ebs drive me crazy review

Crystalman85

Crystalman85

Nov 30, 2008
6,452
1,774
5,071
Chicago, Il.
www.soundclick.com
#1
Okay this is my review on the ebs drive me crazy. first off, this is a high-gained distortion pedal that's part of ebs's blue label series of pedals. this pedal has 3 controls. drive, tone, and level. it also has a toggle switch that selects certain modes of low-end. the modes are thin, normal, and deep. thin cuts back on lows for a tight sound. normal has a decent amount of lows. and deep increases more lows for a thicker heavier sound. this pedal is powered by an ac adaptor and is cased in metal.

Personal thoughts: I like this pedal for it's high-gained sounds. I was inspired to own one after seeing a demo from patrick hunter and erik arko. the distortion sounds is quite versatile and the mode switch seems to have a different sound. I don't have a personal use for thin mode, but I personally do like how it sounds in normal and deep mode. these modes seems suitable for bass. it even sounds phenomenal with modulation effects like chorus and flanger. the only minor drawback is that there's no blend control and I do wish there was one. but the pedal does have some low-end. with that being said, I have used it live and I do think that it can work well when you use eq controls on either your amp or if you own one, a graphic-eq pedal. this method is usually a little tricky, but once you find the sweet spot, you'll be all set. also the pedal does tend to be a tad quite, but once you set the level control past noon, you're good to go. other than that, this is a pretty good distortion pedal to own for bass. I bought one from reverb.com for $45. if you want a distortion pedal with no blend control but still preserves lows, this pedal and the black haze are good choices for that.
 
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#5
Crystalman85 said:
Sorry about that. I was editing by clicking back instead of clicking on edit mode. my bad.
Click to expand...

No worries, I was just having a bit of fun on your expense. :p

Also I personally prefer Joyo California Sound, which is a clone of the now discontinued Tech 21 California, for massive thick heavy, still relatively articulate, distortion with good low end.
The bass demo on YouTube of the California Sound doesn't really do that particular tone justice though, but you have to believe me, that high gain distortion tone is absolutely killer.
Can't remember the exact setting as I usually don't really use high gain distortion on my bass, but you have to crank the drive to about 4 o'clock, boosting the Low and Voice control quite a bit (as far as my memory serves me to about 3 o'clock) and then generally fiddle a bit with the EQ section of the pedal.
 
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#6
Karlson541 said:
No worries, I was just having a bit of fun on your expense. :p

Also I personally prefer Joyo California Sound for massive thick heavy distortion with good low end, which is a clone of the now discontinued Tech 21 California (the bass demo on YouTube doesn't really do that particular tone justice though).
Click to expand...

It was an honest mistake I did there, but I guess the double post lives up to the post. it is crazy :p

I use to own a joyo california sound. it's a great cheap distortion pedal to buy for bass. at a certain setting, I was able to duplicate the distorted bass sounds from the alice in chains song get born again.

 
#7
Crystalman85 said:
It was an honest mistake I did there, but I guess the double post lives up to the post. it is crazy :p

I use to own a joyo california sound. it's a great cheap distortion pedal to buy for bass. at a certain setting, I was able to duplicate the distorted bass sounds from the alice in chains song get born again.

Click to expand...


Sounds like the kind of tone you could get out of the California Sound, though I am talking of an even more high gain tone, still with the characteristic deep quality as that in the video.
What I use it for at the moment is a just slightly overdriven sound with my Joyo Orange Juice in front, just to add a slight bit more high frequency definition and a simple tube preamp after to add a bit more tube warmth, then mixed with the Joyo American Sound, also just slightly breaking up, via my Boss LS-2.
Gives me a really nice mid heavy tone with a good deal of zing and a slight bit of grid.
Something I couldn't achieve with the California Sound alone as it's basic sound is kind of deep with slightly muffled high frequencies.

Sorry for hijacking your EBS thread with babbling about the California Sound.
 
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#9
Karlson541 said:
Sounds like the kind of tone you could get out of the California Sound, though I am talking of a more high gain tone, still with the characteristic deep quality as that in the video.
What I use it for at the moment is a just slightly overdriven sound with the Orange Juice in front, just to add a slight bit of more high frequency definition and a simple tube preamp after to add a bit more tube warmth, then mixed with the Joyo American Sound, also just slightly breaking up, via my Boss LS-2.
Gives me a really nice mid heavy tone with a good deal of zing and a slight bit of grid.
Something I couldn't achieve with the California Sound alone and it's basic sound is kind of deep with slightly muffled high frequencies.

Sorry for hijacking your EBS thread with babbling about the California Sound.
Click to expand...

No worries...I've noticed there's no thread mentioning the ebs drive me crazy, so I post this review. but yeah, the california sounds is capable of high-gain sounds as well as a grind. other than that, the ebs drive me crazy is a pretty heavy sounding pedal.
 
#11
I have the regular EBS drive pedal - pretty good. It's mid pushed - sort of tube screamerish, but it has good low end retention. It was on my board, until I got a Wampler Pantheon, which...is my cup of tea,....or kettle of fish, or perhaps the substance that floats my boat.
 
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#12
micguy said:
I have the regular EBS drive pedal - pretty good. It's mid pushed - sort of tube screamerish, but it has good low end retention. It was on my board, until I got a Wampler Pantheon, which...is my cup of tea,....or kettle of fish, or perhaps the substance that floats my boat.
Click to expand...

That's cool. the drive sounds great if you simply want an overdrive. I've purchased the ebs drive me crazy out of curiosity and I would say it's a great sounding pedal. really good pedal for if you want a heavy sound. speaking of heavy, I've recently been thinking about purchasing the ebs black haze next just out of curiosity. I am thinking about at the moment. if I ever do decide to purchase, I will post a review on it here.
 
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