Double Bass Sushi Box tube preamp pedals (DB thread)

[Sushi Box FX]

Nobelium is generally exclusively a C2C build project, but I am doing a limited run for those that don't want to build their own.

 

[Scott Freeman]

Rockin' the new Sushi Box T-shirt last week, using an Elementary with 10 Mohm impedance and a 12AT7 tube. Loads of clean power. And yes, I know I'm singing into a bass drum mic

 

[Hasty]

Rockin' the new Sushi Box T-shirt last week, using an Elementary with 10 Mohm impedance and a 12AT7 tube. Loads of clean power. And yes, I know I'm singing into a bass drum mic

My band mates sometimes give me a mic too. They never plug it in and think I don’t notice… but I do.

 

[JBarz]

I got my hands on an Elementary. I’ve been in Tonedexter world and have missed the tube thing. Digging it, for sure. Doesn’t get along at all with the TD2 (power supply issues - they refuse to run off the same circuit) but it doesn’t need to - two different amplification conceptions, best to keep them separate. It does seem to follow really nicely behind the Redeye, though. Tube rolled a little bit, but gain staging sounds best for me with the Tungsol 12AX7 it came with. I like the option of getting just a little dirty/crunchy if I’ve got the ‘tude and am in the mood for it. I am debating modifying it to be 5.6 ohm impedance and ditching the Redeye, but am on the fence (‘cause if it ain’t broke…)

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Better modified to 5.6 MegOhms than 5.6 Ohms.

 

[afroblue]

is there a consensus on which sushibox is best for upright? the Neptunium I presume, rather than the slampegg?

 

[havnjero]

finally v3 is the most useful to me. with the sweepable high pass filter.
they can be modified for desired impedance before shipping. just send an email or add an order note.

 

[JBarz]

is there a consensus on which sushibox is best for upright? the Neptunium I presume, rather than the slampegg?

I’ve only tried the original slampegg, the more, and the elementary, but the elementary is my favorite because of how it breaks up without making the attack fuzzy. It makes my rig sound/feel like a little boutique 5w tube guitar amp, which I love (especially for the chordal stuff up top), but can also dial back to totally clean. I really wanted to try the grand slampegg before it got discontinued, but it’s got a lot that is redundant with my AI head (xlr out, HPF) so I held off.

 

[havnjero]

I use the grand slampegg, slampegg x, nobelium, sbvt2, underground accelerator, and others.
I have every version of the finally.
plugged into a gk head the other day and found that the low mid was centered right where I needed it, so I'm looking for a "per my last email" now, so that I have that option.
it depends on your bass.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

Elementary for me.

 

[Hasty]

I've got a Space Heater, London Underground, Underground Accelerator, Vampire Slayer, and a Nobelium.

If I'm going straight into an amp and don't need anything else I like the Vampire Slayer. It's just a buffer with a 5.6M input impedance.

With the ToneDexter, I like following it with the Nebelium. That way I know I'm sending a great signal to FOH and the static HPF works well with my setup.

 

[JBarz]

With the ToneDexter, I like following it with the Nebelium

Do you have any difficulties getting these high-draw pres to get along? I was hoping to get some tube color blur after my TD2, but the Elementary gave a loud electronic buzz every time I tried to run the two at the same time. I even tried plugging them into different outlets and they still interacted with each other.

Nobellium continues to make me drool but I also wonder if the Finally or grand slampegg might work better after the TD2 to get that little bit of color.

Saint Nathan is fixing my Elementary after I botched the 5.6Moh mod and boy howdy do I already feel a tube flavored hole in my amp’d sound.

 

[Hasty]

Do you have any difficulties getting these high-draw pres to get along? I was hoping to get some tube color blur after my TD2, but the Elementary gave a loud electronic buzz every time I tried to run the two at the same time. I even tried plugging them into different outlets and they still interacted with each other.

Nobellium continues to make me drool but I also wonder if the Finally or grand slampegg might work better after the TD2 to get that little bit of color.

Saint Nathan is fixing my Elementary after I botched the 5.6Moh mod and boy howdy do I already feel a tube flavored hole in my amp’d sound.

I did have some issues when I first joined them together. It wasn't an electronic buzz... it was more of a noise floor type problem. I figured it was my NOS tubes and I swapped them for Mullard's and it's been dead quiet ever since.

Side note, I'm powering them both with a Cioks DC7 and there's a Cioks 8800 flex adapter on the ToneDexter2 to bump up the available current.

