Jad Freer Audio - CAPO multiple preamp

[MrDinsdale]

All the preamps I've had have modelled something like the 800rb, Model T or Traynor etc. They did a great job but inevitably reached a point where they weren't right and I swapped them out.

That's one of the big selling points of the Capo is the level of versatility.

 

[TheLopp]

I ordered one off reverb. I contacted them and they said to buy on their site or reverb. I went through the process and reverb was a bit cheaper. Now I wait for 3 weeks.

One of the things that convinced me was Tim Lefebvre’s video where he compares the flat (no eq or drive) DI signal from the Capo, Noble, and Crucial Audio. The Capo’s basic signal was better sounding than the un-eq’d Noble. It won’t have the tubey fattening, but nobody will hear that in a live performance anyway.

I don’t really get that video. It seems like he’s running the direct out, and not the preamp out. From the manual: Direct out is routed right after the input without any processing. So, it just acts as a plain DI. It sounds good but he’s not using any of the good stuff in the pedal. It’s an amazing pedal and there’s just so many options to get a great sound. I love it so far.

 

[MrDinsdale]

Ahhh yeah I remember that, i think it was more a test of the DI signal rather than the preamp. I guess once you factor in a JDI price etc the Capo starts to become a pretty compelling offer.

 

[Andrea Lo]

Ahhh yeah I remember that, i think it was more a test of the DI signal rather than the preamp. I guess once you factor in a JDI price etc the Capo starts to become a pretty compelling offer.

All I can say is that when working on the Capo and the Sisma we had a Noble too on the table. We took in high consideration all the best gear we had or we could get.

 

[MrDinsdale]

One of the ways i justified spending the money was that I'd already been looking at a Radial JDI which is already over half the cost of the Capo. I was chatting to someone who'd ditched the JDI and RNDI in favour of the Capo.

Once you add in all the tone shaping features etc and how many other pedals it replaces then it becomes an easy sell. No-one I've spoken to has had a bad word to say!

 

[silky smoove]

Are there any videos comparing the tone with and without the LPF engaged? The frequency response curve showing the filter’s knee frequency and slope that @Andrea Lo posted earlier in the thread is very similar to the LPF in my Origin Effects SV. I’m hoping that the preamp voicing leaves it sounding and feeling a little brighter than the SV despite the similar filters. Does anyone have such a video link, or can a Capo owner post something showing the differences? Bonus points if it’s dialed in for a clean tone just on the edge of breaking up when digging in.

 

[Omri]

I don’t speak Italian but he plays with the lpf at around 5:00 until the end

 

[Andrea Lo]

Are there any videos comparing the tone with and without the LPF engaged? Does anyone have such a video link, or can a Capo owner post something showing the differences? Bonus points if it’s dialed in for a clean tone just on the edge of breaking up when digging in.

here is it: without and then with LPF

 

[silky smoove]

I don’t speak Italian but he plays with the lpf at around 5:00 until the end

Thanks!

here is it: without and then with LPF

Thanks. Unfortunately the file just errors out. I don’t think TB supports direct uploading of audio files.

 

[Andrea Lo]

Thanks!


Thanks. Unfortunately the file just errors out. I don’t think TB supports direct uploading of audio files.

Try again, it works from my side...

 

[silky smoove]

Try again, it works from my side...

Yeah, now it’s working. That’s a pretty subtle difference. I’ll listen again tomorrow in my studio to better hear the difference.

 

[Andrea Lo]

Yeah, now it’s working. That’s a pretty subtle difference. I’ll listen again tomorrow in my studio to better hear the difference.

The way we tailored was to be barely noticeable when clean but to be effective when used with distortion. You can't hear that out of a phone but its clear with headphones or studio monitors. Both the DEEP switch and the LPF are made to be really useful and to be like that they must be subtle. We spent lot of time going back and forth, playing, recording, using it live and with various pedals before. Also notice that the LPF switch works even with the Capo bypassed.

 

[AngelCrusher]

The way we tailored was to be barely noticeable when clean but to be effective when used with distortion. You can't hear that out of a phone but it’s clear with headphones or studio monitors. Both the DEEP switch and the LPF are made to be really useful and to be like that they must be subtle. We spent lot of time going back and forth, playing, recording, using it live and with various pedals before. Also notice that the LPF switch works even with the Capo bypassed.

Both deep and LPF switches are always on for me. You all nailed it there.

 

[silky smoove]

Even on my studio monitors in a fully treated recording studio and in my very high end custom IEMs the differences with and without the LPF are very subtle. On the initial listen I wasn’t even sure if I heard a difference. After subsequent listens I feel like I can hear the roll-off.

