That's a strange design choice to me to not allow bypassing the cab-sim completely. I think it would make the DI worthless for me as well.
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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
Agreed. Only reason I didn’t keep mine was because I couldn’t really justify the cost for it being just a preamp. Had it had a cabsim bypass, I’d probably still have it.
The cab sim can be defeated for the DI when the pedal is OFF, but it cannot be defeated when the pedal is on.
Used as a dirt box, this thing is insanely complex.
Diming every single knob, you can play around with the switch positions and get many flavors of fuzzy or wooly synthy sounds, some of which sound downright useful.
The tone stack seems to shift in certain knob positions - with the right switch in the 'Fat' position, it feels like the EQ is behaving differently.
The Tweed / Black option gets you a different response from the drive knob. The upper position feels like there's more gain and more drive, also feels like there is more upper mids and treble content in the distortion,
the lower position feels like there's more push back and with the gain set right, the amp fights you to stay clean as you push it over the edge, which feels nice.
The tone stack itself feels kind of like your typical Fender. With bass and treble at zero, the mids knob becomes a volume control. However, I feel like there is some cut on tap for bass and treble. My ears tell me the closest thing to flat you get is when you have the mids maxed and bass and treble at around 9 o'clock. Something like 3-10-3 instead of 0-10-0. Could of course also be my signal chain doing that (or my ears).
However, the nature of the drive you get seems to be the opposite of what a tube screamer does. Instead of pushing everything towards the mids and distorting the result, it feels more like it gets spread out and the distortion starts at the outer edges, both high and low.
I have not had as much time with the pedal as I would have liked, but I'm slowly working my way through the given options.
Diming every single knob, you can play around with the switch positions and get many flavors of fuzzy or wooly synthy sounds, some of which sound downright useful.
The tone stack seems to shift in certain knob positions - with the right switch in the 'Fat' position, it feels like the EQ is behaving differently.
The Tweed / Black option gets you a different response from the drive knob. The upper position feels like there's more gain and more drive, also feels like there is more upper mids and treble content in the distortion,
the lower position feels like there's more push back and with the gain set right, the amp fights you to stay clean as you push it over the edge, which feels nice.
The tone stack itself feels kind of like your typical Fender. With bass and treble at zero, the mids knob becomes a volume control. However, I feel like there is some cut on tap for bass and treble. My ears tell me the closest thing to flat you get is when you have the mids maxed and bass and treble at around 9 o'clock. Something like 3-10-3 instead of 0-10-0. Could of course also be my signal chain doing that (or my ears).
However, the nature of the drive you get seems to be the opposite of what a tube screamer does. Instead of pushing everything towards the mids and distorting the result, it feels more like it gets spread out and the distortion starts at the outer edges, both high and low.
I have not had as much time with the pedal as I would have liked, but I'm slowly working my way through the given options.
This is where yesterday's playing session ended (note: the right switch looks like it is in bright position, but it's in the middle, flat position).
It is still a little bit too colored to be used as a dirt box you kick in at a certain part of the song, but this could work as an effect you switch on for an entire song.
As I said earlier, this gets your notes a little frayed around the edges, but leaves the center intact.
This is usually playing jazz, wearing a suit - but smelling of booze and the neck tie is askew.
It's not a motorbike ridin', long hair, leather and denim kind of distortion.
Now this is a little embarrassing ... but I'm about to join a new band that plays 80's hard rock and metal.
Accept/Saxon/Motörhead and the like. (this is not the embarrassing part)
I ran my P bass into my boards and realized that I have about 50 shades of tasteful overdrives by running my pedals into each other, but that's all cork sniffer's stuff. It's a bit white collar and sits in the mix like a big glass of light vintage white at a party where the others are shooting cans of the cheapest beer the next supermarket has on offer. I don't have the dirt pedal to suit this kind of music. (this is)
Funny, how your needs may shift when you find yourself in different circumstances.
I think I need something a little less subtle, something with a little more heft to it.
The first thing that came to mind while pondering this was the Broughton SV-Pre I had for a while. I could not make it work for me because it was much too beefy and now I wish I had some of that beef sitting somewhere on a shelf.
Accept/Saxon/Motörhead and the like. (this is not the embarrassing part)
I ran my P bass into my boards and realized that I have about 50 shades of tasteful overdrives by running my pedals into each other, but that's all cork sniffer's stuff. It's a bit white collar and sits in the mix like a big glass of light vintage white at a party where the others are shooting cans of the cheapest beer the next supermarket has on offer. I don't have the dirt pedal to suit this kind of music. (this is)
Funny, how your needs may shift when you find yourself in different circumstances.
I think I need something a little less subtle, something with a little more heft to it.
The first thing that came to mind while pondering this was the Broughton SV-Pre I had for a while. I could not make it work for me because it was much too beefy and now I wish I had some of that beef sitting somewhere on a shelf.
