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Photos provided by Berserker Electornics
The Sunn Beta Lead and Beta Bass solid state amplifiers were first released in 1979 and were identical with the exception of a handful of value changes which made the EQ more suitable for the frequency range of each instrument. They were a revolutionary design when originally released and featured the unique analog MOSFET design which provided a wide range of tones from clean to a distinctive fuzz-like distortion that cleans up with the instrument volume control. Its use of distortion and fuzz rose to prominence in the 90’s with acts such as Nirvana and the Melvins pushing it to the forefront.
Now fast forward to today. The resourceful folks over at Berserker Electronics in Austin Texas, in creating the Prehistoric Dog Pedal, have managed to put the circuits for both the Sunn Beta Lead and Beta Bass solid state amplifiers into one unique pedal. Although mainly known for it’s use of distortion in the heavy rock/ grudge genre, the active 3-Band EQ section of the pedal actually provides a surprising amount of versatility when dialing in classic British and American amplifier tones for guitar and bass. Visit their website where detailed video clips can be viewed providing demonstrations of the full range of sounds that this pedal can provide with or without distortion for both electric and bass guitars! Berserkerelectronics.com
Personally, I was very impressed with what I found, and wanted to provide a review of what this pedal can do specifically in the studio when tracking a bass guitar. Many of us modern musicians out of necessity are called upon to wear several hats when it comes to creating and releasing original music. We write, we perform. But also many of us have to play the role of engineer, mixer, and even Producer if our resources are limited to a personal project studio. Therefore, chasing the right tone for the bass guitar track on our next hit single can easily become the responsibility of the musician themselves. And it can be a make or break for sure!
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After plugging my Fender Squire Bass Guitar into the Prehistoric Dog pedal and running it through a recording interface, what I noticed right off the bat is how it instantly livened up my tone. I had all the knobs set right in the middle at 12 o’clock and the toggle switch set to Bass. It instantly added the character that the Beta Bass was known for, a full range of tone including girth without muddying up the sound. With many popular Bass amps, the more low end that is dialed in on the EQ, the more mud also gets added. However, when I increased the low end EQ on the pedal, what I got was a beautiful creamy kind of clarity with no added mud. For me, the Bass EQ knob alone would be worth the price of admission!
The song I was working on was very bass guitar heavy. In fact, the main lick which repeats throughout is performed with a bass guitar. So I needed it to stand out since bass guitar is the feature of the track. The actual guitar I was using is known for it’s natural high mids, which is great when you want those frequencies to stand out in a mix, but you also have the danger of having insufficient low end frequencies and the bass can feel lost or buried in the mix when the chorus hits and the bass guitar is playing 8th notes on the low strings. I added a little bit of Fuzz by turning the Drive knob up slightly to just past 1 o’clock. Next, I backed off the mids ever so slightly and cranked up that golden bass knob! Voila! There was my tone!
Check out the result in this audio clip
3 ways to get the most out of the Prehistoric Dog Pedal from Berserker Electronics for live applications:
3 ways to get the most out of the Prehistoric Dog Pedal from Berserker Electronics for studio recording:
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