I don’t understand why some people write long posts about stuff they don’t buy. Tell, us about the stuff you buy and use. That would be much more interesting….
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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
I write long posts about everything. Wasn’t born succinct.
I read everything you write closely and learn a lot. I appreciate you taking time to explain things.
BTW - the DCX/Fifteen combo seems like a winner for me. I like having the two totally different tone options depending on the song and gain staging them on together adds nice aggressiveness to the Fifteen.
@sunbeast I definitely took no offence from your post regarding the thread! In fact, I was trying to agree with your initial point, whilst also pointing out it’s actually a pretty fun place to hang generally, despite some of the aura/cult that surrounds the brand. I’ve laughed out loud quite a lot from reading about some of the shenanigans people in that thread get up to!
Just in case I managed to get myself lost in translation (definitely a thing known to happen via internet text!) I’m with you in that I tend to find that kind of aggro fanboy attitude quite off putting, and the early morning drop routine leaves plenty to be desired. But they’re a local-to-me company (rare to see anything Toronto-based receive wider recognition), and make some utility pedals I find useful (HPF and Omnicomp are ever-present on both my boards).
A lot of stuff is actually just generally available for sale now on the Broughton website, which definitely wasn’t the case a couple years ago. Things still disappear fast on drops, and many older circuits are largely mothballed, so fetch a huge markup on the used market, but I think he’s made an effort to make his wares more widely available than previously.
Just in case I managed to get myself lost in translation (definitely a thing known to happen via internet text!) I’m with you in that I tend to find that kind of aggro fanboy attitude quite off putting, and the early morning drop routine leaves plenty to be desired. But they’re a local-to-me company (rare to see anything Toronto-based receive wider recognition), and make some utility pedals I find useful (HPF and Omnicomp are ever-present on both my boards).
A lot of stuff is actually just generally available for sale now on the Broughton website, which definitely wasn’t the case a couple years ago. Things still disappear fast on drops, and many older circuits are largely mothballed, so fetch a huge markup on the used market, but I think he’s made an effort to make his wares more widely available than previously.
Keeping things on dirt-focus, sadly I must be boring and admit that I’m still using the same Wampler Belle > DCX combo I’ve been running since January. And nor do I see it changing; I find both perfectly suited to my needs both individually and combined!
Yeah the more I play with the Fifteen the more I can see how they'd complement each-other well. My problem is that the Blackstone Mosfet has become my main "character" drive and I can't see that changing. I'm trying to simplify not expand haha!
Tell me more about the Belle. I have the ODR mini 2 and I think they are similar. The ODR is a good little pedal, but nothing amazing, maybe the Belle has a bit more spice?
I've still never played an ODR-style drive. Too many things to try, not enough bands!
Fair! As I said, we are not lacking for options right now.
The thing I like that I think makes it a bit distinct from the Nobels mini is the combo of the Bass knob along with the Colour. The Colour (IIRC similar to the Spectrum knob) boosts/cuts bass and trebles simultaneously, whilst the Bass knob obviously only does that. I don’t tend to like a lot of added low end from my drive pedals (I get it elsewhere in the chain), so this allows me to get a little bite and grit without adding a big mid scoop. And I like where that pedal impacts highs. It works well for me early in the chain, as a “hairy” boost to feed other things downstream.
Everyone has their own way of doing things, but I like adding a few moderate gain stages on top of one another to achieve those bigger sounds, rather than a dedicated fuzz/distortion. In that sense, the Belle hasn’t let me down.
Last edited:
Hello. My name is SemiDriven. I'm a bass pedal hoarder.
And I like it.
And I just stumbled into this thread.
Oh snap.
151 pages. Oy vey.
It turns out that this is a lot more complex than I thought it would be. Maybe I'm just too old and have too little experience with such software, but REW is too much. I'll start another try with Audacity and plugins, though - which seems a little bit simpler.
