Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[kleinenenten]

Two suggestions, different price points:

1) TC Electronic Spark Booster. Not the "mini" version, but the full-sized one with bass and treble knobs. Inexpensive, versatile (I have two of them), and does the barely-there-low-gain thing exceedingly well. Pretty quiet, too. And as said, inexpensive; I paid $50 each, new.

2) Broughton SV-Pre. Does the full range of SVT-style dirt, but IMO works best in the low-gain area. Volume to the max, Gain as low as possible, enjoy. Bit pricey and hard to find on the used market, though.

Honorable mention: Damnation Audio MBD-1 or -2. Does the low-gain thing well, and comes with nice sound shaping options like the Deep dial and a dry blend. But personally I like it better when pushed, I even use the MBD-2's +20dB switch, so … yeah. Honorable mention.

I always hear praise for the Spark - does it do the same dirt on a solid state amp? I won't be pushing tubes, so if it's truly a booster, I doubt it will work as well for me.

And funny you mention the MBD-2 - that is one of my front runners right now, and I just tried the MBD-1 and am really loving it. Was wondering about the 2 vs 1 comparison, as I definitely want the smaller option if they do the same tones.

 

[Sascha Erni]

I always hear praise for the Spark - does it do the same dirt on a solid state amp? I won't be pushing tubes, so if it's truly a booster, I doubt it will work as well for me.

The Spark Booster is more of an OD pedal than a classic boost pedal, so that low-gain OD sound it produces is all from itself, not from the combination with an amp. To wit, I use one of my two Sparks in an ampless band.

(The Spark Booster Mini though is just that, a clean boost pedal.)

And funny you mention the MBD-2 - that is one of my front runners right now, and I just tried the MBD-1 and am really loving it. Was wondering about the 2 vs 1 comparison, as I definitely want the smaller option if they do the same tones.

Over in the Damnation Audio thread, people have tried to copy an MBD-1's sound with an MBD-2 and vice-versa for a long time. General consensus is that you can get very close either way, but that there still remains a very very slight difference. Personally I prefer the MBD-2 because of its 20dB switch which allows me to get close to fuzz territory, but leaving fuzz land with the flick of a switch without having to dial in the pedal from scratch. It's like a gear shift for the MBD's internals.

 

[Kaa]

I, for one, am willing to sacrifice your blood if it keeps her healthy and happy

As one who is not desperate to cling to this plane of reality, I'm fine with that.

 

[Kaa]

Finally have a big cab again, dang did I miss that massive wall of air feel! Kiddos kept saying to turn it up louder lol! Had it damn near cranked. Couldn't pass up on the deal, just a lot of wear n tear. Speakers and everything that matters is in great shape.

View attachment 4862345

I see noone in the other thread talked you out of it.

 

[Novarocker]

I see noone in the other thread talked you out of it.

Nope, glad too. It thankfully is not dark sounding, or at least to my standard. After what twofingers said about tightening up any muddy low end, and JimmyM when he recalled that he never experienced such, I was good. That and I cranked it up a little and easily got it bright without the tweeter at the shop.

That really was my only hesitation on the cab. Being the SLM one, based on the plate and OSB wood, I recall Jimmy saying they were supposedly not as bright as the newer ones.

Gotta say, now that I see how simply it's built, I think I might make a clone outta 5/8" or 1/2" lightweight ply if I ever wanna cut some weight. That or find neo drivers to swap.

Hell for less than $250 I'm sold

 

[kleinenenten]

The Spark Booster is more of an OD pedal than a classic boost pedal, so that low-gain OD sound it produces is all from itself, not from the combination with an amp. To wit, I use one of my two Sparks in an ampless band.

(The Spark Booster Mini though is just that, a clean boost pedal.)


Over in the Damnation Audio thread, people have tried to copy an MBD-1's sound with an MBD-2 and vice-versa for a long time. General consensus is that you can get very close either way, but that there still remains a very very slight difference. Personally I prefer the MBD-2 because of its 20dB switch which allows me to get close to fuzz territory, but leaving fuzz land with the flick of a switch without having to dial in the pedal from scratch. It's like a gear shift for the MBD's internals.

"Very very slight difference" is probably good enough for me! I spent a bit tweaking more tonight, and got it sounding even better than yesterday. Going to have to get the MBD-2 some time. As much as I enjoy the MBD-1, there's no way I'd be able to put it on my board, and the Pork Loin does just fine. But if I can get that tone in a smaller package than the Pork Loin, I could maybe even put another pedal on the board too...

