The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[4Mal]

Using PA x and Slampegg As the first pedal in a chain. I am having a hard time keeping them clean and getting a reasonable level of gain. I don't seem to be able to get close to unity with a bass. That is the signal with the preamp off is much stronger than the signal with the preamp on... measurements are by led ladder on an external mixer.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Slampegg fully cranked should get above unity, but not crazy loud. PAX should be able to blow up your mixer. Is this with both plugged in together, or running them individually?

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Using PA x and Slampegg As the first pedal in a chain. i am having a hard time keeping them clean and getting a reasonable level of gain. I don't seem to be able to get close to unity with a bass. That is the signal with the preamp off is much stronger than the signal with the preamp on... measurements are by led ladder on apm external mixer.

Not ideal, but can you put another pedal/buffer between them?

 

[4Mal]

Slampegg fully cranked should get above unity, but not crazy loud. PAX should be able to blow up your mixer. Is this with both plugged in together, or running them individually?

Bass 1 ==> Preamp1 ==> Radial Switch side 1

Bass 2 ==> Preamp2 ==>Radial Switch side 2

From there to a Polytune mini. Granth Boost ==> Future Impact and off to the board.

So the preamps are on either side of the switch and hopefully not interacting. I have a Lehle 3@1 inbound. The idea is 3 basses ready to go. Pickup a bass , step on a switch and try to catch up with my crazy band leader.

 

[4Mal]

Anyone have good starting point settings for the Deep Dish? I'm looking for clean and hopefully a little boost. Thx!

and tube rolling in a PAX or Deep Dish I have a JJ 5751, a variety of EC 8xx, some 12At7 and 12AY7. Any better choices there to lower the gain ? By Gain in this case, I'm referring to distortion. As opposed to a boost in the signal strength.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

When I was recording demos for Deep Dish I asked for settings on LA-1A and these are what people gave me:

• Peak - 8:30, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 12:00
• Peak - 9:00, Attack - 8:30, Knee - 9:00
• Peak - 10:00, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 10:00
• Peak - 10:30, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 7:30

Gain adjusted to desired output level.

Deep Dish has 12AU7 and 12AT7, either one can be swapped for taste. 12AY7 in place of the 12AU7 would give you more gain going into the compressor and will affect the overall sound the most, the 12AT7 is the character of the output, but it's set up as a cathode follower (buffer) so you won't get much change in output gain with different tubes there.

Have you had a chance to play with the preamps any more to figure out the level issue?

 

[NKBassman]

Anyone have good starting point settings for the Deep Dish? I'm looking for clean and hopefully a little boost. Thx!

and tube rolling in a PAX or Deep Dish I have a JJ 5751, a variety of EC 8xx, some 12At7 and 12AY7. Any better choices there to lower the gain ? By Gain in this case, I'm referring to distortion. As opposed to a boost in the signal strength.

To keep the Deep Dish cleanish and somewhat transparent, I recall keeping the Peak control at about 9-10:00. Above that it got too squishy for my taste. Adjust Gain to desired output level.

If you're looking to reduce the gain of a 12AX7, a 5751 is a good place to start. It'll buy you a little bit more headroom before breakup, while still maintaining the same overall sound characteristic of a 12AX7. If you really want to go clean clean, a 12AU7 will dramatically reduce the gain, but perhaps too much to the point of reducing overall output, depending on the circuit. I put a 12AU7 in my Interstellar Overdrive preamp and really liked the result. It does a fantastic clean tube sound now, but still gets gritty when pushed.

 

[4Mal]

When I was recording demos for Deep Dish I asked for settings on LA-1A and these are what people gave me:

• Peak - 8:30, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 12:00
• Peak - 9:00, Attack - 8:30, Knee - 9:00
• Peak - 10:00, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 10:00
• Peak - 10:30, Attack - 9:00, Knee - 7:30

Gain adjusted to desired output level.

Deep Dish has 12AU7 and 12AT7, either one can be swapped for taste. 12AY7 in place of the 12AU7 would give you more gain going into the compressor and will affect the overall sound the most, the 12AT7 is the character of the output, but it's set up as a cathode follower (buffer) so you won't get much change in output gain with different tubes there.

Have you had a chance to play with the preamps any more to figure out the level issue?

yes and no.. not entirely but I think I'm making headway... Dropped a 5751 into the PAx and that get's me workable tone. I think the Dark Stars may be too hot for these guys to handle easily. Think I'll score a couple of 12au7's and play some more.

To keep the Deep Dish cleanish and somewhat transparent, I recall keeping the Peak control at about 9-10:00. Above that it got too squishy for my taste. Adjust Gain to desired output level.

If you're looking to reduce the gain of a 12AX7, a 5751 is a good place to start. It'll buy you a little bit more headroom before breakup, while still maintaining the same overall sound characteristic of a 12AX7. If you really want to go clean clean, a 12AU7 will dramatically reduce the gain, but perhaps too much to the point of reducing overall output, depending on the circuit. I put a 12AU7 in my Interstellar Overdrive preamp and really liked the result. It does a fantastic clean tube sound now, but still gets gritty when pushed.

I swapped a 5751 into the PAx - marked improvement.

Going to see if my tech has some 12au7's in stock. If not JJ/Eurotubes is only just down the road...

 

[NKBassman]

yes and no.. not entirely but I think I'm making headway... Dropped a 5751 into the PAx and that get's me workable tone. I think the Dark Stars may be too hot for these guys to handle easily. Think I'll score a couple of 12au7's and play some more.



