View Full Version : High Gain Pedals: Crunch Box or Blackstar?
FenderGuy53
10-02-2008, 06:14 AM
I received my Barber Direct Drive today (and my Carbon Copy should arrive next week).
Now, I'm looking for a higher gain pedal that will seamlessly complement the DD.
Which do you think would work better: MI Audio Crunch Box or Subdecay Blackstar? Are there any other viable options?
Thanks!
I'd say the Crunchbox.
The Blackstar was great, but it has a fuzzy edge. Think Plug in Baby by Muse. It found it didn't do modern high gain as well as I thought because of this. The clips sound a little more modern than I found it.
It's a great pedal though, cleans up well and heaps of fun!
recto-robbie
10-02-2008, 07:09 AM
I have both of these pedals on my board. Ive actually considered selling the Black Star but couldnt do it,, now I wont sell it. Its a very unique sounding pedal and very different than the CB. The CB sounds very Marshally to me where I cant really put my finger on the sound of the BS.
Think OD and fuzz in the same box,, I think thats why people say it has a fuzzy edge to its sound. Eveytime I play the BS for some reason Black Sabbath comes to mind. Anyways if your looking for a straight forward OD or distorsion then I would look into the CB, but if your looking for something different then I would go with the BS. I dont think either of these pedals are voiced right for modern metal,, maybe the CB with a good EQ after it.
hudpucker
10-02-2008, 01:07 PM
I'd say the Crunchbox.
The Blackstar was great, but it has a fuzzy edge.
Yep. I A-B'd both extensively and kept the CB. The BS sounded more like a high gain fuzz than distortion unit to my years.
YMMV.
nibus
10-02-2008, 01:43 PM
Its really a question of whether you want a high gain Marshall in a box, or a high gain distortion with a fuzzy edge.
TX6Strings
10-02-2008, 02:34 PM
You also might want to take a look at T-Rex Bloody Mary. There are a few clips on youtube that sound pretty damn good.
orogeny
10-02-2008, 05:14 PM
my favorite for this vibe is still the cmatmods brownie with fr8_trane mods. same price range as the CB, and i think it has a much better EQ going on.
Yep. I A-B'd both extensively and kept the CB. The BS sounded more like a high gain fuzz than distortion unit to my years.
YMMV.
I found the total opposite,the blackstar is my fav gain pedal,it has more gain than the crunchbox and a more natural sounding overdrive IMO i sold the crunch box and kept the blackstar
oldmanmetal
10-03-2008, 02:20 AM
Landgraff Mo'D. Period, other stuff is cheap build, or "yawn" over rated. Will rp your head off, or purr like a kitten. It can be set up for Single coils or Humbuckers. John will set it up right.
CB seems like a one trick pony to me, but then mine is a little messed up. The other blackstar company-try the HT-Dual. It gives you two options, one lower gain and the other high gain. Nice pedal.
mr. stanley
10-03-2008, 08:44 AM
both are great. i think the CB works really well with black face style amps.
b_rad
10-03-2008, 09:25 AM
Landgraff Mo'D. Period, other stuff is cheap build, or "yawn" over rated. Will rp your head off, or purr like a kitten. It can be set up for Single coils or Humbuckers. John will set it up right.
Tone is very subjective, but I would put Brian Marshall's build quality up against any that I've ever seen. Nothing against Mr. Landgraff, but the idea that higher cost means higher quality is a myth.
Eagle1
10-03-2008, 09:41 AM
The Blackstar sounds nothing like a Marshall ,nasty fizzy and thin on high gain . It is good for classic rock crunch but don't gain it up.
tayste_2000
10-03-2008, 11:31 AM
Landgraff Mo'D. Period, other stuff is cheap build, or "yawn" over rated. Will rp your head off, or purr like a kitten. It can be set up for Single coils or Humbuckers. John will set it up right.
Man clearly you've never tried an Mi Audio or Subdecay pedal.
