Bergantino B/Amp at NAMM

[kjones]

True. Or if I go B/amp I could use a Bergantino cab as I think they are pretty "flat" if you want them to be.

Although they're relatively flat, that certainly differs from cab to cab. They definitely are amenable to EQ, and little changes are amazingly audible, even 1.0-1.5 dB almost anywhere in the spectrum is pretty obvious.

I hear JoePP very well, and he's quite knowledgeable on this stuff, but I find the HDN 12 speakers just a tad more round in the low mid than some of the other HDNs, for example the 10s. I'm talking about a matter of micro-degree, not a lot.

Not that I dislike it, my HDN 112 is my favorite and most used speaker, sometimes by itself, sometimes with the HDN 210. It's a superior cabinet, and when one considers its weight, it's a pretty wonderful solution for a lot of people.

212 is twice as good? But I like the 322 combo because I perceive it a being a bit more flexible, and for a guy who goes to a bizarre variety of calls, that's important to me.

 

[JoePP]

Although they're relatively flat, that certainly differs from cab to cab. They definitely are amenable to EQ, and little changes are amazingly audible, even 1.0-1.5 dB almost anywhere in the spectrum is pretty obvious.

I hear JoePP very well, and he's quite knowledgeable on this stuff, but I find the HDN 12 speakers just a tad more round in the low mid than some of the other HDNs, for example the 10s. I'm talking about a matter of micro-degree, not a lot.

Not that I dislike it, my HDN 112 is my favorite and most used speaker, sometimes by itself, sometimes with the HDN 210. It's a superior cabinet, and when one considers its weight, it's a pretty wonderful solution for a lot of people.

212 is twice as good? But I like the 322 combo because I perceive it a being a bit more flexible, and for a guy who goes to a bizarre variety of calls, that's important to me.

Yep I definitely agree. I should have clarified that I was speaking in terms of the flatness of the HDN212 using the B|Amp HDN212 speaker profile. The 12's definitely do have a low mid focus, which the speaker profile tends to even out. Without the speaker profiles (and likely to some extent even with them) the 10s are going to be more even and perhaps even focused in the lows and high mids/highs. That's probably why some many people like to pair the 112 and 210 cabinets because they compliment each other in that way.

 

[kjones]

Yep I definitely agree. I should have clarified that I was speaking in terms of the flatness of the HDN212 using the B|Amp HDN212 speaker profile. The 12's definitely do have a low mid focus, which the speaker profile tends to even out. Without the speaker profiles (and likely to some extent even with them) the 10s are going to be more even and perhaps even focused in the lows and high mids/highs. That's probably why some many people like to pair the 112 and 210 cabinets because they compliment each other in that way.

Bingo.

The thing I like about the mix is that the 112 and the 210 are slightly different and serve different needs, not to mention how great they work together.

Sorry to wander a bit, Steve!

 

[rodl2005]

Downloaded the new firmware last night (Aus time) & while I was at it. ..loaded AE410 and NV115 & 2×NV115 profiles. Haven't tried any of this out yet but have 3 gigs this weekend so will do and will report

 

[rodl2005]

And @husky123 (& Jim B et al) thanks for your work on these new aspects for the new download. As I said, I've not even tried it yet. ..but like the vid eg's you linked.
95% of the time I use a little drive in my tone, so these will no doubt come in very handy.

 

[husky123]

And @husky123 (& Jim B et al) thanks for your work on these new aspects for the new download. As I said, I've not even tried it yet. ..but like the vid eg's you linked.
95% of the time I use a little drive in my tone, so these will no doubt come in very handy.

Hope you enjoy them, Rod. I know you gig a lot so I'm hoping to hear your thoughts. These 2 new distortions were designed with the band mix in mind. We spent A LOT of hours fine tuning and nit picking the living daylights out of them. Hope you dig them.

