Gunsfreddy2003

Yes that appears to be the only solution me thinks as I too need the Preamp in front of my effects as the boost in signal really works wonders with my envelope filters. [quote name='Doddy' post='1131714' date='Feb 17 2011, 11:49 PM']The DI on the Sadowsky is really good,but as I want the Preamp in front if my effects I use another DI box at the end of the pedal chain.[/quote]

I recently bought a Sadowsky pre-amp/DI box and having not used one before I just wondered how I should use it live as I have a gig in a club with an in-house PA tomorrow night. The pre-amp sits at the front of my pedalboard so takes the signal straight from the bass and then passes through to the first pedal on my board. I presume that if I take the DI from the Sadowsky rather than my amp then none of my effects will be heard out front as the signal is taken before the first pedal? If that is correct then is there any smart way around this?

That is what is appealing about the BEF is that from the demo's on the web it seems to do everything from MuTron to Synth with everything in between which is really good but without user presets I think there could be a great deal of time spent knob fiddling! I think that is how I ended up with so many filters I just like to have a sound set up and then click it on when needed. Not sure that I could cope with the O.S. and all those settings!! Beginning to think that I might just have to buy a Pedaltrain Mini to go alongside the PT-2 or just live with exchanging pedals off the board for different gigs. [quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1130258' date='Feb 16 2011, 09:04 PM']i really like it for the sheer number of different sounds you can get from one pedal. granted, it is digital, and doesn't have the fx loop of the gr., but for versatility it is fantastic, and can do a bigger range of sounds than the g.r. it seems to go much more squelchy/wet. i do hope they end up doing a 'pro' version, like the mwbs, with presets and a blend. the phaser setting is a major bonus too. try it, i doubt you'd be disappointed. edit : the O.S. is the best synth pedal i've tried (out of syb-5, akai sb-1,and korg g-5), but demands a great deal of patience !!!! you will not find it as easy to use as the 00 and bd. the manual is extensive and at first a total headf***. perseverence does pay off though.[/quote]

Is the Bass Envelope Filter from Source Audio really that good? [quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1128678' date='Feb 15 2011, 06:17 PM']as above. i'm still experimenting, but basically, octaver first>hartke vxl. this signal goes into the LS-2. the LS-2 splits the signal, one side to the fuzz and envelope filter, the other side to the octavius squeezer (which i'm using as a synth most of the time) the two channels can then be mixed at whatever volume is required. p.s. although he was viewed as a contentious character, i wish Kev (TNIT) would still post in this forum, his advice has been invaluable. edit : the source audio was from thomann.de my groove regulator is up for sale because of this beast.[/quote]

Hi Higgie, Will let you know if I go for the Octavius for sure - BTW my Brown Dog was bought brand new so not sure where yours went!! [quote name='Higgie' post='1129131' date='Feb 16 2011, 12:56 AM']Actually I didn't! I had it sent to the GigRig who modded the Power input to take a standard 9v so it can be daisy chained, using 2 Virtual Batteries and some clever wiring! Yes I do remember selling you the Catalinbread. I miss it! The Octavius is basically the Brown Dog and 00Funk with some octave and LFO features IIRC, making it a one pedal Synth Station. I really want a Brown Dog again! Let me know if you go for the Octavius...I'd love to have the BD off you. PS, The LS-2 is awesome. It's the pedal world's Swiss Army Knife. Although beware. Your setup will end up getting a whole lot more complicated! Edit: Was it you I sold my Brown Dog to as well?! I can't remember where that one went.[/quote]

Can you explain how your signal chain looks? Did you buy the Source Audio pedal in the UK? [quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1128655' date='Feb 15 2011, 06:00 PM']that's where i am at the moment (cheers for the ls-2 tayste). squelch city. the vxl could be replaced, as it takes up a lot of space, but i haven't yet found anything that sounds as good for its pre-shape. [attachment=72289:P1000755.JPG] bass>oct>vxl>ls-2 loop a. mxr>s.a. env filt loop b. octavius squeezer sorry about the dark photo.[/quote]

I didn't think that Higgie had had his modded as he says that that is the reason that he can't use it live. I use a Mark Bass III and Bergantino cabs. I have only just bought the Sadowsky pre-amp and need that to fatten up the tone on the jazz bass - really like that sound and not keen to drop it. Does Octavius Squeezer offer same sounds as the two other Chunk Pedals? Would make sense to combine those two as I don't use the fuzz by itself and also could live without the 00 Funk as the AGuilar and MXR offer a better filter sound. Never used a LS-2 how would that work? [quote name='tayste_2000' post='1128572' date='Feb 15 2011, 04:47 PM']Higgie had the same done to his Mutron. What amp do you have? Personally I'd ditch the Sadowsky Pre-amp & EBS Multi-Comp, the Serrano is the tiny boost from Catalinbread so it's hardly taking up room, you could look at getting a Octavius Squeezer to replace the 00Funk and Brown Dog. You do have a lot of filters, would look at ditching a few and just having 2 and something like an LS-2 to run them in parallel to get those really wet sounds that no single filter can do on it's own.[/quote]

