All user reviews for the LiberaToe BearAss (dual)

LiberaToe’s BearAss is a true-bypass multi-functional pedal chock full of features and uses, for both guitar and bass. It is a Fuzz and Compressor/Sustainer with some very decent flexibility; the Fuzz can range from a touch-sensitive grit to a thick and massive saturation, and the player has access to two modes of Compression (that or a Sustainer). The Compression (green channel) pushes the attack for a tighter and chewier response, whereas the Sustainer (with Boost on the red channel) preserves the natural attack to allow notes to breathe while enhancing sustain and volume.



Let’s tackle the Fuzz first, which starts off fairly smooth on low gain output, and cleans up exceptionally well (as stated above, a hint of grit when controlled with a guitar’s volume). As you turn up the Fuzz close to 12-noon and beyond, the quality switches to a more aggressive square wave for thick Doom and Psychedelic Rock. Even cranked full BearAss cleans up very well to medium Fuzz intensity, albeit with that square wave characteristic, which makes it ideal for classic rock-type distortion/drive/fuzz with a guitar’s volume down, then soaring lead with the guitar’s volume full (particularly with the Sustainer engaged). The Fuzz’s tone offers a very usable range, whether all the way down or up, sounding neither too bassy or shrill.

The Compressor is obvious when it’s down all the way, and helps to clean up the Fuzz for tighter control. In the demo I used the Compressor during rhythm, set about 9-o’clock. Once Compression is set past 12-noon it works very well to provide those choppy, snappy chords without sounding flat or squishy (you get some of that, but it’s not sterile sounding, as I’ve experienced with some compressors). In essence, you can reduce the attack of notes while flattening out the output for a more consistent volume throughout, but while adding some sustain overall.

The Sustainer is excellent, allowing previous notes to decay slowly while latter notes blossom. This can be useful for some fast rhythms (to keep notes and artifacts from bleeding into one another), but adds that clarity and a tighter cascading of notes when playing lead. The Boost function with the Sustainer is HUGE. I typically never had the level past 9-o’clock (likely just past parity), whereas the volume on the Compressor seems to be around parity at 12-noon or a touch higher (closer to 1-o’clock when engaged, as the notes do flatten and you can lose a bit of volume compared to when not using the Compressor).

As an added bonus, both the Compressor and Sustainer have a Voice control. When set all the way left (counter-clockwise), the tone is flat and full-range. All the way right and the tone has more mid-focus. At 12-noon, there is reduced low end and tightness. You then can adjust how much full range or mid-focus together with tightness by adjusting accordingly between the values. I like this feature a lot as you can better sculpt your tone using the Comp/Sust and adding that to the Fuzz (or other pedals in the chain).

For about $130, this is a great value pedal, as its electronics are of very high quality (manufactured in South Korea and not China) and there is a lot of tweaking available. Even if you don’t use Fuzz much, you have access to a very simple-to-use Compressor and Sustainer to integrate with your typical drive, distortion, or amp gain. It takes seconds to dial into useful settings, and with the diversity of the Fuzz, I suspect non-fuzz lovers will find this analog pedal less typical. Another winner from LiberaToe, BearAss requires only 60mA of power.

https://www.liberatoe.com/product-page/bb-series-one-piece-pedal