It's quite annoying that we can't edit our posts any more, I came back to do this to my egregious advice:
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.
GK rails in a pedal?
- Thread starter sprag
- Start date
I’m over here wondering why you’d need more headroom in this pedal. I’ve got all my knobs noonish, and it’s still nowhere near heavy OD. Nice, subtle grind. Maybe slightly brighter than clean, reminds me of a generic rock tone (in the best way). I use mine for that tone, and on identical settings as a slight dirty boost when needed. Love this pedal!
I actually recently thought about seeing if someone could make one with only a single footswitch, and maybe even put the boost knob on a trimpot. Orient it like a standard pedal. Nice and compact - only 2-3 knobs. If I have any complaint, it’s that the orientation of this pedal doesn’t work well on my board.
I actually recently thought about seeing if someone could make one with only a single footswitch, and maybe even put the boost knob on a trimpot. Orient it like a standard pedal. Nice and compact - only 2-3 knobs. If I have any complaint, it’s that the orientation of this pedal doesn’t work well on my board.
The reason why I was wondering for more head room is because I’m trying to create a work around for the noise floor my pedal has.
The noise floor goes up as both the input and output get turned up- in a live setting it’s not too much of an issue but when I record in a studio the hiss is noticeable enough to become an issue.
I hear you. I HATE hiss of all kinds. I have all of my drive pedals in the loop of an MXR Noise Clamp set as a master on/off switch, as well as a Smart Gate in the FX loop to keep all noise very low. I’ve noticed the GK Rails Pedal (as I call it) is a bit noisier than some of my other drives, though 100% worth it in regards to tone. My noisiest is likely my Throat Locust (HM-2 clone), but that’s to be expected. Other than that, I think #2 is the Rails Pedal, even though it’s one of the lowest gain pedals I have. Happy I don’t have to worry about recording theses days. I just wish I had people to jam with! Tough doing that with a little one around..,
Thanks HeavyDuty. I'd guessed it was something like that.
Doesn't make it any less annoying though!
C'est la vie, la plus ca change...
mEppur si muove
... and still we post...
Doesn't make it any less annoying though!
C'est la vie, la plus ca change...
mEppur si muove
... and still we post...
Thank you @johnk_10 for agreeing to make one final pedal for me!
Looks awesome with the matching GK knobs
Looks awesome with the matching GK knobs
Simply one of my favorite pedals for or adding a slight bit of dirt. Perfect for that “don’t notice it’s on until it’s off” thing that just works. Also, I love it a s a dirty boost to feed my other dirt pedals. Just enough to kick in a bit more saturation and treble when I want it. So glad I have mine.
Here’s a quick little noodle of me kicking around with the pedal.
Input 2 o’clock, output just below noon. Boost was on and at 12 o’clock.
Recording was done using my Cort fingerstyle, into Sansamp BDDI -> MB Compressore -> GK rails -> GK700RB-II into interface. Sounds growly as!!!
Input 2 o’clock, output just below noon. Boost was on and at 12 o’clock.
Recording was done using my Cort fingerstyle, into Sansamp BDDI -> MB Compressore -> GK rails -> GK700RB-II into interface. Sounds growly as!!!
Depends on the tone you want. If you want nice glassy highs, probably no. On the other hand, if you want nice warm drive, probably yes.
@Blu bro Do you have anything else in your signal chain, or is it just the GK pedal? Is the GK pedal amplifying noise that is already on the signal, or is the pedal inherently noisy.
Regarding hiss, mine are both relatively noisy considering they are used for low gain tones. It’s not an issue for me since I gate everything anyway for a completely silent rig, but I have noticed the noise. I just wish my bass was silent. It hisses upon touch slightly, and that drives me nuts. Again, gated, so no big deal, especially not when I play at any sort of volume. Just haven’t been able to do that for months since being at home with the wife and kid since March.
Anyway, my experience is that the GK Rails Pedal is noisier than you’d expect, but not unmanageable.
Anyway, my experience is that the GK Rails Pedal is noisier than you’d expect, but not unmanageable.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
that's strange. i just tested mine and it has very little, if any, added noise. and that's with the gain at any level.
You did not make mine. Slightly different components, perhaps?
Just tested again, bass -> pedal -> amp. May just be amp hiss. The character of the noise isn’t changed at all, but is made louder when the pedal is engaged. The Boost function intensifies the noise further. Again, it’s not changing the noise itself, just the volume of the noise. Like any dirt pedal would.
I am a professed hater of amp hiss, and feel that I am more sensitive to it than many. That’s why I run two gates - one with a loop for my dirt pedals and one in the amp’s FX loop to silence the preamp hiss. So this is probably just my OCD more than any issue with the pedal.
Last edited:
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
Been casually following this thread for a while and I am pretty sure I'm ready to take the plunge on one. Is anyone still making these?
My pedal has a definite hiss- and it appears to be linked to the “output” knob. The hiss is very noticeable, so much so that for me to get even volume with my clean tone I have to have the “input” around 12-1 o’clock and my “output” at 12 o’clock, if I have the output any higher the hiss is too much (which is a shame because I would like to have the input slightly lower than what it is at)
I say all this but I love the tone from the pedal just wish I could lower the hiss. I have started to use a gate too but this is a bandaid rather than a fix.
Also to add- my rig is silent apart from this pedal. I have tried it alone to be sure.
I was secretly hoping I could run the pedal at 18v for more headroom - but I believe I can’t
Last edited:
Could you do a recording so we can get a gauge of noise? I think everyone’s tolerance in their head is different
mine was super noisy and it was made by John. Which is why I got rid of it.