The current problem I see is that I have to basically unplug half of the cables from my little mixer and re-route, so that the white noise from the USB reaches the pedal and the response from the pedal reaches the recording without creating a massive feedback loop in the process. When I want to measure one pedal and that's that, no biggie - but when I want to measure every pedal from now on and get results that can compare, I'd have to have the gain levels and such all the same, and that might be a bit too much.
I’ve saved a sine wave sound file to my ditto and use that to send through a pedal and then to REW. Seems to work well without too much hassle. Much of The program is beyond my understanding and I’m probably using it incorrectly for exact measurements, but for some basic comparisons it has been helpful.
Here's my two nickels about the Broughton/boutique topic that sprouted up:
First of all, you people are so grown up and mature about it all. Careful not to anger anyone and quick to apologize. So civil.
Live a little! Step on some toes! WRITE POSTS IN ALL CAPS SO EVERYONE KNOWS YOU'RE YELLING!
I guess Broughton, 3Leaf, Chase Bliss, Sushi Box FX, Iron Ether and the others did start out normal. I think I bought my first Broughton pedal about a dozen years ago. I DM'ed Josh through Talkbass, told him I wanted a Low Pass Filter pedal, and he said he'd make me one. I sent him money and he sent me a pedal. Transaction complete. Then it all blew up and his creations suddenly became revered possessions, often worth more on the second hand market than brand new.
Josh has created a model that .... is what it is.
So did all the others. They are in the luxurious position that the scales of supply and demand are heavily tipped in their favor.
The need not do anything about it. Of course they could hire people, up their production, move to a bigger workshop and all that - but they don't have any obligation to do so. How they designed their workflow and how they release their pedals into the wild is up to them. When someone decides that this is too much hassle and they will go with something that is readily available in stores, that's not really a reason to make any of them cry or doubt their business model.
However, there is another factor to consider. How does this feel for one of us?
We're the weird bunch, the people that don't simply buy an ODB-3 and call it a day, because Boss is the gold standard and it says Bass Overdrive on the box. We're bickering over minute details, and it's completely fair to examine things that go beyond the pure sound of the pedal and whether it has proper construction or side jacks.
Some of us will not use a Fulltone pedal because of the owner's views on certain things.
Some of us will not use a 3leaf pedal because of how they did sales in the past.
Some of us will not use a Broughton pedal because they see the Broughton thing as a cult and they don't do cults.
And it's all good.
Deep down, we do know that we could replace half of our pedalboards' fancy boutique pedals with generic, machine made stuff from the far east that costs less than a third, and people in the audience would be hard pressed to hear any difference.
But, I think I said it before, my theory on that is this: I have good days and I have bad days, as you all have. Sometimes I sit down and the bass in my lap feels like an anvil. I can't coax anything meaningful from it. My timing is bad. I don't feel any inspiration at all.
The last two jams I was at where polar opposites. On one, I was driving the gig. A jam had finished, and no one had an idea on how to continue? I was the one coming up with a new idea, then changing it up mid song, playing intricate lines and carrying the others over dry patches. On the other, I struggled to come up with proper bass lines, and did play super repetitive because once I had something that worked, I was glad and stuck with it, very little variation and all that.
Why am I telling this? Easy. There's more to playing an instrument than mere technical ability and theoretical knowledge.
There is the "you" component. How you do feel when you pick up the bass plays an important role in how you play and sound.
If pedals, or much rather boutique pedals are your thing, then there will be a difference between using a board that you can order just like that from Thomann or Sweetwater and playing a board stuffed to the brim with unobtanium and pedals most people have never even heard of. The audible difference will be more in the fingers than it is in the pedals.
I regularly play with a guitarist who is into pedals, but I do think he is in physical pain whenever he has to part with money. If you offered him an original Klon pedal for $250 (but he's forbidden to sell it), he'd refuse. He spends quite some time tinkering with pedals, but he's going the opposite of my way.
He needs a chorus? I looked around for what the best pedal is and started with the AnalogMan. He looked around for what the cheap pedals are and then started comparing them, soaking up information like a sponge and then bought a Fender Hammertone for less than 50 bucks - and cringed about it because there was another pedal which was supposed to be good, that could have been ordered for less on AliExpress.
