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***Club Verellen***

#501
I have no idea why some people are ditching it. I was in the same boat; knowing I realllly wanted the sound it produced. I was worried at first, but sitting down, messing around with it a few times each day, I'm loving it more and more. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out if I like it more running into my amp's input, or into the effects return. It's not that it's frustrating, it's hard to get something bad out of it, I just kind of want to be done with the tinkering phase.

All I know is, as long as I play music other than country and jazz, it's staying with me. With my MSPre and MB800 weighing in at less than 7 lbs combined, I've got sextremely massive tone.


The only, and I mean ONLY gripe I have is that I with there were extra controls to control the Boost. Love the destruction it gives, but the volume jump is just too tremendous for live use
 
#502
NoxNoctus said:
I have no idea why some people are ditching it. I was in the same boat; knowing I realllly wanted the sound it produced. I was worried at first, but sitting down, messing around with it a few times each day, I'm loving it more and more. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out if I like it more running into my amp's input, or into the effects return. It's not that it's frustrating, it's hard to get something bad out of it, I just kind of want to be done with the tinkering phase.

All I know is, as long as I play music other than country and jazz, it's staying with me. With my MSPre and MB800 weighing in at less than 7 lbs combined, I've got sextremely massive tone.


The only, and I mean ONLY gripe I have is that I with there were extra controls to control the Boost. Love the destruction it gives, but the volume jump is just too tremendous for live use
Click to expand...

That is great to hear Nox. I wonder if adding a limiter after it will tame the boost any without killing the tone.
 
#504
After hearing that from a few people about the boost section, I'm really glad Ben decided to add separate controls for the boost on the rack version. This wasn't something I even knew about when I ordered it, but it will add an extra level of versatility that will be awesome.

I'm also sad about this, because I don't want to have to kick any of my dirt pedals off my board (S&S Bluebeard and Fuzzrocious OSD).
 
#505
It's a great pedal/unit - it just didn't suit my needs. Also, I purchased it before I had a chance to test out my live rig…and it just turns out that my live rig slays on my own, nothing additional needed. I'd hold on to it, but it's just too expensive for me to keep if not actively using.

You'll be stoked on yrs, don't worry - and Ben's customer service is totally top notch.

P.S. +1 on the S&S Bluebeard. I own two…use em for guitar, mostly.

zwkoch said:
With everyone dumping the MS Pre, I am starting to get a little nervous. Especially because I paid full price for the one I am awaiting. What about the pedal didn't meet your needs? I realize we are all hunting a subjective tone, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
#509
NKBassman said:
After hearing that from a few people about the boost section, I'm really glad Ben decided to add separate controls for the boost on the rack version. This wasn't something I even knew about when I ordered it, but it will add an extra level of versatility that will be awesome.

I'm also sad about this, because I don't want to have to kick any of my dirt pedals off my board (S&S Bluebeard and Fuzzrocious OSD).
Click to expand...

Having owned all the things you've mentioned I can say the boost/overall gain on the ms pre is nothing like the blue beard or OSD. It's squishy and loose like an old Orange OR series amp. At least IMO.

Definitely a cool sound, but I would say you're safe on not overlapping with the BB and OSD.
 
#511
I have a couple of questions for the club -

1) Meatsmoke into effects loops - any of you using class D lightweight amps? What brands and models work well for you?

2) My Meatsmoke is going on my board. Would you have it last in the chain and put the whole board through an effects loop return? Or first?

Any tips would be appreciated. I'm considering a shift from my Tecamp Blackjag head if this works like I hope.
 
#512
First attempt to tame the Boost. I don't know if it'll work without a second gain control. It's just waaaaaay too much if you have gain set past noon, which I always do. The compressor did very well, it tames the dB spike for the most part, even though when the boost kicks in it seems like it does.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


Ron Now said:
Having owned all the things you've mentioned I can say the boost/overall gain on the ms pre is nothing like the blue beard or OSD. It's squishy and loose like an old Orange OR series amp. At least IMO.

Definitely a cool sound, but I would say you're safe on not overlapping with the BB and OSD.
Click to expand...

+1. I got rid of my B3K to get the Meatsmoke, and holy GEEZ do I miss it. The Meatsmoke gives plenty of grit but I'm seriously missing out on that punchy growly modern bite the B3K gives. In the meantime while my wallet recoups, I've got a Pigtronix Fatty and a Rat Tail that give a nice grit and the Meatsmoke churns it into pure evil.
 
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#513
Tendollarcat said:
I have a couple of questions for the club -

1) Meatsmoke into effects loops - any of you using class D lightweight amps? What brands and models work well for you?

