Bluesbreaker V1 Clones

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artdecade

artdecade

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Darrel Higham (rockabilly extraordinaire) was demoing some guitars and I used a Bluesbreaker for a touch of breakup on a very clean amp. It sounded great. So I decided to look into that pedal some and discovered that John Mayer (wanker extraordinaire) uses one as well. As a result the prices are sky high.

Clones? Cheap ones? (No JHS or other such nonsense. And no kits - I'm not a solder guy :D)
-or-
Are there any pedals out there that use this circuit as a platform? Kinda like the Daddy-O uses the Guv'nor?

Thanks in advance, lads and lad-ettes! :lol:
 
thinkdifferent

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Joshua over at Snouse Electric Co. makes Bluesbraker Clones.
http://snouse.com/index.html

According to his info, his BlackBox OD is a component for component clone of the BB v1, while the BlueLine Professional OD is a BB v1 Clone with some nifty additional tricks up it's sleeve, but can still be set to sound like the BlackBox.

One more thing about the BlueLine, don't shy away from it because of all the possible knobs and settings. Despite all the possibilities, this one is very easy to set up for a good tone. And while the different options take you in different directions the changes are relatively mild and don't stray too far from the tone that makes this pedal a very nice one IMHO.
Of course YMMV.
 
artdecade

artdecade

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thinkdifferent, thanks for the heads up about Josh over at Snouse. I ordered his BlackBox unit. It was just about 75 bucks and I don't think I will find too many other pedals with that level of detail at such a low price point. I checked out his other model with all the bells and whistles, but I can't see needing that much in my situation. Three knobs is more than enough for me! :lol:
 
MilwMark

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artdecade said:
thinkdifferent, thanks for the heads up about Josh over at Snouse. I ordered his BlackBox unit. It was just about 75 bucks and I don't think I will find too many other pedals with that level of detail at such a low price point. I checked out his other model with all the bells and whistles, but I can't see needing that much in my situation. Three knobs is more than enough for me! :lol:
Click to expand...

Art. I just got that one. GREAT pedal. Never played an original but liked the Mooer and the PoT. But both were too bright in my rig, even with the tone knob OFF. Snouse's box solved that - I keep the tone around 11 o'clock (or higher in a darker rig). I think you'll enjoy. It's a classic circuit for a reason.
 
cousinpaul

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Congrats, Art. That looks like a really nice pedal. I just found out my BBv1 loves P90's. Hope yours works out for you.
 
uriah1

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(ArtD) Keep us updated on that one..(blackbox)..curious...looks pretty straight forward ..
.
 
cousinpaul

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MilwMark said:
Art. I just got that one. GREAT pedal. Never played an original but liked the Mooer and the PoT. But both were too bright in my rig, even with the tone knob OFF. Snouse's box solved that - I keep the tone around 11 o'clock (or higher in a darker rig). I think you'll enjoy. It's a classic circuit for a reason.
Click to expand...

It sounds like Snouse is building the original '92 BB which is warmer sounding than the later pedals. If so, it's a pretty big deal. That pedal has been a DIY thing until now, unless you could find a pre-'94 Marshall BB. Even the GGG and BYOC kits require component swaps.

Chicago Stompworks also has a BBv1 for under $100. IDK if it's the warmer or brighter version but it does come in a smaller enclosure. It might be worth asking about if space is an issue on your board. My GGG is housed in a MXR size box. One more reason to love it.
 
emisilly

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I think you can be a already built kit from BYOC. The Mooer Blues Crab is cheap and supposed to be a clone of the BB. The online demos sound good.
 
schenkadere

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artdecade said:
thinkdifferent, thanks for the heads up about Josh over at Snouse. I ordered his BlackBox unit. It was just about 75 bucks and I don't think I will find too many other pedals with that level of detail at such a low price point. I checked out his other model with all the bells and whistles, but I can't see needing that much in my situation. Three knobs is more than enough for me! :lol:
Click to expand...

VERY interested in your findings...and I agree with the three knob philosophy!

Keep us posted!

I thought the only black box for you was a Rat!
 
artdecade

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schenkadere said:
VERY interested in your findings...and I agree with the three knob philosophy!

Keep us posted!

I thought the only black box for you was a Rat!
Click to expand...

The Rat is great especially when I'm in a spot where I can't crank an amp like when the wife is home! That said, I was impressed by the Bluesbreaker. It added a real nice grind to the tone, but it didn't take over the amp or the guitar. You can still hear that hollow body thunk along. I guess you can say that the Rat is a bit more modern (kinda, but hardly) and even a bit more versatile, but the Bluesbreaker reminded me more of a 50s Watkins or Gibson amp kinda thing. Dirty clean. That's the only way to say it, but hardly a worthwhile description! :lol:
 
T

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No. My success was pinned on getting it into a powder coated 1590b. Circuit board is just wide enough to not fit. So the unfinished predrilled enclosure is off to be coated. I'll probably populate the board in the meantime.
 
artdecade

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Josh is expecting to have it mailed out this weekend - and I should see it early next week. He builds to order and mentioned that he had an influx recently. So it looks like business is good over in Snouse-Town! :lol: Communication on his part has been very strong thus far.
 
stax

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I had an original Marshall BB pedal which I sold and regretted and then the prices started going through the roof so I built one.
They really come into their own in a live situation and much as I love my Rat which I use most of the time the BB is great on gigs where you can crank the amp up a bit more than usual.
If I had a board I'd have both on it but I tend to have one O/D and an RE20 sit on top of the amp, the tiny places I play means the Rat normally gets used.
 
Jushden

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I'd be interested in how the black box works out. I've considered a morning glory but I don't know. $200 is kinda a lot and I like the way the hand paint looks more but that's even more money. Black is always good though and the price is right. Standing by for a review.
 
Iago

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The CmatMods Butah is yet another BluesBreaker clone - with what mods (if any) I don't know, but worth checking out.
 
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