Master Effects Owners Society

[eqvolvorama]

So I received my Super 100 last week. I just dropped this review on the Master Effects Facebook page:

I have this pedal. And it’s fantastic and unique. Let me explain:

The Super 100 doesn’t sound anything like an SVT or a B-15. But you already have several pedals that sound like those amps. Admit it. If you want another Ampeg pedal, this isn’t it.

What the Super 100 does is very different and very cool. At lower gain settings the DR-103 is bright and clear without sounding sterile. If you don’t like the scoop or muffled high end of the SansAmp Bass Driver, the Super 100’s clean setting will serve you well.

But higher gain settings is where the pedal really shines. The DR-103 doesn’t get fuzzy or hairy. It delivers a raunchy, high-end edge without clanking out or getting too fuzzy. Think Entwistle at Leeds. This is the sound.

One word of caution: the tone stack of the Super 100 is true to the original head, which is to say idiosyncratic. Running the three knobs at noon won’t give you “flat” response. It will actually boost the treble while attenuating low end. The closest thing to “flat” comes from cranking the mids and bringing treble down to zero, then dialing bass to 2 or 3 o’clock. This is where most bass players will want to start. Then crank the gain to taste, dig in with your fingers, and stand back.

The Super 100 takes some getting used to. But that’s the point. This isn’t another SansAmp. It’s something different. And it’s a worthy addition to the Master Effects stable.

 

[Ibanezer83]

So I received my Super 100 last week. I just dropped this review on the Master Effects Facebook page:

I have this pedal. And it’s fantastic and unique. Let me explain:

The Super 100 doesn’t sound anything like an SVT or a B-15. But you already have several pedals that sound like those amps. Admit it. If you want another Ampeg pedal, this isn’t it.

What the Super 100 does is very different and very cool. At lower gain settings the DR-103 is bright and clear without sounding sterile. If you don’t like the scoop or muffled high end of the SansAmp Bass Driver, the Super 100’s clean setting will serve you well.

But higher gain settings is where the pedal really shines. The DR-103 doesn’t get fuzzy or hairy. It delivers a raunchy, high-end edge without clanking out or getting too fuzzy. Think Entwistle at Leeds. This is the sound.

One word of caution: the tone stack of the Super 100 is true to the original head, which is to say idiosyncratic. Running the three knobs at noon won’t give you “flat” response. It will actually boost the treble while attenuating low end. The closest thing to “flat” comes from cranking the mids and bringing treble down to zero, then dialing bass to 2 or 3 o’clock. This is where most bass players will want to start. Then crank the gain to taste, dig in with your fingers, and stand back.

The Super 100 takes some getting used to. But that’s the point. This isn’t another SansAmp. It’s something different. And it’s a worthy addition to the Master Effects stable.

I'm glad to hear the EQ is like the head. I love the Hiwatt EQ behavior. It maybe doesnt seem intuitive, but I love spinning knobs until it sounds right and that's how you use it. Also there are many good and totally different sounds to be had. Much more than 90 percent of amps.

 

[sunbeast]

I'm glad to hear the EQ is like the head. I love the Hiwatt EQ behavior. It maybe doesnt seem intuitive, but I love spinning knobs until it sounds right and that's how you use it. Also there are many good and totally different sounds to be had. Much more than 90 percent of amps.

Yeah I really love those kinds of tonestacks too- the Master 400 does similar. Knowing how well that one works makes me wanna try the 100 as well

 

[Ibanezer83]

Yeah I really love those kinds of tonestacks too- the Master 400 does similar. Knowing how well that one works makes me wanna try the 100 as well

Welp, you just confirmed that I will be acquiring both the 100 and 400. You and I seem to have similar tastes.

I wonder what rig you're using with these nice preamps. Do you have a fairly neutral Amp and cab or do you have a base favorite tone with color that you goose with the pres to just get a flavor of a given pre?

Use a Gk 700rbii and 2x12 with a fairly flat slightly driven tone then I leave on a preamp in front depending on the band/song...

 

[Fuzzbass]

So I received my Super 100 last week. I just dropped this review on the Master Effects Facebook page:

I have this pedal. And it’s fantastic and unique. Let me explain:

The Super 100 doesn’t sound anything like an SVT or a B-15. But you already have several pedals that sound like those amps. Admit it. If you want another Ampeg pedal, this isn’t it.

