I currently have 3 dirt pedals in a very simple (and quite small) loop pedal, with no crossover or filters, but a very nice buffer; the board sounds better when it’s on, even when all the pedals in the loop are off.
In other dirt news, I yesterday took receipt of a new-to-me amp, an Ashdown Little Bastard 30, all tube 30 W amp. It’s the Chinese made version of the first iteration, but all reports are that it really is identical to the UK made version. In any event, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s not super-dirty, and it has just a single volume control for both gain and output in one. It is also surprisingly loud through a pair of 12” cabs, such that I can’t turn it much past 11 o’clock for long at home. So far, I’ve only played it with my small, “travel” board, which has mostly my more interesting pedals on it (including the DM-101 Delay Machine I promised I wouldn’t mention again), and room now for only one modestly-sized dirt pedal rather than the three I’ve had until now. So began the contest.
The Modèle B was quite nice, but almost too much of a good thing with the LB. The Ground & Pound was fine, it’s a really good sound, but I was expecting more from the interaction with the tubes, I think. The Hooker’s Green Bass Machine nearly clinched it; the drive adds a really nice “bloom” to the front of the amp, and when coupled with its Lemon Yellow compressor counterpart makes a really nice, compact, battery-powered pair that makes for a no-fuss, highly-portable “board”. So far, though, a late contender has snagged the prize spot immedately after the Drybell compressor — the Crowther Hotcake. It was apparently designed all those years ago (c. 1976) to go in front of a Vox 30 guitar amp, and maybe the Ashdown shares enough of that Anglo-Saxon heritage for the Hotcake to work its same magic here, but whatever the reason, it seems to be a pretty special match. On the basis of the recent brief conversation regarding amp-like vs. pedal-type overdrives, I would, if pressed, have put the Hotcake in the latter category based on my experiences of it coupled with solid-state pre- and power amps. In front of the Little Bastard, though, it gains, or draws on, the push-pull feeling from the amp, and seems to integrate its own drive tone into the amp’s, turning the Bastard into a real Motherf¥£§er.
I will try the Prunes & Custard, although it’s too big for the available space, and I have a few others clamouring for an audition that will fit. They’re going to have to do something pretty spectacular to knock the Hotcake from the top of the pedestal, though, and from their CVs and headshots, I don’t see it happening. I will report any surprises, of course.
