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Does anyone make a B15 in a pedal format?

#261
OK - it's not a pedal, so it doesn't really address your needs. But, if anyone is trying
to recreate a B-15 sound at home, I've had pretty good success using the amplifier portion of
a Fender Deluxe plugged into a Greenboy cube with the tweeter off.
This with a PBass and flat wounds seems to do the job quite nicely. :)
 
#262
MDBass said:
Let me expand: I'm not looking for a REDDI. It's great at what it does, but not what I'm after, and I already own one.

I recently tracked in a studio with an actual B15 for the first time, and after picking my jaw up off the floor and taking myself home found that the UA plugin is a fairly close amalgam.

Unfortunately, using either of these things live is a non-starter.

What I'm hoping to find is something in pedal format that will allow me to avoid the cost and bulk of purchasing a Kemper and profiling a B15 for my touring work next year.

I currently have some REALLY excellent pedals (X7, AOU, DP3X, BDDI, Q/Strip, OCSD, and a whole mess of dirt and fuzz boxes) but as of yet everything has fallen short of the mark I'm looking for.

I'm interested in anything under $1k that offers the same rich midrange, musical overdrive/distortion and even punch across the entire fretboard as a B15.

There's a $20 in it for the chap who points me in the right direction :thumbsup:

GO!
Click to expand...
 
#265
P-oddz said:
FWIW, I have an Acapulco Gold (1st edition artwork), and I've never gotten it to sound as good as it does in the second video. The fuzz is brittle and harsh and the only way to tame it is by pulling volume going into the pedal.
Click to expand...
If you‘re using a cab with a tweeter, there might be a chance to get a less brittle sound with turning the tweeter down. Nowadays I don‘t care for such harsh highs anymore.
 
#268
MDBass said:
The Arkham units I listened to last night sounded lovely set clean, but pushing them sounded pretty unpleasant to my ears and very unlike pushing a B15.

I'll definitely reach out to the Shaw folks though, I always like meeting new people who make great creative tools for musicians...especially if it might mean a discount off of retail pricing in exchange for video content of said tools ;)
Click to expand...
Did you listen to the Arkham units in question via video/online audio recording or did you get to hear them in person? In the context of this thread so far, I'm figuring the former, but want to make sure I'm clear. I never really messed with the overdrive on the Zephyr much, when I had it, apart from verifying that it would go there.

Sounds like you've got a few interesting pieces headed your way: P-15, V-15... a pedal or two besides -- or am I mis-remembering the posts on the Linden and some others? Happy playing to you in either case!
 
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#269
@MDBass What’s your take on the Line 6 HX Stomp or full blown Helix? These were mentioned briefly but I didnt catch your answer. Those have B15 amp and cab models to choose from. It’s not a sexy analog or boutique pedal but the HX stomp is small enough to incorporate into a medium-sized pedal board (or the Helix becomes your pedal board). I’m also curious about the “other” B15 sounds you’re seeking so I can hear what I’ve been missing (can’t check out your video at the moment)!! :thumbsup: Definitely report back on all your findings!
 
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#270
MarkA said:
Did you listen to the Arkham units in question via video/online audio recording or did you get to hear them in person? In the context of this thread so far, I'm figuring the former, but want to make sure I'm clear. I never really messed with the overdrive on the Zephyr much, when I had it, apart from verifying that it would go there.

Sounds like you've got a few interesting pieces headed your way: P-15, V-15... a pedal or two besides -- or am I mis-remembering the posts on the Linden and some others? Happy playing to you in either case!
Click to expand...

Listened to a few demos online: when pushed, the Arkham units sounded clipped and closed as opposed to the wide open grind of a pushed B15.

Waiting on some responses from a few different companies (Analog Alien, Catalinbread & Line 6) to see if they’d be willing to send me pedals in exchange for video content demos, along with the two tube boxes I purchased as well as the Linden EQ.

I’ve had a very merry Christmas and expect and equally happy new year ;)
 
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#271
speedball3 said:
@MDBass What’s your take on the Line 6 HX Stomp or full blown Helix? These were mentioned briefly but I didnt catch your answer. Those have B15 amp and cab models to choose from. It’s not a sexy analog or boutique pedal but the HX stomp is small enough to incorporate into a medium-sized pedal board (or the Helix becomes your pedal board). I’m also curious about the “other” B15 sounds you’re seeking so I can hear what I’ve been missing (can’t check out your video at the moment)!! :thumbsup: Definitely report back on all your findings!
Click to expand...

I have no experience with those boxes personally but have heard good things from other players even before starting this search: I did a print ad for their new product debut at NAMM a few years back, the Firehawk, so hopefully that relationship will mean a demo unit sent my way in the near future.

Fingers crossed.

As far as the “other” sounds go, I’m really interested in how that amp sounds pushed: it can give anything from very musical and dynamic overdrive to wide open distortion, and the evenness of the frequency response makes it a great base (no pun intended) for chaining other dirt effects into as well.

I’ve literally gone through every combination of my current pedals at this point, and even the UA plugin (which still doesn't QUITE have all the vibe and mojo of the real thing) has totally been untouchable if that’s the sound I’m after.
 
