Lazy J cruiser / Hudson broadcast.

markj

Following on from one of my earlier threads after advice about a cruiser pedal, a forum member mentioned the Hudson Broadcast. I know these are two different types of pedals, but what makes the Broadcast so special. I will be playing the pedal through a Gartone Bluesman and i'm after a low to mid thick drive tone. I can only go off youtube videos so any advice would be very welcome.

Sassafras

Forget those two, they're history. Flavour of this month is the Duallist.

NorthernStomps

It just has a unique sound that I find very pleasing indeed. Huge gain range, bombproof and looks the business. 

Its been subject to a lot of hype, but forget all that. It’s jut a great drive pedal 

tone1

The Hudson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it is a bit different and just has more body to the sound... Recently I’ve tried a Duellist, Lightspeed, Cruiser Deuce, Chase Bliss Brothers and the Hudson is still with me when the others have gone...it does that raggedy Strat sound brilliantly and it just sounds old school authentic.... Sorry I’m not great at describing sound very well.... All this is my experience at home only.... Gigging may well be totally different but as I’m a bit crap I’ll never know 

I think if you can pick one up to try, you shouldn’t lose money on resale (maybe a fiver on postage)

edit.... I had to change my LEDs over though... I wanted Green for low gain/pedal on and Red for the Higher gain side 

BBBlues

Depends what you mean by "thick" overdrive? Both of these are pretty full range/full frequency drives.

timbuk02

Also been wondering/gasing for a Hudson so thanks for this thread.

Not to derail/throw a spanner in, but if you're after "a low to mid thick drive tone" have you tried the TC Mojo Mojo? It does that in spades and worth trying as can be found s/hand for about £25.

paulnb57

Don't rule out the Hudson Sidecar too, which has Bass and Treble Boost and Cut which gives amazing versatility of tone......

I have two on my board A and B switched from gnarly just on the edge of breakup to growly drive almost Fuzz, I won't be getting rid of mine!....

Majorscale

I've owned simultaneously a Cruiser, Sidecar and Broadcast. The Sidecar is amazing and a permanent feature of my gig board but it's not got that "pre-amp" vibe like the other two. I recently sold the Broadcast and kept the Cruiser as I liked its brighter, more clear tone. Suggest you try them both if you can as they are very different flavours although to BBBlues' point they are both full frequency - and are not compressed / smooth drives.

The Cruiser was made for a warm tweed amp, which is what I use so maybe there's no surprise it won out in a head to head. The Broadcast is an exceptional pedal too so whatever you choose its a win/win.

meltedbuzzbox

The Hudson works great as a low to mid gain pedal on the low setting. It fattens things up and adds a nice sparkle.
Hi gain is quite vicious and gets quite toppy. I really like it but I appreciate not everyone would.

Another pedal to check out is the EMMA onomatopeia. Does a similar thing in the lower gain spectrum with different controls

markj

Majorscale said:

I've owned simultaneously a Cruiser, Sidecar and Broadcast. The Sidecar is amazing and a permanent feature of my gig board but it's not got that "pre-amp" vibe like the other two. I recently sold the Broadcast and kept the Cruiser as I liked its brighter, more clear tone. Suggest you try them both if you can as they are very different flavours although to BBBlues' point they are both full frequency - and are not compressed / smooth drives.

The Cruiser was made for a warm tweed amp, which is what I use so maybe there's no surprise it won out in a head to head. The Broadcast is an exceptional pedal too so whatever you choose its a win/win.

BBBlues said:

Depends what you mean by "thick" overdrive? Both of these are pretty full range/full frequency drives.

Quite interested in a cruiser but make the amp brighter is putting me off.

JDE

I don’t want to muddy your waters any further, but have you had a nosebag at any of the Bearfoot Honey Bee/Honey Beest/Uber Bee pedals?

Majorscale

JDE said:

I don’t want to muddy your waters any further, but have you had a nosebag at any of the Bearfoot Honey Bee/Honey Beest/Uber Bee pedals?

Having owned two of those, they are very different from the Cruiser and Broadcast... more standard (good!) overdrives, def not pre-amp style though...

4114Effects

Get in touch if you fancy a dip into the Broadcast experience without the price tag ... I make some tasty clones, in smaller enclosures. 

Sorry for the crass plug. The broadcasts are a pretty unique pedal though, well worth a try whether you buy a clone or genuine. 

JDE

Majorscale said:

JDE said:

I don’t want to muddy your waters any further, but have you had a nosebag at any of the Bearfoot Honey Bee/Honey Beest/Uber Bee pedals?

Having owned two of those, they are very different from the Cruiser and Broadcast... more standard (good!) overdrives, def not pre-amp style though...

I know, I’m just thinking about the OP’s desire to have something that was darker than the amp his current tone. I don’t think the J is dark at all. The Broadcast has a fat bottom (matron etc etc) and thick mids but I preferred it more with the gain up as more of a fuzz type of thing. The Bearfoots can just be left on all the time for me, like a preamp.

scovell001

The Cruiser sounds instantly sorted through a 5e3. It also happily runs on batteries if that’s of interest. It certainly isn’t too bright, but it does lift the high mids just a touch in a very nice way. 

Its designed to sound like a cranked tweed (extension of the amp)rather than a straight overdrive.

have no experience with Hudson broadcast

can I also suggest you watch these videos with headphones as it gives a very clear idea of how the cruiser sounds https://youtu.be/C0o7lsEXurI