B
BDJohnston
Active member
If you’re looking for a unique Distortion that bites, yet cleans up very well, Proud Addams may be the ticket. And if you wanted to add in a Filter with vocoder characteristics (for that cocked wah sound), you now have two great integrations for under $130 USD. I reviewed LiberaToe’s Proud Addams before, although it was an integrated stacked pedal whereby you would select a red or green channel and whatever combination and settings you would have for the Distortion and/or Filter. This new dual-pedal/dual-channel pedal operates a bit differently and seems to have more appreciation toward the pedal crowd.
The Distortion section (known as Thingstortion) is more complex than merely a distortion. Rather it seamlessly blends distortion and fuzz (if you don’t like fuzz, don’t let this dissuade you, as it’s not a traditional fuzz). You can go from a crisp overdrive to a rumbling, sticky fuzz depending on the distortion level, but also your guitar’s volume knob. Generally speaking, the first half (up to 12-noon on the distortion knob) is just that, whereas anything past 12-noon provides more of that fuzz feel, although very much still distortion sounding (great for lead!). The more Distortion you use, the more of a square shaped wave produced.
When adjusting a guitar’s volume knob, dialing back to about 25-30% produces an almost clean (slightly gritty) clean, whereas upward of 75% guitar volume and you get some really nice crunchy gain. Up full and you get that distortion/fuzz combination (again, this depends as much on the distortion level on Proud Addams). It cleans up exceptionally well with single-coils, whereas there’s more thump and push with humbuckers, but still sounding relatively clean. The Tone knob for Distortion has a very usable wide range, and in the final composition in the demo, I had ‘picking’ done with the Tone at 3-o’clock (about 30% guitar volume), the chunky rhythm at 12-noon (about 75% guitar volume), and the lead at 9-o’clock (100% guitar volume), which demonstrates Tone, various distortion levels, guitar volume clean-up results, and how well everything blends.
The Envelop Filter with semi-vocoder characteristics (the Wahristotle section) has a number of options, including being able to switch from a low to a high filter, designed for both 6-string and bass. The knobs include Sensitivity (how quickly the effect responds), Attack (the speed in which the effect engages with peak frequencies), and Decay (the release time of the effect). Various combinations provide such wide-ranging results that I encourage you to check out the demo to get a full spectrum of what is possible. And what I like about this Filter is how it responds to one’s pick attack, ranging from subtle filter nuances to very vocal (vowel) sounding results. Combine this with a massive range of the control knobs and the potential for a customized effect is achieved with ease. Add in the distortion and lead playing becomes a different animal, particularly since you now can switch from low to high filter in a flash, thus producing a unique wah-like experience (or for bassists to enter a modern Funky Town).
Proud Addams’ physical properties include 4.72“ x 3.8” x 2.1“ (12 x 9.7 x 5.3 cm) and 0.82lbs/370g. It requires 9VDC (negative center) power supply, while drawing only 30mA, and with an impedance of Input of MΩ(filter) and 510kΩ (distortion), with an Output of 1kΩ. As a long-time fan of LiberaToe products, for producing quality gear at exceptional pricing, you need to check out this company if you have not already.
https://www.liberatoe.com/product-page/bb-series-one-piece-pedal
The Distortion section (known as Thingstortion) is more complex than merely a distortion. Rather it seamlessly blends distortion and fuzz (if you don’t like fuzz, don’t let this dissuade you, as it’s not a traditional fuzz). You can go from a crisp overdrive to a rumbling, sticky fuzz depending on the distortion level, but also your guitar’s volume knob. Generally speaking, the first half (up to 12-noon on the distortion knob) is just that, whereas anything past 12-noon provides more of that fuzz feel, although very much still distortion sounding (great for lead!). The more Distortion you use, the more of a square shaped wave produced.
When adjusting a guitar’s volume knob, dialing back to about 25-30% produces an almost clean (slightly gritty) clean, whereas upward of 75% guitar volume and you get some really nice crunchy gain. Up full and you get that distortion/fuzz combination (again, this depends as much on the distortion level on Proud Addams). It cleans up exceptionally well with single-coils, whereas there’s more thump and push with humbuckers, but still sounding relatively clean. The Tone knob for Distortion has a very usable wide range, and in the final composition in the demo, I had ‘picking’ done with the Tone at 3-o’clock (about 30% guitar volume), the chunky rhythm at 12-noon (about 75% guitar volume), and the lead at 9-o’clock (100% guitar volume), which demonstrates Tone, various distortion levels, guitar volume clean-up results, and how well everything blends.
The Envelop Filter with semi-vocoder characteristics (the Wahristotle section) has a number of options, including being able to switch from a low to a high filter, designed for both 6-string and bass. The knobs include Sensitivity (how quickly the effect responds), Attack (the speed in which the effect engages with peak frequencies), and Decay (the release time of the effect). Various combinations provide such wide-ranging results that I encourage you to check out the demo to get a full spectrum of what is possible. And what I like about this Filter is how it responds to one’s pick attack, ranging from subtle filter nuances to very vocal (vowel) sounding results. Combine this with a massive range of the control knobs and the potential for a customized effect is achieved with ease. Add in the distortion and lead playing becomes a different animal, particularly since you now can switch from low to high filter in a flash, thus producing a unique wah-like experience (or for bassists to enter a modern Funky Town).
Proud Addams’ physical properties include 4.72“ x 3.8” x 2.1“ (12 x 9.7 x 5.3 cm) and 0.82lbs/370g. It requires 9VDC (negative center) power supply, while drawing only 30mA, and with an impedance of Input of MΩ(filter) and 510kΩ (distortion), with an Output of 1kΩ. As a long-time fan of LiberaToe products, for producing quality gear at exceptional pricing, you need to check out this company if you have not already.
https://www.liberatoe.com/product-page/bb-series-one-piece-pedal