New Origin Effects DCX Bass

[Bass4LifeRS]

To me, the Noble sounded superior in all those examples and I would never spend that on a bass DI/ preamp. The other one sounded perfectly fine too.
If I had a professional studio I probably would buy the Nobels. Pro audio is eye-wateringly expensive but so is studio time so if it gets the sound you need quickly and consistently then it's worth it over time as an investment. This stuff isn't meant for the part timers.
If you can't be with the one you love then love the one you're with.

Or, If you can't be with the one you love then love the one you can afford

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

It would be cool if IvanBassist or some one else, with great chops, would compare the DCX Bass and these other preamp/DI’s. The Caveman seems to be on back order status, so not sure if one can get a new one if they wanted to. My interest in this preamp is, will it thicken up a transparent amp, will it take the over the top High-end out of a bass, and maybe start adding a little bit of fuzz to my tone or tape saturation to my sound. As it was eye opening that when listening with headphones to an old Motown Jamison bass sound that had some grit to it. So for them to go direct wasn’t as clean as I thought it was.

I know it's not the pedal in question here and it might be out of fashion, but.. On the Jameson comment, I took my Sansamp Bass Driver v2 and dialed the the Bassman sample setting. This is great for a slight overdriven console sound if you tweak to taste. Highly recommended. But I also have a DCXbass on the way. Looking forward to hearing the mild od and thickener for jazz bass use.

 

[Avalon5]

When I play with others I use hearing protection. So no highs, and with the lows I can’t always hear the note frequency I am on. So the midrange is most important to me. I think this preamp will do it for me. I mean I need to take the training wheel’s off some time and start to use some effects pedals. LOL

This is at a very reasonable price point so next order with Sweetwater I will pull the trigger on this one.

 

[silky smoove]

When I play with others I use hearing protection. So no highs, and with the lows I can’t always hear the note frequency I am on.

It sounds like you’d do well to invest in a custom molded pair of musician ear plugs. They’re far cheaper than many of the pedals being described here and would allow you a much more enjoyable live music playing experience, which is far more important than any piece of gear.

 

[Jtown690]

Guys, if you could be so kind and get a room

What's the signal chain for London Calling? I don't see the DCX in there, so is it UA Comp + some Helix Amp Sim? Sounds great man!

Thanks man, yeah UA Max into Hx stomp. Using a David Curran preset with a B15nf and an IR. same preset and settings for sir duke just with the tone knob rolled off.

 

[Jtown690]

I'd love to see a direct comparison with the Noble vs the Bassrigs. There aren't any good videos doing that at the moment.

Noble is tube, Bassrig is supposed to emulate those tubes and get you in that ballpark. How close is the bassrig getting there?

I do also wonder why there isn't stupid amount of XXX pedal vs Noble videos - If the noble is the gold standard, why aren't we comparing most other pedals to it? Is it because once you spend $1000-1500 bucks on a device and wait months, you don't want to realise you could have gotten the sound for a fraction of the price and time? Or is it confirmation bias because you are dropping a chunk of change on one item so you want to hear it is better because of that investment? Or is it truly this pinnacle of sound and tube that can't be recreated as well by others and is worth the wait and time?

Pm’d

 

[johnk_10]

i just caved and bought a DCXBass. it should be here in a couple of days.

 

[Jtown690]

i just caved and bought a DCXBass. it should be here in a couple of days.

you’ll love it. Really awesome piece of analog gear in such a compact footprint.

 

[smeet]

@Jtown690 As far as a tone sweetener/shaper, how would you compare the UA Max to the DCX? I know, one is a compressor and the other isn't, but your thoughts are appreciated.

I have the Cali76 CB, how does Max compare to that?

 

[Jtown690]

@Jtown690 As far as a tone sweetener/shaper, how would you compare the UA Max to the DCX? I know, one is a compressor and the other isn't, but your thoughts are appreciated.

I have the Cali76 CB, how does Max compare to that?

The DCX is a better tone sweetener/shaper. The controls are simple. The drive has a more linear sweep on it. It’s easy to dial in and use.
The UA Max is maybe 80-90% as good at doing what the DCX is doing and 80-90% as good as doing what the Cali76 is doing but then you get an LA2A in there too and it’s the price of just the DCX. Downside is that’s its digital, the build quality isn’t as great as origin and its a fair bit more complicated and less intuitive to setup.

 

[smeet]

The DCX is a better tone sweetener/shaper. The controls are simple. The drive has a more linear sweep on it. It’s easy to dial in and use.
The UA Max is maybe 80-90% as good at doing what the DCX is doing and 80-90% as good as doing what the Cali76 is doing but then you get an LA2A in there too and it’s the price of just the DCX. Downside is that’s its digital, the build quality isn’t as great as origin and its a fair bit more complicated and less intuitive to setup.

Thanks! Armed with all this new information, I'm now even more confused!

 

[klattman]

I was pretty excited about the adaptive circuitry on the DCX because i have some of their other pedals with it.
I’ve toggled the settings from mod to off to deep and I’m not noticing a big change with dynamics between any settings. I get that it is subtle but I think I was oversold on that part.
That said it is good at being a moderate tone shaper. It kicked their cali76 off my compact board, since I hardly ever need compression.

