- Sep 26, 2005
- 1,955
- 641
- Disclosures
- endorsing artist: Dean guitars, Marshall , Rotosound strings
The more I hear about this pedal, the more I want to give it a go.
Damn you ehx!!! Lol
Damn you ehx!!! Lol
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Electro-Harmonix Nano Battalion Bass Preamp
- Thread starter Nunovsky
- Start date
I've had mine for about two weeks now and love it! I'm using as an always on o.d. at the beginning of my chain and it sounds perfect. Makes everything after it sound good as well.
Last edited:
That'll put a lot of stress on the output jack. Bad idea, IMO.
It only has one output. If you're using it the TRS>DI cable then you don't have another output available to use to your amp.
If you want to use it as a preamp to FOH and to feed your amp at the same time, then it's best to use an external DI unit to send a balanced signal to the PA and a paralel unbalanced to the amp.
I just got one of these today... I thought it sounded awesome and everything was perfect. However, that was when I had it in front of my pedalboard.
Once I integrated it into the signal chain where I needed it, I found that the Nano Battalion causes all true bypass pedals that are ahead of it to pop loudly whenever their footswitch gets toggled. Does anyone else have this issue?
Edit - Signal chain as follows:
Bass -> Mesa Boogie Stowaway buffer -> Turbo Tuner ST-300 mini -> Friedman Sir ComPre -> Digitech Dirty Robot -> MXR Phase 95 -> EBS the Drive (Nano Battalion was supposed to replace this) -> Digitech Luxe -> Broughton Always On HPF -> Omnicabsim Mini
When Nano Batallion is placed where the EBS the Drive was, engaging the turbo tuner, Sir Compre, Dirty Robot, or Phase 95 causes severe pops.
Once I integrated it into the signal chain where I needed it, I found that the Nano Battalion causes all true bypass pedals that are ahead of it to pop loudly whenever their footswitch gets toggled. Does anyone else have this issue?
Edit - Signal chain as follows:
Bass -> Mesa Boogie Stowaway buffer -> Turbo Tuner ST-300 mini -> Friedman Sir ComPre -> Digitech Dirty Robot -> MXR Phase 95 -> EBS the Drive (Nano Battalion was supposed to replace this) -> Digitech Luxe -> Broughton Always On HPF -> Omnicabsim Mini
When Nano Batallion is placed where the EBS the Drive was, engaging the turbo tuner, Sir Compre, Dirty Robot, or Phase 95 causes severe pops.
Last edited:
I ended up returning it to the store for a refund (with a description of the issues) rather than sending it to EHX for warranty work right out of the gate.
It leaks DC out the input jack - I'm pretty positive it was defective, but with EHX pedals you never know - it could be one of the pedal's "quirks" that they'd consider normal and acceptable.
My confidence in EHX is not very high after my issue with the Synth 9 and Pedal Power 2 compatibility. It stalls on boot up, when used with a power supply like Pedal Power 2, even though it meets the specified power requirements. EHX support told me to send it in so they could apply a "fix" as they were aware of it and have "solved" that issue for 9 series pedals. I live in NYC but they don't accept dropoffs in person, so I spent money to mail my Synth 9 with a copy of the receipt (for warranty work) and a print out of the email exchange so that they know why it was sent there. They just sent the pedal back with no information on whether they even did anything, and it still has the same problems.
I also have a Holy Grail Nano that died while in sitting unused in a drawer. It was working before I stored it. 8 months later when I took it out to record with, it was dead. They want $25 to fix it since it's out of warranty, but I'm thinking it's probably just going to die again if they return it to spec rather than upgrade the known problem components with something more robust.
EHX does have great ideas, and the pedals usually sound awesome. But the QC just isn't there from my experience. Only 50% of the EHX pedals I have owned function as expected (Super Ego, Canyon, and Bass Mono Synth). Admittedly it's my experience is a small sample size, but it should not be this hit or miss.
It's a shame since I'm very intrigued by the feature set in the Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff and Tri Parallel Mixer, just too scared to take another gamble at this time.
It was not a "quirk" considered normal and acceptable, I remember seeing a (I'm assuming your) customer support email forwarded to me about this. Definitely a defective capacitor leading to the DC leakage at the input jack. Not a normal thing and I haven't heard anyone else report this. Would have been a very simple repair. Just FYI to anyone interested in this pedal.
Thanks Manny, that's good to know. Soundwise, I thought it was a great pedal. I asked the store I purchased from originally to test their stock to see if it behaved the same way (in which case I'd exchange instead), but my options were to return it for refund, or send it to EHX for warranty repair on a brand new pedal. Because of how my Synth 9 was handled, I felt going with the former was the safer choice.
Yes, the EQ on the Nano Battalion and the crossover controls on the Deluxe Bass Big Muff are pretty different. On the Big Muff you have a HPF and LPF knob which as you turn them completely cut all frequencies below/above a certain cutoff frequency. On the Nano Battalion the bass and treble knobs are shelving filters at a set frequency, as you turn the knob up or down it sets how much you are boosting or cutting frequencies below/above that set point, without majorly affecting other frequencies.
Glad you like the pedal
I was considering trying out the EHX Nano Battalion. Manny, can you get a decent clean sound out of the pedal in addition to the dirt? Also, does the nb has enough horsepower under the hood to drive/push any pedals after it? I tried the linden eq as a clean preamp awhile back, and while the sound was nice, it just didn't have enough ponies to do the job.
The Nano Battalion can be totally clean if you want to just use the EQ, the range of distortion you can get with it is pretty wide. Driving/pushing any pedals after it also should not be a problem.
I just received my new Nano Battalion and here it is at home on my board:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I just got it yesterday so I haven't been able to spend a ton of time with it yet, but so far I like it. It's definitely got a wide palette, from clean to quite dirty. There's plenty under the hood for sure.