In regards to tone it really is Marshall in a box vs metally scooped distortion easy to justify having both :dude
orogeny
10-03-2008, 01:04 PM
Landgraff Mo'D. Period, other stuff is cheap build, or "yawn" over rated. Will rp your head off, or purr like a kitten. It can be set up for Single coils or Humbuckers. John will set it up right.
a modded rat is actually what stays on my board, despite how much i love the brownie with fr8_trane mods.
RockStarNick
10-03-2008, 01:21 PM
The CB will provide you with another level of gain, for sure.
But the problem is that those two pedals (:CB and DD) are voiced kinda differently. Yes, they're both marshall-esque, but next to each other, I dunno...
Check out this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XYi4sEVrD4
Next to each other, the DD sounds alot more "pedal" like...
If you crank the gain way up on the subdecay blackstar then yes it sounds like fuzz..but only if you crank it way up...keep it at 12 o clock and its way more responsive and amp like than the crunch box IMO...and cleans up really nice
pistolsteve
10-03-2008, 02:12 PM
Sorry to hijack, but does the Freakshow Brown Rabbit fit into this category? That's the high-gain pedal I had my eye on, before I started looking into the CrunchBox. My understanding is the Rabbit is based on the ProCo Rat -- and looks very cool!
CJReaper
10-03-2008, 04:19 PM
The CB will provide you with another level of gain, for sure.
But the problem is that those two pedals (:CB and DD) are voiced kinda differently. Yes, they're both marshall-esque, but next to each other, I dunno...
Check out this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XYi4sEVrD4
Next to each other, the DD sounds alot more "pedal" like...
+1!! I had a Barber DDSS and a v1 CB on my board and they do sound very different. While the CB is NOT a scooped sounding pedal, it did sound scooped next to the DDSS. I prefer the tone of the DDSS and if I need more grind I stack it with my Tone Press (set for a slightly compressed boost). Still have my CB and love it though. Regarding the Blackstar, a friend of mine has one of the final prototypes and it sounds much different (and better IMO) than the production pedals. I was going to buy a Blackstar based on the prototype but I really didn't care for the new tone of the final version.
Cheers,
CJ
fuzz_factor
10-03-2008, 04:42 PM
I have both of these pedals on my board. Ive actually considered selling the Black Star but couldnt do it,, now I wont sell it. Its a very unique sounding pedal and very different than the CB. The CB sounds very Marshally to me where I cant really put my finger on the sound of the BS.
Think OD and fuzz in the same box,, I think thats why people say it has a fuzzy edge to its sound. Eveytime I play the BS for some reason Black Sabbath comes to mind. Anyways if your looking for a straight forward OD or distorsion then I would look into the CB, but if your looking for something different then I would go with the BS. I dont think either of these pedals are voiced right for modern metal,, maybe the CB with a good EQ after it.
Have you ever played a Blackstone MOSFET OD? Your description of the Black Star sounds a lot like my Blackstone, maybe with a little lower gain.
FenderGuy53
10-03-2008, 05:32 PM
I'd say the Crunchbox.
The Blackstar was great, but it has a fuzzy edge. Think Plug in Baby by Muse. It found it didn't do modern high gain as well as I thought because of this. The clips sound a little more modern than I found it.
It's a great pedal though, cleans up well and heaps of fun!
Someone on another forum said that the Crunch Box would not work with the Barber Direct Drive because they both have a fair amount of compression (I'd still love to know what that means). According to Pro Guitar Shop, the Barber DD is one of the least compressed OD pedals available! Besides, I don't plan on "stacking" the two pedals. I just want a pedal option which will cover higher gain music - a pedal that can pick up where the DD leaves off.
What are YOUR thoughts?
FenderGuy53
10-03-2008, 05:52 PM
The CB will provide you with another level of gain, for sure.
But the problem is that those two pedals (:CB and DD) are voiced kinda differently. Yes, they're both marshall-esque, but next to each other, I dunno...
