Who makes & Where to get a Blend pedal?

[arbitrary]

I know loooper used to make one, but he's not making pedals anymore. So does anyone know where I could locate a blend pedal? You know, the ones that are used to blend a clean singal in with an affected signal (typical use for overdrive/distortion in order to retain bottom end)?

Thanks!

[5stringwonder]

Barge Concepts http://www.bargeconcepts.com/vfb1.html

Xotic http://www.prosoundcommunications.co...cts/x_blender/

[bongomania]

Also the Radial BigShot MIX and the Boss LS2. I use the Xotic.

[arbitrary]

Thanks!

With the Barge concepts one, is that two loops or just one? I mean, is there a master bypass for the entire signal chain and then a seperate loop/channel to add just my distortion to the blend loop/channel?

[Oreomeister365]

Originally Posted by arbitrary

Thanks!

With the Barge concepts one, is that two loops or just one? I mean, is there a master bypass for the entire signal chain and then a seperate loop/channel to add just my distortion to the blend loop/channel?

Theres your in/out, then theres an effect loop which you can blend in however much you want or bypass (true) entirely, so you'll always have you "clean signal going through, the bypass is for the "blended in" loop. But you can ask them to customize it to have two effects loops or whatever you want really, at a price of course.

[arbitrary]

That makes sense, in that d'uh sort of way.

I wonder if they would make one without the feedback option (I don't need that and I would like the pedal to be smaller).

[ehque]

Originally Posted by arbitrary

That makes sense, in that d'uh sort of way.

I wonder if they would make one without the feedback option (I don't need that and I would like the pedal to be smaller).

They are releasing the VB-jr version which does exactly what you say, in feburary.

Hey, its already feb. it should be out soon.

[arbitrary]

I'm still confused over how (or even if) the Barge looper improves signal strength over long effects chains. Is this done through the feedback control?

[bongomania]

No no, the idea is that any buffer (any active device) can lower the output impedance of a passive-bass signal, which will help it convey over a longer cable; and can (depending on the design) add gain as needed to boost the signal. The feedback control is for a feedback loop, which is only useful for noisy soundscapes of squalling audio mayhem.

[arbitrary]

So basically, the bypass buffer on the barge looper diminishes the signal loss that I get from using a long effects chain? But how would this work with all my basses being active?

Thanks for explaining this to a simple fellow such as myself.

[bongomania]

With a chain of pedals you are potentially running your signal through all of their circuits, with all of the attendant connections to power supplies, and all of the potentially weak links in the chain. "True bypass" pedals avoid some of those issues, but no "true bypass" system is perfect either. Most pedals that aren't true bypass have a buffered bypass, but often those buffered bypasses are designed very cheaply/badly.

So with one system you have impedance correction but (depending on the design) possibly worse tone suck because of cheap design; with the other system you avoid tone suck from the bypass, but you don't get any impedance correction.

Basically it boils down to whether the Barge buffered system is well-designed.

[pickles]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Basically it boils down to whether the Barge buffered system is well-designed.

And boy, is it ever

I've had true bypass pedals that pop and suck tone anyway when bypassed due to cable loss (which happens to some degree even with active basses). My custom barge has two buffered loops, and when bypassed it sounds as close to plugging strait into my head as I think you can get with an extra 12' of cable in the signal chain. It is not "true bypass", it is much much better. And the effects that I put in the loops all sound better than when I use them right in line. The buffers really help, and the ability to blend is great. Even if I never used the blend, I'd still use my barge for the loops.

IMO my barge looper takes a bunch of fun but impractical effects boxes and turns them into a rig I can really use on the gig to craft great bass sounds. Its the most important box on my board.

[Boomtime]

Originally Posted by pickles

IMO my barge looper takes a bunch of fun but impractical effects boxes and turns them into a rig I can really use on the gig to craft great bass sounds. Its the most important box on my board.

I second this, especially with respect to fuzz. I isolate my NYC big muff in the VFB-2's effects loop. It gives me tremendous flexibility. If I want huge, bleedy, gainey fuzz, I run the BMP with tone all the way down and blend all the way up (almost as if the VFB-2 wasn't there). But I can also turn the tone up on the BMP, but use the blend to keep about 75% of my clean tone. This adds a fantastic buzz, but keeps the low end intact.

In other words, the blender is definitely great for rendering useable circuits that suck tone when not in use. But it's also great for taming effects that would normally kill the low end when active.

[Oreomeister365]

I have a question that sort of relates to the barge.

If you were to get a VFB-2 with a second blendable loop instead of a feedback loop, would the signal from the first loop then be part of the sound entering the second loop? Or would the second loop be based off the clean signal too? curious if anyone has any experience with this..

And if the second option were true, then whay exactly would you be hearing from the output of the thing? Wouldn't then have to split your signal 50% to one loop and 50% to another? Which I guess would mean that is sorta out of the picture...because that seems dumb...

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by Oreomeister365

I have a question that sort of relates to the barge.

If you were to get a VFB-2 with a second blendable loop instead of a feedback loop, would the signal from the first loop then be part of the sound entering the second loop? Or would the second loop be based off the clean signal too? curious if anyone has any experience with this..

Well, there's two ways to do it. #1... they could be alternate settings for the same loop. Stomp on one switch to get the first setting, and the other to get the second. They couldn't both be on at once.

Or, #2... they could be for separate loops. When they're both on, they'd run in series - the results of one blended loop into the next one. The input runs into the first loop, which runs into the second loop, which goes to the output. When only one loop is on, the other is entirely removed from the chain.

#2 is like a traditional multi-loop bypass pedal, only with blend circuits for each loop. There's always going to be one input and one output, but there will be two pairs of send/return jacks (one for each loop).

[Oreomeister365]

Indeed, I was interested in basically having two loops blended in at different levels, one for a distortion channel and then one for all my other effects. So the distorted/clean blend was always "clean" under my effects, but whereas the dist would be blended in at say, 40%, the other effects would be at 80%. So the results of loop one would go into loop two.

Thanks.

[thombo]

ernie ball makes stereo pan pedal that can be hooked up as a blend pedal (one clean in, one distortion in, one line out). it is modeled off of their volume pedals and is built like a tank!
i have been looking into getting one myself. it's cool because you can easily alter the amount of distortion on the fly w/out your hands.

[bongomania]

It bears repeating that the EB stereo pan pedal is frankly terrible as a blender, as it is a passive blend.

[JonathanD]

Originally Posted by arbitrary

Thanks!

With the Barge concepts one, is that two loops or just one? I mean, is there a master bypass for the entire signal chain and then a seperate loop/channel to add just my distortion to the blend loop/channel?

They can custom design whatever you want. Take a look at their site.
I have the 1 effects loop. 1 feedback loop model adn I NEVER use the feedback.

[Bob C]

I checked out Barge's website yesterday, after reading all this cool stuff here. That sounds like a great unit, especially for the price.

It does say "call us with your special requests" (I'm paraphrasing), and also that they are "working on" the latest incarnation of the VFB - with lots of new features. I can't wait!