MXR Custom Badass '78 Distortion (Yes! It's A REVIEW!)
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- Опубліковано 8 лис 2024
- MXR Custom Badass '78 Distortion - Yes, it's me reviewing this little red pedal by MXR.
I'm normally not too into distortions, but this might be different. I generally like MXR pedals. They're well built, and even when they're not entirely my cup of tea, I think they still usually sound good. The MXR Supes Badass Distortion is one such pedal, and maybe the '78 Distortion will be as well. More importantly, is it something for you? Find out by watching the video.
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I got used to the overdrive (mxr gt-od) and when I first got this pedal I was a bit overwhelmed, but I really found the sweet spot with the following setup: crunch on, distortion at about 7 o'clock, turning up the output and lowering the guitar volume button a few notches (makes it cleaner somehow) and putting the tone at about 10 o'clock.
*I use this setup specifically when playing with my strat
The thing that this pedal and the original do very well is being used with lower tunings, baritones, and Bass guitars. Good review.
I used this and an OCD to add different flavors of dirt to my Fender Mustang 3. Sounded great in that application. One thing to note: The '78 Distortion is in the "Marshall in a box" club, so I'm not surprised it sounded very different when plugged into an actual Marshall, lol. I used the crunch button to give me a hotter tone, which worked well on that digi/solid state modeller. Normally, I used my own preset using the Bassman model. (an almost clean bluesy tone) Obviously, you can't push the level in that application (no tubes to push harder and digi preamps don't like that sort of abuse). Long story short: the '78 gave me a Marshally lead flavor.
You Sir are a scary fret monster!
I bought this pedal about 8 months ago after watching this video and thinking it needed a different speaker. It sounds amazing through my DV-77 loaded cab with my SLO 30. Definitely geared towards more metal/hard rock stuff, I feel.
You are correct, I recorded a CD in 2014 where I used the MXR Custom Badass 78 just for Rhythm on a few songs and it did sound good but after about 6 months I sold it and that was almost 7 years ago.
I love this pedal. It's great for low drive settings. Sounds great
Best review of the Badass 78. So wanted this, maybe I still buy it for the looks.
Cheers!
That thing about emphasyzing a wrong note, you're right. You should see Victor Wooten's advice on what to do when you play a wrong note. He's a bassist I'm sure you know but his advice is the same on guitar or any other instrument.
I bought this pedal and didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped at first, but after having it for a while, I’ve managed to get it to sound great now that I know how to apply it. Like you said, however, the tone control doesn’t sound very great when cranked up. That’s probably the worst aspect about it, in my opinion.
What you played at the outro was brilliant!
Thanks!
I actually owned that MXR pedal for over a year. It really brought out good character through my solid state Fender amp. The distortion oj the amp is terrible and that pedal was amazing with it. I don't use super high gain so this covered nice bluesy crunch and punchy classic rock sounds. Sadly i had to sell it for a cash emergency but would love to own one once again.
Yeah, not a bad little pedal.
What kind of cash emergency would be solved by selling a $30 pedal ?
I dont know where you guys are from, but in Brazil this pedal costs around R$750 which is 75% of a minimum wage xD
4:44 It almost sounds like an octave fuzz. I like it :)
To sum it up: For fans of clean channels (for example, Badas 78 surprised me on a transistor combo), where it will not be a maximum drive - for owners of humbuckers.
And I would like to note that when I found the CRUNCH button on the effect, I immediately thought it was a classic blues CRUNCH, so I turned DRIVE to minimum and turned on CRUNCH. It worked then
Thanks for the demo. Couldn't agree more at 2.35
Cheers!
Hi Elmo. I just bought a used MXR Custom Badass for $40AUD (-£20, probably). The pedal reminds me of the distortion pedals we used in the mid to late-70s. When I first saw its name, I knew how it would sound. But, in the late 70s, Boss was THE pedal to have, so maybe it will sound like bum-bum through my
Princeton and with my Les Paul. But for $40, who cares?
Hey Elmo! Great review, would you suggest this pedal for playing Slash stuff? Like ,is it powerful enough ?