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#272
MDBass said:
Let me expand: I'm not looking for a REDDI. It's great at what it does, but not what I'm after, and I already own one.

I recently tracked in a studio with an actual B15 for the first time, and after picking my jaw up off the floor and taking myself home found that the UA plugin is a fairly close amalgam.

Unfortunately, using either of these things live is a non-starter.

What I'm hoping to find is something in pedal format that will allow me to avoid the cost and bulk of purchasing a Kemper and profiling a B15 for my touring work next year.

I currently have some REALLY excellent pedals (X7, AOU, DP3X, BDDI, Q/Strip, OCSD, and a whole mess of dirt and fuzz boxes) but as of yet everything has fallen short of the mark I'm looking for.

I'm interested in anything under $1k that offers the same rich midrange, musical overdrive/distortion and even punch across the entire fretboard as a B15.

There's a $20 in it for the chap who points me in the right direction :thumbsup:

GO!
Click to expand...
I own an Ampeg B15N with a JBL 15
I bought it New in 67.
Along with my 1960 P Bass
True there is nothing that sounds like it especially with a JBL.
However if you want something that will get you that sound in a small package.
I highly Suggest an Alembic Pre-Amp and/or An Alembic Super Filter.
They are rack mount pieces but they are great.
 
#273
SteveFromBerlin said:
If you‘re using a cab with a tweeter, there might be a chance to get a less brittle sound with turning the tweeter down. Nowadays I don‘t care for such harsh highs anymore.
Click to expand...
I play tweeter-less cabs (or in the case of my SVT212AV, I turn the tweeter off). Not sure if there were any guts changes from the 1st run to the 2nd (or current) runs of the Acapulco Gold, but I've definitely never really vibed with it tonally.
 
#274
I think we can all agree that the way to get the closest sound of a B-15 (30 watt all tube amp with a 15" speaker) is to use a B-15.

This idea that a $100-$500 pedal (with no tube pre or power amp section), is going to get you anything other than close is an unreasonable expectation.
At the pro level having a mic'd B-15 either on or off stage would be the obvious answer but not particulalry travel friendly in club land.

Speaking of the pro world, it is amazing how good the amp simulators work.
Even at a lower level, the amps sims in Reaper or Cubase are simply amazing.
With Pro Tools forgetaboutit.
I've had no experience with UA.

I was at the studio 3 weeks ago and was listening to a track that we had cut with a black face Deluxe Reverb and Di'd. The Fender plug in was amazing. Not a 100% perfect match but then again, 3 different Deluxe's would sound different due to component tolerances and the amount of drift they accumulate over time.
We didn't tell the artist (at first) which was which, but he prefered the amp sim as it sat well in the track.

What has also worked very well for me was a V-4B with a dummy load on the output and the pre-amp out into the console.
With a $1K budget and the size of a B-15 amp, this would be well worth trying IMO.

MDBass said:
I have no experience with those boxes personally but have heard good things from other players even before starting this search: I did a print ad for their new product debut at NAMM a few years back, the Firehawk, so hopefully that relationship will mean a demo unit sent my way in the near future.

Fingers crossed.

As far as the “other” sounds go, I’m really interested in how that amp sounds pushed: it can give anything from very musical and dynamic overdrive to wide open distortion, and the evenness of the frequency response makes it a great base (no pun intended) for chaining other dirt effects into as well.

I’ve literally gone through every combination of my current pedals at this point, and even the UA plugin (which still QUITE have all the vibe and mojo of the real thing) has still been untouchable if that’s the sound I’m after.
Click to expand...
 
#277
FD4A6EEA-CB47-4D89-8E71-8474F907BDEB.jpeg
Michael Eisenman said:
What does this old model look like?
Click to expand...

This is the original, no?

I used one in the studio back in the 80’s. It sounded great. If I’m not mistaken, we ran it into a Line 6 Bass Pod, then direct into the 16 track. My Steinberger never sounded better.
 
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#278
Yango said:
View attachment 3261711

This is the original, no?

I used one in the studio back in the 80’s. It sounded great. If I’m not mistaken, we ran it into a Line 6 Bass Pod, then direct into the 16 track. My Steinberger never sounded better.
Click to expand...
Wow, DIP switches, like my garage door opener.

Are you really in the middle of 53N/71W-where?
 
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#279
Michael Eisenman said:
Wow, DIP switches, like my garage door opener.
Click to expand...

From Sound on Sound interview with Andrew Barta:

Q: The first product we saw from you was the little SansAmp Classic box with the DIP switches on top -- it was a great product. What kind of research did you have to do to get to that point?

A: "That was an interesting story, because when I built it originally, I had the DIP switches in it only to figure out what settings to use. But I wanted to get other people's opinions first -- I was doing some amp modifications for Foreigner at the time with Mick Jones, and he asked if he could try it out for a couple of days. When I told him I was planning to get rid of the DIP switches, he said that was one of the best features, because you could use them to create different amp setups and different sounds."
 
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