Lee

 

[rodl2005]

My daughter has/had very long n thick hair. ..when she was a primary school student. ..so I have plenty of experience in nit picking

 

[husky123]

Also, when I mention the band mix, Dist1 in particular, has exceptional harmonic content that, at even low drive levels, will let you be heard and not have to beat the rest of the band over the head with volume. Again, as you increase the drive you will lose ZERO low end and/or fundamental tone. If your have a strongly voiced bass, you're going to love this scene. Passive instruments may end up preferring Dist2 with its robust midrange and seemingly more drive on tap.

Be sure to experiment around with different drive/volume/EQ on the distortion circuits. They are all very responsive to changes and throttle up nicely. The B|Amp is officially a fire breather if you need it to be.

 

[rodl2005]

Cool. So far. ...with the drive included in the 3.0 version. .which is all I've used so far. .. I've loved being able to add just a touch of compression to the of drive and save this in a memory slot. Give a real tube amp. ..on the edge of break up. ..feel n sound

 

[JoePP]

Also, when I mention the band mix, Dist1 in particular, has exceptional harmonic content that, at even low drive levels, will let you be heard and not have to beat the rest of the band over the head with volume. Again, as you increase the drive you will lose ZERO low end and/or fundamental tone. If your have a strongly voiced bass, you're going to love this scene. Passive instruments may end up preferring Dist2 with its robust midrange and seemingly more drive on tap.

Be sure to experiment around with different drive/volume/EQ on the distortion circuits. They are all very responsive to changes and throttle up nicely. The B|Amp is officially a fire breather if you need it to be.

The band had some down time recently so I finally had a chance to try the new distortion effects at rehearsal Tuesday night, and WOW! Again husky seems to read my mind with his posts! Lol! There's something about the midrange grind in Dist1 that just brings the bass to the front of the mix even at lower volumes than I'd normally use to hear myself and be heard. That growly, broken up midrange (even at modest levels) sits perfectly between the two Les Pauls/Marshals without having to be obnoxiously loud, and it sounds oh so good! And the bottom is all there to hold down the foundation. It's very dynamically responsive to where I can lay back and let it purrrrr, or dig in for some serious bite! Very fun! I've always just used distortion as an accent for parts of songs, or maybe for a rare entire song or two; but I can see that Dist 1 is going to become an integral part of my tone. Fantastic job guys! I didn't get a chance to experiment too much with Dist2, but plan to do so soon!

 

[husky123]

The band had some down time recently so I finally had a chance to try the new distortion effects at rehearsal Tuesday night, and WOW! Again husky seems to read my mind with his posts! Lol! There's something about the midrange grind in Dist1 that just brings the bass to the front of the mix even at lower volumes than I'd normally use to hear myself and be heard. That growly, broken up midrange (even at modest levels) sits perfectly between the two Les Pauls/Marshals without having to be obnoxiously loud, and it sounds oh so good! And the bottom is all there to hold down the foundation. It's very dynamically responsive to where I can lay back and let it purrrrr, or dig in for some serious bite! Very fun! I've always just used distortion as an accent for parts of songs, or maybe for a rare entire song or two; but I can see that Dist 1 is going to become an integral part of my tone. Fantastic job guys! I didn't get a chance to experiment too much with Dist2, but plan to do so soon!

Nice Joe! Your experience nails what I, personally, was after. A touch sensitive, responsive distorted midrange with lows and highs untouched. Jim did a unbelievable job translating my jibberish and jargon back to him. I also knew if the phone rang, I did a poor job of communicating in the written form. Each patch he sent kept getting better and better and better to get us where we are now...raw, gnarly, legit distortion with no loss of low end.

 

[kringle77]

Husky, I'd love to hear some clips. This is the last amp I thought you would go for so, your comments really mean something.

 

[JoePP]

Nice Joe! Your experience nails what I, personally, was after. A touch sensitive, responsive distorted midrange with lows and highs untouched. Jim did a unbelievable job translating my jibberish and jargon back to him. I also knew if the phone rang, I did a poor job of communicating in the written form. Each patch he sent kept getting better and better and better to get us where we are now...raw, gnarly, legit distortion with no loss of low end.

How does Dist2 differ in terms of the composition of the distortion? It sounds to me brighter, with distortion on the highs as well, and maybe down lower in the low mids/upper lows as well. More of a full on, more modern distorted tone. Am I hearing that right?

