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EBS ValveDrive

D

Diddii

Mar 15, 2007
339
4
Reykjavík / Iceland
#1
I was thinking of getting one, just been thinking that there is a Vintage "on/off" button...i play alot of Classic rock, just thinking if this was a smart chose of a Overdrive pedal?
I'm not very looking for an much drive sound, more like Thick sound more "Bass and a little Treble".
 
#2
Well, I have one. It's quite expensive for a pedal but not expensive considering it's a tube preamp.

It definitely gives you a fatter tone. Depending on the gain setting, you get everything from smooth tube tone to wild distortion and everything in between. The vintage button activates some internal feedback, as far as I have understood and gives you more distortion.

Unlike most overdrive pedals this is the real thing, you get true tube sound and to my ears it sounds really good. And it looks quite cool with the backlit tube.

But I have to tell you I haven't been using it so much lately. I used it a lot with my Neuser Crusade, which has an alder body. But the bass I'm using now is one I've built myself from Warmoth parts. It has a korina body, that together with the EMG 35DC pickups gives it quite a dark and masculine voice. So it has a fat tone already and I feel that some of it's special character gets lost when I route it through the ValveDrive.

But with the Neuser and my Precision copy (Tokai Hard Puncher), it's a "must" to get the tone I want. Especially good old fashioned passive basses fit well with this unit. Yeah and I use it with my SWR Workingman's 10 and 15 combos and that's a great combination. They can be a bit harsh on their own but with this preamp it's smoothness all the way.
 
#4
I just picked one up. It kills! I A/B'd against an EBS Multidrive and a Fulltone Bass Drive. I was looking for something to give me some tubeyness and warm up my SR's. Here are my impressions:

EBS Multidrive: I wasn't impressed at all. It was a cool little pedal, but I felt the lows were kinda lost in it. I played with all the switches and knobs and basically couldn't get what I wanted out of it.

Fulltone Bass Drive: Excellent pedal. The lows were retained. It warmed up my sound in the way that I was hoping for. It really only gives an overdrive type sound...just a little warmed up, but nothing crazy. I thought I was convinced that this pedal was for me...

EBS Valvedrive: I hate the external AC adapter thing. It's a pain in the ass. This pedal totally smokes. It gets me EXACTLY what I was looking for. A nice tubey, warm tone. It can get all types of overdrive & distortion too! Steep price but very worth it to me. My SR's never sounded so good! Now I have a modern hi-fi rig and an older tube rig all in one tiny little setup. Very nice pedal!!!
 
#5
Some additions to my previous comment: In the meantime I've played a gig with the big band I'm in (Invalid Link Removed). I didn't bring the ValveDrive but really missed it. It's true that my bass has a deep character but it sounded a bit harsh on it's own. At least on my SWR Workingman's 15 combo. I don't know how the PA sound was.

So now I have ordered a couple of single coil EMG 35J pickups to replace the 35DC dual coils. That will give me a more Fender Jazz-like sound with more midrange. I think that will be a killer combo with the ValveDrive.
 
#6
The EBS Valve Drive is hands-down my favorite overdrive so far. I've tried a lot of different pedals/preamps and this one had the tone & response I was looking for!

It can be relatively clean on up to a heavy overdrive. I use it primarily as an effect to add a little grit & fatness. I've also been using it as a preamp at sessions. The thing kills!!!
 
#7
I have a Keeley modified Boss BD-2 pedal, specially modified for bass with bigger(?) capacitors. I LOVE IT. Not harsh like most distortion pedals. Sounds sweet, like an overdriven tube amp.

I told the folks at Keeley what I wanted (the original pedal, made for guitar, lost too much bottom to use for bass without extra boost from another source) , and they put in the caps (as plugs - not soldered!) and included other, deeper caps for me to try if their mods were not sufficient. For NO EXTRA COST!

Anyway, reasonably priced, especially if you get a BD-2 used and send it to them for modification.

Maybe this is a less expensive but sonically pleasing way to go?

Jerzy
 
#8
jerzyshore said:
I have a Keeley modified Boss BD-2 pedal, specially modified for bass with bigger(?) capacitors. I LOVE IT. Not harsh like most distortion pedals. Sounds sweet, like an overdriven tube amp.

I told the folks at Keeley what I wanted (the original pedal, made for guitar, lost too much bottom to use for bass without extra boost from another source) , and they put in the caps (as plugs - not soldered!) and included other, deeper caps for me to try if their mods were not sufficient. For NO EXTRA COST!

Anyway, reasonably priced, especially if you get a BD-2 used and send it to them for modification.

Maybe this is a less expensive but sonically pleasing way to go?

Jerzy
Click to expand...

Hey hey Jerzy,
Working on a BD-2 right now and have tried some of Keeley's suggestions. Curious which values at which caps did you finally decide on?
David
 

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