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Tech 21 Steve Harris Fly Rig

#221
J Troska said:
So it seems the speaker sim on the Steve Harris works the same way as on the VTBassDI. On the VTBassDI, the speaker sim is really just a steep high frequency roll off that lops off the frequencies that would otherwise go to the tweeter. Turning the speaker sim on is basically the equivalent to turning the tweeter off. I like it because it doesn’t try to overwrite the natural sound of the speaker/cabinet. It makes sense that you’d hear it more on distorted tones as the distortion generates more high harmonics that sound nasty if they reach the tweeter. I’m just wondering if they added a little something to the Steve Harris speaker sim to emulate his particular EV speakers. Or if it’s just the high frequency roll off like the VTBassDI.
Click to expand...

I seem to hear an increase in bass also when I turn on the speaker sim on the VTDI. Running into a tweeterless cab I don't hear much difference in the top end, but I do notice a change in the lows!
 
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#222
Loving mine so far.

I found most of the presets a bit too harsh for a bedroom tone, but rolling off the highs fixes that. I'll be curious to hear the presets in a mix...

I was planning on buying another bass fly rig to backup my other one as we play all IEM's, but I decided to get this instead and I'm glad I did. I need to get some time on it with the band...

Definitely a keeper.
 
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#224
Ryan L. said:
I should really not have watched the video demos in this thread...I literally just bought a new Q Strip and a new YYZ...and now I find myself needing this, too.
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I cannot comment on the YYZ pedal but the Q Strip which although uses no emulation like a Character pedal, it does give better results in regards to tone shaping. Basically one is for Amp emulation and the other is an old school EQ pedal.
 
#225
Fuzzbass said:
Too harsh even with speaker sim engaged?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind, "harsh" is subjective and I don't particularly like a lot of highs in my tone...;)

I always have speaker sim engaged and I just found with the highs over 50%, which i think most of the presets have, and no other adjustments makes for a more harsh sound to me. Rolling it back fixes it and in a mix the default may be fine.

Lots of versatility in this pedal for sure though! I'm really liking it.

Good Luck!

EDIT: For the record, the highs on my Bass Fly Rig are at about 40%...;)
 
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#226
FaithNoMan said:
How did the SH-1 do with top-end clank? Like, the real metallic stuff? ( And I think I was under the mistaken impression the two channels can be cascaded on that pedal.)
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I still need to spend more time with the SH-1, but I LOVE the Bite switch for clank. :bassist: Again, there are differences between SH-1 and Oxford, probably more than just the difference between 2500 and 3000Hz (Oxford vs. SH-1 treble control). The Oxford is Character Series, and has its own character outside of the tone knob voicings. But I was pretty quickly able to get the SH-1 close to it.

As for that metallic edge -- I call it "clang", but whatever. :D For that I like to stack, typically with B7K at the end. For single-pedal clang I definitely prefer multiband pedals such as the DP-3X, but of course that one has strong coloration, particularly the mid dip. The SH-1 should definitely be a better choice for those who wanted to like the DP-3X but didn't gel with it. So far I haven't gotten the SH-1 to go from clank to clang (if you'll forgive the vague terminology), but again, I need more time with it.

I had the YYZ: fun pedal, had some nice clank, stacked nicely with other pedals (especially DG X7), but TBH I needed it more as a single-pedal solution and for that I preferred Oxford. The SH-1 is right there with the Oxford (in a slightly different way) and more versatile.

Important note for others: none of the pedals I've mentioned are one-trick ponies -- they don't have to be clanky. But FaithNoMan and myself have fairly similar tone goals... we like aggressive clanky/sizzly bass tones (Entwistle, Billy Gould, etc), and there aren't many pedals that deliver that top-end magic well.



P.S. Thanks for the congrats on my baseball team. :)

Edit: error correction
 
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#228
Fuzzbass said:
I still need to spend more time with the SH-1, but I LOVE the Bite switch for clank. :bassist: Again, there are differences between SH-1 and Oxford, probably more than just the difference between 2500 and 3000Hz (Oxford treble vs. SH-1 Bite). The Oxford is Character Series, and has its own character outside of the tone knob voicings. But I was pretty quickly able to get the SH-1 close to it.

As for that metallic edge -- I call it "clang", but whatever. :D For that I like to stack, typically with B7K at the end. For single-pedal clang I definitely prefer multiband pedals such as the DP-3X, but of course that one has strong coloration, particularly the mid dip. The SH-1 should definitely be a better choice for those who wanted to like the DP-3X but didn't gel with it. So far I haven't gotten the SH-1 to go from clank to clang (if you'll forgive the vague terminology), but again, I need more time with it.

I had the YYZ: fun pedal, had some nice clank, stacked nicely with other pedals (especially DG X7), but TBH I needed it more as a single-pedal solution and for that I preferred Oxford. The SH-1 is right there with the Oxford (in a slightly different way) and more versatile.

