krispn

Just been messing about on this again as I was asked some questions via dm and thought it might be useful to those who were looking… All eq info at the bottom of this post. 

Hope folks find this useful!
 

First the treble sounds class. 2kHz at its lowest and in about the 2-4kHz range adds nice top without clack for us bassists. It can add air as the freq goes up but honestly for the bass in about 0700-1000 is where it’s at for me. 

Lo/Hi gain.

The pedal can be clean or do the console type break up. If you have a lower output bass the hi switch can really add some oomph and width to the sound in conjunction with the Step control. I’ve a HB jazz with I think ‘original jazz’  Bart’s and this elevates that bass - it sounds great but the added sonic weight is undeniable! It competes with my Flea jazz and going back and forth I can simply flick the lo gain mode for the flea (it’s hotter output) and go high gain on the HB and it balances them nicely- all analogue and can be dialled in in seconds. 
 

Into the efx return/power amp.
I used this into the fx return on my Fender rumble and it slays. Into a cab ir to FOH and you have those transformers and a magical sounding eq to have a very over-achieving eq/di. I still bring it as a back up but my main pre/di has been bombproof hence the saw. 
 

The HPF

This starts at 160hz. Some initial thoughts and documentation said 60Hz but it’s 160. Don’t panic though as you can use the Pultec trick of engaging the Hpf at its lowest range (160hz) but boost the bass frequencies below or at 160hz and there’s no loss of low end. The mid control has a massive range too so you can still dial in addition mids freqs to suit your room/mix.
 

See below for the range on the eq’s frequencies: 

Frequencies controlled by EQ Shift Knobs:

Treble Shift - 2kHz to 30kHz –  CCW lowers the center Freq, CW raises the center Freq.

Middle Shift - 150Hz to 2.4kHz –  CCW lowers the center Freq, CW raises the center Freq.

Bass Shift - 20Hz to 440Hz –  CCW lowers the center Freq, CW raises the center Freq.

The Hi-Pass section is enabled by the toggle switch below the Hi-Pass knob. Just flip it up to engage the Hi-Pass knob. The HPF is a 2nd order 6dB per octave highpass filter. The -3dB cutoff freq (the frequency at which the filter starts to act) can be adjusted from 160Hz to 650Hz.

Ok so it’s not as compact as a Noble but it offers so much more. I’d say it’s better value too when you’re into this price range based on what it offers. 

Had the m700 and it’s was delightful. Now use a Simone and really don’t need this but man it’s so cool. The sensitivity control hides the magic!

Some do sound more pleasing to my ear than other. I was able to pick out my main gigging preamp as I was making dinner and listening on headphones. 
 

There’s certainly some I’d prefer to have than others but like most things on a gig who would know only us. 

Aye I think I could hear the weight of the transformer compared to the pre amp before it. Only I have now theee LBA passive transformers on my board and my main tube preamp it would get  my main preamp slot. It’s a top notch eq and sounds big just by being in the signal chain!

Janek just posted this yesterday

Janek has just done a massive DI/preamp shoot out and you can hear this compared to other similar units. ***Spoiler alert below***

Janek is taking the coloubox on tour! 

Met up with Steve today had had a lovely chat. He’d agreed to buy a bass I was selling and true to his word he did and bought me a coffee for my efforts 

Some great stories and gear chat from a true gent. I’m glad to have met you in person Steve and happy to know the bass is going to a quality player and a true p bass (annd Mesa) aficionado!

I’m gonna check that out. If you have the link handy do you mind posting but I’ll dig it out later when I’m free. 

Bump

I think the TC mimic pedal uses that type of thing to give the ‘doubling’ effect of double tracking guitars. 
 

I was reading that earlier post about note choice and filling out the space. I was gigging last night and wasn’t really conscious of it before but underneath solo sections I seem to play a bit more/busier on some tracks just to keep things moving along and fill stuff out more. I’m in a band with guitar drums fiddle and bass. I noticed with many tunes I’m keeping it simple on the verse just playing with the kick drum or the written bass part but in the chorus adding in the 5th’s in a ham fisted attempt to mimic rhythm guitar parts ( our guitarist is more of a singer songwriter chords guy than a rhythm/riffs guy), walking lines and then under solo sections getting busier. It does sound like the band is cooking once it’s all going off and folks were digging it. It’s one of those things where you do get youre

doing it or subconsciously do more to fill things out. I noticed it in a few tracks last night when I was busier and trying to fill out more space under solos. The fiddle player does use octave down on some songs to fill out parts. 
 

I suppose we’ve done these songs so

many times you just develop ways of playing them which play to the strengths of the line up and make them your own.

