Hot British vs CrunchBox

[millsart]

Okay, Okay, Okay, I know that theres plenty of opinions that can be found on both of these pedals (especially the Hot British) but I wanted to get some feedback from the SDUGF as I've become pretty familiar with peoples taste and opinions on here and respect this communities insights far more than what it says on HC or MF etc.

So that said, as the title suggest, Hot British vs the Crunchbox for getting a really fierce cranked marshallesque tone from a small clean tube amp at low volumes ?

I know theres countless other units that are no doubt great as well, such as the Fulltone, OCD, CM Plexi, Classic Tube, Box O Rock, Klon etc but from what I've been able to gather, The HB and CB seem the most promising in having a bit more of an agressive tone better suited for harder rock. Plus they both have pretty nice pricepoints verses some other pedals.

Maybe some DS-1 mods could get close as well but I'm thinking the CB still might be a bit easier than tracking down someone to perform a mod or paying similiar prices for the premade ones.


As for some tones of reference to help let you know what ballpark I'm after sonically, I'd suggest the following as both influences in what i personally like tonewise and also styles I play

Gn'R, Steve Jones Sex Pistols tone for Filthy Lucre, Social Distortion, Misfits, Rancid, 70's Aerosmith, etc.

Basically really huge sounding, ultra saturated and ripping straight up hard rock tones.

I've got no need or love for anything ultra scooped or numetal so I thats not a real factor, and I don't need this pedal to be able to clean up to give any sort of SRV, EJ etc type levels of breakup as I prefer to have a seperate OD to handle that (right now Bad Monkey) but maybe I'll update that one one day as well.


So basically long post cut to the point, CB and HB, your thoughts on one or both for my application

As always if theres anything else I may have overlooked, which there usually is, please point it out

thanks

 

[suislidE03]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

I think I have given some responses about the tonebone on a few threads some time ago, if you would like to search for them. Sorry to say I have still not played through the CB, so I cannot give an accurate comparison. I will say the tonebone does not have the extreme amounts of gain most distortion boxes carry, but it can get raunchy enough for most people. It is very clean too, almost botique type gain.

 

[millsart]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

What was your take on the Tonebone verses your Spina DS-1 ? I'm under the impression the crunchbox is going to be in the same ballpark.

On one hand the level of control on the HB looks to be of an advantage over the CB (which you apparently need to open up to adjust a few internal pots?) so I'd have to think the HB would have the edge is getting a tone dialed in, but then again, simple can be beautiful and sometimes one knob is all you need, provided its a well designed box.


I suppose worst comes to worse, I could always order a HB from a mail order site that offers a return policy and probably would have to buy the CB outright as they dont seem widely distributed, though I'd imagine it would sell easily enough if for some reason it wasn't to my liking.


One other plus I heard with the CB is that it responds well to being driven with an OD or boost in front of it. I don't know if the same is true for the HB

 

[suislidE03]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

Yes the tonebone is extremely controllable. It is still a bit more costly than the CB, but it all depends on the use. If the pedal is to be the only source of gain, and you need a versatile unit, I think the tonebone would be the wiser choice. BTW, I have the SD1 not DS. Sorry again :smack:

Oh, and Im not sure about a boost or OD infront of the tonebone, as I have never tried it. Based on what I know of the pedal, a boost should work just fine. If you want it for volume, I think you may be out of luck though.

 

[51501984]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

I`ve had the Tonebone HB for years and use it for low volume playing at home and it has been my favorite, I`ve tried a lot of pedals for low volume playing at home. I tried out the CB and didn`t care for at low volumes , it had plenty of gain but sounded sterile and fizzy and didn`t get that tube distortion like the HB. John Spina posted a thread a few years back about swapping out the 12AX7 in the HB for a RCA 12AX7 longplate tube and that`s all I use in it now(the grey plate version). It really warms up the distortion with a creamy high gain type tone.Lastly , the HB works best thru a clean amp. This has been all at low volumes though so cranking it could be another story.

 

[Pierre]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

The HB is warmer and smoother sounding than the CB. The CB is pretty aggressive but tames alright. It's cheaper and takes way less space. I'd get two CBs instead of on Hot British

 

[Iron Horse]

Re: Hot British vs CrunchBox

I tried out the CB and didn`t care for at low volumes , it had plenty of gain but sounded sterile and fizzy and didn`t get that tube distortion like the HB.

There's the internal trimmer for prescense, I guess you didn't tweak it ?

E. And Crunch Box should have quite a bit of gain, too.