so coyoteboy, any word about the IOD yet? do you like it even more than you thought you would? or did you not even get it yet?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Any SWR Interstellar Overdrive Owners?
- Thread starter Tapp
- Start date
Hey there. I got it yesterday and did the quick plug and play test, and found that it seems to work fine and sound like I remember. I have yet to get out the whole rig and do the full on test. Perhaps tonight or tomorrow. First impression? too cool for the room. More later. c-boy
Wow. I tested the IOD running parallel to my DB680 and into my DB728. That is, having identical inputs into each pre, with the output of the IOD going into the fx return of the DB680, so I can mix the two pre's. Sonically, this thing can get pretty crazy, especially if you have a high volume rig. BTW, the speaker I'm using is an Epifani T-212, w/ the tweeter off when using the IOD, but I'm not missing it so far. I'm not an expert on overdrive sounds, but I think it is very smooth and will be useful when I get it tweaked to my liking. It sounds good with the bass guitar, it retains the low end nicely, and I like what it can do with the Warr Guitar, in the upper registers, its rather guitar-like in its reponse.
I'll get to record with it next week, and hopefully a gig with it soon.
p.s. there was a post wherin it was said that the IOD wasn't as loud as the Redhead it was patched into. I found that my IOD was at least as loud, if not much louder with the drive turned up as my DB 680. You might want to check the tubes in your IOD. The volume I'm getting out of mine is scary. peace
I'll get to record with it next week, and hopefully a gig with it soon.
p.s. there was a post wherin it was said that the IOD wasn't as loud as the Redhead it was patched into. I found that my IOD was at least as loud, if not much louder with the drive turned up as my DB 680. You might want to check the tubes in your IOD. The volume I'm getting out of mine is scary. peace
wow, coyoteboy, sounds good to me. and about that the IOD registers the sound like a guitar, would that be to a advantage or disadvantage? anyways, sounds great to me. congrats!
In this case, I think it is an advantage, as it increases the versatility of the IOD, and considering the tuning of the Warr guitar, I'm not suprised at the guitaristic response. I'll let my guitarist buddy play through it for a while. I curious as to his opinion.
if you want to have a killer guitar amp - plug a 2x10 into the speaker out of the IOD, and turn off the tweeter.
sweeeeeeeeeet.
jason
sweeeeeeeeeet.
jason
I know this is kind of off topic, but i just want to say to Coyoteboy that your setup is one hell of a setup. Both the DB680 and DB728, wow, that should have cost you a fortune.
MrFortuneCookie: I couldn't have afforded it if I hadn't purchased it all used, except for the rack itself and the Epi. 2x12. God Bless the Internet.
I have had one for a long time; I use it on the bass side of my Chapman stick. It gives me a nice overdrive, or enhanced clean sound. Can be a little noisy on the top end, but that can be cured by controlling gain...
Would love to have the manual or better a schematic for it.
The person who fixes my tube equipment just changed the tubes in it and fixed a faulty jack. He is a player and offered to buyt it from me. He builds amps so that should tell you something. He's intot he old school straigyt ahead blues tones
Would love to have the manual or better a schematic for it.
The person who fixes my tube equipment just changed the tubes in it and fixed a faulty jack. He is a player and offered to buyt it from me. He builds amps so that should tell you something. He's intot he old school straigyt ahead blues tones
My standard live big rig is a bi-amp system that runs an Ampeg SVP-Pro as the preamp. I do however use my SWR-IOD from time to time depending on the band/gig. For those interested, the single preamp tube that my IOD (a Black and chrome one) came with was a Sovtec 12AX7WA (7025). This is the same tube that Hartke put new from factory in the pre stage of their LH-500's and LH-1000's, of which I have one each as well, and Carvin put in a lot of their amps. Excellent sounding tube for bass IMHO.
The thing with tubes in bass gear is that your choices are completely different to what a guitarist might choose.
In the Ampeg I run four NoS Telefunken ECC83's (12AX7's in US terminology) and one NoS Telefunken ECC82 (12AU7) which is there to introduce harmonic distortion via the DRIVE knob. I tube rolled everything I could get my hands on many years ago and discovered that the best tubes to handle bass frequencies were Telefunkens and pretty much any of the tubes used in organs back in the day. So Raytheon (also rebadged as Baldwin, Lowrey and Rodgers), Siemens, RFT, some RCA black plates (the 5751 in particular) and the Tung Sol 5751 as well, which is what I'm currently running in the SWR IOD. Making it slightly warmer and not quite as dark sounding as the Sovtec 12AX7WA (7025). 7025 designates low noise version of the 12AX7. Previously I used a Phillips (Hendon) 12AX7, which was a lovely sound but lacked the punch and slightly more solid sounds of the other tubes (ie its great for guitar, not suitable for bass).
