Bassic Review – Amptweaker Bass TightFuzz Jr., Bass BluesFuzz Jr., and PressuRizer Pedals

First Impressions

Back in 2013, I praised the “respectable size and heft” of the Bass TightFuzz (“BTF”). I’m still a big fan, and the full-size Amptweaker pedals are undeniably tank-like and solid. Admittedly, my pedalboard has grown a bit since then, and I must say, the reduced dimensions of the Jr. pedals had me intrigued right off the bat. Comparing the Bass TightFuzz Jr.™ (“BTF Jr.”) to its big brother, the size and weight differences are very apparent. Depth and height are similar (5” deep by 2” high for the larger pedals, versus 4.65” deep by 2” high for the Jr.’s), but the Jr. pedals are almost half the width (2”) of the larger pedals (3.7”). When you start stacking up six, eight, or more pedals, that real estate starts to add up! The weight difference is a little misleading, at first, as the natural inclination is to feel that the lighter pedal is more delicate than the heavier one. After closer examination, though, the Jr. pedals appear to be extremely sturdy, we very well put together. I have no doubt that the Jr. pedals will hold up as well as my full-size Amptweaker pedals have.

Starting with the BTF Jr., there are three knobs across the top for Volume, Tone, and Fuzz. As you would expect, Volume controls the level of the effected output, so you can match your fuzz volume to the bypassed level (or provide a boosted fuzz tone, if you prefer). The Tone knob lets you dial in your high end (seems like mostly a roll-off, but some boost is also possible). The Fuzz control adjusts the level of fuzz saturation, and in typical Amptweaker fashion, it automatically adjusts bias. These three knobs are protected by a smaller version of the iconic “roll bar” featured on Amptweaker pedals. Where the larger BTF features a Tight knob (which adjusts the compensated buffer which effects how the fuzz circuit responds), the Jr. pedal has a 3-position switch for Fat/Normal/Tight. The Fat setting yields a thicker, “buzzier” distortion tone, whereas the Tight setting allows for a more aggressive, “chunkier” attack.

The BTF Jr. shares several of the switches found on big brother to let you further tweak your tone, with a few new curves. The 60’s/70’s settings found on both pedals allow for a more tight-n-bright (60’s) tone, or a fatter, full-range (70’s) fuzz tone. New to the Jr. pedal is the “Now” setting, which – predictably – is aimed at more modern fuzz tones. Both pedals allow you to select between germanium or silicon output stage transistors. Germanium gives a warmer, lower-gain tone, while silicon is brighter, with higher gain. The Jr. pedal does away with the Edge/Smooth switch found on the Bass TightFuzz. One of my favorite features on the BTF is the Dry Low knob. This may seem like old news in 2019, but not that long ago, we bass players commonly had to deal with an unavoidable loss of low end if we wanted to use our favorite overdrive/distortion/fuzz effects. James Brown has made sure that we no longer need to make such a compromise. The Dry Low control allows you to dial in clean low end to support your favorite effected tone. I am still in love with this control and thrilled to see it included on the Jr. series pedals – with the control placed on the right-hand side of the enclosure, rather than on the “face” of the pedal.

In the interests of saving space, the Jr. pedals use smaller knobs (which are not illuminated, and do not have the silver “markers” found on the larger pedals). With my fat fingers, they are not as easy to grab and adjust on the fly, but in my experience, these are mostly set-and-forget controls. The knobs do have a solid feel and nice resistance. The slide-out magnetic battery door on the larger pedals is not an option on the smaller enclosure, but access to the battery is nearly as easy, with a single thumb screw (and some clever case/plate design) allowing access to interior of the enclosure. The Jr. pedal also forgoes the effects loop option.

Rounding out the feature set we have the ¼” In and Out jacks located on the right and left side panels (respectively), the true-bypass footswitch (with indicator LED), and the 9-18 VDC jack on the right side of the enclosure, just in front of the input jack. In all honesty, I am not really a fan of this placement, as most of my power leads are run from the back of the row of pedals, and close proximity to the input makes for some awkward cable routing – especially considering the location of the Dry Low control. Of course, if I ran my power leads towards the front of the pedal, this might not be an issue. Speaking of DC power, all Amptweaker pedals will run on 9V to 18V, with a more open, less distorted tone at 18V, and a heavier, more compressed tone when run at 9V.

But Wait, There’s More!

The Bass BluesFuzz Jr.™ pedal shares many features of the Bass TightFuzz Jr., though the 60’s/70’s/Now switch is replaced with a Boost switch (+ 10dB gain), and the Germanium/Silicon switch is replaced with a Mid EQ control. The Bass BluesFuzz Jr. features a germanium transistor, by the way. This pedal is based upon the original BluesFuzz Limited™, which was a special 49-piece model introduced in 2014 to commemorate Amptweaker’s 5-year anniversary.

