• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Does anyone make a B15 in a pedal format?

#122
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...
There are many variables that add up to the sound the baffle in the cabinet and the speaker are important. The baffle is different in the later 70's versions. I used a B-18 in the early 70's and a few B-15's. Chuck Bartells who plays with Sturgill Simpson just uses a B-15 and a mic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MDBass and Pbassmanca
#124
Ross McLochness said:
Question- there are so many threads with TBrs who want the Broughton P15. Why doesn’t Josh want to make them anymore? Are they simply that labor intensive to build? I can’t imagine cost would be an issue as he could bump the price up and people would still buy them.
Click to expand...
I do make them. I stopped taking names for the waitlist because it has become impractical at this point. Once I clear the wait list I'm moving to a model that works better for my business. This started as a hobby and has grown quite a lot bigger than anticipated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gscroggin, Haroldo, extreme and 14 others
#125
Azure Skies said:
I do make them. I stopped taking names for the waitlist because it has become impractical at this point. Once I clear the wait list I'm moving to a model that works better for my business. This started as a hobby and has grown quite a lot bigger than anticipated.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear things have been more successful than anticipated: you’re clearly talented and providing the market something they highly value.
 
  • Like
Reactions: whero and Pbassmanca
#126
Mike Marshall said:
There are many variables that add up to the sound the baffle in the cabinet and the speaker are important. The baffle is different in the later 70's versions. I used a B-18 in the early 70's and a few B-15's. Chuck Bartells who plays with Sturgill Simpson just uses a B-15 and a mic.
Click to expand...

Well aware, which is why I’m willing to spend $1k on a box that can imitate it well ;)

I believe the amp at the studio was a ‘64 NC, and the plugin models both the ‘64 and ‘66 versions.
 
#128
BBQV said:
Have you tried the One Control silver Peg? Not a B15 pedal, but it’s made to sound and behave like the old V4-B. I love the mid control and the warm tubey overdrive.

Click to expand...


Definitely closer than the other One Control unit that was mentioned, but it seems to miss the tones between clean and fuzz that I’m after from the B15...though that may be a difference in bass and playing style, as I tend to dig in fairly aggressively and am using P’s and a Mustang.
 
#129
PotsdamBass8 said:
If you end up getting one, you know you’ll have to share your presets. Your demos are always killer so I know you’d be able to find some great tones.
Click to expand...

Appreciate that, I’ll keep the thread apprised about what box(es) I end up with - and the sounds I’m making with them - after the holidays.

Even if I splurged on full retail for everything, Sweetwater can’t possibly get them to me before the 27th...first world problems again ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bjelkeman, Kro and PotsdamBass8
#130
MDBass said:
... I’ll keep the thread apprised about what box(es) I end up with -
Click to expand...

In my search for good Ampeg tube sound, I've been through a couple of Tech 21 VT pedals and Ampeg's own SCR-DI. My best results have been by running the Transformer Out of a PF-20T into the effects return of my class D GK MB 500 or Ampeg PF-800.

It's certainly much bigger and heavier than even the largest of pedals, so I'm very interested in your results.

PF-20T.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lowendtech
#131
MDBass said:
I had a VT Bass some year ago and never quite got on with it: there was an inherent harshness to it from what I remember.

Certainly wouldn't hurt to give it another shot though, seeing as I've repped their gear for almost a decade ;)
Click to expand...
You should give VT Bass DI a try! It has a BITE switch which will take away the “harshness”. I also use a REDDI. I’m sending it a clean signal via Parallel Out in VT Bass DI and then run another XLR from VT Bass that is setup for that B-15 crunch. Our audio engineer blends them together and we’re really happy with what we get. Budget friendly and functional!
 
#132
_godspeed_ said:
You should give VT Bass DI a try! It has a BITE switch which will take away the “harshness”. I also use a REDDI. I’m sending it a clean signal via Parallel Out in VT Bass DI and then run another XLR from VT Bass that is setup for that B-15 crunch. Our audio engineer blends them together and we’re really happy with what we get. Budget friendly and functional!
Click to expand...

Already sent Dale an email about acquiring one again ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kro and _godspeed_
#133
_godspeed_ said:
You should give VT Bass DI a try! It has a BITE switch which will take away the “harshness”. I also use a REDDI. I’m sending it a clean signal via Parallel Out in VT Bass DI and then run another XLR from VT Bass that is setup for that B-15 crunch. Our audio engineer blends them together and we’re really happy with what we get. Budget friendly and functional!
Click to expand...
I have the VT bass pedal, what “Bite” switch are you referring to, the speaker sim?
 
#134
FirewalZ said:
I have the VT bass pedal, what “Bite” switch are you referring to, the speaker sim?
Click to expand...
No. It’s only available on VT Bass DI. It’s by default is enabled in all other versions. Here’s what @tech21nyc said about it :
“The "bite" button on the VT Bass DI adds the subsonic filter and presence boost that is part of the VT Bass' signature sound. When bypassed, the subsonic filter and presence boost is removed. The sound now becomes more full range.

The speaker sim on the VT Bass DI is the same circuit that is on the original and V2 units. When bypassed however, there is no high cut filter like on the V2 pedals.

These new features enable you to obtain sounds that are not available on the V1 and V2 VT Bass pedals.

Keep in mind that the VT Bass and DI version are designed as amp emulators for direct use but can also be used with a traditional bass or power amp and speaker. Always consider what you are plugging the pedal into. A mixing board is usually a flat response platform whereas a bass amp may have its own EQ contour and many bass cabs are optimized for bass guitar use.”
 
#136
Linnin said:
The closest to an actual B-15 is the '66 flip top model in Fender's new Rumble Studio 40 & Stage 800 combos. Very authentic. Auditioning one for yourself.

My B-15 story is as follows: I had just turned 16 and had been playing bass for all of oh, five weeks. A TV & Appliance store across the street from my high school had a B-15 in the window for sale. It belonged to the electronic repair tech. He bought it from the original owner a few months before. Went through it and put it up for sale. This was in early 1970. I tried it and hated it. Ended up buying a Kustom 200 with 2x15 cab. That amp rocked!

Hit up the '66 flip top model on my Studio 40 for the first time and it all came flooding back. It sounds exactly how I remember it. I still hate it.
Click to expand...

Well I guess it wouldn't be an amp thread without this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MDBass
#139
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: InhumanResource

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back