NPD DSM Noisemaker OmniCabSim

[jcburn]

Is this something that would pair up well with an MXR M80 preamp? I like the VT Bass DI but even still to my ears I’m happier with the cleanliness of the M80 but it’s the speaker sim of the VTDI that I miss having on the M80. Thinking of returning the VTDI and giving this a shot instead. It looks like it has a quality DI output as well if I’m not mistaken?

I do this but I use the M80 primarily as a distortion, running first through the drive loop of an EBS Billy Sheehan sig overdrive so quite a different chain than you.

I answered this really because I found out recently that both the bass and treble on the M80 are shelving, meaning you can use both the dials to roll off below 60hz and above 4khz which can act itself like a primitive cab sim. The OCSD is something magical though, which leads me to.....

I have tried the M80 clean through the OCSD. What the OCSD does is really quite cool - I find that if you engage the Color switch on the M80 it has quite a mid-scoop at around 800hz, plus it boosts bass around 50hz. It's a good sounding tone, but at higher volumes is quite boomy and lacks a little mid-presence to be supportive in a band mix. Put the OCSD after it and you can literally tailor the boom to just the right amount, plus you can add back in the 800hz mid scoop to whatever degree you want. It has the same effect if you use the dirty channel on the M80, as this channel has the Color effect as "always on".

Hope my post makes sense....in essence I feel it enhances the qualities of the M80, especially when using the Color preset. I like what the Color preset does, I just feel at band levels the EQ is too dramatic, and the OCSD can tame it to where it's perfect.

 

[Flabzilla]

@Dsmnoisemaker , is there a specific dB/octave slope on the Hi Response and Cab Size controls?

 

[IvanBassist]

@Dsmnoisemaker , is there a specific dB/octave slope on the Hi Response and Cab Size controls?

I think those are shown in the manual: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b88141_956373bd49dc4180aa6153c8c60d795f.pdf

 

[Flabzilla]

I think those are shown in the manual: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b88141_956373bd49dc4180aa6153c8c60d795f.pdf

Went there first but couldn’t see that specific info.

 

[mattattack187]

I do this but I use the M80 primarily as a distortion, running first through the drive loop of an EBS Billy Sheehan sig overdrive so quite a different chain than you.

I answered this really because I found out recently that both the bass and treble on the M80 are shelving, meaning you can use both the dials to roll off below 60hz and above 4khz which can act itself like a primitive cab sim. The OCSD is something magical though, which leads me to.....

I have tried the M80 clean through the OCSD. What the OCSD does is really quite cool - I find that if you engage the Color switch on the M80 it has quite a mid-scoop at around 800hz, plus it boosts bass around 50hz. It's a good sounding tone, but at higher volumes is quite boomy and lacks a little mid-presence to be supportive in a band mix. Put the OCSD after it and you can literally tailor the boom to just the right amount, plus you can add back in the 800hz mid scoop to whatever degree you want. It has the same effect if you use the dirty channel on the M80, as this channel has the Color effect as "always on".

Hope my post makes sense....in essence I feel it enhances the qualities of the M80, especially when using the Color preset. I like what the Color preset does, I just feel at band levels the EQ is too dramatic, and the OCSD can tame it to where it's perfect.

Brother that's more than I could ask for in a response. I appreciate it. I have the cab sim coming in this week so hopefully I'll have a chance this weekend to try it out with the M80. I thought about sending the M80 off to Mike Putnam to have him disable the color circuit when the distortion channel is active but with the blend used properly, it's not a huge loss for me in terms of midrange. If anything it sounds like the DSM will smooth out the distortion channel. Thanks man.

 

[Alien8]

Went there first but couldn’t see that specific info.

DSM Noisemaker OmniCabSim Deluxe : knobs and frequency response

 

[ExaltBass]

DSM Noisemaker OmniCabSim Deluxe : knobs and frequency response

Thanks, I hadn't seen this!

 

[Flabzilla]

DSM Noisemaker OmniCabSim Deluxe : knobs and frequency response

Cheers!

So, if I’m reading the graphs correctly, about 6dB/octave on those 2 controls. I’m thinking of how they compare to a high/low pass filter of 12dB/octave which sort of seem common.

 

[Alien8]

Cheers!

So, if I’m reading the graphs correctly, about 6dB/octave on those 2 controls. I’m thinking of how they compare to a high/low pass filter of 12dB/octave which sort of seem common.

It's certainly more of a natural slope, similar to speaker boxes themselves, which is the point. As far as tone, there is a small change between 1 pole & 2 pole; from the speaker protection scenario, steeper is usually better to cut the low lows, but anything helps!

Thanks, I hadn't seen this!

It helped me greatly understand this pedal, and saved me from selling it. Knowing where near flat is on the dials really helped me understand where I wanted my frequencies cut and emphasized.

I've spent some time modding mine here and there for frequency response, and always found that @Dsmnoisemaker chose the best combination of component values to work on a broad range. With little tweaks here and there the sound of the pedal can change a little or a whole lot, and I always came back to the original values. Now I have an option for the low end that takes it from the tight bottom to a slightly flubbier one that works great for some sounds. Experimenting shows how related each of the controls are, and changing one value can change the lows and the mids at the same time. There's a magic combo in there that just works really well. I always get compliments from studio guys that the bass sounds good in the mix, and a good portion of that is the OCSD.

 

[Fuzzbass]

It's certainly more of a natural slope, similar to speaker boxes themselves, which is the point. As far as tone, there is a small change between 1 pole & 2 pole; from the speaker protection scenario, steeper is usually better to cut the low lows, but anything helps!

Great points. I didn't want to chime in because I'm mostly guessing... but I'm thinking along those lines: that 6dB is more natural, for speaker emulation, whereas steeper slopes are for speaker protection.