 

[wavemaker]

I‘ve found the "Voice" control to be very subtle unless I deactivate the low pass filter at the end of my (drive) chain which is set to 5 khz.
I can appreciate the DCX as a great pedal and a remarkable feat of engineering - the excellent dynamics, the full range of the knobs being useful and still not getting noise even at the most intense settings - but it wasn’t for me, so I returned it.
It did, however, inspire me to once again put my drives in front of my compressor. Turns out, digital emulations of a B3K and a rat give me all the dynamic range I need.

 

[Jtown690]

Tech Tips: DCX Placement In Your Signal Chain – Origin Effects

 

[johnk_10]

looking forward to experimenting with my DCXbass since it's out for delivery today.

 

[johnk_10]

I just received my DCXBass and, IMO, it sounds very good. the OD mode can get a little splatty/fizzy on the top end when cranked up but if you turn the treble down and/or run it in the dark mode it gets a lot smoother. i think i'll probably run mine in the drk or med mode unless i'm running it clean.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

I finally got mine and tested extensively. This thing stays on my board, always on, period! Here is my opinion; for what it's worth.

Overdrive mode is a bit fizzy/buzzy for my taste. I don't see myself using it in that mode at all.

BUT... Clean mode is where the magic happens. It adds some density and sparkle; which is hard to describe in words. Sounds like some depth and articulation was missing on the bass in the first place, and they came back to life via the DCX. Unlike some other preamp / EQ pedals I tried in the past; DCX does its thing in a very organic, natural and musical way. Even on extreme settings. I absolutely loved what it did to my tone - both my passive P and active J.

Sample case 1: I was using a mild overdrive after my Grape Phaser to make it sound more articulate. When I place the DCX before the Phaser, I don't need the overdrive any more. The sound comes out clear and articulate.

Sample case 2: When I play a chord around the 7th fret, I usually hear an "audio-sponge" instead of individual notes, if that makes sense. With the DCX on, I hear individual notes clearer.

About placement... When I place it before the Cali76, I felt like Cali76 is taking away from what the DCX has to offer. By placing the DCX after Cali76, I can hear the coloration of DCX much better and Cali76 prevents DCX from overdriving when I dig in. So; I placed it after the compressor and right before other effects.

My favorite setting at this time:

• Mode: EQ
• Voice: Flat
• Volume: 12:00
• Drive 11:00
• LF: 13:00
• HF: 13:00

Kudos to @Origin_Effects for yet another amazing bass product!

 

[Shindig73]

Very curious about how the DCX in EQ mode compares to a Secret Preamp/Echoplex effect? Both sound like tone sweeteners, but how similar (or not) are they?

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

So here is my mini DCX demo & comparison with DarkGlass Harmonic Booster. Both pedals are set for a slight bass & treble boost. No post-effect applied.

 

[moon-bass]

yup that is probably the best video out there, and there aren’t too many unfortunately. but still doesn’t look into tube emulators vs the gold standard tube in a box. I’d still love to see how close they do get, especially the bass rigs and origin products.



Yup, but very reputable players also endorse non tube pedals and tour with them at a fraction of the price. The bass rigs are good enough for the Super Bowl. Price tag shouldn’t be an indicator, other than contributing to buyers bias for spending mega bucks and wanting to hear it sounding “better”, possibly? Confirmation bias has to be factored in,. Which is why that blind test is great, but I’d still love to see how close some of these pedals match up to the gold standard.

Maybe it is just me, or I’m looking at things the wrong way, but I’d love to see more comparisons trying to achieve the same results as the gold standard, or how close they can get.

I hate to drag this up again, but Origin BassRig related. I think this would have been better thought out as a comparison between the Origin BassRig and the amp(s) that they are supposed to emulate, i.e the 64 and the all-tube Fender Bassman and the SVT with the other BassRig.

I have a Noble, a BassRig 64, and acess to a Fender Bassman (not the 64, but close enough to compare. It's the Bassman 20).

The Bassrig does a great job emulating the Bassman, tubes and all. In fact, the BassRig is even more flexible and can get deeper and brighter. As far as tube-like sounds go, eyes closed I doubt I could tell the difference. The BassRig does a great job of capturing the character and response of the amp. It does the job extremely well.

I've owned (and still own) a ton of tube preamps with the Fender TMB tone stack, and the BassRig is as good as any and better than most (with he possible exception of the SIB Fatdrive, my favorite of all time, and for me the platinum standard of TMB tone stack preamps).

The BassRig vs the Noble? Like others have said, it's a tough comparison. They both sound great, but for different reasons. Different EQ type, amp sim vs no amp sim, volume/gain vs single volume, etc. The BassRig shoots for that deep rich sound that Bassmans are known for while the Noble shoots for a more high end harmonic rich tube sound. I would prefer the BassRig if I was looking for an all in one, amp in a box pedal, but the Noble for a full (again) harmonic rich tone.

Hope that helps.

Also, I'm picking up a DCX soon, I'm out of town for work but am planning on getting one when I get back.