The Providence Heat Blaster HBL-3 is an overdrive and distortion pedal from Japanese maker Providence, sitting in the middle of the Heat Blaster line between the Heat Blaster HBL-2 and the Heat Blaster HBL-4. It is built for players who want a warmer take on distortion: MusicRadar's review described it as the choice "if you like your distortion a little warmer," pointing to its orange enclosure as the visual cue in the range1.
What it does
The HBL-3 runs on the same S.C.T and D.C.G circuitry as the Stampede DT SDT-2 and others in the Providence range. MusicRadar's reviewer found the resulting drive tube-like in character and suited it squarely to rock material from the 80s and 90s1.
Control is deliberately simple: a single tone control and a bass boost switch. Even with that limited set, the reviewer noted "a lot of flexibility on offer with fat lows and mids to drive," so the bass boost switch does real work in shaping the low end rather than acting as a token extra1.
"If you like your distortion a little warmer, the orange cased Heat Blaster HBL-3 would be for you."
Where it sits in the range
The Heat Blaster line brackets the HBL-3 with the HBL-2 and HBL-4, and Providence's wider catalog at the time included the Stampede DT SDT-2, which shares the HBL-3's S.C.T and D.C.G circuitry, and the Flame Drive FDR-1, which launched in 2012 as the first of Providence's "F" Series. For a broader look at how pedals in this class shape a signal, see the site's pages on overdrive pedals and distortion pedals.
Videos
ProvidenceSoundMovie
ProvidenceSoundMovie
Brett Kingman
Sources (1)
- 4 overdrive and distortion pedals from Providence, MusicRadar, 2012-06-21
