Baloney Balderdash

For what it is worth these are the settings I found to work best, for me personally at least: That is MID set at about 2 o'clock, LOW ever so slightly lower (as in CCW, ~ 1:30 o'clock), VOICE ever so slightly higher (as in CW, ~ 2:30 o'clock), HIGH just cut ever so slightly (as in slightly turned CCW, ~ 11:30 o'clock), DRIVE set to about 9 o'clock, and LEVEL set to just about unity (Edit!!!: The settings I eventually settled for are: Low: 1 - Mid: 2 - High: Noon - Voice: 1:30 - Drive: 9 (same)). And I use it first in my signal chain (so sort of functioning as if my bass had had an active onboard preamp), just after the compressor, and then going straight into a Boss LS-2 with an always on Joyo Orange Juice in one of it's effect loops, blended with about 45% clean signal (that is the Oxford Sound) or so, the Orange Juice set as follows: Tone ~ 11:30 o'clock, Drive ~10 o'clock, Voice ~ 1:30 o'clock. This being part of my "always on" setup of my "amp-less" setup, which ends with 2 tube preamps stacked into each other, both set at the verge of breakup, and placed right after my faux, EQ based, cab sim, set to what in practice equals an about 3.6kHz -12dB/Oct HPF, the second tube preamp having its 40Hz -12dB/Oct HPF activated. Combined this gives me a quite punchy and really snappy kind of tone, with a nice amount of bite and tube like touch sensitive low to low medium gain overdrive grit and grind, but the Oxford Sound really being my main tone shaper in this setup (some additional EQ'ing does happen in between the [Oxford Sound -> Boss LS-2 =<={Oxford Sound->Orange Juice=|\\~ 55/45% Mix\\|=Oxford Sound}=>->] and the faux, EQ based, cab sim, but those are relative minor fine adjustments. But, as said, still the main character of my tone comes from the Oxford Sound)

This hack made it possible for me to load all the effects I am interested in, and honestly more than I will ever use, into my G1Xon, which I love, and honestly think this and the B1Xon is the best multi effect pedal Zoom ever made, love how it is possible to assign the build in expression pedal, which by the way responds really nicely, to control any parameter of any effect model in a given patch, and in whatever direction and range you wish, and in my opinion Zoom's newer generation of multi effect units and digital effect models is a downgrade compared to this (and yes, I do actually own both a G1 Four and a B1 Four, but after initially trying them out, and to my disappointment concluding them to be inferior to my G1Xon, they have been left unused), both in terms of features/functionality, tweakability, but actually also in terms of sound quality of the units and effect models. Have more or less the same effect models loaded on both my Zoom MS-70CDR and Zoom G1Xon, except I exchanged the few expression pedal controlled specific effects I have loaded on my G1Xon for some other effects, plus the storage space for effect models is slightly larger on the MS-70CDR, so I have a few additional effects loaded on that as well. Also I just bought a used B1Xon, exclusively to keep as a backup in case my G1Xon should ever stop working, since this multi effect has been discontinued, and since it is one of my absolute favorite pedals and plays a quite essential role in my pedal setup as well (basically takes care of all my reverb needs, including an always on subtle plate reverb into a really subtle spring reverb patch, and then additionally a reverse delay patch and an expression pedal controlled LPF envelope filter, "wah" pedal, patch). And thanks to this hack I can make the B1Xon that I, as said, just bought as a backup to my G1Xon, an exact identical backup replacement (Though I must admit that I strictly visually have a slight preference for the blue knobs of the G1Xon vs the red ones of the B1Xon ).

