Bad Monkey - Still loved?

Heartwood · March 2023

So I was browsing YouTube today and saw a JHS video comparing the Bad Monkey to lots of famous and expensive drives. Basically claimed the Digitech pedal is indistinguishable from the likes of a Klon, TS10, ZenDrive and his own Morning Glory.

Got me thinking, is it really that versatile? Did I miss the boat on this back in the day? Or is it just all wishful thinking?

I mean they're cheapish still, so can get a used one for no big cost. Does anyone else still use theirs? If you owned one then what's your take on it?

bertie · March 2023

hey @sporky ; - werent your pedals called Monkey FX ?

randella · March 2023

I saw the same vid, funnily enough. I'd be interested to find a few opinions on this too.

Having said that, I've always stuck with an SD-1. Amassing overdrives is another bloody rabbit hole I could do without heading down. Given that my last experiments with Marshall-in-a-box pedals resulted in me buying an actual Marshall - the sort that comes in a much bigger (and more conspicuous) box

Petepassion · March 2023

I still use mine, transparent and versatile...love it

AK99 · March 2023

Got one because of all the online reviews and general good feedback here. Realised I didn't really like the sounds I got with it, but was able to move it on at no loss because of the reputation.

Worth a punt perhaps.

Grangousier · March 2023

Given that my last experiments with Marshall-in-a-box pedals resulted in me buying an actual Marshall

You're afraid of getting one of these pedals in case you buy an actual monkey?

I can see that that would be a problem. Especially a bad one.

randella · March 2023

Grangousier said:

Given that my last experiments with Marshall-in-a-box pedals resulted in me buying an actual Marshall
You're afraid of getting one of these pedals in case you buy an actual monkey?

I can see that that would be a problem. Especially a bad one.

Probably easier to look after than an actual Centaur

EricTheWeary · March 2023

I watched that. For someone who makes pedals for a living Josh is quite dismissive of the 1001 variations of overdrives.
I don't think he was claiming it is indistinguishable from those other pedals (or otherwise they would all sound exactly the same as each other) but certain settings on them can be matched by certain settings on the Bad Monkey. He did seem to be right and, like many overdrive pedals, if what you want is a generic overdrive pedal the Bad Monkey seems as good as anything else.

CaseOfAce · March 2023

Had one don't miss it. I remember it had a throaty nasally sound to it.
It was ok - but tone suck is always a deal breaker for me with any pedal.
Very useful Cab Sim / Mixer out function - so if you're amp dies this pedal can be plugged straight into the band PA and on with the show.
Interesting vid though. If his pedals settings are accurate in the shoot-outs - he's mostly varying the Gain between 2 and 5 o clock - with slight adjustment on the Level - and leaving the bass / treble at noon - on the Bad Monkey pedal.

Fiftyshadesofjay · March 2023

I have one, I agree it’s as good as most out there for a standard overdrive. People complain about the buffer but I’ve never noticed.

Think mine was £22 from Amazon back in the day.

Basher · March 2023

Another fan here. Got mine for £25 new and it's always sounded great to me.

My only dalliance with posh drives was a King of Tone that I didn't keep. It sounded good but no better than the cheap and cheerful stuff I have - possibly my old, knackered ears. I'm perfectly happy with my Bad Monkey and SD-1 (bough with some sort of Allums mod kit installed). That said, I do miss my Danelectro transparent drive that was "borrowed" many years ago. I think that one cost less than the Bad Monkey!

I watched the JHS video and enjoyed it very much. Josh is an absolute star and a cracking player. The lads on bass and drums are fantastic musicians too. Josh's stuff reminds me that it's the cool playing and sound of the guitar in the band that does it for me and makes me glad I can't hear the differences between pedals that others do.

fretmeister · March 2023

The used prices are going silly because of videos like his.

Most annoying!

distressed · March 2023

Got one for peanuts several months ago, just because. Now it regularly sits in my board for various uses, solo or stacked. Great and very versatile pedal.

GoFish · March 2023

The Danelectro Transparent OD (ver1) is basically a Timmy.

Isn't the JHS Morning Glory a Bluesbreaker of some sort?

Klones only start sounding like Tubescreamers in the second half of the gain stage. They're more like Timmys in the first half.

IMO Timmys and Bluesbreakers do not really sound like Tubescreamers, let alone Bad Monkeys, which are a particularly nasal, phlegmmy variant.

Disclaimer that many overdrives can be set to sound kind of like each other. The guitar and amp combo is just as important as the pedal and it is all change yet again in a band mix.

I'm not an overdrive connoisseur by any stretch. The Monkey is a very useful pedal in the right context but I prefer it's blue cousin.

impmann · March 2023

He’s proving what Ive said for a long time - firstly that most drives sound the damn same and secondly, once the bass and drums kick in any subtle nuances are lost. Plus if you learn how to dial in a piece of equipment you can get the best out of it.

Hes already proved to the world that you can’t hear any difference between a digital profile or model and a valve amp.

A good sound is a good sound, no matter how it is generated. Leave cork sniffing to folks with money to burn, I say…

ryanverbena · March 2023

Good sounding pedal. Robust. Ugly as sin.

chrisj1602 · March 2023

I think I read that the Wampler Triumph is based on the Bad Monkey.