If I recreate the LPF filter curve that was depicted earlier in this thread inside of a DAW I get very different and more drastic results, even when using entirely linear and transparent EQ plugins like Fabfilter’s Pro-Q3 and Crave DSP’s Crave EQ2. Does the clean blend bypass the LPF? I was able to get similar results in my DAW by duplicating the signal and blending in a version without any low passing in parallel with the low passed version. If so, where was the blend knob set on the clip that you posted @Andrea Lo ?

 

[MrDinsdale]

I think the blend only applies to the J and F preamps, not to the EQ or LPF etc?

 

[silky smoove]

I think the blend only applies to the J and F preamps, not to the EQ or LPF etc?

That was my assumption as well, but given my comparison of recreating the posted filter curve it appears that there is far less reduction happening in Andrea's audio example than what that curve on its own would suggest. The clean blend was my only guess outside of the filter curve possibly being different than what was posted.

 

[Andrea Lo]

That was my assumption as well, but given my comparison of recreating the posted filter curve it appears that there is far less reduction happening in Andrea's audio example than what that curve on its own would suggest. The clean blend was my only guess outside of the filter curve possibly being different than what was posted.

The filter is in series and affects all signal (J/F, clean, Capo bypassed). The curve I posted is a graphic simulation but it's pretty close to the real thing. I did a very quick test with the most simple eq plugin I have default on Reaper and got a very, very close result. Audio is: Capo - LPF on - LPF simulated on Reaper. I assume that the filter you created digitally is simply a different one.

Anyway I'm not sure what's your point: LPF on Capo does what you hear (or don't hear) it does on the audio files. If you think it's not the right filter for you I can not help more.

 

[silky smoove]

I assume that the filter you created digitally is simply a different one.

The one I created in Pro-Q3 and Crave EQ2 is very similar to your Reaper screenshot and the one you posted earlier in this thread. Academically they should all produce very similar if not identical results. The only difference between the three DAW-based filters is that both Pro-Q3 and Crave EQ2 don't cramp as you approach Nyquist, whereas the Reaper stock EQ produces considerable cramping as you approach Nyquist. Since all of these filter plots are essentially -INF by ~10khz that's a non-issue even when operating at 44.1khz sampling.

Anyway I'm not sure what's your point:

My point is simply that the LPF posted earlier in this thread and your Reaper screenshot do not match what my ears hear when using a similar LPF to see if I would like the result. The posted examples sound noticeably brighter than my result. It's hardly a scientific test as there are tons of variables that could be influencing that outcome, but in general I would expect the results to be somewhat comparable.

LPF on Capo does what you hear (or don't hear)

Well of course, that goes without saying. I'm just trying to do some detective work to decide if I want to drop the cash on yet another preamp pedal that I may or may not like more than what I already own. To put it more specifically, I'm currently using an Origin Effects Bassrig SV, and while I do like it, I periodically feel like it's a little dark in my IEM feed. The Capo, on paper, seems like another option I could try. I was even more intrigued when I saw that it has an LPF to act as a pseudo-cab sim, but then I saw the posted LPF earlier in this thread which matches almost identically to my testing of the SV, both in terms of a knee frequency and a -INF point. This concerned me as I don't want to replace a pedal that may be a little dark for my taste with something similar. The audio I heard then goes the other way. It feels considerably brighter, hence my testing, which did not align with your statements for whatever reason.

If you think it's not the right filter for you I can not help more.

Therein lies the crux of the matter for me. It might be exactly what I'm looking for, or it might be more of what I already own. There's a discrepancy between what I'm seeing posted, what I've tested, and what I've heard in demo clips. That always makes me a little cautious when proceeding with a purchase, particularly an expensive one like this. It's not wildly expensive, espeically given the apparent high build quality, but for a pedal it's on the high side. Being in the US it's even more of a consideration as return shipping would be pretty steep if I were to buy it to try and I decided I didn't like it.

 

[Andrea Lo]

point is simply that the LPF posted earlier in this thread and your Reaper screenshot do not match what my ears hear when using a similar LPF to see if I would like the result. The posted examples sound noticeably brighter than my result.

Well, that's because you are doing something wrong trying to simulate a pedal that I have here in my real hands recording clips for you today. Just let me know if I can help some more. My pleasure.

 

[silky smoove]

Well, that's because you are doing something wrong trying to simulate a pedal that I have here in my real hands recording clips for you today.

You misunderstand. I'm not trying to simulate the pedal's response. I can't do that. I don't have a Capo sitting in front of me to try. I'm trying correlate the posted filter curves with the clips I have available that you've posted here and what I've heard on YouTube. Running a similar (virtually identical) filter with two well-respected and highly accurate EQ plugins with similar basses to the ones I've seen demoed do not seem to produce similar results. This leads me to believe there is a discrepancy somewhere. This isn't a comment on the pedal, its quality, its tone, or anything else. It's simply a comment that the posted curve doesn't match my expectations, and what my ears tell me when running the aforementioned simulations. If I can find one in the Seattle area to try I certainly will.