The Daring Audio Particle Beam is a pure analog overdrive pedal for bass guitar, described by the company as a highly controllable natural overdrive with sophisticated blending and filtering capability. No Treble relayed the company's description of it as natural sounding, providing everything from a clean boost to full-on distortion, which puts it in territory shared by overdrive pedals, distortion pedals and boost pedals12.
The Particle Beam is a bass pedal from Daring Audio, which the company describes as natural sounding, providing everything from a clean boost to full-on distortion2. It sits in the maker's line of bass pedals, priced from $269 to $3492.
What it does to your sound
The Particle Beam is built around blending and filtering. A continuous Blend knob lets you mix in 0 to 100 percent of the affected signal, so you can keep your clean bass tone underneath the drive, the way most bass players set up an overdrive2.
The Symmetry switch changes the voicing of the drive itself. Flipping it selects either Class A emulation mode, which is rich in harmonics for a classic sound, or Class AB amp overdrive, which only includes odd harmonics for tighter, smoother tones2.
Power and headroom
The pedal runs an 18-volt circuit internally, powered by either a single 9-volt battery or a standard 9-volt adapter. Chris Rigatuso of Daring Audio put it this way when the line launched12:
"We have doubled the headroom by running at 18v from either a single 9v battery or a standard 9v adaptor1."
Chris Rigatuso, Daring Audio, via Premier Guitar1
No Treble described the same arrangement across all four pedals as high headroom 18-volt circuits2. For a bass player, the practical point is that the pedal takes a normal 9-volt supply but gains the headroom of an 18-volt circuit, which matters when a bass signal with strong low end is being pushed into overdrive.
Lineup and availability
The Particle Beam was part of the new Daring Audio bass pedals line, which ranged in price from $269 to $349 and was available from the company's website2. A continuous Blend knob lets you mix in 0-100% of the affected signal2.
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Questions
Is the Daring Audio Particle Beam analog?
Yes. Daring Audio introduced the Particle Beam as one of four high-design pure analog sound processing pedals for bass guitar when the company launched in January 2011. The circuit runs internally at 18 volts, which the company says doubles the headroom, even though it is powered by a single 9-volt battery or a standard 9-volt adapter.
Is the Particle Beam true bypass?
Yes. According to No Treble, all four of Daring Audio's light energy-inspired pedals, including the Particle Beam, feature true bypass, so the pedal does not color your signal when it is switched off.
What does the Symmetry switch do?
The Symmetry switch selects between two overdrive voicings. Class A emulation mode is rich in harmonics for a classic sound, while Class AB amp overdrive includes only odd harmonics for tighter, smoother tones. It is the pedal's main character control.
Where is the Particle Beam made?
The Particle Beam is built in California, as are the other pedals in Daring Audio's first line, the Laser Cannon, Edge Activator and Phat Beam.
Sources (2)
- Daring Audio Launches With Line of Bass Effect Pedals, Premier Guitar, 2011-01-06
- Daring Audio Debuts with Bass Effects Pedal Line, No Treble, 2011-02-17