I like saturation, I cannot lie.

[Owen]

I used to have a Monique preamp. It did LOVELY saturation. I fancy a bit now. My SSL plug-in does it very nicely. But lugging a mac book and interface around seems excessive. I do not want grind or distortion or grit. Just that saturation. This is new for me. What does it?

 

I know that the obvious answer is another Monique, but that is not going to happen. I cannot play without earplugs so am not dropping a £grand+ to entertain other people and not get the goodness myself. But I could happily get a pedal which would do it. 

 

I am sure the super-dooper multi FX would do what I fancy. But I just fancy a footpedal on my tiny FX board.  

[lee650]

A friend on basschat told me of a Strymon pedal that has a very lovely tape saturation circuit. I think it's the Strymon Deco, also I believe the Becos compressor features tape saturation too, maybe the Fairfield accountant may work too, or the LeBass Preamp.

Edited December 9, 2022 by lee650

[lee650]

Just seen this 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/guitareffectspedals/permalink/1789048971470739/?sale_post_id=1789048971470739

[Lunoxx]

Not an expert on that topic but what about a JPTR FX Jive (last one on that page)?  

[EBS_freak]

Deco - as mentioned above.

[Owen]

Thanks all, I now have time to YT it because there is a  Christmas film on the TV. Everyone is happy

[Owen]

And you have to hand it to Strymon, I don't think I have seen any other brand maintain such buoyant 2nd hand values

[LukeFRC]

4 hours ago, Owen said:

And you have to hand it to Strymon, I don't think I have seen any other brand maintain such buoyant 2nd hand values

Ferrrari ? 

[Downunderwonder]

Without distortion there can be no saturation so I really have no idea what you are on about.

[paul_c2]

5 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Without distortion there can be no saturation so I really have no idea what you are on about.

 

I think its down to English words which have been adopted to describe various stages of gain:

 

saturation
grit
overdrive
distortion
fuzz

 

etc etc. One might perceive that saturation is a milder form of generic distortion; and that in the scale of things, the word "distortion" could also be used to specifically describe stronger, err, distortion.

 

Its not just the amount of gain, its down to tone (the frequencies it affects more than others) too. And a lot more, I'm sure.

[LukeFRC]

I think valves give harmonic distortion at different points (harmonics?) to solid state stuff - if you talk about saturation I think more of a clean signal with a big wide fat rich harmonic thing going on - with mild compression too,

- rather than a more overdriven type distortion 

 

Both different pedals to recommend to @Owen

[three]

I didn't think I was interested in saturation.  I bought a Monique.  Turns out I am.

[Owen]

5 minutes ago, three said:

I didn't think I was interested in saturation.  I bought a Monique.  Turns out I am.

Snap.

 

3D goodness.

 

The SSL Native X-Saturator does much the same thing.

[baldwinbass]

1 minute ago, Owen said:

Snap.

Snap again, phat.

[three]

6 minutes ago, Owen said:

Snap.

 

3D goodness.

 

The SSL Native X-Saturator does much the same thing.

On no, I need SSL Native X Saturator... fortunately, not ridiculously expensive.

Edited December 10, 2022 by three

[mcnach]

On 09/12/2022 at 12:28, Owen said:

I used to have a Monique preamp. It did LOVELY saturation. I fancy a bit now. My SSL plug-in does it very nicely. But lugging a mac book and interface around seems excessive. I do not want grind or distortion or grit. Just that saturation. This is new for me. What does it?

 

I know that the obvious answer is another Monique, but that is not going to happen. I cannot play without earplugs so am not dropping a £grand+ to entertain other people and not get the goodness myself. But I could happily get a pedal which would do it. 

 

I am sure the super-dooper multi FX would do what I fancy. But I just fancy a footpedal on my tiny FX board.  

 

This might just be the thing.

 

https://www.fxpedalplanet.co.uk/product/jptr-fx-jive-pre-amp-effects-pedal

 

I have one, I really like it.

[Lunoxx]

49 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

This might just be the thing.

 

https://www.fxpedalplanet.co.uk/product/jptr-fx-jive-pre-amp-effects-pedal

 

I have one, I really like it.

 

How do use the Jive? I ordered one yesterday based on all the great reviews, but still not sure where to put it into my chain? Most people use it at the end but I was thinking of putting it at the front for some mild compression?

[Cuzzie]

I can’t believe no one has done this……

 

I like big butts and I cannot lie,

The saturation can’t deny,

When I walk in the place, a tiny pedal and a bass,

And a loud amp in your face you get sprung!!!

[mcnach]

On 10/12/2022 at 15:01, Lunoxx said:

 

How do use the Jive? I ordered one yesterday based on all the great reviews, but still not sure where to put it into my chain? Most people use it at the end but I was thinking of putting it at the front for some mild compression?

 

 

I tend to put it first, followed by an HPF/LPF pedal (actually a Broughton RFE, so it's LPF+HPF with adjustable resonance peak and EQ for mids (semiparametric)). Essentially I place it where I would place an overdrive, regardless what else I add. 

 

[chrkelly]

I always run a BJFE Blueberry with the drive set at 0 before the DI for exactly this purpose.

[warwickhunt]

I have a TC Pethora which I've been tweaking to give me a passable emulation of a 12 string bass.  In the process I created a couple of patches which I stored as they just sounded phat/saturated; in the end I've ended up running my 'normal' bass tone through the TC to give this slightly overdriven/compressed tone... and I like it!    

[Owen]

It is weird, I have always gone for the cleanest/fastest sound I could get. This is why I had a soft spot for the U5, but lack of EQ was a non starter for DB and I could not justify 2 preamps. But then I spotted that a nice bit of squelch makes everything a bit more fruity. Just a bit hairy-er. There are all sorts of options out there, but I totted up all my present preamps and toys and figured a QC would give me the best of all worlds. I am not going to rush into one, but will be doing a lot of research. The thrill of the chase!

[Baloney Balderdash]

My Mosky XP Booster, which is a clone of the Xotic EP Booster V1, does this nicely, at the very beginning of my signal chain in my "amp-less" setup, and then my EHX Black Finger as well, which is a tube driven optical compressor, though I use it with the compression practically being dialed completely out of the equation, essentially making it a tube preamp stage, with it's 2 preamp tubes, which by the way operates at proper high 300V voltage, driven to just on the verge of breakup point, towards the very end of my signal chain.

 

I can warmly recommend both for adding saturation, enhancing and generating harmonic content, and adding an extra depth, or dimension if you will (I suppose this is what people speak of when they talk about 3D effect in terms of tone), to your signal. 

 

The Mosky can be had dirt cheap but is genuinely amazing, and actually appears to be of a quite sturdy build quality too, and the EHX Black Finger is absolutely amazing as well, though discontinued, but fairly frequently pops up on the used market, at quite reasonable prices, not exactly a budget pedal, but far from insanely expensive either.

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[lee650]

On 10/12/2022 at 14:10, mcnach said:

 

This might just be the thing.

 

https://www.fxpedalplanet.co.uk/product/jptr-fx-jive-pre-amp-effects-pedal

 

I have one, I really like it.

This looks very interesting 🤔 😍

[tauzero]

Just experimenting with the Retro Reel modulation effect on the HX Stomp, which seems to do quite a nice job.