Check out this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XYi4sEVrD4
Next to each other, the DD sounds alot more "pedal" like...
What do you mean by "next to each other"? I don't plan on "stacking" the two, if that's what you mean.
I have watched those clips repeatedly. Is Pro Guitar Shop saying that the CB is not a distortion pedal, but an OD pedal?
FenderGuy53
10-03-2008, 06:00 PM
+1!! I had a Barber DDSS and a v1 CB on my board and they do sound very different. While the CB is NOT a scooped sounding pedal, it did sound scooped next to the DDSS. I prefer the tone of the DDSS and if I need more grind I stack it with my Tone Press (set for a slightly compressed boost).
Hmmm... I think I see what you mean.
Can you actually get more grind simply boosting the DD? How much more?
FenderGuy53
10-03-2008, 06:09 PM
Guys:
I just received the Direct Drive and haven't had the change to actually play it yet, so I'm going downstairs after dinner to spend some time with it!
If I decide that I like the DD, what are some viable higher gain pedals that will match up with the DD, or do I even need another pedal?
semi-hollowbody
10-04-2008, 02:18 PM
barber small fry, mi audi crunch, or a rat
Windup 43
10-04-2008, 02:55 PM
According to Pro Guitar Shop, the Barber DD is one of the least compressed OD pedals available!That's kind of strange- I find the DD to be pretty compressed sounding, but in a good way! It's the compression IMO that gives it it's "singing" quality.
brianf
10-04-2008, 04:51 PM
I have both and they are just so, so different. The Blackstar covers much more territory. Into the H/D Rock and almost metal zones. Crunch box has a much narrower range.
Both A1+ boxes.
brianf
CJReaper
10-04-2008, 09:01 PM
Hmmm... I think I see what you mean.
Can you actually get more grind simply boosting the DD? How much more?
I can get it into 80s Metal territory (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, etc) with the Tone Press. Without the TP it's about 90% where I want it to be, the TP just gives it that extra kick. It's still not as high gain as the CB, but it's enough to do hard rock and "classic" Metal, that's what I use it for anyway.
Cheers,
CJ
FenderGuy53
10-05-2008, 10:34 PM
Well, I'm returning the Barber Direct Drive. I've decided that I really do need a distortion pedal and not an overdrive pedal. I need to get my sound from the pedal and not from the amp. Plus, I need to be able to play the amp at lower volumes.
So...
What single distortion pedal is up to the task?
Prodigy
10-05-2008, 11:05 PM
Well, I'm returning the Barber Direct Drive. I've decided that I really do need a distortion pedal and not an overdrive pedal. I need to get my sound from the pedal and not from the amp. Plus, I need to be able to play the amp at lower volumes.
So...
What single distortion pedal is up to the task?
What kind of music do you play?
FenderGuy53
10-05-2008, 11:32 PM
What kind of music do you play?
You can see my current setup in my sig.
My music is: Blues, Blues/Rock, Classic Rock and Hard Rock (but no metal).
Prodigy
10-05-2008, 11:57 PM
You can see my current setup in my sig.
My music is: Blues, Blues/Rock, Classic Rock and Hard Rock (but no metal).
If you can get a chance to try out a Brent Mason Hot Wired pedal, do it. It's an incredible pedal..Lot's of punch and clarity, and doesn't suck tone at all... The clean boost is outstanding and you can go from a perfectly clean boost to a good amount of grit on the right channel. The left channel is the overdrive channel and is one of the best OD's I've heard, if not THE best IMHO. You can also combine the pedals for another tonal option, and they sound great that way as well. There is EQ for each channel, a 3 position bass boost/reduction button, and they are hand built in the USA by Brian Wampler, so they are built well, and built to last....It's a bit on the expensive side at $300, but you are getting 2 excellent pedals in one box for the price...Can't go wrong with this one IMHO. :RoCkIn
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