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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
Drinking a Canadian beverage of Scottish origin while listening to a band named Boards of Canada of Scottish origin. I see the circle circles.
All this to say nothing of my main band/project: Jason Wilson. It's a mashup up Jamaican roots reggae, Scottish folk, and Canadiana (both musically and lyrically/thematically). The tagline is: "where Scotland meets Jamaica, in Canada"
Seemingly, I just need a Red Stripe or Dragon Stout to go with my Crown and BOC, and then we hit CBC Radio wet dream Bingo
Let's get back to the MXR Distortion +, to get things properly queued up once more!
Imagine it's the middle of the seventies and music is evolving rapidly. Black Sabbath has put out their fifth album and heavy metal is a thing, Lemmy Kilmister is just about to be kicked out of Hawkwind and Judas Priest has just entered the scene of signed artists and released Rocka Rolla. Things are wild and the future is looking even wilder. There is still a decade to wait until Spinal Tap takes amps to 11, so you are stuck with your amp at 10, craving more.
The MXR Distortion + is the thing you were looking for. That pedal takes your overdriven amp and sends it further. A lot further. This is what you were imagining in the wilder dreams you had about guitar sound.
Fast forward five full decades and into the lab of a bass player that is obsessed with dirt pedals.
The bar by which a pedal gets measured here sits in a completely different position, and measured by that bar, the first impression is that the MXR Distortion+ is quite boring. The way the grit comes into my signal feels quite artificial when I run it through my standard setup and try to use it as the device that generates the overtones, harmonics and dirt. The limited throw of the gain knob does not allow for a massive wall of distortion as long as I'm not prepared to sacrifice my low end to get there. Pedals have come a long way, and the expectations have also climbed to higher levels to meet the raised standards. Frankly speaking, I don't really find a way to include the Distortion + into my setup that makes any sense. Of course I could use it to drive another pedal, the Origin Bassrig for instance, into another level of drive - but I would really prefer to get some kind of tonal control over that stage of the gain, and especially since there are loads of pedals out there that offer those options, I don't really feel the benefit of using that particular pedal. If you are planning to play music from that era and look for that particular sound, I guess that firing the D+ into your driven amp might have its merits, but the cork sniffing pedal snob in me sees less of a classic here and more of a dated design that has been replaced by much better works of pedal building art and is completely redundant at this point.
It's a bit like a Volkswagen Bug. Something that's nice to see on the road, but you really would not want it as your daily driver.
Imagine it's the middle of the seventies and music is evolving rapidly. Black Sabbath has put out their fifth album and heavy metal is a thing, Lemmy Kilmister is just about to be kicked out of Hawkwind and Judas Priest has just entered the scene of signed artists and released Rocka Rolla. Things are wild and the future is looking even wilder. There is still a decade to wait until Spinal Tap takes amps to 11, so you are stuck with your amp at 10, craving more.
The MXR Distortion + is the thing you were looking for. That pedal takes your overdriven amp and sends it further. A lot further. This is what you were imagining in the wilder dreams you had about guitar sound.
Fast forward five full decades and into the lab of a bass player that is obsessed with dirt pedals.
The bar by which a pedal gets measured here sits in a completely different position, and measured by that bar, the first impression is that the MXR Distortion+ is quite boring. The way the grit comes into my signal feels quite artificial when I run it through my standard setup and try to use it as the device that generates the overtones, harmonics and dirt. The limited throw of the gain knob does not allow for a massive wall of distortion as long as I'm not prepared to sacrifice my low end to get there. Pedals have come a long way, and the expectations have also climbed to higher levels to meet the raised standards. Frankly speaking, I don't really find a way to include the Distortion + into my setup that makes any sense. Of course I could use it to drive another pedal, the Origin Bassrig for instance, into another level of drive - but I would really prefer to get some kind of tonal control over that stage of the gain, and especially since there are loads of pedals out there that offer those options, I don't really feel the benefit of using that particular pedal. If you are planning to play music from that era and look for that particular sound, I guess that firing the D+ into your driven amp might have its merits, but the cork sniffing pedal snob in me sees less of a classic here and more of a dated design that has been replaced by much better works of pedal building art and is completely redundant at this point.
It's a bit like a Volkswagen Bug. Something that's nice to see on the road, but you really would not want it as your daily driver.
...and back to the JHS Overdrive Preamp.
