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3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2

#3,382
I have a Fromel version of the 3leaf proton that I haven't seen anywhere else. It's #2 out of a total of 5 made. They are different from the purple Fromel protons that were made, which I believe was a batch of 25. The one I have has kind of a darker, grey/blue color with a red blot in the middle where the mushroom design is. Anyone ever seen this version? I attached a pic, but it's pretty small and not easy to see. It's the best I have for now.
 

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#3,383
I also have a GR2, 2 Fromel Wonderloves (# 48 and #77 I think), Proton v.3, You're Doom, and a purple Fromel Proton (#5 of 25). I'll post some pics of those as soon as I get a chance.

Personally, I enjoy the Fromel Wonderlove the best out of them all. Especially paired with the You're Doom, like so many others have previously stated. The Proton is ok, but find it sounds a bit thinner than the WL. I AB'd the GR2 and Wonderlove to see which I like better. To my ears, they actually sound very similar, but I found the GR2 has a colder, more robotic tone to it, which sounds cool, but I prefer the warmth of the WL a little bit more.

BTW I'm using them with a Rickenbacker 4003 bass with Fender Rumble 150 power amp.
 
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#3,385
overbybr said:
Do you happen to have an early production V1 WL (fromel etch maybe) and a later production V1 WL? I would be curious to know if they sound different as well. If they do, it's probably down to differences in internal components as a part of their manufacture batch and the impact it has on the final circuit. I would argue that, though you found differences, they'll be indistinguishable in a gig or to anyone who's not tracking in a studio - i.e. most normal people.

I think I like the lighter purple myself.
Click to expand...

I do not have multiple versions of the WL v1 to compare. Just the silver v1, darker purple deluxe, and a GR2. I really need to stop waffling between the Wonderloves and just pick one/sell the other. It's just that they both sound good and different.

Trying to keep in mind what you said - the tonal differences will be indistinguishable in a live mix. That said, I'm thinking the lower punch of the v1 had its positives, as does the upper-mid/high end clarity of the deluxe. Hmmm...
 
#3,386
Fireglo said:
I have a Fromel version of the 3leaf proton that I haven't seen anywhere else. It's #2 out of a total of 5 made. They are different from the purple Fromel protons that were made, which I believe was a batch of 25. The one I have has kind of a darker, grey/blue color with a red blot in the middle where the mushroom design is. Anyone ever seen this version? I attached a pic, but it's pretty small and not easy to see. It's the best I have for now.
Click to expand...

I have #4 or 5 of that batch of 5 with the mushroom design. It's pretty sweet.
 
#3,387
Just picked up a Proton V3 today. It makes some really cool sounds! Im going to need a few days to work it in but so far it's a neat filter. It does some things my Josh Wah doesn't do and vice versa. The Proton feels "fatter", especially down low and for slap. The clarity of the JW is little more to my liking however for fingerstyle. The Proton plays better with my other effects. It's a toss up.

I'd like to try the Wonderlove. I'm not against having 2 filters on my board but I would really like to find a happy medium with one pedal. It seems some of you prefer the WL to the Proton.
 
#3,388
gustobassman said:
I'd like to try the Wonderlove. I'm not against having 2 filters on my board but I would really like to find a happy medium with one pedal. It seems some of you prefer the WL to the Proton.
Click to expand...

The main reason I have a WL Deluxe is because of the following features: External bypass switch, foot-switch controlled expression pedal output, effects loop.

I can put my fuzzes and some of my distortion pedals in the effects loop and they don't overpower the filter - in fact they work with it amazingly!

For songs where I need to have, for example, a filtered fuzz I can turn the fuzz pedal on turn the bypass switch off. With the WL disengaged, I get a clean bass tone. When I turn on the WL, I get both the filter and any pedal that is currently in the effects loop and on.

Finally, being able to control the filter via the expression pedal at the tap of a switch is fantastic.
 
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#3,389
overbybr said:
The main reason I have a WL Deluxe is because of the following features: External bypass switch, foot-switch controlled expression pedal output, effects loop.

I can put my fuzzes and some of my distortion pedals in the effects loop and they don't overpower the filter - in fact they work with it amazingly!

