Behringer HB01 Hell Babe 5-stars Reviews

Amazing for the price

This is yet another quality Behringer rip-off of a more famous, far more expensive "brand name" pedal, the Dunlop "Cry baby from hell". I own both and really there's precious little separating the two, infact if anything I would say "go behringer" as the wah frequency threshold is adjustable (easily, knob on the side) so you can also use this as a bass wah simply (the dunlop sounds bad when used with bass, doesn't really work).

The workmanship here is pretty much identical to the dunlop pedal. It's slightly bigger in terms of footsize/area so I guess if you're a big footed lummox this would, again, probably be the better pedal to go for.

One small problem I noticed with the pedal is that for a bit of the "travel" of the rocker there isn't really much change to the sound, with the majority of the "wah" effect taking place in a shorter travel range than the full pedal allows. This was easily fixed with a simple internal mod which is detailed in many, many different youtube videos which are easy to find, just search the name of the pedal and the word "mod" and you'll find them. This is absolutely no reason to put anyone off buying the pedal and, for many people, this will probably not be an issue at all but I am an anally retentive freak so OF COURSE it bothered me ;-)

I dipped 1 star in both "handling" and "quality" for this small issue (and it really is a small issue, the sound/range is still there it's just spread over less travel than the pedal offers from the off). Also, I'm not sure if all will be set up like this, it might just be a few from time to time that aren't set up right. Considering this is more than 1/2 the price of the Dunlop unit one can happily take 5 minutes or so to fix this issue.

Also, another thing this has over the dunlop pedal is that it's all "optical" whereas the dunlop wah's rely on mechanical parts/wheels inside. This means it'll never get gummed up/worn down and should, theoretically, last much longer. Think of the difference between an old school "ball" computer mouse and a new optical/laser mouse. Which one do you have to clean out regularly ? (clue: it's not the optical/laser one)

Works well with the harley benton power plant, no detectable buzz/colouration of sound when in bypass mode and it works well, also, in combination with other pedals (particularly nice when placed in line after a distortion, but you probably already know that, right ?)

Overall this is a bit above the average Behringer pedal, not from sound quality (I think they all sound good) but in terms of being close to the original (if not beyond) in terms of build quality. I foresee no problems in using this in reasonably animated live situations for "one footed surfing" style nonsense.

Would definitely recommend.

Feature Rich

For a behringer product I couldn't be happier.

Sounds great, works great, and has more options than you'll ever need. They really did think of everything when they designed it.

Nice!

Despite the price, This Hell Babe works fine! if you are guitarist? and no budjet yet to buy expensive wah Pedals? I recommend this to you. You will be satisfied =)

Rock en Roll!!! Peace \,,/

HB01 Hells yeah

As with all of these Behringer stomp boxes they are based on other manufacturers tried and true classics.

If you haven't guessed they have tried to cram every wah pedal in one... and it aint bad.

The casing is clearly light plastic along with cheaper knobs than others but it is a fraction of the price so make the call (if you'er a lead foot, this pedal is not for you)

sound wise it is good and teh function of the unit is very good having no on off button (which I always hated on wahs - I have enough to think abou without trying to stand on a switch that vanished into a rocking pedal board)

toe down gets you goin and foot off returns the pedal to heel down, level boost sett and sweep/ cue mods available (perfect for active basses and hot guitars)

All these pedals have the dc input on the side which I reckon is a brilliant idea for non standard pedal board saving space, but yours might have an issue with this so check it out first.

Awesome pedal!

I bought this pedal because at the time I couldn't afford the Dunlop Cry Baby, I can afford the Dunlop now but I don't want it because this thing is amazing.

The boost function is brilliant and has extremely bright, loud tones. Some functions are on the underneath of the unit which can be a bit of a pain to change. It's build like a brick s***house!!! It's been kicked, stomped on, Had stuff fall on it and there's not a scratch nor a park on it! It will easily stand up to being gigged. The tone is also extremely similar to the cry baby although the wah tones are more Bonamassa than Zakk Wylde in my honest opinion although it may depend on how high you have the boost level. Essential for the money you can't go far wrong. I was a bit skeptical buying a Behringer but I'm not now, I'd buy Behringer pedals in a heart beat.

Comparable to a crybaby

Surprisingly good sounds - can get it to sound very close to a crybaby but for a much lower price. Have used it for 5 years now and bar a few scratches has held up very well and taken a lot of abuse!