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Atomic Amplifire Bass Box at NAMM

#301
cableguy said:
Hey guys, got my Bass box today. A little underwhelmed, but probably operator error on my part. I should read the manual a little I suppose.:D The box feels solid and drives a power amp well. I'll look into some IR's to install and play around the next few days. If anyone has any preferred setting, & IRs, feel free to share.
Click to expand...
Check out Lancaster Audio for some great low $ bass cab IR. My favs are the Ampeg 8x10 & Mesa Powerhouse. if you have the software to custom make your own IR's I suggest blending the 2 (double check the phase alignment!) the combo of the sounds great. The 8x10 being big and bassy and the powerhouse has a really aggressive in a good way midrange.
 
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#302
Spent a little more time dialing the BB in tonight. I've only played with it for a bit and it sounds great. Getting a great fat tube sound going on. I need to work more in the editor to try and dial in the boost a little better. It's not real usable as of now. I haven't tried uploading any new cab IRs yet. But so far the SVT into the Boogie 8X10 has been my favorite. I would say by the end of the weekend I'll have this baby totally dialed in.:bassist:
 
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#303
hbabels said:
Check out Lancaster Audio for some great low $ bass cab IR. My favs are the Ampeg 8x10 & Mesa Powerhouse. if you have the software to custom make your own IR's I suggest blending the 2 (double check the phase alignment!) the combo of the sounds great. The 8x10 being big and bassy and the powerhouse has a really aggressive in a good way midrange.
Click to expand...

The powerhouse 4x10 IRs are the best out there for bass in my opinion!!
 
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#305
cableguy said:
Hey guys, got my Bass box today. A little underwhelmed, but probably operator error on my part. I should read the manual a little I suppose.:D The box feels solid and drives a power amp well. I'll look into some IR's to install and play around the next few days. If anyone has any preferred setting, & IRs, feel free to share.
Click to expand...

Ill be honest I felt the same way when I got mine. The settings I use now are just set and forget. I think I posted pics of my settings earlier in this thread. Try them out
I'll try to post more later.
 
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#306
hbabels said:
Check out Lancaster Audio for some great low $ bass cab IR. My favs are the Ampeg 8x10 & Mesa Powerhouse. if you have the software to custom make your own IR's I suggest blending the 2 (double check the phase alignment!) the combo of the sounds great. The 8x10 being big and bassy and the powerhouse has a really aggressive in a good way midrange.
Click to expand...

oh nice! I gotta try blending some!
 
#307
cableguy said:
@jimfist I see you have a GK 1001 RB-II. Do you run your bassbox into that when playing live or just use a powered monitor/FRFR cab?
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Yes to both, depending on the gig.

I've always developed my modeled bass tones using Atomic CLR active cabinets in a controlled or familiar environment, at fairly loud volume. Great FRFR speakers.

On stage, I will always send the FOH mixer a feed directly from the modeler, while my discrete stage sound is either via a stage monitor wedge, or for louder gigs, will feed the GK head powering full range cabinets for the ability to EQ for the stage.
 
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#308
Broke out the Bass box at a little jam tonight. Had a GK MB200 set flat though a fEARful 12/6. Not quite FRFR, but with the mid it can be close. Due to time constraints I didn't touch the BB at all. Tweaked the EQ a tad on the GK. Sounded pretty dang good. Not great, but I know it's in there. I also now know my regular compressor will not be needed. Looks like this will be a great tool.
 
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#309
The key for me is knowing that I'm creating my modeled tones using a very high quality flat-response speaker system (Atomic CLR). I've found this to be the critical step in providing the mixing desk a consistent, pre-shaped, workable tone that gets the mixer in the ballpark quickly, with little tweaking involved.

The modeled signal I send to my stage amp (GK) will power either a pair of CLR passive cabinets (the seem to be able to take a bit more juice, whereas the CLR actives tend to limit output) or a single/pair of some custom bass cabinets, each loaded with full-range coaxial drivers (Ciare).

In the end, my stage mix is for me, the immediate bandmates on stage, and for the audience in close proximity to my side of the stage. It serves no purpose, generally, to further tweak the (tone) settings on the modeler since the adjustments made to volume and tone on stage can vary quite a bit from stage to stage, and from gig to gig depending on what type of music is being played.

Point being that if you were leave the idea of feeding the FOH mixing desk a pre-tweaked signal, then using the Bass Box (or any other modeler) as a traditional front end pre-amp (tweak it as you desire) is a perfectly viable way to go about things - for example, if your stage rig is carrying the room without PA support. Just be mindful that settings tweaked for the FOH PA system may not always be perfect or appropriate for your stage rig, and vice versa.
 
