The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[tidbits]

I love my Finally for Bass, Guitar, and Synths.
For use with Guitar (or Synths), I strongly recommend using a 12AY7 or 5751 in the Finally, rather than a 12AU7.

I've been rolling different 12A_7 tubes through my Finally. Started with a 12AT7 and I've slowly working down in gain factor from there. Lately been digging the 12AY7 - stays mostly clean with just a little bit of hair when really pushed. I just got a 12AU7 to try out next - I've read that the character of the breakup isn't as nice as some of the others, so they tend to be more suitable for clean applications.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Neptunium is the only pedal I've ever felt myself having FOMO for... and I think it's purely because of it quality, popularity, and scarcity.
What makes that such a strange sensation is the fact that I personally neither want nor need a transparent DI, I love my Finally and adore its quality and subtle-to-noticeable character.
In my opinion, "transparent" is the most boring and least useful thing tubes can do in the 21st century; their uniqueness and magic exists entirely in the non-linear edges of their signal envelope.

Thank you Nathan for articulating the truth I needed to hear to break me from the needless want and fear of missing out on the Neptunium

Jack

While the Neptunium is "transparent" it's also not... kind of. It's certainly noticeable to me when it's not in the signal chain. There's also a feel to playing into that pedal and the tube that I sorely miss when I don't have them in my rig. The EQ is also really nice; I love it. Need to get the FInally V3 or Furthermore when they come out. I think UA into Finally is one of my favorite tones; but Neptunium can carry the weight on a board that doesn't have much space.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Unfortunately I ran into the all too common analog chorus issue of consistency. Biasing an analog modulation device to get the right sound every time proved difficult, and Cascade Chorus was shelved for now. I still want to do a chorus, it's one of my favorite effects, but I need to find a better way.

It's been added to my "that's a problem for future Nathan to figure out" pile.

Excited for future Nathan to crack the code on it.

 

[Wxp4759cb]

In my opinion, for subtle tube harmonics without an EQ, a Finally is the perfect choice (though it also comes with excellent DI output which you may or may not need). Finally is only temporarily out of stock while the newest revision is being produced, it's an always-in-production pedal, and one of Sushi Box FX's best sellers.
If you don't need/want the DI, an Underground Accelerator is basically a Finally with EQ instead of DI (and you can switch the EQ off which makes it virtually a Finally).

The MORE is a good pedal too, but even more subtle than the Finally. It's essentially a clean boost pedal that adds just a slight "tubie" extra depth to the signal.

Thanks for the detailed response. I guess another plus for the Underground Accelerator is that it can be switched off without swapping patch cables on my board. There would be times I probably would want the effect off, so maybe that is the direction I should go.

 

[Thumper]

While the Neptunium is "transparent" it's also not... kind of. It's certainly noticeable to me when it's not in the signal chain. There's also a feel to playing into that pedal and the tube that I sorely miss when I don't have them in my rig. The EQ is also really nice; I love it. Need to get the FInally V3 or Furthermore when they come out. I think UA into Finally is one of my favorite tones; but Neptunium can carry the weight on a board that doesn't have much space.

I agree, UA into Finally is great. I have identical rigs at home and practice. At home I have Slampegg into More. Using the same bass (Dingwall SJ4XXX), the UA/Finally has a "Heavier/weightier" tone.

 

[Wxp4759cb]

Do the sushi box pedals do okay with active electronic, high output, basses? i.e. is there decent headroom before clipping the first tube triode?

 

[BassJuju]

Nice setup, what sort of power supply are you using with that many tube pedals ?
I have to make or get a good power supply for my pedals and I have a lot of tubes to power as well.
Are you using 9 or 12 volts ?

I'm using a Cioks DC7 with the 9v settings on all the outputs.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Do the sushi box pedals do okay with active electronic, high output, basses? i.e. is there decent headroom before clipping the first tube triode?

Yup. My main bass is active, it does great. Tube preamps in general will have more headroom (in my personal experience) than solid-state stages when dealing with hot input signals.

 

[mikeswals]

I love my Finally for Bass, Guitar, and Synths.
For use with Guitar (or Synths), I strongly recommend using a 12AY7 or 5751 in the Finally, rather than a 12AU7.

Yea, I told him to request a 12AX7. He is already in contact with Nathan and going to jump on the next batch.

Which is a good thing because I really didn't want to sell mine!

I made the mistake of letting my Westinghouse go, that thing sounded good too.

