You fellers w/the Bad Monkeys...

[Cogs]

On my board right now I'm running two TS9s: One set for just a little dirt & one for a heavier distortion. Even though they are set differently (& even different sounding one from another when set identically) there's a certain sameness to the sound. I want to try something a little different.
I recall a while back many of you guys were flipping over this inexpensive pedal & saying there were good tone to be had. Well I'm late to the party but I want to check one out.
Are you guy using it mainly for a light crunch or full on distortion? Anybody not happy w/it?

[mmcquain]

I use my BM for lighter crunch/tube overdrive. It can get heavier sounding by far than I'm using it for but I have other pedals (Crunch Box, etc.) as I move up the scale from overdrive to distortion to fuzz. The BM is a good deal for the money IMO. Pick up a used one off of eBay (they're cheap) and try it for yourself. If you don't like it, sell it.

[Rickenjangle]

Mike, if you keep on calling it a BM I'll think it stinks.

71818, I think there's a lot of guys around with bad monkeys. We were all born with one.

I think that some of the best sounds are to be had when you put the bad monkey into the big muff...

Sorry, I just can't resist the double entendres...

[mmcquain]

Mike, if you keep on calling it a BM I'll think it stinks. 71818, I think there's a lot of guys around with bad monkeys. We were all born with one. I think that some of the best sounds are to be had when you put the bad monkey into the big muff... Sorry, I just can't resist the double entendres...

[djinn1973]

I really like mine, I think it does the low to mid range distortion thing very well. The tone controls let me dial it in so that it sounds like my amp pushed just past brake up, as opposed to an amp with a pedal in front of it

[improvisation07]

TS9's are all midrange and nothing else. I cant stand them. I wouldent even think about ever buying a bad monkey. Not even for free.

Try a BK Tube Driver if you want some OD of any kind. Now a Tube Driver into a Vintage Muff will get you some of the best sounds to be had.

[Mesotech]

I like my Monkey, and I will run it from crunch to full out bad and anywhere in between. It even works well as a clean boost. The tone controls allow you to get more out of it than a typical tube sreamer. The gain isn't really complete saturation, but will push a tube amp into saturation easily.

One of the best kept secrets of the Bad Monkey is the cabinet emulation output. plug it directly into a mixer for an ad hoc amp, or into the sound card of your computer for direct recording. It'll shock you just how versatile this thing really is. I'd buy another, but since I've never had a moment's trouble with the one I have, I see no need.

I also have a Fulldrive II Mosfet that I use. It is definately all mids. With the Monkey set clean and after the FD II, it can serve as an EQ corrector with the FD on, and as a clean boost with the FD off. Put the Monkey in front of the FD, and use both, you can get very JCM800 sounding tones out of the most modest of Fender amps.

[Rickenjangle]

TS9's are all midrange and nothing else. I cant stand them. I wouldent even think about ever buying a bad monkey. Not even for free.

Try a BK Tube Driver if you want some OD of any kind. Now a Tube Driver into a Vintage Muff will get you some of the best sounds to be had.

Had the Butler. Too fizzy. Tube Screamers are NOT just midrange, you just have to know how to dial them in for your guitar. And to not use a ton of overdrive but use the pedal to overdrive the amp by goosing the volume. You may not like them, and that's fine, but TSs are among the most popular and ubiquitous pedals out there.

[Kap'n]

I've got Bad Monkey lying around, but I haven't even picked it up in months. I'm just done with the TS sound. I figure it was cheap enough, and close enough to other TS-type pedals that if I ever wanted that sound again, I'd have it.

And while I'm a tube amp kind of guy, I've never heard a tube based OD/Distortion pedal that sounded as good as a good solid state based one.

[Don]

And while I'm a tube amp kind of guy, I've never heard a tube based OD/Distortion pedal that sounded as good as a good solid state based one.

Me either.

I bought a used OCD recently and get a very decent OD sound by turning the drive almost all the way down.

I'm actually pretty impressed with it when I use it that way.

[telecustom]

I use a first generation OCD first in the chain and then a Seymour-Duncan Twin Tube Classic. I was really disappointed in the SD Twin Tube Classic by itself as a distortion sound but just using it as a boost and using the OCD for the distortion/overdrive is really nice, imo. The SD just kind of fattens the tone, plus it has two channels so I just use the lead channel as a boost for leads. My pedal GAS is finally over

[improvisation07]

Had the Butler. Too fizzy.

And while I'm a tube amp kind of guy, I've never heard a tube based OD/Distortion pedal that sounded as good as a good solid state based one.

Yes you have.

Ever watch Pink Floyd's PULSE DVD? All his heavy distortion is pure BK Tube Driver into a vintage Civil War Big Muff.

If you think Gilmour's tone is fizzy then you need to get your head checked.

Shine on you crazy diamond is all Tube Driver.

I serously doubt you ever had one. I can tell you that they are nowhere near fizzy.

[Kap'n]

Yes you have.

Ever watch Pink Floyd's PULSE DVD?

No, actually I haven't. I'm not a big fan of Gilmour's sound post Animals.