Maybe I'll grab a Spark some time in the future then, too. Sounds like a handy pedal to have around, especially if it's that affordable.

 

[scabpicker]

Hell for less than $250 I'm sold

Heheh, and I thought my Ampeg 2x15 was a steal at $300. Didn't even plug it in before I bought it. He said it worked, and I trusted him. It's my favorite bass cab, ever. I don't feel like I've ever had to push it anywhere near its limits. I've played through big cabs, and I've played through small cabs. I prefer the former.

Went and saw Melt-Banana tonight, they were incredible. Pretty much everything I could have wanted out of them performance-wise - they blasted. To top that off, they're the only touring band I've seen in a long time that set up their own gear and manned their own merch table. Those motherscratchers are dedicated, they mean it. If they play near your town, go see 'em!

The openers (Ed Schrader's Music Beat), were interesting. The set started somewhere between new wave and prog rock, but ended up heavy enough to dovetail into Melt-Banana's set. The bassist was rocking the nicest Peavey T-40 I've ever seen, with great tone. Here's one of their waver-ish songs from early in the set.



Funnily enough, I heard this which I've never heard before on the way there. I kinda can't stop re-listening to it. It's a 2020 remix of a song released in 1971, covered/converted by some Manchester Beat folks in the 1990s. This version has a serious Krautrock vibes. I loves it.



Oh, and I finally stepped on my worn out 20 year old headphones one too many times (don't store your headphones on the floor like I do, kids). Anyone got a favorite closed back headphone model that is flat-ish enough for mixing, etc? I've got my AKG K240s as a workaround until I find something, but the open backs mean I can disturb others...and they've never fit the weird dimensions of my head.


(And no, I didn't notice that the song I'd last mentioned was "He's Gonna to Step on You Again" before I brought up that I stepped on my headphones one too many times until much later. I'm not clever enough to plan that kind of thing. Life is awesome.)

 

[lucas303]

Oh, and I finally stepped on my worn out 20 year old headphones one too many times (don't store your headphones on the floor like I do, kids). Anyone got a favorite closed back headphone model that is flat-ish enough for mixing, etc? I've got my AKG K240s as a workaround until I find something, but the open backs mean I can disturb others...and they've never fit the weird dimensions of my head.

I really like the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro.

 

[scabpicker]

I really like the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro.

Hmm, sadly they've been discontinued, it seems like the HD300 Pro is the replacement for it. I'm considering them.

 

[Sascha Erni]

Personally, at home and in my own "studio" setting, I use AKG K701 headphones, but they're open-backed, too, so probably won't help here. But if, for whatever reason, open-back comes back into play, give them or their K702 cousin a listen. By far the most comfortable headphones I've used in the past close to 40 years or so.

In regards to closed headphones, most people I know to use headphones professionally go with Sennheiser 300 series headphones. Not sure what model exactly, but the cable is removable (similar to the K702 above). In the case of my employer, it's not by choice mind, but a company roll-out thing. But I've seen the same headphones all over Swiss media, from TV stations to radio to music production.

 

[Novarocker]

I don't think they're good for mixing, but my audio technica are comfy as hell. I think they are the cheaper $50 ones, maybe even less. Eitherway, they're comfy, and I've heard the higher tier models are more flat and recommended for mixing.

 

[Novarocker]

 

[lucas303]

View attachment 4864792

I have the same ones, or something very similar, and while they are comfortable and sound decent they're not neutral sounding so I wouldn't use them for mixing.

 

[Novarocker]

I have the same ones, or something very similar, and while they are comfortable and sound decent they're not neutral sounding so I wouldn't use them for mixing.

For sure, definitely not nuetral. Even bass heavy, but not in a typical way for me. I gotta say for the abuse my kids give em, I might buy a couple more. I think they were cheap. Great for monitoring and plinking around.

Heheh, and I thought my Ampeg 2x15 was a steal at $300. Didn't even plug it in before I bought it. He said it worked, and I trusted him. It's my favorite bass cab, ever. I don't feel like I've ever had to push it anywhere near its limits. I've played through big cabs, and I've played through small cabs. I prefer the former.

Went and saw Melt-Banana tonight, they were incredible. Pretty much everything I could have wanted out of them performance-wise - they blasted. To top that off, they're the only touring band I've seen in a long time that set up their own gear and manned their own merch table. Those motherscratchers are dedicated, they mean it. If they play near your town, go see 'em!

The openers (Ed Schrader's Music Beat), were interesting. The set started somewhere between new wave and prog rock, but ended up heavy enough to dovetail into Melt-Banana's set. The bassist was rocking the nicest Peavey T-40 I've ever seen, with great tone. Here's one of their waver-ish songs from early in the set.



