Yes, a nice feature for such an affordable pedal. It reminds me in some ways of the BDPG in being amp like. BTW I have a Klaren on the way too, his Klon Klone.
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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
I messaged Eddie on Reverb. He said more Karens will be built this year. I very nearly bought a Klaren, but did not have my Credit Card data at hand and the web shop did not have PayPal.
...but using those four letters is a bit unfair. I will have to get one now.
Back to the Fatbee:
The sweetspot for me is with the gain somewhere around the middle and the tone knob all the way up. The breakup has some artificial flavor to it when it's in the "Attack of the Killer Bees" range, but before that, it gives off a very good tube amp vibe. It feels like you're pushing a vintage 15" speaker. There is a lot of warm fatness to the sound, a wooden quality that lacks the metal sharpness of many other drives.
In that regard, it can easily serve as a tone sweetener that is run as an always on pedal and will feel at home not only in a rock context, but also in everything that has a vintage vibe going on. It's a gentle sound, the breakup is more like a warm hug and absolutely no slap in the face. It also clears up nicely on the note decay and you can feel in your fingertips what you're getting while you play. The dynamics are absolutely there, you can play less aggressive and it will clear up completely or you can dig in and make that vintage 15" suffer.
The sweetspot for me is with the gain somewhere around the middle and the tone knob all the way up. The breakup has some artificial flavor to it when it's in the "Attack of the Killer Bees" range, but before that, it gives off a very good tube amp vibe. It feels like you're pushing a vintage 15" speaker. There is a lot of warm fatness to the sound, a wooden quality that lacks the metal sharpness of many other drives.
In that regard, it can easily serve as a tone sweetener that is run as an always on pedal and will feel at home not only in a rock context, but also in everything that has a vintage vibe going on. It's a gentle sound, the breakup is more like a warm hug and absolutely no slap in the face. It also clears up nicely on the note decay and you can feel in your fingertips what you're getting while you play. The dynamics are absolutely there, you can play less aggressive and it will clear up completely or you can dig in and make that vintage 15" suffer.
A first few impressions on the Aftershock:
I had to get past some initial disappointment. I assumed the Aftershock would have the same firepower my C4 has, but for that, it seems, I should have gotten an Ultrawave. It looks like the C4, it feels like the C4, but the buttons do not work as expected. I still have to wrap my mind around how the presets work. When you step on the foot switch and hold it, it changes from green LED to red LED and gives you access to the other 3 presets, but it's also in "Soundblox" mode, whatever that means.
However, I dug through the presets available on the Neuro app for my laptop - and I found there are less than for the C4. Not wanting to dive deep into the whole thing yet (and also lacking the time for it), I did toy around with some presets. I found a Green Rhino, a quite credible SVT, and two different Doom2 versions, so there's something to compare with the real world counterparts. I have no SVT at home, but I've played that amp and a ton of pedals and preamps that copied that sound, so I go by ear and memory on that front, while I can compare the Green Rhino and Doom2 presets to the original flavor.
And here's where that leads to a problem: You obviously cannot set up the Aftershock to completely emulate every single nuance of those pedals and those patches are user created. I assume the users either used the original pedal in their favorite settings or they copied the sound of a bass they knew was using that particular effect. However, when you're loading in the Doom2 patch, you don't get a Doom2 pedal with all its functions, but you get something that could be called a snapshot of a Doom2 in one particular setting - and when you start to twist the knobs, you move away from that. Comparing the Doom2 patches with the Doom2, one thing became instantly apparent: I personally use the Doom2, because my playing dynamics leave the pedal intact, and I can use that to trigger the envelope, much like the Meatball or the Brown Dog and Agent 00Funk combinations can do. This (obviously?) does not work with the Aftershock. The envelope opens the same amount, no matter how hard I hit the strings. Also, there is some weird artifact in the sound when you let a note ring out completely. I thought this has to do with the noisegate, but when switching that off, some of it remains. You probably need good headphones to make it out - and it won't happen too often that you let a note decay for that long, but it's there.
The Green Rhino was completely off. I could not really bring the patch and the original pedal sound alike.
