Electro-Harmonix Hog's Foot Bass Booster

One knob. One switch. I put a gigantic Boris Karloff bakelite knob on it so I can step on it and turn it with my foot-MXR style. Firmware? LOL! I had to build it myself. No one makes these- eh never did a reissue. I added true bypass, input switching, led, and pulldown resistors to the design- it needed 'em.

I built it myself, metal foil resistors, hard-to-find 2n5133 transistor(like the original design, NOT a substitute), polyfilm and fresh aluminum caps, so NO NOISE, no tone-sucking, no switch popping. And this very simple circuit does exactly what it's supposed to- cuts the high end and boosts the volume, nothing more. The result is a HUGE, DEEP tone that shakes yer guts and causes earthquakes if you're not careful! Not muddy really, just ... DEEP! Brings out those sounds that are FELT more than heard- I bet you didn't think your bass could do that!
I use this to get a "flatwound" sound, and it REALLY does the trick. If you want your bass to sound like almost a pure sine wave, this will do it. If you want to get that McCartney thump-thud, use one'a'these, then a graphic eq after to bring back a little midrange... NAILS that sound!
I run- bass> Ibanez bass compressor(series10)> Modded DS-1> Zoom 506II> Hog's foot clone> Ibanez 7-band bass eq(series10)> Ampeg V4b> Ampeg svt 1540h cab(the big boy!)
You better have a good amp or at least good speaker, because this pedal REALLY pumps out the bottom end! I mean, you get lows that you would normally expect from keyboard only- really brings out the fundamental frequency... actually just kills everything else and amplifies what's left...

I built this thing in one of those mxr looking aluminum boxes, used good parts, even used one of those cool 3pdt switches that you can get now. This thing could literally be dropped from an airplane and still work fine! Backup? LOL!

I am both the customer and the support. I built this thing from scratch because that was the only way to get one. If it gets struck by lightning or run over by a train I'd just make another one- they don't get much simpler than this. I really can't think of any other way it would get broken, and if and when the caps get old and noisy i'll just replace 'em. How's that for customer service? A lifetime warrenty...

Ok, after all that good stuff I just said, why does this pedal only get an 8? Well, because I've heard pedals called a one-trick-pony, but THIS really only can do one thing. This ultra-simple circuit is so small it almost dosen't deserve a pedal. It would be a great little circuit to add a function to some other homebrew pedal- it would easily fit inside any size enclosure without crowding the other circuit. It's just a single filtered gain stage.
But it does do that one trick WELL!

Well let me start by saying that I bought this completely on impulse when i saw it on musictoyz.com and then got a bit scared about how much money I'd spent... Alas, I shouldn't have worried - this is just one of the most amazing pedals I've ever encountered. It offers many octaves/5th both above and below original pitch, filter, envelope blah, blah you can read about that yourself; the true beauty lies in the expression pedal capabilities. You can bend pitch, freeze notes, gliss notes... but this description doesn't do it justice... go and check it out, it's truly capable of transforming the way you play guitar.
It is easy to use, but not particularly easy to get a specific sound as there are just so many variables, The manual, in true EH style, is one page, but I guess it says all it should. Personally I like to be told what things do, not how to do them. Editing patches? Well, I'm holding out for the foot controller which will supposedly allow you to save 6 presets. I give this a 7 for ease of use, cause it wasn't meant to be quick an easy

My chain is: Musicman Silhouette special - Tim OD - Analogman Comprossor - EH HOG - Akai Headrush - Alesis Microverb - Fender Hotrod Deluxe (with THD Hot Plate). It makes no noticeable noise at all. This thing just sounds amazing with the OD before it, such solid octave chords. On the whole, it tracks amazingly, even full chords! Don't know what else to say, it's just what I've been looking for.

Well this is an EH pedal - pretty to look at, perhaps too pretty for the road... it's all sliders like the microsynth, so i could imagine it wearing cosmetically quite quickly. But in terms of build quality/circuitry I'm sure it's made to last if looked after. No way would I buy a backup - it cost me about $700 (Australian)!.

Never dealt with them, so no comment.