I wanna say the setting that offers more treble is somewhat less useless than the Distortion+, but still useless. Measured by today's cork sniffer's standards.
However, flipping that switch to the up position and we're looking at a completely different animal.
I want to call that the fat/shrill switch, because then, by definition, this pedal has EQ ;-)
However, there is a wide range on the gain knob where the Overdrive Preamp adds a little something to the sound without doing much, and that can work wonders in a mix. It gets a little bit more lively and there is audible distortion around the rear edges of the note. The attack is still there and there is sufficient weight behind each note. It is somewhat weird that I compared three (if you count the JHS as two) pedals that follow the same schematic, and two of them are terrible and one of them is fun, but here I sit, happily plonking around on my bass with the Overdrive Preamp engaged.
The audible distortion is spread perfectly even across the entire fretboard, even on my six string. The low B gets the same amount as the B that sits four octaves higher. It feels a bit weird that this pedal, one of the first devices that introduced hard clipping, the prototype of distortion, works great when you want just a gentle sizzle when you pluck hard, but here I sit, happily plonking around on my bass with the Overdrive Preamp engaged.
....coming back to this, I immediately have the feeling that I completely overdid it the last time I used it, because the sound pierced my ears that were now used to the Overdrive Preamp.
I quickly took back some of the gain and a lot of the treble, and found myself in a less torturous and more happy place again. However, the SO came home and I had to stop before I could get anywhere.
D+ vs 250
It's amazing that 2 pedals from the same era and with apparently similar schematics resulted in 2 dichotomous conclusions.
On one hand, there's "oh pedals, you've come such a long way since the 70s and I'm glad to be living in a glory age of boutique hair splitting. I'll stick to my pedal obsession, now more deeply appreciating the nuances in tone I get from my modern gear".
On the other, "they got it right 40 years ago, so what's the point of all this tone searching inside little generic metal enclosures? I should just stick to the classics and get on with plonking".
I like both conclusions.
It's amazing that 2 pedals from the same era and with apparently similar schematics resulted in 2 dichotomous conclusions.
On one hand, there's "oh pedals, you've come such a long way since the 70s and I'm glad to be living in a glory age of boutique hair splitting. I'll stick to my pedal obsession, now more deeply appreciating the nuances in tone I get from my modern gear".
On the other, "they got it right 40 years ago, so what's the point of all this tone searching inside little generic metal enclosures? I should just stick to the classics and get on with plonking".
I like both conclusions.
This makes me buy the JHS version ! Damn, why did I find this thread!!!!
I mean. I could sell all of those dirt pedals and just get by with the DCX. It covers all of my needs. Thinking that line further, I could sell the fancy pedal boards and the six string and get by with the P bass and the Tonehammer and one of my barefaced cabs. With all that money coming in, I could buy myself a Rolex.
But what do I want with a Rolex? I already know what time it is. Time to buy more pedals!
I'd still like to get your take on another OG -- the Crowther Hot Cake; uninterrupted manufacture by the same guy since 1976.
But it is fun to see how those early often simple designs still translate to todays need/want when it come to effects.
My Pop, brother and I shared a late 60's bug as a "spare" car back in the day and put lots of fun miles on it. I still miss that basic but reliable creature.
Your perception of the fun a Bug is can greatly vary when it's your daily driver in a place with winters colder than those in Texas. Managing to grow past the 6' mark is another factor that can be disturbing
I was no big fan of the tours I did in a Bug. I was offered one once in a trade when I was selling a classic van and thought "Why not? This could be fun", but was quickly reminded on a test drive how I'm not really feeling the fun bit but how uncomfortable it is to squeeze my legs behind the wheel and then get from A to B slowly, loud and with a growing pain in my lower back.
YMMV, of course.
Segue from the gas pedal to pedal GAS:
I broke out the FPT once more. I have that project/fun/experimentation board that does not have a project ATM.
You know, that board you build with surplus pedals just because you can, and then you think "All I need is one more pedal to tie it all together" and three weeks later, you have the board populated with one of the surplus pedals and 7 brand new ones.
Well, the upper row is quite fixed with the Lehle/RMI Dual Band Compressor into the Broughton Studio One into the ZeroFive LowRider into the Effectrode LA-1A, leaving the lower row to try out whatever tickles my fancy. The FPT rested there, but I took it off and put it onto the test bench.
