We’d been seeing the name Providence floating around the forums and gear pages, but until now hadn’t had the opportunity to test one out and see for ourselves what the hype was all about. Luckily, our good buddy Sean Williamson, who we interviewed a few weeks ago, is a Providence artist, and set up talks between the two of us to get some reviews rolling. Our first foray into their world is the mighty Heat Blaster HBL-4 Distortion pedal, and if this is any indicator of what’s to come, we’re looking forward to a lot more collaborations with these guys.
When you first switch on the Heat Blaster, there’s an almost-instantaneous feeling of accomplishment, even though you yourself had absolutely nothing to do with with the pedal’s creation. Even a low levels, this orange beast pumps out some killer overdriven tones: warm and tube amp-like crunch, tasty harmonics and ballsy distorted tones throughout. Level, Drive and Tone make up the usual control suspects, but all have nice range and plenty of gain and volume to mess around with.
The Bass Boost is a great added feature, too, putting that beefy low-end back into the mix when flipped up. It’s especially beneficial and helpful when using a Strat or something with single coil pickups, as they always tend to lose a little bit of that bass-y low-end frequency, but with the Bass Boost on the Heat Blaster, you’ll be certain that you never lose it again.
The Heat Blaster also utilizes S.C.T. Circuit technology, allowing the bypassed signal to pass through just ONE switch contact, instead of the usual two, making for much higher reliability and sound quality. This really reduces any deterioration in your instrument’s original signal, making it truly feel like you’re running directly into your amp when the pedal is bypassed. This type of technology could be the start of something big for future pedals and builders, guess we’ll just have to wait and see, and enjoy it in this pedal for now.
All in all, the Heat Blaster HBL-4 is an impressive piece of overdrive/distortion gear, and would put a big, fat smile on almost any guitar player’s face. Using a bit of modern technology to blend in with some classic tones never hurts anything, either, and that’s exactly what has happened inside this radiating orange enclosure. Thanks so much again to Masaki and all at Providence for letting us check this pedal out, and special thanks to our friend Sean Williamson for getting the two of us together to chat in the first place. Look for more reviews of more Providence pedals coming on our site in the near future, and check out Sean’s website if you get a chance as well!
Specs:
Controls: LEVEL, TONE, DRIVE, BASS BOOST
Connectors: 1/4-inch phone jack x 2 (INPUT and OUTPUT), DC 9V input jack (AC adaptor jack)
Power Supply: 9V battery or AC adaptor
Power Consumption: DC 9V, 8 mA approx.
Dimensions:115(D)×72(W)×50(H)mm
Weight: 250 g approx. (Not including battery)
GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO, SEE OUR LATEST DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE:
