DCX Bass vs. Jad Freer Capo

[RyanKinBK]

After being struck by a bad case of the "I guess I need saturation?" variant of GAS, I currently have both an Origin DCX Bass and a Jad Freer Capo. I've been messing around with the two of them to see how they compare to each other, specifically for being an EQ/preamp that adds a light drive/saturation element to my sound.

In terms of what I'm after, I've been exploring ways to make my bass sound both bigger and more textured in a live, IEM mix (I play a good deal of pit orchestra gigs, old school instrumental funk, and jam band music). For what it's worth, I've never been a cab sim guy, but I love the sound of a really good DI'd bass, like Chuck Rainey, Freddie Washington, AJ, Tom Barney, Will Lee, and so on. Also, I play with a clean sound probably 80% of the time.


Comparison

tl;dr: Both pedals sound really, really good, and deserve the hype! Both the DCX Bass and Capo add a "special something" when playing through IEMs.

To me, where they differ is:

• The Capo is extremely versatile and sounds good with (and adds something to) every bass I've played through it.
• The DCX Bass sounds amazing with passive basses–especially P basses–but is less exciting as a mild saturator/tone enhancer with my active instruments. I haven't played around with it much as a pedal for heavier drive or distortion.

Like BassTheWorld said on YouTube, the DCX Bass sounds "dense". To me, the Capo sounds textured, warm, and thick without being muddy, but not "dense" in the same way the DCX does.

- - -

To be fair, I've only had both of them for a few weeks, so I'm likely far less experienced getting the most out of these two pedals compared to others on TB. That being said, I'm curious to hear how other folks who've had both think of how these two pedals compare to each other? (Paging @Dave Hill and @IvanBassist )

 

[johnk_10]

i haven't tried the Capo but i like the DCX Bass so much that i have two of them.

 

[gregmon79]

i haven't tried the Capo but i like the DCX Bass so much that i have two of them.

I keep saying this ( ) but the DCX is on a short list of pedals to get in 2025. But with NAMM about to happen, I have a feeling that's going to change...

 

[Ian774]

Well, I’ve got a DCX and it’s a very important part of my signal chain. Stupidly I did put it on sale last summer, thankfully it didn’t sell after two days, and I came back to my senses and put it back on my pedalboard. I love what it does to my Pbass tone. It adds some punch, body, presence, it’s a magic tone enhancer that I can’t imagine playing without anymore. My sound goes from great when it’s on to dull when it’s off. I use it mainly in EQ mode, with the Flat voice. Everything at 12, give or take. Not only does this boost my tone a bit, but it clearly does improve it.

Anyways, I was also looking to get a preamp to replace my SansAmp BDDI V2 (which comes after my DCX as my main DI/preamp). I thought I could get a Capo, right?
Went to Reverb, found out that Jad Freer offers a quicker 4-week turnaround instead of the usual 20-week.
Caveat is, and it’s not surprising, you’ve got to pay more. Roughly $100 more.

That in itself is quite shady, if you ask me. Basically you pay more to skip the queue. That’s not the most honest business-model, is it? It goes to show they can work quicker…. Or prioritise things if you give them more dough.

Anyways, I’m going to France in April to visit family, so I thought to myself, I could potentially use this 4-week option and get it delivered to my mum’s, and bring it back to the UK. As you might know, Italy and France being both in the European Union, there’s no VAT or taxes between these two countries.
Yet, when adding the pedal to my basket, Reverb adds some taxes! The initial hefty price was WITHOUT TAXES.
All in all, I’d be paying the same delivered to the UK so no point of using the France option.

So in order to get a Capo with that 4-week method, I’d have to pay £728.

That’s almost $900. For a preamp. $9-0-0. How crazy is that?

Or I could go the 20-week route for…. $700.



Conclusion: I’m very happy with my DCX as a tone enhancer into my SansAmp…. There’s no chance I can afford spending the money they ask for the Capo, not for a while. I might pair my DCX with a Genzler Magellan Pre, but that’s much more affordable.

I am not even sure the price difference between the DCX and the Capo is justified, sound-wise.

 

[MochiBass]

I just started down a rabbit hole with my Capo running into the JHS Colour Box V2 and really like the result. The two pedals do similar things in a different way- much like the Capo and DCX- and I've been liking the sum of them together, so maybe give that a try with the DCX. You can try the pre and post loops to see if one sounds better than the other while still taking advantage of the Capo's DI.

 

[logdrum]

I am with the Frenchman on this one just because he has taste. I actually haven't tried one. He'll chime in shortly. Jad Freer Capo also is a cooler sounding name. @gtirard Seriously has specs and features that make it versatile. The signal flows are well thought of. If I let GAS impulse to take over, this seems like the thing to get.

