Such truths are not lost on a blues scholar like Eric Clapton. And given his storied infatuation with electric blues in its most authentic forms it’s surprising that we didn’t see a Fender Tweed with EC’s initials on it sooner. But if you’re a fan of compressed, exploding, South Michigan Avenue tones it may well have been worth the wait, because the new hand-wired EC Tremolux delivers the greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts clout with a super hip tremolo circuit and power attenuation capabilities that make it handy beyond blasting the front row at your local juke joint.
Dressed to Kill
The EC Tremolux is based on Fender’s first generation Tremolux from the mid ’50s, which for all practical purposes, is the legendary 5E3 Tweed Deluxe with tremolo. That means it’s rated at right around 12 watts (a figure that never fails to surprise), which is churned up through three 12AX7 preamp tubes, a pair of 6V6GTs in the power section, and a 5Y3GT rectifier tube.
The Tremolux is beautifully built—on par with anything you’d see from a boutique builder. The pine cabinet, which also helps makes the Tremolux quite light, looks clean and immaculate, and the lacquered Tweed covering is flawless at the seams. Even the most nuts-and-bolts parts of the amp look cool—right down to the Celestion G12-65.
The control panel looks as simple as they come, though the simplicity belies the amp’s versatility. An Output switch just adjacent to the light jewel attenuates the power by about half. Next to the Output switch you’ll find the Speed control for the Tremolo. It’s the only control for the Tremolo, which might be a bummer for players looking for a deep, chopping trem. But those that dig a cool throb to put on top of their blues shuffles will probably enjoy the simplicity. Apart from the Tone and Volume knobs, there are high- and low-gain inputs. It’s a beautifully simple control set that beckons you to fire up and go.
Down and Dirty
Anyone who has ever played a little Tweed like a Deluxe or Tremolux can tell you that a simple circuit and control set don’t necessarily translate to crystalinity you often associate with Fenders—even small ones like Blackface and Silverface champs. Instead the Tremolux is full of color and character, even at low volumes. If you need pure bell-like chime and jangle for, say, your Telecaster’s bridge pickup, you might end up a little frustrated with how much color the Tremolux adds to an otherwise clean tone. But if you’re constantly looking for ways to pepper your jangle with a little attitude, a Stratocaster or Telecaster with amp volume between 3 and 5 and generous application of high end via the Tone knob gives you a sweet, butt-kicking Tom Petty-style rhythm tone. You may not be able to hear too much of it over a raging rhythm section, but it’s a very cool recording texture.
To compete with a loud band, you’ll have give the Tremolux some gas. And when you do, the little Tweed gets mean. Needless to say, the Tremolux is not a high gain monster, so when you do crank it the grit and overdrive are accompanied by a heavy amp compression that’s a signature of Fender Tweeds, but can sound odd to the uninitiated, or those inclined to believe that a cranked Tweed is all that stands between them and their inner raging Neil Young. With a Stratocaster in any one of the three positions from the bridge to middle pickup, the Tremolux takes on a honky, saxophone-like hue on chords and Keith Richards/Chuck Berry two-string stops played between the first and ninth frets. Single note solos up above the ninth fret have sweet and biting character that retains some of that cool sax-like color. And true to form, working through a Jimmy Reed shuffle that’s punctuated with leads up at the 12th fret is a slice of blues heaven—husky, bass-rich, tight, and singing when you need it.
In general, Les Pauls sound everything from bossy to muddy. The compressed character of the amp can makes it hard to summon the whole breadth of a humbucker’s harmonic richness. Getting a really slicing tone from a Les Paul means cranking the tone, putting a little kick behind your pick attack, and keeping the neck pickup out of the mix. It’s a glorious tone, and a combination of dynamic pickwork and volume knob control will help you get the most out of it. In general, though, the Tremolux seems to have the most range with a Telecaster or Stratocaster or mini humbucker-equipped Gibson Firebird out front. And the combination of twang and harmonic content from the Telecaster in particular, is an especially good fit. Muddy would be pleased.
