john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
that's cool, still might be useful with some of my more (intentionally) noisy pedals like the geiger counter.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Sneak preview: new FEA opti-FET compressor!
- Thread starter bongomania
- Start date
buglen
Brother of Boomertech
I absolutely love my FEA SMX pedal. This one sounds very cool, as well!
That reminds me, I really want to try one of his Growler pedals.
It's a bit off topic, but I can confirm that all the Growler units in stock have been updated with the changes.
All of a sudden, I want pancakes!
Today I used a DOD FX-17 vol/wah (in the volume mode) in the side-chain with some nice results. I was able to dial in thresholds using the pedal for my different basses that range from normal to extreme output levels. This was also nice for when I wanted to have less compression on some songs and more for other songs. I didnt have to stop, bend over and readjust the threshold setting knob on the compressor I just kept on playing.
With a high ratio setting and the gain turned up on the compressor, I was able to rock the volume treadle for some nice swells. A word of caution here . Be careful not to turn the volume off with the pedal in the side-chain while the gain is turned up on the compressor. Because you will surprise your amp, speakers and audience with a VERY large signal!!
-Frank
I didnt have a filter to try, but today I used the wah in the loop. Since it is a single filter, I suspect that the results will be about the same for a combing type filter with multiple resonant peaks. With the ratio maxxed you can hear the compressor reacting slightly to the peak frequency. Quickly rocking the treadle resulted in a very slight throbbing to the sound when the peak frequency caused more compression. This is what I had expected and the wah effect that you hear with normal use of this pedal is completely missing. With lower ratio settings you really have to struggle to hear any difference at all in the output.
Since the compressor is a dynamics processor, the normal sound that you hear with frequency filter effects will be completely lacking. The result will be variances in the compression amount of the entire audio range. I suspect that a tremolo being an amplitude dynamics device may create more of an effect of itself when used in the loop.
-Frank
What if you put a 3leaf Groove Regulator in the effects loop of the optiFET, and then put another pedal with an effects loop in that, until you have like 9 pedals each in the effects loop of another?
Frank, I understand what you're saying, but I'm still interested in hearing Bongos experience with an envelope filter. If you had a filter like a Qtron for example, that gets big volume spikes, you could create dips and swells in volume that are somewhat controllable with playing dynamics. That sounds cool to me.
Sorry for the delay in reporting. Results: cool! I used one of my trusty FX25's. It took quite a bit of tweaking before I got anything worth doing twice, but after a while I did get a groovy action going. In case anybody has an opportunity to try this out, here's what I did: First, set the filter sensitivity to my normal favorite spot for best dynamic response. Second, set the EQ of the FEA's sidechain with lows at minimum, meds at noon, and highs at maximum. Then lastly, tweaked the range knob on the filter until I got where I wanted to get to. Very funky and weird and unique, kind of a big exaggeration of the "dip and swell" effect I describe some comps having, with a percussive attack. Definitely something for "that one song" and no others.
I agree with Frank that a tremolo would be very cool too.
I agree with Frank that a tremolo would be very cool too.
Can this pedal do over the top sidechained compression as used in a lot of electronic music? Like if you sent a line with a pulsing kick drum into the sidechain would that work as a way to control the squash? If this pedal can do that extreme sidechained thing using an outside sound source as the trigger then i want it. Like right now!
Don't know if you'll catch this RS,...but I bought the one bongo reviewed,....and it's everything he says it is.
I'm a relative comp newb but this is an excellent piece of gear. This was my experience as best as I can describe it. I took it to a rehearsal with a medium loud band and just went Bass (Thumb) -->OptiFET-->GK MB2-500-->Cab. The OptiFET really open up my playing. Even when digging in I was able to push the gain and not clip my amp. I definitely rolled the harshness out of my highs and fattened up the bottom. It also seemed to really help my amp do it's thing more efficiently. I attribute the sidechain EQ for easing the boominess of a typically boomy (not in a good way) setup and helping increase the efficiency of the amp and cab.
