Marlat

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1095044' date='Jan 19 2011, 12:42 PM']Really, is there anything that some expert salesman can't hear?[/quote] Their integrity flying out the window?

Max at SFX has just introduced a new pedal to his "production" line of pedals, the Micro-Black Dragon (Micro-BD) and I have purchased one of the bass versions. The pedal is fairly simple in its form, its the now ubiquitous SFX micro pedal size enclosure with three knobs and a clipping swtich: Volume - this is the volume control (duh!) Tone - this is the tone control from the SFX Ultra-Tone / B3 pedal with a slight mid adjustment Distortion - this controls the amount of distortion Clipping Switch - this switch moves between two different types of distortion / clipping. One is slightly more "polite" and the other is more pronounced in the mids. (I don't know exactly the types of clipping that is used). The pedal runs of typical 9v centre negative power. Basically in talking with Max about what would be ideal in a distortion pedal, I thought something that hit right in between the dirty boost / overdrive of the Micro-Red Dragon and the smooth fuzz of the Micro-Fuzz so that if you have the three of them (like I do now) you end up covering a real range of tone from OD to Fuzz. The pedal really delivers and is a top notch little distortion unit. The tone control means that there is a lot of variety in the way the distortion sounds because it can do that wooly "blanket over the cabinet" sound (the BBBOD sound) with the tone control rolled counter-clockwise and a quite bright mid present tone with the control rolled clockwise. I generally like the tone set between 11 oclock and 2 oclock depending on the bass. It gives it a nice bias towards the low end without getting too wooly at 11 oclock or a punching "cut through the mix" mid distortion around 2oclock. The distortion control goes from a heavy OD sound (there is no "clean" sound even with the distortion dialed off) to a balls to the wall almost fuzz like sound when distortion is dimed. I find for getting a nice chunky distortion that isn't quite hitting fuzz territory I like to have it about 1 oclock with a high output bass or around 3oclock with a lower output bass. One thing worth mentioning is that this is a pedal made specifically for bass and the low end retention (like all the SFX bass pedals) is amazing. So much so that to get the distortion to cut through distorted guitar tones , I find i have to roll off the low end by turning the tone control clockwise and running a slight volume boost (without moving the tone control you just end up with too much bass in the mix!). After speaking with Max he also made a slight mid boost to the tone circuit from the ultra-tone to help the distortion cut through a mix with distorted guitars. I think that change is a big help because there is no point having a distortion unit that sounds good on its own but can't cut through a mix. The mid boost combined iwth the low end retention means this is a great choice for live use. The form factor is just a bonus. There is a photo of my PT-Mini above and basically you can get 4 of the SFX micro pedals in the space take up by two "normal" pedals. It makes using a small board for a variety of tones very achievable (if only max made a chorus I would be set with an all SFX board!) For a small pedal there is an incredible range of distortion tones, but ultimately it is a small, three knob pedal. Its not going to have the flexibility of something like the FEA Dual band in terms of tone. However, for what it does its excellent and its form factor and compatibility with other SFX pedals is great. Driving the Micro Fuzz it sounds absolutely brutal! Max has some clips up at: [url="http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=micro_black_dragon_b"]http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?pag..._black_dragon_b[/url] The price is about £120 I think which is about on par with what you pay in the UK for a boutique pedal and a lot less than what you pay for a lot of pedals (IIRC the AGRO here is about £159) so basically you are getting (IMO) great value for money - particularly when you think of the space saving on your board and the build quality is top notch. You would not believe how fussy Max is when it comes to build quality! I think the downside of the pedal (and its not that bigger issue) is that there is a bit of a trend at the moment towards super flexible distortion circuits with multiple bands of distortion that offer immense amounts of tinkering. If that's the kind of distortion you are after, this probably isn't the pedal for you. Like most of the SFX stuff this is build to give you excellent bass friendly tone out of the box, but without the "bunch o'knobs" that allow you to tweak every aspect of the pedal. That said, when you get the tone as right as SFX does, why tweak? In terms of the pedals that I use everyday, its the SFX stuff. I have lots of cool pedals from different manufacturers, but the board that sits under my desk for everyday use (running into my PC practice / looping rig) is the one you see in the picture with the SFX stuff. The reason is that because when you hit the bypass switch you know you are going to get an excellent bass friendly tone without the need to mods of knob tweaking. The Micro-BD is no exception and that's why I purchased it - it sound great and it does what it says on the box!