The Verdict
When the Tremolux is in its sweet spot, you’ll never want to leave—especially if you’re a blues head with electric South Side inclinations. A good Telecaster or mini humbucker-equipped axe will make this amp sound liveliest, and you can expand the vocabulary of those combinations with pick dynamics and deft use of your guitar volume knob. Humbuckers are a less-than-perfect match for the super-compressed upper half of the amp’s power range, though they’ll record well at lower levels
The $1,999 price tag may give pause to some, though it falls in line with many hand-wired Deluxe clones that don’t have the Tremolux’s very cool Tremolo or power attenuation capabilities. It’s a lot to pay for an amp that doesn’t have miles of headroom and isn’t exactly multi-dimensional. But what the Tremolux does, it does beautifully. And in the studio, where you can roll back the volume, give it a little more room to move, and even throw on a little fuzz, the Tremolux can be a very capable little beast. At the end of the day, though, the Tremolux belongs in a roadhouse cranking away over a drums and bass trio blasting dirty blues and belting rowdy Telecaster licks. And if you have the coin to spare, it might be the best juke joint wingman you ever had.
Buy if...
Muddy Waters is your man!Skip if...
you’re looking for something a little cleaner for your janglepop masterpiece.Rating...
Old Specs
The Mean Green Machine’s user interface, so to speak, is built around three tried-and-true controls: Level (volume), Gain, and Tone. While some of the later TS models and mods venture into a fourth parameter (oftentimes Mids), the Mean Green’s simple dial set remains true to the original.
Coated in a British Racing Green sparkle and sporting alpine white knobs, the race-ready exterior is elegant and clean—just like the interior. Having previously opened up two SUF creations (Civil War and Red Menace), I can attest to the fine craftsmanship that Matt pours into his hand-wired pedals. They’re sharp and flawless, with plenty of breathing room. The Switchcraft jacks are accurately mounted to avoid contact with wires, and if you choose to go with a battery it will rest comfortably between the housing and the true-bypass switch without rattling around.
At the Track
While some later, vintage-era TS-808s vary in terms of parts consistency, Matt stays true to the original and uses a RC4558P chip, which provides a little more gain. The Tone control is remarkably responsive. I’ve played several reissues (and some clones) where this feature is nearly useless and just takes up extra space. Here we have a welcome and effective EQ sweep that works for about any guitar and amplifier combination.
I tested the Mean Green Machine on a Fender Reissue ’65 Twin Reverb, a Fender ’68 Bassman, and a CEC Toll-Free Express—running into a 4x12 cab. Guitars included a Gibson Les Paul, and a Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster.
Starting with the Fender Bassman and Telecaster, I ran the Mean Green Machine with all controls around noon. Engaging the effect yields an output of similar volume but with a cool peppering of saturated twang. There is a distinct focus on midrange, but the Mean Green massages your tone towards a very natural, amp-like break-up while preserving the highs and lows. And it can be a very transparent effect.
Switching over to the Les Paul and boosting the pedal’s Gain and Level to 2 o’clock makes the Mean Green a versatile blues-rock rig. Lowering the guitar’s volume opened up crawling rhythm tones and filthy ZZ Top lead sounds. A little boost in Tone and the ‘bucker equipped guitar can easily sail over a driving, bass-heavy band.
The 10-watt CEC Toll-Free Express and the Mean Green got along exceptionally well, and the pedal is capable of adding a cool heft to any low-wattage amp. Small amp scenarios call for a different overdrive configuration—essentially a boost in the Green’s Level and a decrease in the amp’s gain. But the setup worked as well for Texas-style overdrive as accenting the chime of a Stratocaster. Here again the guitar’s volume is key in coaxing a buttery rhythm from shuffling chords and the Mean Green responds beautifully.
The Verdict
Searching for the right TS clone can be a complete nightmare. A lot of manufacturers make promises that are tough to keep. But Stomp Under Foot’s high-quality Mean Green Machine is a tone conservationist that can add a heap of bad bite that lends versatility to any guitar/amp combination you throw its way. The $150 price tag is entirely reasonable considering that many TS-inspired overdrives cost more, probably won’t perform nearly as well, and don’t have SUF’s hand-made touch. If TS-808 tone you’re looking for, get in line—The Mean Green Machine is totally worth the wait.