 

[JBarz]

Thanks buddy, that’s exactly what I needed to know - looks like that CIOKS solution you found might be the only way to get the TD2 12v 700ma in isolated pedal power.

 

[Hasty]

The Cioks works great. If you don't need all seven ports check out the Sol. It only has 5 ports, but it's almost $100 cheaper. I've got both of them and they both work well with the TD2.

Edited to add- I was just looking at the DC7 and was reminded about the Crux. When hooked up to the DC7, it'll give you enough current to light up a small city. 2700mA at 9V and 2000 mV at 12V.

 

[Happy Steve]

FWIW I am using this battery to power my TDII. It easily lasts a 3 hour gig that I have sometimes, leaving it powered on through the breaks.
https://www.amazon.com.au/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-20000mAh-Portable/dp/B01337QXMA/

 

[JBarz]

To tide my tube madness over whilst my Elementary is out for repair, I snagged a Bee Pre X of the classifieds, as I had traded away my last one and missed the flavor.

It came in a couple hours before the gig so I didn’t have time to dig in too deeply, but I immediately switched the tube to a NOS Mallard AT7 and threw it into my loud-gig-rig (AI head, Barefaced 12 cab).

It didn’t have the same electrical incompatibility issues with the TD2, but the flavor didn’t sit well after the processing. When on the front end, the attack envelope feels so good (!!!!), but you lose some of the feedback reduction magic that happens when you plug in directly to the TD2, unfortunately.

On my one10 cab the Slampegg reins king for my quiet-gig-rig, though, and I’m glad to have one back in my arsenal.

I’m slowly starting to understand that preamps don’t always get along with each other as expected and more is not always better. Futhermore, their response and interaction is extremely dependent on the bass/pickup/cab combo you’re cooking with. So many variables and routing options can be… uh… overwhelming to say the least, lol.

That being said, as point of conversation, I am really liking what the Redeye FET thing does after a tube. I am wondering if anyone here has tried the Sushibox Finally (featuring a FET circuit on the tail end) on double bass?

 

[bdowd]

I use a finally right after my headway he, and before my radial jdv. Without it my sound is flat, love the tube in the chain. I have a slampegg, not a fan overall, db or eb, and I like a b15. Im interested in elementary and updated finally with hpf.

 

[JBarz]

The Slampegg is so wooly I do feel like it does best all by its lonesome. I can definitely see how and why this evolved into a larger all-in-one HPF and DI out solution before it got taken off the market.

Can I just say…

I bought an Elementary pedal used, and contacted the maker, our venerated Saint Nathan, about DIY modifying it. He not only told me exactly what to change and where, but fixed it for free when I totally botched the job with my novice soldering chops, tail between my legs, and furthermore genuinely congratulated me for trying, lol. TBH, I don’t think I would have been nearly as patient with these shenanigans if our roles were reversed. This is truly an inspiring business model. Suffice to say - thanks, dude.


I’m going to start squirreling away my tip money for a Finally v3, for sure. It seems like it’ll get along really well following the TD2.

 

[JBarz]

I got sucked down this rabbit hole again, went pretty deep, and finally managed to get out.

Here’s where I settled.

This is my “loud-rig”. Since I don’t hardly use my high fifth string unless playing solo (gets in other people’s “territory”), and I don’t play loud on solo gigs, that means it’ll be primary driven by my ‘55 King Mortone. Even with the same pickups, different basses respond so different that the quest was overwhelming with too many variables. Keep it simple, stupid.

Anyway, here’s my final late submission for locked in 2026 (and beyond!) MBOL gig rig

Mortone (fifths, gut) -> Yamahiko M8 4.6 cap’d -> Redeye (treble down, boost up) -> Elementary -> TD2 50/50 input/wavemap blend with feedback reduction and spaciousness to taste -> Ditto looper - > AI head-> barefaced SMT

The Slampegg -> ditto leads the solo gig rig for the five string with my 10” cabs.

My favorite is dialing in the Sushibox pedals to right at the edge of breakup so when I really dig in I
get a little hoarse rasp that means I really mean business and ‘dammit drummer, I’m taking a solo, quit trying to push a f’n funk back-beat on this ballad and just play colors, m’f’r!’

That Cioks power supply was clutch, btw - thanks again for solving that piece of the puzzle for me.

I’m grateful to be out of that all consuming obsessive trial/error hunt and now intend to very much shut off that part of my brain and get back to just making music. My future selves will hopefully be grateful for the effort, lol.