krispn

Another update from me… Some tweaks to the setup of pre-amp, compression and drive. Signal chain Tuner>Comp>Pre… I then I have a signal split Pre-amp DI out>CabM+>FOH/IEM and Pre-amp 1/4”out>Genz4OTF>LDP>Box ofWar>Thumpinator>Amp Box Of War - this is a custom shop version with the mid switch which fills out the scoop / fattens up the low mids from the 0700 to 1100 position but isn’t much use to me personally dialling it above noon. I keep the mid-switch engaged and am enjoying the thick muff tones which grew up listening to in the 90’s grunge stuff. My guitarist doesn’t really use much dirt live (he’s a cowboy chords kinda player) so there’s scope for the bass to do the more driven sounds in songs like Zombie and 7 Nation Army. LDP- boost and drive. The drive is a pretty solid sounding unit with bass specific touches and does the low gain to a moderate gain sounds we can appreciate on the gig. I like it set to low ish gain for character. The DEEP switches are engaged on both sides and they add a pleasant bump without getting muddy (I’m guessing around 100hz). The Boost side comes after the drive and is really good on its own to put a touch of something on the basic overall bass sound. I have the Tone knob rolled back for taking some of the zing out of my jazz bass in tracks like Proud Mary. Winding it up over noon can liven pick playing and I use it a lot finding it can be a really satisfying always on and versatile tone enhancer I.e turning the tone down completely for a warm pillowy sound which isn’t as muffled as turning g the bass tone control fully off. I dig it and it’s a pretty cool looking black and gold unit which I prefer to the older more industrial look Rodenberg used previously. API TranzFormer Cmp Wonderful sounding unit from studio giants API. It has the API output transformer and is a VCA style comp which can often translate to a faster punchier style of compression. The unit definitely has a colour to it from the transformer and that was part of the appeal. I have another VCA style comp which is great maybe a bit more transparent but the API ‘colour’ is real nice! In front of the tube pre amp it is adding its own thing and lifts the whole pedalboard. There’s some preset switches for attack and release so if these aren’t enough control this may not be the unit for you but there’s no denying the pedal adds something by being switched on and imparting it’s own vibe. It’s actually really straightforward and looking forward to gigging with it tonight. The blend is nice as you can push things a little more and hear that comp working but dial back in the clean to keep things juicy. I'm usually a one in, one out type of person but glad I nabbed these when I did and like I say looking forward to this board over the coming months for the live shows.

Yeah could do but the filters do help shape the drive so it’s handy but yeah a spark might do the trick nicely. Worth a punt.

The 4 On The Floor low gain drive unit is very versatile and has a HPF and LPF which makes it very adaptive to feed into other pedals. It has switchable hi and lo gain too and can really enhance a signal chain.

Posted this ovwr on TB but thought I’d ask here too… I heard some say that the Fifteen is very addictive and playing along with IEM’s to prerecorded audio the bass and saturation just dissolves into the mix (my way of describing this is very food related thinking like “soul stock cube” or “bass roux”) The saturation fattens and thickens things and the tone blends into the whole ensemble. Have 15 owners found this to be a fair description of what’s happening with this pedal? I’ve always fancied trying the SV but the fifteen feels like it would suit my band (and playing style) better adding thickness without needing the brighter top end. As an example I run a ‘Four on the Floor low gain drive pedal with the HF dials back to about 2.4/2.8kHz for that type of reduced bite up top.

But one pedal looks.so.sad😢

I’d happily gig with just the one pedal as ultimately all I need is one bass tone. I did just get a modded Box Of War in the recent Wren and Cuff mystery sale (and it is a low mid monster- every time I’ve used it on a gig I’m immediately pulled back to big full on 90’s/00’s muff bass tones… I digress) I suppose I’d add a compressor and maybe a drive unit/BOW just to have some additional dirt flavour but I’m confident from what I’ve heard it can be set to respond well to dynamics so that would be fun getting more grind as you dig in or use a pick if the notion took?

It’s more that I simply don’t need it 😀 I have a cab m with loads of great IR’s (really like the Mesa cabs pack) which really sound great for FOH/IEM mixes! Ultimately there’s just the fear of pedal board ego death. If one pedal can do what I need then everything else is redundant which I’ve loving and painstakingly curated over a few years. But yeah I’ll likely just buy one in jan when my Monzo 1p saving challenge finishes. I might even nab the matching compressor too.

I had a BB734 previously so happy with the few and vibe overall.

Keep putting the fifteen into my basket then it calculates the vat and I panic and take it out again🥵

Been looking at the BBP34 too as a ‘nice PJ’ but just wondering if it’s gas or if I should really check one out. That or a 434

Reimagining of the classic 400 with ClassD power section from the Subway series Tube in the preamp and striped back eq options with no graphic.

It’s probably too new. Most of the deal might be free psu or brand carry bag type things.