dannybuoy

Get nice and close for the proximity effect for starters. I can highly recommend the DBX 286S for an all in one preamp, compressor, de-esser and ‘enhancer’ (it has low and high controls that sound a bit similar to BBE processing, I have no idea what they’re really doing but they sound good!).

The Diabolik is basically a smaller version of this with fewer controls. Best synths/gated fuzz I’ve tried, would love to try a B:Assmaster too!

Don't use a passive splitter, try a Boss LS-2.

If your gain levels are decent through each chain but you have low volume when summing them together, then one (or any odd number!) of effects are inverting phase.

Just now, Nail Soup said:

And you probably have better walk-on music 😉.

My brother’s into amateur boxing, I tried to convince him to have Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick!

30 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

Fight!

It’s still a bassline in my not-so-humble opinion even though it’s played on a guitar through an octave down. A bassline doesn’t need to be played on a bass, it could be anything in the lower register, even a piano. Yes it’s the main hook... But still a bassline! 🤥🥊

Seven Nation Army?!

6 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis. 

 

They’re singing the chorus!

10 hours ago, prowla said:

Annoyingly, I noticed that the SansAmp VT Bass pedal seems to affect the sound even when it's off.

Whilst I could put in a bypass switcher to take it out of circuit, that's then using up more space, so it looks like it's "no" for that one.

In what way? All Tech21 pedals have a pretty good clean buffer in my experience, but any buffered non-true-bypass pedal will have the effect of brightening your tone slightly with a passive bass as it counters the signal loss you would otherwise get.

One issue I remember having though is that the bypass signal distorted a bit when the gain was cranked, which was. a bit weird but didn’t affect ‘normal’ settings.

The Diabolik sounds better to me without a buffer in front of it, but I’d expect putting the OC-2 after would upset the tracking a bit. Not always the case with fuzz/drive though, so worth trying if you haven’t already!

Just now, pete.young said:

Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 are absolutely fine for this and very cheap. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-XM8500-Ultravoice-Cardioid-Microphone/dp/B0002KZAKS

 

These are great, you get a hard case and a mic clip included in the price too.

Yes, you can adjust the crossover points on the amp so that you can have the distortion and/or clean channel full range if you want to.

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

@Al Krow

If there's one track that is my tone, it's this:
https://soundcloud.com/1-alex-love/counting-sheep-lizard-sweets

Not a chance with the Darkglass.

Maybe with the X7 / X Ultra, but then again they haven't baked that into an amp yet!

The DP3X or Dug amp definitely seems the best option for that tone though unless you want to get creative with crossovers/compressors/amps in a Helix or similar.

And if they do, give it a power amp with more ‘heft’ than the VT500 and ensure the master volume can be adjusted without affecting the DI level!

Agree with the BDI21 recommendation as a solid starting point!

Also the Zoom B1on / B3n do a pretty damn good emulation of a Sansamp BDDI and Darkglass B7K.

For studio use you can record dry and do everything via plugins like Helix Native (which has a free trial!), but a common trick for heavier music is to mix a clean lowpassed compressed signal with a highpassed distorted signal. The Tech21 DP3X and Darkglass X7 can do this trick in one pedal.

If looking at the Billy Sheehan one, avoid the original version and go straight for the Deluxe. The dirt channel is out of phase with the clean so it sounds weird and drops low end when blended unless you put another phase inverting pedal in the fx loop. The Deluxe version fixes this with a phase switch.

That's a good thing for a PJ. Most off-the-shelf ones I've tried out didn't sound that great with both pickups on, totally different to my Yamaha BB which has a monstrously loud J pickup.

6 hours ago, Bankai said:

It has a slave output. Connect that to a DI, and voila. Same, if not better end result than if it had a built in one.

That’s what I do with mine. 

You can also connect something like a Radial JDI or Darkglass Elements in parallel with the speaker cab to capture the additional character that the power tubes provide with the addition of a speaker sim.

Setting the attack/decay knobs is crucial with these and others like it such as the Meatball. If attack is slow but decay is fast, it'll never sweep. If attack is fast but decay too slow, it'll stay wide open most of the time.

The Agro is more tube amp like, it also sounds like it has a built in speaker sim that adds a lot of 70s Geezer Butler if that's your bag! Can't say I've tried it with an active bass though but it works well with a high output passive BB1025X.

Yeah, I've had the original Vintage and the Ultra. It doesn't react like tubes or compress like the Spark, it's more like it keeps your dynamics intact and adds a layer of mild fuzzy harmonics on top. Also quite wooly sounding unless you get the newer Ultra with the attack switch which kicks in a high mid boost before the clipping. It might work out for you!

11 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Very useful and at [0.55] he notes that "Ade Emsley, head designer, put the preamp of the AD200 into the Mk2".

Have they changed the EQ settings so we now have both boost and cut? Our own Dan Veall at [7.45] is suggesting that flat is at noon with the Mk2, which is quite different to comments about the Mk1.

Orange Terror Bass | Review - YouTube

I doubt it, the AD200 has a passive EQ also that isn't flat at noon. Maybe Dan was just going off of the graphics by the knobs and the manual and assuming they were regular boost/cut (like most people would).

It’s not like a normal active EQ - the adjustments are very subtle but affect a wide band of frequencies, so I find the centre points to be largely irrelevant. BassGearMag measured the v1 EQ with various graphs here but they now charge $2 to read the issue:

https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-6-bass-gear-magzine-digital/

They reviewed the AD200 also and I expect they would’ve measured that one too:

https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-13-bass-gear-magzine-digital/

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Interesting. Does sound like they've upped their game with the Gen 2 OTBs and these could definitely be worth a look.

I guess that rules out the 1000W OTB Gen 1 for me then. But 500W at 4 ohm = around 300W at 8 ohm [(?) given that it's not precisely linear] should hopefully be just enough head room - I do value the headroom I currently have on tap with my DG M900 A&O, not least in not having to push the amp too hard whilst keeping pace with a 5 piece rock band.

The OTB 500 is the loudest 500W amp I've ever had, I think BassGearMag benched it peaking at 900W. I don't think you'd find yourself short of power and needing the 1000W version!

Great comparison but the shootout vid doesn't do the BBM justice, having it set to clean mode with the volume so low. It would've been a fairer comparison having it set to normal mode.

It's a major flaw of the pedal though that dry mode always has 100% dry signal, so to use that mode effectively you have to pump up the volume to get a satisfactory wet/dry blend then somehow reduce the volume again after (which is why the master volume mod is popular on these!).

6 hours ago, Bankai said:

I owned a 1st Gen TB500 and spongey sums it up nicely. I’d maybe even go so far as to say woolly. I have an AD200B now (which is for sale on this forum!) and it’s very different. That can do glass clean through to grind.

Wooly is apt. The 2nd gen OTB is supposed to be closer to the AD200B though (which I've also owned in the past), I'd like to compare them!