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DSMnoisemaker & Humboldt Electronics Simplifier Bass Station
- Thread starter amper
- Start date
My q
right, i got more compressors than i can handle. and maybe thats the solution to the drop in volume between the parallel processing and pre amp, run a compressor in the loop. which i do plan on doing, but my smoothie is working for me just fine. however the review of thier compressor is highly favarable.
After days of searching for a preamp/DI to replace the MXR M80 and SansAmp BDDI that I've been using the past 10 years or so, I stumbled across the Simplifier. I was trying to find something with effects loop and cab sim, and this has even more features than I was expecting to find. The SVT style preamp is also a plus since my favorite amp I've ever played through was an SVT with 8x10 cab that was set up at a church I was invited to fill in for.
I am curious about the parallel effects loop. I saw someone mention the idea of placing a different preamp there, but as someone who is just starting to experiment with adding chorus, I'm curious as to what other types of effects someone would run on the clean signal that they would want to keep separate from their main feed. Or was having a separate preamp the intended use behind that clean effect loop anyway?
I am curious about the parallel effects loop. I saw someone mention the idea of placing a different preamp there, but as someone who is just starting to experiment with adding chorus, I'm curious as to what other types of effects someone would run on the clean signal that they would want to keep separate from their main feed. Or was having a separate preamp the intended use behind that clean effect loop anyway?
Trust me been trying to have that conversation for months. No one really uses the fx loops, I have the same questions. knowing if you should run the effect wet in the loop or not, also with lpf sending only the bass signal, how useful would it be to uses compressors with dry blend in the fx loop. Many will tell you there are no rules. I guess we'll just have to experiment ourselves.
My plan with the simplifier is to run either a boost or mild compression through the parallel loop with parallel filtered to only low frequencies. Then chorus, extra dirt, steel leather etc. through the preamp loop. That way the low end is clear and the high end can be modified as needed. Sounds good so far.
So are your effects in the loop wet or blended?(meaning a mix of wet and dry). Sorry, i see youre saying it's a plan, so you haven't done it yet, correct?
Chorus in the preamp side is fully wet. I have a bout a 50/50 running between the parallel and preamp side. Nice clean bass with some chorus on top. Also tried the steel leather on the preamp side and it worked well there.
Sounds good in headphone and open air not sure about a ful mix yet.
Sounds good in headphone and open air not sure about a ful mix yet.
Thanks for answering! next question if you don't mind. Since the parallel loop is "parallel" and that if your using the lpf on the parallel side. Is a dry blend still there if you run the parallel fx fully wet? I wasn't clear if you had a compressor on the parallel side. Hope this makes sense. Thanks.
I have a straight boost or a compressor in the parallel loop. Because with the lpf the parallel side is lower signal I use that for raising the level to match the preamp side.
I’m liking the compressor in there.
since I’ve got the lpf on with the Dsm and I have the compressor in the loop, I’d call that “wet”. However the compressor has a dry blend which I may use which could make it less wet.
In any case I’m going for clean low end blended in to counter the grit or modulation in the preamp loop. Seems to work well and a little compression on the low end allows me to dig in get more accent on mids and highs without being too muddy.
Thank you. I can see using the make up gain on the compressor to boost the level. I'm currently using a smoothie in series, but I have a diamond jr compressor that I was planning on it using in the parallel loop since it has no dry blend. Guess I'll experiment to see which work best, that means breaking everything down and testing
I might be able to get away with the Bass Simplifier ALONE if it had two additional features.
1. Make up gain on the parallel side
2. Ability to switch off the cabsim on the amp output (it's nice to have there and in the DI, but sometimes you want it on in the DI and off for the 1/4 out.
Maybe DSM/Humboldt will work on this for a 2.0.
1. Make up gain on the parallel side
2. Ability to switch off the cabsim on the amp output (it's nice to have there and in the DI, but sometimes you want it on in the DI and off for the 1/4 out.
Maybe DSM/Humboldt will work on this for a 2.0.
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In experiment with both of the fx loops, I was thinking that there was some sort of clean blended with the loops and that not the case. if you want some clean blend you'll have to do it at the pedal level. The fx loops combine 100 of what's in the loop if its 100 percent wet that's what you'll get. With that being the case I don't see what the benefits are of having these loops. Doesn't seem to be adding any fiction, unless I'm using it wrong it's so simple I don't see how. I'm next going to test with a diamond on the parallel side and a Saturn iv on the preamp side. After that, I'll test my mu Trons on the pre amp side with the smoothie on the parallel side then report back..
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Like I was saying any make up gain is done at the pedal level. And that's because of the crossover from parallel to preamp. I'm my experience it's really not needed because I feel the blend gives you the ability to balance between the two. But again the parallel signal doesn't seems really parallel because your not getting and parallel blend just an insert with a lpf..unless I'm thinking about this all wrong
Just posting while testing the diamond Jr and the saturn vi can't hear any different with the effects in the loop. With the lpf engaged with eq of the diamond is a waste. To me best type of compressor here would be uncolored with no eq since you're only using a lpf signal. Again no real discernable difference using the loops.
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Yes but I could avoid having to put anything in the clean loop if it had makeup gain because if you blend inn10% parallel with the lpf on, the out put is too low.
Works great with the loops but can’t use it completely by itself.
Do you think the output is lower because it's only sending a lpf signal? I wouldn't expect it to sound the same as a loop using the full signal? I think the low pass volume blends well as is. Except there's no way too control the amount of volume on the parallel loop side just balance.
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Ok so I've went over using compressor with and without dry blend and modulation effects this is my take. What ever volume levels are pushing the loops are way too low, especially on the pre amp side. not even enough gain to really drive my solid gold fx beta. I wouldn't call these loops fx loops really, maybe insert points that allow you to blend different effects instead of just on/off. Proper gain staging will do the same. I thought for some reason I thought the loops would allow you to take something with no dry blend like a diamond jr and blend it a clean signal on both side. And that's not how these work. Like I said they're just inserts that allow the blending of 2 effects. But I do love the ability to blend the lpf tone with the pre amp, but you don't need the fx loops for that . Still I can get just a huge range of sounds from this thing. My wish would be the really educate there users and future buyers on how to fully use this this. At this time no such video exist where they actually use the loops. So maybe they work better with delay or reverb, neither of which I use. If I'm doing something wrong please let me know.
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Some pedals don’t behave correctly in the loops either. Envelope filter and grit pedals don’t seem to have the same amount of input. It’s like the levels aren’t high enough across the board. Most of my pedals have a make up gain/vol so I can make it work. But it does behave differently than I expect for loops.
the simplifier is still my favorite over many many others but I agree that the manufacturer explanations would really help.