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#310
jimfist said:
The key for me is knowing that I'm creating my modeled tones using a very high quality flat-response speaker system (Atomic CLR). I've found this to be the critical step in providing the mixing desk a consistent, pre-shaped, workable tone that gets the mixer in the ballpark quickly, with little tweaking involved.


Point being that if you were leave the idea of feeding the FOH mixing desk a pre-tweaked signal, then using the Bass Box (or any other modeler) as a traditional front end pre-amp (tweak it as you desire) is a perfectly viable way to go about things - for example, if your stage rig is carrying the room without PA support. Just be mindful that settings tweaked for the FOH PA system may not always be perfect or appropriate for your stage rig, and vice versa.
Click to expand...


I tend to think like this as well. I use a FRFR speakers and feel that if my sound is good onstage, the FOH should have a usable signal out front. Also being able to alter your stage sound sound without touching the feed to FOH is the best way to go.
 
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#311
I've spent the weekend playing around with the Bassbox. It's a great preamp, but I'll probably be letting it go soon. Why you might ask? It was really nothing the box did wrong, it was more my tone preference. The BB gets a great clean tone. Lots of options & the compressor worked great. The only problem is I prefer a distorted tone, or at the very least some good grind. (Think King X, AIC, Tool) I can get there with my Darkglass X-7 in front of the BB. But since I have a Fractal FM3 inbound soon & a Tech 21 DP-3X already, I think I'll have my pre-amps covered. (not to mention my trusty old BDDI I've had sine the 90's)
My final opinion is the Atomic Bass Box is a well built & fantastic preamp. It also makes a great practice tool with aux-in & headphone out. While it didn't work for me, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Thanks @jimfist, @bassgiant15 for the help along the way. Cheers guys!
 
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#312
cableguy said:
I've spent the weekend playing around with the Bassbox. It's a great preamp, but I'll probably be letting it go soon. Why you might ask? It was really nothing the box did wrong, it was more my tone preference. The BB gets a great clean tone. Lots of options & the compressor worked great. The only problem is I prefer a distorted tone, or at the very least some good grind. (Think King X, AIC, Tool) I can get there with my Darkglass X-7 in front of the BB. But since I have a Fractal FM3 inbound soon & a Tech 21 DP-3X already, I think I'll have my pre-amps covered. (not to mention my trusty old BDDI I've had sine the 90's)
My final opinion is the Atomic Bass Box is a well built & fantastic preamp. It also makes a great practice tool with aux-in & headphone out. While it didn't work for me, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Thanks @jimfist, @bassgiant15 for the help along the way. Cheers guys!
Click to expand...

Hey, no biggie... it's all just gear, right? If I could bring myself to parting with the coin, I'd have gotten on the FM3 list, too. Great stuff coming from Fractal. Big fan, but can't justify the cost given the lack of gig income due to the covid cancellations. For me, the Bass Box straddles that line between a "dedicated" preamp w/cab IR, and a full-blown modeler/multi-fx, and it's got some great sounds in it.

Regarding the dirt/drive of the Bass Box, this is always a very subjective thing. Though I'd personally like to see a couple of added tweaks to the BOOST area of the pedal (via the editor) to make it more flexible, I've never needed much more than a nominal dirt/boost to my basic tone. Thus the Bass Box drives suit me fine.

Good luck!
 
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#314
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#318
I just received my Bass Box straight from Atomic, and the first time I plugged it in I couldn't get past how noisy it is. I unplugged the input and just listened to the noise through my headphones. I flipped the knobs and turned off any compression to make sure it wasn't just a crazy elevated noise floor.

I also noticed that it created a ground hum with my bass that I could only stop when I touched the enclosure and the footswitch. I probably do need to fix the grounding on my bass, but this was a different buzz than the one I mentioned above.

Am I crazy, or did I get a bad unit?
 
#319
Wissen said:
I just received my Bass Box straight from Atomic, and the first time I plugged it in I couldn't get past how noisy it is. I unplugged the input and just listened to the noise through my headphones. I flipped the knobs and turned off any compression to make sure it wasn't just a crazy elevated noise floor.

I also noticed that it created a ground hum with my bass that I could only stop when I touched the enclosure and the footswitch. I probably do need to fix the grounding on my bass, but this was a different buzz than the one I mentioned above.

Am I crazy, or did I get a bad unit?
Click to expand...
Power supply issue maybe ? I assume you're using the included power supply if there is one ?

have you tried different outlet / room ? Just to eliminate electrical issues ?
otherwise I'd contact their support I found them very responsive when I needed help with an Amplifire 6 a while back.
 
#320
Got a different bass to compare? Nothing like this happening with mine that is out of the ordinary....my low-end basses with dubious wiring hum as always, and the better quality basses are quieter or dead quiet with normal settings.
 

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