finally got a Noisebox

Nyarlathotep · #1 11-19-2009, 01:26 PM

So. It finally happened. I finally acquired my Unicorn, the Subdecay Noisebox:

Here's a clip of me noodling around on this thing too: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8370451

Just random stuff. I find it quite cool. On the intro part im simply tapping the strings with my plucking hand. Then to get the quack I actually pluck the strings

This has prolly got to be one of the funnest pedals I've ever played, and the easiest to learn to control with playing style. It just seems to come naturally.

Originally I wanted to do a compare to the P&C, but I can't and won't for 2 reasons:
1) I traded off my P&C
2) The Noisebox is quite a bit different.
The damn thing is totally a FUZZ with some filter modulation and gating. The P&C was a lot tamer and almost fell into the OD catagory with the envelope off. The thing I really love about the NB being a FUZZ is that the envelope doesn't overpower compared to the "normal" sound of the pedal.

One thing I do find interesting is that the Chaos (aka Sloppy) knob has almost no effect with my bass. It still does effect the sound (makes it a little more sloppy) but I think my bass (jazz neck pup solo, tone rolled off) is a little to "bass only" for the pedal.

With the way the FX loop of the GT has affected the operation of both the Huckleberry (more gritty) and the Peaker (more sloppy/gritty) Im almost hoping that the Chaos knob gets better in that loop.

Its a little sloppy on note decay, like the Peaker, but different since the Freq knob is a lot different than the Texture knob on the Peaker. With the Peaker you got one tone of sloppy, but on the NB you got a whole RANGE of sloppy. They should fit well together as my OMGSLOPPYGLITCHBBQ section of fuzz

BTW the recording above was bass -> NB -> TU-2 -> line-in -> Audacity. I removed the DC offset and amped it. Nothing else. The TU-2 was more to split it so I could monitor it thru my amp and annoy my neighbors

Nyarlathotep · #2 11-19-2009, 04:33 PM

This thing LOVES my GTs FX loop, even if the Chaos is still a little subtle.

Pretty easy to set up some glitchyness. It HATES (or in a strange way LOVES) having a +1<->+2 octave pitch bend before it. If the note goes too high in Hz the NB does some crazy stuff. Glitches in/out and such. I also have a 2nd pitch going on with the bender which goes from +1 octave and a 5th when the main pitch is +1, and +1 octave and a 4th when the main is +2 octaves up.

This leads the the NB doing some interesting non-tracking

BassBrass · #3 11-19-2009, 04:55 PM

Well I just sold mine because it cuts too much bass freq and didn't stand out in a blend loop like the TZ-2 does. The TZ-2 is gahd in a blend... Low end loss is just unacceptable at this moment...
I used the $ to buy an Attack Goat, and that's the final fantastic piece for my board. AG is finest crust, airy sounding and the great P&C into AG is fire. Those 2 are the best purchases I made this year. P&C owns the midrange, Attack Goat owns the high mid and TZ-2 owns the high end. (Blowtorch owns the low mid) there are others...

theunknowndude · #4 11-20-2009, 01:00 AM

I use my noisebox as a solo 'noise only' concept, noone in my band liked it especially as I LOVE having the chaos knob on full and the sense knob up quite a bit,... the freq knob and the voice I usually have on mid frequencies,... I mean you can set all the knobs to tame and have it as a gated fuzz with no glitching and no wet filtering but I don't see the point!

I love nothing better than having notes glitch out randomly between the freq and the actual note and then turning the volume knob on my bass up and down so it 'gates' from no volume to a scratchy full input... that and slapping so you get a wet sloppy fuzz filter noise and then quickly stopping the strings so the gate kicks in really quickly, very awesome for laser gun noise!

not something you can use in all contexts of course but doing crazy things like PS3 carying from original note as well as +1 to +2 octaves, into noise box into more dirt (optional) into delay,... mmm crazy tones

theunknowndude · #5 11-20-2009, 01:03 AM

oh and not sure if its the same for everyone but with mine the chaos does nothing till about halfway, then from there on it slowly increases the glitch factor between original note and the freq note... personally, I see no fun in the pedal unless its run from about 1 o'clock onwards.

I could get lost in its sustained glitching notes for hours (and pretty sure I did when I first got it too!!!)

oh and if your worried about it being a bit too bassy or trebley or whatever, fiddle with the freq and the voice knobs,... theres a very wide range in there,...

Ayliffe · #6 11-20-2009, 07:40 AM

Maybe i'm the only one, but i don't understand the draw of this pedal?
Everyone seems to love it, but i don't see why, its just a ridiculous fuzz with a filter over it.

I can understand the whole noise thing, noise is awesome, but **** this thing is ridiculous.

Nyarlathotep · #7 11-20-2009, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theunknowndude

oh and not sure if its the same for everyone but with mine the chaos does nothing till about halfway, then from there on it slowly increases the glitch factor between original note and the freq note...

That's normal. To quote Subdecay's site:

Quote:

The Chaos knob controls the attack. Once turned half way up the Chaos knob loses its ability to track correctly, and the tones created by the frequency generator become more and more random.

from http://www.subdecay.com/product.php?id=4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayliffe

**** this thing is ridiculous.

THAT'S why people love it. It's ****ing RIDICULOUS

BassBrass · #8 11-20-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayliffe

Maybe i'm the only one, but i don't understand the draw of this pedal?
Everyone seems to love it, but i don't see why, its just a ridiculous fuzz with a filter over it.

I can understand the whole noise thing, noise is awesome, but **** this thing is ridiculous.

I believe everyone should own a noisebox at some point, like everyone should date an insane European babe at some point (insane male babe if yer fem). If I were younger and had the time to listen to the modulations play themselves, and didn't have to drive the band with low end, I'd still have mine. In the basement.

Chronicle · #9 11-20-2009, 09:18 PM

yeah i need one of these.

nad · #10 11-20-2009, 10:44 PM

I have quite possibly used this pedal on more recorded songs than anything else.

Well, for my solo noise project anyhow.

theunknowndude · #11 11-21-2009, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nad

I have quite possibly used this pedal on more recorded songs than anything else.

Well, for my solo noise project anyhow.

ditto,...

oh and for me the attraction,... is not just over the top fuzz, filter, harmonic generator, tone control and incredibly crazy gate,... it's the fact that they are all in one box, interact with each other AND you could literally lose about 20-30 hours of your life just twiddling knobs,... I think I'm up to about 15 hours

oh other reason why I like it,... is if you want to you CAN tame it down and make it easily controllable (or just learn how to mute quickly and really well to control the gate)

found out it used to HATE having any dirt put before it,... so decided to do the opposite and having it before dirt,... totally different colour of fuzz yet still the same effect = insane sounds that now sound more synthy/modulated!

Nyarlathotep · #12 11-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Its a true crazy pedal. Also has become one of 3 (4?) that I would keep, even if I sold everything else.

Noisebox (crazy glitch sounds)
Supercollider (grindy doom)
Swollen Pickle (OMGFACEMELT doom)
(TLSF [dual fuzz ftw?])