Barge Concepts MB-1 Grinder

The only reason the Barge Concepts MB-1 Grinder gets an 8 in the Ease of Use category is because it's a little intimidating at first. This is definitely isn't a plug-and-play pedal like some envelope filters out there. The Grinder has seven knobs and four switches all to control one effect, but that's not a bad thing because you'll be able to control every aspect of your envelope sound. Another reason the Grinder can be tricky at first is that even small changes to the dials can produce some pretty big results in sound. Tweaking one knob will have an effect on other controls - change one and you'll probably have to make slight adjustments to others. Because of this, it'll take some time to dial in the sound you're after. But now that I've gotten used to how it all works, I don't have any trouble making quick adjustments.

As if there weren't enough options with all the controls, the MB-1 comes equipped with SEVEN 1/4" jacks on the back. Like having all those controls though, this is actually a very cool thing. There's the standard in/out jacks (of course) and there are also send/receive jacks for the built in effects loop. With the other three jacks, you can plug in three separate expression pedals to control Depth, Blend and Decay in real time. Nice!

I'll also mention the Grinder's size under the Ease of Use section. The picture on their site doesn't really show perspective and this thing is big for a single pedal. It's just under 7.5" w x 5"d, so it's about the size of two of the XO Electro-Harmonix pedals (such as the Micro Q-tron, Clone Theory or Stereo Electric Mistress) and could get a little problematic to fit on compact pedalboards. But with everything the Grinder has built into it, it'd probably be impossible to make it any smaller.

There are two LEDs on the Grinder, one that switches between blue/red for on/off and one that shows you how active the filter is, which is a nice touch. The Grinder doesn't come with a manual, but it's downloadable from their website (www.bargeconcepts.com/mb.html) and it does a good job of explaining everything. Not a problem.

Like I said, I use the Grinder for bass guitar and it's first in my pedal chain. I haven't noticed any noise, which is what I was expecting from this pedal. Also, it's true bypass, so the only thing you'll notice when it's off is the red LED telling you it's off. I play bass guitar and have used the Grinder with 4 different basses so far, two active (Modulus Quantum 5 with active Bartolinis, Warmoth Gecko with active EMGs) and two passive (Fender MIM Jazz 4 and Fender MIA Jazz V, both stock). I haven't had any problems using either type of bass.

As far as the envelope sound goes... up or down, subtle or wild, this thing does it and I've been able to get every kind of envelope sound I can think of out of this pedal! What I wanted most was a nice subtle envelope sound that didn't get muddy and the Grinder definitely delivered. It took me a while to dial it in, but after spending some time with this pedal I was able to find my "sweet spot"... a fat, round envelope sound with just a touch of expressive "bwah" to cut through. Listen to Christian McBride's sound on "Ain't It The Truth" from The Philadelphia Experiment for the idea (particularly his solo at 2:40). Other sounds I've dialed in include a great rubbery Bootsy sound, a sweet reggae-ish thump, Flea's funk from The Power of Equality (at 1:58) and even a good match to the synth bass on Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon." The MB-1 can easily cover the whole envelope filter spectrum and sounds great doing it.

The effects loop is a very nice addition to the Grinder, but it does affect how the Grinder interacts with other pedals. I tried a variety of other effects with the Grinder (including another envelope filter!), both before/after and in the effects loop. In particular, I paired the Grinder with my Keeley Sparkle Drive... When the Keeley was in the effects loop, the combination produced a nice wooly envelope sound. With the Keeley after the Barge (not in the effects loop) and exactly the same settings, the pedal combo had a more grindy Bassballs-esque envelope sound with more overdrive. Cranking up the gain on the Keeley while it was in the effects loop got closer to the sound of the Keeley after the Barge. Both ways sounded fantastic and neither sound was better or worse, just slightly different. Geoff at Barge Concepts had a great explanation of why there's a difference, having to do with how the Grinder interacts with other pedals and buffers the signal for preventing signal/volume loss (see Customer Service section below). Regardless of the technical stuff, I chalk it up to the old debate about what order effects pedals should be in. I liked both sounds and choosing one or the other would be based on what I'm playing.

Envelope filters are one of my favorite effects and besides the Barge, I own 5 others and have played through 3-4 more. The Grinder is by far my favorite, hands down.

The MB-1 has a heavy aluminum housing, the dials all have a good smooth feel, the switches all feel solid and the jacks are all nice and tight. I wouldn't purposely drop this pedal off a building or anything, but I don't doubt that it could survive any normal wear and tear and more. I don't have any reservations about bringing it to a gig. Barge Concepts notes that the Grinder has a lifetime transferrable warranty, so they're prepared to stand behind their products.

I am completely impressed with the guys at Barge Concepts. Geoff replied personally when I placed the order for my Grinder, saying that he'd email me the tracking number when my Grinder shipped. Even better, I later had a couple questions regarding the effects loop, and Geoff spent time over Christmas answering several of my emails with great explanations and answers for my questions. A+ to Barge Concepts!

I was nervous about spending $360 on one effect without being able to play it first, but I had heard a lot of great things about Barge Concepts on the Talkbass.com forums. Being an envelope junkie, I took a chance and am sure glad I did. The bland aluminum and black exterior doesn't even hint at how funky this pedal really is. I'll stress again that it takes a while to get used to all the controls, but once you do, it's pretty easy to make minor tweaks to get the sound you're after. The only detractor I can think of for the MB-1 is it's size, which could prove to be a little pesky on some pedal boards. But if you really dig envelope filters, the Grinder is definitely worth making room for. Everything about this pedal is top notch.

The Grinder is an absolute 10. I'm extremely happy with it and it's got a permanent place on my board.


Pros:
- great sound, mild to wild and very expressive
- lots of control over envelope sound
- versatility: effects loop and expression pedal control
- no noise
- true bypass
- helpful sweep indicator LED
- solid build quality


Cons:
- size