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Master Effects Owners Society
- Thread starter BklynKen
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- club master effects
Sure, why not? I've gotten amazing sound on more than one gig when I plugged it into the FX Return of some bass amp I wasn't familiar with.
Great. That’s what I hoped. There are a few preamps out there that struggle to drive a power amp properly (MXR M80)…. So I was wondering about the Super 800.
Just wanted to chime in on the Super 400 since I haven't seen much on it in here since release. I owned a 400+ for several years and in retrospect it was one of my favorite bass amplifiers of all time, particularly the combination of preamp/power-amp drive in a live context.
When I first got the Super 400 I was a bit bummed that with most of my basses there was already a bit too much saturation even with the Gain as low as possible (interestingly on both the Super 300 and Super 400 turning the Gain all the way down cuts off sound entirely and there seems to be a bit of a sputtery texture right before that point as well- can't recall if that was the case with the amps they were based on as I haven't owned either in ages).
I emailed Tim and he suggested trying to tweak Trimpot 1 inside the pedal, which allows less Gain at the expense of some volume (turning it clockwise actually decreases the Gain BTW). I finally got around to trying it out after a busy several weeks annnnnd...... That did the trick! Still dialing things in, but now I can use any setting without undue fuzziness (much of the EQ comes pre-Gain, and the Bright switch in particular was unusable for me with the stock trim setting as were some of the Shift EQ settings that have a boost to them) and I can still reach above unity-gain with the Level control with the Trim set where it is currently.
I have a Mesa TT800, and aspects of the Super 400 are closer to my recollection to my old 400+ than the TT- particular the rawer character of the preamp overdrive on mild settings (The TT has a much rounder/squishier overdrive IMO). Obviously you don't get that massive power-tube heft/squish feeling, but actually running the Super 400 into the TT/Walkabout or other tube circuit does a pretty passable job based on my memory of that amp.
Looking forward to more experimentation and hopefully getting to test it in a band scenario soon! Also hopefully will get around to dropping a log-taper pot in the Gain of my Super 300 as the difficulty of achieving consistent low-Gain settings is my main critique of that pedal as well (though on the 300 the settings are there, just squished into a very small turn of the knob)
When I first got the Super 400 I was a bit bummed that with most of my basses there was already a bit too much saturation even with the Gain as low as possible (interestingly on both the Super 300 and Super 400 turning the Gain all the way down cuts off sound entirely and there seems to be a bit of a sputtery texture right before that point as well- can't recall if that was the case with the amps they were based on as I haven't owned either in ages).
I emailed Tim and he suggested trying to tweak Trimpot 1 inside the pedal, which allows less Gain at the expense of some volume (turning it clockwise actually decreases the Gain BTW). I finally got around to trying it out after a busy several weeks annnnnd...... That did the trick! Still dialing things in, but now I can use any setting without undue fuzziness (much of the EQ comes pre-Gain, and the Bright switch in particular was unusable for me with the stock trim setting as were some of the Shift EQ settings that have a boost to them) and I can still reach above unity-gain with the Level control with the Trim set where it is currently.
I have a Mesa TT800, and aspects of the Super 400 are closer to my recollection to my old 400+ than the TT- particular the rawer character of the preamp overdrive on mild settings (The TT has a much rounder/squishier overdrive IMO). Obviously you don't get that massive power-tube heft/squish feeling, but actually running the Super 400 into the TT/Walkabout or other tube circuit does a pretty passable job based on my memory of that amp.
Looking forward to more experimentation and hopefully getting to test it in a band scenario soon! Also hopefully will get around to dropping a log-taper pot in the Gain of my Super 300 as the difficulty of achieving consistent low-Gain settings is my main critique of that pedal as well (though on the 300 the settings are there, just squished into a very small turn of the knob)
I picked up a Super 800+ in the classifieds, excited to try it.
And I’m about to pull the trigger and order one from Tim….
Have you used the regular 800?
Tried the S800+ last night, really like it so far as a clean pre/DI. I haven’t gotten any great dirty tones yet but I really need to work with it more. It really pops as far as clean sparkly tone though.
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Did you play through the PA with the DI?
Hence why dirty sounds might not sound great, as it doesn’t have a cab sim.
When I get my S800+, my plan is to get a cab sim pedal with integrated DI at the end of my chain so that I can use it straight to PA with dirty sounds.
(I hear you say, why did you go with the S800+ instead of S800 if you’re not going to use the DI? Well, I might, for clean sounds, but I also wanted the boost as a footswitch, compared to the S800’s switch).
Hence why dirty sounds might not sound great, as it doesn’t have a cab sim.
When I get my S800+, my plan is to get a cab sim pedal with integrated DI at the end of my chain so that I can use it straight to PA with dirty sounds.
(I hear you say, why did you go with the S800+ instead of S800 if you’re not going to use the DI? Well, I might, for clean sounds, but I also wanted the boost as a footswitch, compared to the S800’s switch).
Can anyone compare the Monoblock and the 400? I've spent a few days going back and forth. I have a fascination with Traynor/Yorkville bass gear, but the more I listen to that demo of the 400, the more it sways me. It seems to have more tonal options and might be a bit thicker sounding and clearer than the Monorail? Do they do clean(ish)?
I can’t speak to the Monorail, but I have the 400 and as I recently posted I was able to get it to do clean tones via tweaking a trim pot inside (as suggested by Tim). If you play high-output basses then YMMV (I play mostly passive basses with medium to low output, and haven’t actually tested the 400 yet with my active instruments).
As with the 400+ amp, it is great at doing clear tones with grit and growl (the passive Fender-type tonestack excels at high/high-mid forward tones, and the “shift” controls can fill in where the Fender stack can often lack), which is why I was quick to want one.
Apparently the main tone controls all come pre-Gain, so all the controls are pretty interactive and you’ll need to adjust Gain as you tweak the big-knob EQ (I think the other EQ is post-gain). The smaller EQ controls are quite effective at honing in your basic tone to taste. It’s a super versatile preamp, but can be a bit strange if you aren’t used to the Fender tonestack (and the shift switches add an even steeper learning curve IMO). It took me a while to “get” my old 400+ when I first picked it up, but it ultimately rewarded me with some of the best amp tones I’ve ever heard (the only time in my bass playing life where I felt no need for tone-sculpting pedals)
Anybody have experience with the Manta Ray?
Curious if a passive Stingray will sound similar to an active Stingray with this box.
Also wonder if 18' of cable capacitance would cause any issues since the Pup is passive.
TIA
Curious if a passive Stingray will sound similar to an active Stingray with this box.
Also wonder if 18' of cable capacitance would cause any issues since the Pup is passive.
TIA
Thanks for the reply, @sunbeast , that's good info. I didn't realize it was based on the Fender tonestack. Not sure how I feel about that - I've never gotten, or rather, I've never taken the time to figure out a sound I'm happy with. Maybe it's time I did.
I've never played any Mesa gear before, but based on everything I have read and demos I've heard, it feel like it would be right up my alley.
The Fender-type stack used in the 400 is definitely a big evolution from the original Fender heritage- you still have that clarity up top of a Fender plus the "shift" controls allow you to dial in alot of midrange-forward tones that the old Fenders weren't capable of, then you have a full 7-band active EQ to take that basic tone wherever you want it. I think the Super 400 is a real sleeper of a preamp for a world so used to hearing those Ampeg tones. I love the Super 300 as well, but the 400 is much more interesting to me as a fan of really cutting bass tones- the same reason I went from playing SVTs to playing a Mesa 400+ many years ago without ever looking back!
You're making it sound more reasonable. I too love the Ampeg tone, but another reason I am looking to the 400 or Monorail is a change of pace from my Sansamp. I think the 800 sounds awesome as well, and the fact the 800+ has a DI is making it hard to look past... But I'm not looking for a GK type sound right now.
