mouthmw

I AB'd Jive with more expensive boutique pedals for that "on the verge of breakup" or "low gain" tone, but nothing sounded better than Jive to me. It's a keeper. That's with a P with flats and Stingray (3 band) with rounds.

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

I emailed Chris to ask him.

 

I got a 1 line reply "They all work together but you would just hear the strongest one."

 

That's interesting to me as the 'scope trace shows a difference when more than 1 switch is active, but Chris does not expect it to be audible. I wonder why he went with 3 separate switches rather than a rotary or other single switch. I also wonder why on his website the graphic demo app-thingy shows 2 being engaged for a particular sound.

 

I'm beginning to think he's taken a leaf out of Lee Sklar's book about switches!

It's a great pedal either way. The switches give you a nice option of different dirt tones. It's fairly versatile. I still love it mostly with no diodes active, but there are cool drive, distortion and synthy-like fuzz tones in there. I dig the third switch with an octave pedal - awesomely synthy.

56 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I view stack / no stack as an electrical question not an audio one.

 

The circuit shows that the switchable components can be in the circuit at the same time. Thus, electrically they stack.

Whether that is audible or not is irrelevant to that issue.

 

Audibility would be in a separate column regarding actual benefit or not / audible by humans or not of the stacking.

 

Semantics are important to me even when they annoy others. Sorry. 

 

Voltage and cancellation is an electrical thing, but ok, you do you.

You can stack them to your heart's desire. They also stack with any other switch on any other pedal as well.

5 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

To be fair, you did say they do not stack - not that you just couldn't hear a difference.

 

I might not hear any difference either, but my ears aren't as good as a 'scope.

 

I do wonder if the changes would be more obvious with different signal chains / instruments. That might be a fun thing to do when mine arrives. Compare guitar and bass use and maybe even a keyboard too.

The one with the lower forward voltage cancels out the other. They're not designed to be stacked, ergo they do not stack. Any minuscule difference that the scope picks up is meaningless and I stand by when I say "they don't stack". Also, he's using an older version of Jive in that video (could be pre SMD, could be SMD), they used different clipping diodes in the past too, the QC is much better now that they went SMD and in this modern version, the diodes do not stack in any perceivable way. I'd avoid the pre SMD Jives tbh as the quality was pretty iffy.

45 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

Here's a video using a 'scope

 

At 7mins it shows that they do stack - it's subtle, but there's a trace change.

 

JPTR Jive - Soaking your Sound in Saucy Saturation (youtube.com)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKWkaD7Mxc&ab_channel=StompboxBreakdown

 

Also - if that circuit is accurate - then it shows that the diodes are able to run together.

 

You'll be able to test it yourself. I tried and heard absolutely no difference when using 2 clipping diodes together and using just one higher gain one. They don't stack in any meaningful way IMO - the DIY forum said that yes, technically they stack, but to no particular useful result. My findings with stacking confirmed that, but you should try it yourself.

I use it with no diodes 99% of the time and it's my favorite low gain pedal, bar none. Excellent headroom and a great, saturated tone. I love it.

EDIT:
Here's a quote from one of the DIY builders:

"The toggles are parallel and to some degree they could be mixed, but in general if you have 2 diodes in parallel in the same direction, the one with the lower forward voltage cancels out the other. (Quite a cool fact actually for making something like a rat with 3 clipping options, as you can do it with a simple on-off-on toggle, LEDs being always on and putting silicone or germanium in parallel.)"

11 hours ago, DaleASmith said:

If that’s the case, if I have 2 selected and I switch the lower gain one on and off, there should be no difference correct?

Correct.

On 19/05/2024 at 23:34, fretmeister said:

On the Jive, do the switches stack or is it 1 at a time?

 

Different YouTube reviews say different things! 

1 at a time. The lower one supersedes the one(s) above it. Due to the design (wired in parallel), they do not stack. The gainier one will always be the active one. This has been debated on the DIY pedals forum, and I'd take their word over youtubers as they know what they're talking about. Also, I have one myself and I've tested it. They do not stack.

18 hours ago, Tech21NYC said:

You can  use the parallel out and send your un-effected signal to your bass amp and send the SansAmp XLR output to the mixer. 

This is how Sansamp was designed to be used. If you have a good amp & cab, you don't need any extra preamps muddying things up in front of it. Sansamp is excellent for sending an emulated amp&cab tone to FOH or for using it straight to audio interface to record or just jam with it.

