Don't worry yourself about an observation I made. If you like that type of tone, AWESOME.
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Fender Trapper Bass Distortion Club-ish
- Thread starter BunchyMutt
- Start date
I wouldn't personally describe it as inorganic. Doesn't sound like there's a weird scoop anywhere. Sounds tubish.
I like that both are independently switchable.
But my main takeaway from this video is that this whole Trapper Bass Distortion thing continues in its weirdness. He didn't even adjust the Frequency or Sub Level knobs!
I like that both are independently switchable.
But my main takeaway from this video is that this whole Trapper Bass Distortion thing continues in its weirdness. He didn't even adjust the Frequency or Sub Level knobs!
+1 i think that the guy wasn't the right player for that demo. He didn't get the best of that pedal.
A good thing about the pedal is that in the video it was quiet not need of a noise gate. Its sound similar to the AGS circuit of another brand.
I really like how it sounds, very tubeish. In my opinion, Fender should change the name from distortion to overdrive since this pedal is clearly more on the low to medium gain area. No Darkglass killer here. No metal mayhem but great overdrive tones. I really liked the low gain settings to fatten up the sound. It got into my Christmas GAS list.
I feel like any player is capable of demonstrating the qualities of an overdrive pedal like this if you have list of what you want to show, and then stick to it. Given it's a professional review rather than a home review, Fender likely was actively involved in the demo room. I'm more inclined to chalk it up to bad marketing (of which the Trapper has had plenty) rather than Pete Griffin, who's the longstanding bassist for Zappa Plays Zappa and is a regular at the Baked Potato in LA
While they're at it, I'd like them to change the name from Trapper to something else also
The comparison with Darkglass has more to do with the crossover option + low end control. Not that the Fender had to be metal oriented.
I own a Microtubes X. Really like it. But I also need a more vintage, different overdrive that has that great low end control. Like that Downtown Express overdrive but with no low end cut and more control. Thats what I expect from the Trapper.
Just got mine. I think it sounds really good, a nice, fat and tubey overdrive.
It really excels at low to medium gain.
I still have to mess a bit more with the crossover but I'm really liking what I'm hearing.
It really excels at low to medium gain.
I still have to mess a bit more with the crossover but I'm really liking what I'm hearing.
Got to play a bit more with the pedal.
First, it's really well built, feels solid and I just love the leds on the knobs that Fender offers with these pedals. I allows you to see all the positions even at dark stages. The pedal is also very quiet and without perceptible noise.
After reading the info that Fender had displayed at their website, I thought that distortion 1 and 2 were 2 diferent circuits with one being more low to medium gain with more lows and low mids, and the other more high gain with more mids and high mids in the tone. From my experience, it seems that both channels use the same circuit, at least if I set the knobs identical in both distortion 1 and 2 and turn each one on and off they sound the same to me. That's not a bad thing in itself, I just expected something diferent here. The higher gain comes when you turn both on, but to me it sounds thinner and a bit buzzy although you can bring back the low end with the crossover section. That's particularly usefull with higher gain settings, although this pedal doesn't really get into distortion mayhem territory.
At lower gain, you don't need the crossover IMHO. You get a fat, tubey sound that sounds great with a p-bass with flats. I love how it sounds this way, and it's really sensitive to your playing dinamics. I found out that I like to roll the tone on the pedal a bit to the left to set it to my taste because with everything at 12º it sounded a bit trebly to me.
When setting things at higher gain levels, the crossover is an amazing tool. The fact that you can choose the cut frequencies and the volume of the clean section is really great. Messing with both the frequency and the clean volume gives a lot of tonal versatility, and it sounds better if you turn the tone on the drive to the right for more razor drive while keeping a lot of low end.
This pedal sounds really great and for me I think the way I'll use it is with the drive 1 at low gain settings since it has no clean blend, and drive 2 with higher gain so I can make use of the crossover blend. I didn't specially like with both drives turned on but each one has it's own flavour this way and I love it.
If you're looking for higher gain distortion, this is not the pedal for you. But at what it does it's a great sounding pedal, very well built like most of this Fender series pedals, and at a great price for the options that it offers.
First, it's really well built, feels solid and I just love the leds on the knobs that Fender offers with these pedals. I allows you to see all the positions even at dark stages. The pedal is also very quiet and without perceptible noise.
After reading the info that Fender had displayed at their website, I thought that distortion 1 and 2 were 2 diferent circuits with one being more low to medium gain with more lows and low mids, and the other more high gain with more mids and high mids in the tone. From my experience, it seems that both channels use the same circuit, at least if I set the knobs identical in both distortion 1 and 2 and turn each one on and off they sound the same to me. That's not a bad thing in itself, I just expected something diferent here. The higher gain comes when you turn both on, but to me it sounds thinner and a bit buzzy although you can bring back the low end with the crossover section. That's particularly usefull with higher gain settings, although this pedal doesn't really get into distortion mayhem territory.
At lower gain, you don't need the crossover IMHO. You get a fat, tubey sound that sounds great with a p-bass with flats. I love how it sounds this way, and it's really sensitive to your playing dinamics. I found out that I like to roll the tone on the pedal a bit to the left to set it to my taste because with everything at 12º it sounded a bit trebly to me.
