CHASE BLISS BROTHERS AM

[itchyfingers]

Also -- why are the knobs all over the place? Just put (1) on top and (2) on bottom, gain, tone, volume left to right.

You're not wrong, but there is some logic behind the design. CB's are usually two distinct "pedals" in one box, one on the left, and one on the right. You can reverse the order and send one into the other and vice versa, so they do this funky knob layout to align with each "pedal's" side and switch. I was already thining of how I'd need to Sharpie a line on the top to remind me which is which.

 

[Chocol8]

With marijuana legalization spreading across the globe, who the heck is going to be able to figure out...and REMEMBER...how to use this thing?

Seriously, people struggle to dial in PoT due to all the options. This thing looks like it will be super flexible, but only in a set it and forget it type of way.

 

[maguchi]

Brothers AM — Chase Bliss

Brothers AM is a tribute to the legendary King of Tone overdrive, made by Chase Bliss with Analog Man himself. Brothers AM takes that coveted circuit, gives you advanced control, and tosses in a couple existing bonuses – but it doesn't mess with made it so good in the first place. A stack of sunny s

www.chasebliss.com

View attachment 42078

• $399
• Three circuits in series:
  • Two identical, multi-mode gain channels
  • A unique, two-voice treble booster
• midi/expression/cv control
• presets (4 via device switches, 122 by midi),
• customization by dipswitches and internal trimmers

View attachment 42079

Holy mackerel!

 

[the swede]

It’s very cool and nerdy and such things. Understandable many overdrive (or CB) fans jump on this.
Personally I prefer simple 2 or 3 knob drives that does one thing, given my “sickness” of ocd and option paralysis and such. This is soooo not for me and… how many fucking variations of the same drive do we need… pun intended.

But it surely wakes the pedal nerd in me. Looks and probably sounds awesome. I’m very happy for the ones getting this and i will take joy in knowing that people will enjoy this pedal.

 

[[Nathan]]

The mini-documentary is really cool.

This was amazing, made me respect their process and everything they put into it. The sonics aren’t for me but if it was a sound I was going for I’d give one a try.

 

[Chocol8]

This was amazing, made me respect their process and everything they put into it. The sonics aren’t for me but if it was a sound I was going for I’d give one a try.

Two companies that really care about their products. Not always to my taste, but people I wouldn't hesitate to do business with.

 

[[Nathan]]

Two companies that really care about their products. Not always to my taste, but [people I wouldn't hesitate to do business with.

There are so many variations of clones, new companies figuring things out, big businesses pumping out pedals for profits that makes me go “pass”. This kind of thing is such a great synergy of competent audio nerds with the skills to back it up. It’s reflected in the price tag for sure but I’m at a point in my gear journey where I can respect it and go…. Unfortunately that’s the price of skilled people doing cool shit, happy there’s even a handful of them still kicking around.

 

[Elf]

Solid hint here, Beano Boost plus KOT!

"You turn it on and it sounds like mAgIc"!

 

[Chocol8]

"You turn it on and it sounds like mAgIc"!

I was not enjoying this cold snowy mid-April day, but a bowl of Al's melted ice soup might warm my spirits!

 

[HomespunEffects]

… I'm sure it sounds good ...

If it does, none of the videos so far have shown it.

 

[DrewJD82]

I watched Rhett’s vid on it this morning while having my coffee. I held off on any interest towards the KoT just because it was another hype item and I generally DGAF about them. I think about a year ago I watched a few demo vids but not nearly enough to understand the variations of it. I barely know there ARE variations of it.

But this has piqued my interest. I love the Lovepedal Vintage Modern for a dual-drive pedal but wish it had more tweakability as it doesn’t sound badass with every amp it’s plugged into. Seems the options on this Brothers can navigate around that a bit and having presets on it…..dang. There’s a good chance this could end up on my boomer board.

 

[Jarick]

I love that Mike chose to partner with different brands (MXR, Chase Bliss) to offer customers alternatives to his stuff rather than sue everyone or raise prices through the roof. It just seems really cool.

That said I have a Duke of Tone and don't really understand the product or hype. I really need to just plug into it and then plug into my amp and see what the hell happens. Probably using it wrong, but it seems to be like a tame version of a tube screamer, like a mild overdrive without much output level.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I love that Mike chose to partner with different brands (MXR, Chase Bliss) to offer customers alternatives to his stuff rather than sue everyone or raise prices through the roof. It just seems really cool.

That said I have a Duke of Tone and don't really understand the product or hype. I really need to just plug into it and then plug into my amp and see what the hell happens. Probably using it wrong, but it seems to be like a tame version of a tube screamer, like a mild overdrive without much output level.

Unfortunately, the DOT really doesn't hit the mark, compared to the POT or KOT. It's kind of a caricature of the KOT, IMO. I wanted to love it, but I just don't.

 

[Chocol8]

Unfortunately, the DOT really doesn't hit the mark, compared to the POT or KOT. It's kind of a caricature of the KOT, IMO. I wanted to love it, but I just don't.

