Let me help Jeff out here and answer some of the more technical and signal routing questions...
The 4OTF is really well done, but needs an eq to go with it...enter this preamp.
Also interesting that the aux in will go through to the headphones (everyone does that) but also though to the amp out, which is rare.
This is impressive in terms of features. If it had the 4OTF drive chain in it, it would be the only box i _need_.
You bring up a good point, the 4OTF (and Crash Box 4 for that matter) was designed to be used with a preamp (either a bass amp or preamp pedal) rather than as a complete stand alone solution. Since preamp voicing is so player taste specific, it's better for most players to have the freedom to use it with whatever amp or preamp they prefer.
Aux in on a pedal like this is generally going to be used to play along to tracks with, therefore this signal blends with the bass signal path right at the master volume amp stage. This feeds the headphone and main outputs. The primary reason the aux signal does not go to either the pre or post DI output is that if you want to use this for recording, playing a bass track along to already recorded other instrumentation tracks, you can still use the DI outs to send the bass only signal (without the already recorded tracks) to the recording system.
@Jeff Genzler - I love my MG350. Is the new preamp the same pre as what's in my MG350 head? Just wondering if there are any advantages to using both the amp and pedal at the same time.
It's similar but not the same because of the adjustable dual foot switchable contour paths, a feature missing from the MG-350. It's more of a hybrid between the MG-350 and MG-800. To be clear, these 3 different preamps are all Scott's designs, I just helped massage them into a pedal format similar to the other 3 pedals (4 on the Floor, Crash Box 4 and Re/Q).
And that goes back to my point. Good to see a new DI without a cab sim..
With the technology behind cab sims evolving at a blistering pace, we thought that the choice between what cabinet sim type should be left up to the player. IR's, DSP models or analog models all have their place, and different players will choose different solutions based on their need and comfort with technology. For example, a cab sim that needs to be constantly updated with software and firmware may be no big deal for some players yet be a complete non-starter for others. There have been lots of examples of IR and DSP based solutions being "quirky", maybe 5 years from now those issue might disappear (or, they might get a whole lot worse), nobody really knows for sure.
I have done a fair amount of cab sim analog modeling, it goes hand in hand with designing speakers once you go from an acoustic domain model to an electrical filter domain model. All the equations are more or less the same, just that the variables in the electrical domain are more familiar to me. Would there be any interest in an analog sim with user control over the variables... things like F3, F10, damping (or Q), HPF, LPF, excursion THD?
@Jeff Genzler any reason why input is far left? I know in/ out is usually right left...not I huge issue but big enough to ask . Great product and I'm going to get one regardless
Good question, since Jeff Scott and I are "old" and come from the pro audio world (Jeff's first company Genz Benz started out as a bass and pro audio company, (we had a line of powered mixers, biamp and triamp flyable cabinets, subs, etc.), our go to signal flow is the classic traditional "American" left to right looking from the
front of the "box" (amp, preamp, mixer, or whatever), putting the input jack close to the input gain control for lowest noise and cross-talk. This is true of the Magellan amps, (input on the left, master on the right) and also the EQ (bass on the left, whereas there are companies that put input on the right, master on the left and EQ with treble on the left and bass on the right). Trickfish does the same thing for example. Since the jacks are all top mount, it doesn't impact pedalboard wiring like side mount jacks might.
But I read that it sums it mono...but Im still going to get it. My MLD pre does this...I'll check again but I'm sure the Genler pre doesn't do this...
Yes, since these preamps are not stereo devices, any potentially stereo signal paths are summed to mono which is the backbone of the architecture. Most pedal preamps do the same thing, though there are exceptions. This is the same as the MG-350 and MG-800 amps.
Ok correction, the aux in will send the signal out just not through the DI. But it still sums everything in mono. Not much of an issue.
Correct, see my more complete answer above.
I can see why you’d sun to mono for the amp out. I guess could have tried to fit two outs.
wonder why it can’t be still stereo on the headphones.
Since the entire backbone architecture is mono, there is no advantage to a stereo out since they would carry the same signals. This is exactly the same as on the MG-350 and MG-800 amps (and most other amps) as well
I guess that's cool. I can see it still being useful if you're listening to tracks with the band, which I often do.
Yes, you can certainly play along with tracks, one of the fundamental features of the pedal. On the playback of the tracks, left+right will be summed, the bass added and that's what you will get out of both ears.
