Loud, evil, searing hot, and unexpectedly versatile, the Fuzz War’s demented bass cousin has a bold and more-complex personality all its own that sounds radical with guitar, too.
Evil. Just plain evil. Unexpected and vast variation. Responds interestingly to bass volume and tone attenuation. Wet/dry mix control. Sounds amazing (and extra evil) with guitar.
None.
$195
Death By Audio Bass War
deathbyaudio.com
If you like your fuzz measured in megatonnage, the Death By AudioFuzz War is one of life’s great joys. And if you’re a bass player with similar predilections and accustomed to watching guitar players have all the fun, the new DBA Bass War will be sweet revenge.
The original Fuzz War is a creatively twisted derivative of the Colorsound Supa Tone Bender But while you can hear some family resemblance among the Tone Bender, the Fuzz War, and Bass War, the latter is a very different animal indeed. I’m pretty sure it’s louder than the Fuzz War (holy #@*!). The fuzz is also much brighter than a Fuzz War, which sounded positively muddy by comparison.
That means a bass player has lightyears of headroom and range within which to shape their tone. And for such a loud, hectic pedal, it can be really precise and surgical. The experience of reshaping fuzz sounds is made easier, more fun, and much more expressive for the oversized outboard tone and fuzz controls, which can be swept with your toe to achieve wild filter effects. Along with the cutting fuzz tonalities, that lends the Bass War an almost synth-like feel and functionality. The pedal also responds in interesting ways to bass volume and tone attenuation: Lower bass volume generates less compressed, more focused, but still very insane tones that can be boosted to superheated levels with the pedal’s volume knob. Add in the dry/wet mix knob, which lends exponentially more complexity and range to the Bass War’s voice, and you’re talking about an exceedingly varied and evil fuzz device. Oh ... it sounds freaking amazing with guitar, too—yielding psychotically piercing lead tones, vintage biker fuzz, and vicious punk and metal grind. Wow.
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Sure, you could simply roll down your amp’s volume when you receive the evil eye (or worse) from your bandmates, engineer, spouse, or neighbor, but then your tonal sweet spot disappears. We’ve rounded up 10 attenuation options, from $50 to $550, that’ll let you hit your amp as hard as you like, while still maintaining your friendships.
Torpedo Captor X
Not just an attenuator, this little powerhouse also functions as an IR loader and cab simulator, and can be paired with your laptop or mobile device for expansive tone shaping.
Little Black Amp Box
This inexpensive and different device to attenuate allows you to tame your volume—while still pushing your amp’s front end—by placing it in your series effects loop.
Brake-Lite
For any tube amp up to 45 watts, and for use with 4, 8, or 16 ohm loads, this attenuator mounts inside your favorite combo and out of the way while you enjoy bedroom-level audio volumes.
Ironman II Mini
Ideal for tube amps up to 30 watts, and pedalboard friendly, this petite version of the company’s 100-watt unit attenuates your amp’s volume with the very same reactive load and transformer-coupled tech.
PS1 Power Soak
Priced attractively, this 100-watt unit’s multi-impedance input connectors will match virtually any amplifier for cranked-amp tone at manageable volumes.
Reducer
Developed in coordination with Tonehunter amps, this passive, point-to-point handwired attenuator features 200-watt power soak and is suited for amps with 4, 8, and 16 ohms.
MiniMASS
Designed for 35-watt amps and lower, this box features a 3-position treble compensation switch and an actual speaker motor for realistic interaction between the attenuator and the amp’s output circuit.
Headload Prodigy
This load box offers selectable output levels or complete attenuation, and features a built-in DI and EQ as well as an onboard headphone amp for those times you need to be completely silent.
POWERHOUSE
Rated for guitar amps up to 150 watts, this attenuator features five levels of power reduction, a 3-position voicing switch (normal, bright, or warm), and a speaker/load switch for options galore.
RockCrusher Gold Face
Boasting balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" outs for easy interfacing, this attenuator/load box was designed to ensure the amp and speaker see each other in a proper relationship of impedance and inductive/capacitive reactance.