Barber Dirty Bomb vs Hardwire TL-2 Metal Distortion

[ultphilphan]

dude hardwire all the way has a better all around tone

[cikicrocus]

barber is more real..whatever that means..but It felt like it.

[greeggytheeggy]

Hardwire wins. The mid frequency knob has a lot of impact on tone. Anyone who uses a graphic eq can tell you that. I'm planning of getting the hardwirewhen it's available again in my local shop. I'm currently using the metal muff and its really brutal and versatile at the same time. i'm not much of a fan of the top boost function though. MIDS cut not the treble.

[cruepage]

Hardwire sounds way better,might have to get one of those :)

[CarvinTone]

The Barber is not really a "metal" pedal but it really cranks. I just repedaled w Barber OD and the Bomb. The Hardwire stuff is really good. This is a good pedal if you like the real hyper gain boxes. Barber is more versitile and inside it has trim pots. I did Barber so much. Wampler makes some killer gain pedals. Check out the Triple Wreck or the Pinnacle II.

[getspsycho]

How many wats have your amp.?

[Longhorn959]

dirty bomb sucks, with the tl-2 you can shape your tone and make it sound orgasmic

[Schpudd]

the whole point of 12:00 demos is that they're supposed to show the tonal similarities. you can key in a good tone in both pedals but it doesn't mean you can replicate the same tone in your rig. 12:00 demos are fine

[mortonfarrier]

LOL everyone is in a pissin contest about these pedals. it depends on what you play and how you play it. I say their are both nice pedals

[RelaxationII]

Tl-2 sucks. Sounds like there's plastic inside the tone.

[PhatJoe170]

Ugh... TL-2 has no versatility. DB kicks ass

[aR3tardedtiger]

@PhatJoe170 Except that the Hardwire can shape the mids any way you want and the Barber doesn't even have a mid knob. just 3 mid settings via a switch. They are both good pedals, meant for different applications.

[CarvinTone]

Check out the Rocktron Metal Planet the BEST high gain monster tone.

My fav, has heavy low end and vastly adj EQ to get anythng you want. I am picky about dist and hate overt fizz. Settings on Metal Planet Low 3:00, High 10:00, mids around 10:00 (slight cut) sounds bloody amazing.

[CarvinTone]

one more knobs on 12:00 demo and I am going to jump.....

it sounded good when he up'ed the lows and toned down the highs, both good pedals. First time I have heard the Barber except on GMDs vids.

Seriously there is not a whole lot of difference in gain pedals, you can EQ just about any of them to sound the same.

Some cost way too much. Most of the Rocktron pedals are like $80. Great deal.

Nice tones sreeramk sounds like you can rip...

[sreeramk]

@CarvinTone

thank you sir! yeah, I really dont understand all the reviews of pedals with knobs at Noon. I mean who plays with knobs at noon? I now own the Axe fx and even with its extensive effects and eq's and all that, I still need to move the tone knobs past noon to get decent tones. :)

[asskickingchicken10]

Indians plying guitar, I love it.

[sreeramk]

@asskickingchicken10 Thanks! We also have hands and fingers. I don't see why not.

[asskickingchicken10]

I just have never heard of an Indian guitar player aha.

[sreeramk]

@asskickingchicken10 no worries. When I showed up at the audition for a death/progressive metal band, they were surprised too. LOL.

[jaki54321]

I want to grab a krankenstein + with a hardwire TL-2 distortion, will it sound good even at high volumes?

[sreeramk]

@jaki54321 The Krankenstein already is a high-gain amp right? Why do you need a Distortion pedal in front of it? It would be MUCH more useful to get a good Overdrive pedal so you can push the preamp tubes into distortion at low volumes. A cheap and good OD pedal is the Digitech Bad Monkey. If you like how it sounds, then go for the Maxon OD.

[jaki54321]

@sreeramk Well im planning to purchase many pedals, all for different amps, not just the krankenstein. I heard about the digitech bad monkey, but i was thinkin bout gettin the hardwire tube overdrive. would that work nicely? maybe a tube screamer?

[sreeramk]

@jaki54321

I suggested the Bad Monkey because its a good starting point for you to figure out if you want the tube-screamer type of OD pedal. Its cheap, well worth the money and wont cost too much if you dont like it. The rest of the clones of the original TS-808 are $99+. But if you dont feel like experimenting, go for it. :)

The Hardwire tube overdrive has great reviews on the TGP forums. Check it out.

[jaki54321]

@sreeramk Ok man, thank you =) I will look into it

[jaki54321]

i think im guna pick up a TL-2. I love the sound from it and its perfect for the type of music i play

[jksonRR]

Thank you for video, sreeramk ))) respect.

[Gyro911]

Dirty bomb sounds better has more depth to its tone similar to an amp

[stevilzilla666]

I use a TL2 and it does just fine. I have a whole line of stomp boxes before and after it and it sounds amazing. I have a Boss BD running after it and turning both gain knobs to 12:o'clock, together is just perfection, for leads that is. Great feedback, notes carrying and this is into an old Peavey Transtube EFX head and 2 cabs, MXR through effects loop for additional boosting. Love the TL2.

[lookhowhighijump]

wow that hardwire is a fizzy gross mess.

