The Internet Has Thoughts About MusicRadar's DOD Badder Monkey Review.
MusicRadar called it a Klon substitute. The forum called it something else.
Source
“there is a versatile workhorse that can be finely dialled in to cover a myriad of needs.”
What the internet actually said
“Looks like a cash grab. I haven't heard any clips yet.”
Seymour Duncan Forum · c.h.
“It's a bit of a shame they opted for one tone control.”
Seymour Duncan Forum · f.p.
“The new one doesn't look like it has that [mixer out jack from the original].”
Seymour Duncan Forum · m.n.
The Suede Read
MusicRadar reviewed the DOD Badder Monkey and called it a versatile workhorse. They went further. With the right EQ settings, they said, it can sub for a Klon. That is a big sentence for a $99 pedal.
The Seymour Duncan Forum had a different opening move. Before the clips were even out, someone called it a cash grab. That reaction landed before a single note was played publicly. It tells you something about how the community reads a legacy brand dusting off a classic name.
When the details did land, the forum found two things worth saying. First: the original Bad Monkey had a mixer out jack — a dry blend path that made it genuinely useful in recording and bass rigs. The Badder Monkey does not have it. Second: one tone control is a step backward from what players had been asking for.
We are not in the business of disagreeing with MusicRadar on tone. If the sweep gets you close to a Klon at a tenth of the secondhand price, that matters. But the forum noticed something the review did not lead with: the Badder Monkey removed a feature that made the original interesting beyond its drive sound.
A reissue that drops a capability is a product decision. That decision deserves a sentence in the review. The forum found it in December. The review ran in May. That is what we are here for.
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