That's what we are and how our brains are wired. If you read this thread with its 150 pages of dirt pedal discussion, you're either a big fan of my written word or you're way too much into bass dirt pedals.
So if you are into unobtanium pedals and you run a board full of them, then you're much more likely to have a big grin on your face when you slap it down on the stage and you're more likely to feel good about it and that makes you play each and every tone like your life depended on it - and that will produce an audible effect on the audience.
Conclusion:
The best thing you can do in terms of sound is to use the equipment you like using most.
That's not purely down to the sound the equipment produces, but there can be a lot of other factors
playing in how that stuff makes you feel. Use the stuff that makes you grin!
First of all, you people are so grown up and mature about it all. Careful not to anger anyone and quick to apologize. So civil.
Live a little! Step on some toes! WRITE POSTS IN ALL CAPS SO EVERYONE KNOWS YOU'RE YELLING!
I guess Broughton, 3Leaf, Chase Bliss, Sushi Box FX, Iron Ether and the others did start out normal. I think I bought my first Broughton pedal about a dozen years ago. I DM'ed Josh through Talkbass, told him I wanted a Low Pass Filter pedal, and he said he'd make me one. I sent him money and he sent me a pedal. Transaction complete. Then it all blew up and his creations suddenly became revered possessions, often worth more on the second hand market than brand new.
Josh has created a model that .... is what it is.
So did all the others. They are in the luxurious position that the scales of supply and demand are heavily tipped in their favor.
The need not do anything about it. Of course they could hire people, up their production, move to a bigger workshop and all that - but they don't have any obligation to do so. How they designed their workflow and how they release their pedals into the wild is up to them. When someone decides that this is too much hassle and they will go with something that is readily available in stores, that's not really a reason to make any of them cry or doubt their business model.
However, there is another factor to consider. How does this feel for one of us?
We're the weird bunch, the people that don't simply buy an ODB-3 and call it a day, because Boss is the gold standard and it says Bass Overdrive on the box. We're bickering over minute details, and it's completely fair to examine things that go beyond the pure sound of the pedal and whether it has proper construction or side jacks.
Some of us will not use a Fulltone pedal because of the owner's views on certain things.
Some of us will not use a 3leaf pedal because of how they did sales in the past.
Some of us will not use a Broughton pedal because they see the Broughton thing as a cult and they don't do cults.
And it's all good.
Deep down, we do know that we could replace half of our pedalboards' fancy boutique pedals with generic, machine made stuff from the far east that costs less than a third, and people in the audience would be hard pressed to hear any difference.
But, I think I said it before, my theory on that is this: I have good days and I have bad days, as you all have. Sometimes I sit down and the bass in my lap feels like an anvil. I can't coax anything meaningful from it. My timing is bad. I don't feel any inspiration at all.
The last two jams I was at where polar opposites. On one, I was driving the gig. A jam had finished, and no one had an idea on how to continue? I was the one coming up with a new idea, then changing it up mid song, playing intricate lines and carrying the others over dry patches. On the other, I struggled to come up with proper bass lines, and did play super repetitive because once I had something that worked, I was glad and stuck with it, very little variation and all that.
Why am I telling this? Easy. There's more to playing an instrument than mere technical ability and theoretical knowledge.
There is the "you" component. How you do feel when you pick up the bass plays an important role in how you play and sound.
If pedals, or much rather boutique pedals are your thing, then there will be a difference between using a board that you can order just like that from Thomann or Sweetwater and playing a board stuffed to the brim with unobtanium and pedals most people have never even heard of. The audible difference will be more in the fingers than it is in the pedals.
I regularly play with a guitarist who is into pedals, but I do think he is in physical pain whenever he has to part with money. If you offered him an original Klon pedal for $250 (but he's forbidden to sell it), he'd refuse. He spends quite some time tinkering with pedals, but he's going the opposite of my way.