I am trying to buy a Selmer Mark IV tenor sax so no bass gear for me. this year Why do I even read these threads

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Well, I’ve got a DCX and it’s a very important part of my signal chain. Stupidly I did put it on sale last summer, thankfully it didn’t sell after two days, and I came back to my senses and put it back on my pedalboard. I love what it does to my Pbass tone. It adds some punch, body, presence, it’s a magic tone enhancer that I can’t imagine playing without anymore. My sound goes from great when it’s on to dull when it’s off. I use it mainly in EQ mode, with the Flat voice. Everything at 12, give or take. Not only does this boost my tone a bit, but it clearly does improve it.

Anyways, I was also looking to get a preamp to replace my SansAmp BDDI V2 (which comes after my DCX as my main DI/preamp). I thought I could get a Capo, right?
Went to Reverb, found out that Jad Freer offers a quicker 4-week turnaround instead of the usual 20-week.
Caveat is, and it’s not surprising, you’ve got to pay more. Roughly $100 more.

That in itself is quite shady, if you ask me. Basically you pay more to skip the queue. That’s not the most honest business-model, is it? It goes to show they can work quicker…. Or prioritise things if you give them more dough.

Anyways, I’m going to France in April to visit family, so I thought to myself, I could potentially use this 4-week option and get it delivered to my mum’s, and bring it back to the UK. As you might know, Italy and France being both in the European Union, there’s no VAT or taxes between these two countries.
Yet, when adding the pedal to my basket, Reverb adds some taxes! The initial hefty price was WITHOUT TAXES.
All in all, I’d be paying the same delivered to the UK so no point of using the France option.

So in order to get a Capo with that 4-week method, I’d have to pay £728.

That’s almost $900. For a preamp. $9-0-0. How crazy is that?

Or I could go the 20-week route for…. $700.



Conclusion: I’m very happy with my DCX as a tone enhancer into my SansAmp…. There’s no chance I can afford spending the money they ask for the Capo, not for a while. I might pair my DCX with a Genzler Magellan Pre, but that’s much more affordable.

I am not even sure the price difference between the DCX and the Capo is justified, sound-wise.

I can tell you DCX and Magellan Pre-amp pair extremely well together IMHO

 

[Dave Hill]

I know it’s well loved in these parts, but I tried a DCX and couldn’t return it fast enough.

I use always-on OD, and the saturation on the Capo is just awesome; organic and easy to control. The DCX (for OD) was plastic and kazoo-ey. Maybe I need to try two of them. Lol.

Moreover, I have an aversion to stacking preamps, and the controls and options on the Capo are far superior to the DCX.
The only other OD’s I’ve loved are the MBD-2 (scoop) and BBBOD (mid-forward). I can get the Capo to do both with the A-side and B-side, respectively. So, another win there.

 

[Evan J]

i haven't tried the Capo but i like the DCX Bass so much that i have two of them.

Trust this man

 

[Evan J]

I also play through IEMs pretty much exclusively. And I also don’t use cab sims.

The DCX is my favorite pedal. Can’t recommend it enough. I go back and forth between it being a saturator or distortion. When I use it as a distortion I use the TH as an “amp” with the AGS on. Here is my full rig for reference:

One more thing to note: I am with you on the passive bass / P bass thing. I usually use the DCX as my always on preamp for my P bass. And then for my Jazz I use the TH as my always on and turn the DCX into a distortion.

But if I only get one preamp… it’s the DCX no question

 

[MrDinsdale]

I live both (I don't have the Capo anymore) but they're very different to me. The DCX Bass is an excellent sweetener pedal IMO but I didn't really enjoy its driven tone particularly. It adds a nice colour and slight grit that complements other pedals nicely, EQ is simple but effective.

The Capo always seemed like more of a utility pedal, excellent EQ, great signal routing and recording tool thanks to the pre/post DI. I wasn't a huge fan of the the higher gain tones but for lower gain it did a great job. Far less colour than the DCX from memory.

PS if you're in the UK its worth messaging them as when I got mine, they invoiced separately with the extra taxes deducted for EU so you're just paying customs and duty etc. Worth dropping them an email.

 

[Ian774]

I can tell you DCX and Magellan Pre-amp pair extremely well together IMHO

Good to know.


As for the DCX, it’s amazing as a tone shaper in EQ mode. It takes your bass tone and magnifies it.
In OD mode, it’s not for everyone and there probably is better OD’s on the market.
But it’s good to have both options handy. I just prefer it as an always-on preamp to enhance my Pbass.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Good to know.


As for the DCX, it’s amazing as a tone shaper in EQ mode. It takes your bass tone and magnifies it.
In OD mode, it’s not for everyone and there probably is better OD’s on the market.
But it’s good to have both options handy. I just prefer it as an always-on preamp to enhance my Pbass.

