lucky Number for metal and high-gain weird. The Peak Freq I see more as a recording type tool or as a 'I need a different guitar sound in this wall of other stuff' - useful for cocked-wah applications and the like, but not one I personally have a need for at this time.
Mr. Lyons, the owner of Basic Audio, was approachable and personable as well during the time I had the tourbox and was happy to answer any questions I had. While on my budget I can't drop a lot of money on pedals with the regularity I'd like, I'll certainly be watching their products the next time I'm in the market for some additional dirt. I can definitely see a Wildcat in my future.
Thanks also to Mr. Chankgeez for overseeing the effort and adding me to the end of the list even though it was nominally done when I talked to John Lyons and the Basic Audio crew.
The tourbox contained four pedals: the Lucky Number, Peak Freq, Squarewave+, and Wildcat.
Three of the four are dirtboxes, the Peak Freq is an adjustable resonant filter, sort of like setting a tuneable wah at a set position.
All of the units were extremely solid in their builds; fit and finish good, the internals were done cleanly and I was amused by the polka-dot circuit board. It's the sort of fit and finish you expect of a good boutique build - no cheap printed labels etc.
All require external power (standard Boss-type adapter (no battery clips installed nor did there look to be space for it added by the end user without re-housing).
Of the four, the Peak Freq was of the least interest to me by far - I have a ton of filters and options already, and this would have been a godsend twenty years ago when I started playing. The one notable thing on the unit, however, is there's a clean blend so it's not all or nothing like a traditional wah or filter, and that adds a bit of versatility that I could see coming in handy in a one-box solution if I wanted a good filter in a box.
Wildcat was a vintage-type fuzz, getting some classic garage-rock type sounds out of it. I'd put it somewhere between a Foxx Tone Machine and a Fuzz Face in basic sound, at least until it's cranked and especially if pushed by another dirtbox first. That's when the Wildcat came into its own - adding more fuzz/honk/grit to an already grimy signal but retaining some of the character of whatever you've pushed it with. I tried it with a sedate clean boost, and the Wildcat opened up significantly as well. Best results were with a clingy, Velcro-type fuzz hitting it hard, the Wildcat excelled at handling already sustaining notes and chords and adding a slight octave effect at higher settings. It was happy with whatever guitar I threw at it - Jaguar, a Jaguar with buckers, the Bass VI, Mustangs, etc.
The Squarewave+ is based on the Univox Squarewave, with germanium and silicon options in one pedal. I've never been a fan of original pedal it's based on, but I can say that there are some good grungy bits in the box for people looking for a little crackle and bite that's manageable. It preferred buckers by a wide margin, and didn't like the Bass VI a whole lot.
The Lucky Number is a more modern-sounding dirtbox - it's a high gain distortion with some fuzz elements and a significant amount of low-end available. The tone knob adjusts both the frequency range of the pedal as well as its responsiveness - cranked full, it's got a slightly loose and very round sound on both ends of the frequency range. There is also a ridiculous amount of gain available - goes from 80s metal to an almost fuzzy splat at the highest settings. Where it sold me, though, was in how it sustained magically like tape run at that grand spot right before it goes into saturation that bleeds across tracks, providing you hit it with a very hot signal. Like the Wildcat, it really, really responded well to getting hammered by something else first. It was the all-around winner of the bunch for versatility as well - I don't have a guitar that it didn't like. Jaguar, Jazzmaster, VI, Mustang, Strat, etc. all sounded good with it with very little tweaking.
I had the box for a couple weeks of evaluation (longer than the standard tourbox visit because I was last in line and the Thanksgiving holiday meant that it was going to just sit in a truck somewhere). During this time, I tried the pedals both solo and with my usual Saturday afternoon improv project, and was able to get a wide range of useful sounds through either my Mustang V/4x12 combo, Hot Rod Deluxe, or Roland Jazz Chorus. In a recording setting, all four pedals were very quiet unless I put them on abusive settings, and even then were fairly noise-free. High gain fuzz and mean aren't going to ever be pristine, but these come pretty close. Bypass sounded like me and my setup when the pedals were off as well, no tone suck or extra hum in an already long and convoluted chain of stuff.
Most importantly, I was able to get to using the pedals to make music right away - plug in, play, twist a knob at most, and I was inspired to do something. That for me is the measure of any piece of musical gear: does it inspire something immediately, and continue to do so past the first couple days of having it around. Two of the pedals I pulled out and swapped into my rig for the first time during a jam session - and was making useful, productive sounds right away like it was an old friend. I cannot complain about that in a pedal.
In a perfect world, I'd have purchased half the box without question. The Wildcat complimented what I already had in spades, and the Lucky Number just sounded good no matter what I wanted to do with it. Slamming a clean amp, hitting one that's already dirty, handling two or three pedals chained in front of it? No problem.
I ended up purchasing the Lucky Number because the thing just kept making me happy in ways that some of my other gear doesn't, and that's worth having when you're already the guy with over a dozen dirt boxes.
So for the summation: built well, reasonably affordable for boutique stuff, sounds good. Wildcat nets more traditional garage-rock type fuzz - I could see using it for Hendrix-style stuff without issue. Squarewave+ would be the ticket for a punk or nasty grunge-style stuff, and the Lucky Number for metal and high-gain weird. The Peak Freq I see more as a recording type tool or as a 'I need a different guitar sound in this wall of other stuff' - useful for cocked-wah applications and the like, but not one I personally have a need for at this time.
Mr. Lyons, the owner of Basic Audio, was approachable and personable as well during the time I had the tourbox and was happy to answer any questions I had. While on my budget I can't drop a lot of money on pedals with the regularity I'd like, I'll certainly be watching their products the next time I'm in the market for some additional dirt. I can definitely see a Wildcat in my future.
Thanks also to Mr. Chankgeez for overseeing the effort and adding me to the end of the list even though it was nominally done when I talked to John Lyons and the Basic Audio crew.
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