bnt

DSM&H have the Simplifier Bass Station that has split FX loops, and I see they've just launched a new & improved version called the Bass Master which looks like it's a bit more flexible e.g. what used to be the Parallel FX loop can now be switched between that or the Preamp channel.

Ruby Baby - Donald Fagen

(Ask) Dr. Robert - The Beatles.

Bangarang - Skrillex

Installation is through updating the ToneX CS app and making sure ToneX Editor is selected as an installation option. It's a totally separate application, which is exactly what I thought they should do, so there's no more risk of double processing.

Thanks - I didn't see that NBD thread, obvs! The idea that you can't lower the pickup far enough is concerning, even if I'm thinking about replacing it. I'll be in the London area in May and will try to get out to Guildford for half a day to check it out.

French Kissin’ - Debbie Harry

I’ll just leave this here …

Andertons have released a video with both models. The short scale HNB3 still looks better to me, actually. One comment on the video says that the pickup rout is bigger than the pickup, so I wonder if it could take that Antek Mudbucker I have in a box ..? 
 

6:00 - Dream Theater

I'm trying an alternative version of my small board, in anticipation of a possible gig in April.

R-L:

• I managed to repair the HB PowerPlant Tuner, after I managed to blow a capacitor by plugging in the 24V supply for my big board. It was a SMD electrolytic cap from which the magic smoke had obviously escaped, but there was sufficient space in the case for a conventional cap.
• Orange Kongpressor: it's currently this or the TC SpectraDrive, both of which are quite large. It's "nice" but I have an eye on something smaller, such as a Joyo Scylla which I've heard good things about.
• MXR Bass Octave Deluxe: got to have it, basically.
• LY-ROCK Tone Monster: I've been trying to think of ways I could use this again, since it's an interesting alternative to the modelling route taken by the ToneX One. So I'm using its parallel channel facilities through an A/B switch:
  • Preamp FX Send: after the internal preamp (SVT type, they say), straight out to one side of the switch and back in again. I might squeeze another mini pedal in that loop.
  • Parallel FX Send: clean out to the ToneX One and back through the other side of the switch;
  • The switch output is back in the Preamp Return, so not through the LPF that the Parallel side has. That then goes through the Cab Sim to the outputs (XLR and headphone).

So I have set it up for A/B switching between (a) just the preamp and (b) everything the ToneX One can do. Which is a heck of a lot with the right Preset programming - there's whole 'nother thread on that. Currently, I can have two cab sims in a row, which I'm aware of. I'm leaning towards little or no cab sim on the preamp, and having that only on the ToneX One channel.

Addendum: I managed to squeeze another mini pedal in the Preamp circuit, the Mosky Silver Horse “Klone”, keeping that path all analogue. First tests are with the gain higher than I usually have it, and I’m getting more twang out of the Bass VI so far. I’ll have different settings if I use my standard bass with this board, TBC.

Last weekend I did some thinking and reading about compression, and trying the different types and settings in software (the compressor included with Apple Logic Pro is fully configurable). I don’t really know what I want beyond the basics, to be honest. My only complaint about the Kongpressor is its size, really. I’d have to spend a lot of money to improve on it significantly, so I’ll probably stick with it. 

Here's Amos explaining and demo-ing the pedal. The routing options look very interesting.

Crying in the Rain - Everly Brothers, Tammy Wynette, a-ha

8 minutes ago, rwillett said:

Did they charge you? I thought they stung people £20 for this service.

I had a similar problem, and wasn't charged. It was a screw-up on their part: I correctly registered my serial number and it worked for a month, then the device just disappeared off my account and if I tried to reregister it I was told it was already in use. It took them several days in my case but has been OK since.

Our House - Madness

Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations

I wouldn't worry about it, since we don't know the exact process used by IK or Zoom in creating their models. It does seem to me that the IK ToneX models are more than simple captures, since they're modelling the gain responses of the devices too, and that's pretty important when we're talking about something like an Ampeg SVT. The Fridge does a good job at that to my ears. I don't know the Zoom to compare.

Compare that with the captures from users on ToneNet, which appear to me to model at fixed gain settings on the device being captured e.g. I mentioned captures of the JHS Colour Box whica are up there at low, medium and high. If the gain control on a device just changes the input level, and the modelling process also changes the input level, then that should capture the gain response too. I don't have enough knowledge about the devices being modelled or the modelling processes, so I don't worry about it as long as it sounds good.

