mario_buoninfante

Hi all,

Recently I have been thinking about preamps and amps, having the bass going through a preamp pedal and then another preamp (combo or head), and how that affects the sound.
So, I was thinking about just using a "power amp" and a preamp pedal (+ any other pedal of course). Something I saw some people do years ago (I remember a guitar player from back in my teenhood). This to keep consistency (as much as possible) between my preamp pedal DI out and the sound coming out of the speaker.

I also saw some brands making these:

https://www.grbass.com/portfolio/pure-amp/

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of setup? pros and cons?

Cheers,
Mario

just saw this few days ago too. an interesting news for sure.
on bright side for now, on G4M there are few of their pedals sold for less than half their price

Hi all,

Just saw this interesting video where they got rid of the active electronics and standard pups on a 5 strings Spector Legend Classic and installed the SD NYC pups. They also got rid of 1 knob and installed 2 3-ways switches.
I have to say, the result is pretty good!
not saying I'm gonna do that to my Spector, but again, they sound pretty solid to me.

I'm also thinking this might be normal since the SEND comes after the PREAMP/EQ section on the pedal, so in my previous setup the signal from the MXR wasn't going through the preamp section at all.

recently I noticed an interesting thing. I had an MXR Phase 90 script connected to the Digbeth send/return, and I noticed that was sounding a little bit "feeble" compared to when I had it connected (straight) into my amp.
Thus, I decided to try having bass->MXR Phasee 90->Digbeth, and I got the "presence" back.
The pedal sounds more in line with what I had when using my GK amp.
I haven't done any more scientific test atm, but I wanted to share this here in the meantime.

yeah, I would go for an ADAT converter. you can use an Octopre like you said, but also any old audio interface that works standalone too.
you configure it once so that it does AN IN->ADAT OUT and ADAT IN-> AN OUT, and then use it with Scarlett, Clarett, etc..
I did it years ago when I had a PCIe RME that only had ADAT ins/outs. I bought a second end MOTU MK2 and an Octopre and used them as AD/DA converters. Both came at less than 500 euros.

Are you after 8+ analogue channels, or 8 analogue + extra digital channels?
Check the Focusrite Scarlett range for a more affordable one, or the Clarett range for better preamps.
BTW USB is still the way to go in my eyes. I would avoid Firewire as it is not really used anymore (think about your next PC/laptop upgrade).

then I do also believe that the environment and weather both played a role in the genre development and the feel too.
not saying one can't play dub in Norway! but, that way of playing, to me, reflects the 40C degrees one might experience in Kingston

but again, this is more about how it started, one can learn and play reggae regardless the location

I think an important part of learning ska, rocksteady and reggae is that of learning R&B and jazz.
this is where all these guys were coming from. most of them were fine jazz and R&B players that found their own swing.
I would recommend to explore those genres too (not suggesting to become a jazz player first though ), then the whole "feel" thing will become clearer.
just my 2 cents.

I second what @skidder652003 said. I got a Digbeth Pre not too long ago and am quite happy with it.
Until a couple of months ago, for recording I used my GK MBSIII, that is a really good studio amp (nice preamp - I don't mic it and use its lineout), and even if it sounds different (more neutral tbh), the Digbeth holds the comparison.
The Laney pedal sounds really good, clean but with character. The EQ is quite musical and offers more options (4 bands with 3-way switch for the lo-mid) than other EQs on other preamps (even the pricey ones), the tube channel (emulation) sounds really good, and the FET (clean channel) sounds clear. Also, you get the "tilt" function, that is useful.
Connectivity is comprehensive, with the always welcome send/return too.

Hi all,
I just released a collection of "old" (2011-2018) tracks, in preparation for an album release later on this year.
The first 3 tracks have an electric bass, while the last 3 have a synth bass.
Hope you find it interesting.

https://isoneph.bandcamp.com/album/d-sides-2011-2018
 

Quote

Why not route a channel (or even two parallel channels)  into the back of the neck, say 5mm deep, lay in stainless steel cable of 2.5mm diameter and tension this up to apply a counter force to the 'playing cables' (strings!) then drop a 2mm strip of wood in to hide the cable (Skunk stripe style).  Any lateral forces would be applied towards the fingerboard so having such a thin piece of covering would not be a problem. 

Just thinking out loud here, but I suspect that this way the "counterforce" is applied at the anchor points, while a truss rod with its rigidity, offers "support" to the whole neck, if that makes sense.
I suspect that with anything different from that, you might damage the neck in few specific points (i.e. where the cable is attached to the neck) with the passing of time.

On 11/07/2022 at 11:56, Ricky Rioli said:

"Register for free" is a phrase I don't feel I'm entirely understanding. Once you "register" and they've got your email address, then what? They send you a price list?

