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 | Download Example 1 Bass: 1987 Kramer Striker into a a Gallien-Kreuger 700 RB-II bass head to a 1970 Orange 8x10 cabinet. |
| Download Example 2 Guitar: Cycle through 4 settings. 2008 Fender American Standard Stratocaster into a Fender Twin Reverb reissue |
Echoes of the Past
It’s no wonder that the Bass Octave Fuzz’s main inspiration is the Bass Brassmaster pedal, which originated in the late ’70s. The Brassmaster has been used by some of rock’s most famous bassists, including Chris Squire of Yes and the Who’s John Entwhistle. Since the Brassmaster’s debut in the heyday of aggressive and progressive rock, it has become a highly sought-after collector’s piece, likely commanding hundreds of dollars. Its sputtery, sometimes synth-like sound defined an era of rock ’n’ roll when bassists began to take a stronger role in a world dominated by huge guitar tones.
The Bass Octave Fuzz employs the same control scheme as its ancestor, using three knobs and two toggle switches to manage its wide range of tones. The Bass control is effectively a mixer control to balance the effected and dry signals, and I was happy to have this simple but useful feature available on the Bass Octave. It allowed me to alter the mix of clean bass tone with the distorted signal for plenty of nuanced tonal tweaking, and my desired mix really came through with only slight adjustments—depending on the amp and bass being used. It’s an indispensable control and thankfully being added to more and more bass effects manufactured today.
The other two knobs—Drive and Fuzz— work in tandem to produce the pedal’s fuzz effect. The Fuzz control doesn’t affect the amount of fuzz as it implies, but rather controls the volume of the fuzz tone itself. It’s the Drive knob that manages the additional signal gain needed for the desired distortion.
The Filter and Harmonic toggle switches are the unique features of the Bass Octave. They’re designed to react in the same fashion as the Brass and Harmonic switches on the original Brassmaster, altering the harmonic range and intensity of the octave-up effect. Using different combinations of range and intensity can produce tones that not only sound drastically different from one another, but also change the playing feel considerably.
Getting Down to Brass Tacks
Grabbing a 1987 Kramer Striker USA bass, I plugged the Bass Octave into a Gallien-Krueger 700RB-II bass head cabled to a 1970 Orange 8x10 cabinet. Both of the toggle switches were set to their left positions, and all of the controls were set directly at noon. A massive wall of fat fuzz hit me in the back after plucking the low E string, with the grit and snarl of unwieldy early ’70s fuzz tones. Interestingly, the pedal was dead silent as I turned the Drive knob up to higher settings. It also remained super tight on the low frequencies—even while doing chord work.
The Orange cabinet has strong midrange tendencies, and in some cases, the sheer amount of air that the cabinet was pushing with the pedal engaged was almost too much. This is where the simple mix control came into perfect play, allowing me to easily dial back the raunchy fuzz tone and have it sit nicely on top of the smooth and naturally clean tone of the rig.
Once I achieved the tone I was happy with, I moved into further sonic exploration by switching the toggle controls into various combinations. The left position of the Frequency toggle seemed to let the natural high end of the fuzz cut through a bit more than the right position, which slightly rolled off the sharpness of the effect. The tonal change resulting from switching the Harmonic toggle back and forth was much more evident. Some really trippy, lo-fi tones with scooped mids can be coaxed out of the pedal with the Harmonic switch in the left position. When toggled right, the switch coaxes the pedal into some utterly bizarre, space-age tones with increased volume and harmonics.
The key to getting a great sound out of the Bass Octave is to approach it with a conservative and “not-so-knob-happy” attitude. Just a touch of drive will go a long way with this pedal, so rely on your fingering or pick attack for producing subtle dynamics. All said, really pushing the Drive control will give you some extremely aggressive sounds, reminiscent of the opening dirge to King Crimson’s "Red," by bassist John Wetton. But if you’re in the mood for adding fuzz as more of a texture, start with lower settings and use different combinations of the Filter and Harmonic toggle switches to find what you’re looking for.
The Verdict
Though gear companies traditionally haven’t given bassists the amount of attention bestowed on guitarists, bassists have had a few gems to call their own in the past—such as the original Maestro Bass Brassmaster. Like its predecessor, the modern-day Black Cat Bass Octave Fuzz produces a powerful, detailed, and—most importantly—unique fuzz tone that harkens back to that famous bass grind of the ’70s. Though the pedal can be dialed back and tamed, it’s not meant to be a smooth-sounding device, meaning these tones are not for everybody. But that’s what made the original Brassmaster pedals so popular in the first place—tones that stand out from the crowd.
Buy if...
you’re in the market for a vintage Brassmaster, but are shy on the scratch it takes to get one.
Skip if...
you need a smooth, subtle overdrive.
Rating...
Street $225 - Black Cat Pedals - blackcatpedals.com |
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, he’s been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Cory’s custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Cory’s near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Cory’s feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lights—blue for Wah mode and green for Volume mode—making live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
