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A Tale of Two Boards
- Thread starter Jared Lash
- Start date
Now wait a minute....I don't see a tuner mentioned.
I've still got a rack tuner if need be, though I don't change tunings for this gig so tuning with a hand held before gigs and practices has worked fine so far.
I said I had a filter. I didn't say which one.
Not for this application. I need a very specific tone from the compressor and an equivalent rack version to what I'm using would be cost prohibitive. Hell, the pedal version is nearly cost prohibitive.
I am intrigued by the Modulator but I have yet to hear any reviews of it on bass. And I wonder if it will jive with my dub tone. That's the big problem I've had with modulation so far, it all is simply too subtle in this context.
Hey Jared,
I'm too lazy at the moment to read this whole thread, but at the beginning of it you were asking about good mods with sub bass. If you haven't tried this, or if it hasn't already been suggested, I'm loving using a pretty extreme vibrato with my sub lines. Just adds a nice textural wobble.
Proton
I'm too lazy at the moment to read this whole thread, but at the beginning of it you were asking about good mods with sub bass. If you haven't tried this, or if it hasn't already been suggested, I'm loving using a pretty extreme vibrato with my sub lines. Just adds a nice textural wobble.
Proton
Not a bad idea, though I'm not sure how well it will fit in with what we're doing. I do border on electronica tones (basically getting that "Super Ape Inna Jungle" type sound) but I don't know how far down that road these guys want to go. We're a lot closer to Dub Trio or Defacto than Nerve.
I am still giving the Modulator some thought. And if I went to my PT-Pro I suppose I could go with the Mod Factor, a Moog Phaser or any number of other options that I currently don't have space for.
Hmm.
Nova Mod has the LFO trigger and sync which could be useful in some capacity. I think it can also pull off a reasonable TZF.
I love through-zero-flanging on guitar. On bass I think you'd disappear from the mix which isn't good. I'm loathe to go to digital modulation (especially phaser) but I think that's the only way I'm going to find something that doesn't disappear completely.
The Modulator looks like a contender for my purposes though it's awkward power supply issues are a concern.
For studio use, it's understandable why you might want to stay away from digital modulation. For live use on bass, I think it's a much better option. You have more control, more headroom, and unless you use modulation as a staple effect for your sound, there are plenty of digital boxes that are more than good enough to do the job in my opinion. For dub, you probably won't need too much modulation. I'm considering having my CE-5 modded by FX Doctor so I can switch it between chorus and vibrato. I love this chorus to death for synth but I'd love to have vibrato for dub.
Aye, but there's the rub. You're right that I won't use modulation all that often BUT when I do it has to be super pronounced or there's no point. I've already got a super heavy tone so delicate or subtle modulation is a complete waste. It really has to be along the lines of "WOW A PHASER!!!" and not, "is that a phaser?".
One problem with the vast majority of boutique modulation pedals is that they have fantastic but not overpowering sound. Boutique phasers especially often have this chiming sweetness to them which is great if you have a tone that allows all the nuance to be heard, but in my application I need a hammer, not a scalpel. So I'm fine with putting aside my general dislike of modulation for this application.
Side note, I got a chance to play with the Eventide Modfactor a bit tonight on guitar and bass, though not my bass or rig. I'd really need to try it with my setup to be sure, but it certainly seemed like on all but really extreme settings it would be too subtle for my purposes. But with a normal bass (and especially guitar) tone I thought it sounded very good.
I'm starting to think I should forget about phasers, flangers and vibrato for this board and just throw on a reverb or tremolo and be done with it. We'll see.
Aye, but there's the rub. You're right that I won't use modulation all that often BUT when I do it has to be super pronounced or there's no point. I've already got a super heavy tone so delicate or subtle modulation is a complete waste. It really has to be along the lines of "WOW A PHASER!!!" and not, "is that a phaser?".
One problem with the vast majority of boutique modulation pedals is that they have fantastic but not overpowering sound. Boutique phasers especially often have this chiming sweetness to them which is great if you have a tone that allows all the nuance to be heard, but in my application I need a hammer, not a scalpel. So I'm fine with putting aside my general dislike of modulation for this application.
Side note, I got a chance to play with the Eventide Modfactor a bit tonight on guitar and bass, though not my bass or rig. I'd really need to try it with my setup to be sure, but it certainly seemed like on all but really extreme settings it would be too subtle for my purposes. But with a normal bass (and especially guitar) tone I thought it sounded very good.
I'm starting to think I should forget about phasers, flangers and vibrato for this board and just throw on a reverb or tremolo and be done with it. We'll see.
Not really a pedal that would fit your board but I found that the EP-1 phaser almost too much. The first time I tried the one that I had I thought that I was going to confetti some Bergantino speakers. Subtle it was not.
