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Tech 21 bass fly rig

I haven't had too much time to do a deep dive on the BFR, but did use it in conjunction with my large pedal board for a gig last night. I like the octave, filter, comp and chorus pedals that I already use (pic below) better, so I used the BFR for some grind for our last song "Spanish Castle Magic," and a few solos. It was a nice addition to the tone palette and didn't induce any extra noise to my rig. At some point, I will have a small gig or have a chance to sit in, and it will come in handy to just have a few choices at my feet. It's solid for the $$
 

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I bit the bullet and got one a couple of weeks ago Sweetwater had an open box one a few $$ off and it's mine now. Was just tired of dragging a big pedalboard around and not even using half of it anymore.

Couple of thoughts that go along with what's been said already:

The compressor is ok for what's basically a one knob setup. It's either more or less no way to change attack, release or ratio. I mostly use one to catch peaks when I'm popping so it's serviceable. The boost is nice if I need it. Nice to see it's the VT bass and not the regular Sansamp deal. Might use it for a little dirt or added tone but it works well. Chorus is nice nothing crazy but it sounds like a chorus lol

I can get a serviceable envelope filter sound. The range control is really touchy though. I get an ok synth sound which I use on a few things but the octave isn't really usable. Love that it has a tuner and DI on board and they work fine.

Played it on a couple of gigs and rehearsals and so far so good. Have to be a bit precise stepping on the buttons due to the size but I'm happy so far!

Went from this:

IMG_4219.JPG


To this:

IMG_5275.jpg
 
It took me 6 months of owning one to finally use it for shows. It was a little wonky at first, but I have it all dialed in the way I need. My favorite feature in the rig is the drive on the sansamp. I turn it nearly off for active basses and about half way up for passive. I hate the sound of passive instruments and this drive makes them sound boosted and rich. I dig it. I haven't had a situation where I could use the fuzz/synth stuff yet.
 
I'd prefer an option to put compression last, or elsewhere in the signal path too. I prefer it after drive, as it retains the dynamics of the drive.

Likewise, I find that compressor before filter can also squash the dynamics needed to get the most from the filter. Any effect that relies on signal dynamics can suffer if it is downstream from the comp, depending on what you are going for. Would be nice to have a choice. But I will still have to play with one of these when they are available!
 
Likewise, I find that compressor before filter can also squash the dynamics needed to get the most from the filter. Any effect that relies on signal dynamics can suffer if it is downstream from the comp, depending on what you are going for. Would be nice to have a choice. But I will still have to play with one of these when they are available!
I don't use a compressor when I have the drive on. I find most drive pedals compress the signal
 
Chinese clone of the BFR?
That's what it looks like. Valeton have a couple of guitar orientated flyrig inspired models already on the market, for considerably less money than the tech21 devices. So I wonder if this one will make an appearance.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?bf=&sw=dapper

PS, the dapper mini looks gorgeous. Make a bass version of that with compression instead of delay and I'd buy one straight away.
 
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Just found this whilst perusing discofreq's database. I wonder if it'll ever see the light of day. In some ways, it seem superior to the flyrig (fx loop for a start), but no idea what it sound like.

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Interesting, not sure about the Kermit green though Edit: metallic green, now that I looked properly, so not as bad as I thought. One of the things that appeals to me regarding the BFR is the headphone jack. If the Dapper out jack can drive a set of headphones that would be awesome.
 
You might need some of these Mooer switch covers, if you can find them View attachment 1048692 View attachment 1048696
If those fit standard 10mm switches, they might be too big for the BFR. I'm going to try a BFR out (I keep saying that!) and I might design and make some switch pads for it. I think the issue would be with the lack of depth on the switch body - you might end up needing to actually use some sort of adhesive for it to stay on.
 
I'm finally attempting to pull the trigger on a BFR deal to sort of reset my expectations. I've tried and flipped so many pedals lately that I started looking seriously at individual $400-500 and up pedals just to produce "this one sound i heard in this one song at an Indian restaurant" (not an exaggeration) - AAAAAAAAAAAA madness!

Aside from the funky tracking on the octave, I am hoping the BFR just serves up 'the basics' well enough that I can use it and bring the focus back to my playing, at least for the time being.
 
Hard pass on the Dapper bass for me. Have you seen the chain order? S(h)amsAmp->Boost/comp ->Filter->FX LOOP->Octave->Chorus->DI/Out :facepalm: it makes no sense! I love the idea of an FX loop; which is something I wish Tech21 had included (aux-in would have been nice, too).
Just found this whilst perusing discofreq's database. I wonder if it'll ever see the light of day. In some ways, it seem superior to the flyrig (fx loop for a start), but no idea what it sound like.

Invalid Link Removed

Chinese clone of the BFR?

That's what it looks like. Valeton have a couple of guitar orientated flyrig inspired models already on the market, for considerably less money than the tech21 devices. So I wonder if this one will make an appearance.

Thomann - Welcome Home!

PS, the dapper mini looks gorgeous. Make a bass version of that with compression instead of delay and I'd buy one straight away.

here is the bass dapper on taobao.com for some other shots of it:
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(FYI 1299rmb is about a hair under $200USD)
My guitarist is thinking of trying one of the guitar versions..