In a seemingly flooded pedal market, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish yourself, not only by tones and product offerings, but also with pedals that have practical features and quality workmanship. In the case of the Bunker Booster by Levana, it appears they have conquered the distinctive tonal offerings you may be seeking, coupled with easy controls housed in a rugged chassis.
The SpecsFormed in 1998, Levana entered a joint venture with Las Vegas-based Studio-Blue in 2008. It was then they began offering musical products, including its line of stomp boxes, which are entirely handmade in the US. The Bunker Booster, 2.8 pounds and 6.3"x4.5"x1.7", features three simple controls—Input, Gain Select, and Output in an all-analog, true bypass pedal. It should be noted that Levana recommends using their dedicated 9V power supply, which is not included with the unit.
The SetupI ran a couple of different basses on this trial, one active and one passive. There are benefits for both types of bass with this pedal, and the key to this is in the Gain Select switch. The two available positions, Silicon and Germanium (chemistry majors, maybe?), offer different approaches to your bass. Silicon brings slight compression, expansion, and a higher output, while Germanium features a very aggressive compression along with a lower output. The true secret to the pedal, however, is in the Input/Output controls, which also control compression. A higher input volume combined with a lower output equals a lower compression rate, and vice versa. These controls also hit a saturation point, which gets into the “I’m not sure why I dialed this in, but I can’t stop using it” frame of mind. It’s gnarly and aggressive, and will have your inner vintage-junkie satisfied in no time.
The TonesStarting with a passive, ’70s P bass, I dialed the input all the way up, positioned the Gain Select on Silicon, and set the Output at 75 percent. This setting brought out a great mid-range punch without getting harsh, and accented the vintage bass very nicely, adding just the right amount of grit. When I switched to Germanium, it got old-school and dirty with the added saturation and sustain, and broke up nicely as I dug harder into the strings harder while starting my best Entwistle. Rolling off the output, the tone evened out very nicely, giving it a more everyday, functional structure.
It seems that an active bass is best served on the Silicon position, with a nice compliment to the more modern sound. With the Input control dimmed and the Output set around 20 percent, I found the sweet spot for my active bass, bringing out just the right amount of tone and dirt. The Germanium side is a different ball game for an active bass. Cranking the Input and rolling off the Output (because of the lower output) was best, and as the Output is turned up, the signal breaks up quicker. One can get some keyboard-type tones this way, which is another cool angle of this pedal. However, one should use care if you A/B between the Silicon and Germanium positions due to gain structure. Your levels will be drastically different, and you could be in for a not-so-pleasant spike in level.
The VerdictGuitarists are wildly obsessive about compression pedals. And because the Bunker Booster is made for both bass and guitar, this means all you multi-instrumentalists can feasibly kill two birds here. For bassists, the tones from the Bunker Booster are useful, but it may not be a pedal I would necessarily leave on the whole gig. For me, this pedal is best used for spotlight soloing or textures. If you’re a bassist in need of some boost here and there, or some grit and grime in your tone, then you may find the Bunker Booster a suitable addition to your rig.
Buy if...
you need a little dirt in your life.
Skip if...
you prefer a cleaner, more-defined bass tone.
Rating...
Street $225 - Studio Blue - studiobluellc.com |
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Peterson StroboStomp Mini Pedal Tuner
| The StroboStomp Mini delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks. |
But by gosh, if delay—and its sister effect, reverb—haven’t always been perfect for the music I like to write and play. Which brings us to the Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay. The EchoBack, along with the standard delay controls of level, time, and repeats—as well as a tap tempo—has a toggle to alternate between analog, tape, and digital-delay voices.
I hooked up my Washburn Bella Tono Elegante to my Blues Junior to give the EchoBack a test run. We love a medium delay—my usual preference for delay settings is to have both level and repeats at 1 o’clock, and time at 11 o’clock. With the analog voice switched on, I heard some pillowy warmth in the processed signal, as well as a familiar degradation with each repeat—until their wake gave way to a gentle, distant, crinkly ticking. Staying on analog and adjusting delay time down to 8 o’clock and repeats to about 11:30, some cozy slapback enveloped my rendition of Johnny Marr’s part to “Back to the Old House,” conjuring up thoughts of Elvis trapped in a small chamber, but in a good way. It sounded indubitably authentic. The one drawback of analog delay for me, generally, is that its roundness can feel a bit under water at times.
Switching over to tape, that pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top. With the settings at the medium-length mode listed above, I could see the empty, glass hall the pedal sent my sound bouncing down. I heard several pronounced pings of repeats before the signal fully faded out. On slapback settings (time at 8 o’clock, repeats at 11:30), rather than Elvis, I heard something more along the lines of a honky-tonk mic in a glass bottle. Still relatively crystalline, which actually was not my favorite. I like a bit more crinkle—so maybe analog is my bag....“That pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear, pristine replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top.”
Next up, digital. Here we have the brightest voice, and as expected, the most faithful repeats. They ping just a few times before shifting to a smooth, single undulating wave. When putting its slapback hat on, I found that the effect was a bit less alluring than I’d observed for the analog and tape voices. This is where the digital delay felt a little too sterile, with the cleanly preserved signal feeling a bit unnatural.
All in all, I dig the EchoBack for its replications of analog and tape voices, and ultimately, lean towards tape. While it’s nice having the digital delay there as an option, it feels a bit too clean when meddling with time of any given length. Nonetheless, this is surely a handy stomp for any acoustic player looking to venture into the land of live effects, or for those who are already there.
