Recently, we had the privilege of review an awesome pre-amp called the Boxidizer from a company called Tronographic. They make another pre-amp as well, this one being geared more towards bass, but still sounding excellent when used with a guitar – Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Rusty Box Bass Pre-Amp.
The control section of the Rusty Box is pretty straightforward, with no a lot of frills to worry about, just plug in, set your dials and you’re ready to rock. Volume controls the overall output volume, not to be confused with Input Gain, which controls the amount of Drive or Distortion the pedal has (more on that in a minute). The EQ section is nice and very useable, with knobs for selecting your Treble, Bass and Mid ranges – the more EQ options, the better, right?
The Hi/Lo toggle and the Boost footswitch come next, rounding out the sonic options here. The Hi/Lo lets you flip flop between the equivalent of high and low input jacks on an amplifier, a very nice touch to add in order to get whatever flavor you’re needing at any given time coaxed out of the Rusty Box with the flick of a switch. The Hi setting has a bit more volume to it, and while Lo decreases the volume slightly, each option has it’s own unique styling and place in any rig. The Boost footswitch is a cool addition, too, adding an extra punch to the Input Gain section when activated. With this switch on and the Gain up past about noon or so, this pedal will get good and distorted, while remaining crystal clear in tone and producing some big, fat sounds.
All of these differing areas combine to form a really nice pre-amp in a pedal form, and while it is geared toward bass, it sounded awesome through a guitar setup. You really can’t go wrong with this or the Boxidizer, currently Tronographic’s only 2 pedals in production. But if they’re any indication of what this company can do, me and a lot of other musicians are super-stoked to see what they put out next.
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