It quickly boiled down to a direct comparison of the Audio Kitchen FPT and the Xotic BB Bass Preamp. Why?
Well, the Xotic is on my big board and gets used to give me some gentle grit and some more treble in the signal. I use it for when I need to rock and for when I play chords higher up the neck, to get a bit of a pearly texture and some blooming breakup when I pluck a bit harder. The FPT only sits on my fun board and does not see any actual use, even though it is such a fine beast.
Working with those two, I quickly realized the following:
When aiming for a setting that gives me more treble and a gentle, touch sensitive breakup, upon hitting what, from my point of view (and from what my ears tell me) the best spot on both pedals, I want to say that the dirt texture I get from the Xotic looks like a Gin Tonic. It's crystal clear, with large bubbles bubbling up to the top. The FPT on the other hand is a very good Weissbier. It's bubbly, of course it is. You need to pour it into a weirdly shaped glass because it's too bubbly for normal glasses.
Fun fact on the side: In your average German household, you will find at least one Weissbier glass
They are used to drink Weissbier and for nothing else, because they are a ...female dog.. to clean.
@sloppy_phil , the local football (soccer, for the Americans) expert: In case you wondered why the FIFA World Cup looks the way it looks. I'm pretty sure this ist the reason.
....anyway. The FPT is bubbly, but also has foam on top and the liquid in the glass is cloudy. Does it sound less organic?
I always thought so, but I want to say no now. You know, when you buy the organic carrots or the organic potatoes, what you have in mind is how they taste way better and how they are much better healthwise. When you're standing in the Non-Audio Kitchen to prepare the stuff, you face the darker side of organic food - the skins are wrinkly and you can't simply peel them with monotone, repetitive motions like a potato peeling robot. You'll have to follow the wrinkles, cut out the creases and work a lot more. Also, they simply don't look as good as the stuff that has been through the chemical warfare that is modern crop growing. The FPT claims tube amp like construction and behaviour, and that's what you get. Including the dirty skin that's harder to peel.
....just an observation with no conclusion yet.
I did wonder if it's a good move to put the FPT on that board instead of the BB. Makes total sense from a Cork Sniffer Snob viewpoint. Back when the BB claimed the spot on the board, it was out of production and not that easy to find. Now they are building them again and that BB is not only readily available, it's also quite cheap. The snob in me sneers, of course.
You know, when you bought your rolex and post a pic of it on your wrist, the background should be a steering wheel - at least something AMG, but much better if it's Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti or a Lambo. I know that, because for some reason, Rolex creeped into one of my social media feeds and I did not immediately tell the system that I don't have any particular interest in wristwatches that cost more than my car, so I see lots of hairy wrists, adorned with luxury time pieces on top of supercar steering wheels and I wonder if these people do gravitate more towards Carl Thompson, Wal or Ritter basses.
Well, but driven by that same motivation that lets you rent a Lambo to drive to the Rolex shop, where you get your wristwatch, hurry out, and then sit in the car and take a million snapshots of your wrist upon the wheel I am of course thinking about flipping that cheap BB for the much more expensive and exclusive FPT.
I broke out the FPT once more. I have that project/fun/experimentation board that does not have a project ATM.
You know, that board you build with surplus pedals just because you can, and then you think "All I need is one more pedal to tie it all together" and three weeks later, you have the board populated with one of the surplus pedals and 7 brand new ones.
Well, the upper row is quite fixed with the Lehle/RMI Dual Band Compressor into the Broughton Studio One into the ZeroFive LowRider into the Effectrode LA-1A, leaving the lower row to try out whatever tickles my fancy. The FPT rested there, but I took it off and put it onto the test bench.
It quickly boiled down to a direct comparison of the Audio Kitchen FPT and the Xotic BB Bass Preamp. Why?
Well, the Xotic is on my big board and gets used to give me some gentle grit and some more treble in the signal. I use it for when I need to rock and for when I play chords higher up the neck, to get a bit of a pearly texture and some blooming breakup when I pluck a bit harder. The FPT only sits on my fun board and does not see any actual use, even though it is such a fine beast.
Working with those two, I quickly realized the following:
When aiming for a setting that gives me more treble and a gentle, touch sensitive breakup, upon hitting what, from my point of view (and from what my ears tell me) the best spot on both pedals, I want to say that the dirt texture I get from the Xotic looks like a Gin Tonic. It's crystal clear, with large bubbles bubbling up to the top. The FPT on the other hand is a very good Weissbier. It's bubbly, of course it is. You need to pour it into a weirdly shaped glass because it's too bubbly for normal glasses.
