Al Krow

1 hour ago, dannybuoy said:

I guess I'll have to record a clip of my BB1025X into my M900 to convert you Al!

Yes, please do. I'd love to hear it and I suspect a bunch of other folk would too. Are we now able to upload sound clips into the thread following the site upgrade?

I'm definitely a fan of the Yammy P bass sound for sure, although having said that I'm (very unexpectedly, spur of the moment) about to trade my BB425 in for an Ibby SR six string (I guess I'm even more of a sucker for the Ibby / Norstrand big single sound!). I'll be up in your neck of the woods next week to do that deal and may even manage to hear @Osiris in action with his beloved GM 800 & Tecamp rig performing live with his band later that evening 

Hopefully you will have other suggestions from other BCers forthcoming but I may be able to sort you out with a reasonable fee hire of our band's PA (depending on what the needs are) given that I'm in East London. I'll pm you.

15 minutes ago, Kev said:

I think a lot of that comes down to some having difficulty effectively using an EQ on the likes of the B7K and AO.  Anyone getting a tone that is too 'fizzy' is doing it wrong

The amp has a 'Tone' control, which is much more plug and play and makes it easier to tame the highs.  I actually did really enjoy that about the M900, but ultimately every tone the amp B*K circuit can achieve is possible with the B7K Ultra on my board, just easier to get to perhaps.

Cheers Kev that's useful. I guess I was being a little 'polite' in referring to it as 'fizzy' - and I take your point about adjusting the EQ.

I probably more correctly should have said: 'the baked-in bespoke DG dirt sound, primarily famous for appealing to metal heads'  But that would be a coming-off-the-fence statement and folk might guess where I stood on things? 

2 hours ago, bjelkeman said:

... he benefits of not having the preamps/effects I use anyway (B7K/VMT) on a pedalboard (a lot less noice), made me choose the M900 over the M9...

The M900 has a lot of fans as an amp for its clean EQ and there have been a few comments along the lines that you are making that the on-board microtubes effects on the M900 are less noisy and also less fizzy (is that correct?) than the DG B7 / B3 / AO pedals, which I do find interesting.

Any thoughts why that might be the case?

20 hours ago, Marc S said:

But if you ever "double up" - playing upright on half a set, and bass guitar (or other instrument) for half a set, the stand is a god-send

Marc - very much on point for me in terms of upright and bass guitar combination being what I'm likely to end up doing. But just wondering why a 'normal' stand for the EUB wouldn't work / not work as well (given that's what the bass will be on when not being used)?

PS - have edited my profile, thanks, to now include location!

@Cuzzie has recently drawn my attention to the BB P34/5 Pro series. These do look great, if a little pricey! Anyone been tempted to get one and able to feedback how they compare with the current (or previous) BB range?

That's a nice thought Mr Cuzzie, but the consensus on this thread seems to be that a PJB at 100W is not going to 'cut it' as an onstage monitor (and is in fact less powered than my existing 150W B205D - although the PJB will be in a different league in terms of quality and bass handling, I agree).

The QSC K8.2, in comparison, is likely to be the difference between:

And  this...

Pm'd!

5 minutes ago, krispn said:

Yup I use that to power one of my pedals at the full 18v. Luckily my other pedals do that whole doubling internally so they don’t need the higher output. Be interesting to hear how the HGBM changes running off that 18v tap!!

Actually tried it already [see my update to on my HGBM post above]. Basically it's louder but otherwise pretty much the same! @dannybuoy was pretty much spot on in his assessment of how it would react to the higher voltage!

17 minutes ago, krispn said:

Al krow

I do believe some toggle between 9v-12v and the outputs have varying mA draw too. Come on man read the manual! ?

That I knew already buddy having read the Ciocks DC8 manual a while back - I'd assumed the DC5 would be pretty much identical, but one or two nice little twists on the DC5.

In particular it's the cheeky little 9v / 18v toggle on one output hidden in the middle of the 'pack' that took me by pleasant surprise when I spotted it yesterday!

Both the posts above have been very helpful thanks.  The NS being on a stand clearly makes it different to other uprights and I guess that is part of its 'USP'.  I'd only been considering that from the perspective of making it easier to play rather than thinking about it in terms of being less of a physical experience for me as a player and also visually less engaging for an audience. That's definitely given me food for thought and tempered my initial exuberance! 

Maybe the 'easy' next step is for me to simply to lower the action on my Stagg EUB so that it comes a little closer to that wonderfully 'plays like butter' set up I found and very much enjoyed on the NS.

Cuzzie you make your points eloquently and with passion. A bit like Jeremy Corbyn. Doesn't unfortunately mean that I can necessarily entirely agree with them.

