HomeBrew Electronics Arizona Hematoma Bass Overdrive/Preamp

It's easy to use the overdrive section--a mode switch and gain, level, and tone controls. The clean boost doesn't do much--you actually get LOWER volume at settings below 3 o'clock.

I've been looking for a good bass distortion for more than 20 years, and this is it. Unlike almost everything else I've tried, it doesn't either cut out all meaningful low end or eliminate the attack and turn my sound to mud.
This has presence and attack but still sounds full. obviously, you get more presence & attack on the treblier settings.
It doesn't get as total-chaos fuzzy as I might want, but overall I'm really satisfied.

Seems very solid.

Like I said, this is it.

I've tried all kinds of ways to get bass distortion: the Boss ODB-3 (nothing between mild overdrive and total fuzz), the DOD Bass Grunge (too harsh), a Big Muff Pi (mud), a Rat box (mud), running an equalizer with the bass boosted into a guitar distortion, and various boutique boxes I tried in the store. This is the one.

I'm using it mainly for a multimedia soundtrack thing now (think Lower East Side post-No Wave art-noise chainsaw sounds), but could see using it in punk, psychedelia, bluesy stuff.

easy to use, bare minimum of controls. drive,output volume, tone, and an EQ switch, separate 5db boost channel with a cool chicken knob for a gain. but the tone and volume parameters are not in a usable range/too sensitive..

its an OK Bass overdrive, keeps your bottom end faily intact.gets the job done. you can add just a little grit to full overdrive. to me the tone Knob is totally useless, should probably have a different ohm'ed pot in it or something?, sounds great @10 but RAPPIDLY turns into a muddy no note definition @8. and the little tone switch seems to cut just a little bit of the highs,nice cause the tone knob is way too sensitive and out of usable range. same thing on the output volume, 0 is Off, and 3 is quite alot louder than the bypassed signal. If you want headroom though!! WHOA!but still, volume is way out of "usable parameters" too sensitive. the separate boost channel works great,gives a 5db boost when on w/or wo the distortion on. seem kinda ironic that you could probably get a 30db boost with the overdrive channel alone though?? My guitar player loves it, and honestly the pedal seems more suited for a guitar, but is labeled as a bass overdrive. i play through a Mesa 400 head and 2x15 cab, with a Gibson Thunderbird.

every now and then there's a 2 second signal loss when i turn on the boost channel, i know its not the battery.. if it keeps it up i'll send it back. The few song i use it on could be played without overdrive, so i don't really have a back up

haven't dealt with ,yet

i play blues rock, been playing for 16 years. it works with what i do, but i'm not overly impressed. if stolen i wouldn't replace it. i Think its a hyped up guitar pedal being passed on as a bass pedal. Like a Ibanez Ts9-dx which i think works awsome as a bass overdrive and will probably replace this one

Knobs are "Level", "Gain", "Tone", "EQ Shift" for the Overdrive, Simple one knob "Pre Gain" for the Boost. The Overdrive and Boost channels can be used separately or together, although the boost only boosts the level of the overdrive, it does not drive it more (like on the Fulltone Bassdrive). Takes Boss style 9v adapter. Everything you need and nothing you don't.

I use this pedal in an original rock bar band with sounds ranging from classic to modern rock, encompassing bluesy and jam-band oriented styles. My pedalboard changes constantly depending on what sounds I want, but right now I am preferring the simple elegance of Fender Jazz Basses -> Dunlop 105Q Bass Crybaby -> Boss TU-2 Tuner -> Homebrew Hematoma OD -> Boss DD-3 Delay -> Ampeg V4BH -> Various Cabs. This pedal is almost never too bright does very well at retaining precious bottom end. I've owned most of the bass overdrive/distortion/fuzz units on the market (there are actually a lot of them if you look) and this pedal corners the market for me on the modern-ish 90's and on rock bass distortion vibe. I use it with the gain set to minimum, which is still actually pretty gainy for an overdrive pedal so I would more accurately coin this a distortion. It can get incredible amounts of gain, but always too well behaved to be called fuzz. But the real gem in my eyes is the boost switch. I'll often kick it on with the distortion because not only does it seem to boost the signal volume, it seems to make the bass sound bigger, and more like a bass should. You may notice that a lot of "bass" OD's and distortions sound quite guitar-like. Not so with this one - especially when using the boost. It sounds like distorted bass should sound - heavy and thick. The boost is also great - better than other standard boosts I've tried - for boosting your funkified riff or throwing in a thumpin' bass fill. With all this tone in one simple and relatively inexpensive package, I can't believe there aren't any other reviews for this pedal on here.

Very solid! Feels good on my pedalboard aesthetically because it is so solid, as solid as the sound it delivers. I don't expect anything to ever go wrong with it.

I haven't dealt with the company myself, and I doubt I will ever have to, but just checking out their newly upgraded website and forum, and from what I have heard, they are excellent.

I'm young at the age of 22, but I've played in many different bands of all different styles, and have been an effects addict for years. It's not often nowadays that I get a new pedal and feel inspired to play, but the Hematoma is an exception. Playing in my latest rock band, I've been trying to get a more functional bass distortion sound opposed to shredding distorted/fuzzy bass solo sounds I've done for fun during live shows in the past. A nice, big distorted sound to drive the band as the two guitar players fly off into space. Don't get me wrong, the Hematoma may work for some rad solos, but I really think it will fit the bill for the sound I've been looking for. And for the price it really is a fantastic value. If you care to check out my current band to maybe get what I'm going for you can at www.myspace.com/jeremyrowe, although there are no tracks on there featuring the pedal... yet. Thanks for reading,

Mark