Mikey R

I got the Blonde to complement the VT, Im wondering if I should have gone for the Leeds instead. Humph.

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1339968116' post='1697091'] Sounds fun. I could donate a Matamp GT200 Head for the valve bit. And you'd be welcome to turn the knob to full if you like, I know I have. [/quote] Ahh, brilliant! So, we need some kind of loop sampler, an SPL meter, a voltmeter, a couple of Compacts (Alex? ), and a nice big solid state amp (Merton?)

Ok, what would be really interesting, and would put alot of myths to bed: 1) create a sampled loop of a bass playing live on the day. 2) play this out through a cranked valve amp into one of Alexs cabs 3) put an volt meter or similar measuring device on the output of the amplifier, so that we can get a rough estimate of the RMS voltage (yes, I know P=V^2/R - bear with me) 4) record the spl coming out of the speaker - possibly whist observing from the next county. 5) swap out the valve amp for a solid state amp 6) match the spl 7) measure the voltage RMS required to get the same SPL. 8) calculate the difference in power and / or dB required to match the two. Does anyone have any kit to try out this experiment?

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1339779286' post='1694314'] I should be there as usual. Dunno if anyone would want to put up with me banging on about anything again this year. If anyone does fancy another comical tirade about the perils of one knob compressors or the lies that abound in the world of recordings then feel free to ask.... [/quote] Yep, please do - either of the above.

I agree, with power valves its all about the feel, I dont know why but a big tube amp at the same spl as a solid state amp jusk kicks you in the gut when you dig in.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1339702666' post='1693109'] I'll need to get a quote on a pre-owned time machine. If I get one at a decent price anyone want a trip back with me? [/quote] If you do get the time machine in time, then I'd be happy to share petrol money / plutonium for the flux capacitor.

There is something all encompassing and grinworthy about playing through a big Matamp, I dont know what it is, but they do something magic with those valves. Could I be rather rude and ask if this beasie will be making it to a bass bash this year? Im sure loads of us would love to have a wee look...

What was the shock? Youre wearing those shirts again?

Morning all, I took delivery of my new Buzz Electronics looper pedal the other week. Its a custom design I asked Simon to build for me, similar to the Octo-looper but with 12 switches and 12 loops. Up to 10 loops can be active at any one time. Its packaged in two enclosures, even so its quite big and I'll need to get a new pedal board. We are working through a few bugs at the moment, but initial results are very promising! (Having a bit of a spagetti moment as Im just trying out a few sounds...) Simon is a top chap to deal with, and yes he does take on custom work so if youve got an idea, give him a mail! With any custom work though, bear in mind you need to discuss and specify absolutely eveything in order to get exactly what you want.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1337548686' post='1661914'] Yeah I tried putting the compressor after my Sansamp and it was really cool how you could get different sounds with different degrees of attack Weirdly enough, with the Aguilar I still achieve a different tone from digging in, as if the sound was uncompressed! I just don't get a massive peak in volume. Don't have a clue how it works but it's really nice! Compressor is back to being first in my chain:D [/quote] Maybe I'll need two, a bit of gentle compression at the start of the chain, with a slow attack to allow the peaks through when I hit the strings, and a bit more of a limiter at the end to bring the level back up. Damn, this is getting complicated! EDIT: either that or Im over thinking this...

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1337536478' post='1661582'] Overdrive/fuzz etc compresses the sound a bit, as does using a valve amp. So some don't even need to use a dedicated unit. Personally I love my Aguilar TLC, as I can heavily compress the sound to keep all the different techniques I like at the same level, with the compression itself having a completely unnoticeable effect on my actual tone! [/quote] Cheers! The VT is touch sensitive enough that Im thinking about putting a compressor after it, so when Im playing cleaner without digging in I get some of the volume back. Either that or in parallel, to allow some of the clean to get through. I'll have to have a play and see what I like. [quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1337536478' post='1661582'] To be honest though, when I had the Behriner DC9, which cost me £15, it was perfect for playing my 4 string in standard tuning, but the drop in low end was noticeable if I went much lower than that [/quote] Probably a problem with the input cap, Al Heeley regularly mods his pedals with a much larger cap.

For the driven rock tones, what compressors are you gents using? Ive been eying up the Blackfinger, but want to look at the alternatives too.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1337382011' post='1659285'] Its the black ones that made the reputation. They sound great. Dunno how different the silver one is. [/quote] The old Drivemaster was awesome. Huge folded metal case, good wedge shape for holding open doors when dragging kit into the venue. Sounded great too!

[quote name='topo morto' timestamp='1337438137' post='1660012'] Very true, though a lot of modern pedals (like the VT) are designed to produce the sound of an overdriven amp by themselves. Some even do it quite well. But definitely worth being aware of which type you're holding! [/quote] Indeed - the VT emulates an amp and the Rat is a classic OD / Distortion. The Rat is mediocre by itsself on the bass, but when put through something emulating a valve power amp then its a different game. I would love to try the Rat with an actual Ampeg, but you cant really crank the output stage in every situation, whereas with the emulation you can push it as hard as you like. The problem is that we are using pedals originally designed for guitar, and therefore a dirty amp, but since we're putting them through a super clean solid state power stage theyre not really in the situation they were designed for. Ive tried preamp tubes and found they just dont cut it. So the solution is to get something like a Tech21 pedal and add just enough dirt to your clean sound, last in the chain, and suddenly alot of the pedals that sounded a bit rubbish now sound awesome!

Sorry Al, Ive fixed it now - should be public and fully searchable [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T55zmss5ZVM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T55zmss5ZVM[/media]

Heres a short vid of me playing around with the FX loop: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T55zmss5ZVM[/youtube] Applogies for the sound quality, it was recorder on me phone.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1337215563' post='1657370'] BDI-21... and always on the same setting. That's it. Whether you think it's an 'effect' or not, I don't know..? [/quote] Another example of a stomp box shaped tone device. Subtle but in combination with others is where the arts at.

Alot of people dont realise fuzz / distortion / OD boxes were originally designed to push valve amps further into distortion - driving my VT Bass pedal with a Rat gives a growl like a huge distorted monster, but if I switch out the VT then the Rat by itsself gives a thin, weedy kind of sound. Its a cascaded gain stage kinda thing.

I'll likely be along too