8 hours ago, lidl e said:

i understand the answer is likely "more headroom" but what does that mean in this case? you can run a hotter (active?) signal into it without distorting?

 

Precisely. Higher headroom means it takes a stronger (louder) signal before it starts distorting / compressing. In some cases, the tone itself can feel bigger, more 3D, more expansive.

I just got JPTR FX Jive 2 days ago, and it's pretty much perfect for low gain tones / dirty boost needs. I also got the best synth tone in combination with my octaver when I used the third diode switch, better than other fuzz pedals I tried for that type of thing (but I never owned a gated type of fuzz which might work just as well or better, those aren't my cup of tea).

On 27/11/2023 at 10:51, Sibob said:

sounds the same as an OC-2/OC-5 or a MXR Vintage Octave (granted with a couple extra little features).......but GAS & Economics & FOMO & stuff.

I have the Octabvre mkiii, and I've tested it against OC2, OC5 and MXR BOD. They don't sound the same. Octabvre mkiii won't get you that classic OC2 hollow tone, even with the tone all the way off and Tim switch engaged (for more lows). Octabvre has more mids and is more pronounced in the mix, sounds fuller, which I love. But it won't do that OC2 thing (which admittedly has a very infectious sound). I'd say MXR got closer to that tone (but not quite there either), and OC5 is almost identical to OC2 in vintage mode. I haven't even noticed latency with OC5 and you get more gain on tap compared to OC2. Once you start upping the tone on Octabvre, it really gets closer to Mutron and even further away from OC2. The gain on tap is fantastic on Octabvre, and you can easily solo the sub with its separate control. I didn't like tracking on MXR, and found Octabvre and OC5 to be pretty close tracking wise, but Octabvre to me remains the best tracking analog octaver. I've tested those pedals with my passive P bass and my 3 band Stingray.

Just heard this song on the radio for the first time (not a huge James Brown fan, but I do dig 70s funk in general). First thing I noticed was how out of tune bass is, so I had to check out the song and listen again on my headphones.
Yup, super out of tune.

I did choose only one octave pedal, and that pedal was 3Leaf Octabvre MKIII. It's the best analog octave pedal IMO. It does the OC2 and Mutron thing, and everything in between.

On 02/07/2021 at 20:27, Eldon Tyrell said:

Agree. The L2k has some amazing tones but old school tones are not really among those.

If the budget can be stretched a bit, I would recommend the US made G&L CLF Research L1000. Leo's last take on the P bass. Passive bass with a nice neck (1 5/8" slim C) and some great tones. Currently on offer for a ridiculously low price:

I mean, you're quoting L1K as an old school tone but L2K in your opinion cannot do old school tones?

You can get most of L1K's tones with L2K in neck pup position. They're in the same (P bass) position. It's the same MFD pickup. L2K does passive too (active mode is just a buffer or a buffer + treble boost anyways, not a standard active EQ in any way, shape or form). You can't do OMG mode, sure, but honestly, series mode has plenty enough of bass (I always cut some bass and treble anyways) and you can shape the tone to be pretty damn old school. You can't do single coil without a K-mod either, but IMO you don't go L1K or L2K for single coil tones. YMMV.

L2K's neck pup gives a good fat P bass like tone, and with some mods (if you really need them) does everything L1K does.
L series are not really modern sounding basses, M series does a standard active bass + EQ type of thing, but L series basses have always been more old school tone wise.

I'm pretty much counting on having all gigs cancelled until at least June, maybe even July. We've had a busy schedule planned this year, but it's all off now. I didn't have a single weekend (Friday, Saturday) free until May, and probably would have filled that up too, until Covid that is.

Boomy tone? Nope. Sounds like eq ignorance. One trick? Whatever. What it is - awesome and fits fantastically into a mix.
I've got 2 of em. One with flats, one with rounds. EMG GZR on both. Love em.
I can make em grunt, I can make em mellow out, tone control and hand position bring me all the variety I need from them.

I guess I have a thing for "one trick ponies" as all I play are Precisions and Stingrays lol.

2 hours ago, sirmuppet said:

From what I can see it looks to be in decent condition. The headstock still has the front painted but it a little chipped at the edges. Apart from that it looks great from the photos. It's got 3 controls on it so I'll email asking if it's the passive or 2 band version. In Gunmetal and comes with what looks like a very nice hardcase too. 

If any of the photos shows the back of the body, you can tell it's active if it has a battery box. If there's no box, it's a passive model.