I swapped a 5751 into the PAx - marked improvement.

Going to see if my tech has some 12au7's in stock. If not JJ/Eurotubes is only just down the road...

IIRC, a 12AU7 has a gain factor of 20 I think, compared to a 12AX7 gain of 100, so it's really a substantial reduction. 12AY7 is somewhere in the middle. So if you've got one of those on hand you could try that first before you go shopping, as long as @Sushi Box FX says it's safe to do.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

IIRC, a 12AU7 has a gain factor of 20 I think, compared to a 12AX7 gain of 100, so it's really a substantial reduction. 12AY7 is somewhere in the middle. So if you've got one of those on hand you could try that first before you go shopping, as long as @Sushi Box FX says it's safe to do.

Yup, all totally safe.

• 12AX7 - mu of 100
• 12AT7 - mu of 60
• 12AY7 - mu of 40
• 12AU7 - mu of 20

*mu = amplification factor

 

[4Mal]

I have some of each except for the au variants... left over from my Fender and Music Man amp days... AT have a gain factor of 60 so I might try that next. Overall tha PAx is much more well behaved with the 5751 in my estimation and with me using a Dark Star P. This may all change when I test with more traditional P basses from Lull and Marco...

 

[Sushi Box FX]

On a wildly unrelated note, I have been informed I have a big box of circuit boards waiting for me at home.

• updated HWUA
• updated HW Finally
  
• updated HW Slampegg
• prototype HWDW
• prototype HWBE
• prototype HWSH
• clone of the Maestro FSH-1, because I've always wanted one for myself

I have parts to put most of them together, the rest will be here this weekend. Now I just need to figure out if I'm far enough along in the January batch to take a break and build up some prototypes. Also I picked up a new amp today (more on that later), and my new bass is on schedule to be here tomorrow. I NEED MORE TIME IN THE DAY! 24 HOURS IS NOT ENOUGH!

 

[NKBassman]

I have some of each except for the au variants... left over from my Fender and Music Man amp days... AT have a gain factor of 60 so I might try that next. Overall tha PAx is much more well behaved with the 5751 in my estimation and with me using a Dark Star P. This may all change when I test with more traditional P basses from Lull and Marco...

Another trick you could try is to place something like a nice clean compressor in front of your preamp, and adjust the ratio/threshold so that it's just gently massaging your dynamics, and then set the output to be slightly less than unity level to reduce the signal level hitting your preamp.

Maybe try that with your Deep Dish. Set the Peak at 9:00, Medium Attack, Soft Knee, and then adjust the Gain to lower the overall output slightly ahead of your preamp. When I had my Deep Dish, I loved it at the front end of my chain as a gentle sweetener in this manner.

 

[4Mal]

Another trick you could try is to place something like a nice clean compressor in front of your preamp, keep the compression ratio really low like 2:1 so that it's just gently massaging your dynamics, and then set the output to be slightly less than unity level to reduce the signal level hitting your preamp.

That would entail a rather different approach than I had intended but... I may be headed to a similar place. I was going to put 3 Sushibox preamps, of slightly different flavors ahead of a 3 into 1 switcher. Adding Two more comps... yikes this is getting expensive...

I may just gain balance at the Lehle switcher. Then to the Deep Dish, the slampeggX and onto the Future Impact and finally ... (ta da) a Finally - I'm liking the tone stack on the Slampegg X a lot ... Which means I would end up divorcing myself of the PAx and HWSH I think. Real question is does the HX Stomp go or stay in the end. At the moment go seems likely ... The Scruffy Cat (aka Fluffy Kitten) is definitely not staying. Cool but not my style. With a big bass boost in the FX loop of the stomp it was easily the best distortion of those available to me on the stomp... truth is I just don't get along with distortion...

 

[ahbass2500]

• updated HW Finally
  
• updated HW Slampegg

I have not purchased a Sushi Box product yet, but I am seriously interested in these two. I have been debating a Finally purchase and will likely make one sometime in the next six months. On the fence with the Slampegg as I have and love a Barber Linden. Trying to decide if I need another flavor of the same thing or not.

 

[macmanlou]

updated HW Slampegg

Really looking forward to this one.

 

[4Mal]

I have not purchased a Sushi Box product yet, but I am seriously interested in these two. I have been debating a Finally purchase and will likely make one sometime in the next six months. On the fence with the Slampegg as I have and love a Barber Linden. Trying to decide if I need another flavor of the same thing or not.

was just playing Slampegg X into Deep Dish and then Space heater - same gain stage as Finally... It is pretty dang cool. My regards to Greenwood. I lived just above Broad Ripple park for about 10 years. Used to walk to the Vogue and see whoever was playing.

Really looking forward to this one.

Yep... so far, for me Slampegg X is pick of the litter...

 

[DrHooper]

prototype HWDW

The more I read this thread, the more I want. Torn between this and SBVT. HWSBVT?!?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

HWSBVT?!?

I totally want a HWSBVT, but it's currently jam packed in that enclosure. If I were to take it handwired it would definitely have to go to a bigger enclosure. So I'll look into it because I want my whole line to eventually go handwired and I don't want to give up the SBVT, but it will take some work.

 

[DrHooper]

I totally want a HWSBVT, but it's currently jam packed in that enclosure. If I were to take it handwired it would definitely have to go to a bigger enclosure. So I'll look into it because I want my whole line to eventually go handwired and I don't want to give up the SBVT, but it will take some work.

I am glad to hear the SBVT isn't going anywhere . Bigger I can deal with, what's one more dog on the sled