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Dirty/grindy tube sim preamp SHOOTOUT - Preview

#21
father of fires said:
Read part one and two of the overdrive fuzz quest threads. Then come back and see if you still need to make this thread.
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Fair enough but I find that thread kind of overbearing and hard to get through. I've selected these pedals specifically because they are the ones that always come up in threads when people talk about "always on" preamp style pedals. Specifically the B7K, VT Bass, Rusty Box, Tone Hammer and the Sansamp DI's. Every thread about one compares to the other(s). I guess I really just want to give a resource to people like me who want to hear these in various settings back to back to back to back to back.

That's likely where this will end up at the end of the day, but I did want to put it out there and see if there were other things I wasn't thinking of and the EBS Microbass is one I missed, for example.
 
#23
I think limiting it to "always on toneshapers" is a pretty good way to trim the list down.

And in that case I think you've got it pretty well covered.

There are several other pedals that people use as "always on dirt" such as the Pork Loin, Holy Fire or Barbershop (which is my choice) but none of them really shape the tone or act as amp sims or preamps.
 
#27
Jared Lash said:
I wasn't necessarily thinking EQ's so much as pedals that are designed to impart their own tone either by way of an EQ setup or because they color the tone significantly.

But of course, it's the OP's list and he should make it however he'd like.
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I could just make it: preamp pedals with overdrive / EQ and a balanced output.

Which would limit it to the ones I'm thinking and take away the SFT, Microtubes, Fat Drives of the world. Technically it would eliminated the Tech 21 Character stuff as well (due to the non balanced output) but they have the VTDI and the deluxe is a DI.
 
#29
Jared Lash said:
I wasn't necessarily thinking EQ's so much as pedals that are designed to impart their own tone either by way of an EQ setup or because they color the tone significantly.

But of course, it's the OP's list and he should make it however he'd like.
Click to expand...

I know we're creating a theoretical list but you just described every pedal ever.
 
#31
father of fires said:
I know we're creating a theoretical list but you just described every pedal ever.
Click to expand...

I've used all the pedals the OP owns except the VT as "always on" drive pedals and feel they all have a pretty strong (non-transparent) voicing which makes them ideal as always-on tone shapers. On the other hand, pedals like the xotic bb, fulltone bassdrive, barber ltd sr, and many other pedals function much better as foot switchable drive "channels" due to their relative transparency. With a cleaner solid state amp I prefer the former and with tube amps the latter- definitely different styles of pedal in my opinion.
 
#34
I ordered a re-amp kit that I'm going to build this weekend and then we are going to get STARTED.

Any requests in terms of dry sample tracks to use? Does someone who is interested in this want to take a swing and creating a few samples for me? I can do picked rock stuff no problem, I can get some chords going, and I can probably muddle through some finger style stuff but I have no chance of reproducing anything resembling a slap sound if anyone is looking for that :)
 
#35
johnbegone said:
I ordered a re-amp kit that I'm going to build this weekend and then we are going to get STARTED.

Any requests in terms of dry sample tracks to use? Does someone who is interested in this want to take a swing and creating a few samples for me? I can do picked rock stuff no problem, I can get some chords going, and I can probably muddle through some finger style stuff but I have no chance of reproducing anything resembling a slap sound if anyone is looking for that :)
Click to expand...

I trust you to come up w/ something fun and useful. Thanks for taking the trouble.
 
#36
Got my first glimpse at all of the pedals I have back to back last night through my normal bass rig (Mesa M6 Carbine + Ampeg 8x10).

For this test I was really just trying to get them all to match up with the sound I've been using on my VT Bass for a long while to see if they could pull that off, which is not how I'll test them for the final - but it was a good place to start for me. The Tone Hammer is cool but sine the AGS is tied directly to the mid control, scooping the mids got rid of the "bite" from this pedal. Still sounded awesome, but couldn't nail the tone I like in the VT. But put the Vintage Microtubes in front of the Tone Hammer and YES, pretty awesome. I had to pretty much dime the EQ controls of the Rusty Box to get it close (treble almost all the way down, mid ALL the way down, bass at 2 or 3 oclock). Also had to have the boost on and the gain pretty well dimed to get into the SVT territory I like (I know it's not meant for that sound - just wanted to see what it could do). B7K got the closest, which was expected.

I made a quick MP3 with my iphone on the ground, so this is not a super great representation and it's super sloppy and completely non descript in terms of what's going on with the knobs of each pedal - but whatever, figured I might as well share what I have when I have it!

http:///www.johnbscott.com/preamp_shootout/audio/iphone.mp3

Overall a really fun night, looking forward to getting all these clips made for you guys.
 
#37
I owned VT and then VT v2, used it for over a year as my always on tone shaper. Got rid of it recently and am awaiting my Darkglass VMT to arrive (sooo hard to wait). I wanted something more natural, with less invasive tone change to my amp, and something a bit more transparent. I could start hearing the VT's emulation working (almost a hint of phaser like warble at times), and I didn't like the overdrive. Still, VT is a great pedal no doubt, and I got some recording where I used it and it sounds awesome.
 
#38
mouthmw said:
I owned VT and then VT v2, used it for over a year as my always on tone shaper. Got rid of it recently and am awaiting my Darkglass VMT to arrive (sooo hard to wait). I wanted something more natural, with less invasive tone change to my amp, and something a bit more transparent. I could start hearing the VT's emulation working (almost a hint of phaser like warble at times), and I didn't like the overdrive. Still, VT is a great pedal no doubt, and I got some recording where I used it and it sounds awesome.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. The VT has been my sound for almost two full years now, used it direct for both of my bands EP's and I really like my bass tone. But I'm just starting to hear it more and more - the emulation sound you're hearing. Just sounds weird and overly compressed to me lately.

The more I listen to that clips I posted - I really dig the Tone Hammer. Excited to keep putting these pedals through their paces! I will say that the VT bass sound in that clip is not my normal sound. I tweaked out my amp for a more flat sound first, and then that was a VT2 instead of the first generation that I normally use. I matched the settings of the knobs - but it wasn't the same. Sounds similar to my ears, but it's definitely more scooped than my normal tone. Sounds awful on that recording.
 
#40
Thanks. I've pretty much decided to limit this particular comparison thread to drivey/tubey preamp pedals so I won't be testing other circuits. I just purchased an older BDDI (thank you maisbass!) to put through the ringer as well.

I figure once I get through all of these pedals, I'll put the ones up I don't want for trade for other similar pedals so I can keep growing the list. Really want to check out the Xotic BB, for example.
 

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