Yeah, I really dig the EP-1. And while the phaser side wasn't my favorite, it IS big and chewy and would probably work for my application. But again, like the Moog Phaser or the Maestro Stage Phaser, it's just too big. Maybe I should be considering a bigger board.
I have an EP-1 with the Marv mod and an expression mod for the Sweep.
When the Marv mod is engaged, the 'sweep' parameter on the EF side adds a lot more flexibility...especially when the 'character' knob gets tweaked for your application.
Also, in 'Marv' the resonance and intensity can really tame the EF.
The Sweep expression with the sensitivity set to 0 works as a great phase wah.
Though it's not my favourite phaser ever, it's a fantastic tool for looping (phase turned EQ) and opening up tone (after octave or synth, phase sits you in the mix a bit cozier) as well as pulling double duties as EF and mod pedal on my board.
It's certainly large, It's entirely useful, and it's more than the sum of its parts.
When the Marv mod is engaged, the 'sweep' parameter on the EF side adds a lot more flexibility...especially when the 'character' knob gets tweaked for your application.
Also, in 'Marv' the resonance and intensity can really tame the EF.
The Sweep expression with the sensitivity set to 0 works as a great phase wah.
Though it's not my favourite phaser ever, it's a fantastic tool for looping (phase turned EQ) and opening up tone (after octave or synth, phase sits you in the mix a bit cozier) as well as pulling double duties as EF and mod pedal on my board.
It's certainly large, It's entirely useful, and it's more than the sum of its parts.
I was running a P-Bass with the tone rolled off into a heavily bass EQ'd amp. And to be fair I was using my guitar playing buddy's presets so maybe I could have dialed in more extreme sounds if I tried.
But given that I don't have the board space (and would have trouble powering it) I wasn't considering it all that seriously to begin with.
But given that I don't have the board space (and would have trouble powering it) I wasn't considering it all that seriously to begin with.
So, when you say you might give up on flange/phase/vibrato, have you used any vibratos with a really long delay time? Like something pitch pirate ish?
I bet even an analog chorus/vibrato could probably be mod'd to be extreme enough to be noticed with a bunch of low pass filtering before it... depending on how you set the rate, I think that an extreme vibrato could potentially have the impact you want, in the board space you have. (well, its either that or I really like Boards of Canada and stupidly seasick vibratos and think everyone should use them)
I bet even an analog chorus/vibrato could probably be mod'd to be extreme enough to be noticed with a bunch of low pass filtering before it... depending on how you set the rate, I think that an extreme vibrato could potentially have the impact you want, in the board space you have. (well, its either that or I really like Boards of Canada and stupidly seasick vibratos and think everyone should use them)
So I spent Sunday trying some different modulation for my dub board and officially ruled out phaser, chorus and flanger. Tremolo works fine, but isn't really going to "fit" well other than a bit of triangle or sine wave with moderate depth to give a bit of movement but I doubt I'd use it much. Reverb sounded great with just a touch, giving some great thickness, but got WAY too muddy beyond just a touch. And I'll get that touch of reverb naturally when playing live.
Extreme vibrato DOES work jucas, and I dug the sound, but again, not really appropriate for this band. So I've given up on modulation beyond delay.
And with my bandmates wanting to do some heavy rock at times, I decided to go with another dirt pedal instead. So that's it. This board will be finished when that pedal arrives.
Now for the "utility" board. I'm officially bringing my old Empress Tremolo back home where she belongs and I've ordered a second PT-2/PP2+ combo for that board - this one with a soft case.
Perhaps most interesting is that I'm giving serious thought to NOT having a phaser on this board. I've always had a phaser on my board, and now the idea that I'd have two gigging boards without one on either setup is very odd. We'll see.
Extreme vibrato DOES work jucas, and I dug the sound, but again, not really appropriate for this band. So I've given up on modulation beyond delay.
And with my bandmates wanting to do some heavy rock at times, I decided to go with another dirt pedal instead. So that's it. This board will be finished when that pedal arrives.
Now for the "utility" board. I'm officially bringing my old Empress Tremolo back home where she belongs and I've ordered a second PT-2/PP2+ combo for that board - this one with a soft case.
Perhaps most interesting is that I'm giving serious thought to NOT having a phaser on this board. I've always had a phaser on my board, and now the idea that I'd have two gigging boards without one on either setup is very odd. We'll see.
By the way, I got a great eBay deal on a new Pedaltrain PT-2 and Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+. $30 less (including shipping) than what they would cost together anywhere else AND the PP2+ is already mounted to the PT-2. And it looked like there were quite a few more available.
Mine hasn't been delivered yet so take it with a grain of salt, but the seller has 99.8% positive feedback over thousands of transactions.
I'll update when it arrives later this week.
Mine hasn't been delivered yet so take it with a grain of salt, but the seller has 99.8% positive feedback over thousands of transactions.
I'll update when it arrives later this week.