I had to get past some initial disappointment. I assumed the Aftershock would have the same firepower my C4 has, but for that, it seems, I should have gotten an Ultrawave. It looks like the C4, it feels like the C4, but the buttons do not work as expected. I still have to wrap my mind around how the presets work. When you step on the foot switch and hold it, it changes from green LED to red LED and gives you access to the other 3 presets, but it's also in "Soundblox" mode, whatever that means.
However, I dug through the presets available on the Neuro app for my laptop - and I found there are less than for the C4. Not wanting to dive deep into the whole thing yet (and also lacking the time for it), I did toy around with some presets. I found a Green Rhino, a quite credible SVT, and two different Doom2 versions, so there's something to compare with the real world counterparts. I have no SVT at home, but I've played that amp and a ton of pedals and preamps that copied that sound, so I go by ear and memory on that front, while I can compare the Green Rhino and Doom2 presets to the original flavor.
And here's where that leads to a problem: You obviously cannot set up the Aftershock to completely emulate every single nuance of those pedals and those patches are user created. I assume the users either used the original pedal in their favorite settings or they copied the sound of a bass they knew was using that particular effect. However, when you're loading in the Doom2 patch, you don't get a Doom2 pedal with all its functions, but you get something that could be called a snapshot of a Doom2 in one particular setting - and when you start to twist the knobs, you move away from that. Comparing the Doom2 patches with the Doom2, one thing became instantly apparent: I personally use the Doom2, because my playing dynamics leave the pedal intact, and I can use that to trigger the envelope, much like the Meatball or the Brown Dog and Agent 00Funk combinations can do. This (obviously?) does not work with the Aftershock. The envelope opens the same amount, no matter how hard I hit the strings. Also, there is some weird artifact in the sound when you let a note ring out completely. I thought this has to do with the noisegate, but when switching that off, some of it remains. You probably need good headphones to make it out - and it won't happen too often that you let a note decay for that long, but it's there.
The Green Rhino was completely off. I could not really bring the patch and the original pedal sound alike.
Very insightful post, and I know that's true because I agree with you!
Digital emulation is like planned economics; you have to fail to account for something because you can't know everything about the system you're trying to direct. I have no problem with digital effects that are doing their own thing; my one and only digital pedal is a TCE Nova delay, which is sort of an emulation, but of their own digital 2290 rack. I really like it, but it's no longer my main delay, not because it's digital, but I like my BBD Boss DM-101 better for most things (although they are cool stacked Boss into Nova ...)
For my own purposes, which I do not suggest that anyone else emulate, a single, flawed, cranky analogue (or probably lo-fi digital) effect is a far more enjoyable playground than a do-everything-in-one-box digital emulator. Lots of people love the Source Audio/Line 6/Eventide/Strymon/etc stuff, and I'm happy that they do, and I'm sure they all sound amazing, I just don't enjoy playing that sort of thing.
I owned the Aftershock twice but after a rather short period I knew it was not my cup of tea.
Now, their Spectrum Filter/Octaver/Fuzz pedal, on the other hand, is something I really like.
Now, their Spectrum Filter/Octaver/Fuzz pedal, on the other hand, is something I really like.
While I agree with you - and my personal setup is as non-digital as I can manage - currently all I use are Strymon reverbs, and all of them have an analog dry path - I want to approach this with an open mind.
My estimation was - and still is - that I'll let go of the aftershock again. Not only do I have no problems with collecting and owning several analog pedals to have what the Aftershock could provide in a single box - I actually enjoy doing it.
But I would like to experience where modern digital pedals can get. And I suspect that if the Aftershock works as well as advertised, I could use the sandbox to shape the perfect drive and learn some things along the way, which could lead me to new places.
@elmurdoque- Have you ever owned the Night Owl Parabellum v1? I’m curious what your thoughts are on that one with all your dirt experience and wisdom! Thanks
I don't condemn digital, but I simply prefer having an all analog pedalboard, except for the delay. I need my tape delay and El Cap does this perfectly, keeps the analog dry through and pretty much works like an analog pedal with the controls (if you ignore the secondary functions which are all set and forget for me). I guess digital pedals for other effects just don't excite me for some reason. A lot of the boutique ones are still spin fv-1 DSP based and it just meh to me.
I've certainly looked at all the Parabellum drives, but these are hard to get hold of.
Yesterday, I did test the Fatbee against the DCX and the Green Rhino in band context. I needed to run the gain a bit higher than anticipated, but with the knob around 3/4 up and the tone maxed out, it sounded very close to the Green Rhino with all the knobs maxed out.
