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recommend me a new distorfuzz

#81
Metal Mitch said:
seems like you're going for a Squire tone there. I hear exactly what you're saying about warm mids over sterile tones - the B3K sounds very sterile and digital to me. I'd say use a Marshall (or modeler) on the same track and see how you like it.

couldn't get the 2nd one to load. soundclick doesn't play most links for me anymore. maybe I should make a username and log in. nah, I'll pass.
Click to expand...

Actually, more going for an early Billy Gould tone, but before The Real Thing album(but I am a fan of Squire, isn't every Ric player??:)). Since the B3K doesn't exactly sound like a Marshall, it kind of works out. I like harsh mids, and it has it in spades. Billy's bass had a thicker tone than Squire, but his early bass tones also sound very harsh in the mids at the same time. S.S. grind, from an old Peavey. No tubes in that tone. Strangely enough, this is now Billy's overdrive of choice.

I have used my friends actual JCM Marshall many times, so I have heard my bass mic'd through the real thing. It's one of the few things I can play through at his house when we jam.

This is a scratchtrack where I was just going for ideas, but I like the bite of this over the earlier tracks I posted:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vq586wjwkqwrqp4/grindy scratchtrack2.mp3

I probably won't go back to DI/modeling anytime soon, as I have messed with it for years. I have a newfound love of using mics and think they sound warmer than amp modeling.

Everyone knows the "Epic" era and past, but these are some of my favorite FNM tones and as you can see they are quite brash:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLtBgow46dM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EFl3EPKy5k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH1Ud8xeVio

I know you said it really wasn't your thing, so I could see how you aren't into DG effects. The B3K/B7K kind of have that inherent grind in them:)

Back to subject, you ever settle on something?
 
#82
Not yet.

Got in a Tight Metal. One night of personal testing, one rehearsal at volume in a mix. It already went back.

Spoke with James at Amptweaker. Based on my feedback he recommended the Fat Rock. It has the Tight and Tone knobs re-voiced an octave lower like the Bass Tightdrive. It has the equivalent of Fat and Smooth switches "always on", and the boost switch for extra gain. Plus the noise gate which was fantastic on the Tight Metal.

The only thing I'm worried about is the "PlexEQ". That screams modeler. Which is the major problem I had with the Tight Metal. It's a modeler that doesn't play well with other EQ, or voicing of your existing amp. He told me the guys he was working with in the design phase were running it straight into a power amp. I could do the same thing, but I happen to like my Ampeg tube preamps.

Of course I don't have to use that setting. But of course if it's there, I'll try it out. :p

I'm still liking his stuff enough to try the next one. Both the build quality and sound quality are super high grade pro gear for stage AND studio. The Tight knob is the crux of the biscuit, and nobody else has it.

But I honestly don't know if this guy is a certifiable genius, or just certifiable (or both?!). There are a lot of things I like about his stuff. But then theres pros and cons to anything. For example -

a) original designs, no Muff or Rat clones. But then I find a bunch of amp modeling under the hood... and suddenly it doesn't seem so original.

b) 14 gauge powder coated STEEL instead of a crappy brushed aluminum bud box with "cool art".

But then you look at the Pro versions and he crams so much stuff in there, he has to stick it in the battery drawer. Combined with the amp emulation, IMO it should really be a rackmount preamp with easily accessible front panel switches. At that price point I would be a lot more inclined to buy a 1U rack version to use as a preamp. But then it would be missing the mandatory DI, which should be included (and high quality) for that price.

Until he gets this thought out a little better (instead of cramming as much stuff as possible into one unit to please as many players as possible), I'd prefer a simpler unit with less features, no battery drawer, and no modeling.
 
#83
Mitch,
The FatRock PlexEQ setting isn't an amp modeling thing, it's just an EQ tweak to revoice the flatter normal tone to more of a Plexi tone. I just call it PlexEQ so you don't have to wonder what it does. Neither setting is 'modeling', nor are any of my pedals....as I told you in emails, the basic EQ curves were derived by measuring them on amps the metal guys were using. Guitarists asked me for the TightMetal, I made it, they buy the crap out of them. I wouldn't say I'm a genius, but I think listening to your customers is the only way to do this.

