paulo m

Further to my claim of using reverb's on Fretless bass' here are the tone prints I favour from the T. C Electronic H. O. F 2 Mini. 

Shimmering Star' & Shimmy Jimmy' both work very well in my experience as does Dave's Bassverb' as they are all Short' almost gated like reverb's  & then there is Spread Strings' which is also useful.. My take is use them "Subtley" & mimimalistically to enhance the resonances of the  sound coming from your hands. 

I've heard many guy's still load-up on Compression & Chorus... to my ears that produces a swimming pool of over-spill... Beware. 

I also use a T. C Electronic Dreamscape Chorus' Vibrato' & Flanging' pedal for Vibrato on the fretless' coupled with the reverb's... All contained within the Plethora X3  &  I seriously doubt that you would require to use anything else. 

Enjoy your experimentation & I hope you find a new way of hearing the instrument. 

I owned one of the original first generation H. B's... moved it on almost immediately' to my ears  it didnt add anything special whatsoever.... 

Sparkle on a Fretless...? REVERB.. 

Greetings' the difference between the MXR M87 & the CALI 76  is( NIGHT &  DAY ) for myself!!  

the Origin Compressor is a  far' far  superior sound  Punchy' Fat' with Sparkling high end..

The H.P.F makes a big difference also allowing the lows through Uncompressed'

You get what you pay for' place the comp first.. then you are sending a uniform signal to the Octaver  which will track better' then your envelope filter...

Use your ears....the metering on the MXR is a good move but' gimmicky....the  Boss pedal simply doesnt compare whatsoever to these others.

The jewel metering on the cali isnt the best but' i ive suggested  USE YOUR EARS....& Experiment.

Compression is a Dark Art'  learn the fundamentals of using it & just why you need to use it...

Origin's Cali 76 Compact Bass for myself is The Unit'  but its expensive & it takes time learning how & why  it works for you.

GOOD HUNTING.....( ive used both MXR M87 & BOSS' they are not' in the same class as the Cali 76 for myself)

EBS Microbass II.... Very difficult to beat' & you can find them second hand for around £ 150.00... Read any reviews on this Super Versitile ' & Great Sounding Outboard  Pre Amp... 

I have the Cali C.B. 76 first on my board with 4 to 1 'FAT' compression' & fast release       & I've a Tech 21 Q Strip @ the end of the board where I utilise its       H. P. F & Sometimes L. P. F filters.. Works Great" really tightens the Low End for Punch without any Sludgy Loose Sound' & I use this in all Rigs. 

May I suggest that you should take your bank account with you 😉 for their is an a inexhaustible ammount of choice in those two establishments & what sounds good in the shop.... May not be what you require in the long run. 

Ultimately the sound is in your hands... & not the equipment' even tho it is always advantageous to have high end stuff..... 

In my experience of playing the biggest tone difference is achieved with "New Strings" its as simple as that.... Enjoy. 

A preamp @ the beginning of your chain of effects will appear to have little effect upon your overall collective sound... except for adding bass & treble.

An On board preamp in conjunction with different p'ups will have a better impact... As for the manufacturer you quoted that doesn't reply to           e-mails' personally I would look elsewhere. 

I have used many outboard devices' & you get just what you pay for... I have always kept & use the EBS Microbass II... superb functionality & the Tech 21 Q Strip has very high quality EQ & HPF & LPF filters also.... 

Its really down to your ears & taste..

20 hours ago, robiredale said:

happy empress bass compressor user here. it does transparent compression extremely well, is very adjustable,  has two colour circuits if you'd like a bit of, well, colour, and packs in some other features that some other pedals don't (the sidechain hipass filter is extremely useful for me). also the leds on it are very easy to read so you can exactly what its doing.

 

they're bloody expensive though, and you can definitely get something very good for less. the mxr seems to be very highly regarded.

 

i have a TC spectracomp and its a very unique and interesting pedal with a massive bunch of tricks, including multi-band, which is really cool. but i just prefer to have knobs on the pedal.

The better adjustable units are expensive indeed... I have A-B'd  Mxr' Keeley' Boss' Lelhe' Spectracomp' against a Cali 76 compact bass Compressor..... & they don't even come close... to the refined sound of the Origin.. 

The 76 simply has a refined sound & it takes a good ear & knowledge of the unit to get the best out of it..... Compression is a Dark Art... One' that takes time to understand & implement it.... 

I've been using Compression for quite some time now & I've owned three or four of them... The Cali 76 compact bass is without doubt the Finest of the Bunch!! 

Fat' Clean' Punchy' Uncoloured sound... they take a "Hot Minute" to get to grips with... But for myself it is then an "Always on Peddle"  Expensive yes.. But you get just what you pay for. 

( & place it @ the beginning of your pedal board for its maximum benefit) 

I have a Tech 21 Q Strip.. 

Four band EQ with adjustable Two Band "Sweepable Mid's.. Boost & Cut' the pedal also has a H.P.F & L.P.F  which atenuate High & Low frequencys at certain set points' 45 Hz for the H.P.F.. not exactly sure for highs on the L.P.F

They certainly clean-up & tighten the bass sound  (More Focused)  & has  been stated remove the freq's your cab or cab's will not reproduce. 

Interestingly I was in rehearsal with a really competent keyboard player who was using a State of the Art Yamaha synth' & really expensive amplification 1'200w of power... The Sub Bass was devistating to the rehearsal for it created what I can only describe as "Velvet Fog"  inarticulate massive  Sub Low's)))) swallowing & clouding everything.. I used my normal rig 400w head & a 1x15 cab on a Auralex Pad.. my sound with those filters engaged produced a far superior tight & focused low end.. SO'  H.P.F's are for myself a very usefull' tool & addition to my Sonic sound. 

