Blueberry BOD Alternatives

[StayLow]

Right the expansion of gain range is probably more useful to individuals like you said, most would either want more up OR down but not use both... though some that cover a wider range of styles and situations might have use for both at sometime... options are good.

Thanks. Options are good. If this new expanded range of Drive allows for less breakup at the lowest settings AND less extremes when digging in that's perfect. I'll ask it this way...

Does that wider range make it so it's tougher to dial in though? The Drive knob has a fixed amount of travel/rotation, but will control a greater sweep.

Does that wider range make it more, or less, touch-sensitive at a given setting? I'm not sure if it works this way but let me explain what I mean:

Regular, Drive covers a range I'll arbitrarily number from 2 to 8 : Let's say you set Drive to "5" and if you play softly it sounds like "3" while if you dig in very hard it sounds like "7".

Expanded, Drive covers a range I'll say goes from 0 to 10, wider on both extremes: Now you set Drive to "5" and play softly as above and it sounds like "4"... or "2" by comparison to above? If you dig in very hard does it sound like "6" or "8" vs above?


Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.

 

[kazuhank]

Thanks. Options are good. If this new expanded range of Drive allows for less breakup at the lowest settings AND less extremes when digging in that's perfect. I'll ask it this way...

Does that wider range make it so it's tougher to dial in though? The Drive knob has a fixed amount of travel/rotation, but will control a greater sweep.

Does that wider range make it more, or less, touch-sensitive at a given setting? I"m not sure if it works this way but let me explain what I mean:

Regular, Drive covers a range I'll arbitrarily range from 2 to 8 : Let's say you set Drive to "5" and if you play softly it sounds like "3" while if you dig in very hard it sounds like "7".

Expanded, Drive covers a range I'll say ranges from 0 to 10, wider on both extremes: Now you set Drive to "5" and play softly as above and it sounds like "4"... or "2" by comparison to above? If you dig in very hard does it sound like "6" or "8" vs above?


Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.

Made sense to me and I'm also curious. +1

 

[RockDoc]

Curious as well!

 

[Bjorn Juhl]

HI There,

Yes a bass amplifier is also planned likely next year and a number of bass oriented products before that


At your service
Bjorn Juhl
Proprietor
BJF Electronics
Sweden
Analog engineer at One Control
I also currently design for a variety of companies
Moody-Sounds kits
Olsson Amplification
Ekblad Amplification
Vuorensaku Guitars
Lundgren Pick Ups

To be noted I no longer work with Mad Professor Amplificaton but they will continue to produce the 42 products I designed for them

 

[StayLow]

HI There,

Yes a bass amplifier is also planned likely next year and a number of bass oriented products before that


At your service
Bjorn Juhl
Proprietor
BJF Electronics
Sweden
Analog engineer at One Control
I also currently design for a variety of companies
Moody-Sounds kits
Olsson Amplification
Ekblad Amplification
Vuorensaku Guitars
Lundgren Pick Ups

To be noted I no longer work with Mad Professor Amplificaton but they will continue to produce the 42 products I designed for them

Bjorn,

Thank you. Whatever you can reveal that's forthcoming would be much appreciated.

Obviously there are many ardent fans here of your work, and news of top-quality unique bass gear is always most welcome.

 

[BearfootDonner]

Thanks. Options are good. If this new expanded range of Drive allows for less breakup at the lowest settings AND less extremes when digging in that's perfect. I'll ask it this way...

Does that wider range make it so it's tougher to dial in though? The Drive knob has a fixed amount of travel/rotation, but will control a greater sweep.

Does that wider range make it more, or less, touch-sensitive at a given setting? I'm not sure if it works this way but let me explain what I mean:

Regular, Drive covers a range I'll arbitrarily number from 2 to 8 : Let's say you set Drive to "5" and if you play softly it sounds like "3" while if you dig in very hard it sounds like "7".

Expanded, Drive covers a range I'll say goes from 0 to 10, wider on both extremes: Now you set Drive to "5" and play softly as above and it sounds like "4"... or "2" by comparison to above? If you dig in very hard does it sound like "6" or "8" vs above?


Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.

Ok say the dirt range is 0 to 20.
The regular drive knob covers 5 to 15 ...
The Expanded drive knob covers 0 to 20.
The 5 to 15 are still in there, just squished a little closer because now the pot is covering more range with the same amount of turn.
So if your favorite drive setting was at 9, now it would be at 10:30ish.
Its the same dirt, but the pot would be at a different spot to access it.
Any clearer ; ) ?
Donner

 

[StayLow]

Ok say the dirt range is 0 to 20.
The regular drive knob covers 5 to 15 ...
The Expanded drive knob covers 0 to 20.
The 5 to 15 are still in there, just squished a little closer because now the pot is covering more range with the same amount of turn.
So if your favorite drive setting was at 9, now it would be at 10:30ish.
Its the same dirt, but the pot would be at a different spot to access it.
Any clearer ; ) ?
Donner

Yes, thanks.

Now say you set it to midway on either setting. And you hit it with the same amount of force on some hard plucking. Will you get the same, more, or less dirt with the expanded range?

 

[BearfootDonner]

Yes, thanks.

Now say you set it to midway on either setting. And you hit it with the same amount of force on some hard plucking. Will you get the same, more, or less dirt with the expanded range?

Ok I think I see what your getting at .....the dirt is the same, there is just a way to access a broader range of it.

 

[BearfootDonner]

I'll be glad to use one if you send it to me haha.

Hmmmm might be time for a bass Tourbox ....

 

[RudyTardy]

OK so I have the One Control Blackberry here, finally! I wanted a subtle OD but this thing is BARELY breaking up with a passive P bass and the drive on full. Is there a trim pot I need to adjust? Maybe I am using it wrong, but if I leave the body and depth knobs fully CCW, and push the drive to full, I only get the tiniest amount of breakup if I dig in extremely hard.

Can someone explain the depth knob to me? Is it EQ only or does it work in conjunction with the drive?

For example, copying these settings but pushing my drive to full, I don't even get the amount of breakup this guy is getting with his drive at noon.

 

[RudyTardy]

OK trying again with just links to the videos I made. First one is Drive only. The second time I play with it engaged I am ripping the strings to shreds. 2nd video is with some Body and Depth added. Is this the expected level of OD?

 

[StayLow]

OK trying again with just links to the videos I made. First one is Drive only. The second time I play with it engaged I am ripping the strings to shreds. 2nd video is with some Body and Depth added. Is this the expected level of OD?

I think Depth is how much of your low end gets overdriven, and Body is same for mids.

So, if using a P bass with strings that don't seem to have much treble judging by the sound before the pedal is engaged, then if your bass is low output and you're not sending much if any low end or mids through the OD circuit... maybe it all makes sense?

Your clips sound great to me, and I'd be rolling down the gain for my preference.

 

[RudyTardy]

I think Depth is how much of your low end gets overdriven, and Body is same for mids.

So, if using a P bass with strings that don't seem to have much treble judging by the sound before the pedal is engaged, then if your bass is low output and you're not sending much if any low end or mids through the OD circuit... maybe it all makes sense?

Your clips sound great to me, and I'd be rolling down the gain for my preference.

Thank you @StayLow. I do really enjoy the tone from the pedal. And yes this P has flats on it, so not much treble. Now that I understand the Body and Depth drive the gain, it makes more sense that this would be the result.

 

[StayLow]

Thank you @StayLow. I do really enjoy the tone from the pedal. And yes this P has flats on it, so not much treble. Now that I understand the Body and Depth drive the gain, it makes more sense that this would be the result.

Listening to the full demo you posted, and again to your clips, I feel sure that's what's going on and it sounds fantastic to me.

Possibly the controls interact, but offhand I'd say around 80 Hz Depth and 800 Hz Body with a subtle slope and musical very wide Q as there's no extreme notching.

