141G alternatives: BSRI and Earthbound?

[Christophe]

So I miss my Infanem 141g that I stupidly sold a couple of years ago. What I loved about it is the fat square wave form it has, and how you can get something close to a bass sound on a guitar, with almost no gain (almost a clean sound). And the gorgeous oscillation on the low end, where you can play a 3-note bass synth riff by slightly turning a knob. The suboctave notes are super clearly defined.
The overall tone of the 141g feels "analog" if that makes any sense... (fat and unruly, as opposed to overly compressed, thin, and metallic)

Now, I've just watched videos of the BSRI GFZ, and Earthbound Iron Pig and Throat Locust. Mainly the ones from Gila crisis (great playing and tones there man!), and all pedals struck me as being in the same ballpark, only 2 or 3 steps further; fat square wave tone with incredible eq options, and oscillation in the low end. I know the TL is a HM-2 clone, but man, it's like the HM-2 is just the starting point, this thing is way more complex!
I never bothered to look at these brands because I thought they were mainly aimed at giving metal /chugging tones, but it seems like they are simply super extended tools for sonic explorations.

So basically I'm looking for a 141g on steroids.
Are my impressions correct? I'd love to get your feedback (I've seen a lot of praise for Infanem here over the years) on that, as to which pedal exactly would meet my gas ? Thanx

[Christophe]

Did I say something wrong? C'mon guys, I know you know all about this!

[Dandolin]

nah - it's definitely an interesting question, i just got...nothin' real interested in hearing responses tho

[goroth]

DD has a 141G IIRC.

I don't know if many people snapped them up.

[K2000]

Three relatively rare pedals, it’s not likely there will be many people who have all three.

I have the Infanem 141G and a Boss HM2. Going just from memory, those pedals are not alike.

[Christophe]

Three relatively rare pedals, it’s not likely there will be many people who have all three.

I have the Infanem 141G and a Boss HM2. Going just from memory, those pedals are not alike.

Very different indeed. I just meant that the Throat Locust expands from the HM-2 circuit. By turning it into a real fat square wave, and with the impressive range of the bass knob, it gets real close to the sounds of the 141. I’m not sure it oscillates like the 141 though.

[Sentient Twig]

I saw this thread and thought to myself "I'll head over to Reverb and buy myself a 141G, I kinda miss it too" and saw the last ones sold for $500 wtf

[Christophe]

I saw this thread and thought to myself "I'll head over to Reverb and buy myself a 141G, I kinda miss it too" and saw the last ones sold for $500 wtf

What !? I sold mine 2 years ago for 150€...
2 years ago prices were nuts. But now they’ve just doubled, or more...

[mcatano]

what on earth

[mcatano]

i just plugged mine in and it sounds cool for sure, the 141G —> driving notion 1-2 punch is still very earth crushing

[coupleonapkins]

I remember when these were released & were likely the most available Infanem device when I was looking for a Driving Notion way back when....hooo boy

Anyways, wanted to add this vid from a guy who used to only post in his own ILF vid thread:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JgD15Ly_VQ

Coincidentally, Vidret (not the vid dude) is the Throat Locust eggspert, but maybe it was someone else?

Other 141G ILF folks are either now long gone (too many), lawyers (in France!), or Swedish (maybe!?!), or just not available 4 chat currently (displaced amongst the cosmos...for good?).

But wherever they've ended up, I wish them all well

[Christophe]

I’ve never had a 141g but I thought I should mention that gila’s locust and iron pig demos slam the amp pretty hard, combination is key.

However the hm2 with bass maxed out and gain all the way down will give you some blown out thunderous bassy toans.
As will the eae surveyor which has the bass cut on the input, making the bass saggier and blown out or tighter.

But yeah I’ve never messed with a 141 so I’m not sure what you’re after specifically.


Edit: I watched the video above and locust can get you in the ballpark but it’s obviously more distortion than fuzz, and eae surveyor isn’t at all what you’re after. I thought you were after blown out big bassy things.

I haven't played tons of fuzz pedals -but a few anyway- and the 141g was the first one I played where you have that square wave tone (as opposed to od or distortion), and very little gain, almost a clean sound. With almost all the other fuzz I've tried (pigdogs, DBA, Basic Audio, Lal, blue box, etc...), you just get square wave + tons of gain, even with the gain at minimum. I thought the 141g was very unique in that regard ...
Add to that that I love its massive gainy sound, and sub n up oscillations, it kind of ticks many boxes.
Watching vids from BSRI and EA, it struck me that these pedals could behave in a similar way; big fat square wave + ability to turn the gain really low. I was wondering if they could oscillate too.
I've just ordered a TFZ from BSRI, which seems to offer that and much more. I'll report soon, but keep the comments going!

[gila_crisis]

Yes the TL sounds huge and I love it so much that I got a second one at some point.
Yes the TFZ can slso sound huge with some very cool subass and octave down effects on some settings.
I don't know the 141, but I think you'll gonna have a lot of fun with the TFZ.
In my experience Both EA and BSRI pedals are in general wonderful and huge on the low frequencies spectrum!
You can't go wrong with either f you need massive sonding distortion/fuzz devices.

[Christophe]

Yes the TL sounds huge and I love it so much that I got a second one at some point.
Yes the TFZ can slso sound huge with some very cool subass and octave down effects on some settings.
I don't know the 141, but I think you'll gonna have a lot of fun with the TFZ.
In my experience Both EA and BSRI pedals are in general wonderful and huge on the low frequencies spectrum!
You can't go wrong with either f you need massive sonding distortion/fuzz devices.

Thanks man!
I guess it's a mix of many things: I like a massive fuzz that also has something "analog" or warm, or whatever you wanna call it. Something unpredictable and responsive. I think BSRI can fall into that category.

[Christophe]

Just got my BSRI tfz fuzz. I’ve only spent an hour with it but I don’t think it’s my jam... I’m not liking the core tone of the pedal. I’ll give it more time cuz all the controls are highly interactive, and very precise. The pedal feels totally rig dependent. More than usual I mean.
Concerning my op, the tfz shares something with the 141g: it’s definitely a « modern fuzz », not your usual 60s flavored dirt box. It’s a lot more tweakable, but the tone is really different. The square wave from the Infanem is really fatter. Probably why it oscillates in a different way too.
The tfz has something of a hi-fi sound to my ears. You can build a massive wall of sound, but in a way, you’re always aware of all the ingredients, it’s not overwhelming you with some secret fuzz recipe. Sorry it’s hard to describe. It’s a great piece of gear nonetheless, but maybe not what I’m looking for... I’ll give it more time.