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HomeBrew=20 Electronics Dos Mos - ** Full Review & Pics=20 **

Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum = Index=20 -> Guitars, Amps and=20 Effects

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TwilightOdyssey
Lightweight

Joined: 03 Apr=20 2005
Posts: = 930
Location: NYC

Posted: Sat 02=20 Jul, 2005 3:29 am =20 Post subject: HomeBrew Electronics Dos Mos - ** = Full=20 Review & Pics **

HomeBrew=20 Electronics =85 ever hear of em? If not, I can = guarantee that=20 you soon will. Even amongst +$200 boutique pedal = collectors,=20 HBE is not a known quantity yet, but all the reviews = have been=20 unanimously ecstatic. =93Better than Fulltone=94 and = =93Better and=20 Barber=94 are two phrases you will come across as you = research=20 HBE pedals =85 not compliments to be taken lightly!!=20

I discovered HBE thanks to my forum = bro, Brow.=20 We went boutique pedal shopping when he was in NYC, = where I=20 discovered this curious, day-glo orange overdrive = pedal that I=20 thought was the most neutral sounding OD I=92d ever = heard. Brow=20 found it to be a bit too clinical, if memory serves. = (Brow=20 will chime in to correct me, I=92m sure ) =

HBE pedals are made by hand in = Arizona, USA by=20 Joel Weaver. I=92ve already posted 3 other = threads about=20 my Big D overdrive pedal (=91Review=92 [Parts 1 and 2] = and =91Joel=20 Weaver, Prince of Boutique Pedals=92). This one is = about the=20 latest addition to my pedal arsenal, the Dos = Mos dual=20 channel boost/preamp/buffer pedal. =

Like the Big D, the Dos Mos is a = tweaker=92s=20 dream: versatile in the extreme, and made with insane=20 attention to detail and build quality. It can function = in the=20 following ways:

As a=20 single channel clean boost.
As a dual channel clean boost. As = such, you=20 can either cascade Channel 1 into Channel 2 as a gain = stage,=20 or you can toggle between channels 1 and 2. =
As a buffer stage for driving long = cable runs.=20
As a combination of = the=20 above.

OUTSIDE=20
Like the Big D, the = chasis of=20 the Dos Mos is approx. 4.5=94 W, 3.5=94 D and 2=94 H. = The pedal is=20 painted in an outrageous =91adobe=92 textured paint = style that is=20 very tactile! I have tried to capture it in the = picture below,=20 but it really needs to be seen to be believed!!=20

There are 2=20 chicken-foot style volume controls across the top of = the=20 pedal, appropriately labeled =93Uno=94 and =93Dos=94. = The feel of the=20 pots is similar to the Big D; very smooth audio taper = pots are=20 used. There is a mini switch that allows you to select = output=20 1 as a preamp or buffer. Another mini switch allows = you to=20 operate the volume boosts separately or cascade them = together.=20

The right side = of the=20 pedal houses the input and 9V plugs. The left side = houses the=20 output plugs, labeled =93Uno=94 and =93Dos=94 to match = the volume=20 controls.

There = are two=20 foot switches as well, which allow you to select which = channel=20 you are using or bypassing.

INSIDE=20
I was very pleased = with what=20 I found when I opened up the Big D, but I was = amazed by=20 what I saw inside the Dos Mos! A ton of point to point = wiring,=20 more ultra high quality componenets, and a mini trim = pot. The=20 trim pot can be used to adjust the output in dB of = Channel 1,=20 in case you are encountering noise when cascading. = Another use=20 can be if you=92re using the Dos Mos through your FX = loop for=20 soloing, and find the volume boost to be too much, you = can=20 trim down the output to allow for fine tuning your = solo boost.=20

Seeing all of = the audio=20 jacks connected with actual wires instead of being = sunk into a=20 PCB board brings a tear to my eye. Actual = craftsmanship=20 in a pedal =96 what will they think of next?!!=20

SOUND=20 QUALITY
Of = course, it=20 could be the best-engineered and built product in the = world,=20 but if it doesn=92t deliver the goods when it=92s = go-time, then=20 all this preamble is just a waste of space. I=92m sure = no one=20 will be surprised to know that this pedal is AMAZING! = I was=20 very curious to see how it would stack up against the = Fulltone=20 Fat Boost, my old boost pedal.

I first plugged straight into the = Dos Mos and=20 used output 1 going into the front of a JCM800 =BD = stack. With=20 the pedal off, there was no loss in tone from the = guitar I was=20 using =96 a Bare Knuckle VHII loaded Strat. With the = pedal=20 engaged =85 WHOA; thick, fat slabs of tone! My first = thought was=20 =91Fat Boost? WHAT Fat Boost?=94 Unlike the Big D, = which is the=20 picture of neutrality, the Dos Mos is very euphonic, = while not=20 sounding sludgy, muddy, or tubby. Just the right = amount of=20 lower midrange boost (.5 =96 1.0 dB around 540 - = 600Hz, to my=20 ears) to thicken the sound a bit, but not enough to = colour the=20 sound beyond recognition.