Do you have a different bass to try it with, or something neutral that can boost your signal, and maybe the treble too, ahead of the Blackberry in order to mimic a higher output bass?

If you're in the mood to post more clips, it'd be really interesting to hear the SA filter ahead of the Blackberry, with filter set to create clean high-frequency peaks in order to get an idea of how the Blackberry passes treble vs. Blueberry.

 

[RudyTardy]

Listening to the full demo you posted, and again to your clips, I feel sure that's what's going on and it sounds fantastic to me.

Possibly the controls interact, but offhand I'd say around 80 Hz Depth and 800 Hz Body with a subtle slope and musical very wide Q as there's no extreme notching.

Do you have a different bass to try it with, or something neutral that can boost your signal, and maybe the treble too, ahead of the Blackberry in order to mimic a higher output bass?

If you're in the mood to post more clips, it'd be really interesting to hear the SA filter ahead of the Blackberry, with filter set to create clean high-frequency peaks in order to get an idea of how the Blackberry passes treble vs. Blueberry.

Thank you I appreciate the comments. I have a Sadowsky UV-70 with Treble/Bass boost. I'll try that tomorrow and see how the Blackberry responds to a hotter/more HiFi signal. Interesting idea regarding the C4 filter to figure out the treble path.

Increasing depth definitely reduces treble. As you get past noon on the Depth control, the upper mids and above quickly start to vaporize. (Just realized this could be Fletcher Munson in effect, however, whatever is going on with the Depth knob reacts like a tilt in use. As fartiness increases, the presences decreases with equal force).

 

[StayLow]

Thank you I appreciate the comments. I have a Sadowsky UV-70 with Treble/Bass boost. I'll try that tomorrow and see how the Blackberry responds to a hotter/more HiFi signal. Interesting idea regarding the C4 filter to figure out the treble path.

Increasing depth definitely reduces treble. As you get past noon on the Depth control, the upper mids and above quickly start to vaporize.

Cool! Boosting the Treble on the Sadowsky preamp (4 kHz) would reveal a lot about what's going on treble-wise through the Blackberry.

I believe the Depth control is the Tone/Nature from the Blueberry, or very similar, but works in the opposite direction; apparent tilt EQ toward bass to the right on Blackberry vs. bass to the left on Blueberry.

 

[RudyTardy]

I believe the Depth control is the Tone/Nature from the Blueberry, or very similar, but works in the opposite direction; apparent tilt EQ toward bass to the right on Blackberry vs. bass to the left on Blueberry.

Aha! Makes total sense. I'll report back on the Sadowsky trials tomorrow.

In the meantime, can anyone confirm or deny that this is a trim:

Paging @Bjorn Juhl!

 

[BearfootDonner]

Aha! Makes total sense. I'll report back on the Sadowsky trials tomorrow.

In the meantime, can anyone confirm or deny that this is a trim:
View attachment 3927422

Paging @Bjorn Juhl!

.... well yes its a trimmer - I dont know what it is hooked up to , but first rule of trimmers is use a sharpie to mark their current position before moving them so you can get it back there if you dont like the result. And be careful and dont force it if you are going to move it ....

 

[johnk_10]

Aha! Makes total sense. I'll report back on the Sadowsky trials tomorrow.

In the meantime, can anyone confirm or deny that this is a trim:
View attachment 3927422

Paging @Bjorn Juhl!

it could be a trimmer to adjust the bias of a Jfet so i personally wouldn't recommend messing with that.

 

[RudyTardy]

Thank you @BearfootDonner and @johnk_10. I tried my Sadowsky in active mode and it definitely yields more grit from the hotter signal. All I can say is that my passive basses do not yield nearly as much distortion on the Blackberry as the demos I have seen on youtube, especially Mike Hermans' video demo of the Bearfoot Blueberry from a six years ago in which he uses a Fender J:

It is subtle to the point of almost being inaudible even with the drive on full, unless I absolutely hammer the strings. Don't get me wrong, I am after subtle and the tone is quite nice. I can't help but think there is a gain staging discrepancy happening here.