This classic:

Also, judging from the demos I've watched featuring the Harley Benton GuitarBass its stock pickups actually sound really great, and it even seems like all 5 pickup combinations produce great and very usable for optaining different flavors of tone (like with basses and guitars I usually tend to find one setting that to me sounds better than any other and then stick to that exclusively, but with this I could actually totally see my self making use of the pickup selector switch for different situation and parts), so not very likely I would ever want to upgrade the pickups. But if I did decide to upgrade the pickups, does anyone know if a regular Strat pickups (and would that go for both the Strat pickups where the bottom board of the pickup is flush with the pickup, as well as the ones with sort of a small triangle of the bottom board sticking out to one side a bit?) fit the cavities in the body and cutouts in the pickguard (like for instance a Seymour Duncan Strat Hot Rails single coil sized blade humbucker), and also how big are the cavities for the pickups in the body, a tight fit for the stock pickups, or would there be room for installing something like a mini humbucker sized pickup without additional routing needed (Like for instance the TV Jones Thunderblade pickup, or the Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker neck replacement pickup (both double bladed humbuckers). Of course regardless you would then still need to cut a fitting hole in the pickguard)? If not which pickups would then fit, only Fender Jaguar and Fender Bass VI pickups?

It does work decently as a regular bass with 2 extra strings or as a decent extremely downtuned guitar as well, but really to make it work optimally, for it to really shine, you need to treat it as an unique instrument in its own regard and on its own terms. And as far as I am concerned that is as a melodic/solo instrument primarily, which in a traditional band context would mean in the role of a lead instrument, filling out the sonic spectrum/space between the guitar(s) and the bass, or alternatively used as the basis for ambient work in combination with an extended use of effects.

Edit!!!: Updated the title to be more in line with the updated thread. Here's my "review": I just ordered a Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series from Thomann, which essentially is a Squier Bass VI clone with a fixed bridge, which again is a 30" short scale 6 string bass, but tuned like a guitar, just 1 octave lower, and with typical guitar string spacing. This Harley Benton actually gets really good reviews, and Harley Benton instruments are generally known to be amazing value for the money. Also judging from reviews the quality control has improved since they started selling this model. Should arrive by the middle of next week. I plan on stringing it with gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .034 - .026 - .018 (plain string) D'Addario XL nickle plated roundwound steel core strings, and tuning it to G standard tuning, that is 3 half steps above regular E standard tuning, as in G1 - C2 - F2 - A#2 - D3 - G3. Will report back with pictures and my personal impression of it once it has arrived and I have had a chance to try it out properly.

Get a Boss LS-2 then. Of course that will take up extra space (if money is no issue One Control makes a clean blend effect looper in mini pedal format, and actually it's only a bit more expensive than the LS-2), but it'll get you a clean blend for the Orange Fur Coat, and as a bonus you can use it for other pedals too, or other stuff. Though personally I wouldn't miss a clean blend for that pedal.

Hate is a strong word, but yes, I really don't like it and don't think it is a great bass pedal. There are even some of EHX's own Big Muff variants that ironically, at least as far as I am concerned, sound better on bass. The clean blend switch on the Bass Big Muff also seems completely useless to me, like, in my opinion at least, they got the balance all wrong, as the clean signal is way to loud, which makes it sound like a dominating clean signal layer sort of laying on top of a background distorted signal, almost sounding like background noise from a faulty circuit, instead of the fuzz and clean signal actually blending together as one single signal, in my opinion they should just have added a regular clean blend knob that let you blend in as much or little clean signal as you liked. I might not be the best person to ask this question though as I generally don't really like Big Muffs, regardless of variant (though some do work slightly better for bass than others, as said the Bass Big Muff ironically not being one of those), for bass at all, they lack definition and kills all articulation, partially because of their baked in more or less scooped tone, depending on specific variant, but even if you do boost the mids that will only improve definition and articulation a slight bit, which will still be far too little, as far as I am concerned Big Muff type fuzz just inherently makes your bass sound like a muddy dull inarticulate definitionless mess. And it's not even because I dislike fuzz and high gain distortion applied to bass, I generally very much like it, I just don't like how Big Muff based fuzzes makes a bass sound. In my opinion this is how fuzz bass is supposed to sound: Indefinitely greater sounding than any Big Muff variant will ever be. When that is said I do actually in general really like how most Big Muff variants sound used with guitar. A guitar run through an OP Amp Muff is beautifully gnarly, through a Triangle Muff lovely gritty, and through a Ram's Head deliciously creamy and gloriously huge. On bass though, no matter the variant, a muddy dull inarticulate definitionless mess.

