FEATURES:
Like with many of the Lil Trees effects, this circuit is equipped with both Synesthesia, and polarity protection. Unique to the Roach baby is the gate/sag control.
Synesthesia is a simple light controller circuit that is built into the controls of most Lil Trees pedals. It’s nothing more than a light intensity controller. When the device is “ON” and you’re dialing in your settings, you’ll notice that the color, and intensity of color changes when you adjust the knobs.
Polarity protection is a special circuit that protects the pedals circuitry. Unlike many protection circuits, it will not destroy itself protecting the effect circuit for an amount of time but, protecting the circuit while also not destroying itself. This means that it is impossible to bring harm to the internal circuitry by accidentally introducing the wrong voltage or polarity of power to the power input jack. T
CONTROLS:
There are two knobs, “Size” & “Stink”. The “Stink” knob is your fuzz control; this control will introduce or take away the intensity or amount of fuzz the circuit is putting on your wet signal. The “Size” knob is your volume control, as such this knob will adjust the overall output level of the effect. Unique to the Roach Baby pedal is a special internal trimmer pot used to adjust the amount of gating taking place relative to your guitars signal strength. This is because the internal trimmer is simulating a fully charged battery, or a dying battery. Using a small Phillips or flat head screwdriver, you can adjust the gate sensitivity of the pedal. This is a nice feature for a gated fuzz to have, because it helps a single coil hit the circuit the same way a humbucker does, and it can also do the exact opposite, in that it can make that humbucker sag, and fizzle as though it were a pickup with significantly less output.
THE SOUND:
It's doomy and raunchy without being as aggressive as you may think . The Roach Baby will fit in with and inspire stoner riffs with no issue. This pedal will sit well in a band mix because its lower frequencies are very well subdued.
When the gate set to a more mid-way-open kind of position (~1.6vdc), you'll have a very nice classic stoner rock sounding tone; controlled highs, pronounced mids, dusty lows – you hear the low strings in the air more than you feel them at high volumes.
With the gate set to a higher voltage (>1.6vdc), the tone will be far more aggressive, and the character of the fuzz will become very zipper and a lot louder. The EQ of the unit will be more or less the same, but snappier and louder.
When the gate is set to a lower voltage (<1.6vdc), the gate effect will become more pronounced, and you will notice the attack and decay of the notes becoming a lot more spitty and compressed; it may even feel as though the notes are dropping out on you. This fuzz is sensitive to pickup types. It’s helpful to experiment with this and dial it in for the guitar you run through it.