And this gets me back to the point where I've found that a lot of tubes dont suit bass. The ones that I've found fall into this category are JJ's (too brittle sounding for me, but, apart from being slightly hissy, add pixie dust to the guitar amps I've heard them in), Electro Harmonix are good for bass and have good grind, lots of harmonic overtones in the mids especially but again are a bit hissy. The Sylvania's (seem to vary a lot but I know bassists who love them. I thought they were only ok but not as good as other options available), GE, I havent tried one that I like in a bass rig yet, but loved them in a Music man RD100 guitar amp. Mullards??? Now, I havent tried many Marshall bass rigs for a very long time, but I am reassured by some of my British mates that Mullards and Brimars are "totally the go". In Ampeg and SWR gear though, I found them messy in lows and mids. Just remember that amp manufacturers design and dial in their amps based on whatever the bits and pieces that they've chosen to use, so I have no doubt that an Ashdown with new manufacture Mullards will sound just as good as an old school Marshall with NoS Mullards. If you know what I mean?
With the price and availability of the older tubes becoming an unrealistic option I've started experimenting with the newer reissues of famous brands. For American designed/built bass gear the best modern tube I've found so far is the Sovtec 12AX7WA 7025. The Genalex Gold Lion ECC83/B749 gets a big wrap, but this might be great in Fender twin reverb or a Hi Fi, but how will it sound in an SVT?? I've ordered a current production Tung Sol ECC803S (Russian built) to try out in the IOD. Will let you know what I think as compared to the Old Stock Tung Sol 12AX7 thats in it at the moment and the original Sovtec 12AX7WA.
Sorry its a bit of a mixed up waffle but just throwing my thoughts at the screen. Hope its helpful to someone. Just remember that what speakers and what basses you use change everything so this is just a rough overview based on my experience.
The thing with tubes in bass gear is that your choices are completely different to what a guitarist might choose.
In the Ampeg I run four NoS Telefunken ECC83's (12AX7's in US terminology) and one NoS Telefunken ECC82 (12AU7) which is there to introduce harmonic distortion via the DRIVE knob. I tube rolled everything I could get my hands on many years ago and discovered that the best tubes to handle bass frequencies were Telefunkens and pretty much any of the tubes used in organs back in the day. So Raytheon (also rebadged as Baldwin, Lowrey and Rodgers), Siemens, RFT, some RCA black plates (the 5751 in particular) and the Tung Sol 5751 as well, which is what I'm currently running in the SWR IOD. Making it slightly warmer and not quite as dark sounding as the Sovtec 12AX7WA (7025). 7025 designates low noise version of the 12AX7. Previously I used a Phillips (Hendon) 12AX7, which was a lovely sound but lacked the punch and slightly more solid sounds of the other tubes (ie its great for guitar, not suitable for bass).
And this gets me back to the point where I've found that a lot of tubes dont suit bass. The ones that I've found fall into this category are JJ's (too brittle sounding for me, but, apart from being slightly hissy, add pixie dust to the guitar amps I've heard them in), Electro Harmonix are good for bass and have good grind, lots of harmonic overtones in the mids especially but again are a bit hissy. The Sylvania's (seem to vary a lot but I know bassists who love them. I thought they were only ok but not as good as other options available), GE, I havent tried one that I like in a bass rig yet, but loved them in a Music man RD100 guitar amp. Mullards??? Now, I havent tried many Marshall bass rigs for a very long time, but I am reassured by some of my British mates that Mullards and Brimars are "totally the go". In Ampeg and SWR gear though, I found them messy in lows and mids. Just remember that amp manufacturers design and dial in their amps based on whatever the bits and pieces that they've chosen to use, so I have no doubt that an Ashdown with new manufacture Mullards will sound just as good as an old school Marshall with NoS Mullards. If you know what I mean?
With the price and availability of the older tubes becoming an unrealistic option I've started experimenting with the newer reissues of famous brands. For American designed/built bass gear the best modern tube I've found so far is the Sovtec 12AX7WA 7025. The Genalex Gold Lion ECC83/B749 gets a big wrap, but this might be great in Fender twin reverb or a Hi Fi, but how will it sound in an SVT?? I've ordered a current production Tung Sol ECC803S (Russian built) to try out in the IOD. Will let you know what I think as compared to the Old Stock Tung Sol 12AX7 thats in it at the moment and the original Sovtec 12AX7WA.
Sorry its a bit of a mixed up waffle but just throwing my thoughts at the screen. Hope its helpful to someone. Just remember that what speakers and what basses you use change everything so this is just a rough overview based on my experience.
It came with the previously mentioned Sovtec 12AX7WA 7025 and 2 x Sovtec EL84's.
I ran a Phillips (Hendon) 12AX7 in the pre stage for a long while but more recently swapped it out for an old stock Tung Sol 12AX7 (tested at (1100/1100) which has slightly more hiss but is warmer than the Phillips. I've just received a new Sovtec 12AX7WA which obviously being what they used when they built the IOD, should sound great. Will let you know.
I havent swapped out the EL 84's at all.