2) My Meatsmoke is going on my board. Would you have it last in the chain and put the whole board through an effects loop return? Or first?

Any tips would be appreciated. I'm considering a shift from my Tecamp Blackjag head if this works like I hope.
Click to expand...

I had it last in my chain going straight to my amp a Mesa M3 Combo it sounded good but I noticed a big drop in volume and I had to have the Meatsmoke almost maxed to get unity gain. I usually hate anything in my effects loop but I tried it and it really opened up the volume and clarity and it sounds even better than before. I think where I failed the first time I put the entire board through the loop.
 
#514
I like to run through my board into the MS then into the effects return / preamp in on my acoustic 320.

That being said I have a peavey classic 120/120 in the mail. Bridge-able for 240 watts of tube power.... I think it will pair nicely with the MS.
 
#515
mjac28 said:
I had it last in my chain going straight to my amp a Mesa M3 Combo it sounded good but I noticed a big drop in volume and I had to have the Meatsmoke almost maxed to get unity gain. I usually hate anything in my effects loop but I tried it and it really opened up the volume and clarity and it sounds even better than before. I think where I failed the first time I put the entire board through the loop.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. So do you have the whole board through the loop with the Verellen at the end of the chain now or just the Verellen (and the rest of effects through the front of the amp)?
 
#516
twhitedc said:
I like to run through my board into the MS then into the effects return / preamp in on my acoustic 320.

That being said I have a peavey classic 120/120 in the mail. Bridge-able for 240 watts of tube power.... I think it will pair nicely with the MS.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm considering grabbing something like a GK, Genz or Aguilar TH to use as a utility type amp/power amp. The ideal setup would be to run my entire board through a loop and have a lightweight head in a carry bag to throw in the car if the venue put up a backline amp without an effects loop.
 
#517
I was running mine as a "pedal", at the end of the chain - I found it worked best that way.

And yeah, it's a great piece of gear - it's just more on the Fender Bassman side of things…and I've always been more of an SVT guy…(altho, I'm probably gearing up to sell my two SVTS now…)

Bummed that I'll be leaving the club - :hmm:
 
#518
zwkoch said:
With everyone dumping the MS Pre, I am starting to get a little nervous. Especially because I paid full price for the one I am awaiting. What about the pedal didn't meet your needs? I realize we are all hunting a subjective tone, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...


Only three that I know of have sold their MSpre. I love mine. It gives the tone I've had in my head for a long time. I am for the first time completely satisfied with my tone.

I do wish I would have waited and got the rack mount version instead.





Tendollarcat said:
I have a couple of questions for the club -

1) Meatsmoke into effects loops - any of you using class D lightweight amps? What brands and models work well for you?

2) My Meatsmoke is going on my board. Would you have it last in the chain and put the whole board through an effects loop return? Or first?

Any tips would be appreciated. I'm considering a shift from my Tecamp Blackjag head if this works like I hope.
Click to expand...


I have mine running through the effects loop of my GB STL900. I have my pedals running into the front of the amp.

On a side note: the Fuzzrocious OSD sounds WICKEDLY AWESOME through the MSpre. Probably my most favorite dirt bass tone ever. It's so good, it motivates me to play my bass just to hear it.
 
#519
Might as well chime in here - hey, this is TalkBass: we sell our stuff all the time around here! :rolleyes:

But like I said in my first post after I tried out the MS Pre, this pedal is "Transformative." Meaning, I change the way I play as I have alot more options in tone. I feel like I'm sitting on top of a string section sometimes, so for contrast I might just sit on notes a lot longer before attacking the next one - giving everybody more space.

Here's a clip from yesterday's gig. While I've been running in the effects channel of a class D Genz Benz SL900 with great success, at yesterday's gig I used a Genz Benz Shuttlemax 9.2 and just wasn't get what I was looking for inputting in the effects loop. So I ran in front as a pedal....Like NoxNoctus, I was experiencing some of this:

I don't know if it'll work without a second gain control. It's just waaaaaay too much if you have gain set past noon, which I always do.
Click to expand...

But on this song, I've pretty much got the Boost and Gain down the whole time. I dialed back the bass to 10 o'clock (I think - I played around it with quite a bit yesterday on stage), mids were around 1, Treble pretty high around 4....using my Mike Lull T4, and the humbuckers on it are pretty hot through the pedal so I had to be careful not to fry the drummer. :cool:

Blues rock trio live clip

Somewhere around 3:33 mark there's pretty good iso on the bass, but it is what it is....

Only three that I know of have sold their MSpre. I love mine. It gives the tone I've had in my head for a long time. I am for the first time completely satisfied with my tone.
Click to expand...

+1,000!
 

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