[PhatJoe170]

amen

[Audiomajik]

On this demo, the dirty bomb sounds meatier. I own a TL-2 and compared it to a lot of pedals before I bought it. The Hardwire wins IMO on clarity. What I noticed when A/B ing pedals is that the TL-2 is really clear and doesn't get muddy when you hold a chord. That's actually what made me buy it. Its clean. My premier dirtbox is still my DC Solid Metal pedal. Class A distortion at its finest!

[1012musicman1012]

there is a pot inside the pedal that controls the bass frequency. that might be what you want to play with to get some desired clarity

[emeraldstudio]

WHy did you delete my comment? if your going to allow people to express their opinion then let them do it, I didnt say anything rude except that is sounds like crap, and you said its a crate amp, Well that certainly explains why! The tl-s is a pedal i own and use but your rig is blah, and thats just my opinion.

[sreeramk]

Your comment made no sense. And the opinion you reached was incorrect. The v33 is not a solid state amp. Its an all tube amp. I agree its a crappy crate. However, the one thing the v33 does good is a great clean sound. I also have a Mark IV. I have run the pedal on the Mark IV's clean and to my ears it does not sound any different in the clean channel except for the headroom because the MK IV is more wattage. Didnt mean to upset you.

[emeraldstudio]

You didnt upset me i apologize for acting like a jerk its all good. Thank you for being a gentleman about it.

I would suggest getting some mullard NOS tubes for your amps, they make a world of difference.

[sreeramk]

@emeraldstudio

Thanks! :)

[RelaxationII]

Is the Mk IV's heavy gain similar to the TL-2? Which pedal have you found that can do (or at least the closest) the heavy Mark IV on a V graphic EQ sound?

[sreeramk]

@RelaxationII

I dont think anyone can name a distortion pedal that by itself can produce tones and feel like a good tube amp does. If you just want the tone, the TL-2's parametric eq + a good eq pedal might get you a few tones. But pedals by themselves cannot compare to the "full" sounding tones of a great tube amp. While they might sound close at bedroom levels, when you crank them up, they sound like sh*t.

[dbenc]

@sreeramk Try the Ibanez Tube King and you'll feel different about that. Especially if you change out the tube with a Telefunken or a Hi-Gain Tung Sol.

[panhead1212]

I think it really just depends on what style you're gunna play. I personally like the TL-2. But they are for different types of metal.

[SlaughterSwitchBlade]

thanks for the clip buddy

[jesusmyking1988]

hahahaha the hardwire sounds NOTHING like this in real life! its actually a pretty amazing pedal that works very well for harder rock music (i dont play or like metal).. i have nvr tried the dirty bomb, but i do highly recommend the hardwire

[paquitodiaz]

you guys have got to be kidding me!... its a no contest!... dirtybomb ftw... hardwire cant do those searing mids and bottomend chugs that the dbomb has!... too edgy for the hardwire... more like the metal version of the satchurator... dbomb is just fuckin awesome... from vintage to modern tones! PH phat boost! mine has the jrc chip in it...

[sreeramk]

To each his own. The Barber is great for 80's distortion at best. It cannot do modern metal. Dont take my word for it. Read the latest issue of Premier Guitar where they have reviewed the Dirty bomb.

The TL-2 can do Modern metal tones very easily. And with its parametric eq, there's not a single tone it cant replicate. Of course its not as "full sounding" as my Mark IV but the mark IV didnt cost $99 either. :)

[RATM4LIF3]

Woot! PremierGuitar! Thats why im hear right now!

[paquitodiaz]

not really... i can do lotsa tones via the dbomb... just tweak it out... and dont forget the bass trimpot at the inside... from vintage to modern tones, you name it... and you'll see my point if you tried it on stage live in an open area... youll need lotsa mids to cut into the mix and the dbomb is perfect on that!... its like a combination of phat boost mod keeley bd2 + metalmuff... tearing and searing yet meatier bottomend at the same time... the drums would just eat you live using tl2... :(

[dbenc]

The Hardwire is NASTY!

[xntrickk]

nice demo, but you guys should know they won't sound this good into a solid state amp..i have the DB which i use with a TM60 amp by tech 21 but my damage control solid metal pedal sounds much better...

[sreeramk]

First off, I've never owned the damage control but have read and heard about it on various occasions. So, I could be wrong about it.

The difference between those pedals and this, you dont need to crank the treble much in order for the pedal to come out in the mix. Once you have a low treble setting, you automatically take the 'digital fizz' out of the equation. In solid state, you have to be more careful with the treble because you dont have the tube-warmth to begin with. Thanks.

[knikk77]

The Hardwire has that typical digitech prosessed distortion. But it is more clear than the dirty bomb (aka the dirity bomb is what it is, dirty distortion). I like digitech's products, (GSP 2101!! Great unit!!!!) I have several of the hardwire line.

[frankie28web]

great shoot-out! thanks!

[Zkr94]

The Hardwire is better. And the best pedals are Hardwire. Because of their sound and technology. For Examplu the true Bypass.

[sreeramk]

Thanks for the comments. Both are highly regarded on the TGP forums and I was in the same dilemma which one to buy. I kept the TL-2.

The stock barber's sound IMO is a more usable TL-2's 'loose' mode. At first I was not able to get even one good sound out of the TL-2's loose mode. But, slamming the loose mode with a mid,treble and volume boosted EQ brings out great tones. Now its my staple setting.

[shortblondehair]

Good video, good comparison. The TL-2 surprised me...both sound really good though. Thanks for taking the time to make the video

[spiritcrusher777]

Thanks for doing this vid comparison! Dirty bomb for the win! planning to get one soon as well..