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Source Audio Zio Bass Preamp

#241
red_rhino said:
Not really. Everyone on TB does whatever works best for them to reach their tonal goals. Some of us get very deep into the numbers and settings, others go by intuition and ears, the latter being one of main appeals for tools like the Zio, IMHO. Still, it's interesting and informative to see everyone's specific technical inquiries; it gives insight.
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I'll add that for those of us who dig (and even occasionally do a fairly deep dive into) the numbers, ears are always the final judges. The 2 are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Fully understanding how something works is not an impediment to experimenting and finding great sounds any more than understanding music theory prevents one from making good music.
 
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#242
PhatBottomBass1 said:
No offense, but ya don't have to use a wreaking ball to make the a side of a building collapse. The cabinet is not going to be beat to death by the amplifier on "11" .... But, the frequencies put to it could be challenging if the correct stress releasing reductions are not in place.

A common case of this, is when players talk about their cabinet "farting out",.... something I've never personally experienced?

The cabinet does sound really nice, but players historically have over done it and paid the price. This is why I asked about it. He also said that the lack of HPF being readily available and not offered on SWR amps was the causation of this problem 25 years ago.

So, being a thinking Bass player...I got the lowdown, adjusted fire and expect great results and no issues!

See how that thinking process avoids catastrophe? :woot:
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Years ago I had a SWR 8x8 . Great sounding cabinet . It was good piece of firewood . My 100 watt Ampeg was too much for it .
 
#243
lowendrv said:
Years ago I had a SWR 8x8 . Great sounding cabinet . It was good piece of firewood . My 100 watt Ampeg was too much for it .
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Interesting...you possibly have more experience with farting out than many others?

I had a good buddy of mine who worked in the best guitar shop in Austin, Texas from 1985 - 2023, that was an Alembic dealer. He and I were both heavy users of Trace Elliot. He contacted me Monday about a gig on Friday evening. I mentioned locating this cabinet for an experimental Jazz/Blues gig with a guitarist from NYC/SF and a local drummer. He shot back; "played that cabinet on backline with the Uranium Savages (back in the day). It's the only SWR unit I was ever impressed with."

So, if it's cool with you, I'm rolling with it. But I'll check back with you and your four amps before I make any moves from here because I respect your opinion. :thumbsup:
 
#245
PhatBottomBass1 said:
Interesting...you possibly have more experience with farting out than many others?

I had a good buddy of mine who worked in the best guitar shop in Austin, Texas from 1985 - 2023, that was an Alembic dealer. He and I were both heavy users of Trace Elliot. He contacted me Monday about a gig on Friday evening. I mentioned locating this cabinet for an experimental Jazz/Blues gig with a guitarist from NYC/SF and a local drummer. He shot back; "played that cabinet on backline with the Uranium Savages (back in the day). It's the only SWR unit I was ever impressed with."

So, if it's cool with you, I'm rolling with it. But I'll check back with you and your four amps before I make any moves from here because I respect your opinion. :thumbsup:
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It's impossible for me to damage any cabinet now . I never play loud enough to do that . Only cabinet that did fart out was that 8x8 . Every amp I have ever played thru I cut the bass . This the first time boosted bass has worked for me with the ZIO . I've kinda had that Jack Bruce midrange tone . But not anymore and I'm digging it . I sound much different now with this pedal . I might try slapping ....lol
 
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#246
lowendrv said:
It's impossible for me to damage any cabinet now . I never play loud enough to do that . Only cabinet that did fart out was that 8x8 . Every amp I have ever played thru I cut the bass . This the first time boosted bass has worked for me with the ZIO . I've kinda had that Jack Bruce midrange tone . But not anymore and I'm digging it . I sound much different now with this pedal . I might try slapping ....lol
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I'm resting easier knowing and best on your lessons with the slap technique. Personally, I never found a use for it as a player. Let us know how the ZIO Bass Preamp works into those sonic endeavors. :cigar:
 
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#248
Just rec'd my first fully functional Zio today. (First one had a Grit switch problem. No big deal. Seetwater is great.) I've bought and sold more preamp pedals than I want to remember. All left me with a very lukewarm feeling or just ambivalence about them. Hartke, Sansamp, Blues Works, etc. They didn't sound bad but not great either. Zio on the other hand sounds like a bass preamp to me. To get me headed in the right direction, I paid attention to SA's demo vid and made not of control settings. Low end fundamentals really shine. This is a keeper. Now I have to read this thread for more insight on why or how it works so well.
 
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#250
Don't let this happen to you...
IMG_0749.jpg

Source Audio ZIO Bass Preamp $249 & piece of mind.

:laugh::roflmao:;):smug::D:thumbsup::cool::cigar:
 
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#254
Got my Zio back from SA. First, Source Audio’s customer service is second to none. They responded immediately, talked through the issue, provided realistic turnaround times and delivered! I now have ,in the Zio bass, a pedal that has replaced more expensive highly regarded bass pre’s. Absolute loving the clear bass thump I’m getting while also tightening up my mids and treble. It adds so much life to my drive that it’s kicked multiple other pedals off my board.
IMG_0094.jpeg
 
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#256
EncoremMP said:
Got my Zio back from SA. First, Source Audio’s customer service is second to none. They responded immediately, talked through the issue, provided realistic turnaround times and delivered! I now have ,in the Zio bass, a pedal that has replaced more expensive highly regarded bass pre’s. Absolute loving the clear bass thump I’m getting while also tightening up my mids and treble. It adds so much life to my drive that it’s kicked multiple other pedals off my board. View attachment 5342879
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:hyper:
 
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#258
After nearly 4 weeks, mine arrived! I played with a bit last night, and it's great. I didn't A/B test yet against my other preamps though, but my impression is that I like it at least as much as my Capo. Part of this is just how easy it is to dial in a good sound. I pretty much did the same as @Johno Dunn 's photo above: both switches on, bass and focus at least 50%, knock treble down slightly. Grit level at factory default, which on my bass is barely noticeable which I like.

Once work calms down a bit I'll try to compare to some of my other pedals (Capo, LowRider, Sushi UA, etc)

The only changes I'd prefer are: Grit and Scoop should be knobs instead of switches, and top jacks are always welcome. Neither of those issues are deal breakers though.
 
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#259
Derek Williams said:
The only changes I'd prefer are: Grit and Scoop should be knobs instead of switches,
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+1. I found the set screw for the Grit control rather frustrating, although I eventually went back to what I thought was the factory setting anyway because that's what sounded best to me across all my basses. I can see the Grit control being more useful for live work if it was more easily accessible. I'm okay with Scoop as a switch, since the adjustment I usually made when it was engaged was to dial back the treble control a bit; seemed to tame it nicely.

But I've had it for a couple of days now and frankly, I'm wondering if this is for me. I've had some minor success, but mostly I feel like I'm fighting overlapping functionality with my amp's EQ (GK MB800) and even more so when I'm using an active bass. I tried leaving the GK EQ flat and didn't care for the result, but I'm not so sure I trust that the GK's flat settings are actually truly flat. I may try using a Q-Strip to bypass the GK's pre entirely and see what that does for me. I like the Zio best in front of my Lusithand Alma; gives it a nice push.

I'll gonna continue to work with it. I'm curious to know what adjustments (if any) people find they need to make when using this in front of an amp.
 
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