On 15/05/2022 at 15:01, paulo m said:

I 

1 minute ago, paulo m said:

I have a Two Tone Satin Sunburst MK 2' M. P. J & the pickups are nothing like the "Bill Lawrence" Custom Designed Roscoe Beck Bass One's.... the  M. P. J was manufactured in China' all of it & it has a Modern Scooped Tone... In fact that's its Let Down'... Aside from being a Heavy instrument. 

I 

On 15/05/2022 at 15:01, paulo m said:

I have multiple outboard Pre Amps... & I also like the EBS Microbass's "uncoloured tone" . It's their trademark  in a solid state unit... I own a Tech 21 Q Strip which is an excellent unit' for everything I've tryed from Tech 21 i didn't like.... they really coloured the sound with a Synthetic Tone... but the Q Strip is a different product all together' not bass specific but a very versatile' unit... 

Non the less' I use very little overdrive' fuzz' call it what you will.... Only for use with an Octave for that "Grit" in the sound... & the Microbass 2 fits the bill.... Which is why I've chosen to stick with it.... The Microbass 3 is different again... I have played with both & for myself the tone & functionality of the 2 is "to my ears" of a  superior sound to the 3... Of course which is all subjective.

1 hour ago, prowla said:

It really added more authority to the sound, compared to the SansAmp BDDI which previously held the spot on my board.

My only wish was that it had two of those channels rather than one plus distortion (like the Stanley Clark acoustic one).

 

I have multiple outboard Pre Amps... & I also like the EBS Microbass's "uncoloured tone" . It's their trademark  in a solid state unit... I own a Tech 21 Q Strip which is an excellent unit' for everything I've tryed from Tech 21 i didn't like.... they really coloured the sound with a Synthetic Tone... but the Q Strip is a different product all together' not bass specifically but a very versatile' unit... 

1 hour ago, prowla said:

I disagree - the clean channel is remarkable.

The distortion channel isn't as good.

Mine says manufactured in Sweden.

You say that you find the Clean channel remarkable.... in just what term's do you find its sound remarkable...? 

On 04/05/2022 at 07:27, prowla said:

The EBS Microbass 3 is a darned fine piece of kit.

My only criticism is that I'd prefer two equal channels rather than one normal and one distortion.

This version is for myself aimed more at the "Metal Guys" with its  Distortion/ Blower Channel.. It is still a fine tool but not of the standard of its predecessor' The EBS Microbass II... I've read that people are complaining of extraineous noise ( Hiss etc) when engaging the Drive Channel.... So' its an Okay pedal but I doubt it has improved the reputation of EBS being Chinese production with modest components. 

The pedal I use & I've had plenty of people ask.... "Just what make of chorus pedal are you using to get that sound..????" 

The answer is 

T. C. Electronic John Pettrucci Dreamscape.... It has 2 types of Chorus' Vibrato' & Flanging plus the Tone print Feature... it also can emulate a Phaser very well indeed... Its an extremely versatile' subtle' pedal.... the more I've worked with it the more I appreciate its adaptability' better than Pedals three times the price. 

As for an Octaver... I had for twenty odd years the first generation & much coverted..Bronze' OC2 I enjoyed it'  with all its warbleness & glitches... But I sold it & now I use a First Generation COG T16... which to my ears sounds just like the old OC2 but with extra functionality smaller footprint & brilliant tracking... the Boss OC 5...is definitely worth checking out.... Happy hunting.. Kev. 😉

Hello... Earlier in this thread I mentioned I had the opportunity to buy a "Iron Either Xerograph Deluxe" & it had the latest design..... For myself it was more a  Synth  Based Pedal than an Envelope Follower' even tho it does both Very very well..  I stayed with my GR2. 

Question.. "Just which of Spencer Doren's 3 Leaf Pedals  are considered to be the most Coverted..????

On 10/04/2022 at 20:16, mcnach said:

 

Unfortunately the HPF and LPF are not frequency-adjustable on the Q-strip. 

This is indeed true.... But' I've found the Q Strip to be an excellent unit for bass' in fact' a far better a preamp' with useful features than some other high end equipment. 

The Tech 21 Q Strip has     H. P. F & L. P. F's plus Speaker simulation & a  beautifully sweet analogue Two Band' EQ  a multitude of use's for bass' & just about most everything else. 

John East's 'On board'  Pre amps are Stellar unit's     J Retro or J Tone' in a Jazz Bass with any of Nordstrand's NJ4 series pickups....  Passive Pickups with Active Electronics... An acknowledged high quality Combination... 

Outboard preamp's in my experience are subtley different tone wise' & the difference'can be immense' from a Quality unit such as a EBS MICROBASS II  right up to let's say a NOBLE UNIT.... & its interesting to see that ORIGIN have entered into this market recently with their BIG RIG offering's that I'm sure will be excellent units. 

These compressors are Stellar units in the respect that they add a superb sublte' warmth & girth.. to our exsisting bass tones. The H. P. F side chain is an excellent addition in that it allows the lower frequency's to pass through unaffected while compressing the mid's & upper register.. together' I've owned mine for four years.                                         It's always on' & infinitly tweakable but always in a musical way' I place it first on my board' & I don't employ 'Squash' I always want to hear fingers on strings ( That Attack' even with a plectrum the Click needs to be heard) 

I myself also favour the fast release & lower 4 to 1 ratios... 

Origin make excellent products  no-doubt'  i have a Cali 76 compact......  But' Do we need or require more knobs to twiddle nor switch's to switch?...... interesting to hear that Gregor Fris (Bass the World) say's that they "Wont" turn your pedal platform into either a  Fender nor an Ampeg..?? 

Dedicated Pedal Addicts will be head over heels' for these well designed & beautifully made products.