Bardic Audio Devices Distortion Trifecta!
I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while - where I was waiting for a demo of the new Thunderclap for the longest time - and I missed it when it finally materialised. We now have decent demos for all these 3 variants. Note that the 2 Stroke Beaver is also branded as Shelob’s Lair - it’s exactly the same circuit - just with a different artwork!
What we have here are in effect killer extended range variants of 3 magnificent and celebrated legendary pedals - the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, the ProCo Rat, and EHX Opamp Big Muff - all incredibly textured and great sounding distortions which all sort of bridge the Fuzz / Distortion divide to a degree.
They are intriguingly listed in the order I acquired them - where I have featured the HM Demon and 2 Stroke Beaver on the site - but was waiting for the Thunderclap demo to materialise to complete this article.
They each have 9 controls while the Thunderclap and 2 Stroke Beaver also have dual footswitches to ramp things up further. All are highly recommended and have been significantly in rotation in the pedal-chain over these last couple of years - with the 2 Stroke Beaver getting the most innings overall. These are all at the top of their game, and some of the very best representatives for those categories.
The HM Demon and Thunderclap are part of the standard range (so more readily available), while the 2 Stroke Beaver / Shelob’s Lair gets made in small infrequent batches - typically just 5 or so at a time. Do check in on the Bardic Audio Devices Webstore to see what’s available at that time - and don’t hesitate to message Tim if you’re keen on getting your hands on something which isn’t currently in stock.
Intriguingly Tim is working on a new derivation of the 2 Stroke Beaver format - with some slight input from my good self - I look forward to revealing that project in the not too distant future - things are progressing pretty swiftly as is - so stay tuned to this channel for further details!
Here follow the individual details on each of these great pedals :
HM Demon Distortion (HM-2) - $150
Controls - Gain, Distort, Clean, Low (±15dB), Mid (±15dB), High (±15dB), Low Freq : 60Hz / 100Hz, Mid Freq : 250Hz / 500Hz, Post/Pre Clean Mix Location switch.
An incredible HM-2 Heavy Metal style pedal which really extends the utility of that circuit. With these additional controls you can really shape the output to any purpose really - not just that famed Twin Pedals full-on Swedish Death Metal Distortion.
This is a beautifully balanced circuit with great depths - and one of the very best HM-2 sounding pedals out there.
Thunderclap Distortion (Rat) - $160
Controls - Bass, Treble, Preamp, Gain, Tone, Dirt, Low-Mid : +15dB / Flat / -15dB, High-Mid : +15dB / Fat / -15dB, Mode : Distortion / Overdrive, Dirt Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch, XLR out.
This is actually originally design as a Bass Rat Distortion - meaning it can really deliver that bottom end I so like. The additional controls here allow you to significantly thicken and beef up the Rat tonality - while by the same measure you can also tone it down to 1981 DRV levels. It comes with an XLR-out port so you can go straight to PA system if you wish - using this as a proper Preamp.
Like with the HM Demon this is an extended range take on the genre it represents and gets you into even more interesting territories.
2 Stroke Beaver / Shelob's Lair Distortion (Opamp Muff) - $220
Controls - Level, Clipping : Open / 2 x Si (Sym) / 4 x Si (Sym) / LED + Si (Asym) / 2 x LED (Sym) / 3 x LED (Asym) / 4 x LED (Sym) / 6 x LED (Sym), Sustain, EQ : 100Hz | 250Hz | 500Hz | 1kHz | 3 kHz, Blend : Dry > Wet, Bypass Footswitch, Chainsaw HM-2 EQ Switch.
This is probably my favourite of the bunch - as the 5-Band EQ really allows you to shape the output in such precise ways that you can turn this pedal to so many different purposes. I often get asked which my favourite Opamp Muff is - and while the Zander Circuitry Siva comes really close - this has to be my overall favourite for the genre! It just sounds immense - and is brilliant on bass and guitar.