For songs where I need to have, for example, a filtered fuzz I can turn the fuzz pedal on turn the bypass switch off. With the WL disengaged, I get a clean bass tone. When I turn on the WL, I get both the filter and any pedal that is currently in the effects loop and on.

Finally, being able to control the filter via the expression pedal at the tap of a switch is fantastic.
Click to expand...

Those do sound like great features. I'm going to dig into the Proton a little more but the WL Deluxe sounds like a killer filter. Decisions...
 
#3,390
overbybr said:
The main reason I have a WL Deluxe is because of the following features: External bypass switch, foot-switch controlled expression pedal output, effects loop.

I can put my fuzzes and some of my distortion pedals in the effects loop and they don't overpower the filter - in fact they work with it amazingly!

For songs where I need to have, for example, a filtered fuzz I can turn the fuzz pedal on turn the bypass switch off. With the WL disengaged, I get a clean bass tone. When I turn on the WL, I get both the filter and any pedal that is currently in the effects loop and on.

Finally, being able to control the filter via the expression pedal at the tap of a switch is fantastic.
Click to expand...
I do that same with dirt in my WL fx loop. There are filters that can react well with fuzz in front of them but it usually seems to overtake the filter effect. My favorite for use in the WL loop is the Octabvre Mini > You're Doom. I also run my Future Impact in the loop, I place it after the Mini and before the YD and can get a lot of cool combos. I can use an expression pedal to sweep the filter on the WL manually and get even crazier. You may think it wouldn't work well but you'd be surprised how many stock FI presets work with Octabvre>Future Impact >You're Doom in the the WL fx loop.
My other go to fuzz for the fx loop is the MXR Sub Machine. They can be found used pretty cheap and the sub octave (and/or upper octave) sound huge in the loop. You can crank up the sub and get a really low, dirty filter sweep.
 
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#3,391
overbybr said:
The main reason I have a WL Deluxe is because of the following features: External bypass switch, foot-switch controlled expression pedal output, effects loop.

I can put my fuzzes and some of my distortion pedals in the effects loop and they don't overpower the filter - in fact they work with it amazingly!

For songs where I need to have, for example, a filtered fuzz I can turn the fuzz pedal on turn the bypass switch off. With the WL disengaged, I get a clean bass tone. When I turn on the WL, I get both the filter and any pedal that is currently in the effects loop and on.

Finally, being able to control the filter via the expression pedal at the tap of a switch is fantastic.
Click to expand...

I have my eyes on the WL, in part for that effect loop feature, but I am a bit of a newb, and I have a question: when you have your fuzz in the WL loop, can you still operate the fuzz independently? Meaning can you have the fuzz sound without the filter? And without rearranging cables?
Thanks!
 
#3,392
laverdure said:
I have my eyes on the WL, in part for that effect loop feature, but I am a bit of a newb, and I have a question: when you have your fuzz in the WL loop, can you still operate the fuzz independently? Meaning can you have the fuzz sound without the filter? And without rearranging cables?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes. That's where the buffered bypass comes in. With the bypass engaged, all pedals in the effects loop operate independent of whether the WL is engaged or not. If you have it set up this way, you can operate your fuzz without the WL being on.

When you have a song where you need to quickly switch between a clean tone and a tone with say, distortion or octave and the WL, turn those pedals on and flip the bypass to off, and then turn the WL off and you will get a clean tone. When you want to use all 2-3 pedals together for that particular part of the song, turn on just the WL (remember, the others are already on) and you get your filtered dirty tone.
 
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#3,393
overbybr said:
Yes. That's where the buffered bypass comes in. With the bypass engaged, all pedals in the effects loop operate independent of whether the WL is engaged or not. If you have it set up this way, you can operate your fuzz without the WL being on.

When you have a song where you need to quickly switch between a clean tone and a tone with say, distortion or octave and the WL, turn those pedals on and flip the bypass to off, and then turn the WL off and you will get a clean tone. When you want to use all 2-3 pedals together for that particular part of the song, turn on just the WL (remember, the others are already on) and you get your filtered dirty tone.
Click to expand...

Perfect, was hoping that's how it would somehow works, had seen that buffered bypass mentioned but not clear what it did. All good now, thanks for answering! Can't wait to order and get my WL! And the Octabvre that's gonna come with it actually :)
 

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