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Tech 21 bass fly rig

I'll tell you the way that I intend to use it, I will be disengaging both the sansamp and the compressor from time to time.

I will use the sansamp for drive and sometimes I don't like the synthetic sound of compression. I'm glad they are not an "always on" thing.

At this point I can't imagine a situation where the octafilter would take precedence over the other two. Comp and sansamp are both much more utilitarian than the octafilter section.
You're missing what I was trying to get at. I agree with you. I was saying I can kind of agree with what person I was replying to said but that it does make more sense to have the octave fuzz and filter available at the press of one footswitch instead of tap dancing to get combos of them.
 
Managed to upload the videos.



@tech21nyc


It's a gated fuzz--that's what they do. It's not meant to be a dynamic other than if the signal is over or under the threshold of the gate. If you want more sustain from the drive, try bumping up the compressor so that your signal stays high enough to continually open the gate. Also, I think I read somewhere that the range knob affects the gate a bit, so you might be able to find a better setting messing with that. If you need something that more faithfully responds to your dynamics, you will have to use a different pedal and place it before the BFR.
 
It's a gated fuzz--that's what they do. It's not meant to be a dynamic other than if the signal is over or under the threshold of the gate. If you want more sustain from the drive, try bumping up the compressor so that your signal stays high enough to continually open the gate. Also, I think I read somewhere that the range knob affects the gate a bit, so you might be able to find a better setting messing with that. If you need something that more faithfully responds to your dynamics, you will have to use a different pedal and place it before the BFR.

Thanks for double confirming my doubt Ricky:) and I know it's by design, not an issue:)
 
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If theres a DSP in there, then only the signal path is analog.
This is detailed on the web, and earlier in the thread. The digital section is in a parallel path, separate from the analog Sansamp, boost and OD. They stay independent and blendable with the digital effects all the way from the input jack to the output.

On the guitar versions, only the reverb, delay and chorus are digital. Not sure about the exact breakdown of the BFR signal path...
 
Received mine yesterday, unwrapped it and gigged it. Quick review so far. Goal is is to be eventually ampless. Had been looking at a collection of pedals to cover DI, compressor, tuner, etc. You can see the attraction here.

Ran it all night with the SansAmp and comp on. SansAmp was dead flat, but still added just enough that I didn't tweak it. (Again, directly from the porch to a gig, so...)

Tweaked the compressor a bit. At first, had it squashed too much. Opened it back up after 4-5 songs and was much happier. Feels pretty musical. Main idea here was to level it out between a fairly light touch to slap - and it did that pretty darn well. Not boutique, but I'm not a compressor aficionado (yet).

Tuner is really nice. Very easy to see on stage and tracks pretty quick, including a low B.

Part of what I was shooting for was an octaver, mostly for Sledgehammer. This was where my largest concern was; it's not a pure octave pedal, have to deal with the fuzz & filter and whatnot. But cranked those down, and listening to it this morning, sounds pretty good from the recording. Still a trace of fuzz, but you don't hear it in the mix.

Chorus seems decent. Really didn't use it.

Overall, still undecided, but on the 'yea' side. Construction is great, and it is smaller than you're thinking. Yep, even smaller. Would say if you're not married to a particular pedal/sound, just want a swiss army knife - this is a nice one. Simple but effective. Certainly worth $300, easy.
 
I don't recall seeing it on the thread in detail, I saw a few guys talking about it could be digital, but they were not sure. See I never looked on the web, because the filter and octive section and fuzz, all those pedals were based off analog pedals, so I figured it was a total analog unit, Needless to say, I was sort of surprised when I saw Tech21 write about a DSP. i'll have to do my research it appears.
This is detailed on the web, and earlier in the thread. The digital section is in a parallel path, separate from the analog Sansamp, boost and OD. They stay independent and blendable with the digital effects all the way from the input jack to the output.

On the guitar versions, only the reverb, delay and chorus are digital. Not sure about the exact breakdown of the BFR signal path...
 
I don't recall seeing it on the thread in detail, I saw a few guys talking about it could be digital, but they were not sure. See I never looked on the web, because the filter and octive section and fuzz, all those pedals were based off analog pedals, so I figured it was a total analog unit, Needless to say, I was sort of surprised when I saw Tech21 write about a DSP. i'll have to do my research it appears.

