Double Bass L. R. Baggs Voiceprint DI, anyone?

[michaelsd]

With Tonedexter out of business for the foreseeable future, I'm wondering if anyone has tried the Voiceprint DI with their EUB.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. I bought a Tonedexter last year but wasn't gigging due to covid so returned it unopened. I wish now I had kept it.

 

[coyoteboy]

Sad to read about Tonedexter. My Omni through TC Impulse running cello files is very promising.

 

[michaelsd]

I see that the TC Impulse pedal is about US $130, and that you can load your own samples into it. That would be a great deal... is it difficult to train it with other samples, or does it work differently than the Tonedexter? It certainly seems worth looking at!

 

[coyoteboy]

I dont think it does any ‘training’ on its own.

 

[Happy Steve]

I don't think the TC has any training function. I have been playing around with IRs for my Yamaha SLB200 and I am settling on what are basically 2/3/4 band parametric EQ curves which I create in Reaper DAW.
I bought some 3 sigma IRs and decided they were more detailed than I needed (but could be great value for money if they did what you wanted).

I had a NUX Optima Air which does do training, I let it go in the end although I do miss the XLR out and 3 band EQ a bit.

The TC seemed attractive because it looks like you can load IRs by dragging them onto folders over USB. I find having to run Mac OS or Windows just to load IRs through a dedicated 'Application' a bit fussy as I do my DAW work in Linux. I have kept a NUX Mini Studio IR loader and I put up with restarting my computer to run the NUX app. The main reason for keeping the little NUX being that the mini studio has headphones out, which is something the TC pedal does not have.

The big plus for the tonedexter is that I believe it can use much bigger sample lengths, the downside is no simple way to load your own IRs. The NUX maxes out at 1024 samples, so the most critical bass part of the spectrum has low resolution - centre frequencies are ~ 43, 86, 129, etc.

Steve

 

[michaelsd]

That's a heap of great information, thanks! For the cost of the pedal I figured there were some shortcuts taken.

I run a windows PC but I also run emulators for Linux and Android work. Perhaps you could run a virtual windows box on your Linux machine; you can install windows without charge as cripple-ware but what you lose is insignificant. Just a thought.

I just purchased new, darker sounding stings and a bridge mute from Gollihur as the demos of that setup sounded pretty good compared to the stock setup. I'll know next week when they arrive.

I'll wait for the Tonedexter to resume production and then purchase one; right now used units are going for US $550 and up on Reverb and eBay. I never liked to do business with a price-gouger if I could avoid it.

 

[Hasty]

First off... ToneDexter is going out of business? Oh no!

I don't think the TC has any training function. I have been playing around with IRs for my Yamaha SLB200 and I am settling on what are basically 2/3/4 band parametric EQ curves which I create in Reaper DAW.

I've been able to get some pretty fantastic sounds to use with the SLB200... however the setup was pretty crazy. I think I saved my settings in Reaper and probably did a fairly similar process. Pretty sure I used a ribbon further back and a condenser a few feet away with a low cut.

I'd be interested to hear how you approached the process and what sounds you were able to obtain doing this. I've got another double bass now that's carved and I've been thinking about going through the process again.

Chris

 

[Happy Steve]

FYI,
Here are some IRs I currently have loaded into my Mini studio (these are screenshots from the NUX app)

1. flat, 2. hpf/lpf which is a little too middley for me, 3. an eq curve which gives a woody sound, a little too thin in the bottom end
still tweaking to taste, loading, auditioning and making notes. I save each eq curve as an FX preset in Reaper so I can keep track of the changes.

 

[Ryan in PDX]

From Golihur's website:

Due to Covid-related supply chain issues, the worldwide shortage of computer chips renders Audio Sprockets temporarily unable to produce more ToneDexters. They are currently in the process of redesigning aspects of the product to get around the chip shortage issues, with expected availability of new units in early Summer, 2022.

They do have sufficient spare parts to cope with anticipated demand for service if issues arise with current customers' units.

We will keep you apprised of the situation as it unfolds.

It's a rough time to be a small business. I haven't tried either product, but James's interaction with the community (that's us) has been super impressive. Now he's likely losing sales to a bigger company because he can't get critical parts. Here's hoping Audio Sprockets weathers this storm quickly. @James May I'm rooting for you, buddy!

 

[michaelsd]

I agree with this sentiment. Also, I like to purchase new from a small, boutique manufacturer (or business) rather than buy used, even if cheaper (in this case, they are not) because I want my money to go to the builder and they don't make any income on Reverb sales. My strings and mute are arriving today, so I'll see how that works out. Glad to see Portland represent! I always wonder on forums like this if many PDX folks are about. Pre-covid, I would have liked to organize a PDX Double Bass/EUB Pub Crawl; unfortunately, unless it's outside, those days are over for me. Maybe this summer...