PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
– The
CRASH BOX-4™
“classic bass overdrive” is an ALL ANALOG distortion pedal that dynamically emulates 4 different distortion
types found in popular tube and solid state distortion circuit topologies and then gives the player additional control over drive/gain, distortion path (only)--high pass
and low pass filters and separately a clean blend. The result is the ability to tailor and fine tune the distortion to fit a wide spectrum of music and playing techniques,
without the loss of touch sensitivity, musicality, or the addition of excess noise.
DRIVE SENSITIVITY SWITCH -
High sensitivity is the normal mode and is suitable for most basses and playing styles. The low sensitivity position gives a greater
range of control for hot bass preamps and aggressive playing styles. Additional distortion textures can be achieved with the switch in the low position and the DRIVE
control turned up higher. This switch does not impact the CLEAN VOL signal path.
FOOTSWITCH -
Pressing the footswitch alternates the pedal’s operation between BYPASS mode (RED LED) and ACTIVE mode (BLUE LED). No controls on the
pedal function in bypass mode.
DRIVE
– This control adjusts the drive to the analog distortion engine, the higher the control the greater the distortion. This control works best in the 10:00 to 4:00
positions. Set beyond 3:00, the distortion engine gradually rolls off high frequencies for a more natural, warmer, real world tone.
DRIVE VOLUME
– This control adjusts the level of the distorted signal path present at the output of the pedal. Most players find this control works best in the 9:00 to
3:00 positions.
CLEAN VOLUME
– This control adjusts the level of the clean signal path present at the output of the pedal. Most players find this control works best in the 9:00 to
2:00 positions. This control is also usable as a CLEAN BOOST only option, or with some blend of the distortion controls too.
DRIVE SELECT (GEAR)
– The CRASH BOX-4 takes up where our 4 ON THE FLOOR overdrive pedal leaves off. While the 4-OTF compares to the smooth,
effortless shifting of a syncro-mesh transmission, the Crash Box 4 is reminiscent of the rough shifting, gear grinding, non-syncro straight-cut gear boxes in vintage off-
road vehicles and heavy trucks – often called “heavy metal” vehicles.
1
st
GEAR:
Reminiscent of a tube amp’s moderately driven channel (including natural harmonics) with a bit of compression when driven hard. Many players will find
that this works well as a milder, smoother overdrive/distortion with plenty of even ordered harmonic richness and dimensional texture.
2
nd
GEAR:
Emulates a tube amp’s more heavily overdriven tone, with more odd order harmonics and compression. While moderately compressed, there is still
plenty of depth of tone, dynamics and feel present.
3
rd
GEAR:
An aggressive up-shift from 2
nd
gear, this heavier and edgier distortion is higher in odd order harmonics as well as having greater compression for a
tighter feel. The harder you dig in, the thicker the harmonics and texture, and the more compressed the feel, with greater sustain.
4
th
GEAR:
This is the most aggressive gear of all -- a heavy, symmetrical, mostly odd order harmonics style distortion. While there are a lot of harmonics and
compression present, this gear does not give up tone but adds additional crush and increased sustain.
NOTE
: Because of the heavier compression in gears 3 and 4,
it’s normal for the volume to appear a little lower as the compression increases. Simply turn up the DRIVE VOLUME control a little to compensate.
HIGH PASS (LOW CUT) FILTER -
This control is a variable frequency low cutoff of the signal into the distortion engine. Increasing the frequency of this roll-off,
reduces the low frequency energy and helps retain the articulation and note definition with higher distortion settings. This filter does not affect the clean path.
LOW PASS (HIGH CUT) FILTER -
This control is a variable frequency high cutoff of the signal out of the distortion engine. Reducing the frequency of this roll-off
reduces the high frequency energy in the driven signal and can mellow out the tone of the distortion. This filter does not affect the clean path.
