NPD: Chase Bliss Brothers

colourofsoundcolourofsound Frets: 393
edited May 2017 in FX
Behold

So, right off the bat, this pedal is more complicated than it appears. And, I would say to truly get the most from it, you need to have a MIDI switcher or their 'Faves' preset toggler.

Why? Well...

Each channel on it's own is average.

Both boosts are, you know, nice, high headroom clean boosts. Boosts are boosts, yanno?

The fuzzes are pretty cool, especially the IC side. You can get an ICBM sound out of this pedal with the first few minutes of fiddling.

The overdrives are the weakest link, to me. The JFET channel is the strongest, offering a transparent drive which excels as a low-gainer. It sounds to me like if a Timmy and a Bluesbreaker had a lovechild.

The IC drive is poor, to my ears. It gets very fuzzy early on in the gain dial, and sounds very similar to the JFET from a clipping perspective. If you were hoping for a TS-style opamp clipping from this you will be disappointed.

With that out of the way - why is a MIDI switcher required? Because, when you stack or use both channels in parallel, you can basically copy, within a 90% accuracy I would say, any drive pedal you already have. It's really quite powerful.

I've got a very convincing Bluesbreaker sound. I've copied the sound of my TS (Mojo Hand Rook) stacked into my Bluesbreaker (Snouse Blackbox). I've copied my ICBM Muff. You can get a lot of cool stuff from this pedal. And the real power comes with being able to recall all of these settings with MIDI. It's where it really excels.

In conclusion, this is really a cracking overdrive/boost/fuzz. It sounds really quite amazing. But it takes time to dial in. You need to understand that each tone control behaves differently (A is full freq, B is Mids only), and that's where the power is; and that you'll get good drive sounds from the channels separately, but really amazing tones when they're used together. Did I mention MIDI?
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Comments

  • simonksimonk Frets: 1467
    Can't see the image without signing into Instagram...
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  • colourofsoundcolourofsound Frets: 393
    simonk said:
    Can't see the image without signing into Instagram...
    Fixed...?
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I'm nearing my three score and ten so I don't think my life expectancy would give me enough time to explore the pedal's full potential.
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9446
    How good are the low gain sounds mate ?

    Can it do that little-bit-o-hair like a RYRA or Klon ?
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  • colourofsoundcolourofsound Frets: 393
    @Wazmeister yeah the low gain sounds are good - it really can try it's hand at anything; but you're not going to get it bang on. The main thing is the way it clips - its not smooth like a klon or TS.

    The thing with CBA pedals is that people tend to say 'i can't get this sound out of it' and Joel will just turn around and say 'you're not supposed to!' He's very much intent on them having their own sound.

    i'm still fine tuning my main 3 gain sounds and once i'm happy with them i'll record some samples.
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  • ThePrettyDamnedThePrettyDamned Frets: 7472
    edited May 2017
    Sounds clever, but dialling in for gig levels sounds like it could be tough - tone changes as the volume goes up, so all the wonderful presets that work at home might wind up being too woofy or shrill up loud. Be good to hear how well it works in this way! 

    Clever concept though. I think I'd rather save up and get a modeller like an fx8 or helix, but it's cool nonetheless and would definitely keep my tweak-head entertained for a long time. 


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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    edited May 2017
    Sounds clever, but dialling in for gig levels sounds like it could be tough - tone changes as the volume goes up, so all the wonderful presets that work at home might wind up being too woofy or shrill up loud. Be good to hear how well it works in this way! 

    Clever concept though. I think I'd rather save up and get a modeller like an fx8 or helix, but it's cool nonetheless and would definitely keep my tweak-head entertained for a long time. 


    This ended up being my main beef with cba pedals I had. Great for home or studio use, needs a midi switcher live. They can do so much but you feel compelled to tweak. I decided I prefer either a big mfx or a simple analogue but not a mishmash of the two.
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  • colourofsoundcolourofsound Frets: 393
    Sounds clever, but dialling in for gig levels sounds like it could be tough - tone changes as the volume goes up, so all the wonderful presets that work at home might wind up being too woofy or shrill up loud. Be good to hear how well it works in this way! 

    Clever concept though. I think I'd rather save up and get a modeller like an fx8 or helix, but it's cool nonetheless and would definitely keep my tweak-head entertained for a long time. 


