Tym Effects Big Bottom

soindieithurts · #1 06-20-2010, 07:26 AM

"The idea behind this great pedal is to split the signal coming from your bass guitar and send the mid to high frequencies through an effects loop to any guitar effects pedals, while keeping your bass frequencies clean. This eliminates the loss of bottom end that bass players would normally experience when using guitar effects pedals. You get a clean BIG BOTTOM and an effected main signal.
Designed in conjunction with Australian band Magic Dirt and handmade on site at Tym guitars, this pedal is unique and a must have for bass players who use effects of any kind.
Version 2 has a volume for each loop and a true bypass footswitch." Tym's Guitars website.

Does anyone actually own this pedal??
It is a small boutique in Brisbane Australia but one of you may actually have it.

<img src=http://www.tymguitars.com.au/images/pedals/BigBottomV201.jpg>

KarateKid25 · #2 06-20-2010, 07:46 AM

It's a pedal I've wanted to check out for a while now, but have always just ended up with other blend loop pedals instead... They discontinued it for a bit, but looks like they have reincarnated it with V2. If you're in Brissy at all, drop into to Tyms. It's a great little store.

Steveaux · #3 06-20-2010, 08:41 AM

megadan · #4 06-20-2010, 09:00 AM

This seems like a cool idea, but I can't quite figure out how this is better than a standard blend pedal. With a full bandwidth clean blend, you get bass in the effects so you can hear the effect there as well, plus keep bottom; you also send highs and mids clean to amp so you get clarity under the effects as well.

I guess I can see this sounding cool with a guitar distortion but in practice I bet you couldn't really tell the difference with this or a regular clean blend.

It might be more useful when you are true biamping (2 amps) as a crossover? But if you are all ready biamping you wouldn't really need this...?

SpankyPants · #5 06-20-2010, 09:26 AM

This isn't anything particularly new. I think Moosapotamus (sp?) has made a clean blend with tone control (I think only treble-cut) for a while now. Not to mention that the Xotic Blender also has EQ.

dannybuoy · #6 06-20-2010, 10:50 AM

That Moosapotamus Paralooper had a full on crossover I think, as does the new SFX X&M. I've not used one, but I think the advantages to this crossover type of blend pedal would be:

- Some distortion pedals get really mushy when fed lots of bass frequencies (such as the VT Bass and many fuzzes), so it may sound better to keep the ultra lows clean and feed everything above that to the distortion pedal.

- If the pedal you want to blend inverts the phase, having it in a different frequency range to the clean sound would reduce the signal interference and volume reduction you'd get with a regular blender

- If you have a low end sapping pedal in a loop and set the blend to 50/50, then you still have less low end overall. Not so with a crossover setup.

Unrepresented · #7 06-20-2010, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpankyPants

This isn't anything particularly new. I think Moosapotamus (sp?) has made a clean blend with tone control (I think only treble-cut) for a while now. Not to mention that the Xotic Blender also has EQ.

The EQ on the X-Blender is post mix though, this sounds as if it's pre-mix.

I can see it being fairly useful, personally. I have a very heavy right hand, and while I utilize blend pedals that usually just results in me blending my bright clean tone with a bright effected tone. This crossover design would remove some of the brightness of my clean tone when blended, replacing it with effected bright tone.

I also dig the art design

bongomania · #8 06-20-2010, 11:44 AM

Looks a little too big for what it does.

SpankyPants · #9 06-20-2010, 01:06 PM

I agree bongo. The insides probably take like 1/4 of the actual space... Mehbeh.

tekhedd · #10 08-30-2010, 06:25 PM

Awaken, oh long-dead thread, for I have acquired a Big Bottom 2 pedal!

It is only fitting that I should breathe life into this thread, as it is the one that led me to Tym Guitars. The pedal came in the mail today, and I took a break from work to check it out.

For the last month, I've been using a passive crossover and an LS-2, giving a slow (3db/octave) blend between low and high, with some phase issues but not audible ones. This worked reasonably well and had a fairly neutral tone (crossed over at approximately 330Hz before the effects).

In contrast with this setup, the Big Bottom has a definite character to it. With no effect in the loop, it gives a definite frequency scoop at the crossover frequency, with a very strong bottom (well, you would expect as much) and a brighter high end than the passive network (which you would expect with the buffered I/O). I should also mention that it has enough gain that it can also provide some clean boost, if that's what you want.

The only negative about the experience is that I plugged it in first to my amp and then to the guitar, and when it came on, it made easily the loudest popping sound I've ever made with a pedal. So I'll try not to do that again.

And the new artwork is, apparently, purple. Sorry for the blurry pics, I'm in a hurry today...

Edit: I'd think it would go very well with one of those heavily midrangey guitar overdrive pedals. There has to be a Metal Zone around here somewhere...or maybe even an amp modeler.