The reason I crammed all those things into the Pro models is not because I haven't thought it out....on the contrary, I got a huge list of specific things from all my customers who wanted a pedal like this, and I asked some who didn't like the regular versions what they didn't like, and I did the best I could to make the Pro's solve both......The internal pots are just noise gate adjustments, and the switches move the effects loops pre/post like all my other pedals, and then there are 2 switches that make the rhythm or boost fatter. Just a few things that are more like preferences. You have to admit that most people expect more tweakability in a Pro version.

I do always try to make things as simple as possible. For example, the noise gates on my pedals automatically adjust down when you turn down the gain, so you don't have to know any of that...it just works.

The other reason for adding switches to make more people happy is that in a small business like mine(my wife and I handbuild them), every time you add another model it's one more chassis and/or circuit board to inventory which has minimum quantities associated with it. Inventory ties up all your cash until it's sold, so it's best to keep the different models to a minimum. However, I still have gone out of my way (compared to most 'boutique' guys) to build some bass models, and even came up with mods after so many bassists asked me for a nice sounding blend control.

Good luck on your quest-
James
amptweaker.com
 
#84
Hey James, I just want to say that even though I've never owned an Amptweaker or so much as played through one, they are high on my list of pedals I would consider owning one day. The feature list and the sounds I've heard out of the demos are the reasons I'm high on these pedals. And without poking the hornet's nest any more than I already have, I don't think the above criticisms are fair whatsoever. There's a difference between subjective tastes and criticizing the creator's intent or method without knowing the behind the scenes background, and that line was crossed above. I think it's great you're on this forum and willing to interact with people, including level-headedly defending your products even when you shouldn't have to.
 
#88
Hi James, thanks for the reply.

amptweaker said:
The FatRock PlexEQ setting isn't an amp modeling thing, it's just an EQ tweak to revoice the flatter normal tone to more of a Plexi tone. I just call it PlexEQ so you don't have to wonder what it does. Neither setting is 'modeling', nor are any of my pedals....as I told you in emails, the basic EQ curves were derived by measuring them on amps the metal guys were using.
Click to expand...

You don't call that modeling? Hmm. Hook up an amp and cab, a spectrum analyzer and a wave generator and measure the response up and down the frequency sweep, check. Duplicate that response on a EQ, check. Sure sounds like modeling to me. Whatever you choose to call it, it is the core EQ voicing and tonal response of the unit. And it may or may not work well with a particular amp, with it's own voicing, that happens to get plugged in downstream.

You clearly stated when designing the TM that players were plugging directly into a power amp. That's an amp modeler. Which is fine when used as intended. And when used for bass, a modeler needs a DI to FOH. Sound men don't mic bass cabs if they can help it.


amptweaker said:
I do always try to make things as simple as possible. For example, the noise gates on my pedals automatically adjust down when you turn down the gain, so you don't have to know any of that...it just works.
Click to expand...

Yep, and it works beautifully.

amptweaker said:
The other reason for adding switches to make more people happy is that in a small business like mine(my wife and I handbuild them), every time you add another model it's one more chassis and/or circuit board to inventory which has minimum quantities associated with it. Inventory ties up all your cash until it's sold, so it's best to keep the different models to a minimum. However, I still have gone out of my way (compared to most 'boutique' guys) to build some bass models, and even came up with mods after so many bassists asked me for a nice sounding blend control.
Click to expand...

Understood. And if you hadn't gone out of your way to build bass models, you wouldn't be getting sales from bassists either.
 
#89
Mitch,
The curve I measured from the 5150 is only the preamp EQ curve....I didn't copy anything pertaining to the power amp or speakers, since the guys were planning to plug INTO a power amp and speaker. Call it what you want, but it's just an EQ curve that's not flat....no different than your request to make one that's 're-voiced'. No different from the myriad of pedals out there that have output EQ with some kind of mid notch or high end rolloff or lowend bump.

I wasn't trying to get in a big argument with you about semantics, I just evaluated your suggestions and then tried to explain that virtually everything you asked for were already in the FatRock and/or BigRock Pro.

As always, I'll keep your suggestions in mind when I work on a bass version, so thanks for your advice-
James
amptweaker.com
 

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