Of course you're not going to get fizz when you're using old-school EMG's and boatloads of compression.

[cooltone]

I have both the TS9 and the Bad Monkey. I don't know if you'd escape the 'sameness' you are getting by adding the Monkey to your chain. (that sounds funny)
The BM is more EQ-able, but the gain I get from both is somewhat similar (slightly more modern crunch when the gain is dimed on the monkey).
The monkey is a good bargain.

[Cogs]

Yes you have.

Ever watch Pink Floyd's PULSE DVD? All his heavy distortion is pure BK Tube Driver into a vintage Civil War Big Muff.

If you think Gilmour's tone is fizzy then you need to get your head checked.

Shine on you crazy diamond is all Tube Driver.

I serously doubt you ever had one. I can tell you that they are nowhere near fizzy.

It sounds like you are accusing other members of lying. This is a pretty laid back musicians' community. You need to take it down a notch.

[Cogs]

Well there's one w/a BIN for $30 on eBay right now. I'm wondering if I should hit the button...

[Kap'n]

Well there's one w/a BIN for $30 on eBay right now. I'm wondering if I should hit the button...

With or without shipping? Most of the major dealers sell 'em for $50 these days, and you get a return policy. On line, you usually get free shipping, too.

[Kap'n]

I have both the TS9 and the Bad Monkey. I don't know if you'd escape the 'sameness' you are getting by adding the Monkey to your chain. (that sounds funny)

I'm actually surprised that they didn't go with a "The Missing Link in Your Signal Chain" advertising theme.

[BradKM]

Ever watch Pink Floyd's PULSE DVD? All his heavy distortion is pure BK Tube Driver into a vintage Civil War Big Muff.

If you think Gilmour's tone is fizzy then you need to get your head checked.

Shine on you crazy diamond is all Tube Driver.

I serously doubt you ever had one. I can tell you that they are nowhere near fizzy.

A shop I worked at sold the BK Tube Drivers stuff for a long time.

The first units were great, but towards the end (mid 90s) there was a major dip in quality control that followed a big boost in demand.

That's why some folks rave about 'em, while others can't stand them.

I'd love to have a few pieces of gear that they made, but have always been hesitant to pick any up because I saw that quality dip first hand.

My confidence was shaken.

[djinn1973]

Well there's one w/a BIN for $30 on eBay right now. I'm wondering if I should hit the button...

You could probably pick up a (returnable) floor model at that price from a GC or some such.

[BradKM]

Did they recently raise the price on the Monkeys?

I'd been thinking about picking one up as well, but recalled seeing them new in the $30 range a while back.

[Cogs]

It's too late- someone beat me to it
There's another @ $25+8 SH

[Rickenjangle]

Yes you have.

Ever watch Pink Floyd's PULSE DVD? All his heavy distortion is pure BK Tube Driver into a vintage Civil War Big Muff.

If you think Gilmour's tone is fizzy then you need to get your head checked.

Shine on you crazy diamond is all Tube Driver.

I serously doubt you ever had one. I can tell you that they are nowhere near fizzy.

Dude, I'm just going to try to cut you some slack because you're new around here, but I do not "need my head checked" nor am I lying about having had the Tube Driver. In fact, I had both the pedal version and the rack version, as well as tons of other pedals over the years, and I think that I'm pretty well qualified to speak to the sound of various pedals, especially since I've owned a tube screamer continuously for my entire adult life.

So, please - take a couple of steps back.

As far as Gilmour goes - in separate pedal loops he's got a Big Muff, a Cornish fuzz, and the BKB TD as you mentioned - as well as a few other ones if memory serves. Plus, if you look at photos of his setup, he's got a separate Boss EQ pedal in each individual chain with the overdrives/fuzzes. So, he EQ's each pedal to suit his needs. So, his tone is not necessarily typical.

Another player who uses the Tube Driver is Eric Johnson. Again, not fizzy. But he's got the earlier (and much better) Chandler version.

And finally, I have a Big Muff - have owned at least 4 models over the years, including 2 originals - sounded great but were notoriously unreliable - a Civil War one -oh how I miss that one - and now a NYC reissue - and I would maintain that any cleaner overdrive into the Big Muff is going to sound similar, since the Muff colors everything so heavily. I have played my TS9, SD1, and LPB-1 into the Muff on separate occasions, and the sound is similar with each device.

[elicross]

How much extra do you have to pay to get a Good Monkey?

[cooltone]

How much extra do you have to pay to get a Good Monkey?

I don't know. A Good Monkey can't be that great, David Gilmour doesn't have one. (at least that I know of)

[Rickenjangle]

I wonder if they make a Large Beaver clone to go with a Bad Monkey.

;-)

For that matter, I always wondered if anyone liked the Way Huge Swollen Pickle.

[TommyJ]

I think the Bad Monkey pedal sounds best into the
Big Muff, you know it has a gain knob.. and the eq also..
I pimped a muff a few months back,and made 10 bucc's..
Really though I like the Digitech Hot Head pedal better..
sounds like the Bad monkey into a muff,with out the muff..LOL!!!
I know it sounds dirty,but it's true...