Good choice! I haven't heard Nathan's new updated UA but each of the last couple of itterarions have been excellent.
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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
Good choice! I haven't heard Nathan's new updated UA but each of the last couple of itterarions have been excellent.
I know they aren't as attractive looking outside of the enclosures, but I'm cleaning up the workshop (a perpetual battle) and remembered I promised more circuit board pictures for those that enjoy that sort of thing.
Out of curiosity, why do you use this additional (Pedalnetics?) DI instead of the DI in the Finally? Is it because you want this vertical orientation for the XLR?
As with the earlier versions, It's fantastic.
I did a side by side by side of the three different versions that have been available for purchase this year as Nathan has been incrementally improving the design:
•Standard switch, SMD capacitors.
•Soft click switch, SMD capacitors.
•Soft click switch, Through-hole capacitors.
The first two have the exact same components in the audio path, so there's really no expectation of a difference there.
Is there an audible difference with the newest version? Yes. Is it something that is so significant that I could tell you which was which in a blind test? No.
It is slightly quieter (lower noise floor) when cranking the gain + volume. Which is pretty much the only way you'd notice that there is a noise floor with any UA.... None of the versions are inherently noisy, but with all knobs maxed there is a touch of white noise on the first two, and near silence on the most recent.
The soft click switch is nice. For those that use the UA as an always on, it's superfluous. But for those that are clicking it in and out of the signal path it's a fantastic upgrade.
That said, I wouldn't hesitate to put any of these versions on my pedalboard. In fact, I have one of each version, each on a different board and will absolutely be getting another one for the next board I build.
The quilter bb800 has an xlr input to bypass the preamp so I use the pedalnetics to go to power amp and I still have the regular xlr on the Finally to send to front of house.
One of my fav features on the BB800! I have used it to drive a couple of Passinwind built passive subs several times. That amp is so useful!
I love seeing the inside of the pedals but it always makes me cringe when I see that much PCB go to waste in the off-cuts.
Maybe you could design something small to fit in that space so you get more value out of them, daughterboards, non-tube 1590A PCB, another small time pedal accessory making person might team up and find a use for it, maybe I should shut up and mind my own business, so many options.
A tiny HPF pedal or LED vu meter, yeah I'm going to bed since its 5am here now and I have started rambling on. ( again )
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,637
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
Got the neptunium added and reordered the board a bit
Wowzer. The Underground Accelerator is just lovely. Still fiddling with settings, but it is another pedal that once it is on, you don't want to turn it off 
Don't mind the disorganized wires, I've been messing around with a fair amount of stuff lately.
Don't mind the disorganized wires, I've been messing around with a fair amount of stuff lately.
How much material is added on the cutoffs is at the whim of the process engineer that puts it in, and I've seen different setups even with the same design put in by different engineers. That being said if I were to add something else in with the file, it gets an additional charge at ordering, so I'm paying extra for something I don't need. They have to have something there to support the rails that are added to the outsides for the pick-and-place assembly, the waste material is just part of the process.
As I go through my workshop cleaning process I've come across a few finished pedals that never got listed for sale, so it sounds like there may be a Sushi Box garage sale coming. It looks like a couple are returns, but most are just builds that got finished right before I updated everything so I never got around to adding them as stock online. I'll get some details up this weekend if anyone is interested.
Consider me "interested"!
Short Version: looking for a Sushi Box recommendation to goo up the sound of my pedal board tone, which consists of Tech 21 YYZ Shapeshifter > Broughton SV-Pre > Broughton Messenger Jr.
Longer Version: my tone comes from my pedal board (Ampless 50% of the time in the studio, 25% of time into the FX loop of my Rumble 500c on a gig, 25% FOH support and amp on gig). My tone pedals are the above (in addition to my effects). I am not chasing an Ampeg tone, but the forces of the universe moved me in that direction. The YYZ was my first pedal, loved it right away. Picked up a SV-Pre because it was available and I wanted to try it. Very happy with it as well. Now I am using the SV-Pre for clean and the YYZ into the SV-Pre for an overdriven dirty. The ampless signal of both of these really improved when I started running them through the Messenger Jr.
Then .... I showed up to play a local festival this summer. Sound dudes asked if I wanted to use the SVT 810 they had. I had never played through a tube amp before and I was totally blown away.
So ... now I am looking at Sushi Box tube preamps to see if I can goo my sound up a little. I play everything from clean Reggae to Dirty Blues (70s ZZ top) to 70s Metal (Geezer Butler) to Devo to Funk.