To me this seems similar to compression versus limiting. Typically, compression is used for natural/musical dynamics-shaping, whereas hard limiting is used for speaker protection.

 

[J.Wolf]

Ken are you using or have you tried the OCS? Curious how it would work with your sealed cabs, which already would seem to have some of what the OCS delivers built in.

I find a pretty significant effect with my ported speakers, but wondering if that affect is mitigated when using sealed cabinet

 

[Fuzzbass]

Ken are you using or have you tried the OCS? Curious how it would work with your sealed cabs, which already would seem to have some of what the OCS delivers built in.

I find a pretty significant effect with my ported speakers, but wondering if that affect is mitigated when using sealed cabinet

I have the original OCS, which I bought to tame the big lows from the ported 2x10 cabs I was using as my small/modular rig. In short, it worked beautifully. Just as you suspect, I did not use the OCS with my "big rig", the sealed NV610, and I haven't used the OCS very much since I replaced my ported 2x10s with the sealed Bergantino HG310 cabs -- though these are tweetered, unlike my NV610, so I value LPF more than HPF.

That said, I have to emphasize that the OCS is an amazing tool in many ways -- mid shaping, along with HPF/LPF -- and I'll never sell mine. The biggest reason I use it less is that I'm a minimal pedal user: one to three pedals per gig, and for at least a third of my gigs I use no pedals at all. On top of that, I rarely run DI to FOH.

If I ever set up a pedalboard with 5 (?) or more pedals, the OCS will be on it. Still weighing pedalboard pros and cons, types, sizes, etc.

 

[Dsmnoisemaker]

Cheers!

So, if I’m reading the graphs correctly, about 6dB/octave on those 2 controls. I’m thinking of how they compare to a high/low pass filter of 12dB/octave which sort of seem common.

Actually, the low cut is 6dB and the high response is 12dB (4 poles) .

 

[Flabzilla]

Actually, the low cut is 6dB and the high response is 12dB (4 poles) .

I was reading the graphs half correctly.



Thanks for the clarification!

 

[jcburn]

Brother that's more than I could ask for in a response. I appreciate it. I have the cab sim coming in this week so hopefully I'll have a chance this weekend to try it out with the M80. I thought about sending the M80 off to Mike Putnam to have him disable the color circuit when the distortion channel is active but with the blend used properly, it's not a huge loss for me in terms of midrange. If anything it sounds like the DSM will smooth out the distortion channel. Thanks man.

Hey no probs man, hope my reply helps.
The Putnam mod for the M80 sounds rad, never heard of it! Gonna check it out now.

 

[mattattack187]

Hey no probs man, hope my reply helps.
The Putnam mod for the M80 sounds rad, never heard of it! Gonna check it out now.

I hadn't heard of it either. I emailed him and he thought it could be done.

 

[J.Wolf]

Had a realization yesterday about the OCS that I thought I'd share. My main rig consists of either a Sonic Farm or Arkham tube DI into a small class D power amp. The sonic farm is VERY mic pre/channel strip like, whereas the Arkham has much more of a killer "bass rig" voicing. The OCS works really well with the Sonic Farm but is kind of redundant with the Arkham.

So my takeaway is that with the Sonic Farm, the OCS allows me to have, within one rig, a killer super clean studio sound with the OCS off, and an awesome pocketed bass amp voicing with the OCS on. Its really impressive to get the best of both worlds with one simple rig. And when I say best of both worlds, I mean BEST of both worlds.

DSM really nailed it with this. I've been telling everyone about it. Especially guys who want to use super clean/clear hifi rigs for doubling. Its a perfect addition for a clean/hifi rig, or for guys who want to use powered PA cabs like the QSC's for bass. carry on.

 

[FunWithBass]

I had my first chance to play live with the OCSD last weekend. It was an ampless stage and used the OCSD as the DI to the front of house soundboard. The sound tech said I had plenty of gain going to the board and he definitely noticed when I bumped the gain up during the second set, so the pedal does have enough gain to work with a PA.

Even though I only use clean tones on my bass, I definitely heard a difference in the on stage subs when I engaged the OCSD.

I did use an inline phantom power blocker with the OCSD as a precaution.

I ran the stereo mix from my Aviom into the Aux In of the OCSD and ran my IEMs into the Heaphone Out jack of the OCSD. That worked well for monitoring. There was a high pitched tone/noise when running the Aviom into the OCSD, but once the band was playing, I did not notice it that much. Running my IEMs into the Aviom did not have that high pitched tone/noise, but monitoring through the OCSD gives me the safety net that I will always be able to hear my bass no matter what happens at the soundboard. I am willing to make that trade off.

Excellent pedal!

 

[MTN.bass72]

I had my first chance to play live with the OCSD last weekend. It was an ampless stage and used the OCSD as the DI to the front of house soundboard. The sound tech said I had plenty of gain going to the board and he definitely noticed when I bumped the gain up during the second set, so the pedal does have enough gain to work with a PA.

Even though I only use clean tones on my bass, I definitely heard a difference in the on stage subs when I engaged the OCSD.

I did use an inline phantom power blocker with the OCSD as a precaution.

View attachment 3087073

I ran the stereo mix from my Aviom into the Aux In of the OCSD and ran my IEMs into the Heaphone Out jack of the OCSD. That worked well for monitoring. There was a high pitched tone/noise when running the Aviom into the OCSD, but once the band was playing, I did not notice it that much. Running my IEMs into the Aviom did not have that high pitched tone/noise, but monitoring through the OCSD gives me the safety net that I will always be able to hear my bass no matter what happens at the soundboard. I am willing to make that trade off.

Excellent pedal!

What's the phantom power blocker? Have a link, of just brand/ model?

 

[kevk]

Here’s another brand...

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