Tech 21 bass fly rig

[Argassab]

Seems like the demo I've been looking for.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Brett's review reminds me of something that hasn't been getting much coverage on this thread- I really like Tech 21's approach to bass chorus.

I prefer the more subtle control on the FR5's delay section over the one-knob chorus in the BFR, but either way, I find I can turn them up quite a lot more than most other chorus pedals.

Very musical sounding modulation, and definitely a nice feature to have onboard..

 

[Atter]

Maybe because it's not a modulation?
- it's 1% detuning. Not artificial cycled warbling, but second voice for real - add to taste

 

[steve_rolfeca]

???

Every chorus "warbles", like a more subtle version of a phaser or flanger. A fixed detuning would sound gross.

If yours isn't producing a pleasing movement in the sound by modulating the wet signal, then it's busted. Send it back.

Effects Explained: Modulation—Phasing, Flanging, and Chorus

 

[Jazz Ad]

And the chorus from the bfr, warbles just like the others, whatever that means

 

[birminghambass]

Warble. I like saying that out loud.
Their Bass Boost Chorus is great, I'm sure it's similar in the BFR. Not a huge fan of their newest compressor pedal, but it's not bad. I am disappointed in the fuzz section though (on videos, not first-hand).

 

[Boom762]

Warble. I like saying that out loud.
.

Yeah, makes you sound like you are speaking with a Scottish accent.

 

[Boom762]

I'm building a pedal board and putting in a Fly Rig. I tried to make a chain that would look nice aesthetically as well as be functional with all the different gear. The Theta I am mostly using as a Noise Gate, and the Fly Rig will mostly be used as a Sansamp and compressor. Do you see anything that doesn't make sense or wouldn't work with the bass fly in this position?

 

[mpdd]

see here's the thing, my mesa d180 has a pretty unique gain structure and if i ordered this and it didn't gel with my head i would not be so happy, then i'd have to sell it and people would keep trying to offer me 35 percent of what i paid for it in private messages, and then i might just be too sad to walk my basset hound, and then he would get upset and chew up my tuner again, therefore tech 21 needs to distribute more of their stuff in the LA area so i can bring my head to try it out

 

[A-Ro]

see here's the thing, my mesa d180 has a pretty unique gain structure and if i ordered this and it didn't gel with my head i would not be so happy, then i'd have to sell it and people would keep trying to offer me 35 percent of what i paid for it in private messages, and then i might just be too sad to walk my basset hound, and then he would get upset and chew up my tuner again, therefore tech 21 needs to distribute more of their stuff in the LA area so i can bring my head to try it out

Or you could order it from an online retailer that has a good return policy (zzounds, Sweetwater, etc)

 

[Jazz Ad]

I want to make an addendum to my first impressions.
I tried the BFR today at band practice, plugged into a Bergantino IP112ER, which is stellar clear an as such, a good test for this kind of preamp.
We rehearse with the amps in the same position as in live setting.

The XLR output is way quieter than in phones mode.
However, you still need to boost pretty intensively from the compressor to get the OCTA unit to work properly. This brings noise into the signal, even if you adjust to unity gain afterwards.

I'm not impressed by the OCTA, it's not consistent in the tones it delivers.
The other parts do a fine job, you can get a great tone quick and dirty and the boost is a very intuitive, helpful tool.

At real life volume, the différences between tones can be heard much more clearly. You can use the character knob to help blending into the sound of the band or cutting through easily.

I think I'm going to keep this box for a while and use it to replace my B3 depending on the gig.

Here are my thoughts so far, note that I haven't tested it in band situation, only home with phones and at moderate volume on my amp.

- Incredibly small, good construction and well positioned switches. The mini knobs feel a bit flimsy, not sure they'd handle a bad kick on stage. Still amazing to put so much in such little space.

- The phones preamp is really efficient, loud enough to overdrive my cans if I'm not careful. Pleasing to the ear and well balanced even with everything bypassed.
The DI feeds my active cab very easily, powerful output.

- The minimalist tuner works flawlessly, I was able to tune my low B down to G without effort. When you turn the tuner on, it activates the chorus for 1/2 a second, which is bearable but annoying.

- The chorus since we talk about it, dedicating the single knob to amount of effect rather than rate is a strange choice. It works fine to get a thick tone a la Guns'n'Roses or make synthy tones wider. It can't do ample spacey tones.

- The compressor isn't the best. It hisses a lot, forcing you to adjust the tone knob very low when compressing hard. It's good enough to clean up your signal before entering the rest of the signal chain or to focus on attack for pick playing and slap. Higher settings sound unusable to me, too much hiss and artifacts in the tone. I've never been a fan of Tech21 compressors, this one won't be an exception.

- The Octa section produces ample, convincing synth like tones. This section is to be considered as a whole, if you try to use individual parts of it you're in for a disappointment.
Fuzz is very buzzy with an abrupt gate that closes too soon. Octave is very glitchy and wobbly even with clean playing. Neither of these can reasonably be used on its own with a very wet mix.
The low pass filter threshold is painful to adjust but sounds great.