The PressuRizer™ is not a bass-specific pedal (though it is designed to work on guitar or bass) and technically, it is not a “Jr.” pedal (though it does share the same basic enclosure as the other two pedals reviewed herein). The PressuRizer offers a unique spin on the compressor pedal option. The goal is sustain without compression, which is accomplished by limiting the initial “whack” to a dry-blended approach that adds compression after a short delay. The Volume and Tone knobs provide functions similar to the descriptions, above, and the Sustain knob controls the amount of compression/sustain. The 3-way Limit switch sets the FET output limiter to Soft/Off/Hard. The small Blend knob – which adjusts between the Dry and Wet signals – is where the magic really happens (more on this below). A second 3-way switch for Bloom (Fast/Off/Slow) sets the compression swell by changing the side-chain detector.

One unique feature of the PressuRizer is that the true-bypass footswitch has a second function. If you press and hold the switch, it locks the compressor “on,” and then tapping it engages the variable Boost – which is controlled by a knob set into the right side of the enclosure (in the same location as the Dry Low control on the other two pedals). Speaking of the location of this control (on all three pedals), it can be a bit hard to access/adjust with a cable plugged into the input, though it is manageable. In either scenario (adjusting Dry Low or adjusting Boost), though, I would not anticipate needing to make many adjustments mid-gig, so I can live with this minor inconvenience.

A Closer Look

I was very anxious to directly compare the Bass TightFuzz Jr. to the full-size version, which I have been gigging for years. My favorite settings on the BTF are silicon mode, 60’s style fuzz, Edge setting (versus Smooth), with the Tone about 85% “up,” Fuzz about 90%, and Tight set about 75%. On the BTF Jr., I set the corresponding controls to the same or similar settings, and I set the Tight switch to the “Tight” setting (to the right). The Jr. does not have the Edge/Smooth switch, and it appears to be voiced somewhere in between, though closer to Edge, by my reckoning. With these settings, the overall tone/feel/vibe is very similar, though after some careful listening, the Jr. is a bit more mid-forward, and the BTF is a bit more refined – even when it’s dirty. Big brother seems to have a bit more heft and clarity, as well. In 70’s mode, though, the two pedals sound a bit more similar, for some reason.

On both pedals, I just love the Dry Low control. Once I have my preferred fuzz dialed in, I A/B the fuzz/bypassed tones and add sufficient Dry Low to maintain balance in the low end, and then I adjust the Volume to match my clean and dirty levels. Playing around with the “Now” mode on the Jr., this setting seems to add a good bit of volume and low end, forcing me to dial back the Dry Low and Volume to try and make a fair comparison to the other modes. It seemed most similar to the 70’s mode, though perhaps a little more aggressive.

The BluesFuzz Jr. presents strong similarities to the BTF Jr. when set to germanium mode (as you would expect), with the added features of the Boost switch and Mid control. To my ears, the Mid control is relatively subtle, though playing around with the Boost and Volume settings definitely yields distinctive and useful results. When I intentionally try to dial in the BluesFuzz Jr. and BTF Jr. to sound as similar as possible, the BluesFuzz Jr. was a tad more “vintage” sounding, though surprisingly, the BTF Jr. was a little more warm. They both cover a lot of the same ground, with the BTF Jr. being a bit more versatile, and the BluesFuzz Jr. being a bit more plug-and-play friendly.

The PressuRizer takes a little more time to get to know and love, compared to many other compressor pedals on the market. As previously stated, it does have the fairly unique design goal of maintaining the initial attack, while allowing the trailing part of the note to bloom. If you are trying to hold out notes longer, or if you want to bring up quieter parts of your playing style/attack without obviously clamping down on the initial attack, this may be just what you are looking for. I didn’t try the PressuRizer with any basses sporting super-dead strings, but I can see where this pedal might give a bit more life to a set of strings which is getting a bit too fast on the decay. As previously mentioned, the dry-wet blend option is a very powerful tool, and let’s you dial in just the right amount of compression/sustain, while retaining the initial clarity of the attack and overall fullness and tonal purity.

 Lasting Impressions

If you are a fan of the tone and primary features offered by Amptweaker pedals – and who wouldn’t be!?!? – but want to save a bit more floor space and a bit more dough, the Jr. Series is well worth checking out. The Bass TightFuzz Jr. offers a very similar experience to the larger Bass TightFuzz, and the Bass BluesFuzz Jr. presents its own unique spin on the “bass fuzz thing.” The PressuRizer isn’t going to be everyone’s “ideal compressor,” but for those of you who do need what it does, I can’t think of anything out there that does it better.

James Brown has built a sterling reputation building sturdy, reliable, well-thought-out pedals, and these three smaller pedals are proof positive that he’s still got it!