Would love to but I made a conscious effort last year when I changed my rig to make sure that I was ultra lightweight and portable. Taking on a bigger board really nullifies that argument. Thinking that the Sadowsky and Aguilar Filter Twin might just have to replace the Mu-Tron!!! [quote name='chrismuzz' post='1126384' date='Feb 13 2011, 08:24 PM']Due to my slight OCD I would personally buy a bigger board to fit them all on [/quote]

I had my Mu-Tron re-calibrated by L-Sound in the states and that helps to avoid some of the problems with tone sucking as it is now true bypass and works fine for live use. Only just got the Sadowsky so no chance of that going anywhere and the Serrano came from you originally if you remember? [quote name='Higgie' post='1126280' date='Feb 13 2011, 07:10 PM']I've never used my Original Mutron live. Always other filters I've had at the time. Now I use a Prometheus for Auto Wah and a Proteus for standard filter stuff. If you wanna offload either the Serrano or Sadowsky - PM me [/quote]

Doh! Just realised that I do have a Pedaltrain 2 and not the Jr - really don't want a bigger board as it gets too big and too heavy! Maybe the Mu-Tron should be kept at home as it is valuable and also takes up the most space? [quote name='deej' post='1126089' date='Feb 13 2011, 04:36 PM']Get a bigger board, keep the pedals on it, have more fun! I started with a PT-pro, then I went down to a Jr. Now ive just bought a PT-2 because I cant make up my mind.[/quote]

Ha ha - very expensive advice there! Yes the Catalinbread was for boosting the signal of the jazz so is kind of surplus to requirements now but also only takes up a tiny bit of room on the board. [quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1125986' date='Feb 13 2011, 02:34 PM']Sounds like the Catalinbread could in favour of using either the Sadowsky or the EBS Multi-Comp as a volume boost (assuming that's what you're using the Serrano Picosso for). Maybe also figure out settings that you could adjust to quickly so that you could ditch the MXR in favour of the OO Funk and Brown Dog for all your synth sounds. Oh, my advice fee is one of your discarded pedals [/quote]

Bought a Pedaltrain Jr a while ago to put all my pedals on which was fine but some recent purchases and xmas presents mean that I have now run out of space on my board! I am having problems deciding what to take off and leave on and wonder if anyone has any advice? Do any of you have two separate boards with your favourite pedals on each? If so how would you split mine up? The pedals that I have are as follows: TC Electonics Polytune, Mu-Tron III, Agent OO Funk Mark II, MXR M82, Aguilar Filter Twin, Sadowsky Pre-amp, EBS Octabass, EBS Multi-Comp, EBS Uni-Chorus, Catalinbread Serrano Picosso, Chunk Systems Brown Dog I use the Chunk Agent OO Funk and Brown dog for a synth type sound in a few of our tracks, the MXR Filter for a synth type sound when slapping and the Mu-Tron for my standard filter sound. So would struggle to use less filters! Any advice gratefully received!

+ 1 for the Diago Powerstation. [quote name='DanOwens' post='1125533' date='Feb 12 2011, 11:15 PM']I use the Diago Powerstation [[url="http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/powerstation/"]HERE[/url]] but many who aren't bothered by voltage just use the Dunlop DC Brick [[url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/dcb10-dc-brick-power-supply"]HERE[/url]]. Others use the Johnny Shred Freak such as this one [[url="http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=12"]HERE[/url]]. Dan[/quote]

I took the plunge last week and bought a Sadowsky outboard pre-amp and I tried it out for the first time today. Wow what a sound you can get from this little box, it really brings my vintage jazz to life. Like others have said before I really can't imagine using the jazz without this little box of tricks now!!!

I have the M82 and it is a great filter but does not have a down sweep so is limited in comparison to the 3 Leaf Proton in terms of the variety of sounds that you can get from it. Having said that you can get some great squelch from it and it works well with slap too. I have not played through the Proton but do have a Mu-Tron which it is based on so have an understanding of what it can do. If you are in the market for a filter have you looked at the following: Aguilar Filter Twin Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter [quote name='bass_ennyday' post='1121722' date='Feb 9 2011, 06:58 PM']hmmmmm, can´t decide between the new 3Leaf Proton and the MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter .... how would you guys decide?[/quote]

Guys, Thanks for all of the help and advice with this one. I have managed to find a well priced Sadowsky pedal so am going to try that for a bit and see how I get on. It seems to be that all options are well respected and I am not sure that there is a right or wrong answer here but the Sadowsky seems the simplest version and that is why I am going to try that first. Hell if that doesn't work out I will just try the next option!!