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Well, possibly going full circle here:
The song that is scheduled for tonight is Killed By Death by Motörhead.
I don't know if a Sansamp into a Belle is cutting that size of slab.
I don't know if a Sansamp into a Belle is cutting that size of slab.
Belle into SansAmp sounds more like it, to me. Especially if you juice the Gain and Colour knobs, while dialling back the Bass to compensate.
Also, I know you're generally a dead flats kinda fellow, but what are the odds you've got some fresh stainless steel strings lying about? That'll give you plenty of bite! I find it's more about cutting through the mix, rather than full wall of distortion. Obviously you're gonna need some gain and drive in there, but for me, successfully playing old hard rock and metal classics involves cutting through effectively. More distortion hasn't often been the answer for me.
Also, I know you're generally a dead flats kinda fellow, but what are the odds you've got some fresh stainless steel strings lying about? That'll give you plenty of bite! I find it's more about cutting through the mix, rather than full wall of distortion. Obviously you're gonna need some gain and drive in there, but for me, successfully playing old hard rock and metal classics involves cutting through effectively. More distortion hasn't often been the answer for me.
Not only do I have stainless steels here, I also have 24k gold ones.
But don't you worry. I'm playing my P bass in that band (for as long as I can get away with four strings, but in 80s metal that seems to be the default number of strings) and that one has chromes on.
Those were installed in 2021, so they are practically new!
My schedule was a bit tight to rig a complete pedalboard for the practice, so I took what I took for the audition:
My tiny board with the RMI Lehle Sonic Spark as the only dirt device. With that maxed, the bass gives off a nice growl, but not a roar. However, I'm stupid. I completely overlooked that in that band, I don't play straight into the board and use IEM or the house PA to get audible. I do use an actual amp, and mine is a Tonehammer.
There is a knob for gain and a knob for drive, both will easily get the under-equipped pedalboard into tonal dimensions akin to a lion that has his fruits stuck on the fruits of a whistling thorn tree.
Since that new band is still looking for a rhythm guitarist, I had plenty of sonic space every time the guitar did those screeching noises guitarists like so much and the grind I had was filling that nicely.
My tiny board with the RMI Lehle Sonic Spark as the only dirt device. With that maxed, the bass gives off a nice growl, but not a roar. However, I'm stupid. I completely overlooked that in that band, I don't play straight into the board and use IEM or the house PA to get audible. I do use an actual amp, and mine is a Tonehammer.
There is a knob for gain and a knob for drive, both will easily get the under-equipped pedalboard into tonal dimensions akin to a lion that has his fruits stuck on the fruits of a whistling thorn tree.
Since that new band is still looking for a rhythm guitarist, I had plenty of sonic space every time the guitar did those screeching noises guitarists like so much and the grind I had was filling that nicely.
I've followed this thread quite a bit. I've used an MBD2, Lil Fella, Parabellum, Fifth Gear, PPB, Mini, and now an MBD3. Probably my favorite was the Fifth Gear, though the Parabellum was also special.
I hate side jacks and would prefer a 125b sized pedal. I'm thinking of just getting a Fifth Gear again and calling it a day, but things like the Blumes, Jive, forthcoming Bass Jive, and maybe the BB preamp might work better. I guess I would like some adjustability, but maybe it'd be better if it was just gain and volume and a good baked-in curve.
Thoughts?
I hate side jacks and would prefer a 125b sized pedal. I'm thinking of just getting a Fifth Gear again and calling it a day, but things like the Blumes, Jive, forthcoming Bass Jive, and maybe the BB preamp might work better. I guess I would like some adjustability, but maybe it'd be better if it was just gain and volume and a good baked-in curve.
Thoughts?
Gain and volume only?
My thoughts go straight to the Way Huge Red Llama Smalls.
Has a sound that's pretty basic, and has this feeling of "I have other pedals that do this better, but gets you there quick.
If you can score one used for an acceptable price, it's worth a look.
My apologies, readers of this Jounal. Four weeks and no contributions.
This shall be remedied shortly, I've got busy and there are pedals incoming.
This shall be remedied shortly, I've got busy and there are pedals incoming.
The first one should be fairly obvious, it is the blue version of a black pedal.
The second one is less obvious, but it's a pedal that I quite liked in a demo and put on my list, then stumbled across for a more than decent price and pulled the trigger.
And if I'm lucky, there even will be a third, but the seller has yet to agree to my price.
The second one is less obvious, but it's a pedal that I quite liked in a demo and put on my list, then stumbled across for a more than decent price and pulled the trigger.
And if I'm lucky, there even will be a third, but the seller has yet to agree to my price.
I’m guessing Super Vintage? I run mine pretty clean at the end of my chain as my DI. I actually prefer the amp-like breakup of the Fake Plastic Trees to the SV but it still does a great overdriven amp tone on its own! I really love the cab sim on the SV too, makes my P bass sit beautifully in the mix!
