Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

I'm curious about those...Tommy used an old Sam Ash fuzz and those are HARD to find and even harder to afford so IM really hoping that the Hartman is good...if you get one or try one let me know!
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

the guy who invented fire said:
I'm curious about those...Tommy used an old Sam Ash fuzz and those are HARD to find and even harder to afford so IM really hoping that the Hartman is good...if you get one or try one let me know!
Click to expand...

Oh, I got one, alright! :)

BolinFuzzTop.jpg


BolinFuzzRear.jpg


BolinFuzzGuts.jpg
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

The pedal is a complete mystery. See those two black circles? I have no idea what they are (aside from the obvious fact that they're alien tech). My bench tech here at work says they look like microchips used for amplification purposes. (??)

So, aside from that, I know next to nothing about the pedal.

Unfortunately, I've not plugged the pedal in yet, and won't get to until very late tonight. But I will give it a quick test tonight!
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

Those 2 black circles are trannys of some kind...might be special built for Hartman or even more tradition trannys in new cloths!

Be sure to report back with a tone report!

BTW...it's wild to see you getting into so many fuzz boxes...I love them myself but never figured you to be the type!
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

the guy who invented fire said:
Ya know, those truly basic pedals tend to have a GREAT tone...look at a Fuzz Face...talk about simple!
Click to expand...
Tone Bender, too.

Gave the pedal a quick (30 minute) test run, and I will have to play it through my cab to really hear the pedal in the proper context (tonight I had to 'slum it' with my DI rig: Splawn Quick Rod > Hot Plate > SSL XLogic preamp > Tascam US 1641 > Furman headphone amp), but I can already say this:

this pedal has mojo and tone out the ass!!!!

It also sounds nothing like the Peppermint Fuzz, which reminds me of the great fuzz tones Jimmy Page had. This fuzz is pure creamy class. The breakup is mild but fully saturated, and it just adds a butt-load of sustain and a creamy, dark drive. Tons of harmonic content, however, as I was able to get pinch harmonics with no problem. I played it with everything dimed, and ended up rolling the tone back to 12 o'clock for a wider frequency response.

I now have my 4 basic tones established: clean (with a touch of reverb from the Little Lanilei spring 'verb unit), slight breakup (HipKitty Oxford), uber creamy fuzz (Bolin fuzz), and amplifier meltdown (Thundertomate Phil Hilborne treble booster).


Couldn't be happier!!!
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

the guy who invented fire said:
BTW...it's wild to see you getting into so many fuzz boxes...I love them myself but never figured you to be the type!
Click to expand...
I've always loved the '70s rock and protometal tones, but those tones are definite no-no in Twilight. For my other project, however (Phantom Isle), it's all about recreating authentic sounding vintage tones the old fashioned way -- pedal, plexi, and playing your ass off. :)
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

btw, those black trannies, apparently, are NOS parts used in the original Sam Ash fuzz, the Ronsound Teaser fuzz (his SA fuzz replica) and now the Bolin fuzz. I came across this interesting interview with Theo Hartman in Premier Guitar while trying to find out what those parts are:

The vintage components I first came across were by accident. I believe in paying your dues and one of the things that attracted me to fuzzes was their incredibly simple circuit. I think it’s really easy to get wrapped up in the science and the math of electronics when you’re building electrical devices. I really wanted to keep myself grounded in the ear and its role in building these things and the fuzz is a platform that forces you to do that. There are fewer than a dozen parts that go into a fuzz. It’s a primitive electrical circuit -- a poor circuit from a strict engineering point of view -- but some of the things that make it deficient in that regard are also what lend its musicality and I was interested in exploring how that happens in a fuzz. Because it’s such a simple circuit, the decisions of the builder in selecting the parts that go into it and screening them and matching them up are really a large part of how the pedal ends up sounding.

So for me, that was a very musical, creative act – much more so than the decisions involved with making a Tube Screamer platform and then stamping out 1000 of them. I’ve heard it said that every fuzz is a snowflake and I think that’s as good an analogy as any for describing the amount of variety and level of detail that goes into people’s experiences in playing and hearing them. As a builder, that really attracted me because it kept me engaged creatively in every single unit that I was working on. It keeps me on my toes, too. The old parts have electrical characteristics that make them difficult to work with and end up resulting in me rejecting a lot of them but those same sorts of irregularities are also why the good ones sound so musical. It’s a double-edged sword. It keeps my head and my ear in the game with every pedal, which is what I love about it.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

TwilightOdyssey said:
I've always loved the '70s rock and protometal tones, but those tones are definite no-no in Twilight. For my other project, however (Phantom Isle), it's all about recreating authentic sounding vintage tones the old fashioned way -- pedal, plexi, and playing your ass off. :)
Click to expand...

I hear ya...if you want that kind of sound you have to have the right gear!
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

Okay, found out a bit more about those trannies and I have a quick and dirty clip, to boot. :)

The trannies are Mullard OC71 "black glass" -- germanium transistors that were used on the original Dallas Rangemaster. :) :)

I threw down a quick clip this morning. Same basic rig as mentioned earlier, but using my Randall iso cab, mic , etc. This was recorded flat. The rhythm guitar at the beginning and the end of the clip are the Thundertomate treble booster.

I did this at 8AM with no warmup, so the playing is a bit sleepy lol --

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=7597688&q=hi


SIGNAL CHAIN:

Guitar -- Agile AL2800; Bare Knuckle Riff Raff (bridge), Stormy Monday (neck)

Tommy Bolin fuzz (didn't use any of my NOS curly cables for this one)

Amp -- Splawn Quick Rod; Gear 1, clean channel; NOS RCA 5751 in V1, JJ 12AX7 in V2, NOS Philips 12AT7 as a PI; NOS Mullard EL34 power valves

Randall iso cab fitted with a Scumback M75

Cascade Victor ribbon mic

SSL XLogic mic preamp

Tascam US1641 (A/D and interface)
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

A few years ago I'd get it immediately. This soundclip sounds very much like Tommy really.
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

Any chance of reposting the images ?
I'm considering taking the chance & buying one [ liking many of tommy's
recorded tones ] but seems to be no screaming deals on these .
149.00 best i've seen , but shipping & tax & stuff gets depressing
 
Re: Hartman TOMMY BOLIN fuzz pedal

okgb said:
Any chance of reposting the images ?
I'm considering taking the chance & buying one [ liking many of tommy's
recorded tones ] but seems to be no screaming deals on these .
149.00 best i've seen , but shipping & tax & stuff gets depressing
Click to expand...
Hi & welcome to the boards!

I've lived with the pedal for a coupe of years now and it's still the main drive pedal on my board. I use it with an amp pushed into power valve distortion and with a tiny bit of boost from a Nick Greer Sweetback driver for the perfect blend of clarity vs growl.

One of the many iterations of my live board:

PedalBoardMk3.jpg


And here's what it sounds like in the context of a mix:

http://soundcloud.com/bena/black-night-1-nov-reve

All of the electric guitar parts are the Tommy Bolin fuzz.
 
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