Belated NFD x2: BeeBaa and Superfuzz Clones
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 4:28 pm
(Reposted from the TGP Strictly Fuzz thread- figured this was also relevant content here.)
Both pedals arrived earlier in what has proven to be a busy week. The Lone Wolf Audio Black goat Fuzz is based on the Roland AF-100 BeeBaa, and the Wilson Effects Knuckle Dragger is a Superfuzz variant. The Black Goat was purchased used, and the Knuckle Dragger was an impulse buy given it was offered new at a discount as the Wilson Effects February pedal of the month. Cosmetically, both pedals have their own respective vibe with the Black Goat sporting an oversized, cast-iron- textured black chassis with occult artwork, and the Knuckle Dragger being a more streamlined, commercial 70's concept. The paint on the Knuckle Dragger had some slight imperfections here and there on its side panels and underside, but nothing major. Though the Black Goat will probably never find itself on a praise and worship board, both fuzzes have a wide range of applications ranging anywhere from stoner doom to contemporary alternative to industrial/noise and neo-psychedelia. The Black Goat offers the usual volume and fuzz controls included on most fuzzes, two footswitchable, mid contour modes, and has both a mid and tone knobs for EQ sculpting. The Knuckle Dragger also has fuzz ("expand") and volume ("balance") controls in addition to a 4 position texture selector that engages an internal noise gate and radical EQ contours in 3 of its settings, an "evolve" knob that both acts as a secondary output gain control and smooths the character of the fuzz, and both mid and tone knobs for fine tuning of EQ. As you could probably surmise by the position of knobs in the photo, the Knuckle Dragger has a significantly higher output level than the Black Goat. Given previously familiarity with another BeeBaa clone (Barge concepts BB-1), I was able to dial in pleasing sludgy chunk and ripping walls of mayhem with the Black Goat in a matter of minutes, though there seems to be undesirable upper midrange clipping when I use active pickups. The Black goat can also generate pseudo octave fuzz tones in mid suck mode with the fuzz at its lowest setting. I needed a bit more time with the Knuckle Dragger to fully appreciate the bevvy of sandpapery and splatty octave fuzz textures it offers, as my only previous Superfuzz experience was with a Boss FZ-2. The 3rd Knuckle Dragger texture position sounds apocalyptic with sustained power chords and 3 of the positions create sputtery velcro decay. The Knuckle Dragger sounds downright evil cascaded into the Black Goat and the combination of the two allowed me to generate all sorts of destructive static and piercing feedback when using headphones. I have to use both pedals with an amp modeler (Atomic Amplifire) at the present time due to various life transitions, and imagine the Knuckle Dragger could drive the living bejesus out of a tube amp. When I gain access to a recording interface at some point in the near future, I can record some clips. Until then, I'd be more than willing to answer any questions about either pedal.
Both pedals arrived earlier in what has proven to be a busy week. The Lone Wolf Audio Black goat Fuzz is based on the Roland AF-100 BeeBaa, and the Wilson Effects Knuckle Dragger is a Superfuzz variant. The Black Goat was purchased used, and the Knuckle Dragger was an impulse buy given it was offered new at a discount as the Wilson Effects February pedal of the month. Cosmetically, both pedals have their own respective vibe with the Black Goat sporting an oversized, cast-iron- textured black chassis with occult artwork, and the Knuckle Dragger being a more streamlined, commercial 70's concept. The paint on the Knuckle Dragger had some slight imperfections here and there on its side panels and underside, but nothing major. Though the Black Goat will probably never find itself on a praise and worship board, both fuzzes have a wide range of applications ranging anywhere from stoner doom to contemporary alternative to industrial/noise and neo-psychedelia. The Black Goat offers the usual volume and fuzz controls included on most fuzzes, two footswitchable, mid contour modes, and has both a mid and tone knobs for EQ sculpting. The Knuckle Dragger also has fuzz ("expand") and volume ("balance") controls in addition to a 4 position texture selector that engages an internal noise gate and radical EQ contours in 3 of its settings, an "evolve" knob that both acts as a secondary output gain control and smooths the character of the fuzz, and both mid and tone knobs for fine tuning of EQ. As you could probably surmise by the position of knobs in the photo, the Knuckle Dragger has a significantly higher output level than the Black Goat. Given previously familiarity with another BeeBaa clone (Barge concepts BB-1), I was able to dial in pleasing sludgy chunk and ripping walls of mayhem with the Black Goat in a matter of minutes, though there seems to be undesirable upper midrange clipping when I use active pickups. The Black goat can also generate pseudo octave fuzz tones in mid suck mode with the fuzz at its lowest setting. I needed a bit more time with the Knuckle Dragger to fully appreciate the bevvy of sandpapery and splatty octave fuzz textures it offers, as my only previous Superfuzz experience was with a Boss FZ-2. The 3rd Knuckle Dragger texture position sounds apocalyptic with sustained power chords and 3 of the positions create sputtery velcro decay. The Knuckle Dragger sounds downright evil cascaded into the Black Goat and the combination of the two allowed me to generate all sorts of destructive static and piercing feedback when using headphones. I have to use both pedals with an amp modeler (Atomic Amplifire) at the present time due to various life transitions, and imagine the Knuckle Dragger could drive the living bejesus out of a tube amp. When I gain access to a recording interface at some point in the near future, I can record some clips. Until then, I'd be more than willing to answer any questions about either pedal.