Playing solo, the timbre and the buzz were near identical. In the mix with guitars and drums, my ears told me that there is an ounce more heft to the Green Rhino.
I would say that in a less crowded mix and less of a pedal-to-the-metal style of music, the Fatbee sounds way more pleasant, but in those settings, the Green Rhino wins the race - it's nearly a photo finish, though.
Next band rehearsal is Sunday and my homework would be to come up with one or two patches on the Aftershock to try out.
Playing solo, the timbre and the buzz were near identical. In the mix with guitars and drums, my ears told me that there is an ounce more heft to the Green Rhino.
I would say that in a less crowded mix and less of a pedal-to-the-metal style of music, the Fatbee sounds way more pleasant, but in those settings, the Green Rhino wins the race - it's nearly a photo finish, though.
Next band rehearsal is Sunday and my homework would be to come up with one or two patches on the Aftershock to try out.
Good luck with that. I never managed to get this cycle right: programming at home and having a decent sound with the band.
The Neuro app has so many options which makes it hard to tweak on the fly.
That's why I got rid of it .... twice!
I think Strymon worked hard to obscure the digital nature of their pedals in the past. With the newer versions coming out like the Big Sky MX and the Blue Sky v2, they kinda shed that coat and went more digital - the USB ports, no mention of an analog dry path, the sleeker design all speak for the perception that "digital" has arrived with the audiophile crowd that spends $700 on a reverb pedal.
In the end, it's down to how you yourself are wired. I know people using the HX Stomp or Headrush pedals and being happy with them, because of the vast amount of utility they provide.
I remember walking through the marina outside, seeing a really old ship. Hemp ropes and wooden pulleys old - something like three hundred years. A guy was on deck, repairing something with non powered hand tools. We chatted a bit and I asked him how much work it is to keep that thing afloat. He looked at me with a curious eye and then said "If you consider that work, it will be way too much for you.".
When populating and maintaining a pedal board is a chore to you, a digital all-in-one box might be the better solution because you spend less time pedal boarding and more time playing. I don't see it as a chore, I see it as a hobby I enjoy - and my guess is that most regulars in this thread do the same.
With modern devices, the audience won't really notice a difference unless you have some serious star-power and travel with multiple sound engineers who make sure your stuff sounds as good as it possibly can. I usually meet the sound guy on the gig day and get around one to five minutes of sound check for the bass signal. I actually have played gigs fully digital and no one batted an eye - but I went back to pedals. Not because I felt I needed to, but because I enjoy it more.
Yeah, the fact that you can only assign two parameters to the knobs is a bit limiting to tweak the pedal on the fly.
And I'm not bringing a laptop with me.
I hope to come up with something and then give it a test run, taking mental notes on what to change and then bring it again next rehearsal.
That vast sandbox is a two edged sword in that regard. You get so many options - it might be hard to find the point where to stop.
This right here sums it up perfectly for me.
You can also use the neuro mobile app to adjust the pedal or change presets while playing with your band, which is a little more complex then knob twisting but not by much... all comes down to personal preference I guess.
While I share the approach that maintaining an analog pedalboard is a hobby (at least for me)...I am not sure that I would spend less time pedal-boarding with a digital device.
One of the reasons why I operate (several) analog pedalboards is that I don't want to spend my (free) time sitting in front of a computer (especially taking into consideration that I sit in front of a computer at work). I very much prefer to play my bass and occasionally turn some knobs. I consider it very likely that it would take me more time to prepare my pedalboard through menu-diving than through turning knobs....
Another reason is that choice paralysis is real, IME.
YMMV
It really depends, I guess.
When I went digital, I picked the Headrush eco system because I found their approach on how you build and set a rig the most intuitive.
I sat down and thought about what I really need and then added what I wanted on top of that (as in: You can pull off the gig without but it's more fun if you have it) I want to say it took one evening to set it all up and then maybe three or four rehearsals to fine tune it. From there, only the new firmware releases were significant, and only when they included something that interested me.
Looking at my current setup(s)
I want to say that just doing the cable runs for the Schmidt Array Board (left) took more time and effort than what the Headrush took to set up completely.
It also took a fair amount of time and money to acquire the pedals, test them against each other and to decide which pedal goes where.
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