thisisswanbon

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Up to you of course, but everyone else seems to think the Ampero II effect models are great, some even amazing (and most people actually the previous generation of Ampero One effects, that Ped speaks about, as well) .

 

People who actually tried the most recent generation of HoTone digital modeling effects, unlike Ped.

 

Also I would think a lot of it is down to personal preferrences.

 

Personally I haven't tried any of HoTone's digital effects, so can't confirm neither side of this discussion, but I would be partial to trust the opinion of the majority and people who actually tried the models in question.

 

Try looking up the HoTone Ampero II Stomp, which would be the smaller version of this, threads, which features the exact same effect models on, utilizing HoTones most recent current modeling technique, and you'll see what I am talking about.

 

While I haven't tried the Ampero mini, the filters on the Ampero II were fantastic (one mans fantastic is another mans tragic of course).  The pitch effects were still awful on the Ampero II however, even after a complete overhaul update of them... they'd have been better off saving face and removing them in my opinion.

3 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Having owned the M5, MS60B and now a Helix LT, I think yes, it is £150 better than the zoom. 

Appreciate the reply Greg, but I respectfully disagree (also owned 2 MS60B's and 2 x HX Stomps).

Neither blew my socks off, but I found the zoom filter and synth sounds to be a huge cut above the HX stuff, and The dirts, fuzzes and distortions were more than passable on the zoom.  With the ability to stack effects in the zoom, I'm not sure how it's justified.

This surely can't be £150 better than the Zoom MS60B though... seems ludicrous pricing to me!

Was going to... but saw someone say they're a digital emulation and instantly switched off...

Sold 🙂

Paddy has pretty much hit the nail on the head there... its a fantastic pedal that does everything right really, it's just ALOT of coin.  That being said, price wise I'd say its in line with all premium preamps (markbass, origin effects, two notes etc). 

I gigged mine last night straight to FOH to be sure of its return and the sound man said it was thunderous (no IRs used, just preamp and SGT).

Long story short, if you're happy to spend the coin then you can do far far worse

Excellent condition Orange Little Bass Thing Bass Amp including NON notched volume knob by Orange under warranty and gig bag!

Had this amp less than a year bought new from Andertons, selling due to going the IEM FOH route.

Contacted Orange after a couple of months of ownership as the notched volume knob made gigging very difficult, but it's such a fantastic sounding head that I really wanted to stick with it.

Orange agreed to take the amp back under warranty through Andertons and fit a linear "normal" volume knob for me. The usability of the amp increased 100x over and it sounds incredible!  I have the full email thread with Orange for verification.

Has the best 1 knob compressor I've ever used, which adds real tube like weight and character to the note with indicator light on the front.  The EQ is very musical at all settings with sweepable mid freq, and the 500W are SERIOUSLY loud watts, closer to tube wattage than typical class D wattage (I rarely had the volume past 8 o clock, and that's contending with a bass heavy synth player).  Can't wax lyrical about this amp enough, and I'll be sad to see it go but it's not getting used and could do with the funds to pay Santa!

Still have all original packaging, and happy to ship at buyers cost, or meet in the middle within reason.

New Hotone goodness here!

https://www.hotoneaudio.com/products/multi-effects/ampero-ii-stage

Looks like a step up from the Ampero II stomp, which is a really impressive bit of kit, and if it was a better known brand with a bit more customisation would've been a genuine HX stomp killer!

This unit looks seriously impressive!

Got mine yesterday and its great! Found its more than capable of doing subtle tubeyness. Concerned about some of the reports of a low di output though...

My only issue is the cabsims turn my C4 synth patches and external drives into dark mushy mess... anyone got any experience of this and any idea of how to get around this? I suppose this is more of a general IR and cabsim issue than a SGT specific one... 

7 hours ago, ordep said:

Big board rewire finally done. Added the MC3 for the Stomp and FI. 

 

You literally have a mix of my favourite pedals, and pedals I'd most like to try on this board... you have no idea how much board envy I'm feeling right now!

EHX Hot Wax is the best example of dual drives I've ever used... no preamp option though 

On 10/09/2023 at 09:41, fretmeister said:

Boss BC-1X.

 

It’s been a revelation. It just works perfectly. I no longer own a Cali76, Empress, DG SS, Keeley Pro because of it.

Those are some pretty big names the boss unit has picked off! If you don't mind me asking,  Do you feel like it does something that the Cali and Empress don't?  I was always put off the boss unit with it being digital.

