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Super 300 Owners Society

#681
Is @Sensei Tim still active here? Maybe I should try the Master Effects main thread? I just tried the Super 300 with Input, Balanced, and Output all plugged in, in case for some eason that balanced output needs the primary Out to also be plugged in, and same scenario: All knobs at 12 o'clock, Level anything about 12 o'clock, and it becomes a self-oscillating synth, super weird. It makes me wonder if there's something fundamentally wrong with my pedal, since I've never really thought it sounded like all the good demos I watched/heard.
 
#683
Sensei Tim said:
those pads were for testing.

and that pedal was from 2021. definitely from the time frame when the gain control was a 100k linear pot instead of the 100k log pot that i currently use.
Click to expand...
Hi ! I just got today a used S300 here in France, where they are pretty rare. It sounds fantastic. From what i've read here, it sounds to me that it is a version with the new pot, how can I verify that ? Thanks !
 
#684
Bleezar said:
Hi ! I just got today a used S300 here in France, where they are pretty rare. It sounds fantastic. From what i've read here, it sounds to me that it is a version with the new pot, how can I verify that ? Thanks !
Click to expand...
If the gain on your pedal stays relatively mild up til around noon on the Gain control then it probably has the updated pot. With the original Gain taper there was very little adjustment range in the low gain region- at least for me, even with low output basses the gain was already pretty crunchy by around 9 o'clock on the Gain dial and so it was difficult to find my sweetspot
 
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#685
Bleezar said:
Hi ! I just got today a used S300 here in France, where they are pretty rare. It sounds fantastic. From what i've read here, it sounds to me that it is a version with the new pot, how can I verify that ? Thanks !
Click to expand...

I didn't even know there were variants of the S300. I love mine, but I don't use it for dirt at all. I'll have to check mine.
 
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#686
sunbeast said:
If the gain on your pedal stays relatively mild up til around noon on the Gain control then it probably has the updated pot. With the original Gain taper there was very little adjustment range in the low gain region- at least for me, even with low output basses the gain was already pretty crunchy by around 9 o'clock on the Gain dial and so it was difficult to find my sweetspot
Click to expand...

Thank you.
I have relatively no problem to dial clean tones via the gain knob, so my feeling is that it is an updated one.
But as mentioned before it also depends of other settings (like dialing back the mids also helps with keeping things clean at higher gain). So I'd like to be certain, is there any serial number or indications inside that could help.?
 
#687
Bleezar said:
Thank you.
I have relatively no problem to dial clean tones via the gain knob, so my feeling is that it is an updated one.
But as mentioned before it also depends of other settings (like dialing back the mids also helps with keeping things clean at higher gain). So I'd like to be certain, is there any serial number or indications inside that could help.?
Click to expand...
The EQ in this pedal is all after the clipping circuit, so EQ shouldn't affect the amount of gain. I'm sure @Sensei Tim can tell you if there's a serial number to tell you, but the physical change is that the updated pedals have an audio-taper (A taper) vs linear-taper (B taper) Gain potentiometer
 
#690
butterfingers1 said:
Can anyone describe the effect of the SOLO switch? (Used to be called Bright on older versions of the pedal).
Click to expand...
As you've seen on the other thread, what used to be called "Bright" actually adds some more heft and output (I think actually opposite to what my old SVT did). Labeling it as "Solo" probably makes more sense!
 
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#691
From what I understand the Bright effect comes from a HPF which removes some lows. The Broughton SVpre has a third position on the Low switch which explicitly turns on a HPF and also has a thinning effect, which I didn’t particularly like. I’m wondering if the S300 is similar or if there is something else to this SOLO switch. Some people have suggested a subtle distortion maybe.
 
#692
butterfingers1 said:
From what I understand the Bright effect comes from a HPF which removes some lows. The Broughton SVpre has a third position on the Low switch which explicitly turns on a HPF and also has a thinning effect, which I didn’t particularly like. I’m wondering if the S300 is similar or if there is something else to this SOLO switch. Some people have suggested a subtle distortion maybe.
Click to expand...
I’m convinced that he accidentally swapped the settings around, and what was called “Bright” in the original S300 circuit is actually following the original “Normal” input part of the SVT circuit and vice-versa. I recall my old SVT having noticeably less output using the Bright inputs whereas the S300 is opposite.

The Bright on the original amp decreased both output and bass (there is a series resistance that is doubled vs the other input combined with a parallel hi-pass capacitor that allows highs to bypass the series resistor). Assuming I am correct that these were switched around in the S300, the Solo/Bright setting increases bass and overall output into the clipping circuit which also increases the gain in the circuit. It now makes sense why I prefer the S300 with the “Bright” engaged as this actually seems to be the “Normal” input (though with it turned off the tone is still nice and full, just somewhat tighter and lower gain). I’m any case I don’t find either setting to be thin at all unless you cut the Bass!
 
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#693
butterfingers1 said:
From what I understand the Bright effect comes from a HPF which removes some lows. The Broughton SVpre has a third position on the Low switch which explicitly turns on a HPF and also has a thinning effect, which I didn’t particularly like. I’m wondering if the S300 is similar or if there is something else to this SOLO switch. Some people have suggested a subtle distortion maybe.
Click to expand...
Check out the original demo of the S300, he engages the “Bright” around 4:30 or so:

This is an older version of that pedal when the gain control ramped up much faster by the way- the newer version can stay much cleaner before you hit noon on the Gain control
 
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#696
Just received a new Super 300 yesterday, and I'm loving it. I have only one concern... every time I engage the Solo/Bright footswitch, I get a rather loud "pop" through the amplifier. Can anyone with a Super 300 confirm whether this is normal operation or not? It is loud enough that I would not want to engage the switch in the middle of a song, making the solo switch rather limited in practical use.
 
#697
313 said:
Just received a new Super 300 yesterday, and I'm loving it. I have only one concern... every time I engage the Solo/Bright footswitch, I get a rather loud "pop" through the amplifier. Can anyone with a Super 300 confirm whether this is normal operation or not? It is loud enough that I would not want to engage the switch in the middle of a song, making the solo switch rather limited in practical use.
Click to expand...
Just wanted to follow up on my own question for those who may be interested. The popping noise when engaging the solo was not normal, as confirmed by Tim from ME. He was able to solve my problem, and all is well now. Great customer service from Master Effects!
 
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