-The Pre/post boost is quiet, efficient and does its job perfectly in both positions.

- The SansAmp section is nothing short of awesome. It can go from hifi clean to dirty, from bright to deep and dark, EQ points are exactly where we need them. It is a king size preamp section, very similar to the VT Bass with an even wider range. It sounds solid and records greatly.

- As a whole, especially if you use all sections together it gets muddy and blurry, lacking definition. It takes more work than I'd like to avoid ending with blurry distorted tones. A consequence of this is that the pedal prefers basses with fresh strings and a bright tone. I got poor results with my 5 string JAF and 3 month old strings. Worked better with fretless or 4 string PJ with Barts and fresh strings; sounds nothing short of amazing with an 8 stringer.

I expected better from a pedal that commands a rather high price. The SansAmp part is fantastic, the rest is so-so to ok.
There are good tones in there but you have to look for them. There is too much noise, too.

In the end, you get a fun all-in-one unit in a small package. It will cover your basic needs for most gigs and can be a great life saver but it won't replace my Zoom B3 or pedalboard.

 

[DDXdesign]

Stupid question regarding its tiny, tiny size: How far apart are those footswitches, and does anybody have trouble hitting them one by one? My B3's switches are a little over 2-1/4" apart I think and that's fine spacing at least...

 

[A-Ro]

Stupid question regarding its tiny, tiny size: How far apart are those footswitches, and does anybody have trouble hitting them one by one? My B3's switches are a little over 2-1/4" apart I think and that's fine spacing at least...

They are a tad closer together but not so close that you'll have an issue.

 

[BBQV]

I haven't experienced any problems when switching, not even with boots on.

 

[tech21nyc]

The XLR output is way quieter than in phones mode.
However, you still need to boost pretty intensively from the compressor to get the OCTA unit to work properly. This brings noise into the signal, even if you adjust to unity gain afterwards.

The headphone output is boosted. Are you saying there is not enough level from the Bass Fly Rig when using the XLR output? I couldn't find any specs for that cab. Do you have the output on the powered cab all the way up and there is not enough level?

The Octafilter section is a "level" dependent circuit. If you're using a passive bass your volume needs to be all the way up for it to work best. With an active bass you should set your volume appropriately. If the overload light on the chorus control is constantly flashing you should reduce the volume on the active bass. The compressor if used will offer more sustain and a more even signal. You may need to adapt whether you are using the filter or fuzz.

 

[Jazz Ad]

The headphone output is boosted. Are you saying there is not enough level from the Bass Fly Rig when using the XLR output? I couldn't find any specs for that cab. Do you have the output on the powered cab all the way up and there is not enough level?

The Octafilter section is a "level" dependent circuit. If you're using a passive bass your volume needs to be all the way up for it to work best. With an active bass you should set your volume appropriately. If the overload light on the chorus control is constantly flashing you should reduce the volume on the active bass. The compressor if used will offer more sustain and a more even signal. You may need to adapt whether you are using the filter or fuzz.

Hello Tech21 and thanks for listening to us.

The XLR output is powerful, certainly more than enough to feed my cab and actually enough for any situation I can think of.

My level issue is with the OCTA section. It takes a very powerful signal to properly drive the fuzz, trigger the octave and activate the filter sweep.
I use mostly passive basses but their output signal is far from shallow : one has Bartolini PJs and the other has Delano humbuckers.
With both basses I need to boost the signal before and the only section available to do so in the signal chain is the compressor that comes just before. I don't think I've seen the overload light up yet except when trying ridiculously overdriven tones.

I need to bring the level pretty high on the compressor to get a good tone in the OCTA and this generates too much noise to my taste. I'm not a fan of compression in the first place and prefer not to use it most of the time. The SansAmp section compresses the signal much more naturally.

 

[tech21nyc]

Is it possible you have the PAD engaged? Did you try the sample settings in the manual? First thing is make sure the Pad is disengaged and your instrument's volume is up full. Next engage the Octafilter section only with the Octave and Fuzz off. Put the Mix and Q on max and try playing, then sweep the Range control. This will let you know that the Filter section is responding to your instrument. Let us know or PM me or contact our customer support department via our website.

 

[Rumbles]

By the time I actually find one for a resonable price here in Aus, I will know all the ins-and-outs of the BFR thanks to you guys...

 

[FuzzFacetious]

I don't have one but I'm just curious, would this be better run into an amp or in the loop?

 

[tech21nyc]

We don't recommend using the Bass Fly Rig in the loop as an insert effect. You can patch it into the efx return though. The advantage of that is you are bypassing your amp's preamp which makes it easier to use the SansAmp section. Running in front of the amp works best when your amp is set for a more neutral response. Just experiment and see what works best. There is no real right or wrong.