krispn

I think we grow familiar with the sound of gear and then seek a change so regardless of how good it is we grow accustomed and just like a change.

Hartke sale on PMT that was posted somewhere on this thread £199 for a LH500 head. - head and cab for about £350. Worth a look

I was hoping someone might be able to do a video demo of these settings/recommendations as I know a few people would be keen to hear the real world tones rather than read about them. Hope it's useful for you and others.

I recently met a local BC'er who was using a TH pre-amp and mentioned this post I read on TB years ago. The words are not my own and if I recall correctly from...Eubert on TB? I think he's credited in the post. He was basically comparing the Tech 21 Sans amp bass di box and then spoke about his experience with the Tone Hammer. Basically with the AGS button engaged the TH parameters become more interactive and work differently than in clean pre-amp mode. Read on... "With the AGS off, the Tone Hammer is a uber clean EQ with gain boost. Very high quality, and the sweepable mids are fantastic. You know how everyone raves about the Sadowsky outboard preamp/DI pedal. I had one, until I got my Tone Hammer. The TH covered the Sadowsky thing VERY well. The low control has the same 40 hz setting with the AGS off, as does the 4k treble setting. The sweepable mids on the TH are just wonderful, though I do wish it would go up to about 2k. No big deal. The EQ on the TH is flat when it is engaged. When you also turn on the AGS, at the lowest setting, there is no hair on the notes at all. Again, NO hair at all unless your bass is just SUPER hot in terms of output. What does happen when you engage the AGS is that highs are immediately rolled off in a way that simulates a vintage tweeterless cabinet. So the tone gets warmer sounding off the bat, even though the lows and mids are still the same. The Treble control now acts more like a Presence knob does on the Sansamp stuff. It dials in grindy mids in the 2.5k region. Very slick. The lows are tightened up a bit as you boost them, so instead of getting really deep and boomy, they get fat and vintage. Again, still no hair on the notes because the AGS gain is fully counter clockwise. The mid control still allows you to cut/boost mids where you want them. Very slick. Vintage tones with no hair. As you add more AGS gain, the tone gets warmer until you get some hair, and then it starts overdriving. With the EQ flat, the overdrive tone is VERY mid-oriented such that it can sound a bit nasally and harsh. But remember, this is with the EQ flat, and most folks who are used to hearing a classic tube amp (think SVT for example) should note that an SVT is no where near flat. There's a mid scoop. So to get rid of that nasally midrange in the TH, you have to cut mids as you boost the gain. Setting the knob around 2-3 o'clock puts the mid control around the 750 hz mark, where you'll get some classic SVT'ish mid scoop going. Start cutting the mids there to get the tone you want. Cut to anywhere from 10 to 8 o'clock, and you can pretty much close your eyes and thing your running through the BDDI and not the Tone Hammer. The cool thing is that you aren't having to use a Blend knob at all to control that mid scoop. Just scoop the mids as deep as you like to get the tone you're after, and then adjust the Treble (which now more like a Presence, remember?) to get the amount of cut you want. Then, dial up the bass if you want it fat and deep, or cut it back to keep a thinner tone. Very slick, and way cool. Here's another trick about the TH that I use a good bit. I'll scoop the mids ALL the way out around 750 hz for a rock tone. With the Bass/Treble boosted to around 2 o'clock, this is very similar to the "Fat Tube" setting from the BDDI manual. But the cool trick is instead to cut treble and bass back. I'll set bass to 11 or maybe 10 o'clock, and cut treble all the way back to 8 or 9 o'clock. The result is a very warm, lower-mid dominant tone (because the upper mids and lows are cut back so far), with a subtle, understated top end. It's very B15'ish and sounds awesome with a P bass or jazz with flats. At this point, if you want more depth, rather than boosting the bass, you move the mid frequency knob clockwise, which pools out upper mids and articulation. If you want more of that, then you move the knob counter clockwise to bring those upper mids back into the tone. The highs and lows stay the same, so it's an easy way to adjust your tone on the gig to get more/less articulation in the mix. These are just a few examples of what the Tone Hammer can do. I'm a huge fan of it obviously, but I came from being a BDDI user for quite a while, and I just never could bond with the new VT pedal. I still love and have a deep respect for the BDDI, and while I don't use one myself much anymore, I know I can always make it work. The Para Driver I wouldn't bother with myself. A lot of folks around here have slammed the Tone Hammer because you can't use the AGS like a second channel, where you can engage/disengage overdrive at will without causing volume differences. I guess I can understand that, but really that's not the Aguilar'sdesign intent. Instead, think of it more as a single channel tone shaper, that will "hammer" (pardon the pun) your tone into a wide variety of directions. It just takes a little time playing with the controls to figure out what does what. I still learn new things about it all the time. It's not that it's complicated, but rather that the AGS circuit ties in very closely to the mid control, so changing the mids affects the overdrive tone, and the more gain you add, the more the low end tightens up to prevent things from getting muddy."

