Annoying Twit Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 (edited) Just bought one of these today. I've only just started using it, and there is something 'right' about this pedal. A couple of my basses have weak pickups, including a 5 string PJ I bought today. Even if I put the bass through this pedal with all of the EQ adjustments and the 'level' flat, I get a higher level. And not only that, it has more 'oomph' over and above the increase in volume IMHO. There's something about this pedal. I don't know what it is, but it really seems to add something to any signal going through it. Maybe this applies to all EQ pedals, and I'd be even happier with a more up-market one. But over and above the tone-shaping options of the 7-band EQ, just switching it on flat seems to make the bass sound bassier, stronger, deeper. And yes I am aware of Fletcher-Munson curves. I've got one of the Behringer BDI21 DI boxes. And in terms of adding oomph to weak basses, this EQ pedal seems to do a better job than the Behringer. I was expecting a flimsy plastic box too. It's small, but solid metal. Maybe I should wait longer before posting on this, but I'm very pleased with this little box, and I want to tell someone (See username for explanation). Edited April 2, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I know nothing about the workings of pedals or very much about Eq but I'm guessing they haven't got the settings for a flat sound quite right but luckily it works perfectly for you - result Do you have the facilities to record some sound clips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 A clone of the Boss bass eq. Owned both in my time. Perform exactly the same so the HB is a bargain of a pedal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 (edited) I can record something, but I'm now having a learning experience getting the most out of the pedal. What produces a nicely round and smooth tone played solo is not necessarily a tone that will stand up against a drum beat and other instruments. I'm in learning curve city with this at the moment. It's going to be a while before I can predict what each band is going to do to the sound when boosted or cut. Usually I produce bass by using a lowpass filter to fit it into the mix, and then using a multi band compressor on the whole track which seems to help the bass fit into its proper sonic space. I've not applied a lot of graphic EQ to individual instruments. Edited April 2, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 This is interesting-had my eye on one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) Lesson No 1: Don't cut too much of too many frequencies. This can result in a massively subby sound, but it will fade into mud when mixed with anything else. Selectively boosting frequencies while leaving most flat is much better. The more I use this EQ, the more impressed I am. I've tried doing the same with the graphic EQ on my Zoom B1Xon, but I didn't get results as good as I"m getting with the pedal. For whatever reason. There really are a lot of sounds that can be achieved just by varying the GEQ while leaving the amp model (etc.) I'm using alone. I've been putting my Rockbass streamer standard through it. I've seen other people repeating my complaint of the pickups on it being quite weak. But through the Bass EQ with some boosted frequencies as well as an overall level boost, and there are some massive sounds there, IMHO. With the extra boost, I've got to make sure I'm not letting strings ring when they shouldn't as the extra boost makes spurious sounds more noticeable. I put a guitar through it. The bass EQ will not be voiced in the most appropriate way for a guitar, but it still gave me some very useful tone shaping on it. Edited April 4, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Not a comment on the sound, but they do seem to have sneakily incorporated the Fender "F" into the Harley-Benton "H" (wot, no "B"?): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 I see your point concerning the H and the Fender F. I'd noted how stylised the H is but hadn't made the connection. The logo on my HB PJ bass is clearly meant to look as Fenderish as the differing words allow. BTW: I was tempted to buy one of the HB compressor limiters as well. But I was put off by the reviews. The HB compressor/limiter pictured has an 'enhance' control, but it creates a lot of noise. Owners typically turn this all the way down, but then lose some higher frequencies. The HB Dynamic Compressor is said to sound better, but be fragile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1427959524' post='2736218'] A clone of the Boss bass eq. Owned both in my time. Perform exactly the same so the HB is a bargain of a pedal! [/quote]i've owned both too and can categorically say they don't perform exactly the the same. Do yourself a favour, get the Boss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1428358916' post='2740627'] I see your point concerning the H and the Fender F. I'd noted how stylised the H is but hadn't made the connection. The logo on my HB PJ bass is clearly meant to look as Fenderish as the differing words allow. BTW: I was tempted to buy one of the HB compressor limiters as well. But I was put off by the reviews. The HB compressor/limiter pictured has an 'enhance' control, but it creates a lot of noise. Owners typically turn this all the way down, but then lose some higher frequencies. The HB Dynamic Compressor is said to sound better, but be fragile. [/quote]Owned this and the Boss too...massive performance difference - again, get the Boss I think the the 'made in the same factory' myth was probably stared by the same company...lol The only good thing to say about these knockoffs is the the chassis are solid and as good as the Boss, after that the similarities end. It's a shame, but a fact. Edited August 20, 2015 by Shonks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 [quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1440067827' post='2847977'] i've owned both too and can categorically say they don't perform exactly the the same. Do yourself a favour, get the Boss! [/quote] We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. The HB worked as well for me as the boss had previously and at a quarter of the price, but YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 [quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1440067948' post='2847978'] Owned this and the Boss too...massive performance difference - again, get the Boss I think the the 'made in the same factory' myth was probably stared by the same company...lol The only good thing to say about these knockoffs is the the chassis are solid and as good as the Boss, after that the similarities end. It's a shame, but a fact. [/quote] I love it when folks quote opinion as fact! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) the HB worked ok for me too , and for a few years. The weird thing about it was, when I plugged in my pedal board it would default to 'on' The switch had to be cleaned often as it was unreliable. Over time the sliders became sticky and needed to be cleaned often as well, sometimes the sliders had to be moved vigorously up and down to get them to work. Occasionally on stage I'd have to literally stomp on the thing a few times to turn it on or off. It was so frustrating I threw it out. and bought a second hand Boss. Thats when I realised that besides the hardware performing better the frequencies of the graphic are definitely more precise for dialling different EQ's and was designed specifically for the bass. I didn't get that from the Chinese copy. In this instance (and I know it's not always true) you get what you pay for Edited August 20, 2015 by Shonks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1440068243' post='2847980'] I love it when folks quote opinion as fact! [/quote]just a figure of speech...but spread the love..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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