He needs a chorus? I looked around for what the best pedal is and started with the AnalogMan. He looked around for what the cheap pedals are and then started comparing them, soaking up information like a sponge and then bought a Fender Hammertone for less than 50 bucks - and cringed about it because there was another pedal which was supposed to be good, that could have been ordered for less on AliExpress.
That's what we are and how our brains are wired. If you read this thread with its 150 pages of dirt pedal discussion, you're either a big fan of my written word or you're way too much into bass dirt pedals.
So if you are into unobtanium pedals and you run a board full of them, then you're much more likely to have a big grin on your face when you slap it down on the stage and you're more likely to feel good about it and that makes you play each and every tone like your life depended on it - and that will produce an audible effect on the audience.
Conclusion:
The best thing you can do in terms of sound is to use the equipment you like using most.
That's not purely down to the sound the equipment produces, but there can be a lot of other factors
playing in how that stuff makes you feel. Use the stuff that makes you grin!
Hello. My name is SemiDriven. I'm a bass pedal hoarder.
And I like it.
And I just stumbled into this thread.
Oh snap.
151 pages. Oy vey.
Welcome to the weirder side of bass pedal dirt, where people are civil and polite, but the pedals often are not!
I did not have much time yesterday, but tried to go the way @Charlie Tuna suggested. I fed a looper pedal with white noise and then played that into the to-be-tested-pedal, recorded it in audacity and then looked at it with the SPAN plugin.
It took this old man an embarrassing long time to get that plugin running, though.
A short while ago, I leaned that I'm obviously middle aged by now.
I was in two conversations that touched the IT topic in one day.
In the first, I did explain to my old man that the people in his email inbox who threaten to delete his cloud space are frauds, that he does not have unpaid invoices with them and does not even use cloud storage to begin with.
In the second, I did ask my 18 year old nephew for tips on how to defeat that boss in Silksong.
....but I feel like I'm getting there. One or two more sessions sitting down and I'm plotting graphs like nobody's business.
It took this old man an embarrassing long time to get that plugin running, though.
A short while ago, I leaned that I'm obviously middle aged by now.
I was in two conversations that touched the IT topic in one day.
In the first, I did explain to my old man that the people in his email inbox who threaten to delete his cloud space are frauds, that he does not have unpaid invoices with them and does not even use cloud storage to begin with.
In the second, I did ask my 18 year old nephew for tips on how to defeat that boss in Silksong.
....but I feel like I'm getting there. One or two more sessions sitting down and I'm plotting graphs like nobody's business.
A here's a side note:
Charlie Tuna had borrowed my Tube Drive for a while, but it is back now.
Having had my mind cleared of that pedal, I could try it out once more.
It remains one of the best dirt pedals ever made. I stand firm by this.
Charlie Tuna had borrowed my Tube Drive for a while, but it is back now.
Having had my mind cleared of that pedal, I could try it out once more.
It remains one of the best dirt pedals ever made. I stand firm by this.
Just a heads-up: you really want to use pink noise rather than white noise. Pink noise provides equal energy per octave (how we hear), whereas white noise provides equal energy per Hz. Using white noise will dramatically over-represent the highs compared to how we hear them.
Another tip when using the SPAN plug-in: before testing your pedals, just run pink noise through, and adjust the Slope control to make sure it is flat. That way you’ll be getting a much more accurate picture of the pedal.
I’ve attached pics of where the Slope control is and also what my Tone Hammer V2 looks like with my preferred settings
Attachments
Here is what I managed to get with my simple means.
This is the white noise as recorded through the looper:
This is the Tonehammer, AGS off, all knobs noon:
And this is the Tonehammer, AGS on, all knobs noon:
I think I can work with this style of graph. Thoughts?
This is the white noise as recorded through the looper:
This is the Tonehammer, AGS off, all knobs noon:
And this is the Tonehammer, AGS on, all knobs noon:
I think I can work with this style of graph. Thoughts?
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