Originally printed in the June 2012 issue of Bass Player. Reprinted with the permission of the Publishers of Bass Player. Copyright 2008 NewBay Media, LLC. All rights
reserved. Bass Player is a Music Player Network publication, 1111 Bayhill Dr., St. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. T. 650.238.0300. Subscribe at www.musicplayer.com
SOUNDROOM
MXR M84 Bass
Fuzz Deluxe
BY BRIAN FOX
IN JUST THE LAST FEW YEARS, MXR’S
Bass Innovations division has launched a
slew of new pedals for bass, ranging from
octave and overdrive to filter and compressor. This year, MXR adds to its already
impressive roster with the M84 Bass Fuzz
Deluxe. The M84 is housed in MXR’s familiar petite enclosure, which in this case
sports a copper sparkle coat as funky as a
pimped-out Monte Carlo from the Nixon
days. The Bass Fuzz Deluxe has true-bypass
switching and is powered by either a 9-volt
battery or a standard Boss-style AC adapter.
LOW RIDER
Because distortion—and fuzz, in particular—
is essentially the bombardment of a signal’s upper partial harmonics, bass players
often experience a loss in low end when
they kick on a fuzz box. Some address the
issue by splitting their signal into two separate rigs, running one amp clean and one
amp dirty. It’s an effective fix, but not a
route most bass players are willing or able
to take. Many modern fuzz pedals have a
blend knob that allows the player to dial
back the degree of dirt, but MXR takes it a
step further by offering individual
WET controls, as if your bass were indeed
split into two separate signal paths.
In terms of layout, the M84 is dead simple:
DRY and WET knobs control the clean and
effect levels,
roll-off, and
uration. With the knobs at noon, the Bass
Fuzz Deluxe really does deliver the best
of both worlds—a buzz-saw fuzz without
overly harsh highs, blended with a muscular fundamental. Some fuzz pedals can be
unwieldy in terms of sheer volume; kick it
in with the knobs cranked too high and you
risk ripping your own head off (let alone
blowing the tweeter on your amp). However, even at absurdly high settings, the
TONE works like high-frequency
FUZZ controls the degree of sat-
DRY and
Bass Fuzz Deluxe felt totally manageable—
extreme, but under my control.
If you want to add some bottom (so that
the dancers just won’t hide), rolling back the
TONE and setting WET and DRY knobs around
2 o’clock will take you higher, but leave your
fundamental intact. Fresh. Easing back the
WET cops the kind of blown-speaker Geezer-y
goodness that formed the foundation of heavy
metal bass tone. Once the level of dirt is dialed
in (mostly via
trol plays a big part in this pedal’s versatility.
Cranking it puts a whole lot of fi zz in your
fuzz, and tweaking the
presence—or absence—of your bottom end.
The Bass Fuzz Deluxe covers a huge
range of tones, from furry fuzzed-out funk
to gnarly modern bite, all while allowing
you to maintain a strong fundamental. For
that, its elegant simplicity, and its fresh look,
the Bass Fuzz Deluxe earns a B
Editor Award.
WET and FUZZ), the TONE con-
DRY control sets the
ASS PLAYER
BP
MORE ONLINE AT BASSPLAYER.COM/JUNE2012
• Check out a video demo of the Bass Fuzz Deluxe with Chris Chaney.
• MXR Bass Products Manager (and legit bass badass) Darryl Anders
and engineer Jack Tang rap about the development of the Bass Fuzz
Deluxe.
• Flash back to our review of MXR’s M82 Bass Envelope Filter.
52 | JUNE 2012 BASSPLAYER.COM
MXR M84 BASS FUZZ DELUXE
Street $129
Pros W
ET and DRY knobs offer killer range
of fuzz tones
Cons None
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