Iron Ether Appreciation Society

[The Mouse]

Long answer coming your way. So I've got a brand new Polytope V2 and a V1 right now - long story, but I wanted to try both and am just deciding if I want/need the V2 features before I flip one. Needless to say, having two of them gives me the benefit of comparing and knowing that it's not an issue with the Polytope itself. They both behave the same with the Broughton Super Stack.

I think the issue is that I was riding the HPF on the Polytope(s) a little too low, and when I dig in on E & A I'm causing the pedal to distort a wee bit. I thought my filter setting was reasonable based on what I remembered from the first time I had this pedal, but I'm clearly wrong. I was setting it around 9:00, and I play with EMG-JVXs in my jazz. I know @Proton Lenny was using a 9-10:00 setting in his video with success, but he seems to have a very light, controlled touch and was playing a lot of higher chordal stuff. In comparison, I started looking at pictures of people's board on TB who have polytopes, and most have the HPF set closer to noon (or higher). This makes a significant difference - I'm not getting any distortion unless I play unreasonably hard with my right hand, and again this is primarily on lower notes on the E&A strings.

As far as the combo with the Super Stack goes, I like a lot of sizzle with my tube dirt. It seems like the treble knob/boost on the Super Stack just happens to be accentuating the frequency of the distortion that I was getting by setting the Polytope filter too low and digging in a bit too much. This makes sense with me hearing the same sort of 'accentuated' distortion when i sent the Polytope through my Broughton SVPre, because I also set that like I would for tube gain...with a pretty significant treble boost.

TLDR: I needed to set the filter higher on the Polytope and play a bit lighter. Plus, the Broughton preamps were emphasizing the distortion I was hearing because of the boosted harmonics/treble.

Glad you got it sorted. A simple fix is always good. Relieved that it isn't a compatibility issue between IE and Broughton. Both excellent companies with quality gear..

 

[Grahams Groove]

Glad you got it sorted. A simple fix is always good. Relieved that it isn't a compatibility issue between IE and Broughton. Both excellent companies with quality gear..

Indeed!

Now - who wants to trade their FMeron for one of my Polytopes?

 

[Taylor Livingston]

My Polytope makes a slow, feint siren noise until I flip the range switch back and forth. Any ideas? @Taylor Livingston

Tough to speculate without asking a bunch of questions. Please send me an email at info at ironether.com and I will be happy to help you troubleshoot.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Wow. This is the best synth stack I’ve heard/played for bass. I love the 3Leaf Octabvre Mini > Doom > Wonderlove combo and still have two of those three. But this combo is insanely versatile and sounds amazingly good. The SubT tracks really well for me too.

 

[lesclaypoolsob]

Wow. This is the best synth stack I’ve heard/played for bass. I love the 3Leaf Octabvre Mini > Doom > Wonderlove combo and still have two of those three. But this combo is insanely versatile and sounds amazingly good. The SubT tracks really well for me too.

Same! I am probably going to sell my Wonderlove and Octabvre Mini soon.

Your SubT looks a lot newer/nicer than mine. I really dig it!

SubT>XD>Grand Orbiter v3 is the sickest for copping Bernie Worrell lines. Crank the rate on the Orbiter and set it to vibrato mode for momentary mod wheel squiggles.

 

[adamajah]

Wow. This is the best synth stack I’ve heard/played for bass. I love the 3Leaf Octabvre Mini > Doom > Wonderlove combo and still have two of those three. But this combo is insanely versatile and sounds amazingly good. The SubT tracks really well for me too.

View attachment 3433534

The finish on that SubT is outta control

 

[The Mouse]

The finish on that SubT is outta control

That's the nicest looking Xerograph I've seen..

 

[Grahams Groove]

The finish on that SubT is outta control

That's the nicest looking Xerograph I've seen..

I snagged the SubT used, but it was from the last custom run in 2018. The Xero is a custom I ordered from Taylor in April. There’s a twin Nimbus with the same colors reversed...

 

[The Mouse]

Nice colour choice.. Outstanding!