Flanging_Fred · March 2023

I had one years ago and to start with I really liked it.

However at some point I picked up an old Arion Overdrive pedal and it was so much clearer and open sounding compared to the BM. After hearing the Arion the Bad Monkey just sounded like there was a blanket over the sound muffling everything. I just couldn’t adjust it to get rid of that muffled honk and so I ended up selling it.

VeggieShark · March 2023

Had one for many years. Best sound I ever remembered getting out of my DSL50 was a bad monkey into the crunch side of the clean channel. Thought it was a good cheap tube screamer. Just one that had less volume output compared to a real TS. When I got the Hardwire Overdrive I found that had the BM sound but more besides and a load more volume output if you wanted that...so I sold my BM and still have the Hardwire Overdrive to this day.

I also remember bring very impressed by it when I lent it to a guy who was the boyfriend of the girl singer we had at the time..he turned up to a rehearsal with ideas of joining the band with no amp just a strat..so I lent him my BM pedal and suggested he plugged that direct to the desk via the speaker simulated output...I was amazed just how good that sounded!! So a pedal like that could be very useful if your amp goes down...if you have one of those on your board and any half decent PA you could come out the other side of a gig should your main amp/ rig break down on you mid gig.

Neilybob · March 2023

I plug mine into my Evil Robot amp with my SG Junior. Sounds great, pushing it over the top. Mines made in the USA though it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

Petepassion · March 2023

Phil X + evil robot + bad monkey…that’s the first time I heard the bad monkey

CountryDave · March 2023

I have one in my gig bag as a ‘straight to desk’ backup.
It was on my board for years as a solo boost, much like a TS, but with a better eq.

LionAquaLooper · March 2023

Bought one of the heavy original US ones many years ago for peanuts and still have it. It's my ONLY mid hump OD. I'll never sell my Bad Monkey and I don't need any other mid hump OD. The Bass Treble controls, the Mixer Out with built in amp sim, the versatility, the amazing tone. Why would anyone need to buy another more expensive variation of a tube screamer that doesn't have the features the Bad Monkey has??

I'm glad JHS made that video. Its like a big middle finger to gear snobs, and some of whom are now probably seriously considering buying a cheap Bad Monkey even though its been around for more than a decade....just because Josh Scott said so LOL.

Dave_Mc · March 2023

I got one new years ago when they were blowing them out and I had a MusicStore credit note to use up. It's pretty decent, but I remember it being a bit muffled-sounding compared to a tubescreamer clone (Joyo! so nothing fancy), and the buffer wasn't amazing IIRC. It's not on my board but I didn't sell it either (that being said I never sell anything, so that doesn't necessarily mean much!).

I haven't seen the JHS video, but like a lot of versatile pedals- it'll "do" a wider variation than a lot of pedals but maybe with not quite as much character.

That being said it's a decent pedal that covers a fair bit of ground if you can get one cheap, and it has that "get out of jail" cab sim output as well. The Hardwire Tube OD was basically a "better" one, though. Though I think if you want the TS thing the higher voltage means the Hardwire doesn't compress quite so much (not that I thought the BM completely nailed the TS thing either, more "in the ballpark").

steer · March 2023

I like mine.

It shouldn't be a major surprise that an old basic OD pedal can be fairly comparable to one hand made by albino virgins out of unicorn horn and costing ten times the price. At the end of the day - they are both based on fairly similar Tubescreamer-a-like circuits. It's not like the bods at Digitech were amateurs and making pedals out of bits and pieces that they found in a skip. .

If the hyperbole means that my £20 pedal is now worth much more - then that is fine by me, and no one should point out that the emperor has no clothes on.

impmann · March 2023

steer said:

It's not like the bods at Digitech were amateurs and making pedals out of bits and pieces that they found in a skip. .

Unlike some "Booteek" pedals I've seen...

Reverend · March 2023

Ive found the bad monkey to be great in a live situation. A/b'd with a maxon od808 into jmp 2203 we preferred the bm for the better low end. In a studio it isnt quite as good

stickyfiddle · March 2023

I had one back in the day but never took to it. I now have a bunch of tube screamers that I do like so I assume I’ve changed.

That said there’s no way it’s worth the batshit reverb prices when you compare with stuff like the Green Rhino or Origin Halcyon or Wampler whatever

thecolourbox · March 2023

Grangousier said:

Given that my last experiments with Marshall-in-a-box pedals resulted in me buying an actual Marshall
You're afraid of getting one of these pedals in case you buy an actual monkey?

I can see that that would be a problem. Especially a bad one.

"Sometimes in life there are things which are a disappointment, but living with a monkey is not one of them"

Courtesy of John Cooper Clarke

Keefy · March 2023

CountryDave said:

I have one in my gig bag as a ‘straight to desk’ backup.
…

Me too.

I’ve had mine for about 18 years and it’s paid for itself many times over. Early on I changed a capacitor to raise the mid boost frequency. I used the pedal at a low gain setting to get a ‘pushed old amp’ sound for old-style country.

Cookiemonster · March 2023

It’s a good pedal, not sure why but these days I feel Josh is just trying to wind people up these days. They would definitely have different settings that sound at least partially different to each other.

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Bad Monkey - Still loved?

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