What the Super 100 does is very different and very cool. At lower gain settings the DR-103 is bright and clear without sounding sterile. If you don’t like the scoop or muffled high end of the SansAmp Bass Driver, the Super 100’s clean setting will serve you well.

But higher gain settings is where the pedal really shines. The DR-103 doesn’t get fuzzy or hairy. It delivers a raunchy, high-end edge without clanking out or getting too fuzzy. Think Entwistle at Leeds. This is the sound.

One word of caution: the tone stack of the Super 100 is true to the original head, which is to say idiosyncratic. Running the three knobs at noon won’t give you “flat” response. It will actually boost the treble while attenuating low end. The closest thing to “flat” comes from cranking the mids and bringing treble down to zero, then dialing bass to 2 or 3 o’clock. This is where most bass players will want to start. Then crank the gain to taste, dig in with your fingers, and stand back.

The Super 100 takes some getting used to. But that’s the point. This isn’t another SansAmp. It’s something different. And it’s a worthy addition to the Master Effects stable.

I'm a happy Super 300 owner who's been on the fence about the Super 100 and 200, in part because their Tech 21 counterparts (Leeds and Oxford, respectively) work pretty well for bass. In general I'm a fan of Tech 21 (mostly the DP3X these days), but your excellent review convinced me that I really needed to try Sensei Tim's Hiwatt! Ordered it in custom magenta paint just for grins, and because doing so shouldn't slow down build time. I'll check back in 4-6 weeks once I get it.

 

[VitoMB]

I am looking for a parametric eq. Does anyone have the EQ From Hell ? I may have the chance to get my hand on a used one at a fair price. It would be my first ME product ! The other option is the Parametric Equalizer by Broughton which is just back in stock. Any thoughts ?

 

[eqvolvorama]

So I received my Super 100 last week. I just dropped this review on the Master Effects Facebook page:

I have this pedal. And it’s fantastic and unique. Let me explain:

The Super 100 doesn’t sound anything like an SVT or a B-15. But you already have several pedals that sound like those amps. Admit it. If you want another Ampeg pedal, this isn’t it.

What the Super 100 does is very different and very cool. At lower gain settings the DR-103 is bright and clear without sounding sterile. If you don’t like the scoop or muffled high end of the SansAmp Bass Driver, the Super 100’s clean setting will serve you well.

But higher gain settings is where the pedal really shines. The DR-103 doesn’t get fuzzy or hairy. It delivers a raunchy, high-end edge without clanking out or getting too fuzzy. Think Entwistle at Leeds. This is the sound.

One word of caution: the tone stack of the Super 100 is true to the original head, which is to say idiosyncratic. Running the three knobs at noon won’t give you “flat” response. It will actually boost the treble while attenuating low end. The closest thing to “flat” comes from cranking the mids and bringing treble down to zero, then dialing bass to 2 or 3 o’clock. This is where most bass players will want to start. Then crank the gain to taste, dig in with your fingers, and stand back.

The Super 100 takes some getting used to. But that’s the point. This isn’t another SansAmp. It’s something different. And it’s a worthy addition to the Master Effects stable.

Okay, some other thoughts after a week or so of messing with this pedal:

I think one of the reasons the Ampeg simulator pedals are so popular with bass players is that they sound good at lower volumes, isolated. This is not to say they don't sound good in a mix, just that when you're practicing with headphones, the "scooped" Ampeg sound just sounds BIG.

The Hiwatt sound, and this isn't a bad thing, is just different. The Super 100 isn't going to give you the same "scooped" sound an SVT pedal would. And as a result, at bedroom settings, the pedal can sound less than "loud" - it can honestly sound a little thin. That is, until you let the power amp do its job and push it through a good set of speakers. That's when the Super 100 cuts through a mix like a blowtorch, and the bass you thought you were missing in the headphones - you realize it was there the whole time. It just wasn't as boomy or thick as you're used to in a private setting. Through a good power amp, the Super 100 has an authoritative bass voice without sounding soft or muddy. I'll say it again - this REALLY IS the Entwistle Leeds sound. Yeah you won't feel tempted to start playing "My Girl" or "I Want You Back" - but if you dig in and rock the pedal will have your back.