When the OctaFilter section is on you are going through the DSP. The rest of the signal path is all analog. The Chorus section is DSP but you go through an analog mix amp. The reason we went DSP with the OctaFilter section was to keep the unit small and also keep the price down. The concept for the Bass Fly Rig was for it to be an addition to your main rig for fly dates or when using back line etc. I believe the chip used was the FE1.
 
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Thank you guys so much. that answered a lot of my questions.
When the OctaFilter section is on you are going through the DSP. The rest of the signal path is all analog. The Chorus section is DSP but you go through an analog mix amp. The reason we went DSP with the OctaFilter section was to keep the unit small and also keep the price down. The concept for the Bass Fly Rig was for it to be an addition to your main rig for fly dates or when using back line etc. I believe the chip used was the FE1.
 
I forgot about this little guy!

As much fun as I'm having swapping pedals and whittling down my board, this could be really useful. I'd probably keep my B3K on tap, but everything else would cover my needs. No big deal on the fuzz as I've given up on finding one I like and I know how tricky octavers can be. Which is fine, my sets will probably NEVER need it.
 
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To anyone who's played the BFR, I have questions questions questions....

Could you give some insight on the compressor?
  • Better for general comp vs limiting?
  • Is the comp knob essentially a ratio control?
  • Is the tone control trebely/noisy like a Boss LMB-3?
  • Any major differences in using the boost pre or post with the comp?

Removed my headphone question because I missed the button for headphones!
 
With the control set at minimum the Compressor will act as a limiter. There will not be an obvious effect. As you sweep the control it will provide various amounts of musical compression. This is also dependent on the output of the instrument used and playing style. From the manual:
COMP: A single, continuously variable control to dial in just the right amount of compression you need. A little goes a long way, from soft and barely noticeable to super squashy, infinite sustain.

The Tone control is post compressor and will boost or cut the high frequencies. It's not a noisy control but if you are using an active bass that has its own inherent hiss it will emphasize that or any noise that is present. From the manual:
TONE: As compressors typically darken your guitar signal, the Tone control provides a pre-compression tonal boost in the frequency range of 2-3 kHz to preserve high-end string attack and clarity. Experiment with lower settings for warmer,rounder, more jazzy tones.

The Pre Boost is after the Compressor and Octafilter section right before the SansAmp section. This gives you the ability to add more volume or Drive depending on the SansAmp's Drive setting. When Boost is switched to Post Boost you get an overall volume increase.

I suggest you check out the manual on our support page as there is a lot of information there regarding this unit. Invalid Link Removed
 
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With the control set at minimum the Compressor will act as a limiter. There will not be an obvious effect. As you sweep the control it will provide various amounts of musical compression. This is also dependent on the output of the instrument used and playing style. From the manual:


The Tone control is post compressor and will boost or cut the high frequencies. It's not a noisy control but if you are using an active bass that has its own inherent hiss it will emphasize that or any noise that is present. From the manual:


The Pre Boost is after the Compressor and Octafilter section right before the SansAmp section. This gives you the ability to add more volume or Drive depending on the SansAmp's Drive setting. When Boost is switched to Post Boost you get an overall volume increase.

I suggest you check out the manual on our support page as there is a lot of information there regarding this unit. Invalid Link Removed


Awesome, thank you for the reply! I did check out the manual yesterday, my morning coffee might not have totally kicked in :cool:

I was looking for "real world" usage experiences.... Having trouble tracking one down to demo.
 
With the control set at minimum the Compressor will act as a limiter. There will not be an obvious effect. As you sweep the control it will provide various amounts of musical compression. This is also dependent on the output of the instrument used and playing style. From the manual:


The Tone control is post compressor and will boost or cut the high frequencies. It's not a noisy control but if you are using an active bass that has its own inherent hiss it will emphasize that or any noise that is present. From the manual:


The Pre Boost is after the Compressor and Octafilter section right before the SansAmp section. This gives you the ability to add more volume or Drive depending on the SansAmp's Drive setting. When Boost is switched to Post Boost you get an overall volume increase.

I suggest you check out the manual on our support page as there is a lot of information there regarding this unit. Invalid Link Removed
thank you for your responses @tech21, very helpful info. Looking at the manual, the signal flow goes comp -> octa etc but the layout of the controls is comp->boost-> sansamp ->boost -> octa etc. I think the signal flow makes sense, just curious as to why the control layout doesn't mirror the actual flow? BTW manual says the compressor tone control is pre comp, is that correct?