When setting things at higher gain levels, the crossover is an amazing tool. The fact that you can choose the cut frequencies and the volume of the clean section is really great. Messing with both the frequency and the clean volume gives a lot of tonal versatility, and it sounds better if you turn the tone on the drive to the right for more razor drive while keeping a lot of low end.
This pedal sounds really great and for me I think the way I'll use it is with the drive 1 at low gain settings since it has no clean blend, and drive 2 with higher gain so I can make use of the crossover blend. I didn't specially like with both drives turned on but each one has it's own flavour this way and I love it.
If you're looking for higher gain distortion, this is not the pedal for you. But at what it does it's a great sounding pedal, very well built like most of this Fender series pedals, and at a great price for the options that it offers.
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Mine arrived today but haven't had a chance to try it out.
A demo was also released today from Andertons:
I can't really tell what the sub level 2 is doing via youtube compression. There are some sounds that I think are really nice though
A demo was also released today from Andertons:
I can't really tell what the sub level 2 is doing via youtube compression. There are some sounds that I think are really nice though
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First impressions - it's very attractive (sans top jacks) and well built pedal that sounds great but doesn't have a similar control layout like other traditional pedals or even like other pedals with crossover circuits. I like the finish and blue LEDs that are switchable. It's reminds me of the best settings on the Aguilar Tone Hammer DI AGS circuit.
To be honest I don't know how the two channels are related. At some settings they seem in series, on others they seem parallel.
SUB LVL 2 is subtle on some settings when on DIST 2 alone. Adding DIST 1 with GAIN 1 and TONE 1 pretty low, takes away a good amount of low end so you definitely notice the SUB LVL 2 when it's gone. When GAIN 1 is bumped up low level comes back, and turning TONE 1 down to 9 o'clock or so still leaves plenty of mids.
In my short time with it it's easy to get a sound that sounds great and sits in a mix no problem. It's controls get some getting used to, and I'm not sure about the usefulness of DIST 1 yet, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.
I would have liked soft relay switches since it's a pedal that seems designed to toggle channels on and off. I also would have liked SUB LVL 2 to be capable of more boost. I feel like I want the pedal in a Damnation Bloop or something to add even more low end on my low B, but that doesn't necessarily work in a mix.
To be honest I don't know how the two channels are related. At some settings they seem in series, on others they seem parallel.
SUB LVL 2 is subtle on some settings when on DIST 2 alone. Adding DIST 1 with GAIN 1 and TONE 1 pretty low, takes away a good amount of low end so you definitely notice the SUB LVL 2 when it's gone. When GAIN 1 is bumped up low level comes back, and turning TONE 1 down to 9 o'clock or so still leaves plenty of mids.
In my short time with it it's easy to get a sound that sounds great and sits in a mix no problem. It's controls get some getting used to, and I'm not sure about the usefulness of DIST 1 yet, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.
I would have liked soft relay switches since it's a pedal that seems designed to toggle channels on and off. I also would have liked SUB LVL 2 to be capable of more boost. I feel like I want the pedal in a Damnation Bloop or something to add even more low end on my low B, but that doesn't necessarily work in a mix.
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Played more with it this morning. It's very versatile. I got a warm, phat sound with both distortions on, with GAIN 1 to taste, TONE 1 tolled back a bit, and LEVEL 1 backed off. The SUB LVL 2 and FREQ 2 are absolutely noticeable in this setting
Controls are highly interactive. I like the quality of the distortion better than my Vintage Ultra v1. It's more gravelly and full signal as opposed to the Vintage Ultra's more mushy fuzzy quality. The Trapper's distortion reminds me of the MBD-1 with more mids and less lows.
While I like it, I am going to be putting it up in the classifieds
Controls are highly interactive. I like the quality of the distortion better than my Vintage Ultra v1. It's more gravelly and full signal as opposed to the Vintage Ultra's more mushy fuzzy quality. The Trapper's distortion reminds me of the MBD-1 with more mids and less lows.
While I like it, I am going to be putting it up in the classifieds
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I think it's telling, and sorta funny. how little hype the pedal is generating. Hype being the key word since the pedal sounds great but there's been almost no marketing around it and if I'm being honest the controls aren't the most intuitive.
From my search on Reverb, fewer than five have been sold (although search results on Reverb are some of the most inconsistent of any website that I've come across that I have a difficult time believing is anything but intentional). My own has been sitting here in the classifieds, on Reverb, and local marketplaces up to more than 25% off the new asking price and there's been zero offers, likes, or questions.
I look at all this as another chapter in the strange journey of the Trapper. I'm imagining a excitable developer was passionate about the idea, was allotted very limited resources and got it produced against all odds, then got on the wrong side of a Fender executive who effectively buried the pedal. 20 years from now (when Pedal Crush volume 5 comes out) the Trapper will be a curious blip on the company's history
From my search on Reverb, fewer than five have been sold (although search results on Reverb are some of the most inconsistent of any website that I've come across that I have a difficult time believing is anything but intentional). My own has been sitting here in the classifieds, on Reverb, and local marketplaces up to more than 25% off the new asking price and there's been zero offers, likes, or questions.
I look at all this as another chapter in the strange journey of the Trapper. I'm imagining a excitable developer was passionate about the idea, was allotted very limited resources and got it produced against all odds, then got on the wrong side of a Fender executive who effectively buried the pedal. 20 years from now (when Pedal Crush volume 5 comes out) the Trapper will be a curious blip on the company's history
