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Billy Sheehan Signature Drive pedal alternatives?


BassApprentice
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Hi all

I only recently found out about this pedal and I think it might be what I've been looking for for a while now. I really like the Drive/Clean blends and the separate loops for each channel. The only problem is the price, £165 is quite a lot for one pedal so I'm just seeing if there are any cheaper alternatives in the sea of effects pedals out there?? Or is it a case of saving my pennies to get the real deal?

Cheers guys!

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I'd say that the Ashdown Lomenzo Hyperdrive is a LOT more like the EBS Sheehan pedal. The Nate Mendel model is very Tube Screamer-ish (I.e. Fulltone Bassdrive).

Check the YouTube clips, you'll notice the difference. The Hyperdrive can often be had very cheap though!

Edited by bakerster135
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I had the Billy pedal and it does not quite nail his tone unless you hit it with a really strong signal (his Will Power P pickup has a higher output than most active pickups).

It doesn't quite do the super creamy over the top drive that the rack preamp (Ampeg SVP-BSP) does. It's a good pedal, but it needs a compressor in front of it to really slam it.

I got much closer to Billy's drive tone with a EHX Metal Muff and a Boss LS2 so I could mix in some clean.

Having just got a Dark Glass Duality Fuzz - I reckon that gets closer on it's own than the EBS pedal. Duality and Filter controls up to 10 gives it more of a metal distortion flavour rather than a fuzz.

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[quote name='bakerster135' timestamp='1398900281' post='2438963']
I'd say that the Ashdown Lomenzo Hyperdrive is a LOT more like the EBS Sheehan pedal. The Nate Mendel model is very Tube Screamer-ish (I.e. Fulltone Bassdrive).

Check the YouTube clips, you'll notice the difference. The Hyperdrive can often be had very cheap though!
[/quote]

The billy pedal is based off the pearce BC1 that he uses, I have one of them and it does a pretty good job of replicating the sound, but misses out on not having serious EQ options for both channels.

If I remember the drive in the pearce is a tube screamer based drive.

If you've got £350 I'm shifting my pearce bc1

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The metal Muff and LS-2, depends what era of his tone you're looking for...

When you say similar, do you mean in terms of tone or in terms of having a clean and dirty loop?

The Ashdown James Lomenzo is probably the closest other distortion in my experience as both are based of the Billy Sheehan Pearce BC-1 and have that distinct midrange. Cog effects made another pedal which kills that sound too! (Though may be a bit above the EBS in price too and for the life of me I can't remember what it's called!)

Second hand LS-2 and James Lomenzo distortion could get you similar options and tone but for a smaller price tag! My only gripe with the J-lo is I wish it was more aggressive and was a full range distortion, but I have strange distortion tastes ha!

Prime, please don't tempt me... I'd love to own a BC-1, would be a dream come true, but I just can't justify it since it would likely just sit in my house. Best of luck with the sale mate! (Plus I'm poor haha!)

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[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1399107661' post='2441039']
The metal Muff and LS-2, depends what era of his tone you're looking for...

When you say similar, do you mean in terms of tone or in terms of having a clean and dirty loop?

The Ashdown James Lomenzo is probably the closest other distortion in my experience as both are based of the Billy Sheehan Pearce BC-1 and have that distinct midrange. Cog effects made another pedal which kills that sound too! (Though may be a bit above the EBS in price too and for the life of me I can't remember what it's called!)

Second hand LS-2 and James Lomenzo distortion could get you similar options and tone but for a smaller price tag! My only gripe with the J-lo is I wish it was more aggressive and was a full range distortion, but I have strange distortion tastes ha!

Prime, please don't tempt me... I'd love to own a BC-1, would be a dream come true, but I just can't justify it since it would likely just sit in my house. Best of luck with the sale mate! (Plus I'm poor haha!)
[/quote]

It's a great bit of kit, and I do a similar setup on a smaller scale. Clean and dirty loop for my main tone.

Having tried loads of other pedals, the EBS does a fair enough job as a BC-1 in a box, as the pearces main party trick isn't just having a driven and a clean sound going at once, it gives you loads and loads of patching options. None of which I can get my head around.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers for the all the input guys! Fretmeister alerted me to someone selling a Billy Sheehan pedal for £90 but I was too slow so I think I'll wait and hope another passes by at that price.

Don't think the Ashdown do quite what I want them to do but if one comes up cheap enough might just take a punt at it

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Both the EBS Sheehan and J-lo pedals are based on a bandpass filtered (state-variable filter) and modified tube screamer with a blend tacked on the end for adding the clean signal back in. Apparently they don't sound much alike, but then just look how many different modified tubescreamer designs our guitar playing cousins have the choice of - surely they can't all sound the same... Err...

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[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1399887699' post='2448542']
Both the EBS Sheehan and J-lo pedals are based on a bandpass filtered (state-variable filter) and modified tube screamer with a blend tacked on the end for adding the clean signal back in. Apparently they don't sound much alike, but then just look how many different modified tubescreamer designs our guitar playing cousins have the choice of - surely they can't all sound the same... Err...
[/quote]

The BB preamp I have, which is another TS clone sounds nothing like a TS or the anything else I've tried lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm beginning to look around at effects to use with my stingray. I'm thinking of either getting the tech 21 vt bass, and a pedal for heavy distortion fuzz, like the darkglass vintage or the bat pharaoh, or getting a pedal like the ashdown nm2 or ebs billy sheehan pedal.

Anybody have experience with either of those pedals with an active bass?

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