£300 is a great price if it's in good condition. They go for quite a bit more on Reverb these days, damn price hikes. Things I'd check - I wouldn't want it to be too heavy, I'd want it to be an active 2eq model (not the passive one) and the obvious neck in good condition part (truss rod, frets).

No, they all came with the painted black neck. It was a cost saving thing, and they were still losing money on them. A lot of people stripped the finish though, so that's what you're seeing there. Somebody stripped it and refinished it, or just stripped the paint and left the sealer coat on. Either way, ask the seller about details.

I've had Nordstrand MM4.2 and Aguilar AG4M. Used Nordy with John East 3 band preamp and with an original Stingray 2 band preamp. It has a nice, warm tone, but a bit too tame for my taste. You lose the big Stingray lows and get low mids instead, and it doesn't quite do it for me IMO. I preferred the Aguilar AG4M to it, sounded great with the original Stingray 2 band preamp. Nordy worked better with John East than the original 2 band preamp for me too, thanks to the sweepable mids where I could pinpoint the frequencies of the pickup and boost/cut how I'd need (usually boosting a bit of low mids).

I now how a 2 bander and a 90s 3 bander, stock pups and preamps. Definitely prefer them stock, but if I had to pick an aftermarket pickup, I'd probably go Aguilar AG4M.

Had this exact combo in my previous 3 band Stingray because I wanted it to sound like a 2 band ray. Fantastic preamp and pickup combo IMO. Preamp alone would have done it to be honest, the Nordy pickup is a bit more polite than the stock pickup (at least, the stock Stingray pickup). It seems to focus more on the low mids and doesn't go as low as the stock pup.

I tried the Nordy MM4.2 with:

- John East MMSR - best results, I always bumped the low mids a bit, cut bass and treble just a tad. Great Sade like tone.
- Norstrand MM preamp - pretty good, close to a 2 band Stingray, but still a bit too polite for me. Vintage, sure, but polite vintage.
- original Stingray 2 band preamp  - similar to Nordy preamp, but I noticed more mids and a bit more forward tone. Weird phase cancellation though - if I were to crank the bass and treble controls all the way, I'd effectively lose the low end and end up with a tinny tone. Probably because the Nordstrand doesn't go quite as low, being more low mid focused. Putting the original Stingray pickup back with the 2 band preamp solved the issue and was the best pairing with the original preamp IMO.

On 22/01/2019 at 22:54, RedVee said:

Hey don't get me wrong I love my Classic Stingray and would never sell it, it is just the small niggely things that get on my nerves.

Yeah, well, if you're getting the action height they way you want it (meaning low enough), it's not a problem. Any other things that get on your nerves on your Classic?
I'd probably prefer a top load stringing instead of body through (I tried body through on a Jazz bass once, and didn't like the perceived increase in string tautness). Slab body I didn't mind on my old USA SUB. I guess weight would be a concern, if it's heavy.

Stingray Special and pocket the rest. No doubt.

Just now, pineweasel said:

Where is the measurement for the E? The FAQ only gives 6/32" for the G, and tells you to set the pickup parallel to the pickguard.

The only older guidance I have found was quoted on the EBMM forum, which does give a height spec for each side, placing the G slightly closer:

“While depressing the E string at the last fret, measure the distance from the bottom of that string to the top of the pickup magnet for that string. Adjust for a distance of 4/32 inches. Do the same with the G string but, this time, aim for a distance of 3/32 inches. Final adjustment may have to be made to the G side by ear, so that the volume is even across all strings.”

 

Yup, that's pretty much it, I remember that older guide as well. I do most of my pickup height setup by ear and feel (can't have it too close to the G string as it won't be comfortable enough to dig in). Slight slant to the G string and I'm good.

7 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

There's a measurement for each side (which you didnt say in your post) but as you say, there's nothing said about dropping the pickup cover level with pickguard. 

I read your post as advocating the measurement  on the G side from the FAQ and lowering the E side to the pg which clearly you didn't mean, so apologies. Are you using the E height from the FAQ? 

No problem, I was actually quoting No. 8 Wire. He said you'd have to drop the bass side of the pickup down to the pickguard, and keep the G side close. It's all good

My setup height is slightly lower than the guide. My E is around 2 mm on the 12th fret to the bottom of the string. My A is higher, my D is lower than A and my G is a bit lower than my E. I find this type of setup the most comfortable (and have a similar setup on my P bass with flats) and works great with EB Super Slinky strings 45-100. My pickup is slightly slanted towards the G.