Am I doing something wrong by using a pre-amp with the EBMM? I am very illiterate when it comes to pedals. I have the same question about the Sansamp para driver also. Am I putting something in that I don't need? Is this overkill and should I just get something simpler like a distortion pedal?
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MXR M-80/Samsamp para driver used with a EBMM
- Thread starter Broke
- Start date
It's only wrong if it doesn't give you the sound you want.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
It's my belief that the paradriver is of greatest utility when going straight to the mixing desk instead of a stage amplifier. Too much baked-in "cab sim" stuff. But in spite of my opinion, a million bass players use it straight into their amps every day. Do it if you like the result. Tons of other people do.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I should also add that I have owned both products in the title. I liked the M80 a lot, but ultimately wasn't happy with its particular "flavor" of dirt. The paradriver, as I've said, had too much cab sim for me to be happy with it going into my amp.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,777
- 40,463
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Whatever gets you the sound that you, your band, and your audience likes and gives the sound tech what he/she needs is exactly the right gear IMO. That could mean your bass, a cable and simple DI or the mother of all pedal boards - there is no single right answer that works for everyone in every situation.
FWIW, M-80 and a PDDI sounds like a cool combination with a MM bass. I happen to own all three of those things, but have never thought to try them together. Hmmm,...maybe there is an experiment in my immediate future.
FWIW, M-80 and a PDDI sounds like a cool combination with a MM bass. I happen to own all three of those things, but have never thought to try them together. Hmmm,...maybe there is an experiment in my immediate future.
If you haven't already, start with your bass with the eq knobs centered. Do the same with the pedals. Are you using both preamp pedals at the same time? That might be too many overlapping EQ points which could translate into a "yucky" sound.
Try each pedal by itself and make small eq adjustments. With the M80 I found that just the color switch engaged with a dash of mids say around 1 oclock on a clock face gave me a tone that was very close to what I was looking for. On the distortion side the blend knob is your friend! Just adjust the gain to how you like your distortion and then blend n some of your dry signal. If it's noisy in between notes adjust the noise gate so its clamping down only when you need it.
For the Paradriver I would recommend starting with the Blend knob quite low especially if you are going into an amp with it? As the previous poster said it does have a baked in amp/speaker sim
Add some gain and adjust the EQ to taste. The mids are semi parametric on that pedal so what i like to do is boost the mid knob all the way and sweep through with the mid frequency knob until I find either harsh or honky sounding and then cut. Or find a frequency that I like and just boost a bit to cut through.
Good luck! Those are both fine pedal preamps!
Hope this helps!
Brent
Try each pedal by itself and make small eq adjustments. With the M80 I found that just the color switch engaged with a dash of mids say around 1 oclock on a clock face gave me a tone that was very close to what I was looking for. On the distortion side the blend knob is your friend! Just adjust the gain to how you like your distortion and then blend n some of your dry signal. If it's noisy in between notes adjust the noise gate so its clamping down only when you need it.
For the Paradriver I would recommend starting with the Blend knob quite low especially if you are going into an amp with it? As the previous poster said it does have a baked in amp/speaker sim
Add some gain and adjust the EQ to taste. The mids are semi parametric on that pedal so what i like to do is boost the mid knob all the way and sweep through with the mid frequency knob until I find either harsh or honky sounding and then cut. Or find a frequency that I like and just boost a bit to cut through.
Good luck! Those are both fine pedal preamps!
Hope this helps!
Brent
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,777
- 40,463
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Yeah I didn't see it coming either. But we will see what happens. Pedals are an ever changing game it seems.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
It was ages ago. I had endless discussions with folks here about it and even got a response or two from Tech 21. I tried everything to love it and I just didn't. It wasn't for me that's all.
