dUg Ultra Bass 1000 - Tech 21

[BrBss]

Could someone please do a clip totally demonstrating the clean channel on its own? Can both kids be used together or is one dissabled in each mode, mix/clean?

The clean tone is actually quite good. Very clear and deep, with the right settings. Closer to my Mesa M6 than my TC RH450, which is a compliment. The power amp is quite noisy though (I'm guessing noise from the SMPS) and that seems to be very apparent on the clean channel when the mid boost is up high. The clean tone is pretty bassy unless the mid boost is turned up, so the power supply noise is annoying. Luckily, the noise doesn't show up on the DI output.

 

[12bass]

The power amp is quite noisy though (I'm guessing noise from the SMPS) and that seems to be very apparent on the clean channel when the mid boost is up high. The clean tone is pretty bassy unless the mid boost is turned up, so the power supply noise is annoying. Luckily, the noise doesn't show up on the DI output.

Is it white noise, buzz, or some other kind of noise? Although such noise would likely be masked at gigs, IMO, there is no excuse for a noisy modern design.

 

[BrBss]

Is it white noise, buzz, or some other kind of noise? Although such noise would likely be masked at gigs, IMO, there is no excuse for a noisy modern design.

White noise, but the mid boost (which seems to be a treble boost too) really brings out the noise in the 4kHz+ region. Agree that it would be masked during a gig.

Have any other dUg owners experienced this?

 

[husky123]

White noise, but the mid boost (which seems to be a treble boost too) really brings out the noise in the 4kHz+ region. Agree that it would be masked during a gig.

Have any other dUg owners experienced this?

Yes, I have.

 

[tech21nyc]

... The power amp is quite noisy though (I'm guessing noise from the SMPS) and that seems to be very apparent on the clean channel when the mid boost is up high...

We think you're probably hearing noise from the preamp section. The power section of the amp is quite low. Plug a bass into the efx return and turn down your instrument's volume control if you want to hear the power section on it's own.

The clean channel's compressor is always on per dUg's specifications. Because of that, the clean channel will be more aggressive than a typical bass amp's clean channel.

The Mid Boost is centered in the higher midrange area and is more like a presence boost. dUg called it Mid Boost. This control allows the amp to "cut through" a bit more when only using the Clean channel. The Mid Boost is bypassed when both channels are engaged.

 

[kringle77]

So the clean channel in clean mode had pretty much the same eq as a vtrm when blended to completely clean?

 

[andrew]

So, what frequency is the first low channel mid centered at?

The top channel's Mid knob is centered at 500Hz, and the bottom's at 300Hz.

 

[BrBss]

We think you're probably hearing noise from the preamp section. The power section of the amp is quite low. Plug a bass into the efx return and turn down your instrument's volume control if you want to hear the power section on it's own.

The clean channel's compressor is always on per dUg's specifications. Because of that, the clean channel will be more aggressive than a typical bass amp's clean channel.

The Mid Boost is centered in the higher midrange area and is more like a presence boost. dUg called it Mid Boost. This control allows the amp to "cut through" a bit more when only using the Clean channel. The Mid Boost is bypassed when both channels are engaged.

Thanks for the response.
I realized it wouldn't make sense to be power amp noise if the mid boost affects it... doh!
So yes, your recommendation of plugging into the power amp input confirmed that the noise is from the preamp. The noise is constant even if nothing is plugged into the input jack and isn't affected by the gain switch by the input.

 

[tech21nyc]

Thanks for the response.
I realized it wouldn't make sense to be power amp noise if the mid boost affects it... doh!
So yes, your recommendation of plugging into the power amp input confirmed that the noise is from the preamp. It's odd that the noise doesn't seem to appear on the DI, though. The noise is constant even if nothing is plugged into the input jack and isn't affected by the gain switch by the input.

Where do you have the mid boost set? Because it acts more like a presence control and the channel has compression you are better off being judicious with the control. dUg usually sets it at noon but likes to have the ability to dial in more in certain rooms. At 1000 watts the dUg is not going to be a bedroom amp. What speaker cabs are you using with the amp? dUg is using four 410 passive cabs. The DI is optimized for direct FOH use. Also, with the DI the overall volume of the signal is more in "context" like a normal playing situation vs hearing a big amp in isolation. Considering the signal to noise ratio the noise that is there won't even be an issue in a playing situation with drums.

 

[kringle77]

So the low channel eq is a totally clean sound with eq points at around 80hz, 300hz & 3khz? And, the top channel is basically a vt bass always high passed? This kind of info will help us understand how this dug would really work for us. Most of us have owned several of your products and could relate better. Thanks

 

[tech21nyc]

The dUg amp does have some of the VT Bass and Bass Driver DNA but was optimized to dUg's overall requirements. It took a lot of work to make the amp what it is. Because of the unique architecture of the circuit there are no specific EQ points or settings on our previous products that will nail the tone of that amp. You can get in the ballpark but that kind of applies to everything. Bass Driver DI, Para Driver vs VT Bass etc.

