Longterm Impressions of my original Blackhawk Amplifiers Trifecta - Balrog, Basilisk, and Fellbeast Fuzz / Distortions
So the first Blackhawk Pedal that won me over was the Balrog V3 High Gain Metal Distortion - actually being demo’d in a somewhat unusual fashion as a sludgy doom distortion - where it’s more typically deployed as a rather more classic pounding heavy metal distortion. I loved the grinding tones I heard in that first demo and that was my major gateway drug as such into the Blackhawk Amplifiers roster.
I actually really love grungy and grinding high gain fuzzes and distortions - and the Balrog really awakened a latent need to get hold of some more on a similar level. I've related how tricky I found it initially to navigate through the Blackhawk range and figure out which of those pedals would best appeal to me, That is partly why I've collaborated so closely with Brooks Blackhawk - in order to get a proper overview and better understanding of each of those variants. Otherwise it can be rather an intimidating dense black sea of pedals covered in strange arcane symbols - and where it can initially be tricky to fully differentiate one from another - let alone decide upon a priority list of what appeals most.
Obviously - based partly on those conversations Brooks then added the Product Category Distinctions onto his Website - which hugely simplified and clarified the identification and selection process. As part of that process I produced my visual guide to Blackhawk Symbols, as well as a reference to explain the different enclosure finish choices - which also weren't particularly obvious to me on my first few scan-throughs of that website :
Blackhawk Symbols Cipher
The 3 Enclosure Choices above
So I then had a long dialogue with Brooks - in order to determine what should be my next acquisition after the Balrog - for something along relatively similar lines. By then I had already kind of singled out the smart EQ'd Fellbeast V2 High Gain Fuzz as the next likeliest candidate, while Brooks also brought the Basilisk Warm Mid Gain Fuzz into the picture - which pairs so well with the Balrog, that there is a Dual pedal which features both.
Generally the EQ profile for the Basilisk is typically more mid-present, while the Balrog is usually a little scooped - which mean those two frequency profiles complement each other superbly well and fill out each other's frequency range for more impact. I still really liked the Fellbeast too - with its really cool gated effect - and in the end decided that I should really get both.
All 3 of my original Blackhawk pedals are currently on the board, while the Mithrandir Octave-Blend Octave Fuzz and Valhalla V3 Deluxe Sludgy Fuzz have just recently arrived and are biding their time in the staging area! I'm not sure if that review will materialise first, or the launch piece for Brooks's brand new secret pedal project - which should be announced fairly soon. In any case I selected the Mithrandir and Valhalla in Copper Hammertone enclosures - while I will continue to acquire the more Metal Fuzzes and Distortions in the classic and very apt Black enclosures :
My recently arrived Mithrandir and Valhalla Fuzzes above
So here in usual GPX fashion - follow the details for each of my classic Blackhawk Trifecta of Balrog, Basilisk, and Fellbeast Fuzzes and Distortions :
Balrog V3 High Gain Metal Distortion - $200/$220
Controls - Volume, Mids, Gain, Treble, Bass, Depth.
So this was my very first Blackhawk Pedal - and through a weird quirk of fate - I actually own both Black and Blackened varieties - so I have a spare of my favourite Blackhawk pedal as such! The key controls for me here are the Bass and Depth - which are the main elements of that low-end grind that makes this pedal so utterly viscerally appealing. This is a proper 'wall-of-sound' style pedal which sounds like it was forged in the depths of Mordor. It is the heaviest Blackhawk pedal I own to date, but there may be even heavier ones on the way to me any day soon!
Preferred Settings = Volume at 1 o'c, Mids at 11:30 o'c, Gain and Treble at 12 o'c, and Bass and Depth at Max! This keeps the texture nice and loose to a degree but with a beautiful balance - if you apply too much gain it starts to compress and become slightly denser and less interesting for me - but there are some great tones to be found there too for those that want it a little tighter and more punchy. I know several who own this pedal - it's a modern day classic for sure and instantly immensely appealing!