The Magellan Pre-amp is very versatile since my pedalboard also has an RFE, LowRider, with the DCX all 4 can be or some variation of these.

 

[DuluthDank]

My opinion seems to be the opposite of most on the DCX bass. It's great for slight saturation in preamp mode, but to me it shines in OD mode. Much to my surprise that's how I always use mine, as a second gain stage into my Broughton SV Pre. It dethroned my Broughton Scorpion as my favorite moderate OD. I might consider getting two of them, but they are pricey, and the Broughton SV Pre has more versatility as a preamp.

 

[MrDinsdale]

My opinion seems to be the opposite of most on the DCX bass. It's great for slight saturation in preamp mode, but to me it shines in OD mode. Much to my surprise that's how I always use mine, as a second gain stage into my Broughton SV Pre. It dethroned my Broughton Scorpion as my favorite moderate OD. I might consider getting two of them, but they are pricey, and the Broughton SV Pre has more versatility as a preamp.

Interesting, maybe I need another go using it as a drive. Maybe Ill try it into another preamp, the Model FeT is my go-to for anything driven but maybe this is the exception!

 

[mouthmw]

My opinion seems to be the opposite of most on the DCX bass. It's great for slight saturation in preamp mode, but to me it shines in OD mode. Much to my surprise that's how I always use mine, as a second gain stage into my Broughton SV Pre. It dethroned my Broughton Scorpion as my favorite moderate OD. I might consider getting two of them, but they are pricey, and the Broughton SV Pre has more versatility as a preamp.

I've been using it exclusively as a drive pedal too. Sounds fantastic going through an amp/cab setup. In flat mode it's a bit too shrill going straight into an audio interface, but LPF helps with that. Or an amp/cab sim. Definitely a great overdrive pedal that works really well in the mix!

 

[el murdoque]

I have owned both and still own a DCX - I would even consider buying a second one to have access to both OD and EQ at the same time.

The Capo wins hands down in terms of versatility. You get so many options to shape your tone, running clipping stage on either end of the EQ, with parametric mids. You get FX Loops and DI out.

The DCX can be two things - either a tone sweetening preamp or a drive pedal. In preamp mode it is the most touch sensitive pedal I ever played, and both LF and HF controls are not really there to shape your tone, but much rather to enhance it, making a good tone great.
As a drive it has an incredible density to it, without raising the level, you actually get more audible in a mix.

 

[DuluthDank]

I've been using it exclusively as a drive pedal too. Sounds fantastic going through an amp/cab setup. In flat mode it's a bit too shrill going straight into an audio interface, but LPF helps with that. Or an amp/cab sim. Definitely a great overdrive pedal that works really well in the mix!

Yeah, how it sounded with the band was what sealed the deal for me. It really pokes through somehow, without changing my basic sound or coming across as mid-forward like a tube screamer. Plus the lows remain tight without getting flabby or too compressed, with absolutely no fuss. It's old school, not a modern Darkglass thing, but I never cared for clean blended, modern OD's for my use.

 

[wolffire99]

I think the secret sauce to this pedal is the compression. It’s natural tube thickening kind of compression you don’t typically get in just a drive pedal. That combined with just a touch of clipping is just so good.

That’s also why it pairs so well with cali76. You get the fast attack peak reduction of the Cali76 combined with tone fattening of the DCX.

The DCX Bass sounds amazing with passive basses–especially P basses–but is less exciting as a mild saturator/tone enhancer with my active instruments.

I experienced the exact same thing with passive/active basses.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I'm only early days into having a DCX, so my feelings on how to use it may evolve over time, but thus far I've been leaning into moderate-to-heavy tones with it. The primary usage is with the Drive cranked, but in EQ mode and Flat voice; it's a lovely thick saturation when really digging in, but it's not too dirty to still clean up really nicely when I play with a light touch. That adaptive circuitry is pretty neat in how it responds. Having used it on a couple gigs and several rehearsals now, I completely get now what people say about it giving heft and just making the bass sit well in a band mix!

The second usage is with the knobs in the same place, but switched to OD mode and the Med voice. It's basically a totally blown out nearly-fuzz that sounds superb when getting hit in front by a Wampler Belle, and then that combination feeding into an always-on Sushi Box preamp. Killer heavy tone that, with a little sculpting, can do a wide style of sounds from classic to modern. I only have the DCX and Belle for driven tones, so finding a fuzz-like sound is handy in terms of covering more sonic territory, even if it's one I don't require often.

Would like to check a Capo one day, but the price is eye watering (even compared to the already hefty DCX), and I don't need any of the DI/cab sim/routing options that make it such a popular box right now, so I can't remotely justify the outlay...