Good communications and a smooth transaction! Welcome to Basschat!

Very nice geek out about gear and had a very smooth transaction. Deal with confidence!

Pipe line isn't available in the version I have but it looks like the answer to my question. Cheers for that.

Thanks for that I think I was coning at this from entirely the wrong direction...teaching old dogs new tricks eh! I'm gonna sit with it this morning and get it sorted thanks to this.

Thanks for joining in......It's not a hardware issue ...I'll try and explain it better...( I had added screen shots but i can't add them to the post? saying post too short?) [i]I should start by saying everthing is connected via Thunderbolt and its all software based stuff I'm trying to figure out even though the Aopllo is a hardware unit. I wish to apply the Apollo's magic to pre-recorded tracks. I can record with the Apollo no problem, everthing works well and exactly as it should when recording direct.[/i] OK so when I'm using Studio One DAW I want to add the apollo's processing power to eq some drum stems. I was under the impression I could 'insert' the apollo into a fx chain or somehow 'apply it to a track which has the drum on it' for instance using the Apollo's Neve pre amp on the over-head mic's. I thought I may be able to add the apollo here under the inserts but it's not appearing as an option I'm unable to figure out how to - I'm not sure I can. Studio One (like most DAWs) also has a browser feature where you can drag and drop virtual synths, fx patches etc into a traqck, its where I find my ez drummer vst and just drag and drop into a new track to add my drums. I was hoping that the Apollo would appear in the browser and I could simply apply it to any given channel but its not an option thats immediately available to me. I may be approaching this from the wrong direction so as ever some guidance is appreciated. The other option in running the drum stem into the Apollo 'Console' (their virtual desk), adding the eq then recording that back Studio but I'm unsure where/what I need to select to do it. I've been at work so not really had time to sit down and give this hours of my time but will have Monday off to get indepth with it all.

I should maybe try and explain this better Can I use the Apollo twin as an insert or in the FX patch in Studio One 3 I think I've seent his done on Logix etc but not sure how to. I can add an fx patch within Studio One and add their eq's comps etc but I don't seen to be able to insert the apollo and it's powerful plug ins. I'm sure it's pretty simple - I recall doing this with Garagreband ages ago with guitar plug ins?

Bingo

Dan if you can run the Aguilar without connecting a cab you'll be fine. I've done this with my TTE500 as a direct out and it worked just fine - di out to interface in.

Ok so my buddy gave me an activation code for S1-3 One of my other bands have sent me a bunch of drum stems and I'd like to mess about with mixing the drums and bass for my own learning and practice. My problem is I'm not sure where I find the Apollo to add it as an effects insert or add it to a bus? I use these terms but not entirely sure I know wha I'm talking about but I have an idea that this is how I would add the Apollo to Studio One. Am I on the right tracks or do I need to do something with Apollo's Console? Advice appreciated!

Mini mixer with the line out going to the foh? I can see how a Di splitter would be a bit less faff.

As above and for fear of sounding unoriginal top transaction, posted next day, recorded delivery. Couldn't be happier with how smoothly things went. Leggggggeeend!

Nancy Johnston..... You're after the new Epi Tbird announced for later this year?.... which does look promising if I may be so bold to step in. I'm kinda gas free for basses. Got a really, really great 5'er I use for one of my busy gigs and 4 string for my other busy gig (but really just because I really like it and the 5'er would be plenty). The only thing I really want to try is a couple of pedals - waiting on the Origin Effects overdrive/drive pedal. I always like to switch amps every wee while just for fun but realise that this is simply folly. Got a few things I wish to shift amp wise and just nab one head (which I've tried before) and more than likely going to in ears anyway for the bulk of my 'work'. I had an opportunity to get some 'must try' gear but that feeling has passed, no matter how good it is, and want to settle on one amp, with my 212 and 5'er (or 4 string P bass).