My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal

[sunbeast]

In other news - I was invited to join a stoner rock power trio.

For the sake of convenience, I would need another amp head for that project, so I can leave my Tonehammer with the metal band and use the other for the stoner trio.
I'd also consider a much simpler setup for there. Just a tuner, one drive pedal, and maybe another drive pedal and of course the BDPG as a third drive pedal. So it might be beneficial if the amp was capable of drive. It would be used with a single barefaced Super Compact, so I'd need some watts into 8 ohms.

The current short list would be:
-Genz Benz Streamliner 900. I've never played one, but heard good things about them, their signature sound should work really well with my ideas of good sound.

-Orange Terror Bass 500. I like the looks, always wanted one, but never got to buy it. Also, if I'm right, it has a switch on the backside that lets you switch between 4 and 8 ohms, so you get the full power into 8 ohms.

-Hartke LH-1000. It has, in theory, many things I like - Fender tone stack with a tube and lots of watts. Simple. Cheap.

....I'd totally include a Mesa Prodigy to that list, but I'm in Europe. Count yourself lucky when you find a second hand model for two grand.

I owned a Streamliner many years ago soon after they first came out in my first attempt to replace my tube heads with something smaller and lighter. I found it really hard to dial in a useful clear and punchy midrange with that amp regardless of settings and it didn’t last long for me. I found the Mesa TT800 to do “that thing” but much better for my tastes (and with better sounding drive on tap)- I ultimately traded my TT for a WD800 though which suited my clean needs better. The Orange Terror Bass though would probably be my recommendation- I never owned one but got to play through one several times including a few gigs and it is probably the best class D head I’ve heard for drive tones and much easier to get cutting mids than a lot of Fender-type tonestacks.

I still own a Mesa Prodigy and love it but wouldn’t recommend one with the current state of KT88 tubes (the reason it was discontinued). A shame as I’d love to make it my main gigging amp again but I’m too worried about tube reliability. It is also voiced quite a bit more modern than the other amps mentioned, capable of toning down somewhat but pretty bright and aggressive in many settings. The Mesa Bass 400/400+ would probably be a better bet if you can handle the extra weight (still maybe my favorite amp ever)

 

[el murdoque]

One thing I like about the Orange is that it puts out max power in 8 ohms. I think you need to get a v1 for that, though - the newer ones with the orange control plate seem to do the regular thing where you get less power as the ohms increase.

 

[gillento]

The GBStreamliner is a great sounding amp but you have to be comfortable with the limited eq.
Soon after they were released people were swapping the 12AX7 input tube for 12AT7 or AU7 and engaged the drive button. This cleared up and made the eq easier to dial in.

Of all the Class D amps this has been my favourite. I never like the TH by Aguilar although I loved their db750 amb and db212, 112 and 210 cabs.

 

[GrowlerBox]

Great! AFAIK the all buttons mode is more to create funky drums in the studio, but it's a nice gimmick / easter egg if it's included. Something for the Nerds.

I'd also be very interested if it delivers 'that sound' you get from the Cali. I've never really zeroed in on that, but I guess is that the Cali somehow focuses the 1k range a bit, which leads to more articulation. For my intents and purposes, the Calis on my boards work as tone sweetener as much as a limiting comp.

Never had a Cali, so I can't draw any direct comparisons, but the Echo Fix has tone sweetening in spades.

 

[GrowlerBox]

Someone locally is selling a Becos Comp, the V1 Stella - with a clean blend and the possibility to add saturation to the dry signal.

I would definitely save up for the Echo Fix instead, and it's big, which I know you like .

 

[GrowlerBox]

In other news - I was invited to join a stoner rock power trio.

For the sake of convenience, I would need another amp head for that project, so I can leave my Tonehammer with the metal band and use the other for the stoner trio.
I'd also consider a much simpler setup for there. Just a tuner, one drive pedal, and maybe another drive pedal and of course the BDPG as a third drive pedal. So it might be beneficial if the amp was capable of drive. It would be used with a single barefaced Super Compact, so I'd need some watts into 8 ohms.