I see the UA is the suggested "if you dont know what you want" and I like the fact that is has a turn offable EQ since I already have several EQs on my board. I also like that it provides an alt tone stack to try. I was also eyeballing the Slampegg Bee and wodered if that would be a solid fit with what I have going, or if there would be to much tonal overlap ... (and I also like that B-15 sound). I wondered about the "More" and, even the "Finally" although, I have only recently picked up my Messenger Jr. and would be very hesitant to take it off the board, as it resolved a signal issue into the mixer right away, and I have yet to really figure out what it can do. I am willing to listen to "replace X with Y" suggestions, but hoping to add a Sushi Box to what I have.
Anyway, I am looking for a Tube pre-amp suggestion and a location in my signal chain based on my current Pre-amps. i figured this fine group of folks might have some ideas about such things.
Thanks,
Longer Version: my tone comes from my pedal board (Ampless 50% of the time in the studio, 25% of time into the FX loop of my Rumble 500c on a gig, 25% FOH support and amp on gig). My tone pedals are the above (in addition to my effects). I am not chasing an Ampeg tone, but the forces of the universe moved me in that direction. The YYZ was my first pedal, loved it right away. Picked up a SV-Pre because it was available and I wanted to try it. Very happy with it as well. Now I am using the SV-Pre for clean and the YYZ into the SV-Pre for an overdriven dirty. The ampless signal of both of these really improved when I started running them through the Messenger Jr.
Then .... I showed up to play a local festival this summer. Sound dudes asked if I wanted to use the SVT 810 they had. I had never played through a tube amp before and I was totally blown away.
So ... now I am looking at Sushi Box tube preamps to see if I can goo my sound up a little. I play everything from clean Reggae to Dirty Blues (70s ZZ top) to 70s Metal (Geezer Butler) to Devo to Funk.
I see the UA is the suggested "if you dont know what you want" and I like the fact that is has a turn offable EQ since I already have several EQs on my board. I also like that it provides an alt tone stack to try. I was also eyeballing the Slampegg Bee and wodered if that would be a solid fit with what I have going, or if there would be to much tonal overlap ... (and I also like that B-15 sound). I wondered about the "More" and, even the "Finally" although, I have only recently picked up my Messenger Jr. and would be very hesitant to take it off the board, as it resolved a signal issue into the mixer right away, and I have yet to really figure out what it can do. I am willing to listen to "replace X with Y" suggestions, but hoping to add a Sushi Box to what I have.
Anyway, I am looking for a Tube pre-amp suggestion and a location in my signal chain based on my current Pre-amps. i figured this fine group of folks might have some ideas about such things.
Thanks,
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Been following your tone journey and from what I've seen I would HIGHLY recommend you try the Underground Accelerator. It will enhance everything you already have in place quite nicely.
The Elementary would be my #2 recommendation for you if you want to get some flavor differentiation on your board.
Yeah I'd agree, if you're looking for a preamp sound without needing the DI portion then the UA is great. I can get mine from a pretty sparkly clean through to fairly gritty and all the sounds just work, even settings that seem like they should be a bit stupid. I have the version before the recent update so if that sounds even a tiny bit "better" then it should be awesome.
The neptunium is another option if you want an always on tube warmth/fatness, although there's no bypass for if you want something different for some of the set (not that I think you ever really would)
The slampegg is on my list of likely future purchases although that might become a grand slampegg depending on what that looks like in the end.
Or get a finally, no eq, just set the amount of grit you want and enjoy.
The neptunium is another option if you want an always on tube warmth/fatness, although there's no bypass for if you want something different for some of the set (not that I think you ever really would)
The slampegg is on my list of likely future purchases although that might become a grand slampegg depending on what that looks like in the end.
Or get a finally, no eq, just set the amount of grit you want and enjoy.
I haven't played anything Sushi (yet!), but here's my take from following this thread.
- If your tone is 95-98% there and you just want a *chef's kiss* of tube sweetness: Get the MORE
- If you want tube flavor, but not a specific flavor: Get the UA (bonus: alternate, defeat-able tone stack)
- Or, if you want tube flavor, but not a specific flavor, and you know you won't need additional EQ: Get the Finally (bonus: super nice tube DI)
- If you want tube flavor, and you know what flavor: Take your pick (Elementary, Slampegg, Neptunium, etc. etc.)
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