HoorayForAnonyms

On 28/05/2024 at 22:54, Quatschmacher said:

Has it yet?

Yes it did about a week ago. First impressions are somewhat mixed. It does produce a dark and warm sound as  you might expect from a 6-stage analogue phaser.
 

However, I’m finding that overall it is rather subtle and despite being able to adjust a number of parameters, the actual impact is surprisingly minimal. I haven’t been able to produce a deep phase effect despite spending considerable time with a looper and making micro adjustments. Perhaps that is just the overall character of the circuit. Further exploration is needed. 
 

It’s been a few years since I actually had time with the MF-103 but I do recall that it wasn’t subtle and produced a rich deep phase. 
 

There are some shortcomings that, whilst minor, are worth mentioning. Firstly, the clipping indicator light has been moved internally - as opposed to it being external on the MF-103. It is only visible from an angle and is quite dim which requires me to cup my hands around it to see when it moves from green to clipping. It is supposedly tricolour but because it’s recessed so far inside the pedal, it’s only possible to make out green and red. It really should have been mounted externally or omitted entirely.

Secondly, the range of rate control is wide but doesn’t offer the same level of fine-grained adjustment the MF-103 has with its additional range selector switch. This could have easily been included on the Pearl and something that the JFX version has retained.
 

Finally, the pedal defaults to on when powered up and you need to turn it off at the start of each session. I have only one other pedal that does this and that’s the EBS Uni-chorus. It’s somewhat annoying. 
 

I do wonder how accurate a clone this might be. My only reference at the moment is the MF-103 plug-in and while there are some similarities in the general character, adjusting certain parameters on the plug-in - like frequency - yield very different results when similar adjustments are made on the Pearl. It might well be that it is the plug-in that is very different from the original MF-103. 
 

Overall, it is certainly not a bad sound and I haven’t spent enough time yet to conclude whether it will end my analogue phaser search. 
 

Im trying to find somewhere to rent a MF-103 for a direct comparison but I don’t know how successful that will be. 
 

In the meantime, I did manage to find a Mu-Tron Bi-Phase II circa 2020 for a sensible sum at a Cashconverters of all places! I’ll be picking it up from the post office tomorrow. 
 

I plan to do a direct comparison this weekend alongside my trusted EBS phaser along with your @quatschmacher Phase 90 and Orbit C4 patches. A battle of the phasers! 
 

Coincidentally, a video was released today demoing the Pearl on guitar. It’s the only demo released so far. compared to the JFX demos, the Triungulo sounds a little underwhelming. 
 

And the man himself giving a quick demo on Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C17skQnM7wb/?igsh=ZGx1MWtqNzg2aG92

And a cheeky screen grab for anyone who wants to cop the sound…..

3 hours ago, Kev said:

Has anyone got any clips of it in a full mix? I feel like the synthy elements may sound great solo'd but lost a little in a mix, would love to hear it in context.

The original has been a staple on Paul Turner’s board for the last couple of years. He recently switched to the Doom 2. 
 

He’s spoken about using the Doom 1 on some Jamiroquai songs and with his own band Trioniq. 
 

Both great examples of the Doom used subtly within a mix  by itself and paired with an enveloped filter. 
 

He confirmed the Doom 1 was used on Vitamin:

And on a Trioniq song called Drunkin’ Funkin’ in combination with Mu-Tron: 

https://www.facebook.com/TRIONIQ/videos/4158498540916159/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

19 hours ago, Homatron said:

I knew this thread would be bad for my gas... Is there a rule of thumb for the number of octavers one needs?

 

I'm thinking 1/10 * age + 2.

Um…..I have 5. According to your formula, I need one more. Haha! 

4 hours ago, Bassnut62 said:

Hi y'all,

 

I love the Mu-FX Octave Divider (the big one) but want a pedal board friendly version. I know they did do one, but they seem to be impossibly hard to find. Does anyone have any recommendations for octave pedals to try that are both pedal board friendly and do octave up and down for bass with a dry blend too?

 

Thanks

Just reread your original post and wanting a more board friendly version of the Mu-FX. The OC-5 would be my revised recommendation. Most octave pedals that offer an octave up are polyphonic and the -1 sound has a very different quality to the Mu-Fx and OC-1 monophonic sound. The OC-5 has it all covered!

The MXR Poly Blue Octave would also have you covered. 

I tried out a few octave up/down pedals and settled on the Walrus Audio Luminary. It has a low pass filter that helps with removing some of the more harsh, abrasive qualities of the octave up. The tracking is incredible! 

Heres a quick clip I recorded to show the tracking accuracy 

https://on.soundcloud.com/A8gqwWvrEmiwiiSg7

9 minutes ago, Kev said:

Am I missing something, I haven't seen a 3Leaf pedal hang around this long for a long time, aren't they like £300+ odd on eBay/Reverb etc?

 

Sure it will go soon!

I think the prices on Reverb are ridiculously over inflated and wonder when they do sell, if they are actually sold at the original asking prices? 
 

This being an earlier version of the filter might also be a factor and not as sought after? 
 

It’s still a really nice filter but the latest version is definitely a step-up. 
 

Hopefully it will go soon. 
 

Price reduction

Lots of interest but still available.
New pictures added. 😊

9 minutes ago, ped said:

I just found a pretty rare version of the Bassballs - this came directly after the (very limited) run of green ones - it's the same tall box as the green one but has the circular graphic in blue, and the big chunky switch before they changed it for a smaller one (then reduced the height of the box). It has a more conventional footswitch.

