ElectroniX MessDrive

This pedal is great, two knobs for level, and tone, just like fuzz boxes of old. But it also comes with a "classic/modern" switch that makes the tone much more saturated when switched to modern. I mean, if you can't get a good sound messing with two knobs, you should get a kazoo instead.

I used this pedal primarily with an Epi Jack Cassidy bass, a Peavey Musician 400 head, GK 115, and Peavey 118. We've also been using it on a Farfisa VIP 233 organ, and I just tried it with my Guild S-100 today. It's noisy when turned on because it's a fuzz, but when I turn it off it has never affected the quality of the sound. The really pretty (and really bright!) green LED light seems to drain batteries really quickly, which will obviously degrade the sound, but using it with an a/c adaptor has nixed that problem. It has lots and lots of sounds that you need to play around to find, right out of the box it sounds good, but like all good equipment it rewards a little digging; It has that perfect snarl that I love on a fuzzed out bass, like the chords on "Seele Brennt" by Einsturzende Neubauten, but it can also get a nice "vacuum cleaner" honk, like Peter Hook on "Digital." It beats out every big company's bass distortion in that it DOESN'T SAP VOLUME OR LOW END!!! The only other pedal with the same quality of sound was the ZVex Wooly Mammoth, but who can afford that??? Maybe those guys in Muse huh?

Everyone seemed skeptical about it because it was so cheap and from an unknown company, but once I got it, I knew that I found a high quality piece of gear. Sturdy casing, sturdy knobs, I opened it up and it's a clean, handwired little circuit. Hell even the paint on this thing is sturdy!

Btw, who brings all their pedals to a gig?

Never had to really deal with them, except for buying direct. They got the thing to me in just a couple days after I ordered it. So probably very good!

I used this for a somewhat metal-ish instrumental band, and it sounded great to me. Also good for punk rock and 60's BS. Gets the sound like Suicide's first album with the Farfisa. Probably the best bass distortion I've ever used. I've been playing for six years now, and I own/owned all kinds of other happy stuff, pedal wise I've rocked Electro-Harmonix, Boss, Roland, and other goodies, so I feel like I've got a pretty well-rounded opinion on the matter. If it got stolen and I was still playing alot of bass I would definitely get another'n. I'm looking into their distortion units for guitar, so we shall see won't we?

Mine's screenprint of a circuit is cool, but I'm a little peeved that now the newer ones have a little bass and amp printed on them. I wish it had that!

10/10 easy to get a good sound...difficult to get a bad sound.

i use it a passive american fender J bass, into markbass amps and bergantino cabs.

it creates ZERO noise.

always sounds very powerfull, very organic and round.

never failed..used it for months now.

i have delt with the company. very helpfull people..

playing in a funk band, this thing can get pretty funky. it has created some awesome oldschool hip hop bass stuff, too.

if it was stolen i would buy another- theres nothing this good, and its really inexpencive.

i dont compare it to other fuzz units, its a pretty unique - yet not "strange," sounding fuzz. sits nice down low where the bass belongs.

10/10...if you think theres a better bass fuzz out there, let me know..

too easy to use. on/off, tone, volume, and a heavy/mild switch. dream come true!

with BASS wich it is built for, it is in my oppinion the best fuzz there is. the only time it wont sound amazing is if your playing with a full band and your rig has no tweeter or bullet or any high frequency component..but besides that rare situation, it will boost your bottom end tremendously, and give you this gigantic monsterous ball of fuzzy sounds. perfection..

however on guitar, it does sound killer as well. not "the best there is," but still very very good..but expect thunderous bottom end that may interfear with your bass players frequencys and make for some muddy sounds.

but being that this was built for bass, and its truly god-like on bass, it gets a 10.

it seems sturdy..owned for a few months, no trouble yet. the inside does look a little chaotic (wires all over the place), but nothing seems weak or flimsy.

i did contact the guy building these..he is a really nice guy. he will even paint yours other colors if you ask him to do it. its one person building them, and hes a nice guy, so really it couldent be any better..

i use this pedal through a markbass little mark II head, into brickhouse cabinets. the results sound so good it hurts. if stolen i would buy another- but i'd maybe consider hes newer model, the messdrive hybrid i believe..looks nice, but it seems to sound a little more traditional from the samples on the website. the regular messdrive wont sound like an overdriven tube amp, or anything like that. it will give you a HUGE bottom, and thats really all i can describe it as..

when shopping for a fuzz i did compare it too the zvex woolly mammoth ($320ish new) and honestly thought this one sounded better.

i used to wish it had a gain control rather than just a toggle for heavy or mild..but in reality it seems like if it did have a gain knob, i would probobly only use it all the way up or somewhere near the middle, wich is the two areas that the toggle will give you.