 

Time to dust down the email address I only use when I fear I'm just signing up for spam..... I'll report back.....

for the records, so far I just received 3 emails, all relevant to the event with the day's agenda on it.
 

I'm not a jazz player myself, but I feel like a GK MBIIIS is a good solution.

Used a lot in studio and live by both double bass (ie Ron Carter) and electric bass players (even Les Claypool used it, when recording the Brown Album by the Primus).

I own one, only used in studio so far, and is brilliant.

Nice 4 band EQ, plus Contour and Hi freq boost. Good frequency range and well defined sound.

Second hand it can be found for anything in between 350-500£.

It doesn't feel extremely heavy to me, but I can't remember the exact weight.

Easy to find that out online though.

100W that can be expanded to 150W linking a second cab (there is an official GK that shouldn't be too hard to find second hand too).

5 hours ago, MothMan said:

Primus - John The Fisherman

 

 

Nice one. I've been listening to them quite a lot recently. Pork Soda mainly, but I watched few live I found on YouTube too.

I just can't believe that is only 3 people on stage and Claypool is able to start a moshpit alone with his bass.

They are really good!

Yesterday I received mine, and had a chance to play with it a little bit.

First impression is: I like it. I quickly tried playing around with EQ and "tube" and, yes it sounds nice, really musical.
I did a comparison with my GK MBSIII line out (current setup for my recordings) and with the bass straight to the audio interface, a Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre.
Here's a little demo recorded with a Spector Legend 4 Classic with new strings (D'Addario EXL 165 Nickel Wound 45-65-85-105 - changed yesterday just before recording).
The 3 samples are recorded consecutively, 8 bars each and are:

1. Bass -> Clarett 8 Pre
2. Bass -> Digbeth (XLR) -> Clarett 8 Pre
3. Bass -> GK MBSIII (Line Out) -> Clarett 8 Pre

Both the Digbeth and the GK have their settings flat, set to their mid position (on the GK "contour" and "hi boost" are not engaged).

The pedal seems to be quite neutral, in accord with the graphs shown by @MartinB. Interesting how the GK adds a significant amount of high freqs. I do like its sound quite a lot too, but the pedal is "truer" to the original sound, even if I do feel like it's adding a little bit of lo-mids, but I didn't check with FFTs or any other tool.

They have different use

BTW mine should arrive tomorrow, after 2 days of the courier not finding me at home, and I literally wanted to check the EQ with a nice FFT.
thus, you saved me some time doing a really good job

nice one.
may I ask how you generated the white noise, what interface you using and what sample rate?
The high freq roll off seems a little bit too much for being the interface itself the limiting factor, considering it starts at ~5K.
also, is what you called "bypassed", white noise going through the pedal with this being OFF?

On 06/07/2022 at 20:59, bnt said:

One bassist who consistently perked up my ears was Paul Webb of Talk Talk, especially on fretless: not the most flashy but he produced these snaking through-lines that often defined a melody complementing the vocals. 
 

 

such a good band!

well, let me say first that I'm not affiliated with them in any way.
now, once that's out of the way I think it's still possible to attend without subscriving to anything. at least that's what I got from a quick check.
as long as things are clear, it's fine for them to ask (almost) anything.
It's not like they're a charity after all.

that's just my 2 cents of course

Hi,

I just read about this online, and it seems interesting, so I thought I'd share it

http://register.bass-space.com/

(scroll down to get more info about it)

nice! I have to say I watched few videos and I like it. I like the tilt feature and the EQ too.

Spector Euro 4 Classic at Bassdirect...

I should stop checking their website!

3 hours ago, skidder652003 said:

I have the Laney Digbeth. I like it.

very quiet in the chain, does a nice tube gain.

single mosfet or tube or blend them together if desired.

XLR out to the desk. Tone Blend knob works really well, lots of options.

solid as a brick

 

Its replaced my DHA VT-EQ2 so it can't be bad.

 

I also use a TU 3 tuner at the start of the chain for buffering.

does it have an actual tube, or is it an emulation?

I see the point about the true bypass. I personally still think it's a good idea.
I don't usually play with really long cables and only use few pedals, so I think I'm fine.
but it's an interesting topic.
buffered pedals cause tone suck too, not all of them though
found a couple of interesting things here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4eEzqSRReA

this (https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/the-truth-about-true-bypass) talks about both, and it ends with: "You could do what I do: use true bypass pedals, and build (or buy) a dedicated buffer to run in front of them. That way you get the strength of the buffer to drive your signal home to the amp, and you can rest assured that your bypass tone will be untouched by tone goblins."

this not to say one is better than the other.
I think my conclusion is: as long as you know what you are doing, you'll be fine - aka check your buffered pedals and don't chain 7 true bypass pedals!