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I'm still using one. I have a collection of preamps but I love the GK tone. It works great with other pedals and blended with other preamps but also is great alone. The amp sims and frequency shifts for the lows through the highs are very useful too. I wish they would make a v2 of this with more good stuff and an independent volume control for the aux input. The master controls both main input and the aux.
I think the production has stopped on them and I haven't heard anything about a new pedal. I know they are an amp company but that is a great pedal. If you can find one for a decent price it's worth it. I know they come up for around 300-400$ but if you can afford it it's a good investment. I got very lucky and bought mine for 200$ years ago. The compressor settings work well and it's got a tuner that works. The overdrive settings are nice and useable for getting some grit in your tone. I really like the way this pedal sounds so detailed compared to some others. Everything flat or even EQ bypassed it's got a very great sound and when you go from bypassed to the EQ on you'll hear just a slight coloration to the tone which I think is the GK magic tone people rave about. It's not like ampeg or a sansamp type saturation but very subtle and I find it's very good for blending with those other tones and let's say you have an old 2 band sansamp driver without the mids you can use the GK to bring back frequency you lose and it just makes everything more versatile.
I can't say enough good things about the tone hammer as well. It just sounds great on its own. If you want a great punchy tone it's perfect for that. I got the impression that it adds an inherent tightness to the tone as well. Similar to the ebs Microbass 2 I'd say. Similar but different. It's actually another really nice pedal. I have both.
FWIW, I Send my Capo into the TH and then return it back to the Capo. TH is always on (gain is fairly low). Gain on the Capo is completely off. In a sense, I'm boosting what the TH is doing. Side A on the Capo is usually on and I can dial in a little bit more boost/dirt with Side B. Probably overkill but I like it.
Are you using the cab sims when you use the BassRigs? Are you saying the 64 cab sim has less low end roll off than the Fifteen cab sim?
Yes, if not for the cab sim I wouldn’t even own them. The fifteen has a very hard roll off at 80-100hz just like the vintage ampeg 15” cab.
Yes I did include the Tone Hammer DI in my trials with the AGS off. It's a pretty darn good clean EQ/DI if you use modest amounts of EQ gain. Dialing up the bass and mids gain pretty high and things get boomy or sterile. Even more so on the Studio One. The Trickfish Minnow EQ is tuned better and more useable across the range of the controls. But for mild EQ adjustments, the THDI is an excellent choice. It will still be my gig bag back-up since it's phantom powered and ready to go and gets the job done, AGS on or off.
I've been using Gemini AI recently. I asked it about the P15 and it gave me a great summary. Here is the conclusion - that the P15 is the "gold standard" for B15 recreations.
Josh got these things SO right it's insane. The P-15 really is a special piece of gear. I've never gotten more compliments on my tone than when I was using one regularly.
+1. It’s an excellent balance of lean/fat, gritty/clear, simple/versatile. I’ve had one since the second run of them and won’t get rid of it. Despite having used many others, and not taking it out to gigs. I’ve settled on the Khan mounted under my board for gigging duties.
