Anyone tried the ADA GCS-2 speaker sim?

I have a ADA gcs-2 that will be getting mounted in my bass pedalboard pretty soon here.
Fairly tweakable little box, I like mine on the Modern/12inch/Sealed settings and the mic
placement (makes a big difference) knob set to taste.
IMO it dosen't kill the lows when set properly and makes O.D./Dist./Fuzz sound much, much
better when going direct.

Not trying to push this box, but I like it on bass, hope this helps some.

 

i use the palmer PDI-09 speaker sim direct box, less controls but sounds great with all my distortion

 

Subbed - really would like more info on how this works with bass

 

Ditto! Anyone else using this box?

 

Hughes & Kettner has a new Redbox 5 out with some switching options.
I wonder how this one sounds with bass?
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RedBox5

 

I thought I might revive this thread, if you don't mind, because I'm thinking of doing this.

Anybody tried it lately? I tried one for my direct-only electric guitar rig a while back and liked it, but ultimately went with a tech 21 blonde instead, though I probably could have used both, I just didn't have the money to keep both.

Now I'm playing bass in a church that runs direct only, and I'm looking for something cost effective (read not a torpedo cab) to add a little more 3d depth to my sound. I use a tech 21 blonde, which works well, but I'm still missing something. And drives still a little too harsh for my liking.

Thanks

 

I haven't tried it yet, but the AMT Chameleon Cab CN1 is definitely on my list of things to check out. There was someone on here saying some pretty good things about it not too long ago.

AMT Electronics Chameleon CAB CN-1 - Speaker Cabinet Emulator

 

It's hard to know. For just about everyone that says something great about something, there's someone who has negative things to say. I read about that one as well, but heard that it rolls off the lows too much to be effective for bass.

 

Of course I'm sure whether or not a device is "good" also depends at least in some part on the rest of the gear used, playing technique, and what sort of sound you're going after in the first place. But it still seems that some things should just subjectively suck and not be good to some people and not others. But there's a lot of objectivity out there, understandably so.

 

Note to pedal makers: will someone just build this already? Bass oriented cabinet simulator, analog. Built-in decent DI with ground lift and output volume or pad. Solid low end response down to 40 Hz or so. Priced under $200. Through output so that you can send a non-simulated signal to your bass amp. Non-phase inverting so the user can blend the cabinet simulated signal with an uneffected DI signal in the FOH mix if desired. Rugged construction for live use. Headphones out a plus so you can hear what the DI sounds like going into the board.

That's about it. Resist the temptation to slap on a "vintage character" overdrive or "color" mid scoop suck knob or something else that homogenizes the sound of your bass and pedals. It doesn't have to be programmable (most of us don't need to change cabinet emulation settings after every song). Just something that can sit after a good bass OD or compressor and roll off the fizz going into the FOH.

Can it be done?

 

Ticks most of your boxes. Not a clue about the quality.
BASS Cabinet simulator | Reverb

I'm using the GCS-3 which is the GCS-2 plus a headphones out. I quite like it - not all settings are suited for bass but it's easy to dial in those that are.
It can be heard on this video I made a while back:

 

I have seen that bass cab simulator online. My only concern is that there isn't enough known about it yet. I haven't seen any reviews online. But I guess somebody has to be the first to bite the bullet and give it a try.

 

Actually, the GCS-3 in your video sounds quite good. Thanks for posting--Might have to reconsider that one. Does it make a difference if you use it between the amp and speaker rather than after the pre amp?

 

As in after the power amp ? Not sure it could handle it.
I have never tried it with an actual amp anyway - it's part of my bedroom practice rig. Though I may use it as a DI live some day.

 

The ADA website says the GCS-3 has a feature called POWER AMP DIRECT CONNECT which is a 30 dB pad switch that I thought was supposed to allow connecting the power amp to the direct box and running the thru on out to your speaker. I was just curious if it made a difference. I may have misunderstood this feature, though; maybe there's an owner's manual that has more info....

I don't know if there's a wattage limit; the Radial JDX also works after the power amp and it reportedly does have a power limit. The GCS-2 doesn't have this feature or the headphone jack.

Yours sounds great right after the preamp, though, so maybe it's not a feature you need...here's the link, anyway...

A/DA (tm) - Miked Guitar Cabinet Simulator

 

I think you undestood correctly - that's just something I wasn't aware of. My amp and cab being connected via Speakon, I have no easy way of trying that out.

By the way in the above video I used the ADA APP-1 preamp which I didn't really like (even for guitar).
I'll have to make another video with the Shift Line MKII tube preamp (actually meant for bass) one of these days - it'll sound even better.