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1090591' date='Jan 15 2011, 04:24 PM']Fair play to them for giving it a crack as there will be some good combos in there but it's not going to live up to their own hype and revolutionise the bass world![/quote] I get the distinct impression using it on basses is an afterthought (it's a wiring circuit, why not?), but this will hopefully pay dividends for them in the guitar market where the sonic differences may be more meaningful.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1090549' date='Jan 15 2011, 03:51 PM']As per most the new EBMM offerings (apart from the Classic series) they are trying to get away from the 50s/60s mindset that's continued forever of 'must have Fender P/J for everything'.[/quote] It would be a fairly silly business model for them if they were trying to encourage a P/J for everything (since they don't make one). That said, instruments are tools for making music and companies should make the tools that best help the artists produce their art. If the artists are crying out for 250,000 pickup wiring combinations, then an instrument maker better bring that to market (as EBMM have done). However, if the ones making the music feel that a simple P or J is the best tool for the job, why move from that mindset? That's my take on the Gamechanger, its clearly not for me because i've always felt that minutia difference in tone between pickup wiring configurations didn't add to the music I wanted to make. Some musicians probably think it will. That's why its good to have options (albeit calling it a "gamechanger" is a bit naff). Lets revisit this in a year and see how much the game has changed.

It seems like a very well engineered solution to a problem noone has. I find it hard to believe that EBMM were getting more requests for analogue pickup rewiring solutions.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1087039' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:52 PM']Well I've got to be honest Mark, the Skolnick trio stuff doesn't really grab me. But I am impressed with the dedication he has shown in transitioning from metal to fusion and then onto jazz![/quote] I'm sure your approval is important to Alex.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1087000' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:27 PM']Alex Skolnick was a great player, very underrated.[/quote] He's still alive and playing (saw him last year). Are you using the past tense to infer he's no longer great?

Check out the FEA Growler or for even more fattening, a digital octave with a clean blend.

[quote name='molan' post='1083410' date='Jan 9 2011, 06:39 PM']Hope it sounds as good as it looks Reason for asking is that I read an interview with Roger Sadowsky and he said that he started working with chambers because he simply couldn't find wood of the quality he wanted that didn't weigh a ton.[/quote] I have one of the Marilyn basses. Mike uses the chambering as a sonic "effect" rather than a weightloss tool. In that way its the complete opposite of Roger who doesn't beleive that the chambering affects the tone of the bass other than making it lighter (that said, you can order an unchambered Sadowsky). My MTD Marilyn certainly isn't any lighter than my unchambered MTD (in fact its heavier). I think it just depends on the woods used. There was a picture out there with Mike's chambers shown and they are quite diferent in design to the type that ROger uses. That said, the MTD marilyn I havei s the most "huge" soudning bass I have ever played - its almost too "big" to use in a band setting! Mark

Bought a Supercollider Beast off me. Paid quick, no issues. Easy guy to deal with. A+

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1084624' date='Jan 10 2011, 06:50 PM']However, upon seeing the pictures and seeing Les dressed up in his weird outfits, I was more struck by the fact that he has apparently become a pardoy of himself and is now like a bass hermit, pedalling the same tired crap and failing to do anything inventive in over a decade. He's a relic of the 90's, how strange that he doesn't just retire![/quote] However, "pedalling the same tired crap failing to do anything inventive in over a decade" would still trump Chris' output on the online world which appears can be summed up as "pedaling the same tired crap and failing to do anything inventive".

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1084628' date='Jan 10 2011, 06:52 PM']\Or to put a more Northern spin on things, you could say John has had his pants pulled down by this whole affair![/quote] You could say that, but then it would just read like you were overly fixated by John's extended range instrument.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1084607' date='Jan 10 2011, 06:37 PM']Mark, such a situation would be enough to make a mug of anyone, but especially so in the case when something extremely expensive which you own and initially thought was unique turns out to have an extremely convincing copy made of it. Someone has went to great effort here and has left John looking like a mug. It's definitely a proper mugging off, and would make a mug of the best men. Especially when it's out of your hands; as we see the bass has been sold and may never resurface![/quote] Can't say I agree with you, but that's a long way to go to make a fairly inane point!

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1084590' date='Jan 10 2011, 06:18 PM']And therein lies the danger John. Like you, I would take one look at that "fake" and think it was a real Ritter, and a particularly nice one at that, with none of the over the top excess that spoils some of Ritter's other instruments. I can see why someone would be taken in by it. Hopefully Jens will chime in soon and clarify whether or not he did indeed make the bass.[/quote] Jens did reply to the TBer who originally spotted the "fake" Ritter at GC and his email was posted on TB. TBH if you've ever had dealings with Jens (and I have), that email was 100% Jens. Here is an email I got from Jen's a few years ago when I pointed out that someone was copying one of his basses as a "tribute" [quote name='Jens Ritter']Wow Mark! That's strange! Thanks for Info! What should I do? I think he makes it for himself, right? I may just leave it like this. If he starts selling it, I need to intervene....[/quote] That's pretty much the way Jens is by email. I think there is very little chance that the "fake" is anything but a visually accurate copy based on John's conversations with Jens and the email from Jens on the topic. As for John looking like a "mug", I really don't see it myself. He has no control over this situation and has come off looking pretty reasonable.

Get an Eventide Pitchfactor, far more features and far more flexible and less than the price of a used Whammy nowdays. And, IMO, it sounds a lot better than the Whammy.

Bought a Diago powerstation of Doug. He was easy to deal with, sent it the next day and it arrived packed well and as described. Top seller, highly recommended! mark