 

[kringle77]

Good response. Thanks

 

[kringle77]

A good response but, you still could list eq points or types. It is a very unique product.

 

[BrBss]

Where do you have the mid boost set? Because it acts more like a presence control and the channel has compression you are better off being judicious with the control. dUg usually sets it at noon but likes to have the ability to dial in more in certain rooms.

I find that to have a balanced clean tone, I have to either:
1) Turn the bass eq down below 12:00, which severely limits the max volume of the amp to below stage levels, or
2) Crank the mid boost to ~3:00, which brings up the noise floor significantly. Regardless, the noise is still quite noticeable with the mid boost at noon.

What speaker cabs are you using with the amp? dUg is using four 410 passive cabs.

I have Acme 4x10 and 2x10 cabinets, and fEarful 12/6/1's. The noise is apparent on all of them.

At 1000 watts the dUg is not going to be a bedroom amp [...] Considering the signal to noise ratio the noise that is there won't even be an issue in a playing situation with drums.

My Mesa M6 seems to be as loud as the dUg, but with no noise at low volume. The noise on the clean channel is certainly audible even with drums. Here are sound clips recorded by a Zoom H2N with an active jazz bass, roundwound strings, into a looper so the signal going into the amps is always the same. The clean tone of the dUg is clearly the noisiest, and while the noise isn't obnoxious while the drums are playing, it is still audible. (Excuse the sloppy drumming!)
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Don't get me wrong, the Mix mode on this amp is absolutely amazing. I just feel like a couple of small tweaks could have turned this into a 3 channel, versatile monster instead of a great sounding, but single channel, amp.

 

[BrBss]

Here's the 8 string through the dUg.
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And I attached some gut shots, if anyone's curious. (FYI, The power amp is branded as Abletec, which is difficult to find info on, but appears to be the same as the Anaview ALC1000-1300 Invalid Link Removed)

 

[kringle77]

Sounds pretty good! It's hard to believe that if you maxed the clean volume and adjusted output with the master volume that you couldn't get full power.

 

[andrew]

8 string sounds great BrBss!

Anyone know more about the power module?

 

[BrBss]

Sounds pretty good! It's hard to believe that if you maxed the clean volume and adjusted output with the master volume that you couldn't get full power.

The bass and compressor settings have a huge effect on the output volume.

 

[andrew]

I've mentioned the "Red Ripper Trick" on here before, here's a brief clip to demonstrate the difference the RR pedal makes. This was recorded with a Rode NT4 mic set about 15 feet back from my cab, and with a Spector bass.
The clip order is the dUg amp with both channels on, followed by the Low channel solo'ed, followed by the Low channel solo'ed with the Red Ripper pedal on.

If you prefer the sound of the dUg set with the Mids at noon or cut on the Low channel then this Red Ripper trick isn't as helpful, but if you're like me and want the Mids boosted this gives you a more classic Tech 21 bright and present clean channel option. Pics show the settings on both the amp and the pedal. As you can see the pedal doesn't need a lot of treble to make things really bright. This clip is a bit more bright than most would want from the RR but I wanted to demonstrate how much of a difference a little of this pedal can really make.

I've tried a few other pedals but have yet to find another pedal that behaves like the Red Ripper can on the dUg's low channel. All I can figure is the crossover in the RR compliments the crossover in the dUg. I'm sure someone here actually knows why the two play well together.

 

[husky123]

I've mentioned the "Red Ripper Trick" on here before, here's a brief clip to demonstrate the difference the RR pedal makes. This was recorded with a Rode NT4 mic set about 15 feet back from my cab, and with a Spector bass.
The clip order is the dUg amp with both channels on, followed by the Low channel solo'ed, followed by the Low channel solo'ed with the Red Ripper pedal on.

If you prefer the sound of the dUg set with the Mids at noon or cut on the Low channel then this Red Ripper trick isn't as helpful, but if you're like me and want the Mids boosted this gives you a more classic Tech 21 bright and present clean channel option. Pics show the settings on both the amp and the pedal. As you can see the pedal doesn't need a lot of treble to make things really bright. This clip is a bit more bright than most would want from the RR but I wanted to demonstrate how much a little of this pedal can really make.

I've tried a few other pedals but have yet to find another pedal that behaves like the Red Ripper can on the dUg's low channel. All I can figure is the crossover in the RR compliments the crossover in the dUg. I'm sure someone here actually knows why the two play well together.

Nice work Andrew. Sounds incredibly mean in that first clip. Good workaround too that you've found to go clean.