the only other thing id like to share is that the guy building these is a bass player, and built what he thought would be ideal..by bass players for bass players? count me in.

give me a break. two knob stompbox. if you cant figure this out, you are not fit to operate any electronic piece of equiptment..tone, volume. beautifull.

the sound is excellent. i use boutique hand-build instruments, with markbass amps and brickhouse cabinets. it has a big, ballsy, fuzz sound, and of course carrys all of your bottom end. sound could be compared to that of the Zvex woolly mammoth- HOWEVER, the reason i bought this pedal rather than the mammoth was that it works with active basses. had the mammoth worked with an active bass, i wouldve bought one probobly - but i'm glad i diddnt. this thing sounds just as good - and for only $80. true bypass, as well. could not ask for a better bass (or guitar, for sure) fuzz. one other thing that this pedal shocked me with was how well it works with other effects - plug it into a good octave pedal..i dare you. it gives you an absolutely frightening synth like sound that shakes everything in the building (litterally, everything will shake if you use an octave pedal before this thing..)

well, i did just get it, however- the thought of it dying on me just doesent seem realistic. its big and sturdy, and i would definately gig without a backup. but, since its brand new..i wont give it a numerical rating.

this is why im writing the review. the guy who builds these is a saint. i emailed him with a couple of annoying questions, because i was sceptical - i saw his pedal on ebay, and the description sounded like he was on the ball, but i had never heard or played one before. he answered every question i had right away, and he was VERY helpfull. so helpfull that i bought his pedal without even hearing one, and it was absolutely worth it. could not ask for better customer support.

i play jazz, funk, r&b, rock, ext. i am a professional musician, and how long ive been playing and my other equiptment is irrelivant. this is a top notch fuzz. (not only for bass, it will turn heads with guitar, easily.) if this pedal was stolen i would order a new one the minute i found out it was gone. favorite feature? well, fuzz is fuzz, but true bypass is important. there is nothing more i wish this pedal had, and it definately helps me make music the way i want to make music. the only other thing i have to say is that the "mild/heavy" switch is useless (to me atleast.) i leave it on heavy. cant hurt to have it though, right? im only not giving it a 10 for this category because you could always find something better. (maybe not, but who knows.) and nothing can be perfect. but if anything was perfect, this would be it..

About as simple to use as it gets. You have a Volume and a Tone knob (Tone can brighten up and add some fuzz or darken the sound too) and a switch for two kinds of fuzz: "Mild" or "Heavy." True-Bypass footswitch and a bright status LED. It does lack a Drive and a Blend control.

Incredible at preserving the bottom and at running dead quiet. Cranked up, I could hear some background hiss that fades to silence after muting the strings. It doesn't claim to have a gate, but does act like it has very good noise reduction working inside. The best I can compare the sound fuzz to in the "Mild" mode, is to the overdrive on my SWR 750x, set about to mid or a little more. It is a nice, fat and woolly fuzz with Tone set low, and adds a little sizzle as the Tone is brought up full. The "Heavy" mode definitely adds the hair, but not as insane as some fuzzes, like ZVEK's Fuzz factory. But then, this is made for bass and is SUPERB, yea, even SUPERIOR at what it is designed to do! As for the lack of a Blend control, it doesn't need it as it has an optimal setting of uneffected bottom-end and furry top! I do miss having more control over the Drive, as I would like to see if I could reduce the gain and get a nice warm cleanish vintage grind (this thing already has a nice, warm tube-like character for a fuzz), but my SWR 750x takes care of that and the MessDrive handles the rest better than any other fuzz I've tried, and does it quietly!

Built like a tank with top quality components and a pro boutique-like design! Have no problem relying on it with no backup.

This is built by an individual who sells his products on eBay, and he is VERY GOOD at communicating and working with you. I requested a different finish and knobs than the stock unit, so that it would match the look of my other pedals (I got the gray finish like the Stronghold pedal used to have and is now used for the LessDrive, as my other effects are either gray or chrome, and I requested the Submarine-style knobs). He stayed in touch with me, updating me on the progress and did a wonderful job making this a one-of-a-kind for no additional cost!

I play a variety of styles on fretted and fretless, four and five-string electric bass. I use Warwick basses and SWR amplification. Have some ZVEK and Electro-Harmonix envelope filter and phaser effects and a rackmount Lexicon for other time-based effects. The MessDrive fits right in as a centerpiece to my sound from the get-go! I have modded a Fulltone Distortion Pro pedal and a ZVEK Fuzz Factory to work better with bass, but the MessDrive is a much better solution. I still keep the Mammoth-modded Fuzz Factory for insane and whacky over-the-top fuzz and synth noises, but that is not often useful like the MessDrive fuzz is. To top it all off, you can't beat the price for this level of quality and sound!