Probably, although I'm no expert on Slash.
@@MrPolevaulter thanks for replying!😁
Sounds like a less gainy Suhr Riot. I initially thought that this is MXR's version of the brown sound but doesn't sound like EVH at all. Still sounds good tho, nice demo man!
Thanks!
It’s more of a JMP / Jcm800 thing
Elmo I think if no pedals are as good as the Fender YJM there is a reason. For high gain the fender has that kind of attack that no others pedals can give you. You have the best gear, you sound amazing, but you would sound even better without delay. In my opinion delay can be something nice in a serious post processing job, but with expensive racks like the Bricasti, or live if you use a very complex equipmemnt like Eric Johnson (mixer, pa, Echoplex tape delay, etc) . Apart from that, delay will end up mudding your tone. In your case Elmo, you just need to rely on your great gear, without any delay.
Michael Tired
Elmo uses the tiniest amount of delay. It’s really just some nice tails when he stops playing, and a little bit of subliminal harmonic content. With a band, you wouldn’t notice it during his rhythm playing, at all.
I know, I am not saying that I don't like delay, I just prefer the woodier sound without it, especially for crunch. It will sound more percussive. If your gear is good, the resonance coming from your cab is your best reverb.
Thanks!
I like a couple of other overdrives. The Strymon Sunset is great, and I really liked the Pussy Melter by Steel Panther.
As far as delay goes, I just like it so much that I basically stick some of it (or a lot) on everything :D
Elmo Karjalainen I agree about the sunset being pretty awesome. My current favorite is tied between the pro-analog devices manticore v2 (the five knob version) and the hamstead odyssey. They both can do overdrive and more and they both sound amazing. The Dane by Thorpy effects is very close behind the other two. Very close. I had the sunset for a while and I sold it to fund another purchase. I'll probably end up buying it again one day. It does so many things it's great to have.
Also, delay is fun. Esp when your playing alone.
Mr. Tired does make a good point about rhythm sounds being more percussive without it but when your playing alone delay is fun. In a band or recording an album then yes I agree with Mr. Tired but in this context delay is ok. If I'm noodling around I always have delay and reverb on. If I'm recording a heavy chuggy rhythm part then I won't use it but for lead stuff delay is great.
I need to buy the pussy melter. I've heard only good things about it. Plus it's winter in the states. I wonder if it'll defrost my car windows as well as melt pussies. 😁🤘🏼
the pedal sounds fantastic great review btw
Cheers!
Well, lets see how this one does compared to the TC electronucs DM.
I liked it at the12 o'clock position. Fender overdrive still sounds better, but on a clean fender amp it might be the cats meow..
Might be yeah :)
Would love too see a run through of all the pedals you have behind you!
I have tested them all at some point.
Damn. Two uploads. Well. I have to watch both. I'm personally more interested in the TC, but would rather buy American so this pedal interests me as well although, like you I much prefer a good middle of the road over drive. So far Bosses blue overdrive seems to be the one I played at music store and liked best.
Yeah, a bit of a cock up on my part :D
Too much going on I guess.
'when all else fails, then you read the manual'
I wish you had tried turning down guitar volume in a few of the settings and hearing how it was then. But then, I always wish that. Would you like this pedal better if it were set more like an OD and for 70’s style rock?
Not sure.
What would happen if you had a compressor before the distortion?
Would that help?
Sorry? Help what?
@@MrPolevaulter Yeah, that was rude. Not sure what he was getting at.
I have one and have never used it. I have a Keeley El Rey Delrodo and it makes a hissing noise. How do you get rid of the noise
Noise gate
On big, open chords it sounds massive but compared to your fender yjm it's a bit loose on the low end. Nothing a cheap, green joyo can't fix :-p
Thanks for a great review brother!
Joyo ftw! :D
@@MrPolevaulter Oh yeah! They're life savers man, especially for an amateur gigging-for-the kicks musician. Don't know what you think as a pro but I bet there's one as a back up somewhere in your bags
I thought it sounded great, but I can see how you would prefer your overdrive pedal in your setup as I thought it sounded better too. I have to say, I didn't think the MXR pedal would sound good through an already driven amp because it's a distortion pedal, but I was surprised. Nevertheless, I would agree that an overdrive pedal is better for that particular application. Very entertaining demo!
