New Basss Preamp by TC Electronics - Spectra Drive

[dave_bass5]

Ive just got back from my rehearsal with mine. From the moment i turned it on I got what pbass said about everything just sounding better and more powerful. I had the EQ pretty much flat, other than the low backed off a bit, and the high mid up a tiny bit.
My Tone was still my tone, but the low notes were clearer and had more punch. This might be down to the comp as well, but it's a great pedal to have at th start of the FX chain. I struggled with the OD though. I found the stock one made the tone a bit thin. I tried the Natural tone print and it sounded better, but even when off I noticed an increase in dirt from the clean tone. I'll need to sit down with it and play around. This was purely out of the box and plug in tonight.
I did miss my BDDI, I guess I'm used to the colouring it does to my tone, but I also found my Aftershock sounded much better, and the two pedals together actually got the tone I've tried to get with other distortion boxes.
Tomorrow I'll give it a go with headphones. That was the reason I wanted one in the first place, but it's too good to keep at home.
It's a strange situation though. As a DI you would want it at the end of the chain, but it works better at the start. I can see the advantage of having two, but as I don't actually need the DI I'm happy with it at the start.

So, my initial thoughts are it's definitely a keeper, but much like my Q/Strip I think I still need to use other pedals with it to give more flavour.

 

[jcburn]

Subbed.

 

[pudgychef]

Ive just got back from my rehearsal with mine. From the moment i turned it on I got what pbass said about everything just sounding better and more powerful. I had the EQ pretty much flat, other than the low backed off a bit, and the high mid up a tiny bit.
My Tone was still my tone, but the low notes were clearer and had more punch. This might be down to the comp as well, but it's a great pedal to have at th start of the FX chain. I struggled with the OD though. I found the stock one made the tone a bit thin. I tried the Natural tone print and it sounded better, but even when off I noticed an increase in dirt from the clean tone. I'll need to sit down with it and play around. This was purely out of the box and plug in tonight.
I did miss my BDDI, I guess I'm used to the colouring it does to my tone, but I also found my Aftershock sounded much better, and the two pedals together actually got the tone I've tried to get with other distortion boxes.
Tomorrow I'll give it a go with headphones. That was the reason I wanted one in the first place, but it's too good to keep at home.
It's a strange situation though. As a DI you would want it at the end of the chain, but it works better at the start. I can see the advantage of having two, but as I don't actually need the DI I'm happy with it at the start.

So, my initial thoughts are it's definitely a keeper, but much like my Q/Strip I think I still need to use other pedals with it to give more flavour.

Maybe Q-Strip at the end Spectra Drive at front?

 

[dave_bass5]

Maybe Q-Strip at the end Spectra Drive at front?

I dont have the room, plus i really dont need all that EQ for a P bass lol.
The Q/strip is great, but really not needed now that i have EQ on the Spectradrive as well. I got the Q/Strip on a whim, and as much as its really good for fixing EQ issues, i really regret spending that much money on a EQ pedal. As soon as i can ill sell it.
I also dont go through a PA so that's why i dont need the DI part.

 

[pudgychef]

I dont have the room, plus i really dont need all that EQ for a P bass lol.
The Q/strip is great, but really not needed now that i have EQ on the Spectradrive as well. I got the Q/Strip on a whim, and as much as its really good for fixing EQ issues, i really regret spending that much money on a EQ pedal. As soon as i can ill sell it.
I also dont go through a PA so that's why i dont need the DI part.

Sorry....misread your previous post...thought you needed the DI.

 

[dave_bass5]

Sorry....misread your previous post...thought you needed the DI.

Nah, im good lol.

 

[chandman1004]

Wanted to give a shout out to Sweetwater customer service..I ordered a Spectradrive today and it was possibly the best customer experience I have ever had. If I can , I will order EVERYTHING from Sweetwater going foward.

 

[Aloe]

it seems like there are at least one owner here.
guys, how is the DI out? very noisy like on the BG combos or better?

 

[dave_bass5]

it seems like there are at least one owner here.
guys, how is the DI out? very noisy like on the BG combos or better?

Cant help with that im afraid.

 

[mattattack187]

Well I decided to bite the bullet and give this a shot. If I like this as a clean preamp I'll probably put the MXR M80 back up for sale. Most of the reason why I like that M80 is because of the clean preamp. Not huge fan of the distortion section. Seems like this pedal does clean as well as possible and with a toneprint the drive section can be tightened up.

 

[dave_bass5]

Well I decided to bite the bullet and give this a shot. If I like this as a clean preamp I'll probably put the MXR M80 back up for sale. Most of the reason why I like that M80 is because of the clean preamp. Not huge fan of the distortion section. Seems like this pedal does clean as well as possible and with a toneprint the drive section can be tightened up.

....and a fantastic compressor built in.

This pedal reminds me of the 100% clean tone i could get with my Pork Loin, only with proper EQ and the comp.
Im not saying they are the same, just that i felt the punchy clean tone was closer to my PL than any of the other preamp's i have.

I was getting some break up last night, without the OD turned on. I just wanted to see how far it can be pushed. The Gain control works even when the OD is off, so you can get mild dirt even without the OD. It wasn't something i would normally do, as the OD can get a much better dirt, but you do at least have the option to not run perfectly clean.

 

[NKBassman]

Wanted to give a shout out to Sweetwater customer service..I ordered a Spectradrive today and it was possibly the best customer experience I have ever had. If I can , I will order EVERYTHING from Sweetwater going foward.

