PYPB XL: Midlife Crisis

[s_mcsleazy]

Originally Posted by ZombieSpacebat

Yeah dude, the staff on their facebook page are really good with finding out what they have in each store so i know they'll have at least one of each Mesa drive. Hopefully i won't get tempted by anything else while I'm there, but I'm sure something will catch my eye.

the curse of the gas.

[newbold]

Here's mine.

Korg Pitchblack>
BOSS OC-2>
'Is Or Ion' Disnortion>
>DOD Milkbox>
>Envelope Phaser>
WTDI>

The EP-1 has a sidechain trigger in so that the Milkbox, a Compressor, doesn't detract from the touch sensitivity of the envelope follower. The High Frequency Expander in the milkbox really works wonders with the Envelope Phaser and running a compressed signal makes the phaser sound a bit better taboot.

My board rarely changes but I grabbed myself a Pitchblack to replace my old BOSS TU-8. Now I finally have a solid, reliable pedal tuner! Thanks be to the mute!

[mc_muench]

It is complete!!! I think, at least for now. Dual purpose bass and guitar board.

[JonnyAngle]

Originally Posted by mc_muench

It is complete!!! I think, at least for now. Dual purpose bass and guitar board.

So what are we looking at, pedal wise?

[mc_muench]

Boss TU-2 > Mojo Hand Colossus > modded and rehoused Boss ODB-3 > Volume > MXR Carbon Copy > Correct Sounds Eclipse

[ZombieSpacebat]

Well my quest to try the new line of Mesa Boogie overdrives has been met with disappointment. After trying the Flux Drive and the Throttle Box for a while in store, using a Thunderbird, a Precision, a Jazz and a Gibson RD I was only able to find a few settings on each that I liked.

Both seemed to function as more of a boost than an overdrive, you really need to crank them to get anything resembling drive. The biggest problem is that when they are engaged there is a big drop of low end, even with the help of the bass control. All of the dials seemed to do very little until they were past the 75% mark, where they finally started to do something, unfortunately they were both quite messy sounding ODs, quite woolly and quite a loss of definition in the notes.

There was nothing I could do about the loss of low end, with the "bass" dial at 12 o'clock there was still a big cut, moving it up to about 80% brought some bass back in but it was very boomy and ruined the drive sound. The treble control was fairly unresponsive compared to many other pedals, at 12 o'clock it was ok, but anything past that point was very abrasive and difficult to listen to (IMO of course). The only dial on either that did it's job well was the output volume, which it has loads of, this thing can get absurdly loud. Of the two I'd say the Throttle Box was the better, but not by much.

Overall I'd give both of these a 4/10 on bass guitar. I will return to the shop in a few days and try the other two, the place was incredibly busy today and after testing the two for just over an hour I couldn't stand the crowds and left.

[fivestringgecko]

Thanks for the info Zombie. I had a sneaking suspicion they'd be not so great for bass.

5sg.

[ZombieSpacebat]

I thought when I saw the "bass" dials that they might at least be usable for bass, but honestly if you try to use this in a band setting you're going to disappear. Perhaps they will be much better for guitar, I might go back and give them another shot once the shopping madness has died down a little. Oh well, back to the hunt for overdrives.

[s_mcsleazy]

were you in guitar guitar?

[ZombieSpacebat]

Yeah, I was through selling one of my amps to someone so though I'd take a wander along. Tried quite a few pedals while I was there, the selection has improved a lot since i was last there.

[s_mcsleazy]

Originally Posted by ZombieSpacebat

Yeah, I was through selling one of my amps to someone so though I'd take a wander along. Tried quite a few pedals while I was there, the selection has improved a lot since i was last there.

yeah. they got way better stock than they used to but it is just soo bloody cramped in there now. theres not even enough room to swing a little big muff in there

[ZombieSpacebat]

Originally Posted by s_mcsleazy

yeah. they got way better stock than they used to but it is just soo bloody cramped in there now. theres not even enough room to swing a little big muff in there

It was actually so busy that the guy put me downstairs in the acoustic section where it wasn't so crowded. The entrance level was so full you couldn't move without brushing up against someone,

Got my hands on a Timeline while I was there as well, it's much smaller than it looked on peoples boards on here. Unfortunately when i started playing I was struck with the magic of guitar stores, I more or less forgot how to play bass.

[s_mcsleazy]

Originally Posted by ZombieSpacebat

It was actually so busy that the guy put me downstairs in the acoustic section where it wasn't so crowded. The entrance level was so full you couldn't move without brushing up against someone,

Got my hands on a Timeline while I was there as well, it's much smaller than it looked on peoples boards on here. Unfortunately when i started playing I was struck with the magic of guitar stores, I more or less forgot how to play bass.

me and my bandmates were in there before closing time when it was quiet a few weeks ago and we still found we had trouble moving around.

as for the forgetting how to play bass thing i usually just end up improving.

i do like the guitar guitar digital shop next door. its wicked for synths.

[ZombieSpacebat]

Well, when I say "forget how to play", I mean the stuff from my band/my own stuff that I want to use the loop function for. So I just doodled about for a while looping basic lines and adding stuff over the top. I've never seen the place so busy. I'll probably go down early one day soon and hopefully get a chance to try stuff out a bit more freely without the swarms of 13 year old "shredders" causing headaches for everyone else :P

[My name is Mudd]

Originally Posted by ZombieSpacebat

...swarms of 13 year old "shredders" causing headaches for everyone else :P

The universal downside to being in guitar shops during non-school hours/days.

[Road Bull]

SS/BS TAFM with cool lava graphics just landed. This pedal sounds as good as it looks.

Thanks Brian!

[fivestringgecko]

Well, getting both pedalboards finished for good is going a little slower than I thought, but I'm getting closer.

PT Mini:
Fromel Proton out, Proton V2 in
Tone Hammer out (to Aguilar for some TLC), B7K in

PT1:
Snagged AmpedSilence's PBDDI etched by DannDubblewe, replacing my BDDI (which went to Amped )

Close. Soooooo close to having both boards done for good!

5sg.

[caeman]

Originally Posted by fivestringgecko

Close. Soooooo close to having both boards done for good!

*chuckle*

Quoted for posterity...you liar.

[Darknut]

Originally Posted by fivestringgecko

Soooooo close to having both boards done for good!

I've said that Sooo many times ... admit it ... it will never be "done" there will always be another pedal .......

[fivestringgecko]

lol. I know, I know. I'd be skeptical if I heard someone say that as well. My mind is set though... I have a very specific plan for finishing the Mini, which will let me finish the PT1.

5sg.