I will echo bongo's noise issue,...this of course being the same pedal he reviewed I expected this. I would suggest using a quality power supply with isolated outputs,...or use a battery. I used a battery at rehearsal tonight and OptiFET was dead silent.
Yep, just to clarify in case anyone gets worried by the word "noise", the pedal itself is very quiet, but it can be sensitive to external sources of noise such as certain power supplies or certain other pedals in the chain. Once I removed "offending" external items from the chain, the OptiFET was lovely quiet!
W.H., keep us posted how you progress with it, or if any other concerns come up! This pedal is one of my very favorites.
W.H., keep us posted how you progress with it, or if any other concerns come up! This pedal is one of my very favorites.
I actually don't have any concerns with this pedal, I friggin love it. To reiterate, this pedal is dead silent when using a battery.
The noise issue cropped up when I first got it,...I didn't have a chance to try the pedal out until later in the evening, and as not to wake the neighbors my signal chain was as follows.
Bass-->OptiFET-->Whirlwind passive DI-->Berhinger Xenyx 502 Mixer-->Headphones
I powered the OptiFET with a cheap aftermarket wall wart marked "Replacement for Boss and Ibanez". What I found was a bit of a hum/buzz that curiously went away if I touched the pedal or switch with my bare toe. I'm not an expert on noise but this sounds like a grounding issue and I attribute that to the 50+ year old wiring in my apartment. Again with a battery,...no noise.
TBH, this is an audiophile piece of gear and slack jawing with a cheap power supply seems dumb. Get a battery if you don't want to drop 200 clams on a PPII+
I'm not sure that I'll use this comp in my noise project where I use my effects the most so I can't comment on how this pedal will sound with my other effects and the cheapo glorified daisy chain I pilfered from a gator pedaltote (G-Bus-8, honestly need to upgrade to the PPII+). I just wouldn't know where to put it on my pedalboard in the signal chain, nor do I think all that fuzz would benefit from being compressed, but this pedal really shined in a clean straight up R'N'R setting. I could see this pedal making it's way onto a PT Mini post envelope filter and pre overdrive.
Also let me say that Glen has been in contact with me concerning the noise issue so all of this I've gone over with him. A tribute to excellent customer service even for someone that bought off the used market.
The noise issue cropped up when I first got it,...I didn't have a chance to try the pedal out until later in the evening, and as not to wake the neighbors my signal chain was as follows.
Bass-->OptiFET-->Whirlwind passive DI-->Berhinger Xenyx 502 Mixer-->Headphones
I powered the OptiFET with a cheap aftermarket wall wart marked "Replacement for Boss and Ibanez". What I found was a bit of a hum/buzz that curiously went away if I touched the pedal or switch with my bare toe. I'm not an expert on noise but this sounds like a grounding issue and I attribute that to the 50+ year old wiring in my apartment. Again with a battery,...no noise.
TBH, this is an audiophile piece of gear and slack jawing with a cheap power supply seems dumb. Get a battery if you don't want to drop 200 clams on a PPII+
I'm not sure that I'll use this comp in my noise project where I use my effects the most so I can't comment on how this pedal will sound with my other effects and the cheapo glorified daisy chain I pilfered from a gator pedaltote (G-Bus-8, honestly need to upgrade to the PPII+). I just wouldn't know where to put it on my pedalboard in the signal chain, nor do I think all that fuzz would benefit from being compressed, but this pedal really shined in a clean straight up R'N'R setting. I could see this pedal making it's way onto a PT Mini post envelope filter and pre overdrive.
Also let me say that Glen has been in contact with me concerning the noise issue so all of this I've gone over with him. A tribute to excellent customer service even for someone that bought off the used market.
Another update,...I went out on a limb and took the OptiFET to loud band rehearsal last night. I put it at the end of the chain and really didn't notice any negative points with my fuzzes activated,...again using a battery the comp was dead silent. This is really an excellent comp. I can't wait to record with it,...I'll definitely look into ducking with the kick drum.
