My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal

[el murdoque]

Bobby Vega is a certified bad mofo!



What are your settings, out of curiousity? Here's where I've got my two currently. The environment I'm playing in makes a big difference, but these yielded good results at a reggae (flavoured with Scottish folk, and jazz) rehearsal. Still haven't gig-tested yet, but excited to do so soon!

View attachment 4966446

Both the Treble knob on the UA and the contour knob on the Belle influence the amount and flavor of the sizzle.
I found that all other knobs are very forgiving, but these two interact and let you shape your drive.

 

[el murdoque]

Me upon reading this latest update, and seeing that @el murdoque is not only not bitterly disappointed, but seemed to draw similarly positive conclusions as my own...

I swear this Belle is a killer little bass overdrive that a lot of folks are sleeping on. Maybe because it's marketed almost exclusively for guitarists, or that Wampler isn't simply the "nom du jour" in the world of bass pedals. Either way, hope your further adventures prove fruitful!

My interest in this branch of drive circuit is indeed not really satisfied yet.
So I went back to the source, located a Nobels ODR-1 on the second hand market and ordered it.
A pedal with a two figure price tag and a pedal snob like me. This shall be interesting.
I'd like to see what changes Wampler has made from the original design, and I'm curious to know how these two compare to each other.

... have a look at this curve! Is it not sexy?

 

[el murdoque]

I've heard that a Nobels based drive is very bass friendly.

Bobby Vega (we ALL know who he is)
Did a short demo with a Nobels ODR-1, and it sounded awesome.

For those too lazy to google, here it is.

 

[el murdoque]

@sloppy_phil you philthy animal!

That Wampler pedal has turned into an unpleasant surprise. My pedalboard is full to the brim.
There is a strict door policy. The bouncers will only let one in if another leaves first.

The Belle is not a pedal that can mimic the tape saturation the Jive does, and I have that particular sound planned for a couple of songs.

The Belle is not a pedal that can add harmonics with the smooth elegance the Saturn VI gives me - and I have that particular sound planned for some parts, too.

The Belle is a pedal that gives the lower midrange such a density that it's fun to play it without audible breakup.
It just sits at the point where it gets thicc, and doing so will make you surrender some note definition - usually not a problem. No need to be subtle when you're laying on thick.
Plus, it's a tiny pedal. Just cable it up and chuck it under the hood, press it closed and it will nestle in the spider web of cables - not going anywhere. But I got no more loops on my switcher and while it is fun to play, I would not want it as an always on.

 

[sloppy_phil]

Alas, we must employ the same bouncer at our respective doors; mine is also a one-in-one-out situation. Reaching the limit is both liberating and frustrating in a sense for me, since the full board means I've got good sounds waiting at my feet, but it also limits potential future exploration and creativity. I then remind myself that what I have currently is totally sufficient for making the sounds I need in a professional capacity, anything else coming through the door at this point would be pure vanity.

I would have to agree, my first inclination with the Belle is it's not an always-on pedal. But then, turn the gain down to about 9 o'clock, bring the level up to about 1-2 o'clock, and in front of the Sushi (or insert nice tube pre here) it's got a ton of dynamic range and potential crunch on tap. All depends on your attack. Then, chuck another dirt pedal behind the Belle, and then you're truly into singing overdrive territory! If/when I eventually upgrade from my teeny li'l Nano, I'll be doing just that, and un-retiring my custom drive. But for the foreseeable, the Belle is gonna be my boost/drive box for them moments I need a little extra juice in the caboose.

@el murdoque I apologize for giving you a good problem that requires solving! Even if it doesn't make it on your board a la my UA, I'm pleased we both appear to have properly benefitted from this chat; TB truly doing the work of the bass gods.

Would also sometime enjoy hearing (but probably not in this thread) about the reggae music you're playing; that's also my main wheelhouse/bread & butter. But since we are clearly taking some different sonic routes to get to the promised dub land, I find myself intrigued!

 

[el murdoque]

Alas, we must employ the same bouncer at our respective doors; mine is also a one-in-one-out situation. Reaching the limit is both liberating and frustrating in a sense for me, since the full board means I've got good sounds waiting at my feet, but it also limits potential future exploration and creativity. I then remind myself that what I have currently is totally sufficient for making the sounds I need in a professional capacity, anything else coming through the door at this point would be pure vanity.

