I've been using the MXR M80 lately as my taste for the time being is a clean preamp. The distortion for the M80 is mid scoop city. How is the drive on this unit? Can it do mild breakup to balls out distortion? I've always enjoyed the TC products I've owned in the past. Would like to give this one a go.
Ok, second gig report-pretty much just like the first one. I officially dig the SpectraDrive! I actually turned down a bit more, lol! It just sounded so full and warm! If TCE's amps sound like this, I'm almost sorry I've never tried one.
The Natural Drive TonePrint is pretty sweet, it solved my issue with the default drive sound. It rounded out the bottom end very nicely and brought the drive output up to "unity" with the rest of the gain stage. I'm not a dirt guy, so I probably won't go any further with the drive part, but it fits my light to moderate drive needs pretty well. If I want/need/desire more crunch, I have a B7KU on my board.
This week, I'll be messing with the SpectraComp section. Having said that, the default comp is ridiculously good. The amount of sustain I have is insane. My slap sound is the sound in my head. I'll probably go with two different comp prints. I may leave the "wet" SpectraDrive alone, but I'll change the "dry" SpectraDrive to something like the "CompressLess" print. It's just a cool system...
Again, some of the awesomeness is directly from my new FBass BN5, and true, final judgement will come after I switch back to my Barefaced cabs, but the level of coolness that TCE has achieved with the SpectraDrive is impressive, indeed!
It'll definitely do mild breakup through extreme distortion. Since I'm not a big dirty bass sound guy, this works for me. If you are a bass dirt connoisseur, you may not like it, since it is a digital reproduction. This isn't gonna be a Blueberry, or a Woolly Mammoth, or a TAFM, but it gets the job done and does it well...