One of my absolute favorite albums "The White Birch" by Codeine : 00:00 - Sea 07:21 - Loss Leader 11:38 - Vacancy 15:16 - Kitchen Light 18:51 - Washed Up 23:27 - Tom 28:26 - Ides 33:32 - Wird 39:37 - Smoking Room

Lou Barlow :

Sounds like a pure nickle (not nickle plated steel) roundwound string set, eventual with round cores, instead of hex, as well, is what you are looking for. If memory serves me well I think DR got such a short scale set. From what I've read from people who tried or are using pure nickle rounwound strings they are basically going to sound like broken in, but not dead, regular nickle plated steel roundwound strings, that is as like when regular nickle plated roundwounds have settled down and lost their initial metallic zing, which is the sound you describe you are looking for, pretty much spot on. When that is said, from how what you say sounds to me, no matter how much you like the looks of it, your Höfner Club bass might not be the best option for getting the kind of tone you are looking for. They come with their own sort of baked in signature thumpy character, and there is only so much you can do to change that. If the primary function of a musical instrument is making music, which it usually will be, tone should always be prioritized over looks, as you can't hear looks. The way a bass is designed just happened to convey a specific tonal quality and character, some more than other, and in the case of the Höfner Club as well as Violin/Beatles basses the influence it's specific design has on the tone of it is fairly unique and pretty pronounced, and I suppose somewhat of an acquired taste.

Can't remember if I posted this before or not : I. Nothing Left to Die 00:00 II. The Banishment 05:09 III. Obsidian Night 11:27 IV. Separated at Birth 14:10 V. Son of Yule 17:31 VI. Warrior Woman 21:39 VII. Equinox Suite: The Poison Pit 25:49 VIII. Equinox Suite: Thawing Magus 30:09 IX. Equinox Suite: Invocation Pt. 1 34:03 X. Equinox Suite: The Damned and Divine 35:52 XI. When the Raven Calls (anti-war Bobb Trimble cover) 40:54 XII. Stone Evil 44:50 One of my absolute favorite doom albums, and the "The Basnishment" being one of my absolute favorite doom tracks.

Well, no guarantee you'd like the Oxford Sound better, it does sound different, but in my personal opinion better, and as said the range of the controls, EQ points and how they overall reacts and interacts seems to work better for bass as well, at least as far as I am concerned. To me it seems like it is a better pedal all together, and especially for bass, but all that means nothing if the American Sound fits you personal preferences better. Though regardless I'd say that you should definitely try it out, not sure about the return policy of the shop where you bought it, but in any case I would think you most likely would find a good use for it, even if it turns out not to be an improvement to you over the American Sound, if not as a preamp then at least as an overdrive or distortion, cause the overdrive and distortion tones is something else in this too, on bass at least, can get really snappy and grindy. If you liked the Joyo Orange Juice or just like Orange type amps and the drive of them in general I am pretty certain though that you are going to love the Oxford Sound. Like the Orange Juice is to the Oxford Sound what those taste samples you sometimes get in supermarkets is to a full portion/meal prepared of/with the product, to be consequent and stick with the food analogy, not exactly an expert in soufflés though.

