3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2

[jbybj]

While I am sure everyone would benefit from learning a new language, could you please elaborate?

I thought you were playing a specific game, I was just taking my turn. Another thread had a lengthy tournament of the “Unsolicited Bizness Advice” game.

But honestly, @Ricky Caboverde said mostly what I was thinking, I was simply being kind of an a-hole. Apologies, I’m usually pretty good at not posting the first snarky thing that pops into my head. It was too early for my editor to kick in.

 

[Naack]

I thought you were playing a specific game, I was just taking my turn. Another thread had a lengthy tournament of the “Unsolicited Bizness Advice” game.

But honestly, @Ricky Caboverde said mostly what I was thinking, I was simply being kind of an a-hole. Apologies, I’m usually pretty good at not posting the first snarky thing that pops into my head. It was too early for my editor to kick in.

No worries. I was out of line with my comment about how Spencer should run his business.

 

[friend33]

Can anyone tell me the practical difference(s) between the Wonderlove and Chromatron, if any?

I have a Wonderlove from back in the day. I was looking at a demo of the Chromatron and it seems like the exact same pedal as far as knobs. (The FX switch is labeled differently, but works the same - use the effects independently or only when the pedal’s engaged.)

 

[jdjk7]

Can anyone tell me the practical difference(s) between the Wonderlove and Chromatron, if any?

I have a Wonderlove from back in the day. I was looking at a demo of the Chromatron and it seems like the exact same pedal as far as knobs. (The FX switch is labeled differently, but works the same - use the effects independently or only when the pedal’s engaged.)

I believe the Chromatron's tracking is different, but I don't have hard info.

 

[Batrachos]

I would say the main difference is tone. Tracking is pretty comparable.
Wonderlove is brighter and more bubbly. Chromatron is smoother, I guess you could say it's more subtle, but in a way that just makes the tone more cohesive.



Not me, but I believe I found this on this talkbass thread, useful comparison

 

[jdjk7]

I would say the main difference is tone. Tracking is pretty comparable.
Wonderlove is brighter and more bubbly. Chromatron is smoother, I guess you could say it's more subtle, but in a way that just makes the tone more cohesive.



Not me, but I believe I found this on this talkbass thread, useful comparison

That'll be part of what I meant about tracking-- the way the envelope moves in response to the input. That's different between the two.

 

[labeledbass]

Yeah, the input trigger is subjective in relation to the output of the bass and where the sensitivity is set on the envelope. The biggest difference you'll see is to dial in the sensitivity (they will be in different positions) and start each pedals attack full CCW and then after that the release, that and the amount of feedback are where you'll see the major differences. Each have different ranges of how much attack and release, this is really noticeable when using a expression pedal. The tone cutoff didnt change on the chromatron which Im sure is different as well. This comparison would be interesting between the proton v4 and chromatron, as its stated the v4 has the same circuit.

The biggest difference Ive noticed with the Chrome and every other envelope is how pedals in the FX line react to the final mix of envelope and FX. Ive never heard of the two kinds of effects mix be so cohesive

 

[jdjk7]

This comparison would be interesting between the proton v4 and chromatron, as its stated the v4 has the same circuit.

I owned both and tested this, and to my ear the circuits are identical. I couldn't find a point where it didn't sound identical after trying a few sets of settings.

 

[labeledbass]

I owned both and tested this, and to my ear the circuits are identical. I couldn't find a point where it didn't sound identical after trying a few sets of settings.

Thats good news for folks that access to a proton and not a Chromatron

 

[JazzyJacuzzi]

I owned both and tested this, and to my ear the circuits are identical. I couldn't find a point where it didn't sound identical after trying a few sets of settings.

I've also had both and can attest to this. I even asked Spencer about it and he confirmed it. The only difference he said was that one of the Proton's controls -- I can't recall which -- has a wider range than the Chroma's.

 

[Dr Greenthumb]

I haven't tried either the newest Proton or Chromatron yet but the Chroma having the FX loop and the possibility of using an expression pedal is really what sets it apart from the Proton imo.

The GR, GR2 and Wonderlove were all designed to emulate the Lovetone Meatball while the earlier Protons were based on the Mu Tron.