When I cascaded channels 1 + 2 = together is=20 when things got interesting; there are way too many = tonal=20 variations to get into here. It will take me days of=20 experimenting just to see what all the possible = combinations=20 are. I will say that the tone thickened even further, = and got=20 REALLY loud. (We=92re talking up to 50dB of boost = here, folks)=20 It was very Sabbath-like to my ears. =

I then plugged the Dos Mos through = the FX=20 loop, with the Big D providing OD gain through the = front of=20 the amp. When used as a solo boost through the FX = loop, the=20 Dos Mos is much more transparent. I didn=92t try = cascading=20 channels 1 & 2 through the FX loop yet, nor have I = tried=20 the buffer option yet.

So, Joel has another hit on his = hands with=20 this pedal! Now I=92m REALLY GAS=92ing to play his CPR = compression=20 pedal.

Bottom = line: if=20 you=92re in the market for a $200 preamp/dual = boost/buffer pedal=20 that is fanatically built and sonically amazing, then = put the=20 HomeBrew Electronics Dos Mos on your short=20 list.
_________________
Okay, 10 out of 10 for style, = Trillian;=20 but, like, minus several million for=20 execution!

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Brow
Bantamweight

Joined: 03 Apr=20 2005
Posts: = 107
Location: Sutton In Ashfield,=20 Nottinghamshire

Posted: Sat 02=20 Jul, 2005 9:13 am =20 Post subject:

Nice = review there=20 Ben

When we went shopping, and they = bought out the=20 HBE Big D for me to use, I was very surprised to hear = that=20 you'd never heard of Home Brew Electronics before. = Being the=20 'boo-teek' pedal fan/geek that you are 3D"Twisted

I wouldn't say=20 I found the Big D to be 'Clinical', it was (imo) a = very bright=20 sounding pedal. Although my opinion of this is based = off my=20 using it purely as a stand-alone Overdrive on the = clean=20 channel of an Orange amp 3DCool=20

If I used it=20 on the Orange with some amp overdrive, or the OD = channel of a=20 Marshall maybe, then maybe I would've formed a = different first=20 impression

The functions=20 of the Dos Mos sound similar to those of the ZVex = Super Duper=20 that we both bought In the fact that it's a 2 channel = booster=20 with a hell of a lot of boost on offer and the ability = to=20 cascade them together 3DSmile=20

If you=20 remember, I bought a copy of 'Vintage Guitar' magazine = to read=20 on the plane and there's an article in there about HBE = pedals=20 and the company itself 3D"Very

Craig
_________________
Gibson, Gordon Smith + Fender = Guitars=20
Orange + Marshall = Amps=20
Hopefully alot of = BK Pups=20 3D"Very

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TwilightOdyssey
Lightweight

Joined: 03 Apr=20 2005
Posts: = 930
Location: NYC

Posted: Sat 02=20 Jul, 2005 5:01 pm =20 Post subject:

Here's = a clip I=20 made for Johnny Mac.
The single, center panned guitar = that appears=20 twice is the Gaijic TOC guitar (Miracle Man) with just = the=20 JCM800's gain. The stereo guitars are with the Dos Mos = channel=20 1 providing additional signal gain, and the solo is = channels=20 1+2. I used the TOC throughout.

I still prefer using a high quality = OD pedal=20 ... you get more harmonic content and deeper = distortion, imo.=20

http://www.soundclick.us/fastkG/11/01/freemp3/twilightody= ssey+dosmosjam.mp3
_________________
Okay, 10 out of 10 for style, = Trillian;=20 but, like, minus several million for=20 execution!

Back to = top

Johnny=20 Mac
Featherweight

Joined: 10 Apr=20 2005
Posts: = 341
Location: North = London

Posted: Sat 02=20 Jul, 2005 6:34 pm =20 Post subject:

TwilightOdyssey=20 wrote:

Here's=20 a clip I made for Johnny Mac.
The single, = center=20 panned guitar that appears twice is the Gaijic = TOC=20 guitar (Miracle Man) with just the JCM800's = gain. The=20 stereo guitars are with the Dos Mos channel 1 = providing=20 additional signal gain, and the solo is channels = 1+2. I=20 used the TOC throughout.

I still prefer = using a=20 high quality OD pedal ... you get more harmonic = content=20 and deeper distortion, imo.

http://www.soundclick.us/fastkG/11/01/freemp3/twilightody= ssey+dosmosjam.mp3

It sounds really cool Ben! That = doubled effect=20 sounds wicked. How much are these gadgets. Your giving = me GAS=20 3DRazz=20
_________________
I'm howling at the = moon!

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TwilightOdyssey
Lightweight

Joined: 03 Apr=20 2005
Posts: = 930
Location: NYC

Posted: Sat 02=20 Jul, 2005 6:56 pm =20 Post subject:

Here's = the=20 pricing:

http://homebrewelectronics.com/products.htm_________________
Okay, 10 out of 10 for style, = Trillian;=20 but, like, minus several million for=20 execution!

Back to = top

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