The current short list would be:
-Genz Benz Streamliner 900. I've never played one, but heard good things about them, their signature sound should work really well with my ideas of good sound.

-Orange Terror Bass 500. I like the looks, always wanted one, but never got to buy it. Also, if I'm right, it has a switch on the backside that lets you switch between 4 and 8 ohms, so you get the full power into 8 ohms.

-Hartke LH-1000. It has, in theory, many things I like - Fender tone stack with a tube and lots of watts. Simple. Cheap.

....I'd totally include a Mesa Prodigy to that list, but I'm in Europe. Count yourself lucky when you find a second hand model for two grand.

My vote would also be for the Orange -- I dig the sound, and am Jonesing for an AD200.

If you could swing for a newer and pricier Genzler, the Kinetix would seem to be a better Streamliner in many ways. I've not seen/heard one in person, but I like what I hear in reviews, and Genzler support is pretty unbeatable, not least here in Teebeestan.

 

[sunbeast]

The GBStreamliner is a great sounding amp but you have to be comfortable with the limited eq.
Soon after they were released people were swapping the 12AX7 input tube for 12AT7 or AU7 and engaged the drive button. This cleared up and made the eq easier to dial in.

Of all the Class D amps this has been my favourite. I never like the TH by Aguilar although I loved their db750 amb and db212, 112 and 210 cabs.

That’s interesting that you liked the DB750 and Streamliner, as I found the DB750 I had to be similarly difficult for me to dial in to my taste as the Streamliner- I would agree with those who say the Streamliner is a good Class D amp for people who want a portable DB750 as their voicings seem to have more in common than any other amps I’ve had (I felt like the Streamliner did a significantly better DB750 imitation than the Aguilar Tonehammer amps even). I found both great at massive pillowy lows, but with an upper-bass/lower-mid that I could never seem to dial away and that seemed to dominate the tone to my ears. That upper bass in the DB750 could be dangerous with long exposure due to the massive peak power in the lows that amp had on tap (giant output capacitors/reserves)- I think my drummer didn’t enjoy that amp and being set up in front of it on top of my Berg NV610 though many long songwriting sessions (I’d get headaches sometimes and he was in a more compromising position in relation to my cab). I did try flipping all sorts of tubes in both the DB750 and Streamliner to only moderate success at reigning in that pillowy character and/or adding high-mid edge enough to balance. My best bet was always an external HPF. I suspect both of those amps would work out much better for people playing more aggressive modern-voiced basses or people looking for fat R&B/Soul/Reggae type tones. The DB751 was definitely a big improvement for my tastes. Of course it’s all subjective though!

 

[johnk_10]

i still dig my Streamliner 900 although it's been relegated to being my backup head these days.

 

[Stubb]

Well, my complete lack of self-discipline may warrant a period of intense self-reflection, but that’s for another time.

I brought the Echo Fix compressor home, and plugged it into my Markbass F1 (clean, very full-range) amp, and my fretless piezo-only bass into it, to gather some initial impressions. It was a long, difficult day, so I was concerned that my state of mind might adversely colour my perception, but, lo, I am transformed, not least and perhaps predictably by the pair of transformers (input and output) housed in the robust metal case of this glorious machine.

A small clarification: my understanding of the manual is that the input transformer is only active with the XLR Input, whereas the output transformer is active regardless.

 

[GrowlerBox]

A small clarification: my understanding of the manual is that the input transformer is only active with the XLR Input, whereas the output transformer is active regardless.

Yes, I see — the block diagram does indeed show the TS input bypassing the input transformer. Thanks for the correction .

 

[el murdoque]

Having had some spare time, I not only mopped the floors, but also finished the Jounal Entries for the Hooker's Green and the Prunes & Custard and added some sound snippets.

 

[jcburn]

Slight derail - just reading through a bunch of your reviews on your Dirt Jounal website @el murdoque - if you still have the pedal, any chance of you uploading some demos/clips of you playing through the Bearfoot FX Blue Berry Bass Overdrive? I'd like to hear your set up and how this pedal affects the mids as you suggest.

 

[jdjk7]

I'm not certain how I'm only just now finding out that there's a Dirt Journal website. I ought to give it a read.