 

[sunbeast]

Okay, some other thoughts after a week or so of messing with this pedal:

I think one of the reasons the Ampeg simulator pedals are so popular with bass players is that they sound good at lower volumes, isolated. This is not to say they don't sound good in a mix, just that when you're practicing with headphones, the "scooped" Ampeg sound just sounds BIG.

The Hiwatt sound, and this isn't a bad thing, is just different. The Super 100 isn't going to give you the same "scooped" sound an SVT pedal would. And as a result, at bedroom settings, the pedal can sound less than "loud" - it can honestly sound a little thin. That is, until you let the power amp do its job and push it through a good set of speakers. That's when the Super 100 cuts through a mix like a blowtorch, and the bass you thought you were missing in the headphones - you realize it was there the whole time. It just wasn't as boomy or thick as you're used to in a private setting. Through a good power amp, the Super 100 has an authoritative bass voice without sounding soft or muddy. I'll say it again - this REALLY IS the Entwistle Leeds sound. Yeah you won't feel tempted to start playing "My Girl" or "I Want You Back" - but if you dig in and rock the pedal will have your back.

An SVT isn’t scooped unless you have the “Ultra Low” engaged (which is mostly just a deep midrange notch that helps emphasize the lows)- it’s actually a pretty flat sound at noon with both switches off. By comparison, a Hi-Watt/Orange/Mesa/Fender traditionally all utilized a passive EQ topology with an inherent built-in mid scoop (of course if you push the Gain then you get some midrange clipping that fills it in to varying degrees), and the way the EQ is designed the Treble is the strongest control and brings high-mids along with it so indeed with Treble near noon you are getting a bigger push in the highs and high-mids than the lows, but always with a notch in between- boosting mids is impossible with that EQ topology (the Super 400 can because of the Shift and additional EQ bands however). The whole notion of an SVT being “scooped” for many I think comes from some Tech 21 pedal emulations rather than the real thing (or the Super 300) IMO, as the actual SVT EQ is basically flat at noon.

 

[Sascha Erni]

I ordered a Super Two Hundred yesterday and am pre-planning my pedal board overhaul. I'm home sick, so there's not much else I can do at the moment.

So here we are. Over a year after I commented on the first Super Two Hundred on Instagram, and a bit over a month after I ordered it (shipping to Switzerland, so the wait is alright), it has arrived. And made it hard for me to put down my bass guitars.

First of all, the Super Two Hundred is smaller than it looks in individual product shots (or in my hand). I don't need to change much on my current board, even the side-jacks aren't an issue. I thought I would need to rebuild from scratch, or flip it on its side or something, but no – it's about the size of a Diamond Bass Comp, but far from huge.

And well, it sounds MASSIVE. My jaw dropped, literally. I've played through AD200 stacks, my remaining "real" bass amp is an Orange Terror Bass stack, my favorite all-in-one pedal the Orange Bass Butler. In short, I'm an Orange guy. But this thing takes the cake.

I instantly felt at home. Crank Volume (Master on an AD200), raise Gain until it's as loud / dirty as you want it, done. Lower Bass for more clarity, lower Treble for more forward mids, raise Mids for more punch in a rock band mix. That's my own personal preference, of course. Yours may differ, but the Super Two Hundred will accommodate you. Feel like making the whole block shake? Well, the Bass dial (and all others) go to 11 on the Super Two Hundred, so you get the idea.

The M:E's Master dial (not to be confused with the AD200's) is very handy for dialing the pedal in to unity gain. Or use it as a boost into another preamp / more dirt. Or protect the inputs of your next pedal in the chain from overloading. Very very handy, thanks for the inclusion, Tim. Makes it much more versatile than a simpler Gain/Master construction.

I didn't get the pedal 100 % clean with my passive P basses, but that's not what I'm after anyways. Dialing down volume on the bass and/or using a very light touch cleans it up a lot, though. In that respect it reacts identically to my Terror Bass without the Clean switch enabled. Volume makes the bass sound a bit like when you dial up the Compression dial on a Bass Butler or LBT, but it's more subtle.

