Tone Hammer

royjulius · #1 11-19-2010, 05:23 PM

I asked this question in the pups section, but got no response so I'll try here. Will the Aguilar Tone Hammer act as a preamp and make my passive P and J basses punchier? Or does it just shape the tone that I already have.......

bongomania · #2 11-19-2010, 07:16 PM

It is a preamp. And "shaping the tone you already have" is what a preamp does.

steelhead2 · #3 11-19-2010, 07:41 PM

had several pedals that really did turn on my SS amps(lot louder),some like a Behringer Reverb bought for guitar usage quelled the(bass)volume,,,,,,,,,,,a DOD grunge or classic fuzz will add an excitement to the lead in(with passive fenders)

i'm not stating either one of those deliver effects you might like i'm just saying for cheap money you can have XXXtra volume(and a little grit when you want it) some`body' is good,currently playing with the DOD CFuzz,,not as fuzzy as i'd like for deep tone but for adding a wee bit of`body' to my `normal'?tone it's getting me by(until i get all those valved heads/pre's)

it's all about cash bro,if you can step up?=DO IT!

NKUSigEp · #4 11-19-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royjulius

I asked this question in the pups section, but got no response so I'll try here. Will the Aguilar Tone Hammer act as a preamp and make my passive P and J basses punchier? Or does it just shape the tone that I already have.......

Pickups = Wrong Forum. FX = Right Forum.

The Tone Hammer IS a preamp and the function of a preamp is to shape the tone you already have.

Next question.

PS...Steelhead gets the TUI of the night (typing under the influence LOL).

Swift713 · #5 11-19-2010, 10:28 PM

Have you listened to the clips at Aguilar's web site? I think the Tone Hammer can do what you want.

m.oreilly · #6 11-19-2010, 10:45 PM

i don't care for mine. if anyone wants it, i'll sell it cheap. neat idea, what with the DI and the ags thing, but not my cup of tea..

crossstick · #7 11-20-2010, 07:21 AM

I think what he means is will it colour the sound of his basses.

I had a Tone Hammer and i can tell you it will colour the sound of your basses, i hated what it did to my 78 jazz. I sold mine and bought the Xotic Tri-logic which enhanced the natural tone of my basses which is what a good pre-amp should do. I've had the tri-logic for a long time now and don't intend on selling it. When this is activated all my basses sound the same but with a little more meat.

Watch this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYi-...eature=related

Duke21 · #8 11-20-2010, 07:52 AM

If you want more punch the Aguilar Tone Hammer is exactly what you need, thus a preamp. You could also use the Tech21 BDDI or one of the EBS preamp pedals. You could also consider the Ibanez Tube Screamer or a good compressor.

trjazzluva05 · #9 11-20-2010, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossstick

I think what he means is will it colour the sound of his basses.

I had a Tone Hammer and i can tell you it will colour the sound of your basses, i hated what it did to my 78 jazz. I sold mine and bought the Xotic Tri-logic which enhanced the natural tone of my basses which is what a good pre-amp should do. I've had the tri-logic for a long time now and don't intend on selling it. When this is activated all my basses sound the same but with a little more meat.

Watch this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYi-...eature=related

I'm sorry i have to disagree. The TH works wonders for me. sounds great flat and when boosted, IMO. Never colored, just natural and organic. Most amps iv'e used like Ampeg, SWR, Peavey, Carvin, and Hartke amps seem to color my sound. My Tone Hammer works wonders in shaping my sound the way i can't seem to get otherwise with some amps. Also works great as a stand alone preamp through the effects send of an amp. Great sounding, clean DI as well.

royjulius · #10 11-20-2010, 02:25 PM

Thanks guys.

crossstick · #11 11-20-2010, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trjazzluva05

I'm sorry i have to disagree. The TH works wonders for me. sounds great flat and when boosted, IMO. Never colored, just natural and organic. Most amps iv'e used like Ampeg, SWR, Peavey, Carvin, and Hartke amps seem to color my sound. My Tone Hammer works wonders in shaping my sound the way i can't seem to get otherwise with some amps. Also works great as a stand alone preamp through the effects send of an amp. Great sounding, clean DI as well.

We'll have to agree to disagree, with the Tone Hammer engaged my basses sounded like the Tone Hammer more than the bass plugged in. I'm not bashing Aguilar, i use a AC500 head and would one day like DB751. The Tone Hammer, smoothed off my basses, made them sound slightly compressed, could make the sound warmer but at the cost of dynamics.

If you're getting better results then great news for you, but i just couldn't get it to sound open and natural with any of my basses.

KsPiNeSh · #12 11-21-2010, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossstick

I had a Tone Hammer and i can tell you it will colour the sound of your basses, i hated what it did to my 78 jazz. I sold mine and bought the Xotic Tri-logic which enhanced the natural tone of my basses which is what a good pre-amp should do.

Unless, of course, the goal is to color the tone

Low_blow · #13 11-21-2010, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossstick

I think what he means is will it colour the sound of his basses.

I had a Tone Hammer and i can tell you it will colour the sound of your basses, i hated what it did to my 78 jazz. I sold mine and bought the Xotic Tri-logic which enhanced the natural tone of my basses which is what a good pre-amp should do. I've had the tri-logic for a long time now and don't intend on selling it. When this is activated all my basses sound the same but with a little more meat.

Watch this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYi-...eature=related

What a surprise! I use my Xotic XJ-1T bass in passive mode (the bass has Tri-Logic preamp inside) through the Tone Hammer and like it more than with the Tri-Logic. In my opinion, TH sounds quite flat in bypass mode (it doesn't have true bypass), when engaged it colores the sound of the bass just a little (so does the Tri-Logic), which can also be useful in some situations.

crossstick · #14 11-21-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KsPiNeSh

Unless, of course, the goal is to color the tone

Absolutely, the tone hammer has a place.

crossstick · #15 11-21-2010, 04:48 PM

Funny, i'm the opposite, i use my Xotic fretless XJ-4 in passive and use the Tri-Logic pedal for a boost rather than the internal pre-amp. The pedal seems to have more guts, more meat to it. But that's if i want a bass-mid boost. With my Xotic fretted i have the internal pre-amp engaged to get some more bite on the top for slap.

For me the pedal is great for that low end and mid boost because it's so meaty. Sonically the internal and external tri-logics are not the same.

Both my Xotics however sound the same in passive or active with everything set flat. Just the slightest boost in signal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low_blow

What a surprise! I use my Xotic XJ-1T bass in passive mode (the bass has Tri-Logic preamp inside) through the Tone Hammer and like it more than with the Tri-Logic. In my opinion, TH sounds quite flat in bypass mode (it doesn't have true bypass), when engaged it colores the sound of the bass just a little (so does the Tri-Logic), which can also be useful in some situations.

Low_blow · #16 11-25-2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossstick

Both my Xotics however sound the same in passive or active with everything set flat. Just the slightest boost in signal.

When in active mode I notice a slight boost in high mids (EQ knobs set flat). It definately helps the bass to cut through the mix better. Just not my tone.
Is your internal Tri-logic made in USA or Japan? Mine is US made.