Same policy, yes. But remember - I've seen yours and it's tiny!
Mine is much bigger and I can afford to have a pedal on there that is just for this one part in this one song. Or because you never know .... maybe somebody asks you to play Ace Of Spades,

I would have to agree, my first inclination with the Belle is it's not an always-on pedal. But then, turn the gain down to about 9 o'clock, bring the level up to about 1-2 o'clock, and in front of the Sushi (or insert nice tube pre here) it's got a ton of dynamic range and potential crunch on tap. All depends on your attack. Then, chuck another dirt pedal behind the Belle, and then you're truly into singing overdrive territory! If/when I eventually upgrade from my teeny li'l Nano, I'll be doing just that, and un-retiring my custom drive. But for the foreseeable, the Belle is gonna be my boost/drive box for them moments I need a little extra juice in the caboose.

Yeah, I am playing with settings and positions right now, trying to figure where it sits and/or stacks best.
But to my ears, it sounds like you've found something quite special in terms of the teamwork of Belle and Underground Accelerator.
I've tried other pedals to boost into it, and while there are some that work well with it, these two seem to compliment each other in a special way. Highly recommended for users of the UA.

@el murdoque I apologize for giving you a good problem that requires solving! Even if it doesn't make it on your board a la my UA, I'm pleased we both appear to have properly benefitted from this chat; TB truly doing the work of the bass gods.

Would also sometime enjoy hearing (but probably not in this thread) about the reggae music you're playing; that's also my main wheelhouse/bread & butter. But since we are clearly taking some different sonic routes to get to the promised dub land, I find myself intrigued!

It surely is a luxurious problem to find a pedal that works super well in one's own setup but has the problem that there is no room.

The discussion on how to reach dub terrain is, indeed, not really well accommodated in a thread that is about dirt pedals, even if it should be an interesting one.

 

[sloppy_phil]

Same policy, yes. But remember - I've seen yours and it's tiny!
Mine is much bigger and I can afford to have a pedal on there that is just for this one part in this one song. Or because you never know .... maybe somebody asks you to play Ace Of Spades

Hey, I get it; I've got to be a tone chameleon too. Despite the reggae leaning, I do the wedding/cover band thing, one of which is an 70s/80s-leaning rock band (Kiss, GnR, NY Dolls, Blondie, Bon Jovi, Journey etc), so I've gotta get pretty hairy. Ace of Spades? I'd back the Sushi + Belle to get me there! This combo also works fabulous for Rush-approved tones. I mean, I'm a Toronto-based Jewish bass player... how am I *not* gonna be blasting some Geddy Lee licks?

(Was I in a Rush cover band for several years? Who can say, who can say...)

Yeah, I am playing with settings and positions right now, trying to figure where it sits and/or stacks best.
But to my ears, it sounds like you've found something quite special in terms of the teamwork of Belle and Underground Accelerator.
I've tried other pedals to boost into it, and while there are some that work well with it, these two seem to compliment each other in a special way. Highly recommended for users of the UA.

Perhaps it is just a special little one-two punch. Curious; have you tried dropping the Belle into the rest of your pedal environment? I know you've tested it with the UA based on me, but wondering how it fares with your main stuff! Kind of a follow-up to my reggae point, but our rigs are VERY different, so I'm just eager for more knowledge on how it performs in other settings. I still can't quite believe how this unfancied, little green box is nailing it for every flavour bass overdrive I like!

 

[el murdoque]

I like the Belle best early in the chain where there is not too much gain happening yet and no other pedal has taken care of compressing the tone. In those settings that thicken up the money part of the fretboard, but don't get me audible breakup, it is a nice, different flavor as a basic clean sound. When I run it in combo with either Jive or Saturn VI, the amount of breakup from those pedals drastically increases and gets gnarlier.
All three in a chain have the feeling of a nasty fuzz at a very mild setting. No low end loss, not too much compression, but a rough sizzle on top. A bit like when you glue up a tabletop with boards that are straight from the mill, don't sand it at all and then try so slide over it on your naked bum - but for your ears.

 

[sloppy_phil]

Pretty sure I'd prefer those splinters in my ears than my naked bum

 

[el murdoque]

I don't know if this really fits, but I got this incoming:

...the unit IS capable of dirt. It should be here late next week.