Had a couple of ambient sessions with Onward and the Bass Vi over the weekend, getting a better feel for what I want without the or Gauss. I really need to get better cables - at the moment I have long 1/4" stereo plugs sticking out both sides, taking up space on the board I could use for another pedal. This is on my big board with the TC Spectradrive and Boss MD-200 in to the t.mic mixer / interface. I still have my small board set up for normal bass too.

The Error function can completely destroy the sound, and I'm finding that less is more: the expression controller maxes out at the knob setting, so turnibg that down makes it more controllable. I'm still dialling in the sensitivity threshold: too sensitive and the slightest sound you make gets sampled, wiping out what was already there. (No layering, the loops get replaced every time you play something.) The volume pedal I have in front is definitely necessary, especially when I have the TC Spectradrive's drive section on.

I'm now pondering whether to record a video for YouTube to show off what it can do.

"The Fridge" is still my #1 preset, but I'm also trying other models from ToneNet. There's a model of the JHS Colour Box that's useful on mediumgain. I still want to find a nice GK model, a lot of people swear by them but so far I don't quite hear it.

11 minutes ago, la bam said:

 

thanks. I can only find Tonex SE at the moment?

Sorry - I meant ToneX SE, that's what I have. The "CS" is on other IK Multimedia apps I got such as Syntronik 2. 

20 minutes ago, la bam said:

I've just bought a tonex one. 

 

To save confusion, what is the best software to use now? 

Until the ToneX Editor is released "iminently", your only choice is to use ToneX CS, with its complications. That does double duty as both the Librarian (managing presets on the pedal) and a full ToneX package that does it all (creating presets that you can transfer to the pedal).

If you already have another audio interface, you can use that instead of the ToneX One when creating presets, which avoids the confusion of settings changes to avoid double processing. Then only plug in the One to transfer presets.

The ToneX Editor really looks to me like IK's response to all the confusion and criticism about the ToneX CS / Pedal / One workflows.

If Bass VI counts as bass, I had a lot of ambient fun today with the combination of Onward and Gauss Field Looper. I had Gauss running in AUM (plugin host) with some extra effects in front and a reverb behind. You can do that kind of thing on a pedalboard too, of course. It doesn't do anything for my main bass tones as such: I would definitely class Onward as a specialist tool for ambient/electronic applications.

Curry On My Wayward Son  - Kansas

This may as well be a NPD thread too, I suppose. The Onward isn't a bass pedal, and most videos on YT show people feeding it everything but bass. I've started with my Squier CV Bass VI, and today I rebuilt my "big" board to accommodate it, putting it just after a TC SpectraDrive, Tone City Matcha Cream fuzz, and the Boss MD-200 stereo out.

The core of the Onward is two audio looping sections:

1. Glitch looper, which captures up to 1 second of audio (or 2 seconds in 1/2 speed mode), the time controllable by a knob or synced to a MIDI clock.
2. Freeze, a granular looper that does what it says - takes audio and "freezes" it, similar to a pedal like the TC Electronics Freeze or others.

Both sections can be switched on or off separately. The big difference here is that the each section listens for input over a certain threshold, and replaces the current loop/freeze with that. So you can e.g. play a "frozen" chord progression without touching the pedal. How long it plays, if you stop playing, is controlled by a common Sustain knob: at max, it will loop/freeze forever. (There is a Manual switch in case you don't want this "dynamic sampling".) You can stop each section from recording by holding its footswitch for a second - then the current loop/freeze is latched and keeps playing.

There's a 3-position fade switch, from slow fade in and out to no fade. There's an Error section that lets you add a controllable amount of glitchiness to the playback, with 3 switchable types of glitch. With the Octave control you can blend in an upper or lower octave, the upper being a "shimmer" effect at maximum. Lastly there's a switchable vibrato or chorus section. It takes an expression pedal too, and I've used mine to control the Error amount on the fly.

On YT there are quite a few long review videos up, showcasing the pedal with more skill that I might ever be able to.  It's probably got more computing power than the entire Apollo Space Program, running off a 9V pedal power supply. So why did I get it? Well, through the Mystery Box program it was about 40% off RRP, and I felt like taking a chance on something really different.

After the pedal I have the t.mix MicroMix 2 feeding headphones, and optionally my iPad over USB. I have an app called Gauss Field Looper which emulates a tape loop, and tried recording in to that. I can change and reverse the loop speed, overdub at the current speed, and so on.

This guy uses the pedals in a mixer's effects loop: I don't use a mixer on my board, but the Onward's Mix control can keep the dry signal in. I could also break out the DSM&H Simplifier Bass clone again and use it as a splitter, but I think there will be times when I will want the signal fully wet, so maybe not.