I just listened to the effects pedals made by EBS, they sound phenominal. Do they really sound that good in real life? just wondering as I have been on a search for my effects Holly Grail
I just got the EBS BASS IQ off ebay for about $80. I heard a Bella Fleck song called Scratch'n'Sniff, so I E-mailed Victor Wootens bass tech to find out what he used, and it was the IQ. I love this pedal for funk grooves. It is very well made and is definately worth the money in the first 15 minutes you play it. I run it with an Ampeg B2R and a dbx 163x compressor with a 4x10 cab and a 1x15 and it works great with my '78 p-bass. Good luck with EBS.
I know it's unfair to judge something from a simple internet sound file, but the samples on the EBS website keep me far away from their stuff. Way too sterile.
I'm with you on this one my search for an overdrive pedal ended when I tried EBS MultiDrive, that gets my sound going ! Not too harsh and not too mild, just the way it should be
$80!!!! I am soooooo jealous! Anyway, Nad, have you checked out the Artist list on the EBS site??? Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, Byron Miller, Maurice Fitzgerald, Kern Brantley, bassists from Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, Skid Row, Robert Plant, and too many more to mention, all play EBS....gotta be something about 'em that draws heavyweights like these. Personally, I've had the pleasure to play thru the Bass IQ and walked away very impressed....that is one FUNKY envelope filter!!
They have no true bypass, BUT they do not alter your sound!!! There is some article around explaining this buffered circuit. I am using the Octabass and MultiComp myself.
I used to have a Multicomp and a Multidrive... they're great! Built like tanks and great sounding, best pedals on the market.
they have one of those? we better claim rights or before you know it there will be the EHX Holy Grail
IMHO EBS pedals sound way better live than those sterile funk-slap-clips they have on their website. I have (or have had) EBS MultiComp, MultiDrive, Octabass and Chorus. No true bypass but bypass is very good though.
The samples are fine, but you won't know how they REALLY sound until it is your hands driving your bass through them into your rig. All the pedals are very responsive and you have to see how they "play" with you. That said the Multicomp is SWEET. I have played the Octabass too and it is thick and smart. Totally worth the $$$. I have never complained about the bypass mode on these boxes. The whole "true bypass" thing has gotten a little out of hand. Most of the cool pedals musicians have been using for decades don't have it. Just find a pedal that doesn't "tone suck" you to death, but between onboard electronics and your preamp there is no such thing as a "true bypass" bass signal. Unless you plug your pickups directly to the power amp! (Don't get me wrong, bypass is great, but it is not the first thing to evaluate when checking out a stomp) BTW George Porter Jr. currently uses nothin' but EBS stomps in front of his Ampeg rig.
I use the Multicomp and am really impressed at how it smooths out the sound without altering the sound of the bass.