Fun fact on the side: In your average German household, you will find at least one Weissbier glass
They are used to drink Weissbier and for nothing else, because they are a ...female dog.. to clean.
@sloppy_phil , the local football (soccer, for the Americans) expert: In case you wondered why the FIFA World Cup looks the way it looks. I'm pretty sure this ist the reason.
....anyway. The FPT is bubbly, but also has foam on top and the liquid in the glass is cloudy. Does it sound less organic?
I always thought so, but I want to say no now. You know, when you buy the organic carrots or the organic potatoes, what you have in mind is how they taste way better and how they are much better healthwise. When you're standing in the Non-Audio Kitchen to prepare the stuff, you face the darker side of organic food - the skins are wrinkly and you can't simply peel them with monotone, repetitive motions like a potato peeling robot. You'll have to follow the wrinkles, cut out the creases and work a lot more. Also, they simply don't look as good as the stuff that has been through the chemical warfare that is modern crop growing. The FPT claims tube amp like construction and behaviour, and that's what you get. Including the dirty skin that's harder to peel.
....just an observation with no conclusion yet.
I did wonder if it's a good move to put the FPT on that board instead of the BB. Makes total sense from a Cork Sniffer Snob viewpoint. Back when the BB claimed the spot on the board, it was out of production and not that easy to find. Now they are building them again and that BB is not only readily available, it's also quite cheap. The snob in me sneers, of course.
You know, when you bought your rolex and post a pic of it on your wrist, the background should be a steering wheel - at least something AMG, but much better if it's Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti or a Lambo. I know that, because for some reason, Rolex creeped into one of my social media feeds and I did not immediately tell the system that I don't have any particular interest in wristwatches that cost more than my car, so I see lots of hairy wrists, adorned with luxury time pieces on top of supercar steering wheels and I wonder if these people do gravitate more towards Carl Thompson, Wal or Ritter basses.
Well, but driven by that same motivation that lets you rent a Lambo to drive to the Rolex shop, where you get your wristwatch, hurry out, and then sit in the car and take a million snapshots of your wrist upon the wheel I am of course thinking about flipping that cheap BB for the much more expensive and exclusive FPT.
Not being an expert in French automobile specifics I will have to ask what kind of Citroen that is ?
A BX.
You know, that model about which everyone says ‘Hey, I/my parents/my neighbours used to drive one’, but which nevertheless has almost totally disappeared from the roads here in Europe.
A DS would have been on topic, sniffing speaking cork.
Yeah, I needed the car model to understand the reference. A Mojomojo in a DS would have sent a completely different picture than in a BX.
So it's the opposite of the Rolex/Porsche pic. I love it.
I can absolutely understand your issues, as a Bug is a far from perfect car. Our Bug had a slightly tricked out engine and we certainly hated that is had no A/C for those summer drives. We had the Bug for when one of our cars was otherwise not available, in Texas having a car is pretty much a must have since things are spread out and there was no public transportation as you have in many places in Europe. I had a 66 Ford Mustang, brother had a 67 Mercury Cougar and Pop had a 77 Chevy Beauville G20 Van. While it does get cold in Texas it doesn't stay cold for months on end usually for a few days to a week at a time. And forget about us driving in ice or snow unless you enjoy mishaps.Your perception of the fun a Bug is can greatly vary when it's your daily driver in a place with winters colder than those in Texas. Managing to grow past the 6' mark is another factor that can be disturbing
I was no big fan of the tours I did in a Bug. I was offered one once in a trade when I was selling a classic van and thought "Why not? This could be fun", but was quickly reminded on a test drive how I'm not really feeling the fun bit but how uncomfortable it is to squeeze my legs behind the wheel and then get from A to B slowly, loud and with a growing pain in my lower back.
YMMV, of course.
OTOH having the Bug meant we all had to develop driving skills most don't have here like driving a standard stick shift.
An air cooled boxer engine with a whopping 36 horses under the ... it's not a hood if it's in the back, is it?
I can tell you that in winter, the climate in the car is not exactly fun either. But they are iconic - and I guess that when your '66 Mustang is out of commission, driving around in a Bug gives you some motivation to get it fixed ASAP ;-)