 

[vivaknoxvegas]

Got my new Xero Deluxe up and running last night. I’m loving it. It sound amazing with fuzz running into it. I’m wanting an expression pedal now.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Got my new Xero Deluxe up and running last night. I’m loving it. It sound amazing with fuzz running into it. I’m wanting an expression pedal now.

View attachment 3435245

The Moog ep-3 works well with it and is cheap...

Also, the expression pedal is a sweet bonus for the envelope/auto filter function, too. I'm sure there's more on this, but I just got mine last week. I can't say exactly what's happening, but moving the EP-3 in envelope mode seems to shift the 'frequency' the envelope filter starts the sweep from with the heel position being however low you have the freq knob set, and toe raising that up. I can get a cool bass wah sound by using it actively while playing, or just use it to drastically shift the feel of the filter as needed.

 

[spufman]

The DOD Mini EP works well with the Xero Dlx, too. Just get the frequency and expression knobs dialed in for your preferences.

 

[Real Soon]

I'm a 2-timer: Polytope and Xerograph Deluxe (gen or two behind current but certainly suits my needs).

I use a Moog EP-3 to sweep the XeroD in the psychedelic-with-desert-tinges trio I'm in on a cut, with a Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie Hella Fuzz B (what a name) feeding it the massive spectrum to sweep. In jam settings, I switch it to envelope duty and the down-sweep is a really fun one to completely dominate the texture for brief spells

And the Polytope, well, it ain't your average chorus. Recently I was wondering why the wet-only slow vibrato was sounding thin, then realized the high-pass filter was doing that. What a cool setting for if I'm doing synthy stuff with my octave pedal beforehand. And the detune setting is a mainstay, + the full-on chorus with all 4 voices gently set for breakdown sections in the aforementioned trio. Total beast of a pedal!

I think I need a number because these are sticking around for the long haul.

 

[vivaknoxvegas]

New Polytope owner... I’m looking for some cool starting points, can you all post pics of your favorite settings?

 

[Grahams Groove]

New Polytope owner... I’m looking for some cool starting points, can you all post pics of your favorite settings?

 

[glocke1]

New Polytope owner... I’m looking for some cool starting points, can you all post pics of your favorite settings?

that sounds like a cool pedal..so many sounds though..it's almost like you need more than one

ETA: Just visited the I.E. website. Are they just out of stock or did they stop making them

 

[oZZma]

I want a Polytope. I spotted this on an Italian classifieds site, but it's a prototype with different layout and has fewer functions...

The actual "production" polytope seems pretty rare and I can't find It anywhere in EU...
If any user from Europe here has one that wants to sell, please let me know.

 

[theunknowndude]

that sounds like a cool pedal..so many sounds though..it's almost like you need more than one

ETA: Just visited the I.E. website. Are they just out of stock or did they stop making them

This was my problem... so many good sounds it felt almost rude to use it as a “normal chorus” but considering how sparingly I use chorus and had that covered with my ceb3 I thought better to pass on to someone else who would use it better... still think IE make the best pedals... and wouldn’t mind more of the others in the offering one day!

 

[Jared Lash]

I can't say exactly what's happening, but moving the EP-3 in envelope mode seems to shift the 'frequency' the envelope filter starts the sweep from with the heel position being however low you have the freq knob set, and toe raising that up. I can get a cool bass wah sound by using it actively while playing, or just use it to drastically shift the feel of the filter as needed.

The expression input works the same whether the envelope stomp is engaged or not. That stomp simply turns the Sensitivity to zero. The expression input allows you to sweep the Low Pass Filter's frequency cut off point and can do so while using as an envelope filter as well.

So it's doing exactly what you describe: moving the cutoff frequency higher and starting the sweep at a higher point while also making it easier to open. For me it adds a lot more versatility and control when using the Xero as an envelope filter.

 

[BurningSkies]

New Polytope owner... I’m looking for some cool starting points, can you all post pics of your favorite settings?

This is what I'm using live:

My 'tip' would be to start with the voice all the way off and the clean/dry level give or take the place where you get unity volume with the bypass on/off...then bring up the chorus under that until you're getting a great core tone but also really nice chorus. Be careful and don't let the filter wipe out your lows.