i hate them. i find they totally kill the heaviness. i like sustain and feedback, it makes the music just ooze.
as a gated effect they have their uses but as a utility pedal to control noise/feedback i prefer to just use a mute switch
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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
as a gated effect they have their uses but as a utility pedal to control noise/feedback i prefer to just use a mute switch
I go the other route. I like my rig dead quiet when I'm not playing, and not blaring feedback or anything. I have 2 in my chain - 1 after dirt and 1 in the loop to kill any noise from the preamp. The second one is also before my delay, so my delays aren't cut short.
I find that using them subtly, so they don't chomp down on the signal too early is my preference. I don't like gated sounding effects, though.
I currently use an MXR SmartGate and an ISP Decimator (the old one, I think). Both work fine, are very simple, and allow notes to sustain without killing them too early (unless you set them to). Edit - I could likely just use the one in my FX loop, but on occasion my B3K just seems to run hotter and need a gate to avoid annoying hiss. The ISP solves that. Also, if I ever run one of my other amps without a loop, I don't have to refigure my board much. Just run the out of the ISP to my HPF and delay that are typically in the loop.
For my cheaper practice boards I use the DOD Gate/Loop, which is better as a Gate than a loop, as it doesn't have the sensitivity of the others. I've also used a Boss NS-2 with my old HM-2 in my guitar rig. The "x" configuration works best to kill unwanted noise, and still keep attack.
Hope this helps!
Edit: As for pros and cons, the biggest con for me is having to adjust the gain levels of my pedals, and then consequently the sensitivity of my gates. Since I often have to adjust volume between solo practice and rehearsal, this can get a bit much at times. I know now where to set the gates for each scenario, but it can take a bit to figure out, and sometimes I forget and my rig sounds off until I fix it. This is more of an issue with my guitar rig, as I use the clean channel only and the dirt levels must be constantly adjusted when the amp needs to be louder (only a single pre/vol on that channel). On my bass rig, I keep the pre volume pretty constant, so the tone of distortion and volume up until this portion is identical, and tweak the power amp volume to whatever I need. That way, I only ever have to mess with the single knob on my SmartGate (and even then rarely) once I have the volume where I need it on the amp.
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Another round of "I have a dumb question" has started! This time, phasers!
1 - What is a phaser, and what does it do?
2 - Any famous (heavy) examples that I might already know of, or that I can listen to?
3 - Should I get one? (Probably not, but obviously YES!)
4 - What are decent options in an affordable budget? ($50 or so, as a I doubt I'll use it enough to justify much. I'll likely snag an old DOD as I typically love old FX Series stuff.)
Thanks as always, gents!
1 - What is a phaser, and what does it do?
2 - Any famous (heavy) examples that I might already know of, or that I can listen to?
3 - Should I get one? (Probably not, but obviously YES!)
4 - What are decent options in an affordable budget? ($50 or so, as a I doubt I'll use it enough to justify much. I'll likely snag an old DOD as I typically love old FX Series stuff.)
Thanks as always, gents!
Sounds like a flanger, but more subtle. It works by taking the signal and then moving it out of phase with the source and mixing it back in causing it to sort of woosh and warble as the sounds go in and out of phase with each other. This can be done by varying amounts (ie, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, etc etc).
If you've ever had a phase switch in your guitar to make one pickup wired out of phase with the other, imagine that sound but sort of moving in and out in waves.
It's sort of a one trick pony, like a flanger. Some of the MXR models get alot of love. I've got a Zoom MS60b with a phaser in it, but it never really did it for me so I never pursued a real one.
It's not "heavy," but the O'Jay's Love of Money is a great example of heavy phasing.
If you've ever had a phase switch in your guitar to make one pickup wired out of phase with the other, imagine that sound but sort of moving in and out in waves.
It's sort of a one trick pony, like a flanger. Some of the MXR models get alot of love. I've got a Zoom MS60b with a phaser in it, but it never really did it for me so I never pursued a real one.
It's not "heavy," but the O'Jay's Love of Money is a great example of heavy phasing.
Ah, ok. Thanks. Already have a flanger, so maybe I'll pass on a phaser. Always other gear to acquire, anyway!
Today is the day Doc!
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This has me excited
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This has me excited
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Thanks Batty, Kleiny, and Corny. I emailed MGR about the bass's condition and another question, and they got back to me same day. Short story long, I bought a new bass for the first time since 1992.
the vis comm and animation program at the school are closing, therefore it looks like i'm going to have to get another job, but for once i'm going to try and be smart about it and not get dragged into another place with bad pay and terrible hours
Good luck. I had a melt down this morning with the absurdity of my current vocation during oncall escalations and I think I'm back at a point where I have to do something, anything, else.
1 - It phases. The way I like to use them creates a slow movement as the part subtly shifts in and out of phase. If you listen to the clip below, without phase the riff would probably be kind of boring, but the constant movement makes it more trippy.
2 -
3 - Probably
4 - Phase 90, Small Stone
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Boy can i relate to that. My dad passed away recently and something clicked in my head that i couldnt deal with all the crap i was dealing with at work for a job i dont enjoy anymore. Currently jobless and living off savings for now. I dont recommend doing it that way, but I feel better now than i have in years. I miss him, but i feel less hopeless and suicidal than i did before.
Jealous
No offece to weed eater but they should not be opening for weed eater!
The first time i heard them in the 90's I laughed out loud- now they are one of my favorite bands.
The Blower Box is a RAT with a bax EQ. The bax scoops it a little bit but a rat is generally a pretty mid forward sound.
The ODB3 can have mids. Like I said, it requires very fine tuning and sounds best with settings you wouldn't normally turn to. I can't remember who exactly, but a doom room member (maybe here, but might live at the rogue camp) learned of a mod to add a mid pot to the ODB3. Also, if it's sizzling your treble and/or gain/blend need rolling back and your volume turned up to compensate.
I'm plugging mine in now.
Pros: dunno don't use them, but I've considered it.
Cons: extra power needed, can sound crappy, unnecessary outside of extreme gain.
Just roll your gain back and turn up a little. My tone is super dirty and outside of good ole Ric 60 cycle, my rig is silent.
Get one. It's not that similar to a flanger. I mean they are kind of similar but a phaser is more wet and syrupy sounding and can't do the jet engine thing.
Regarding knob twiddling. Why don't you just leave your pedals as is and adjust your master volume. Or, for like $10-15 in parts, build a passive volume knob for the end of your chain and turn all of it down without touching amp or pedals. I have a 5 channel looper with one of these.
That's the ideal scenario to stop knob twiddling, but the reality is that once I'm at volume, any slight differences in volume from my pedals at low volume are amplified and very obvious, necessitating tweaking. And the low volume sounds don't happen very easily when my pedals are cranked and the master is very low. Very sensitive controls that go from inaudible to too loud in 1/16 of an inch, when my pedals are cranked at least. The passive volume box might be good, though, as I could get them all to volume, and then just tweak them all simultaneously, if I understand correctly.