 

[el murdoque]

Slight derail - just reading through a bunch of your reviews on your Dirt Jounal website @el murdoque - if you still have the pedal, any chance of you uploading some demos/clips of you playing through the Bearfoot FX Blue Berry Bass Overdrive? I'd like to hear your set up and how this pedal affects the mids as you suggest.

I am sorry, but the Bearfoot FX BBBOD was only lent to me by Charlie Tuna who has sold it a long while ago.
The BJFe version of the pedal, however, is still in my possession and I could fabricate a few snippets of that.

 

[GrowlerBox]

I'm not certain how I'm only just now finding out that there's a Dirt Journal website. I ought to give it a read.

No autocorrect allowed ´round these parts — that’s jounal .

 

[el murdoque]

I'm not certain how I'm only just now finding out that there's a Dirt Journal website. I ought to give it a read.

Well, if you have been a close follower of this thread, you've basically read everything on the website already.
OTOH, if you've been a close follower of this thread, you'd have known about the website.

 

[GrowlerBox]

I am sorry, but the Bearfoot FX BBBOD was only lent to me by Charlie Tuna who has sold it a long while ago.
The BJFe version of the pedal, however, is still in my possession and I could fabricate a few snippets of that.

I am enjoying the clips. The Prunes & Custard one is especially good .

 

[just-1-more]

I am sorry, but the Bearfoot FX BBBOD was only lent to me by Charlie Tuna who has sold it a long while ago.
The BJFe version of the pedal, however, is still in my possession and I could fabricate a few snippets of that.

I recently picked up a One Control Honey Bee OD for my guitar rig and it’s really good. I still haven’t used it with the band yet, but should get an opportunity next week. Now I’m wondering whether it’s worth a punt on the OC BBBOD for bass….

 

[el murdoque]

I am enjoying the clips. The Prunes & Custard one is especially good .

Thank you. Kinda makes me wish I still had an octaver pedal sitting around, so I could try hitting it with that - but I do imagine that the difference is not that maassive, since the bottom signal in the P&C is somewhat compressed and low passed.

 

[el murdoque]

One thing that is hard to put in words and audio files is how it feels to play the OG BJFe version of the pedal.

My best try of capturing that feeling in words is in the article of the BBBOD on the Jounal website:

There is something happening in the mids.
They get agitated like a bunch of kids who woke up at 5:30 on Christmas morning and know that it’s too early to wake the parents but it’s too late to go back to sleep. So they lie in their beds, quietly trembling, counting off the seconds. This brings forward the whole of the tone and if you match your boring old clean signal and the glorious Blueberry signal by ear alone, you might go a little low on the BB signal and then think the lows are dropping a bit.


For a complete and exhausting description of all the treble stuff, a single word is sufficient: Smooth.

So, a velvety smooth low gain drive that has the midrange shaken up like a piñata on Pete Rose’s birthday party. What makes it special? Well, special’er than that? I have amassed a modest amount of cork sniffer’s delight drive pedals since I started this project, so what has this Björn Juhl soldered together on a long Swedish winter night that cannot be easily replicated in garage boutique workshops around the globe?
Remember I said it’s like punching a sponge? There is that juicy, spongy feel of how it responds to how you hit and release a note. Even with no audible distortion, the note you hit somehow transforms and it feels like there is MORE of it. You hit it harder, it squeezes out more of the sweet juice. But it’s actually more like standing in front of an infinite line of freshly packed silken berry packs, because every time you punch, you get the feeling of punching that bag for the first time. No sloppy seconds.
The very thing I was drooling over when playing the Fake Plastic Trees, that is absent in most other pedals is to be found here again. Did I say the very thing? That is absolutely not true. The FPT feels completely different to the fingers, but that idea, that quality is there, and it’s the same amount of it, even though it manifests in a different way. Your fingers dig a new channel to your ears and connect in an unfamiliar, yet pleasant way.
You feel your dynamics shift and transform based on what you hear and you want to squeeze the perfect amount of saturation out of every note. When playing for a few minutes without toying around on the settings, the feeling gets familiar and the response is more than predictable; it becomes second nature playing that pedal.