I want to give the a-couple-of-analog-pedals-in-a-row synth approach another try.
For that exact reason, I'm also fishing the internet for a Zvex Mastotron.


...but that's not all. I bought a bundle of stuff for a price too good to pass up and among those things, there is a Pork&Pickle, which will also arrive late next week.

 

[sloppy_phil]

But, like, side jacks. And form factor! *gasp*

Looks like a fun noise making machine, so enjoy the new wormhole you appear intent on opening

 

[arepa_funk]

I don't know if this really fits, but I got this incoming:

...the unit IS capable of dirt. It should be here late next week.

I want to give the a-couple-of-analog-pedals-in-a-row synth approach another try.
For that exact reason, I'm also fishing the internet for a Zvex Mastotron.


...but that's not all. I bought a bundle of stuff for a price too good to pass up and among those things, there is a Pork&Pickle, which will also arrive late next week.

Nice, pedals-in-a-row synth chain is one of my favorite setups. Mastotron is great for that, and I've only used mine paired up with a filter. There's a thread here that describes sample settings. I'll see if I can find it.

Pork & Pickle is great too! Hope you enjoy that one. Took some testing to get the five string to react well to it, but it's def doable.

 

[el murdoque]

But, like, side jacks. And form factor! *gasp*

Looks like a fun noise making machine, so enjoy the new wormhole you appear intent on opening

I know, I know.
The thing is, when you look for analog filter pedals, it pretty quickly comes down to two:
The Lovetone Meatball and the Moog MF-101.
While connaisseurs around the globe agree that those rank among the finest analog filtery devices money can buy, the sheer size and unwieldieness of these behemoths is a bit on the scary side.

Looking at a Meatball makes my stomach twist.

Yet, it's an envelope with an FX loop that will take the input signal for the filter action, then feed the signal through the loop and apply the filter to the wet signal (where you probably killed all dynamics with a healthy dose of octave and fuzz).

 

[el murdoque]

Nice, pedals-in-a-row synth chain is one of my favorite setups. Mastotron is great for that, and I've only used mine paired up with a filter. There's a thread here that describes sample settings. I'll see if I can find it.

Pork & Pickle is great too! Hope you enjoy that one. Took some testing to get the five string to react well to it, but it's def doable.

The Mastotron appears on so many synth bass pedal boards, there must be something special about it.
I wish I still had my pork loin, so I could A/B it with the Pork&Pickle.

 

[bassbrad]

@sloppy_phil you philthy animal!

That Wampler pedal has turned into an unpleasant surprise. My pedalboard is full to the brim.
There is a strict door policy. The bouncers will only let one in if another leaves first.

The Belle is not a pedal that can mimic the tape saturation the Jive does, and I have that particular sound planned for a couple of songs.

The Belle is not a pedal that can add harmonics with the smooth elegance the Saturn VI gives me - and I have that particular sound planned for some parts, too.

The Belle is a pedal that gives the lower midrange such a density that it's fun to play it without audible breakup.
It just sits at the point where it gets thicc, and doing so will make you surrender some note definition - usually not a problem. No need to be subtle when you're laying on thick.
Plus, it's a tiny pedal. Just cable it up and chuck it under the hood, press it closed and it will nestle in the spider web of cables - not going anywhere. But I got no more loops on my switcher and while it is fun to play, I would not want it as an always on.

Alas, we must employ the same bouncer at our respective doors; mine is also a one-in-one-out situation. Reaching the limit is both liberating and frustrating in a sense for me, since the full board means I've got good sounds waiting at my feet, but it also limits potential future exploration and creativity. I then remind myself that what I have currently is totally sufficient for making the sounds I need in a professional capacity, anything else coming through the door at this point would be pure vanity.

I would have to agree, my first inclination with the Belle is it's not an always-on pedal. But then, turn the gain down to about 9 o'clock, bring the level up to about 1-2 o'clock, and in front of the Sushi (or insert nice tube pre here) it's got a ton of dynamic range and potential crunch on tap. All depends on your attack. Then, chuck another dirt pedal behind the Belle, and then you're truly into singing overdrive territory! If/when I eventually upgrade from my teeny li'l Nano, I'll be doing just that, and un-retiring my custom drive. But for the foreseeable, the Belle is gonna be my boost/drive box for them moments I need a little extra juice in the caboose.