That's how I felt the last time I ordered from Sweetwater too. I don't even bother looking at Musicians Friend's website anymore.

 

[DonaldR]

Nah, im good lol.
View attachment 2979147

Man, you are equipped to face any situation
You are only missing a Spectradrive, a Tone Hammer and a B7K

 

[mattattack187]

....and a fantastic compressor built in.

I never really use compression so I'm unfamiliar with how the spectracomp works. If I had to guess, the further you turn the dial clockwise the more compressed your signal becomes?

 

[dave_bass5]

Man, you are equipped to face any situation
You are only missing a Spectradrive, a Tone Hammer and a B7K

Well i have at least one of those taken care of

 

[Antman3820]

Just ordered a demo unit on Sweetwater. Save myself 20 bucks

 

[tfer]

I never really use compression so I'm unfamiliar with how the spectracomp works. If I had to guess, the further you turn the dial clockwise the more compressed your signal becomes?

Depends on how the TonePrint is set up.

That knob can control up to 3 variables, so it could conceivably control everything from compression levels in the multi band compressors to levels to makeup gain to eq settings.

 

[Spectre1966]

Nah, im good lol.
View attachment 2979147

Yup same here (minus the q-strip)

 

[pbass6811]

Hey guys. Sorry, I got a bit busy today, and when your grown daughter calls and says "I miss you. Can we hang out for a bit?", you drop what you're doing and you go, LOL! If you have daughters, you know what I'm talking about...

So, after this past weekends gigs, I'm really digging the SpectraDrive. It does everything I want, almost...

As the list of TonePrints expands this product looks better and better to me.

Question: Are you using it with other effects? Where are you putting it in your chain?

I'm using the SpectraDrive(s)as a preamp/DI. I'm running them last in my chain. I run a wet/dry setup, which is why I have two SpectraDrives on my board. My Line 6 Relay G70 wireless doubles as an ABY box(that eliminated two pedals from my board). One output goes straight into the top SpectraDrive(dry) and that SpectraDrive gets DI'd(XLR) to FOH. The other wireless output goes into a Boss ES-8. All my effects run through the ES-8, out to a TC Sentry noise gate(which I probably don't really need, but...), into the bottom SpectraDrive. Each affected 1/4" output goes to one side of a QSC GX7 power amp, and into it's own cab. I really LOVE the way my rig sounds and it's not really any more of a schlep...here's a pic of my board to put all that into perspective...

Wanted to give a shout out to Sweetwater customer service..I ordered a Spectradrive today and it was possibly the best customer experience I have ever had. If I can , I will order EVERYTHING from Sweetwater going foward.

Sweetwater rocks! I just got a CLI on my Sweetwater card, so that's probably a bad thing...LOL!

it seems like there are at least one owner here.
guys, how is the DI out? very noisy like on the BG combos or better?

I can't speak on the BG combos, as I've never played one, but the DI out on the SpectraDrive is dead quiet. My sound guy and I are both pleased with the way it sounds.

Well I decided to bite the bullet and give this a shot. If I like this as a clean preamp I'll probably put the MXR M80 back up for sale. Most of the reason why I like that M80 is because of the clean preamp. Not huge fan of the distortion section. Seems like this pedal does clean as well as possible and with a toneprint the drive section can be tightened up.

The SpectraDrive is very clean. It's easily one of the cleanest pre's I've used. Having said that, it CAN get a little hairy, if you really push the gain. Some of that will depend on your bass as well. My main bass can stay pristine even with it's onboard preamp dimed. It just gets louder.

It's not all wine and roses...

Part of what I was doing today was setting up my board to record into my Zoom Q8 video camera. This is where the shortcomings emerged. After A/B'ing my pedalboard recording with my Line 6 Helix recording I agree with everyone that says a cab sim should be a part of all standalone preamps from now on. As good as my pedalboard sounded in the camera, the Helix was just that much better, because I'm using one of the good cab sims. No matter how I tried to EQ it, the Helix sounded better. I'd bet with an Omnicab Sim, my board would close the gap significantly. I may need to invest in one of those. Don't get me wrong, my board sounds great, just not as good as something with a cab sim. The next issue is the Aux input only goes through the headphone output. That's not gonna get it done for any recording. It was disappointing to find that out. I'll probably hafta run an aux cord with a 1/4" adapter directly into one of the SpectraDrive. It's not a huge deal, but it's a workaround that shouldn't be necessary.

Overall, I still feel like the SpectraDrive is a winner. The sound through a power amp and a cab is clean, loud, ballsy, and deep. Sounds like what a bass amp should sound like...

 

[dave_bass5]

Yeah, the SD's strength isnt as a stand alone bass rig sim. I quite like the headphone output, its strong and clear, with its basic cab sim (EQ curve), but its nowhere near my B3n as far as type of cab, mic placement, mic type etc.
If manufacturers started to offer proper cab sims i imagine everyone would want a different combination of speakers etc, that would definitely put the cost up, and then we would be getting in to more knobs and maybe LED's, and that was what put me off the other similar preamps already out there, like the PLEX and 2Notes.
I look on the SD as a preamp, so basically half a bass rig. Adding in a proper cab sim seems par for the course.
Like you, i love the the SD, but find its a little disappointing in certain areas, but maybe my expectations were wrong. It certainly opened my eyes to having a clean tone again.