Be it as it may, my impression is that the Super Two Hundred compresses my sound in a very pleasant way. A bit like getting a full-tube amp close to breakup, but not quite. Very nice indeed. I'm seriously considering dropping my OmniComp from the board. The M:E doesn't compress enough for e.g. slapping or special effects or tone sculpting or extreme volume differences or whatnot, but I guess rock people who ONLY play fingerstyle or ONLY with a pick and don't go in for too many effects won't need a compressor with this thing.

Tone stack is what I expected, it seems to work the same as the Terror's or AD200's. Which makes it easy to dial in for Orange users, but perhaps a bit of a surprise for people coming from the Ampeg realm. The photo above shows what I consider to be about flat with a P bass.

The Super Two Hundred is surprisingly quiet, all things considered. Even at very high Gain settings it's less noisy than other offerings – including the Bass Butler, or Broughton's SV-Pre (which is more comparable). It's also sturdily built, and: light. Add a 1Spot, an additional cable, and you won't even notice it in your gig bag. On a board, it gobbles up more space than typical top-jack pedals, naturally, but not as much as I feared, as mentioned above.

In short: The Super Two Hundred was well worth the wait and import duties hassle. I realise in this thread most people talk about the Super 300 or 800, but for me? Super 200 goes to 11. Great work, @Sensei Tim.

 

[BklynKen]

So here we are. Over a year after I commented on the first Super Two Hundred on Instagram, and a bit over a month after I ordered it (shipping to Switzerland, so the wait is alright).

View attachment 4854884

First of all, the Super Two Hundred is smaller than it looks in individual product shots (or in my hand). I don't need to change much on my current board, even the side-jacks aren't an issue. I thought I would need to rebuild from scratch, or flip it on its side or something, but no – it's about the size of a Diamond Bass Comp, but far from huge.

And well, it sounds MASSIVE. My jaw dropped, literally. I've played through AD200 stacks, my remaining "real" bass amp is an Orange Terror Bass stack, my favorite all-in-one pedal the Orange Bass Butler. In short, I'm an Orange guy. But this thing takes the cake.

I instantly felt at home. Crank Volume (Master on an AD200), raise Gain until it's as loud / dirty as you want it, done. Lower Bass for more clarity, lower Treble for more forward mids, raise Mids for more punch in a rock band mix. That's my own personal preference, mind. Yours may differ, but the Super Two Hundred will accommodate you. Feel like make the whole block shake? Well, the Bass dial (and all others) go to 11 on the Super Two Hundred, so you get the idea.

The M:E's Master dial (not to be confused with the AD200's) is very handy for dialing the pedal in to unity gain. Or use it as a boost into another preamp / more dirt. Or protect the inputs of your next pedal in the chain from overloading. Very very handy, thanks for the inclusion, Tim. Makes it much more versatile than a simpler Gain/Master construction.

I didn't get the pedal 100 % clean with my passive P basses, but that's not what I'm after anyways. Dialing down volume on the bass and/or using a very light touch cleans it up a lot, though. In that respect it reacts identically to my Terror Bass without the Clean switch enabled. Volume makes the bass sound a bit like when you dial up the Compression dial on a Bass Butler or LBT, but it's more subtle.

Be it as it may, my impression is that the Super Two Hundred compresses my sound in a very pleasant way. A bit like getting a full-tube amp close to breakup, but not quite. Very nice indeed. I'm seriously considering dropping my OmniComp from the board. The M:E doesn't compress enough for e.g. slapping or special effects or tone sculpting or extreme volume difference or whatnot, but I guess rock people who ONLY play fingerstyle or ONLY with a pick and don't go in for too many effects won't need a compressor with this thing.

Tone stack is what I expected, it seems to work the same as the Terror's or AD200's. Which makes it easy to dial in for Orange users, but perhaps a bit of a surprise for people coming from the Ampeg realm. The photo above shows what I consider to be about flat with a (very) slight slant towards the mids.

The Super Two Hundred is surprisingly quiet, all things considered. Even at very high Gain settings it's less noisy than other offerings – including the Bass Butler, or Broughton's SV-Pre (which is more comparable). It's also sturdily built, and: light. Add a 1Spot, an additional cable, and you won't even notice it in your gig bag. On a board, it gobbles up more space than typical top-jack pedals, naturally, but not as much as a feared, as mentioned above.