Funnily enough, I heard this which I've never heard before on the way there. I kinda can't stop re-listening to it. It's a 2020 remix of a song released in 1971, covered/converted by some Manchester Beat folks in the 1990s. This version has a serious Krautrock vibes. I loves it.



Oh, and I finally stepped on my worn out 20 year old headphones one too many times (don't store your headphones on the floor like I do, kids). Anyone got a favorite closed back headphone model that is flat-ish enough for mixing, etc? I've got my AKG K240s as a workaround until I find something, but the open backs mean I can disturb others...and they've never fit the weird dimensions of my head.


(And no, I didn't notice that the song I'd last mentioned was "He's Gonna to Step on You Again" before I brought up that I stepped on my headphones one too many times until much later. I'm not clever enough to plan that kind of thing. Life is awesome.)

I realized I forgot to mention I had $75 in gift cards, but yeah talked em down to $300. For sure steal. I've never tried a 215, always wanted to.

 

[Andsvara]

This looks interesting.

 

[lucas303]

This looks interesting.

Damn...very tempting.

 

[scabpicker]

Personally, at home and in my own "studio" setting, I use AKG K701 headphones, but they're open-backed, too, so probably won't help here. But if, for whatever reason, open-back comes back into play, give them or their K702 cousin a listen. By far the most comfortable headphones I've used in the past close to 40 years or so.

In regards to closed headphones, most people I know to use headphones professionally go with Sennheiser 300 series headphones. Not sure what model exactly, but the cable is removable (similar to the K702 above). In the case of my employer, it's not by choice mind, but a company roll-out thing. But I've seen the same headphones all over Swiss media, from TV stations to radio to music production.

Now that I think about it, the reason I went with closed back headphones was because I had woken up my wife when listening to something while she was sleeping in the next room at our old house. I'm a floor away now, and damn, using my AKG K240s reminded me that open backed cans are usually lighter and more comfy. Also, it's easier to make an open backed set have a flat response on the bass end. So open backed headphones are on the table, I'll give the AKGs a look.

I don't think they're good for mixing, but my audio technica are comfy as hell. I think they are the cheaper $50 ones, maybe even less. Eitherway, they're comfy, and I've heard the higher tier models are more flat and recommended for mixing.

Heheh, the set I broke were a set of ATH-M45s that I really did kind of treasure, even though the ear pads had long been disintegrating and making my wife ask "What's that black stuff on your head?" Comfy, excellent sound for the price. I'm eying the ATH-R70X as well, now.

'course, I'll probably hem and haw about the issue for a day and then just pick one.

 

[cornfarmer]

This looks interesting.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Looking at a DOD 250 and Boss DS-1, and it comes in a bit cheaper....how much of that Matamp is 'really' inside the pedal is anyone's guess. This seems like something for the psychofans. I'll admit I was tempted to click on buy when I heard the first riff, then I started hearing the fizzzzz. Almost drunk-bought it. I'm only on my first gin & tonic.

I need to go hook the Gunslinger + Metal Master combo up again, because that f-ing doomed pretty hard.

 

[kleinenenten]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Looking at a DOD 250 and Boss DS-1, and it comes in a bit cheaper....how much of that Matamp is 'really' inside the pedal is anyone's guess. This seems like something for the psychofans. I'll admit I was tempted to click on buy when I heard the first riff, then I started hearing the fizzzzz. Almost drunk-bought it. I'm only on my first gin & tonic.

I need to go hook the Gunslinger + Metal Master combo up again, because that f-ing doomed pretty hard.

DOD makes/made so many great pedals. I've trimmed my collection down considerably, but they're still one of my favorite effects companies.

 

[Kaa]

Nope, glad too. It thankfully is not dark sounding, or at least to my standard. After what twofingers said about tightening up any muddy low end, and JimmyM when he recalled that he never experienced such, I was good. That and I cranked it up a little and easily got it bright without the tweeter at the shop.

That really was my only hesitation on the cab. Being the SLM one, based on the plate and OSB wood, I recall Jimmy saying they were supposedly not as bright as the newer ones.

Gotta say, now that I see how simply it's built, I think I might make a clone outta 5/8" or 1/2" lightweight ply if I ever wanna cut some weight. That or find neo drivers to swap.

Hell for less than $250 I'm sold

It sounded like a future quasi-project, from the thread. I bet if you cloned the cab out of better wood, it might very well wake up the sound even more. OSB is not the best acoustic material if I recollect. Did it have internal damping material?