@el murdoque I apologize for giving you a good problem that requires solving! Even if it doesn't make it on your board a la my UA, I'm pleased we both appear to have properly benefitted from this chat; TB truly doing the work of the bass gods.

Would also sometime enjoy hearing (but probably not in this thread) about the reggae music you're playing; that's also my main wheelhouse/bread & butter. But since we are clearly taking some different sonic routes to get to the promised dub land, I find myself intrigued!

I had run into the same conundrum until I decided to add an insert point on my board and run various small boards or effects as needed. I have a synth board and a dirt board and will also have a funky board.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I had run into the same conundrum until I decided to add an insert point on my board and run various small boards or effects as needed. I have a synth board and a dirt board and will also have a funky board.

That is a frustratingly smart approach to fitting up your board properly. Dang. I sense my wallet perhaps lightening in the future.

Thanks, you dirty enablers.

 

[dedpool1052]

I had run into the same conundrum until I decided to add an insert point on my board and run various small boards or effects as needed. I have a synth board and a dirt board and will also have a funky board.

What?
A modular pedalboard?
Inconceivable!

 

[bassbrad]

That is a frustratingly smart approach to fitting up your board properly. Dang. I sense my wallet perhaps lightening in the future.

Thanks, you dirty enablers.

I used several of these to make it possible, I have one on each of my main boards. The junction box I use is not normalled so a jumper is needed. There are junction boxed that are normalled but too expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096RRPCLD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[el murdoque]

I did get the Nobels ODR-1 in the meantime and liked it so much, I needed to post a separate thread ( The Nobels ODR-1 circuit: A panegyric on an underrated drive! )
Quote from there:

What are the differences?
First of all, in my scenario, the Nobels is much dirtier than the Wampler. I sent the pedals an unbuffered signal directly from my passive bass which does not have a super strong output. The Wampler can easily be used as a clean boost with the drive set low, while the Nobels gives me dirt even with the gain below 9 o'clock.
I was able to set these two pedals so they would do essentially the same, but I could not make them sound identical. The Wampler's clipping button feels like it's clipping is a bit less pronounced than the Nobels in one setting and a bit more pronounced in the other, but never quite hitting the original.

One thing I had a bit of trouble identifying and still have trouble describing properly is that these two treat the high end differently. There is that area where the added harmonics from the clipping and the dry bass signal overlap - the highest mids or the low treble or however you might want to call it. To my ears, the Nobels pedal is ultra smooth in that tonal area. It feels like it covers the edges with a thin blanket spun from the finest of silks.
The Wampler also refuses to do sharp edges here, but it does not silky smooth it out either. When the Belle is done, your sharp edges will be right angles. Far less dangerous but still painful if you bump into them.
The Color knob on the Belle seems to have a bit more range than the Spectrum knob on the Nobels - I found my favorite Setting on the Nobels with the knob dimed, while the Wampler sat better in my ear with the knob between 2 and 3 o'clock.
I don't really know about that bass knob on the Wampler, when I set it I always ended up with it a touch past noon where it felt most natural. I don't miss it on the Nobels at all, it feels like the Nobels is set just right and since there's no need to use that knob, they just did not add one.

I had some contact with the people in the Nobels HQ (which is not far from me) and asked about voltages. They said that the new units with the bass cut switch on the inside run at up to 18V, but mine, an older version, can safely be operated at 12V. Setting my Cioks to 12V basically felt like turning the gain knob a few degrees to the left. There was no real difference in sound to my ears, only more headroom. I did have a feeling that the stretch from clean to dirty got a bit longer, making it maybe a hair easier to set it to playing dynamics, but that could have been imagined. This suits the pedal fine, though.

 

[el murdoque]

This is .... erm ... difficult.

After spending a while with that pedal, I thought okay - now let's switch off the envelope filter down the line and the octaver half of the pedal and use the fuzz section to get a drive sound.
I approached it like I would do it with yet another OD pedal. Since we're talking about a fuzz, I tried to go easy on the gain and found out two things:
1. It still passes signal with the gain at zero
2. It's still too much with the gain at zero.

You get some kind of filtered sound, it sounds a bit like you forgot to switch off your wah pedal after using it.
There is some sputtering going on, hard to describe. Like a gnarly fuzz, but without the face melting wall of distortion - does that make any sense?
When you feed the lower octave in there to reclaim some low end, you have a funny sound, but that's got nothing to do with a normal bass signal with added dirt.