 

[RobD_BritBass]

Unfortunately I ran into the all too common analog chorus issue of consistency. Biasing an analog modulation device to get the right sound every time proved difficult, and Cascade Chorus was shelved for now. I still want to do a chorus, it's one of my favorite effects, but I need to find a better way.

It's been added to my "that's a problem for future Nathan to figure out" pile.

Would future Nathan also consider the problem of making it stereo chorus? even if it's just vibrato and dry channel split (although true stereo tube chorus would be incredible)

 

[Mr123Clark]

Finally at the point where I have potentially narrowed down some options for some stock JJ tube changes in my Sushibox Finally v2 - Thinking of buying a NOS RCA 12AU7 Clear Top and a NOS GE 12AU7 Short Plate.

Any final feedback / other opinions before I buy?

 

[Mr123Clark]

It took some forcefully worded emails with the supplier, but the Finally v3 enclosures have shipped and will be here Tuesday. I have 20 circuit boards fully built and ready to drop into the boxes, so I should be able to start taking orders Wednesday.

Neptunium will get one more limited release sometime this year. More details on that in the future.

I have other stuff to talk about, but it will wait until I'm at the computer as my thumbs can only handle so much.

Wait I just saw this now - what options are different with the Finally v3 vs the v2? I've got the v2 but have the board disassembled for some other upgrades currently so would be an almost perfect time for a swap....

 

[eeyorebass]

Wait I just saw this now - what options are different with the Finally v3 vs the v2? I've got the v2 but have the board disassembled for some other upgrades currently so would be an almost perfect time for a swap....

From here: "The only other differences are film caps in the preamp signal path in v3 as opposed to multi-layer ceramic in the v2, and an independently buffered 1/4" output on v3 so it isn't just a pre-transformer tap off the D.I. output like v2. If you're just using the XLR output and not using the HPF, no big difference between the two."

 

[FenrirofOld]

While the Neptunium is "transparent" it's also not... kind of. It's certainly noticeable to me when it's not in the signal chain. There's also a feel to playing into that pedal and the tube that I sorely miss when I don't have them in my rig. The EQ is also really nice; I love it. Need to get the FInally V3 or Furthermore when they come out. I think UA into Finally is one of my favorite tones; but Neptunium can carry the weight on a board that doesn't have much space.

This. For me the Neptunium makes everything sound "bigger" with more depth and heft. It also smooths out the high end and drives I run into it (or I think I perceive that anyway). I've tried multiple times to run my board without it at the end of the chain and it suddenly feels less alive and kind of dead.

 

[Tassieviking]

Wait I just saw this now - what options are different with the Finally v3 vs the v2? I've got the v2 but have the board disassembled for some other upgrades currently so would be an almost perfect time for a swap....

It might not be obvious at a quick glance at the link eeyorebass gave you that the V3 will have a variable HPF filter which will be great, dial in the frequency you want and off you go.

As per Master SB : As I was researching filters I really liked the idea of a dual slope HPF. So this is a fixed -24dB/octave below 30Hz, then -12dB/octave variable from 30Hz to 120Hz.

 

[Mr_McBride]

This. For me the Neptunium makes everything sound "bigger" with more depth and heft. It also smooths out the high end and drives I run into it (or I think I perceive that anyway). I've tried multiple times to run my board without it at the end of the chain and it suddenly feels less alive and kind of dead.

This reminds me of how to describe what a properly tuned compressor does to a layman. "It's a device that when you turn it off, you immediately want it back on again".

 

[Tassieviking]

I have heard a certain compressor described as something you don't know is there until you turn it off, and then you want it back on again.
I think it might have been Dylans compressor over on FSB. (Or was it the Valve Wizards ? I can't remember)
I like the sound of that,

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Would future Nathan also consider the problem of making it stereo chorus? even if it's just vibrato and dry channel split (although true stereo tube chorus would be incredible)

Present Nathan doesn't think it's likely since stereo generally means twice as many tubes, but we'll see what future Nathan thinks.

Wait I just saw this now - what options are different with the Finally v3 vs the v2? I've got the v2 but have the board disassembled for some other upgrades currently so would be an almost perfect time for a swap....

As mentioned above:

- variable frequency HPF
- film capacitors
- buffered 1/4" output
- has the number 3 instead of 2

Oh and also the WBIM logo is a little bigger since Phil Mann had more direct input into the design.

 

[aguacateojos]

Beginning to lurk for this fabled Neptunium re-release...

 

[LSM07]

- has the number 3 instead of 2

this means it goes faster too, right?