Important note for others: none of the pedals I've mentioned are one-trick ponies -- they don't have to be clanky. But FaithNoMan and myself have fairly similar tone goals... we like aggressive clanky/sizzly bass tones (Entwistle, Billy Gould, etc), and there aren't many pedals that deliver that top-end magic well.



P.S. Thanks for the congrats on my baseball team. :)
Click to expand...

Most welcome, man.
Yep that “clang” is what I like but one thing about the Oxford and also the SH-1 is that there is a midrange character different from very high end-enhancing ones like the DP3X and B3K and X. It’s got a more gnarly midrange with character.

For me, stacking a pedal like the YYZ with a pedal like that(one with meaner mids) lets me more precisely control the very high end with the YYZ’s highs and amazing 2K mids knob. That mids knob on it is really special, even if I don’t prefer the YYZ’s distortion by itself(I can enjoy the Oxford’s distortion by itself - it’s just that I want more high end bite).

Now that I know the “Steve” boost on the SH-1 is hitting their 2K freq, I may be doing a similar thing to the Oxford by having it boosted with a small amount of drive on the YYZ. And, how did you find out where that “Steve” boost was anyway? Also, the drive channels are only one or the other on the SH-1?

Thanks for the review, man.
 
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#229
FaithNoMan said:
And, how did you find out where that “Steve” boost was anyway?
Click to expand...

I made a mistake: the High control is 3k, not the "Steve Boost" (Bite). The Steve Boost is definitely awesome, and as noted in the manual, works great for clean and dirty tones. Well, for those of us who like high end/presence, anyway.
 
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#231
I’m using the SH1 at my gig tonight and it sounds pretty damn good. My “clean” sound is working very well; it gives it some personality. I haven’t quite got the dirty second channel set just right. I had to use the ground lift because the signal was noisy at first, but it’s all good now.
 
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#232
I'm loving mine as well, might actually cause me to sell like 3 pedals here. The clean is a great sansampy clean I love, and the dirty is everything I was looking for from a xover drive, without bothering to need the xover (with Bite on, anyway).

But MAN the volumes are hard to match - the 2nd channel's volume pot is so sensitive, if i hold my mouth wrong it blows my apartment out. And that's down at like 8:00 on the dial with the speaker sim off (which I thought was just a pad switch because of the volume difference). I'm going to have to break out my volume attenuator box if I keep this running directly into the fx return of my rumble.
 
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#235
DDXdesign said:
But MAN the volumes are hard to match - the 2nd channel's volume pot is so sensitive, if i hold my mouth wrong it blows my apartment out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, uber-sensitivity is a Tech 21 thing. It's exacerbated on both SH-1 and DP-3X because of the tiny knobs. To Tech 21 that sensitivity is a feature: allows the devices to handle a wide range of bass tones and output levels. And despite the complication, it's a good thing IMO. I play a wide variety of basses, from lower output passive to higher output active. It's annoying to get a pedal that doesn't cover that entire range.
 
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#236
Gig report: played my first-Friday of the month gig where the band is crammed in the corner around the jukebox. Acoustics are bad because of shiny floors and plate glass windows, and what's worse is having to stand right in front of my little 1x12 rig.

Anyway, I'm still thrilled with the SH-1. The two mid bands allowed me to make the best of the bad situation. Also, it was great to hear the pedal through my hi-fi gig cab (by Reiner Amplification), which is much better than the 1x10 combo I use at home. Tweaking my rig during setup I could easily hear that the cab sim works for both channels (duh), whether set up for clean or dirty. Also, I was able to set the SH-1 up to toggle between a clean tone and a dirty tone, both of which I was happy with. That's impressive. :)

I have a gig this Thursday that'll be under good acoustic conditions, I definitely look forward to that!

Edit: pixie
 
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#237
It passed the "moving air" test with flying colors
Also incredible live with my smaller GK Rig. In two weeks it will get the full monty, double SVT treatment in San Pedro...
IMG_20191103_122204_529.jpg
 
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#239
I don't want to sound dumb, but if I can achieve any sound I want through this box, I would like to possibly sell my Trace amp and go with just a power amp. Any suggestions? Should I also get rid of my compressor or is it needed with this. Any help would be greatly appreciated as there are some here who already have this pedal. I've only ever used heads and combo amps, no experience with preamps and power amps.
 
#240
Don't sell anything yet..
Run the pedal through the effects return (if the head has one) and use the head as a power amp and see what you think. This setup will bypass the heads preamp and give you an idea of what the pedal can do. Who knows, you may prefer using it as an effect pedal...
Only you are going to know whether or not you'll need a comp with this or not.
Once you receive it spend some time with it to figure it out before off-loading a bunch of gear thinking this is the end all-be all.
 
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