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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
I feel like my next acquisition will be a boring one for this thread - the Saturn VI I own is on loan only and I think that @Charlie Tuna might want it back soon. Saying goodbye to that pedal is not a step I'm prepared to take, so I'll have to get my own. The used market looks terrible, but there's a shop here that still has the all white edition in stock.
So I thought to myself that this is THE perfect opportunity to quickly pull the trigger on that Fifth Gear that popped up second hand within the EU. And I quickly pulled the trigger.
How are these two things related and how can that be a perfect opportunity to buy another pedal you ask?
Let me explain: They really are not. My logic here is very weak. But you know, when the ice is too thin to stand on, you can still cross the river if you're going really fast. I did not need a firm logical ground to stand on. I needed one that let me defend my position long enough to do the PayPal thing, which works really fast from my phone app. Hence, I was on the other side of the river when the ice broke.
Southampton Fifth Gear inbound.
I also found someone handy enough with a soldering iron to give my Sushi Box HWUA "the mod" that might make it usable again.
So I thought to myself that this is THE perfect opportunity to quickly pull the trigger on that Fifth Gear that popped up second hand within the EU. And I quickly pulled the trigger.
How are these two things related and how can that be a perfect opportunity to buy another pedal you ask?
Let me explain: They really are not. My logic here is very weak. But you know, when the ice is too thin to stand on, you can still cross the river if you're going really fast. I did not need a firm logical ground to stand on. I needed one that let me defend my position long enough to do the PayPal thing, which works really fast from my phone app. Hence, I was on the other side of the river when the ice broke.
Southampton Fifth Gear inbound.
I also found someone handy enough with a soldering iron to give my Sushi Box HWUA "the mod" that might make it usable again.
Stacking dirt pedals is the rabbit hole inside the rabbit hole.
(Rabbit + Hole)² = Rabbit² + 2RabbitHole + Hole²
(Rabbit + Hole)² = Rabbit² + 2RabbitHole + Hole²
@el murdoque -- What was going on with your UA that made it unusable? I just picked up one in a trade and there's a very pronounced hum when I increase the volume. Tried different cables, power supplies, patch cables, even tried wall warts. It's not coming from the bass or other pedals, bc when I switched the UA off or went fully off with bass volume, the hum was still there.
I'll likely write to the SB thread as well, but thought I'd check in with you since you mentioned you were having issues with it too. Thanks!
I'll likely write to the SB thread as well, but thought I'd check in with you since you mentioned you were having issues with it too. Thanks!
I've got a SH Fifth Gear on loan right now.
Not my flavor at all, and I'd definitely take the Saturn over it any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Stacking for different "textures" is definitely a different rabbit hole all together.
Compressors & drive stacking is another rabbit hole within a rabbit hole.
Please share details? Have wondered about that one. I’m a big Saturn VI fan.
My HWUA was the last batch where "The Sushi Mod" was not yet implemented. As I understand it, the polarity protection makes noise and you get rid of it by connecting the ground wire from the power input to the ground wire of the signal cable, so the Sushi box shares ground with the other pedals.
My problem was adding a Hologram Microcosm on my pedal board - a digital pedal with high current consumption. When I have them both on and in the loop, I get brutal noise. Sounds like AM radio at high volume plus the bass gets distorted and farty and moves to the background. It's unpleasant.
In my personal experience it is a good thing to feed the UA a hotter signal. If you're having your pedal chain set to unitiy, you might try and bump the level up two notches.
Interesting. I've had several recommendations from flatwound players, so I wanted to give this a try. There was a time when It was among the TB favorites along with the Barbershop when people asked for lower gain drive pedals.
Stacking in general seems to do that to you. If you're a "P-bass with rounds straight into the amp" person, you have a good time looking at pedal demos on Youtube because you most likely find demos where someone plays a P bass with rounds into the pedal and the pedal into the amp.
It gets a bit harder when you're looking for someone to play a flatwound low B that's loaded by Saturn VI harmonics into the pedal, into your specific comp settings into a Noble.
For me, the character of the FG's break-up isn't as pleasing as that of the Saturn, and the FG seems to roll-off a bit of low-end compared to the Saturn.
Not a ton, but enough in a controlled environment to notice.
Not to say it won't work better for either of you,
Because as always, YMMV.
Has anyone here tried stacking a Saturn VI into a Saturn VI?
I'll do that next week.