 

[s_wood]

Does anybody have any recommendations for pedal button toppers that will fit a Chromatron and an Octabvre MK II? I’ve tried a couple different Barefoot Button sizes and they don’t fit quite right…the footswitches can’t be fully depressed and won’t engage. Any ideas?

 

[silky smoove]

Does anybody have any recommendations for pedal button toppers that will fit a Chromatron and an Octabvre MK II? I’ve tried a couple different Barefoot Button sizes and they don’t fit quite right…the footswitches can’t be fully depressed and won’t engage. Any ideas?

Barefoot Buttons fit perfectly on my Chromatron and MKI Octabvre. You have to pick the correct model from their site since they now have at least three different connection shapes. If you pick the correct one it will fit perfectly.

 

[s_wood]

Do you remember which model you use? Neither V1 nor V2 work for me.

 

[labeledbass]

I haven't tried either the newest Proton or Chromatron yet but the Chroma having the FX loop and the possibility of using an expression pedal is really what sets it apart from the Proton imo.

The GR, GR2 and Wonderlove were all designed to emulate the Lovetone Meatball while the earlier Protons were based on the Mu Tron.

Was the GR2 not modeled after mu tron type of sound, wonderlove being the other?

Do you remember which model you use? Neither V1 nor V2 work for me.

Theres some that have a deeper barrel, I use whatever version works, cant remember off the top of my head, but they are also the high/long ones, with the little skirt

 

[Stubb]

I can't speak to the Protons, but my understanding is that the Groove Regulator and GR2 were voiced after the Lovetone Meatball, while the Wonderlove and Wonderlove Deluxe were voiced after the MuTron. The Chromatron is its own, new thing.

 

[Dr Greenthumb]

if i understand it right ...

... the Proton is similar to the Mu-Tron III
... the Groove Regulator is based on the Lovetone Meatball

How to describe the sound of the Wonderlove?

Well, it's derived from the Meatball but I've changed so much at this point that it's really its own thing. It can get the sounds of the Mutron and the Meatball and the other classic filters, and more.

After some sleuthing I found this bit of info.

 

[silky smoove]

Do you remember which model you use? Neither V1 nor V2 work for me.

I don’t recall, but there’s a guide on the Barefoot website. Whenever I’ve followed that they’ve fit the destination pedal perfectly.

 

[winterburn69]

It most certainly does, and it's not isolated to us pedal-fanatics. I recently walked away from a new vehicle purchase because the dealer wanted an extra $10,000 on top of the MSRP and destination charge for a vehicle they were selling for just over $40,000. Effectively a 25% markup. He explained that it was due to vehicle scarcity and was what they (a massive dealership with a huge inventory) had to do to "keep the lights on."

Was the GR2 not modeled after mu tron type of sound, wonderlove being the other?


Theres some that have a deeper barrel, I use whatever version works, cant remember off the top of my head, but they are also the high/long ones, with the little skirt

Proton was conceived as a Mutron clone.

 

[jdjk7]

I haven't tried either the newest Proton or Chromatron yet but the Chroma having the FX loop and the possibility of using an expression pedal is really what sets it apart from the Proton imo.

The GR, GR2 and Wonderlove were all designed to emulate the Lovetone Meatball while the earlier Protons were based on the Mu Tron.

Even without the expression option, the FX loop on the Chroma is the secret sauce. If you have your dynamic-destroying distortions, fuzzes, and octavers in the FX loop, you can still play your dry bass into it and control the filter musically. The value of this cannot be overstated. The Proton can happily live with that lack of dynamic and still get a good sound, but the Chroma goes above and beyond.

Surprisingly, I do have a feature request for the Chroma, which seems impossible (I did voice it to Spencer). I wish there was a switch that let me select whether the "Dry" signal in the blend knob was comprised of the dry bass tone as it goes into the Chroma, or the unfiltered-but-still-effected tone as it goes into the fx return. Blending bone-dry bass tone with massive fuzzed out filter tones doesn't always quite work. For that reason, I have one of my octave pedals inside the FX loop but then the other sitting before the Chroma-- so then I can mix octave-downed bass if I need the 'drt' bass to remain synthy. This isn't ideal, as I'd rather have that other octaver in the fx loop.