Buy if...
that overdrive bite hasn’t been scratched.Skip if...
you can’t handle the wait for backorder. Hey, it’s a one-man show!Rating...
Hailing from the northern metropolis of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Heavy Electronics’ Sayer Payne is no stranger to great gear and tone. As an employee and manager of several guitar stores throughout the years, Payne was constantly around pedals that never seemed to completely live up to the standards he expected them to—be it reliability or availability issues, to the astronomical costs that some boutique pieces command. This frustration helped to form Heavy Electronics, a company that has made its mission to craft domestically handbuilt, high-quality analog effects that deliver great tone at reasonable prices. For bassists, Payne has constructed the El Oso (Spanish for “The Bear”) Bass Distortion, aimed at providing the grit and grind that rock bassists need to be heard and felt in the mix.
Not-So-Hidden Treasures
The El Oso is exceptionally simple to operate. Only three controls grace its front panel—which bares deliciously attractive graphics in an old Vegas motif—for Level (volume), Mix (wet/dry blending), and Gain. Having a wet/dry blending control is an essential tool for bassists who want to craft the perfect bass tone with just the right amount of cut and low-end grind. Hats off to Heavy Electronics for including this in the El Oso.
Top-notch best describes the El Oso’s construction. The pedal sports Neutrik jacks, sturdy and smooth Alpha potentiometers, and true-bypass switching. Inside the pedal’s housing is an expertly soldered PCB board, all-analog components, and a super-clean wiring job to the jacks, LED, and pots. The El Oso’s only PCB-mounted component attached to the housing is the footswitch, making it a simple operation to pull the guts out for any needed repairs or rewiring. That said, Heavy Electronics provides a lifetime warranty for the El Oso, as well as repair and modification services. Power is supplied via an external 9V wall-wart, or from an internal 9V battery.
Don’t Poke The Bear
Using a 1987 USA Kramer Striker bass into a Traynor YBA300 head and matching 8x10 cabinet, I set the pedal’s Mix and Gain controls at noon, and the Level at about 10:30. With the Clutch-esque riffing I was employing, the amount of low-end heft added to the signal was staggering, to say the least. The lows didn’t have a forceful, concrete quality to them. Instead, there was more of a soft, space-filling expansiveness that was warm and fuzzy. Likewise, the midrange stayed completely intact through the entire range of the Mix knob, and it seemed to gain in volume at higher settings of the Gain control.
Speaking of the Gain control, the El Oso’s strongest quality is how perfectly voiced the distortion tones are. At no point—while sweeping through the Gain knob’s entire spectrum—did any of the frequencies in the highs, mids, and lows seem overbearing or harsh. The smooth, rounded nature of the high end was particularly impressive, along with its solid interaction with the Mix control when using various settings in tandem. For example, when I set the Gain and Mix controls to 10:00 (the wet signal presents itself more as you turn the Mix control counterclockwise), the Kramer’s tone thickened up and softened with a warm array of texture in the mids and lows. Yet when I set both controls at 3:00, the lows dropped to their bypassed levels, but the gain transformed into a sharper-sounding beast, with a quicker attack. The highs were still soft and velvety no matter where the controls were set —so soft that some bassists who enjoy quick, crisp, upper mid and high-end snap in their fingerstyle playing might be turned off by its tone. With that in mind, the El Oso wasn’t developed for that brand of player. It’s true heart lies in dirty and fuzzy rock tones, à la Fu Manchu and Kyuss—and it hits those tones amazingly well.
The Verdict
Heavy Electronics is certainly on to something with the El Oso. The warm and vintage qualities of the distortion voicing are some of the most pleasing I’ve heard in a long time—along with being bonehead simple to dial in. The lack of immediate high-end cut may not satisfy bassists looking to slice through with slap and pop techniques, but rock bassists should be in hog heaven with its fuzzy, low-end onslaught.
Buy if...
you’re a bassist with a love for the fuzzy bass sounds of Fu Manchu and Clutch, and want that warm, distorted power in your bass lines.Skip if...
you need a distortion that cuts with a sharper edge.Rating...