JPTR FX Jive really sweetens up my tone in the mix... also found the way huge pork & pickle to work some magic when looking for a hairy rock clean tone. Would love to try one of those JHS colourbox pre's... but so much coin! 

1 hour ago, Dazm66 said:

Anyone invested in Ian Martin Allison's presets? Any good? I don't mind chucking a fiver or a tenner just to see what a patch is like but his are far more expensive and wondering if they're worth it. Especially the synth sounds which sound amazing on the videos that I've seen but I always suspect there's more going on than just bass>helix.

John Willis from "Dr Tones Lab" slated them.  He said they're all just generic values on standard blocks and there's nothing thought out or special.  I'm sure he uploaded his own versions to the Dr Tones Lab website for free where all values were 1 out to avoid any plagiarism drama.  Might be worth checking them out on his website.

Worth mentioning I actually really like what Ian Martin Allison is doing, but haven't tried his or Jon Willis' presets.

So after having a play around with this through headphones, it definitely does the cali76 thing pretty well!

In honesty though I think there's an element of listening with my eyes... I just remember my Origin Effects unit sounding a bit "better" but I can't put my finger on how or why. I honestly think it's a mental thing of "it's a clone, and the fit and finish is no where near, so it can't be that close".

In reality though, I have no idea how they've made a compressor sound as good as this for 50 quid! If I take my cali76 head off then it genuinely is just a great compressor!

I have a problem...

Had an unexpected gear sale, so was debating the cali76 cb or expresses compressors. Decided to take a punt on the completely original Demon FX Call76 first though with the huge price difference! Opinions will be on another thread, but I think it's a keeper!

Possibly... although if they've blindly copied it then it's more likely to do what the original does I guess...

Yeah I did notice that!  Really bizarre design decision (or afterthought). I know what they're trying to achieve, but for the sake of putting this OUTSIDE of the pedal, they'd have given themselves a lot less grief... 

In honesty though, I didn't find the metering on the origin effects unit all that useful... and I've used more compressors without it than with, so I'm not overly put off 

Update on this for anyone interested...  Gigged it on Saturday night and am far more impressed than I was pre-gig!

We run through an RCF EVOX 12 set up and I use IEMs, and honestly this just sat in the mix fantastically.  The gooey mids they talk about in the pedal bumf were glorious (which I seem to miss when I hear solo'd) and it just had more life!  Settings were 1st diode engaged, gain around 10 o clock and volume at unity.  So thankful this didn't sell on faceache marketplace!

So this has just arrived... seen alot of noise about these, but not many have actually tried them!

Those that have tried them suggest you wouldn't tell the difference in a blind test, but others suggest that the circuits are different and can't be the same....

Anyways, I present the Demonfx Call76 compact bass!

Won't be able to plug in until tonight, but fit and finish impressions are confused... I've had the original Origin Effects unit, and this is in no way competition to the original. It weighs less than some micro pedals, the metal has ever so slight burs on the edges, the switch is awful, the knobs feel cheap... but it was just over 50 quid brand new delivered in 3 days, so none of that REALLY matters!

Service from affordaboard-pedals.co.uk (thanks for the heads up @stewblack) was brilliant and highly recommended!

Sound test to follow...

14 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

This looks very nice, quick question, when the Drive is selected is there an increase in volume or does it remain constant?

I always found the drive to be switchable when I used one of these, the IR you use has some play in how much the volume increases based on what frequencies are boosted etc.  The drive wasn't hugely to my taste though and I found it more usable as a slightly dirty 2nd channel than a full on drive.

Worth remembering though it's always good to have your drive slightly higher than your clean sound, as drive is compression by design and a little bit of extra volume just helps it sit right in the mix.

Pm'd

Ah, the bass freq on my MB preamp is 70hz so seems a bit pointless... might fill the holes in the mid and treble EQ though (Low mid 400hz, High mid 2.5khz, treble 10khz).  Damn you, Stew... I thought I was sorted! 😅

Happy NPD!

Really tempted by this and the Call76.

Tempted to sell my JPTR FX Jive and take a punt on both... 

Do you know what bass and treble are boosting at?

I've only used this through headphones at the moment, but I'm not sure I like what it adds more than I miss what I feel it detracts. Definitely adds a weight and depth that's not there without it, but I just miss that natural upper punch both of my basses seem to have.

This may end up on the FS Section soon, as sending back to Germany to JPTR FX doesn't appeal 😬