 

After tinkering with it last night (adjusting the two filter sweeps by opening up the case) I have found it's sweet spot. It sounds quite different to the other; slightly more raspy and less punch, so like the filters are moving more slowly. Sounds great for synthy lines. I don't think it'll fit on my pedalboard though, which only has four pedals on it but they're all huge!

 

 

Great find! I like how you’ve found your niche. My very first pedal was the black box bassballs; I wanted to emulate Stuart Zender’s sound on ‘The Kids’ from Jamiroquai’s Return of the Space Cowboy album. I didn’t know the filters could be adjusted internally! 

On 13/07/2023 at 11:10, ped said:

Despite everything, the humble Bassballs remains one of my favourite pedals to play. And I say that purposely; you really have to 'play' the pedal because it reacts so much to changes in dynamics. This is an example I just recorded showing it at about 50% sensitivity where you can get a nice synthy sound from it, and during the chorus I run it into an octave (it sounds better with the octave first but I was being lazy)

 

This version in particular I really like because it has a far more open sound than my others, and partly because it's really rare to have a green one with the big footswitch.

 

Anyway I hope you enjoy my filthy sounds

 

 

Slightly late to this but thanks for sharing Ped. The Bassballs sounds great in this context and you’re coaxing a sound from it that I didn’t think was possible. Very tasteful playing too. I really enjoyed it

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

 

"will be great"...and won't be cheap!

 

But then if folk are prepared to pay 3Leaf prices then fair enough, there's demand for a quality filter  (although did anyone mention EBS recently? 😅)

 

That thought then just made me wonder how common filters are on pedal boards? We're probably going to agree that drive/fuzz will be be the most common effect, but would filters come in second? Or get pipped by chorus and octavers? Dunno!

(I'm not thinking of EQ and compression/limiters as being "effects" in this context).

I think some of of us may have mentioned EBS recently 😝

And certainly not the most common effect on the vast majority of people’s boards even in genres that they might otherwise be associated with. I’d imagine that octavers would be second most common after dirt and then modulation (chorus, phaser etc.)……filters a distant fourth.
 

But it’s so genre specific and it takes only one intrepid player/band to bring it (back) into fashion. In the hip hop/electronica world, Thundercat comes to my mind as a player who has made the filter and phaser so en vogue within that genre that any player - myself included - will want to emulate that sound; as well as make it more acceptable to other musicians and general listenership alike. 
 

Also getting slightly back on topic for this thread, I love the EBS but have been revisiting the 3LEAF over the weekend and deconstructing some Thundercat; filters are just fun! Also, my revisiting the 3Leaf was due to my having made the decision to sell…..just to assure myself that I’m making the right decision! 
 

This is what I put together; three separate bass tracks with two featuring a filter and one dry track. 
 

https://m.soundcloud.com/jasonpower/thundercat-1

39 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Yep, lots of presets on this and good amount of knobs and switches. 

Look forward to this release. Owning the C4 and having tried the Iron Ether extensively, the gap between analogue and digital has definitely closed in my mind but something that moves this even closer will be great. 

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

It’s something I’m beta testing at the moment and is digital. Can’t spill the beans yet. Will reveal when permitted. 

Along with beta testing and general product development, I think company’s also need to offer you remuneration for your helping with their marketing strategy! Haha!
 

Whatever it is, it sounds identical to the Microtron….and I want one! 

Any hints as the company…..can’t be Source Audio surely. Does it rhyme with bleris? 😉

I sold Ben a TC Electronic Blood Moon Phaser. Great communication and speedy payment. A great Basschater. 
 

Hope you’re likeibg the Pedal @Cosmo Valdemar! 
 

Jason

Bump for this great pedal. Thundercat is currently using this on his European tour in case  there are any Thundercat fans looking at this! 

 

Now open to sale! 😀 Previously trade only.

I’ve a lot of love for the EBS. I have quite a few filters including a 3Leaf Proton and the C4 and EBS is the one I reach for most often. The dynamic high pass filter is what sets it apart from other filters I think. 

I messaged Will saying the same. He was pleasantly surprised the first batch sold well. 
 

They are on the way. Courier estimate for my one is Tuesday, 7th. 
 

A nice and compact distortion and fuzz. In as new condition with box. 
 

Offering this for free as a gesture of appreciation for how fantastic the Basschat Community is. 
 

Thanks also to all the moderators for their amazing work.
 

Hopefully someone will enjoy this pedal!
 

I’ll also cover postage!  
 

More info. -
https://www.mooeraudio.com/product/Thunderball--104.html

This is a very nice analogue phaser. In pretty much as new condition with box.
 

I got this to see if I like phasers. Turns out I do and have since gotten several others….so this is surplus. 
 

£25 including postage to your door. 

I can knock a fiver off if collected. 
 

I had originally offered this as a trade only but now am open to an outright sale. 

This is a version 2 in perfect working order and good overall cosmetic condition.

Price includes shipping or collection welcome from London/Reading. 

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! 

And it looks like JFX are about to release their own MF-103 clone. Roughly the same price as the Triungulo but much more in keeping with the Moog aesthetic. Suddenly we have options! 
 

https://jfxpedals.com/products/jf-103-12-stage-phaser
 

Well I’ve succumbed and placed an order. Will report back once it arrives. 😊

Very exciting. Coincidentally, I downloaded the Moog plugins a few days and have been playing around with the MF-103. It’s really nice and this is so tempting. Not within my budget at the moment though.