Just got mine earlier today, and have now had a chance to try it out properly, and I can only agree with what is said here: Wouh, amazing, works exceptionally well with bass, as does the EQ, mind you'll have to turn up the Low EQ a bit and the High slightly down for it to work optimally, but on the other hand all the EQ points seems to be just perfectly chosen to make the right adjustments and to give a wide variety of tones, at least when used with bass, and it sounds really punchy, snappy and vibrant. I also think the range of clean, cleanish, overdriven and distorted tones available with the Drive knob works really well with bass. Joyo really nailed it with this one, seems a step above all the other Joyo Tech 21 amp emulation preamp clones in the Sound series. Deserves more attention though, in my opinion it beats the American Sound which unlike the Oxford Sound, so far at least, have received a lot of attention and praise, and while that is without doubt a great pedal too, in my opinion the Oxford Sound is even better.

Can't wait for mine to arrive. With a bit of luck I'll have it tomorrow with the mail, more likely and at latest Wednesday though. You noticed any difference in how the Voice knob control works on this pedal compared to the other pedals in this series, as I mentioned in my previous reply having read some people mentioned on the internet, and if so, could you then perhaps in explain in what way (from what I gathered something about turning it above noon not only boosts the upper mids but also tightens the bass response somehow)?

Jesu Død En skikkelse lå der på bakken Så vond at de blomster rundt visnet En dyster sjel lå der på bakken Så kald at alt vann ble til is En skygge da falt over skogen Da skikkelsens sjel visnet bort For skikkelsens sjel var en skygge En skygge av vondskapens makt And for once Google translate actually did a pretty decent job (I corrected a few words though): Death of Jesus A figure lay there on the ground So woeful that the flowers around withered A gloomy soul lay there on the hilltop So cold that all water turned to ice A shadow then fell over the forest As the soul of the figure withered away For the soul of the figure was a shadow A shadow of the power of evil

Sucks... Hope you get it soon. And yeah, agree, as said, the demo sounds very promising, I am so much looking forward to get and try it out. I planed on definitely getting one at some point anyway, but it was that demo that made me decide I couldn't let it wait any longer and that I absolutely had to order one immediately. Should have mine sometime by around the middle/end of next week, since we run into the Easter holidays now. I'll be sure to report back with my experience with it, as soon as I have had the chance to try it out properly.

Finally got down to order one of these yesterday from Thomann. I am a bit surprised there haven't actually been more talk about this pedal. I at least look very much forward to trying it out. This demo of it on bass sounds very promising (even if I wish he would have demonstrated a bit more cleanish/lightly overdriven mids heavy settings, since that Is what I count on be using it for) : What are people who actually got this pedal already's experience with and verdict over it? Does anyone use it as a cleanish/lightly overdriven preamp? I've gathered from people on the internet that the Voice knob allegedly is supposed to work a little differently from how it works on the other pedals in this series, is there anything to that, and in what way exactly?

I. Nothing Left to Die 00:00 II. The Banishment 05:09 III. Obsidian Night 11:27 IV. Separated at Birth 14:10 V. Son of Yule 17:31 VI. Warrior Woman 21:39 VII. Equinox Suite: The Poison Pit 25:49 VIII. Equinox Suite: Thawing Magus 30:09 IX. Equinox Suite: Invocation Pt. 1 34:03 X. Equinox Suite: The Damned and Divine 35:52 XI. When the Raven Calls (anti-war Bobb Trimble cover) 40:54 XII. Stone Evil 44:50

Not really. Compressing a signal will effect the transient, sustain and frequency content of it as well. Turning down the volume will just, well, make it quieter.

Drop that 0, and get yourself a hero!

Yes, it's an amazing compressor pedal, insanely tweakable. You can basically get any possible compression sound out of this. Though in my opinion it does require of you to take the time needed to dial in your own custom settings in the Toneprint editor for this pedal to be worth anything, I didn't like any of the pre-made basic templates as they were or artist Toneprints. If you do though it's one of the absolute most versatile and customizable compression pedals on the market. The Toneprint editor really allows you to tweak every imaginable useful parameter to exactly how you prefer it, making it possible to get the exact spot on compression effect you desire.

Les Claypool, from Primus, and John Lennon’s son, Sean Lennon, and their psychedelic progressive rock project :