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Behold, The Empress Multidrive OD/Distortion/Fuzz

#61
After some listening and reading, I will be passing on this pedal. Looks like a great idea on the surface...all three grades of drive-type effects, blendable in one pedal. But I have doubts, and doubts don't get my dollars.
 
#62
You're not helping sell me on their hype. I read it, and it's misleading. More importantly, the bass clips sound atrocious. But whatever floats yer boat!

bongomania said:
Weelll, they DO NOT say each channel is supposed to be emulating any specific amp AT ALL. They only describe how people use multiple amp channels in parallel to blend each of their strengths, and how having three parallel distortions is based on that idea.

They SPECIFICALLY SAY "The multidrive allows you to blend Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz together... Let the sustain of fuzz, the bite of distortion and the clarity and note definition of overdrive all work together!" And not ONE WORD about emulating any amps.

On top of that the Acoustic 360 amp, as played by Jaco, was famous for its built-in fuzz effect. So there's your "amp that fuzz emulates".
Click to expand...
 
#63
I just listened to the bass clips on the Empress site...

I agree that it definitely sounds like a guitarist playing bass!

While these tones are on the aggressive side, I still like them & they seem to pack plenty of bottom!

I'm still digging what I see/hear. Wont know for sure until I get to use one myself, naturally.
 
#64
RCCollins said:
You're not helping sell me on their hype. I read it, and it's misleading. More importantly, the bass clips sound atrocious. But whatever floats yer boat!
Click to expand...
It doesn't float my boat, and I don't have the tiniest fragment of interest in selling you on their hype. If you got that from my post, then maybe you're having some difficulty reading things at face value.
 
#65
bongomania said:
It doesn't float my boat, and I don't have the tiniest fragment of interest in selling you on their hype. If you got that from my post, then maybe you're having some difficulty reading things at face value.
Click to expand...

you were informative and on point. and neutral from what I could tell.

here's my version of their copy: "It's got 3 distortion channels and if you use your imagination, that's vaguely like using 3 different amps of your choice (and then blending back in some clean bass signal)"
 
#66
Thanks to ToneFactors July 4th 15% coupon, free shipping & great return policy- I finally pulled the trigger. ($250 brand new delivered!)

IMG_2045.jpg


I admit I bought it primarily for use in my guitar setup, but I'll definitely give it a bass workout as well! I'll report back with my objective findings...

IMG_2046.jpg
 
#67
At first looking at that thing I had sudden GAS attack... However after seeing price and listening to bass clips I think I'll experiment with Magicstomp's multiband distortions first. So far I was able to get decent overdrive from it so why not.

edit: My bad - distortion in MS has a sophisticated EQ but it's not multiband by itself. Just compressor and multifilter are.
 
#68
Well,... I'm going to HAVE to do some clips. The Multidrive works great on bass! Low end retention is perfect even without the eq. There's far more varieties/textures of 'grit/distortion/clipping' available in this single pedal than any other I've tried. From mild od, to 'Rage' style riff-crunch to full-on biting fuzz.

It can be daunting having so many options available, but it only took me seconds to find great, usable sounds using any of the 3 channels.

Those older bass clips weren't my cup o' tea either, folks- but there's a lot of potential here! In practical use, it's definitely not a 3-tone pedal, it's a 2-tone pedal (as far as setting up footswitchable presets goes). But, if you're willing to 'get on the floor' and tweak knobs, there's not much this pedal cannot do!

I cant decide which instrument to set up tones on first! Hmmm,... maybe I'll work on bass clips tomorrow. We'll see how time allows.
 
#76
grygrx said:
tooo many knobs! ARGH
Click to expand...

There are! At the same time, though, there's really only 6 knobs per effect & 2 are redundant level controls. Just gain & volume for each channel & 3 band eq. The 'Distortion' channel is the only effect with any complexity via the 3-way voicing toggle. If you ignore the the hp/lp filtering options, it's all very simple!

Like I said, I managed to intuitively dial-in familiar great sounds in seconds with the Multidrive. It's easy! (Deciding how you want to implement channel switching & putting together a strategy is less intuitive, but fun!)
 
#77
I've found over time, that any more than 4 knobs will turn me off. Voice your pedal damn it, make some choices. Odds are that I'm going to choose a setting and roll with it anyway.

IMHO Swiss army knives are useful, but seldom replace an actual tool in all areas of performance.
 
#78
grygrx said:
I've found over time, that any more than 4 knobs will turn me off. Voice your pedal damn it, make some choices. Odds are that I'm going to choose a setting and roll with it anyway.

IMHO Swiss army knives are useful, but seldom replace an actual tool in all areas of performance.
Click to expand...

Good point, for sure! I've never found a 'multi-effects' that suited me for this reason. At the same time, I think that the whole point of the Multidrive is that it's supposed to be a multi-tool, not a uni-tasker! There's room for every approach, right? :)

Seems the best application of the Multidrive is the parallel blending in a small footprint. Very cool tones in this config!
I just did about 7 short clips ranging from very light od to aggressive fuzz & many shades in between! I'm working on a full text, pic, audio review that will make navigating the clips easy on my website. I'll post when finished.

Obviously, there are umpteen million better & more full-featured individual fuz, distortion and overdrive pedals available! But, you're gonna be hard-pressed to find a 'distortion' pedal with this much flexibility and killer sound! Again, the Multidrive will most likely be a dedicated part of my electric guitar rig, but it's utility for bass is certainly admirable!
 

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