OVERDRIVE- MXR M116 Fullbore Distortion ... the Dimebag D. dirt pedal!

 MXR M116 FULL BORE DISTORTION 

$100.00 USD

Lately I have been digging up all the basic Metal pedals by Boss and others that have stood the test of time. The Full Bore  has been around for 11 years already and still sells well.

The fact is like all the Boss Metal pedals these pedals end up as the basis for the gourmet pedals. Yes the gourmet pedals tweak them, clean them up and smooth out all the wrinkles. BUT ...you have to ask yourself if a pedal was meant to tear your face off with a sound of sharpened rusted steel and jagged shrouds of glass does it need to be sterilized before it does so ?

Know I do take into account that some cheaper pedals have artifacts left in the sound that force you to compromise on a very needed design tweak to get rid of them. With Metal you do not want severe 'Bees in a Can' or nasty uneven breakups in the lows. 

So lets see what we get. A full tone stack with lows and highs and mids that are sweepable. A good start.

A switchable fixed gate and another switch for a scoop. All these pedals are a take on a MESA Dual Rectifier and the amps that spun off of them. None seem to capture the density nor do they eliminate ALL the fizz. Fortunately sent thru a good amp it is often unnoticeable.

CONCLUSION

I listen to a dozen video's. The ones that were not infomercials collectively hated it. Just watching their approach struck me as guys who were trying to get a Marshall JTM 800 sound out of it. All very nice but this is meant to be a classic scooped totally bottom heavy distortion. If you have listened to Dimebag Darrell you know what it does and more important what it is meant to do. These guys were comparing this pedal to a Marshall-in a'-Box which is as stupid as comparing a Marshall pedal to a Klon. 

I have 12 Plexi pedals and 3 JCM 800 pedals. I do indeed love them.  BIG BUT !!!

Marshall's are the scrumptious 'apples' of OD's but for gods sake why not have at least one 'juicy' lime even if it's bitter Metal OD juice sprays all over you. LOL

In short this is a killer Dimebag pedal. You can roll off a few lows and push up a few mids that will let you tame it a little but only a little.

 . . .BUT WTF ...I ordered one! used, mint $75

HANDS ON

It arrived. I had my board ready so I just popped it into it's spot and put everything at noon.

For awhile I went in circles. I then decided to do a tune I wanted it for. I ended up diming the lows with mids and highs at 1 0'colck. the mid frequency at around one which is upper mod Tube Screamer territory. I used the internal gate and my other gate too.

It will take applying with the band to know  how and if it fits.  

 Video #1    Gives you an overview.

It Is important as it is made using modest gear and no over hyped 

post production.

* * * * 

Video #2    Gives you what you can

get out of the pedal set to an average modern setting avoiding most

of the pedals Dimebag leanings.

Not your granddad's Marshall