You’re into crossover so something like the Darkglass x or I saw a pedal on the bass channel on YouTube which demonstrates a similar principle 

I was looking at the Effectrode but I’m using a Simone pre and wondered if it would be worth the investment and ultimately stick with what I have. I used the CaliTX and loved it as much for the comp as the tx. I now have the Simone and three of those wee Lightning Boy Audio transformers scattered across the board the most recent being the Fe23 which has a bit more grit/character to it than the 2020s models which have a bit of flatter response. 

I’m using a drive which has a clean blend and a more mid forward voice which can be great for filling out the sound.. I suppose what I’m saying is what others already have - more mids can fill the sonic space, octave can help (been messing with this myself this week on an OC2 type octave - clean blend set about 1pm, octave around 9-11 am. Some chorus could help but it depends how far you wanna go. A very very short delay can mimic doubling but that might not be as pleasing. 

Another thing I do is run a clean signal to FOH and I only have drive etc coming from my on stage bass amp. My preamp pedal has a DI which is running into a DG Element and the 1/4’ goes through the pedal board to the amp hitting some fx along the way after the preamp.This way the FOH gets the clean signal (running into a cab ir). I’ve gotten compliments from local sound techs for my live sound and I think it’s because the pa is clean and full and then balancing the amp with out front adds in the character - it’s basically doing the studio thing of parallel signal chain but I’m using the FOH as my clean channel and my amp for the dirt. Another bonus is I don’t have to bring two amps to my gig🤓

That Doc Lloyd looks class. Always fancied the Effectrode one but he’s taken it up a notch. How is it?

The flesh endures

I would have been in touch to steal that MBD but just can’t justify it with my current board. The HX One called to me like a siren to the rocks but I had to protect my crew unlike Ulysses. 

Saw that Ashdown eq in another post. Looks mega 

I did a gig a few yrs back and the rumble 500 2x10 was provided. I got one very shortly after that and the guy was only selling to get the newer version (it might have had the digital amp stuff like the Fender Mustang effects built in).

I think the Rumble is a really solid amp in its own right and the eq and drive are really nice. As Lozz says the drive can add weight and thicken the overall tone. The wee eq switches do what you’d expect and remember Fender acquired Genz Benz and this Rumble range was the result.

I also found that the amp set flat takes pedals really well. I have everything at noon, no switches engaged and use it with my pedal board and it’s perfect for the venues we play with some pa support. I played 2x12 cabs for ages and the 10’s were a nice change for my ear. I did try using it so let as a power amp in for my fx but it sounded better going into the ‘flat’ preamp.

It’s probably not worth investing if your getting all you need other than a chip set upgrade. 

And close the thread 😀

What are you missing that your current set up isn’t offering? What other preamps have you tried and what was it about them that didn’t work or do you want to mix it up. The Zoom is handy but do you want a stand alone, single pre unit with tubes and transformers and no need for presets?

I ask because I have been using a preamp set up (into a cab ir) direct to doh and I’m very pleased with it. It’s a tube based unit and has a nice character which I feel gives some extra dimension in the mix and it feels responsive under the fingers, no latency etc. That little bit of grit I can get from it blends into things nicely in the mix and doesn’t sound sterile going direct (and that was before the cab ir was on my board).  
 

There’s tons of pre amps out there. It all depends what’s important - latest chipset, one good solid core tone, presets…

A refresh of what I have for sale. 
 

OC2- £100 posted uk

The OG octave. Fat sine wave sub sound that is the foundation of the bass synth tone. On its own it’s great but start adding the modulation, filter and fuzz and there it is - the classic sound!

I was after the MXR vbo for its smaller footprint- nabbed this then an MXR fell into my lap 🙄

*price reduction*
JHS Colourbox v2 £350 posted U.K. 

Long story short bought this for the transformer based goodness on both the di out and the 1/4 out to the amp (yes it has 2 Transformers) and based on a Neve style eq. Then got a Simone in an offer I couldn’t refuse. 
 

I’m seeing a pattern here😮‍💨😭

Trex bass juice £50 posted U.K. 

Solid dirt doing clean boost to filth.  Second footswitch activates boost. 
 

Pics to follow. 

Flawless. Simply flawless!

Ian Martin Allison has some great videos on YouTube where he tries to get very specific sounds on his stomp recreating specific songs etc. Could be useful to hear if it’s the kinda thing you’re aiming for if you’re needing persuasion. 

The tape reel has a nice saturation effect which is worth checking out. I was thinking of getting one for some chorus and maybe replacing a drive or two but should really demo one first even though I’ve had a stomp before.