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New Tech 21 XB Driver
- Thread starter BrentSimons
- Start date
Just did a search in this for any comparisions to the overdrive from the RPM, but got no results!
Has anyone had the RPM that can talk to how close the drive channel on this can get to the RPM. My favorite Tech21 Pre of all time.
Has anyone had the RPM that can talk to how close the drive channel on this can get to the RPM. My favorite Tech21 Pre of all time.
Caveats: It's been a decade since I've used the RPM, and I have never (hardly ever) run the XB in full-range mode -- I prefer crossover mode, where only mids and highs are distorted. Having said that, my recollection is that the RPM distortion is more gritty/coarse than the BDDI/RBI distortion, and the XB distortion seems closer to the BDDI. I'm interested in others' opinions, since mine is somewhat fuzzy (no pun intended).
I use a crossover/high pass for overdrives on my Super Pre and also the HX Stomp but the XB Driver crossover overdrive sound sample on yT sounded a little scooped to me. There are so many factors when listening on yT, So I would hope I could get something to my liking considering the sweepable mids etc.
I don't really need the XB Driver as I have plenty of options, but the footprint, feature set, and most sound samples are right up my alley, and although I never really liked the BDDI, the RPM and also VTBD were long standing favorites of mine and I gigged them for many years when I had them.
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I now wonder if your preference for the RPM is its tonal response, rather than the quality of the overdrive. The BDDI/RBI has that notorious mid scoop, whereas the RPM has a neutral response. If flat is where it's at, you might enjoy the XB. I tend to set it for scoop, somewhat similar to the dUg pedal. But it doesn't have to be, you can set the filters so that the frequencies match, or even overlap, which would boost mids. On top of that there's a sweep mid for each band.
Caveat - I prefer colorful overdrive, and haven't tried very hard to set the XB flat. Perhaps others can chime in on that.
Absolutely it is. The tone the OD is applied to I guess. Lots more mids.
Ordered one anit is waiting for me at home. I have very high hopes!
I’m trying out for a new band tomorrow with these settings. I started from the “Brutal” preset/suggestion (they’re not heavy), then dialed back the comp, the clean mid, upped the clean treble, reduced the gain channel’s treble, drive, and pushed the mid button to “post”. I think it sounds great in my phones but if it’s still too much in the room I’ll just pop out the Bite button. We’ll see! 
Settings I used at a gig a few weeks ago. Playing out tonight might roll with the same. Using my Peavey T-20 with some pretty fresh strings with my tone dial about 50% with a pick.
Mix on, bite engage, pre
Mix on, bite engage, pre
This guy gets some great clean tones but my technique is completely different. But I’ll try ‘em.
Is the part where SansAmp is written brushed aluminium or does it show the lines of the aluminium milling? In some renderings it's looks brushed and flat while others (depending on the light) we can see deep cuts of the milling.
The XB is a real treat if you like to dig deep into tone control and ultimately I opted for the DSM Bassmaster for two objective reasons. The XB doesn’t have a headphone out and the sound I like doesn’t utilize the XB’s crossover capability. But man the crossover sound is pure ear candy and the XB is a beast.
The RPM pre was my favourite OD for a long time and the XB has that character about it so was a no brainer for me. Probably a little on the expensive side, but what it does, it does really well. Haven't had a Sansamp as my end of signal chain since I sold my VT Bass Deluxe for a Bergantino Super Pre. Love the SP also but the XB is more pedal board friendly and i like having an analog unit as the end point of my board.
Finally got to try out the XB Driver with a Dingwall Combustion. My expectations were largely met and I was able to dial in a variety of nice tones, from clean to filthy. Coming from the DP-3X, I was a little surprised at how neutral the XB Driver sounds; in comparison, it seems much more like a blank slate, a mixing palette for bass distortion tones.
Only spent a small amount of time on it, and found the Pre/Post midrange EQ is very flexible for tone-shaping; you can boost a part of the midrange for a sort of wah-distortion effect, or just to add little push or cut in certain areas... sweet. Also nice is having separate EQ for the Clean the Drive paths, allowing the ability to add some heft to the distortion, cut the mids on the clean, or whatever. And, yeah, I spent most of my time in Crossover Mix mode... that's where the money is.
That said, the Clean and Drive channels sounded pretty good by themselves, again fairly neutral until knobs get twisted. Overall, I'd highly recommend the XB Driver over the DP-3X for anyone interested in bass distortion, but not necessarily wanting to focus on dUgtone. The XB Driver is a more neutral, flexible, unit, a bass distortion Swiss Army knife... or maybe a Ginsu, depending on the position of the Bite switch.
Yes, the Dingwall Nolly sounded great too. Was fun playing gnarly riffs on that pianolike low-B. A match made in Metal Heaven.
Only spent a small amount of time on it, and found the Pre/Post midrange EQ is very flexible for tone-shaping; you can boost a part of the midrange for a sort of wah-distortion effect, or just to add little push or cut in certain areas... sweet. Also nice is having separate EQ for the Clean the Drive paths, allowing the ability to add some heft to the distortion, cut the mids on the clean, or whatever. And, yeah, I spent most of my time in Crossover Mix mode... that's where the money is.
That said, the Clean and Drive channels sounded pretty good by themselves, again fairly neutral until knobs get twisted. Overall, I'd highly recommend the XB Driver over the DP-3X for anyone interested in bass distortion, but not necessarily wanting to focus on dUgtone. The XB Driver is a more neutral, flexible, unit, a bass distortion Swiss Army knife... or maybe a Ginsu, depending on the position of the Bite switch.
Yes, the Dingwall Nolly sounded great too. Was fun playing gnarly riffs on that pianolike low-B. A match made in Metal Heaven.
Should add that I don't think the XB Driver would have much trouble creating Geddy tones or Chris Squire tones or dUgtones, or most other bass distortion sounds. It really offers a lot of tone sculpting tools, plus the killer Crossover mode. It could easily replace a slew of bass overdrive/distortion pedals. Also think that flexibility would increase significantly if it had a few storable presets... bit of a shame it can only make one great tone at a time.
So why is the speaker sim only on the drive channel? I prefer having it on the whole signal. The top end can sound unnatural to me when direct without a sim. Too much bad zing or ping to me for lack of a better description if you turn up the highs. I'll probably be running by Q-strip with it for the high end roll off. anyone else?
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