EBS Multidrive or Studio?

Reviving this fine thread as I'm also curious as to the difference. What I've seen so far suggests that the studio version is not merely an upgrade but a total redesign. Has anyone tried both?

 

I just ordered a "studio version" and i have the same question.

I was under the impression it was just an upgraded version in terms of the bypass, and made quieter, with the addition of a passive/active selector.

i emailed EBS with this question and hope I get an answer soon.

from what i hear in demos this is an underrated drive. we'll see.

 

In my experience, the previous generation MultiDrive (not the glossy ones) sounds a bit too "fat" and "polite" to work great in the rock/blues bands I have used it in. I think the pedal will mix in a bit of clean sound, with a mild boost somewhere between 50 and 150, making the bass sound a little bloated. The OD then "rides" on top of that. It would probably work great with an eq after.

Other than that, the pedal is very fine, in my opinion. No noise, very robust, simple layout, easy to see settings, impossible to get bad sound from. Interestingly, when I bring my VT Bass to band practice, after some tweaking, I will usually end up with something that is very close to the default sound in the MultiDrive... Go figure...

Active/passive switch is used in the older models as well!

 

heard back from EBS, the studio is an "upgraded" version with voltage protection and better bypass, that's all.

this is the exact response from EBS:

Basically the function is the same, but with difference of the switching which is made with relay, so the mechanical hard click is removed. More is that the SE series pedals are protected against over voltage.

 

With the latest "Studio Edition" pedals, upgrades vary from almost irrelevant, as above, to bordering new products, ie BassIQ, with extra knobs, new switches with expanded functionality etc.

 

Thanks for all the information, this is very helpful.

 

There seems to be a number of well known Talkbass members that considered it to be on the polite side already 19 years ago. A trim pot is mentioned, I will see if I have one in my pedal.
EBS Multidrive