I'll do that next week.
Thanks for the run through! Much appreciated. Not sure what I'll do yet, it's so much hum it's distracting at best and interfering at worst.
If things go according to plan, I'll have mine modded next week, then I can tell you more.
Lol this made me chuckle on the plane across the pond! The TC and Xcotic are both on the short list. As is the Wampler Belle, which I see being used to surprisingly good effect on bass.
Alas this tour won’t be taking us to Deutschland, but if you can come to Scotland, the beers are on me haha. It’ll be the Farewell to Cleans, uh, “farewell” tour! For now
Interesting thoughts on the Jupiter. It seems, at a quick glance, that you have no shortage of pedals/combinations of pedals that make you grin heartily. The real question is…. How do you choose which ones to use at any given moment? I’d be well paralyzed by choice, in your shoes!
No, you wouldn't be. I'm not really a collector, only a curious guy who would like to experience a load of dirt pedals first hand. My secret of funding the acquisition of new pedals is selling the old ones.
The current total of overdrive capable pedals I own is about half a dozen, with two coming in and one up for sale.
Of course there are pedals that were hard to get, like the SS/BS Mini, that I'm holding on to even if they don't have a current spot on my pedal board, but I try to keep the pile as small as possible.
One small thing about the Spaceman Saturn does annoy me, though:
The default state of the pedal is bypass when I power it on.
Since I had to bury it in the lower tier of my pedal board, I have to remember reaching down there and push the foot switch once every time I power up my board. Is there a way around? I've found nothing in the documentation and I've not opened it up.
The default state of the pedal is bypass when I power it on.
Since I had to bury it in the lower tier of my pedal board, I have to remember reaching down there and push the foot switch once every time I power up my board. Is there a way around? I've found nothing in the documentation and I've not opened it up.
I did a bit more experimentation with the Jive and the Saturn.
Apart from my impression that the Jive sounds a bit more rough and ballsy where the Saturn sounds a bit more sleek and sophisticated, I learned that the touch sensitivity of the Saturn can accommodate a bigger dynamic range. With both pedals up front, I was able to play licks into the Saturn that had a fair amount of breakup, but back off on the attack and play clean notes that still sat well in the mix. The Jive, with the same amount of breakup when digging in, does not completely clear up unless you're playing so soft that your volume drops significantly.
Moving both pedals to a position late in the chain, after compression is applied, I could set them up to give me just a hint of hair, and to add their mojo. In that position, I liked the Jive a lot better. It felt like it was happily doing it's thing while the Saturn felt as if I was keeping it on a short leash and it does not enjoy short leashes.
After sorting around and experimenting with different gain settings, I came back to Saturn first and Jive after comp. Jive set to be just on the brink, Saturn set so the breakup starts just a bit before the comp engages.
This gives me a more or less constant dirty sound with the jive, a very flexible sound that goes from completely clean to very gentle breakup with dynamics and from there increased force will yield more saturation, but the comp keeps the level constant.
Playing the Saturn into the Jive adds highs and gives me more gain plus a nasty sizzle on top.
That Fifth Gear has some tough competition to go up against when it arrives here next week.
Apart from my impression that the Jive sounds a bit more rough and ballsy where the Saturn sounds a bit more sleek and sophisticated, I learned that the touch sensitivity of the Saturn can accommodate a bigger dynamic range. With both pedals up front, I was able to play licks into the Saturn that had a fair amount of breakup, but back off on the attack and play clean notes that still sat well in the mix. The Jive, with the same amount of breakup when digging in, does not completely clear up unless you're playing so soft that your volume drops significantly.
Moving both pedals to a position late in the chain, after compression is applied, I could set them up to give me just a hint of hair, and to add their mojo. In that position, I liked the Jive a lot better. It felt like it was happily doing it's thing while the Saturn felt as if I was keeping it on a short leash and it does not enjoy short leashes.
After sorting around and experimenting with different gain settings, I came back to Saturn first and Jive after comp. Jive set to be just on the brink, Saturn set so the breakup starts just a bit before the comp engages.
This gives me a more or less constant dirty sound with the jive, a very flexible sound that goes from completely clean to very gentle breakup with dynamics and from there increased force will yield more saturation, but the comp keeps the level constant.
Playing the Saturn into the Jive adds highs and gives me more gain plus a nasty sizzle on top.
That Fifth Gear has some tough competition to go up against when it arrives here next week.