 

[husky123]

How does Dist2 differ in terms of the composition of the distortion? It sounds to me brighter, with distortion on the highs as well, and maybe down lower in the low mids/upper lows as well. More of a full on, more modern distorted tone. Am I hearing that right?

Yep, you pretty much nailed it. You should hear that the band of distorted spectrum to be a bit "thicker" especially in the low mids and mids. To your ear, this may be perceived as having less fundamental because of the extra thickness but it's still all there. Dist2 can start approaching the fuzz territory without getting totally fuzzed out and lost in the mix. Pushing the bass and low mids can give your that "Sabotage-esque" vibe. Pretty cool to switch back and forth between the 3 drives and hearing/feeling how each affect the tone. The cool thing is Jim has them all volume matched and balanced very well so gain and/or drive volume adjustments should be minimal.

 

[tombowlus]

Yep, you pretty much nailed it. You should hear that the band of distorted spectrum to be a bit "thicker" especially in the low mids and mids. To your ear, this may be perceived as having less fundamental because of the extra thickness but it's still all there. Dist2 can start approaching the fuzz territory without getting totally fuzzed out and lost in the mix. Pushing the bass and low mids can give your that "Sabotage-esque" vibe. Pretty cool to switch back and forth between the 3 drives and hearing/feeling how each affect the tone. The cool thing is Jim has them all volume matched and balanced very well so gain and/or drive volume adjustments should be minimal.

Just curious as to where you are setting your input gain knob and what levels you are using for drive and volume on the distortion effects.

 

[husky123]

Just curious as to where you are setting your input gain knob and what levels you are using for drive and volume on the distortion effects.

I set my clean input in accordance with the clip light...I'm on the high instrument mode. I usually use low drive amounts (between 2-5) and with those settings to volume match, I have the drive volume between 10-15 or so.

For Dist2 and to get the high saturation, maxxed out on the drive (15) and volume down to around 3-5.

 

[JoePP]

Yeah from working with Jim on the VRC and OD circuit levels, the target was to have Drive 7/Vol 7 be unity gain between the effect on and off, so it had full adjustability in either direction while still being at unity on vs off. So unity should be somewhere around (Drive/Vol): 1/13, 2/12, 3/11, 4/10, 5/9, 6/8, 7/7, 8/6, 9/5, 10/4, etc. Dist1 and Dist2 seem to be pretty close to those also. Maybe Dist 2 is a db or two louder (or it could just be the perception of it being louder because of the type of distortion) but not much.
Using passive Fenders (or active ones with the output compensated through my wireless to be the same level as passive) I'm running the input gain at just shy of 12:00, in High instrument mode. I like the drive settings between about 3-7 on the OD and Dist1, running the effect just shy of full breakup.

 

[JoePP]

Jim did remind me that the relationship between Drive and Vol is not completely linear like that, but that's how I think of it! It's probably more linear near the middle (7/7) and requires more adjustment by ear at either extreme with very low or very high drive level.

 

[Dragonlord]

Husky, I'd love to hear some clips. This is the last amp I thought you would go for so, your comments really mean something.

+1, kinda surprised no-one has posted any clips of the effects yet!

 

[rodl2005]

Sad to say that both my gigs with the B-Amp this weekend have been no-go's for adjusting and/or experimenting. One was a rushed affair and the other on a noisy stage.
The B-Amp performed great but I didn't get a chance to muck about with the new distortions etc. I just used either almost totally flat or my preset 1 - tiny bit of comp and likewise with OD.
Bass was Gibson EB13 ( is that what is called? ..... here

This one. .. very high output. .. like a versatile T-bird with the coil taps on each pup.
Mostly had the bridge pup in SC mode and brought up a little neck pup on occasion.
Such a high output bass that the Distortion was HUGE. .. but playing soul etc. .. has fairly new EB Slinky flats on.
Will try tomorrow's gig with the 62AVRI Precision.
And report back
I do like the sound of the new Distortions tho.. looking forward to trying em proper like