Solid Gold FX Beta with small all-tube amps = redundant/not great?

[Chris 'Wighat' Jordan]

This is my first ever pedal and and it really seems to do what my amp already does by itself and the two together are not impressive. Would you say "duh" or "you're doing it wrong"?

 

[omie]

Are you using it at gig volume and in a mix?

It's a beautiful pedal... Maybe not for everyone and every set up. I rarely turn it off for 4 sets worth of rock covers. It darkens my tone which I don't normally like, but it sits so well in the mix and adds a nice warm round fatness on every string. I'll kick up the gain for more OD and I find the tone knob to be subtle but effective.

It can only do just enough and it can't do 'too much'.

 

[blindrabbit]

This is my first ever pedal and and it really seems to do what my amp already does by itself and the two together are not impressive. Would you say "duh" or "you're doing it wrong"?

All pedals are so different and unique, along with each person's rig and settings and playing style. When all your variables line up, it may sound for you like it only does what your amp accomplishes, and that might mean it isn't the right pedal for you.

What are you looking for a pedal to do, what amp are you using, what bass are you using, what context are you playing in, and importantly, how much money do you want to spend?

 

[Fuzzbass]

When all your variables line up, it may sound for you like it only does what your amp accomplishes, and that might mean it isn't the right pedal for you.

To the OP: you did nothing wrong. You took a chance on something that you hoped would improve your tone. Taking chances is part of the learning process. Perhaps you've learned that you like your tone as is.

Or perhaps you need to spend more time with the pedal, but if you've tried all its options and are still unimpressed, well, sorry about that, but pretty much all of us have been there.

As blindrabbit asked, what did you want the pedal to do?

 

[Chris 'Wighat' Jordan]

Thanks, folks. I found value in all your comments. I've only used the Beta twice and both times were at gigs.

Reverend BH5>Ampeg V4B>JBL 4695B-4

Conclusions so far:

don't have a particular goal, just experimenting, so I don't have any specific expectations for this pedal

need to spend more time with the Beta's settings

Beta's subtle overdrive is something I've already got, at least with my smaller amps - and the amps do it better. I'm gonna give it a whirl with my SVT-CL

 

[blindrabbit]

Thanks, folks. I found value in all your comments. I've only used the Beta twice and both times were at gigs.

Reverend BH5>Ampeg V4B>JBL 4695B-4

Conclusions so far:

don't have a particular goal, just experimenting, so I don't have any specific expectations for this pedal

need to spend more time with the Beta's settings

Beta's subtle overdrive is something I've already got, at least with my smaller amps - and the amps do it better. I'm gonna give it a whirl with my SVT-CL

Ok, so if you have pillowy tube amps then the pillowy overdrive that the Beta gives won't be appreciably different, makes total sense.

Things to consider then would be a more aggressive form of overdrive or distortion that will give you a distinctly different sound.

My first suggestion is going to be the smallsound/bigsound Mini. This pedal has a wide range of tones in it, and it is very easy to use. It can go from a dirty boost to a nice overdrive into distortion territory and tops out quite fuzzy. You've got powerful EQ controls on the pedal, as well as a bias knob that has massive influence over the sounds you are getting. It should be priced not too far off the price of the Beta.

Here are some demos for you to look at to help decide if this pedal has tones in it that you'd like.

 

[Chris 'Wighat' Jordan]

Ok, so if you have pillowy tube amps then the pillowy overdrive that the Beta gives won't be appreciably different, makes total sense.

Things to consider then would be a more aggressive form of overdrive or distortion that will give you a distinctly different sound.

My first suggestion is going to be the smallsound/bigsound Mini. This pedal has a wide range of tones in it, and it is very easy to use. It can go from a dirty boost to a nice overdrive into distortion territory and tops out quite fuzzy. You've got powerful EQ controls on the pedal, as well as a bias knob that has massive influence over the sounds you are getting. It should be used not too far off the price of the Beta (and less than the Beta was used).

Here are some demos for you to look at to help decide if this pedal has tones in it that you'd like.

Cool! Thanks for the vids. I like it.

 

[Coughdrops]

I never really used the Beta as just a low gain drive. That's essentially where the settings were but I thought of it as an EQ pedal, really. My straight amp tone was a more flat response that had more mids and treble presence. The Beta became a fat EQ and the overdrive character was sort of a bonus. I would up using it a lot on reggae type tunes etc.

Another possibility is to crank the gain and tone knobs. Then you have a more raging OD/distortion type tone, should you need one. The Beta isn't the most versatile pedal out there, so outside its few sounds, it may not be what you're looking for.

I can say that the Mini is a great pedal and I use it often. It's got a lot of sounds in it. But I do think it'd be a good idea to think what tonal goals you are trying to solve when looking for a pedal. Otherwise, experimenting blindly, while fun, can become expensive.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Reverend BH5>Ampeg V4B>JBL 4695B-4

Nice!