EarthQuaker Devices Blumes Low Signal Shredder

EarthQuaker Devices re-proposes the Plumes pedal formula, but adapts it for the electric bass.
We are faced with yet another circuit inspired by the legendary TS808, but with all the improvements and tricks that only EQD gives us.
I personally already used the Plumes pedal on an electric bass, so I decided to try the Blumes too.

The construction and quality of the EQD pedals need no description, this pedal will keep you company for a long time on your pedalboards.

The Blumes pedal, despite being similar in characteristics to the Plumes, has a different and distinct character.
The low frequency response is totally present, there are never any attenuations.
The 3 clipping modes are all usable, the first "violent" ideal for stimulating a tube head, the second for a much cleaner boost given by the opamps, the third more transparent and fuzzy, but which can give creamy overdrives in a more vintage style.

The tone control is centered exactly on the frequencies used by the electric bass and perfectly functional for the purpose.

The volume control has a lot of headroom, you will often find yourself using the knob below the first quarter if you do not want to increase the level of your signal. The volume adjustment may be the main disadvantage of the Blumes in some configurations.

I recommend this pedal especially for those looking for a good bass overdrive, but without the specific need for a vintage sound. Most settings lead to more modern rock sounds, but without reaching the typical darkglass distortion sounds. Also highly recommended for guitar and baritone guitars, as well as synth and other instrument users, to make drones and other more cinematic sounds.

I've tried a couple of bass overdrives, and couldn't get a fuzz to work well for me. I had the ODB-3, but I couldn't manage to tame the right amount of drive through my chain. The Blumes is the perfect solution. Three modes, all different, one heavy overdrive/distortion, one relatively smooth light overdrive, or clean signal, and one heavy (but still smooth) overdrive. I like it on position 3 with everything turned to 10:00. Very versatile and easy to use. You can get a lot of sounds out of this.

I was looking for a gain pedal, whether distortion or fuzz... I was not entirely sure. I like both for different kind of situations.
I tried out many pedals from different brands and then found this one.
The pedal has three modes, which is like three completely different pedals. This makes this pedal quite versatile. However, you cannot change modes on the fly while playing. Moreover, each mode may require different settings which is what happens to me. I cannot just flick the switch and be done... I found the sweet spot for each mode with different level/gain/tone. What I want to say with this, you need to spend some time with this pedal, it is quite particular for each mode... seriously is like 3 different pedals.
I have only three pedals in my board, the Blumes a compressor and the tuner. So having this pedal enhances a lot the flexibility of my little board.
Regarding the different knobs. The gain is quite mighty in mode 3 and the fuzz is ohhh so creamy. The level knob has DBs for days (in the 3 modes)... be careful; the tone is quite simple but does the job quite ok.
I recommend this pedal for players that don't want to have many pedals... but would wake up one day willing to just have a transparent boost and the next day a massive fuzz.... this is what you get here.
The switch to activate the pedal is silent... it does not make that classic click sound... which was weird at the beginning... but I really like it now.
I hope I can help anybody wondering around this little guy.
Last, the packaging is quite nice it comes inside a little linen baggy which makes it look kind of boutique (without the boutique price).

Je l’utilise depuis quelques mois maintenant avec soit une Ibanez ATK 300 soit une Fender précision.
J’ai été étonné par l’étendue de ses possibilités, on peut passer d’un léger Crunch à une grosse fuzz bien cracra !
Le seul bémol, mais c’est le cas avec la majorité des distorsion/overdrive, me semble-t-il, plus vous poussez le gain, Plus le souffle est présent.
J’en suis néanmoins très content.