Let's make a list: Magic tone sweetener pedals.

[lomo]

Is "F off" different from all the other blasphemous stuff in Quebecois profanity? "Maudit sacrement" etc.? Pardon me if this is offensive, but I find offensive language very interesting (I wonder if TB censors Quebecois swear words...)

In Montreal, spraying a situationally appropriate, bilingual comet tail of curses in French & English is oft elevated to a poetically olympic sport.......in culture as in biology, the mongrel tends overwhelmingly to be healthier than the purer of breed. If cross cultural comparisons of curses interest you; delve into Hungarian.......they make the rest of humanity blush

 

[S-Bigbottom]

In Montreal, spraying a situationally appropriate, bilingual comet tail of curses in French & English is oft elevated to a poetically olympic sport.......in culture as in biology, the mongrel tends overwhelmingly to be healthier than the purer of breed. If cross cultural comparisons of curses interest you; delve into Hungarian.......they make the rest of humanity blush

I assumed it was like this.

 

[mikeswals]

As a person that predominantly plays tube amps for three decades, I miss the glass sound on any ss rig or ampless gig. Got a Sushibox Westinghouse ealier this year and it adds the tubey sweetness I'd been missing. The upper notes just sound full and sing.

 

[MattiZ]

Nice thread. I’ve got a couple of pedals already mentioned (Barbershop v2, DOD 410 reissue), both are very nice.

One more pedal: Okko Cocaine. Compressor, pre-amp and eq with footswitchable, adjustable mid or full-range boost. Read all about it here: https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/post/okko-cocaine-compressor-review
I had to get one after reading the review. Now I have two.

And thanks for the french lessons, much appreciated.

 

[jcburn]

Secret sauce for me is not very exotic.

My main favourite tone is a P bass (the coveted EMG passive P), played with a pick with rounds . My secret sauce is achieve through an EBS Multicomp in multiband mode, then into and Aguilar Tone Hammer, AGS on with gain set at about 8-8.30.

The EBS adds punch to the transients while keeping the bottom end a little tighter.

I then set the Tone Hammer with Bass and Treble at 1 o'clock, mid frequency around 12 o'clock, boosted to maybe 1.30\2 o'clock, then as started AGS on, gain at around 8\8.30. This adds some overdrive that makes the notes growl without any real fizzy\grainy breakup.

P bass rock tone heaven

It also then sounds great if I dial the tone control back for a thumpier tone.

So like I said - nothing new but just a little secret sauce.

 

[crapusername]

I need to add one - the Bass xciter.
Its' parametric style curves work magic lol

 

[amper]

Many a player uses the Effectrode LA-1A compressor pedal not for compressor duties, but to give their tone that certain je-ne-sais-croix that it adds.

It’s my opinion that when people say things like this the change they are hearing is really just a subtle eq shift, a slight volume increase, or both. Usually, however, it’s really just a volume boost. There’s no “magic”. The human ear hears differently at different sound pressure levels, and for the most part, everything sounds better louder. That’s all there is to it.

 

[el murdoque]

It’s my opinion that when people say things like this the change they are hearing is really just a subtle eq shift, a slight volume increase, or both. Usually, however, it’s really just a volume boost. There’s no “magic”. The human ear hears differently at different sound pressure levels, and for the most part, everything sounds better louder. That’s all there is to it.

In case of the LA-1A it's a little bit of added saturation from the tubes, it's a bit of baked in EQ, and it is how certain frequencies compress a bit earlier than others. The total effect is subtle, but on an isolated bass track you can easily make it out in a blind test.

 

[johnk_10]

It’s my opinion that when people say things like this the change they are hearing is really just a subtle eq shift, a slight volume increase, or both. Usually, however, it’s really just a volume boost. There’s no “magic”. The human ear hears differently at different sound pressure levels, and for the most part, everything sounds better louder. That’s all there is to it.

maybe for some, but the Chase Tone Secret pre definitely makes my G string have a bit more girth even if i set it to have lower output than bypassed.

 

[lomo]

It’s my opinion that when people say things like this the change they are hearing is really just a subtle eq shift, a slight volume increase, or both. Usually, however, it’s really just a volume boost. There’s no “magic”. The human ear hears differently at different sound pressure levels, and for the most part, everything sounds better louder. That’s all there is to it.

That's why, when I'm evaluating a pedal, I always make sure it's set to remain at the same volume as my unaffected signal. My take on the L1-A and Sushi Box More (I owned and flipped both) is that they both add something; it's subtle enough that it might make sense/ be worthwhile for a carefully produced recording with a sparse mix, but in a busy or live mix it's as significant as bugs on the grille at 70mph.

 

[gtirard]

 

[HueyFreeman]

..everything sounds better louder..

I imagine there will be quite a few recording engineers who would disagree with this sentiment.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

 

[gonzkal]

Side jacks... and their link to the manual points to v1. As we say in French, bof.

 

[Remguy]

Is "F off" different from all the other blasphemous stuff in Quebecois profanity? "Maudit sacrement" etc.? Pardon me if this is offensive, but I find offensive language very interesting (I wonder if TB censors Quebecois swear words...)

So sorry I never got back to you, I don't check in here as often as I should.

If you're still interested, yes, Québécois swear words are unusual in that they're mostly a collection of religious terminology. maudit = damned, sacrement = sacrament, calice = chalice, and the ubiquitous tabarnak = tabernacle, and in close second place: Christ (pronounced 'crisse'). The first two are fairly mild, you use them in situations when we would say 'damn/dammit'. The rest are pretty strong, they would equate to 'shag' and 'poopie' and their derivatives, i.e. 'holy poopie' or 'flying shag' etc., so save them for your drinking buddies, the locker room, or maybe an open mike, if you're running for political office. (KIDDING!)

Hope this helps/entertains - JD, Montréal

 

[gtirard]

I think this could be interesting, but I couldn't find a bass demo:

TR-S - EFFECT PEDAL KIT | KORG (USA)

 

[Johno Dunn]

The Dry Bell Unit 67 - a pedalboard in a pedal.

The Supro Harmonic Tremolo - flip the switch to harmonic and set the rate to zero and use it as a simple sweetener.

The Barber Linden EQ as was mentioned by someone an earlier post.

The Southampton Fifth Gear v2 and the Ictineo.

The Aphex Bass Xciter - a real oldie sleeper pedal.

The Ovnifx Smoothie and Doc Lloyd Photon Death Ray - two excellent compressors that each add their own secret sauce to the mix.

The One Control Crimson Red, Silver Peg, and Blue 360 bass preamps.

Lounsberry Rupert preamp/overdrive.

Dunlop EP101 - or any one of a half dozen other preamp/boost pedals based on or duplicating the Echoplex tape echo preamp circuit. Putting your bass or guitar through an Echoplex with no repeats to get just its preamp vibe was a mainstay back in the mid 70s rock and progrock era.

I absolutely LOVE the Unit67. It pairs amazingly well with my new Messenger preamp.

 

[deepestend]

Anyone use the Blueberry as a tone sweetener?

Unpopular choice, but the EQD Plumes in a band setting actually makes my bass jump out just right.

 

[deepestend]

I absolutely LOVE the Unit67. It pairs amazingly well with my new Messenger preamp.

The messenger is a total tone sweetener. I love it.

 

[Nunovsky]

I have to add here the Ampeg SGT-DI with B15 voicing with the SGT gain at around 9 and the 15" cab sim on. Sounds like a b15 and that says it all.