Interesting. I think they are pretty close but I think my PoT's have a slight edge especially at 18v and the pots definitely have a little different taper. One of my PoT's has the non-higher gain mod so a little different response than the Dukes or the other Prince even if dialed it to sound as close as possible and I think consistent with the slightly different regular gain KoT. I would say the Dukes get pretty close, but we may just be more sensitive to the differences.

That said, one worry I have for the Brothers AM is that it will be more like the Duke and likely even further from the King because of the compromises in packing in all that functionality in a smaller package with SMD's and digital pots. For many people the compromises are likely worth it, but if you are sensitive to the DoT differences, the BAM may not work well for you either.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Interesting. I think they are pretty close but I think my PoT's have a slight edge especially at 18v and the pots definitely have a little different taper. One of my PoT's has the non-higher gain mod so a little different response than the Dukes or the other Prince even if dialed it to sound as close as possible and I think consistent with the slightly different regular gain KoT. I would say the Dukes get pretty close, but we may just be more sensitive to the differences.

That said, one worry I have for the Brothers AM is that it will be more like the Duke and likely even further from the King because of the compromises in packing in all that functionality in a smaller package with SMD's and digital pots. For many people the compromises are likely worth it, but if you are sensitive to the DoT differences, the BAM may not work well for you either.

Yeah, that's definitely a possibility. Still, I'd love to try one, because I love AnalogMan stuff, and Chase Bliss sometimes does cool stuff (that may or may not be actually useful )

 

[Jarick]

Unfortunately, the DOT really doesn't hit the mark, compared to the POT or KOT. It's kind of a caricature of the KOT, IMO. I wanted to love it, but I just don't.

Got it hooked up and spent a bit playing through the clean channel of my JJ Junior...okay now I can see it. It sounds like a good low to mid gain overdrive. This amp does clean and high gain and not in between, and the DOT seems to do a range of stuff in the middle. I could see how useful a KOT would be with a clean amp like a Fender.

For whatever reason it didn't sound great with my Orange, but then again nothing really did. Alternately, it could just be the Friedman sounds so damn good that it will make a meh pedal sweet.

Also I watched that documentary on the pedal, that was awesome. Really heart warming and interesting to be honest. Mike seems like such a good dude. Really cool to watch them go through these crazy old electronics parts stores in Japan. Excited for them both with this pedal.

 

[Chocol8]

Mike seems like such a good dude.

Mike seems like a very good dude. I never met him, but I send him money on a fairly regular basis and I am always super pleased with what I get back, and any communication. He is one of the few vendors I trust enough to just say, "can you do xxx? If so, please do and then send me a bill." I don't have to ask for a price in advance because I know it will be more than fair.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

you guys make this thing sound complex.

Got it hooked up and spent a bit playing through the clean channel of my JJ Junior...okay now I can see it. It sounds like a good low to mid gain overdrive. This amp does clean and high gain and not in between, and the DOT seems to do a range of stuff in the middle. I could see how useful a KOT would be with a clean amp like a Fender.

For whatever reason it didn't sound great with my Orange, but then again nothing really did. Alternately, it could just be the Friedman sounds so damn good that it will make a meh pedal sweet.

Also I watched that documentary on the pedal, that was awesome. Really heart warming and interesting to be honest. Mike seems like such a good dude. Really cool to watch them go through these crazy old electronics parts stores in Japan. Excited for them both with this pedal.

To me, the thing that made then KoT magic was that the two sides of it plus a clean amp, I had everything I needed in terms of gain staging. A dual tube screamer or Klon would be honk-city for me, but the two sides of the KoT stack great.

I imagine the Protein what-ever-it's-called is really great at this. Wampler Dual Fusion I also imagine works really well based on my experience with the euphoria. There are of course plenty of individual overdrive pedals that one could stack quite well, but there is something awfully nice about having a single box with single 9v input that does everything.

 

[paisleywookiee]

you guys make this thing sound complex.

To me, the thing that made then KoT magic was that the two sides of it plus a clean amp, I had everything I needed in terms of gain staging. A dual tube screamer or Klon would be honk-city for me, but the two sides of the KoT stack great.

I imagine the Protein what-ever-it's-called is really great at this. Wampler Dual Fusion I also imagine works really well based on my experience with the euphoria. There are of course plenty of individual overdrive pedals that one could stack quite well, but there is something awfully nice about having a single box with single 9v input that does everything.

I actually did not like the protein at all. It lost whatever magic the king of tone had.

 

[dbagchee]

I've enjoyed the King of Tone/Prince of Tone model in the Helix since it came out - in a lot of ways it can do all the things this pedal can (though digital of course) - it's my go to pedal for that mid gain thing. I think I'd still want to go with the real thing though over the Chase Bliss version, though I am not even on the waitlist yet. Analog Mike's approach to his business is quite remarkable in this day and age. You can tell he loves the work, but has clear boundaries of what he's willing to take on. He has my respect and admiration. Seems like him and Joel are kindred spirits.