Actually the overdrive sounded better to me with a pick! Setting 2? Thank you!
Brent
Brent
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New GK Plex Preamp
- Thread starter fjadams
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- gallien-krueger preamp
I didn't have time to wade through the entire video. Can you point us to the section of the video that specifically highlights the low pass filtering, which is key as a cab sim alternative to tame high end gunk when using lots of overdrive? Thanks ;-)
Not really... I just went through the knobs, and all settings individually... Played finger style, attempted slap, and some attempted pick... Maybe around 13:12 is what you're looking for??
No worries. Thanks for creating the video. I'll watch the whole thing at home after work when I get a chance on better speakers.
Anyone else think it would be nice to have a PRE/POST selection available for the placement of the compressor ahead of or after the tone stack and distortion?
Haven't played with mine much, but all the LEDs work and I still get that nasty static you're talking about. The static I get while turning knobs is the same static that comes through while playing. I've only used courtesy AC on my Pedal Power 2 Plus, but as I've never had noise issues with it before, I'm doubtful it's the problem. I'll try dedicated outlets later.
I'm not a compressor fanatic, but the compressor is not quite my Carl Martin.
I'm not blown away by the unit and already miss my EBS MicroBass II, but I have very little experience with bass gear and my opinion on the Plex should be disregarded. You can forget all you read above, except for the static bit which seems to be an objective issue.
It's a unique driver you find everywhere on the net, not an individual driver for the GK.
ASIO4ALL - Universal ASIO Driver
I used my Carvin B-50 with single coil pickups to do this line... EQ on bass was set flat, passive tone wide open...
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Wow... I thought we were trying to help each other out...
Maybe I missed something... Dunno...
Most of us appreciate your efforts.
Hooked mine up with headphones to mess around a little bit, and have a few thoughts so far!
First of all, to debunk the 'noise' issue...there is none. This thing is dead quiet unless you do obvious things like crank the overdrive or compressor all the way up.
Now, overall I think it works pretty great. I think my expectations were a little too lofty though, more on that in a minute. But the EQ and voicings are very easy to set and quite intuitive. The differences in the voicings are pretty subtle but enough to where you can hear the differences for sure. I'm thinking probably the best use of this pedal is to drive the MB powered cabinets, as this gives you the compressor, master volume, and of course the voicings, and overdrive none of which my MB112 amp have (not sure about the bigger combos).
Now I'm not going to use the word 'disappointed' but a few things don't work quite like I thought they would. I got the Plex hoping to replace 3 pedals...the MXR M81 preamp, my pedal tuner, and my compressor. Well it can't replace the M81 because the master volume does not affect the DI output. And it can't replaced my tuner and compressor because you can only use either/or at a time which...okay I will go back and say I'm disappointed in that. I hate that you can't have the compressor and tuner both on at the same time.
Time will tell if this is a keeper for me, as it works great for what it is but does not do what I had hoped. I think if I didn't have the powered cabs there would be no real reason for me to keep it. We shall see!
First of all, to debunk the 'noise' issue...there is none. This thing is dead quiet unless you do obvious things like crank the overdrive or compressor all the way up.
Now, overall I think it works pretty great. I think my expectations were a little too lofty though, more on that in a minute. But the EQ and voicings are very easy to set and quite intuitive. The differences in the voicings are pretty subtle but enough to where you can hear the differences for sure. I'm thinking probably the best use of this pedal is to drive the MB powered cabinets, as this gives you the compressor, master volume, and of course the voicings, and overdrive none of which my MB112 amp have (not sure about the bigger combos).
Now I'm not going to use the word 'disappointed' but a few things don't work quite like I thought they would. I got the Plex hoping to replace 3 pedals...the MXR M81 preamp, my pedal tuner, and my compressor. Well it can't replace the M81 because the master volume does not affect the DI output. And it can't replaced my tuner and compressor because you can only use either/or at a time which...okay I will go back and say I'm disappointed in that. I hate that you can't have the compressor and tuner both on at the same time.
Time will tell if this is a keeper for me, as it works great for what it is but does not do what I had hoped. I think if I didn't have the powered cabs there would be no real reason for me to keep it. We shall see!
mmbongo, I'm REALLY interested to find out if yours doesn't do this, cause that'll mean that mine needs fixed... Well, more than it already needs fixed...
Please check out this video at 5:20 and listen in a low noise environment... You'll hear the "noise", or something that sounds like "static" during the long tones:
And that was coming out of the XLR jack...
I did some practicing through headphones with it today and it was clean and sounded great...
I've found that this (I'm calling it) digital static can be fixed by moving the knobs a little and returning them to your setting. I'm thinking that the encoders are sort of close to in-between settings so the DSP is getting confused and snapping back and forth between two values... If that makes sense...
Thanks man!! Please let me know what you find!!
All the best!
Willy
Yeah, what a waste of typing on his part. I made it clear I would be testing on dedicated outlets later.
Did one of us suggest they all have noise issues? Ours are not representative of all instances, and neither is yours. I'm glad yours is working well.
Interesting. That's consistent with my "same kind of noise as when I move the knobs" observation. I'll experiment with that.
mmbongo, I'm REALLY interested to find out if yours doesn't do this, cause that'll mean that mine needs fixed... Well, more than it already needs fixed...
Please check out this video at 5:20 and listen in a low noise environment... You'll hear the "noise", or something that sounds like "static" during the long tones:
Willy
With only headphones connected, mine does not make those noises. That would drive me nuts. I have not had a chance to properly test the XLR or 1/4" outputs though.
I'm sorry, let me correct you....several of us, myself included, have noise issues. I have them primarily with the compressor, even at moderate issues. There is nothing for you to "debunk"....
And I've gotta ask here....if your output is muted because of the tuner, why do you care if the compressor is deactivated?
From what I'm reading, master volume doesn't affect DI output, so how is that signal? Weak or strong?
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
Just took delivery today, little late to the party BUT...I'm digging the different amp models although I'm using the neutral setting and like the fairly flat-ish tone so far my favorite. Plenty of gain using an 1/4" unbalanced line into a Crown XLS1500. This thing is FAT.
DI was strong according to my sound guy. Output through the 1/4 "output" jack was weak for me.
Sorry, guys. Deleted my previous, ill-tempered post.
Back to the point- pedals with DSP onboard are often prone to digital noise when powered off poorly-isolated pedalboard supplies, especially if the power supply doesn't have enough reserve current capacity.
As mtsens1 found with his Plex and Line 6 G70, simply powering one unit off a separate supply can be enough to fix unexpected hiss, zipper noise, cel phone interference, etc.
Back to the point- pedals with DSP onboard are often prone to digital noise when powered off poorly-isolated pedalboard supplies, especially if the power supply doesn't have enough reserve current capacity.
As mtsens1 found with his Plex and Line 6 G70, simply powering one unit off a separate supply can be enough to fix unexpected hiss, zipper noise, cel phone interference, etc.
