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I am looking into getting one of these but I am not sure which. Does anyone have either of these and could help shed some light on them for me?

dniederkorn wrote:I am looking into getting one of these but I am not sure which. Does anyone have either of these and could help shed some light on them for me?

Tone Reaper.
There is a lot more info in the EQD Hosted Forum: viewforum.php?f=176

they're very different. Tone Reaper has a lot more gain on tap, for starters.

I'll throw another vote to the EDQ Tone Reaper. I haven't played the Astrotone, but from the reviews, it doesn't seem to have a lot of gain on tap. I use the Reaper with a P-90 equipped guitar and it really brings out the 70's punk style raunch. Plus the Reaper is less $$$.

I literally heard the Astrotone described as "a characterless fuzz" one time. Just, kinda, fuzz.

Thanks for the input. I recently just bought the EQD speaker cranker for some mid gain distortion and wanted a fuzz box for some high gain.

If you want a fuzz for high gain go with a tone reaper:
I own one (green box)
It is insane, my main fuzz, super versitile and has pretty much crushed every other fuzz I have ever owned.

I've built the sam ash fuzz boxx a handful of times, they just aren't the same fuzz.

sam ash or astrotone tends to get kinda harsh when cranked imo, I like it at slightly lower gain settings for apreggiated chords and whatnot.

I might look into that once I get some cash dollars. I also think the Sound Shank might better for the applications I am looking at now that I have done more research into the matter. Are there any clips of your Sam Ash Clone I can hear?

from what i know of them the Reaper and Astro Tone really aren't equivalent at all...the clips i've heard of the Astro Tone remind me more of a Distortion+ than anything else (in a good way), which isn't at all like the Reaper's 3-knob Bender-derived sound. i have a Reaper and a Sound Shank, and tend to use the Shank more at the moment, but use the Reaper more when playing outside the house.

Yeah.
I've owned the Tone Reaper and two Sound Shanks, but I tihnk the Tone Reaper stuck out in the mix a bit more.

which ever one I choose will be running into a EQD Speaker Cranker. Right now I have a satchurator in that spot but its not true bypass and has to much gain for me. I currently set the gain full counter clockwise.

to me the Shank has more absolute gain, i.e. it clips the signal more, but it's smoother-sounding and less trebly than the Reaper. the Reaper sounds more raucous and rock-and-rolly on just about any setting, and has a more open, vocal, slightly nasal tone; the Shank tends to compress the attacks and bring up the sustain more. i love this, but if you aren't careful with your amp/EQ you can disappear in a band. the Reaper also has a wider effective range; it works as a screaming fuzz or as a dyspeptic overdrive, while the Shank seems most comfortable in Death Vulture mode. really, the only answer is to have both.

I would agree Fuzz is something that I love and want to collect but dont really have the funds right now so I will get things that I need first and then stuff I want. Plus I am picky so that doesnt help at all.

Rygot wrote:I've built the sam ash fuzz boxx a handful of times, they just aren't the same fuzz.

sam ash or astrotone tends to get kinda harsh when cranked imo, I like it at slightly lower gain settings for apreggiated chords and whatnot.

Sam Ash is a very crunchy, grindy, low gain kinda fuzz -- the only way to use it is cranked. Just turn everything to 10 and leave it there. I like it -- used ot have an original, and I have a clone jerms built for me years ago. It's the Tommy Bolin fuzz.
Very different from the Tone Reaper whic his a MkIII Tone Bender I think -- almost muff-ish high gain, kinda scooped (bit not muff scooped).

No idea about the Astroman, but I've played a few of this circuit. edkoppel has a super rare original Astro the jammy bastard!

Sam Ash/Astro kinda sounds like this

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSmLf5as_4[/youtube]