    This ended up being my main beef with cba pedals I had. Great for home or studio use, needs a midi switcher live. They can do so much but you feel compelled to tweak. I decided I prefer either a big mfx or a simple analogue but not a mishmash of the two.
    Yeah I can certainly see the sense in that. I keep thinking about a single rowed board with just 4 or 5 peds; real simple. Maybe thats where i'll end up; but its fun getting there :)
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9446
    Well, I like Joel's stuff but never end up keeping it as it seems too complex for my simple English mind...

    But gas has made me succumb to the Brothers, and it arrived today...

    Now, I've got Pete Cornish and PTD on my board and have loved them... but man, this is a very special pedal. Ok, thus far, Ive mainly played at home bedroom levels, and with slight breakup and OD...

    But I have yet to get a bad sound out of it. The arrange of options and sounds are incredible. There is a warmth to the sound, which is what Id call analogue in feel. The Gravitas had it too - not sure if its a buffer or pre-amp or something - but whatever it is, I absolutely LOVE the feel of it.

    I think (and I might be wrong) that Joel appears to have got the blend of compression and the mids spot on here... it just feels right. The tone settings are bang on too, and Im ultra fussy about eq...

    I bought it through Amazon on a whim, knowing Id be sending it back. Absolutely no chance. Im gonna build my board round this...and i might rebuy a Gravitas.

    Ill be ordering the Faves in about 5 mins...

    Bloody stonking pedal ! 
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  • colourofsoundcolourofsound Frets: 393
    edited July 2017
    @Wazmeister Interesting! Very different to my experience. Whilst I really liked the fuzz and boost, the overdrives just didnt do it for me. And I felt that the EQs were only useful if you used them together, with both channels engaged.

    Additionally, warm is not what I'd call it! Of course I've now moved my Brothers on and gone back to a TC Nova Drive, which has similar MIDI capabilities without the need to buy extra boxes. The circuits on the TC work much better with my Fender style amp IMO 

    Did you like the Timmy? I think Brothers has a very Timmy-esque breakup which I really don't like.

    And which amp are you playing through?

    Glad to hear you're enjoying it. Nice to be surprised sometimes
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9446
    @colourofsound ;

    Was yours modded mate ? I wonder if so, if that made a difference...

    Quite frankly the CB Brothers is astonishingly good. Tried it low gain into the Carr Rambler.


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  • @colourofsound ;

    Was yours modded mate ? I wonder if so, if that made a difference...

    Quite frankly the CB Brothers is astonishingly good. Tried it low gain into the Carr Rambler.


    It was modded; but I un-modded it. And either way the mod didn't effect the way it behaved.

    i seem to be particularly sensitive to how a pedal clips the signal and FET style sounds just send me on edge.

    Don't get me wrong - I loved Brothers, thing of beauty - but its just too much capital locked up in one pedal that I wasn't head over heels with.

    Nothing beats my Snouse Blackbox, basically.
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9446
    @colourofsound ;

    Was yours modded mate ? I wonder if so, if that made a difference...

    Quite frankly the CB Brothers is astonishingly good. Tried it low gain into the Carr Rambler.


    It was modded; but I un-modded it. And either way the mod didn't effect the way it behaved.

    i seem to be particularly sensitive to how a pedal clips the signal and FET style sounds just send me on edge.

    Don't get me wrong - I loved Brothers, thing of beauty - but its just too much capital locked up in one pedal that I wasn't head over heels with.

    Nothing beats my Snouse Blackbox, basically.
    Happiness is finding the one you love ! Ive always fancied a Snouse...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • @colourofsound ;

    Was yours modded mate ? I wonder if so, if that made a difference...

    Quite frankly the CB Brothers is astonishingly good. Tried it low gain into the Carr Rambler.


    It was modded; but I un-modded it. And either way the mod didn't effect the way it behaved.

    i seem to be particularly sensitive to how a pedal clips the signal and FET style sounds just send me on edge.

    Don't get me wrong - I loved Brothers, thing of beauty - but its just too much capital locked up in one pedal that I wasn't head over heels with.

    Nothing beats my Snouse Blackbox, basically.
    Happiness is finding the one you love ! Ive always fancied a Snouse...
    Happy to organise a week long exchange for something of yours. PM me ;)
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