Basilisk Warm Mid Gain Fuzz - perfect for palm-muting - $200/$220
Controls - Tone, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain.
This was originally recommended by Brooks as the perfect complement to the Balrog - where he indeed has a Dual pedal with exactly that pairing. By default the Basilisk has something more of midsy bark to it - in fact 'bark' is very apt for describing the output of this fuzz - which still has plenty of gain - but is a little more modern sounding - and nothing like the fat grinding monster that the Balrog is. The fact that by default the Balrog is a little more Bassy, and the Basilisk is more Midsy - they totally fill out each other's frequency profile and create a wonderful amalgamation of the two core sounds.
My Preferred Settings for the Basilisk tend to be - Tone at 2 o'c, Mids at 3 o'c, Bass back at 9 o'c, and Volume and Gain both at 2 o'c. That sounds great on is own and meshes beautifully with the Balrog to where I have the Basilisk going into the Balrog in terms of signal chain sequencing.
Fellbeast V2 High Gain Fuzz with Extremely Powerful EQ - $200/$220
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gate (Fully Closed > Fully Open), Gain.
And the 3rd in the Trifecta / Trilogy is the incredibly powerful Fellbeast - which is rather like a slightly more modern take on the Balrog - where the Balrog is slightly Depper, Fatter and more Vintage in that sense - where the Fellbeast has a more modern fuzz texture - particularly when the X-Gate is applied just right. You get a wonderful dynamic when palm-muting here with the gate set exactly on the cusp of interesting. So you have that really cool ebb and flow of fuzz texture with the impact of the gate choking the output a little before cutting it off wholly. This still pairs pretty well with the Basilisk and depending how your set the dials - there is some degree of overlap between this and the Balrog - while that goes deeper and doomier - and instead the Basilisk does some of its own wonderful fuzz contortions.
My Preferred Settings on the Fellbeast are Treble at 2 o'c, Mids at 12 o'c, Bass at 1 o'c, Volume at 3 o'c, Gate at 12 o/c, and Gain at 2 o'c. You need to be careful how you set the Bass and the Gate here as there is a perfect balance to get the dynamic I really like. Too much Bass and the fuzz gets a little unruly, and too much Gate (CCW) means you don't get that quirky fade/cut-off!
Final Thoughts
So I'm very clear where I stand with my original Blackhawk Trifecta - the Balrog is still my overall favourite - while the Basilisk and Fellbeast are kind of equal runner-ups in their own way. I think the Basilisk is the perfect foil and partner for the Balrog - so if you have a Balrog then it makes a lot of sense to own a Basilisk too - and both are great solo.
The Fellbeast is for if you kind of want more of the same as the Balrog but with a slightly different emphasis - like I say - the Balrog is Somewhat Deeper and More Vintage, and the Fellbeast is a little more Percussive and Modern - while I would classify both as being Fuzzstortions. I know there is often a slim divide between Fuzz and Distortion -particularly for say Big Muffs, Rats and MKIII Tone Benders - each of those is as much a Fuzz as it is a Distortion - and depending on how you apply the EQ you can accentuate either more towards the Denser Distortion - or the slightly looser ebb and flow of pure fuzz texture.
I feel these 3 are a perfect introduction into the Blackhawk Range - I have several other targets already - including an Urukhai and Valkyrie. If you only ever get one Blackhawk Pedal - then make it a Balrog, for two add the Basilisk, and for 3 the Fellbeast is another really interesting fuzzstortion. We will judge the remainder of the range as I acquire further examples. I currently have 6, including 2 Balrogs, and I've earmarked at least a further 4 for acquisition. My exploration of the Blackhawk Amplifiers range continues - and I'm super impressed so far.
There's typically a good selection of Black and Blackened Enclosure varieties available on the Blackhawk Amplifiers Reverb.com Store. While if you wish to order Copper Hammertone and more specialist varieties - you will need to do so direct from the Blackhawk Webstore.
Do you own some favourite Blackhawk Pedals yourselves?
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