Free The Tone HB-2 Heat Blaster

The Free The Tone HB-2 Heat Blaster is an analog distortion pedal from the Japanese maker Free The Tone, built to deliver the high-gain distortion character of a modern tube amp in a compact stompbox. Free The Tone describes it as having a modern distortion sound, and RockBoard's PedalPedia entry lists it simply as a distortion with an analog circuit¹².

The pedal is discontinued: Free The Tone's product page marks it as out of production, with a final tax-included list price of 40,040 yen¹. It was part of Free The Tone's Custom effects series, which the maker says is built to the same sound and quality as the designer's original hand-made development model, with a label handwritten by the designer, Yuki Hayashi³.

What it does to your sound

The HB-2 is aimed squarely at high-gain rock tones. MusicRadar's review team found the Drive control spans a wide range, from light break-up to fully saturated sustain, and summed up the pedal as "a superb, fat rock distortion with edge to cut through in real-life playing"⁴. The Level control is no afterthought either: the review notes it offers significant volume boost above unity, so the pedal can push an amp harder when engaged⁴.

Inside, the circuit uses a JRC072D opamp with red LEDs handling the clipping, where most pedals use diodes, a choice MusicRadar attributes to designer Yuki Hayashi⁴. The DIY community has taken an interest as well: Guitar FX Layouts published vero and tagboard layouts for the circuit in 2014, and one commenter there suggested the design resembles a modded Tube Screamer, though the page does not confirm it⁵.

The controls

The control set is three knobs and two mini switches¹. MusicRadar notes the two mini switches expand the tonal options⁴.

The cut switches are where the HB-2 differs from a plain three-knob distortion. The Hi Cut switch removes presence-range content, and RockBoard notes that turning the Tone knob clockwise with Hi Cut engaged produces a mellow sound that stays clear, which it describes as especially suitable for guitar solos². The Low Cut switch works on the other end of the spectrum: it affects low frequencies that normally cannot be adjusted with amplifier tone controls, a point Guitar FX Layouts highlights as the switch's practical value for tightening up a high-gain sound⁵.

Power, connections and size

The HB-2 runs on DC9V from either a 9V 006P battery or an AC adapter, with a DC9V input jack on the side for the adapter¹. Current draw is about 7mA, low enough that battery operation is practical, and MusicRadar describes it as a non-battery-hungry 7mA¹⁴. A battery was included in the box, along with a warranty card, owner's manual and four rubber feet¹.

Connections are simple: one 1/4-inch input and one 1/4-inch output, with an input impedance of 330kΩ and a rated output load impedance of 10kΩ or higher¹. The enclosure measures 100(W) x 123(D) x 52(H)mm including protrusions such as the footswitch and jacks, and weighs about 330g without accessories¹.

Switching is Free The Tone's true bypass, which MusicRadar describes as passing the signal through only one set of contacts when bypassed⁴.

What reviewers and builders said

Published feedback on the HB-2 has been positive. MusicRadar's overall verdict called it a superb, fat rock distortion with the edge to cut through in real-life playing⁴. Among DIY builders using the published layout, one reported in 2017 that the build "sounds awesome," while another in 2018 felt the tone control needed cranking to reach normal regions and wanted more range from it⁵.

Players comparing Free The Tone distortions may also want to look at the Free The Tone IRON FOREST IF-1D and the Free The Tone QUAD ARROW QA-2, the maker's other distortion pedals in the same family.

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