Cheers :)
that Strat sounds dark already when clean. with the MXR it still sounds dark.
I love the colour but I really don’t like the sound of this one. It’s very thin. I heard it’s a Boss DS-1 Keeley mod Copy? Anyway, I love MXR but this I can’t get alone with. I bought the Super Badass Distortion after watching your demo and that’s far better than the ‘78.
Might be. I don't know.
The GT-OD is awesome too. Just wondering if you have a Maxon/Ibanez SM-9 Super Metal from the 80s? I bought one and I absolutely love it and I’d love to hear you play through it in a video!
I’m with you! Just bought it 1 month ago and It was a disappointing pedal for me :(
You made a good review here
If pairs well with the MXR micro amp set to 3 o'clock; totally different animal.
why disappointing??? Im looking for a distortion pedal to play 70s 80s hard rock kind of, I thought this pedal would do fine, so should I get a different pedal??? maybe super badass distortion, idk.
Sorry to hear you're disappointed.
It’s a good pedal that sounds great with Mesa Boogie and U.K. Marshall amps.
Tone is subjective, to each their own...
@@alxdrksoul that's exactly what I'm looking for, a pedal to play 70s and early 80s rock. I thought this sounded fine for that purpose.
Not bad , not great. I prefer the sound of a good over drive.
I do too.
@@MrPolevaulter I've found most distortion pedals get very thin sounding and harsh and tend to not bring out the harmonics you get naturally from a good overdrive. I use a Maxon DS-9+ it's a hot roded tube screamer with a 20 decimal clean gain boost. Very versatile.
@@shredhead76 They do yeah.
Hello elmo. Mxr baddas or boss blues driver ?
Tough question. Not sure...
I have both they are both really good. Check out TC Electronics Cinders. Its a BD clone
Jim Dunlop Mike Matthews and Michael Fuller are the masters at building guitar pedals all three are electronic geniuses..Dunlop Electro Harmonix Fulltone..
Boy, I wish I had watched this before I bought it. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I got it used for cheap so I'm not too upset. If you turn this pedal up it sounds like your amp is inside a metal trash can.
Sorry to hear. But good you got it for cheap.
I had the same take on this pedal a few years ago. It's not bad but it's not great by any means. That said there are probably folks out there that love it and can make it sound great. It wasn't inspiring for me to play so it was sold. I can't watch the tc review till after work but I had that pedal too and that ones not too bad and I remember liking it.
Yeah, just missing that special something.
What was the other Fender Overdrive pedal you compared it to?
Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive.
my name is *Elmo*
Nice name ;)
Hi my name is Enio. Same Sesame street character but... In Brazil s tv...
I didnt care for the 78' when I owned one ,the MRX Prime Distortion was pretty good though..both alil buzzy
Hello Elmo I would like to know your opinion of the pedal Carl Martin Plexi tone on if it really sounds like plexi, greetings from Argentina
Sorry, I haven't tried one, so I don't know.
I have used one and they sound great ! But honestly this 78 super badass is just great especially for the price.
i actually think this dude is cool
Cheers!
Should I buy this or a metal muff?
I liked the MXR more.
@@MrPolevaulter thx, eneded up buying both lol
This, stay away from metal muff
What is this fender pedal you like?
Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive.
Thanks for getting back to me. Can't even find one of those for sale online. Luckily I'm not anywhere near as good at guitar as you are so I can probably just settle for the MXR 78 custom. Seemed like you didn't hate it so haha
The crunch is a 16db boost is all
Cool.
@@MrPolevaulter dont know if you ever tried a boost pedal but I bought the small one knob tc electronics spark boost pedal man that is hands down the best pedal I ever bought . You should do a review if you havnt.
@@MrPolevaulter I also see you do tone city reviews those are great pedals wish they were more available here in South carolina usa
@@therover4141 Been thinking of it.
Ok BADASS started at 5:00,, you make it sound good.
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