The music I make relies heavily on treated guitars, both throuigh "traditional" pedals/effects and DSP manipulation. I need to be able to get classic kind of "breaking up" sounds as well as string-esque surging paddy stuff (?) without clicking a thousand buttons. This pedal allows for both. There are just truly so many ways to use this pedal if you have even the vaguest use for some kind of additional pitch in your sound. I think I would buy another one if stolen as it is insured... I don't think there's anything else out there that really compares. Can't wait for the footswitch to ease the paranoia of losing "that" sound. It absolutely helps make music, it's already formed the basis of a couple of songs and I've only had it a couple of days.
This thing rocks.

About as easy as they get. There's one big round knob in the middle, and an off/on switch. Battery has to be changed by taking th casing off, but quite tight anyway so you can just leave the screws out.

Really great bassy sound. From looking at it, and having seen the insides of this pedal, I was really surprised with the amazing sound quality. I wouldn't play bass without it now, it really brings that fat bassy sound.

Haven't really had it long so couldn't say. Looks like it's taken a fair few knocks and is still going strong, so I'm sure it's probably ok. We all know what ehx stuff is like anyway : Built like bricks.

Haven't had to deal with them, and hopefully won't in the future.

I'm currently playing through a marhsall superbass amp and 2x15 marshall cabinet. I play a bit of everything really, but I'd imagine I'll use this pretty much all the time. If this was stolen I'd definitely go on a mission to find another one. I've got a couple other pedals, but for what it does, this is by far the best one I own.

It does'nt get any easier than this. the unit has an on/off switch, a knob for dialing up the amount of low end you want, and a stomp button.

I play bass through this unit. If you are in need of some extra low end,this is definately what you need. My Peavy Foundation bennafits a great deal from this unit. When you turn up the knob,you not only add bass to you,re signal, you also broaden the range it operates in. It enhances the bass even on the upper register notes. When I use it on my Fender Percision, I get an acceptable frettles sound. I play mostly in night clubs and offten have to cover many different era's and styles of music.When you get to a gig and have to set up on a postage stamp size stage,extra gear is not an option. This effect helpes me get the mellower sound I need for some songs, and it takes up less room than another bass or two. Their are some problems. The noise is pretty loud and it does'nt vary when you change the settings. You also have to be content with using batteries, there is no AC plug.

Takes a stompin' and keeps on rompin'.

I dare you to find someone who even remembers that these things exist.

I bought this unit to aid my sound in a variaty of different ways. I've managed to get all of my ideas for this effect to work,even though it's painfully simple and not very versital. DOD makes a simailer effect called a Meat Box that may be more versital. I've never tried one. This unit is very noisy, an E.H. trade mark. I would buy this unit again in a heartbeat( noise and all) but I would look at newer allternatives to see how they compair.

It doesn't get easier. One knob, a slide switch and a stomp switch. Basicallyt the effect is either on or it's off. It's pretty hard not to know the difference.

It's EH what do you expect? It's noisy, but that's what you got it for right? Actualy, I used it with guitar, and the noticeable effect at any settign of the tone control of the effect resulted in successive loss of treble as the setting was increased. I noticed no boosting effect whatsoever. The tone produced was somewhat muffled like a steady positioned wah, but the decrease in treble made it difficult for me to ever find a useful purpose.

It's a guitar effect/it's a brick! It's electro harmonix. Hammering nails or playing in clubs, it's hard to destroy that fit all design.

out of business

Perhaps the "bass" part of its title indicates it was only intended for bass. Hmmmm. As a guitarist, I couldn't recommend it for any excessive price. If cheap, it was an interesting experience. Not too usefull, but I'm also a craphound and it's hard to pass up anything EH if it's affordable.

This thing has only two controls, an on/off power switch and a boost knob. There is a footswitch to kick the effect and out.

The footswitch pops when you use it. The pedal loads down your pickups (i.e. even in bypass there is some signal loss). In other respects the sound is OK, not too noisy.

I took it o many gigs over the years and it held up fine; it is in th etypical EH sheet metal case which is somewhat less rugged than a Boss-type die-cast case. The circuit itself is simple and unlikely to fail.

EH is out of business.

At the time I bought the Hog's Foot, thick, fuzzy bass was in vogue. With my cheap amp of the time, this thing generated enough gain to cause distortion, but I discovered later it is NOT a fuzz box, but a bass booster. The more you advance the knob, the less highs and more bass in the signal. Useful for players with modern, trebly basses wanting to get more of a sixties "thud" sound or even for reggae. The popping footswitch is a pain, though.