Let's just have a think about what Two Notes were doing when they put together their pedal? 

Two thirds of the pedal control is given over to Channel B which includes mid sweep, mid control and fusion mode, all of which are missing from what they have provided in relation to the 33% devoted to clean Channel A. So it's obvious to me and I presume to any impartial bystander that the 2Notes is a dirt pedal with a clean EQ bolted on? It is certainly 'famous' for being a dirt pedal and not a clean EQ.

The Ampeg SCR DI is opposite way around, with this being primarily a clean EQ and what it is 'famous' for, with a (not so highly regarded) Scrambler dirt bolted on. 

You're obviously at liberty to use your 2Notes exactly how you wish to maximise the benefit for your sound.  And, in your defence, I completely acknowledge the sound you are getting with the various components of your signal chain from relic'd Sandberg bass via your carefully thought through pedal chain with some great, and occasionally avant garde, pedals through your 1000W Form Factor Amp into a BF ST cab is nice (you've banned me from overusing 'gorgeous').

8 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Well it doesn’t really affect the frequency response, but at 9V with a hot bass and low gain that fuzzy distortion is a lot more prevalent than at 18V, the higher voltage results in better headroom and less distortion. It’s like it can react better to my dynamics when I vary between soft notes and full on digging in. I think it’s a major part of why some report that they prefer the M900 drive to the pedals!

Ah ok, thanks. Just noticed that the Ciocks DC5 has an easy toggle 9V/18V on one of its ouputs (which the DC8 doesn't have) so I can see why you were tempted to use the 18V setting. But seems ideal for my Hooker's Green BM - I won't be needing to take up two outputs with a voltage doubler, which is good news. 

22 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

Doug replied to my query on this and it seems the internals are safe up to about 15V. More than one person has fried their B3K/B7K at 18V so I got lucky.

He also noted that the preamp in the M900 runs at 15V, and that you would notice the difference in the higher voltage more if you used a high output bass and low gain settings, which I do. The higher voltage definitely gives more headroom, less fizz and more dynamic range with my B3K and makes it sound closer to what I’ve been getting from the amp.

Any idea why higher voltage leads to less fizz? That sounds like a really good trade off to me!

7 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

The tone is fine when I dial it in, it is purely that lack of consistency across the strings that is the issue. It’s an odd one and one that I have never come across before with any pedal. What I really want is an effect that is almost transparent when played normally but gives a bit of growl when I dig in. 

Hmmm...I'd hate to be the cause of you buying a second 'not right for you' pedal, but what you've just described in terms of what you're after sounds exactly like the HGBM I've just acquired from krispn! Have a listen to YouTube clip on this I posted earlier in the thread and see what you think?

@T-Bay Picking up your comment on this thread, if I may. That's interesting and not something I'm finding with my basses, but then I typically add a bit of preamp to give things a boost. @Osiris is pretty knowledgeable on the Mojomojo (and a big fan of the pedal) and also a bit of a guru on EQ and compression matters, I wonder if he's got any suggestions on what you're finding?

If the problem could be fixed so that you get a decent overdriven sound across all strings would that actually be close to what you're looking for?

Btw...when you do find your perfect overdrive (a quest I'm also still on, hence this thread) then please do share notes!

I bought a mojomojo based on recommendation from here and I am not feeling the love. In particular it seems overly aggressive on the low strings, so if I set a nice overdriven sound on the E string I seem to get nothing on the G, if I set a tone I like on the G I get more like full on distortion on the E. My search for the perfect overdrive continues.......

Does anyone have one of these?

Just recently came across and played a second hand CRM4 in vgc and it's absolutely gorgeous!! It's in a totally different league to my Stagg EDB (well I guess no surprises there, given the price differential) and IMHO this, and the NXT4a, are just so much easier / more comfortable to play than any other EDBs I've come across, including the highly rated Yamaha SLB200,. Particularly in terms of reaching the high notes. I'm a little bit smitten, I'll have to confess!

Be interested to get your thoughts on the NS Design EDBs and what I might typically be expecting to pay for a second hand CRM4 or 5?

Cheers, Al.

3 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

@MGBrown now you’ve said it he may believe it, apparently I am a dotard 

Drop the "apparently".

Cheers guys - had already worked out how  to get a clean flat response from Channel A (and fyi it's almost identical to backing off the bass and treble to 'bring back' the mids on a Sansamp)  

But here's my thing: why bother? What does a clean (or even scooped) Channel A add to the gorgeous sound of big single Nordstrand pups going into a Mesa M6 carbine and a 2x12 Mesa cab? Answer nothing. I can get everything that 2Notes Channel A delivers from the EQ on my bass and my amp. Whereas my my bass, amp and cab can't come close to getting a Channel B drive sound. So if the 2Notes was just Channel A and cost half the price would I get it, absolutely not! If it was just Channel B and cost half the price, yes for sure.