Is that 9v powered then? [quote name='Doddy' post='1118204' date='Feb 6 2011, 08:20 PM']I just run it off my power brick.[/quote]

I am thinking that the Sadowsky seems like the easiest option here - I like the demo's of the Aguilar Tone Hammer on the web but feel that the excess features such as mids and overdrive are over the top for my needs. Do you use a power supply with the Sadowsky unit or batteries and if so how long do they last for? [quote name='Doddy' post='1117783' date='Feb 6 2011, 03:47 PM']I really dig the Sadowsky outboard preamp with my Jazz. It's just bass and treble boost,but it adds a lot of balls to the sound of the bass,and makes it more versatile tonally.It's bypassable aswell and is a good DI.[/quote]

Ok so I now have people all saying good things about East preamps, Tone Hammer, Sansamp BDDI, Sadwosky preamp and the Aguilar 924. Can anyone come up with a sensible suggestion as to which one to go for? Can't try them all!! [quote name='fatback' post='1117181' date='Feb 5 2011, 11:06 PM']Love the Sadowsky outboard on my VMJ (stock pups) and bb400. Lately i switched over to a DHA DI/EQ and nice though that is, and I need it for my upright, after a couple of gigs I've gone back to the Sad. It's hard to define the effect, it's more than just warmth, and it's not colour in the usual sense. A richer sound, altogether classier. Darn. Another piece of kit i can't bring myself to sell. [/quote]

No - never tried the Sansamp stuff - TBH I always thought that it was used for overdriven sounds and therefore of much more use to the rock/metal fraternity. Can you get a useful tone from it for slap and fingerstyle funk? Could well be interested in trying the BDI21 but really struggling to believe that Behringer kit can rival the expensive stuff!! [quote name='dave_bass5' post='1116489' date='Feb 5 2011, 01:21 PM']Mark, have you tired a BDDI yet? As per my Sadowsky thread i felt the Sad did what its supposed to, but i wanted a bit more so im sticking with the BDDI. If you want to try the BDDI tone i have a Behringer BDI21 lying around that your welcome to borrow for a few weeks. Its almost identical sounding to the real deal (IMO of course).[/quote]

Many thanks for your advice and thoughts - was the Aguilar DB924 replaced by the Tone Hammer? Can you still buy the 924? [quote name='BassBod' post='1116404' date='Feb 5 2011, 12:10 PM']If you want J bass but bigger I'd go outboard preamp, with your existing bass. I've not used all the options, but have had success with the Aguilar DB924 (outboard, but same circuit as OPB1) and Sansamp Bass Driver. The Aguilar is very similar to the Sadowsky (both based on the early Musicman circuit?) and adds "weight" to the sound without really making it sound active. It will do the full Marcus sizzle and thump if you crank the bass and treble. But keep the treble down and its just a warmer bigger sounding version of your bass. It doesn't add gain though, so I find it works best with full gain on a J bass. It can be subtle or a sizzly sledgehammer...depends what you like. I've got the Sadowsky circuit in my Sadowsky PJ bass, and I'd say its very similar..but a touch brighter/more active sounding than the Aguilar? The Sansamp is well known here, but I can make a jbass through a clean amp sound a bit bigger/warmer - the key is the blend control and not cranking the eq much beyond 1 o'clock. It doesn't do the Marcus type sizzle - more warmth and thump. I also borrowed a copy of the "catalinbread SFT" pedal (Ampeg style preamp) and enjoyed the warmed-up tone it gave Jbasses.[/quote]

Beginning to feel a little confused with this one! I need to fatten up my jazz bass tone (it is a passive 1974) and I have had so much conflicting advice and opinion that I don't really know which way to go now. Initially I was going to change the p/ups to Nordsrtand or Aguilar but I think opinion is pretty much weighted against that from some pretty well respected guitar builders in the business. So that leaves me with two other options: 1/ Go for an East Retro preamp on board which will give the bass an active circuit and open up a lot of tonal capacity (but perhaps maybe too much?) 2/ Try an outboard pre-amp and the three most suggested options seem to be the Sadowsky, EBS Microbass II or Aguilar Tone Hammer I like the idea of the Sadowsky option being very simple but then wonder if I am missing something as some say that it is very lacking compared to the Tone Hammer. The Aguilar option looks ok but I was not hugely impressed with the AG500 head and wonder if it is just the same thing as that but in a pedal!! I have no experience of the EBS Microbass so not sure if that would be overkill? It looks horribly complicated! In essence I would like a pretty straightforward option that gives my jazz the sound of Julian Crampton or Randy Hope-Taylor! Come on guys give me some help here.

Ian bought my EBS Session 60 this week and my EBS Bass IQ pedal in November. Top guy to deal with quick and fast payment and polite and friendly comms too. Highly recommended.