In short: The Super Two Hundred was well worth the wait and import duties hassle. I realise in this thread most people talk about the Super 300 or 800, but for me? 200 goes to 11. Great work, @Sensei Tim.

Congratulations! I'd love to hear some sort of demo if you're able to.

 

[Sascha Erni]

Congratulations! I'd love to hear some sort of demo if you're able to.

I plan to record some samples. I just got a U-Bass, too, so I'm VERY curious how that mix will work out. But need to restring the Kala first. At any rate, if any of my samples sound okay-ish to me, I'll link them here.

 

[geshel]

Got my Super 100 last weekend, and finally got the pedalboard rearranged (and now filled up). So far, so good - I'm still getting to know it. Mostly I'm using it in conjunction with the CabZone X, which has the bass firmware loaded up, and is on one of the EL34 amps and the Sunn 2x15 cab. A nice fat overdriven tube sound, and if I increase the gain (mostly what the Genzler is doing for now) it gets very nasty.

(signal order is: Transmission -> MicroPitch -> Golden Ratio -> 4OTF -> Super 100 -> CabZone)

You might have guessed I'm going for several eras of Peter Hook sound with this - for earlier stuff, some combination of CabZone, Super 100, and Golden Ratio. For mid-late 80s studio, the Transmission and the MicroPitch. Possibly will adjust the Genzler to be able to add some dirt for the later overdriven sounds.

(FWIW I'm still completely stumped as to what is responsible for the distortion in the Pumped Full Of Drugs video)

 

[Sascha Erni]

Congratulations! I'd love to hear some sort of demo if you're able to.

So, finally got around to it:



Mind, it's bare-bones, including finger noise and whatnot. But I think you can get a good impression of how well the Super Two Hundred reacts to dynamics.

 

[BklynKen]

So, finally got around to it:



Mind, it's bare-bones, including finger noise and whatnot. But I think you can get a good impression of how well the Super Two Hundred reacts to dynamics.

Sounds great!

 

[Sascha Erni]

I should add this wasn't with a compressor or a boost pedal, just a passive P. The Super200 really "gets" the saturation-compression thing on its own. The sample was made with the settings in the pic; i.e. there's loads more of that kind of OD/comp sounds if you like to have, well, MOAR.

 

[ShowKing]

After a very long wait (3 weeks build + 5 weeks shipping), it has finally come!
Thank you @Sensei Tim for answering my queries so promptly and for the amazing pedal. I look forward to gigging with it soon.

 

[Sascha Erni]

And finally: gut shot of the Super200.

Very tidy. Love the message. A bit surprised by the serial number; I would have thought more people were into an Orange-voiced pedal. But then, my Bass Butler is S/N something like 250, so, yeah. All a question of perspective I guess.

 

[BklynKen]

And finally: gut shot of the Super200.

View attachment 4863977

Very tidy. Love the message. A bit surprised by the serial number; I would have thought more people were into an Orange-voiced pedal. But then, my Bass Butler is S/N something like 250, so, yeah. All a question of perspective I guess.

I love the old VHS message.

 

[jgo138]

And finally: gut shot of the Super200.

View attachment 4863977

Very tidy. Love the message. A bit surprised by the serial number; I would have thought more people were into an Orange-voiced pedal. But then, my Bass Butler is S/N something like 250, so, yeah. All a question of perspective I guess.

I just opened mine and have 5 for the s/n. @Sensei Tim - what’s the difference in v1.0 vs 1.1? Besides the orange pcb, I notice the IC in the top right corner is new. I keep putting it back on the board after trying other pedals- it’s amazing as a light overdrive pedal with plenty on tap if needed!

 

[Sensei Tim]

I just opened mine and have 5 for the s/n. @Sensei Tim - what’s the difference in v1.0 vs 1.1? Besides the orange pcb, I notice the IC in the top right corner is new. I keep putting it back on the board after trying other pedals- it’s amazing as a light overdrive pedal with plenty on tap if needed!

v1.1 added a 9V regulator (the big ic in the top corner) to help protect some parts against overvoltage. otherwise, the 1.0 and 1.1 circuits are identical.