1 hour ago, radiophonic said:

I've only had EHX gain pedals, but I found the switches quite noisy. The Soul Food (in particular) clunks in TB mode. Gain may be a special case though and I know plenty of people use POGs without complaint. Just my experience and enough to make me wary of dropping 140 quid!

Yup, I think drive / gain pedals have a reputation for being the most noisy generally. However, if you're getting one new then e.g. Gear4Music have a 30 day 'no quibble' return period, I believe, so plenty of time to check it out. 

@Cuzzie lol! Playing live in two gigging bands is perhaps what allows me voice? Playing alone with yourself (and never live) must surely limit yours? Get yourself into a gigging band mate and stop merely theorising: there's nowt so joyful as playing bass live in front of an appreciative audience. Look up and see the sky and don't merely look down and play with fire. And don't even get me started on decent amp heads... 

1 hour ago, radiophonic said:

I've watched a couple of pitchfork demos and it looks pretty good. It seems like the fucntionality overlaps the PS-6 but that they aren't quite the same but PS-6 bass demos are thin on the ground though (and I don't need to see yet another classic rock dude being thin lizzy all by himself) so it's hard to evaluate tone and tracking.  I've had a few problems with EXH switch noise too, and with a pedal like this quiet switching is pretty vital.  

Having had the PS-6 I think it's ok for tone (but its digital and not analogue so won't be as 'warm' or authentic). But it was let down by not being able to track particularly low by digital pedal standards before glitching or track particularly quickly (and hence latency warble).

I heard a Pitchfork 'in the flesh' a few days back and was impressed with it on both counts, particularly the lack of latency warble. Can't comment on the quiet switching for you, though. @1976fenderhead can you jump in here please as I know you've got and are a big fan of the EHX Pitchfork?

I sold my PS-6 a while back (to a professional guitarist as it happens, so no feelings of guilt in moving that one on!) and am planning on getting a Pitchfork, so let's see if it proves to be as much better than the PS-6, as I hope it will be!

Speaking of the SA Manta - I've found it to definitely be a pedal that needs it's full current draw. Mine was definitely not happy being limited to 100mA from my Ciocks causing its particular isolated output to cut out; much happier now that its got access to 200mA via a current doubler (the 300mA already both taken by Zoom B3n and Two Notes, both which are rated at 500mA but in their cases seem fine on less).

2 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

So then @Al Krow last time I looked there were 2 channels on the Two Notes, A and B both tweakable, but different EQ points. Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t that mean that the Two Notes is the sum of BOTH of its 2 channels, that is the point of the pedal and the user dictates how and in what way. Please note I said mainly.....

Enlighten me then, if the Two Notes IS the B channel do you only use the B channel on the pedal and nothing else?

If this is the case are you not missing the point.....?

Maybe you are right, maybe it’s like having a multi fx unit and not using or not trying to use all the effects and tweaking them to taste instead of using it as a large paperweight on your pedal board........

Obviously there are two bits to the Two Notes, Channel A and Channel B but if we did a straw poll amongst Two Notes owners and asked them which was the more important Channel then I bet you (one of your pretentious relic'd Sandbergs) that 80%+ would say they bought the Two Notes as a (Channel B) dirt pedal and not for its clean mid scooped EQ (Channel A)? In fact Channel A is pretty much emulating what a decent amp sounds like with the bass dialled back and the mids heavily scouped. 

As you're someone who has abandoned multifx pedals entirely in favour of whacky blenders, I am not sure you're best person to be discussing paperweights? In any case, the better analogy would surely be the Ampeg SCR DI, in that case most folk buy because of its excellent clean EQ and not because of its disappointing Scrambler dirt i.e. the opposite way around to the Two Notes.

@Osiris - I'd recommend a second "insurance" compressor for the role of paperweight for you as you don't actually have anything else vaguely interesting on your pedal board? If you disagree, please feel free to post your gigging pedal board for wider comment.

@rest of basschat - just a bit of banter between three good mates (always wanted an excuse to use that emoticon!)

54 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

@bassmayhem like you I got it at a ridiculous price second hand

love it, just love it and mainly run the A channel alone

Having a Two Notes and just using it on Channel A is a bit like having a DG M900 and never engaging the microtubes, but far far worse. The Two Notes is its Channel B dirt: that is whole point of the pedal! 

Apologies if it's been mentioned already several times - for me it's great being able to cut and paste YouTube links, but no real need for them to be so MASSIVE, right? E.g. a clip of a great new dirt pedal I recently got my hands on: