The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[johnk_10]

Putting this new @Sushi Box FX Bass Dude pedal in the exclusive Raw Dawg finish through the paces. This is based on the 60-70's Bassman amp channel. So far it is exactly what I hoped for as it is one of my favorite amps, I've had a '68 Bassman for over 40 years. My Bassman is a transition model with 66-67 'black face' part dates and a 68 'silver face' panel.
We can hope this gets added to the SB line up soon.

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Fender Bassman - Wikipedia

i love my vintage fender amps. i also have '68 bassman (and love it for my lower volume gigs):

i use my blackface showman for the mid volume gigs:

and i use my supertwin (converted to a head with a 215 cab) for my high volume gigs:

 

[laklandplayer]

I replaced the 12AX7's in both my UA preamp and Finally DI with low gain JJ brand 12AU7's and all I can say is WOW! The stock 12AX's had way too much gain for my liking.
The 12AU7's give me a lot more clean gain and I'm able to hit the tubes harder before distortion. In the UA it makes the EQ section a lot more effective and nuanced when dialing it in and sounds like it has more usable range. In my work, I have no need for overdrive/distortion and the 12AU7's cooled both pedals down nicely and the tube harmonics really shine through. I'm getting a nice studio quality out of the UA and Finally in tandem.

 

[warptheory]

I replaced the 12AX7's in both my UA preamp and Finally DI with low gain JJ brand 12AU7's and all I can say is WOW! The stock 12AX's had way too much gain for my liking.
The 12AU7's give me a lot more clean gain and I'm able to hit the tubes harder before distortion. In the UA it makes the EQ section a lot more effective and nuanced when dialing it in and sounds like it has more usable range. In my work, I have no need for overdrive/distortion and the 12AU7's cooled both pedals down nicely and the tube harmonics really shine through. I'm getting a nice studio quality out of the UA and Finally in tandem.

Interesting. Any concerns if I put a 12Au7 in my Dream Catcher? Taming that Red Channel with a 12AT7 helped, but still would like to bring it down another notch. Wouldn't mind the Blue Channel also running at a lower gain as I never bring it up past noon as it is.

 

[laklandplayer]

Interesting. Any concerns if I put a 12Au7 in my Dream Catcher? Taming that Red Channel with a 12AT7 helped, but still would like to bring it down another notch. Wouldn't mind the Blue Channel also running at a lower gain as I never bring it up past noon as it is.

You’ll be fine. The AU has the lowest gain of the AT tube type family

 

[s_wood]

I’m intrigued right now with the Elementary. I have a UA and it will likely never leave the board, but the idea of a clean and dirty channel to switch between sounds really good. Says it is based off the old Hiwatt. Can anyone give a comparison with the UA?
I love the warm subtle grind with the UA but am looking at other pedals for a heavier overdrive when needed. Maybe Elementary dirty channel could give me that.

I’ve got a UA, an Elementary, a Dr. Watson, a Dreamcatcher and a Detective. The clean channel of the Dreamcatcher is basically the same thing as the UA, so you could replace the UA completely and not loose anything while adding a high gain option. The Elementary, Dr. Watson and Detective are all based on the HiWatt DR-103, which is a bit mid-scooped and brighter as compared to the UA. The Elementary is a lower gain version of the DW, and the Detective combines the Elementary and the Wattson into a 2 channel device. Any of the HiWatt-based pedals would give you a nice contrast to the UA. I love the Detective because it’s so versatile, but if you don’t have board space I would recommend the Elementary. The Wattson is a bit too over the top for me; too hard to tame.

 

[Parzival]

I’ve got a UA, an Elementary, a Dr. Watson, a Dreamcatcher and a Detective. The clean channel of the Dreamcatcher is basically the same thing as the UA, so you could replace the UA completely and not loose anything while adding a high gain option. The Elementary, Dr. Watson and Detective are all based on the HiWatt DR-103, which is a bit mid-scooped and brighter as compared to the UA. The Elementary is a lower gain version of the DW, and the Detective combines the Elementary and the Wattson into a 2 channel device. Any of the HiWatt-based pedals would give you a nice contrast to the UA. I love the Detective because it’s so versatile, but if you don’t have board space I would recommend the Elementary. The Wattson is a bit too over the top for me; too hard to tame.

Now you have me intrigued with the Dreamcatcher.

 

[CH Design]

I’ve got a UA, an Elementary, a Dr. Watson, a Dreamcatcher and a Detective. The clean channel of the Dreamcatcher is basically the same thing as the UA, so you could replace the UA completely and not loose anything while adding a high gain option. The Elementary, Dr. Watson and Detective are all based on the HiWatt DR-103, which is a bit mid-scooped and brighter as compared to the UA. The Elementary is a lower gain version of the DW, and the Detective combines the Elementary and the Wattson into a 2 channel device. Any of the HiWatt-based pedals would give you a nice contrast to the UA. I love the Detective because it’s so versatile, but if you don’t have board space I would recommend the Elementary. The Wattson is a bit too over the top for me; too hard to tame.

Any chance you can comment further on the differences between the UA and Elementary?

 

[s_wood]

To my ears, the HiWatt tone (which is captured by the Elementary) has a big and warm low end and a somewhat aggressive high end. It’s inherently mid-scooped. The UA’s EQ, based on the Fender / Alembic Baxandall tone stack, is more neutral. To my ears, the Elementary’s overdrive when pushed is bigger than the UA’s, which sounds kind of buzzy to me. At lower gains, the UA sounds warmer and more neutral, as compared to the Elementary which is thicker with a bit of clank. Not sure if any of that makes sense….but if you prowl around and find YouTube clips of a HiWatt DR-103 or a Reeves 225 you will get a good idea of the HiWatt sound.

 

[CoachEvan]

Hi all. Hoping you can help me with your experience and expertise.

I’m in a situation where I often need to plug in and play through the front of other people’s amps, with wide variation of make and model. Often, using the FX Return isn’t even an option, yet using my pedalboard up front is (although with not a ton of time to setup and tweak). I play most genres of rock— classic, grunge, punk, prog, Big Four, etc.

Within these constraints, I’m looking for ways to still improve and have some control in shaping my sound. I was thinking tubes make everything sound better, so I stumbled down the tube preamp pedal rabbit hole and discovered Sushi Box.

Do you think a Dreamcatcher would be a good fit for the end of my pedalboard in this situation? Are there better alternatives?

thanks!

 

[sloppy_phil]

@CoachEvan I don't think you will dislike any Sushi offering, really. Especially one that has a tone stack/control on it. I do something kind of similar, in that I have an Underground Accelerator, which I largely use as my "EQ", and just keep the amp itself set as flat as possible. This way, as much colour as possible in my tone is coming from the board, and as little as possible from the amp. Now, I actually like my amps, but this is a great solution for any situation where I'm plugging into someone else's.

At the end of the day, the amp and speaker you are using will still have an impact on what your sound will be, but having some sort of pre-amp at your feet will help you get more consistency without doubt.

 

[Mr_McBride]

I found something interesting in my mailbox.

 

[CH Design]

I found something interesting in my mailbox.

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I can help get you started.

• Gain at noon (1:00 for a little breakup, higher if you want more)
• Bass at noon
• Mids between 3:00 and max
• Treble between 9:00 and noon (depending on how bright your strings are)
• Volume at unity

 

[Mr_McBride]

I can help get you started.

• Gain at noon (1:00 for a little breakup, higher if you want more)
• Bass at noon
• Mids between 3:00 and max
• Treble between 9:00 and noon (depending on how bright your strings are)
• Volume at unity

That is pretty spot on. I ended up with those exact settings except for the mids about 1:00.

My first impression is that it sounds like I'm playing through an old amp. Kudo's to the Sushi Chef, mission accomplished.
It also sounds like I'm playing through an old 15" cab, which is not sound I'm after. Does that mean that I am disappointed with the pedal? Absolutely not. I prefer a more modern (low-mid jazz bass punch) tone. It just means that I had to spent some extra time getting it dialed in just right.

I ended up placing the Elementary after my compressor so that it is a little less interactive. By that I mean that I don't get more saturation if I dig in some. This allows me to control the saturation a little easier.

So, how does it sound? Tone/sound is very selective. I'll just echo what others have already said, "when you turn it off, you immediately want it back on".

Trying to get the text color to match the tube LED.

B for 5-string !!!

 

[rwkeating]

#tubebuffer

Do all of the dual tube Sushi pedals use one (or part of a) tube as a tube buffer?

I love my UA, but am wondering if loosing the tone controls and getting a More (for more tube effect due to the buffer) would be a good tradeoff. I know an obvious solution is have both pedals, but I am limited on space and power connectors. Now if there is an equivalent UA + More in one pedal, that could interest me.

 

[_Tay_]

@CoachEvan I don't think you will dislike any Sushi offering, really. Especially one that has a tone stack/control on it. I do something kind of similar, in that I have an Underground Accelerator, which I largely use as my "EQ", and just keep the amp itself set as flat as possible. This way, as much colour as possible in my tone is coming from the board, and as little as possible from the amp. Now, I actually like my amps, but this is a great solution for any situation where I'm plugging into someone else's.

At the end of the day, the amp and speaker you are using will still have an impact on what your sound will be, but having some sort of pre-amp at your feet will help you get more consistency without doubt.

Plug into the amp's return for better results. i do it with mine and my fender rumble 500 + extension sounds absolutely epic. It's well light too

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Do all of the dual tube Sushi pedals use one (or part of a) tube as a tube buffer?

Nope. These are the current pedals that have a tube buffer:

• More
• JC Emerald
• Echosaurus Valve
• Glass Butterfly

And discontinued pedals that had a buffer:

• Vampire Slayer
• Smoke Signal

I think that's it. Everything else is just gainstages.

 

[bassbrad]

Nope. These are the current pedals that have a tube buffer:

• More
• JC Emerald
• Echosaurus Valve
• Glass Butterfly

And discontinued pedals that had a buffer:

• Vampire Slayer
• Smoke Signal

I think that's it. Everything else is just gainstages.

BassBrad's foot in mouth. @Sushi Box FX does the Bass Dude have a buffer stage too?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

BassBrad's foot in mouth. @Sushi Box FX does the Bass Dude have a buffer stage too?

I left that one off because it's non-production, but I think so. I designed that one so long ago I don't remember what computer the files are stored on, but I'll take a look.

 

[Sugarbear08]

I will l offer that I use the UA and the MORE on a board and it's a "have your cake and eat it too" result.

Broughton hpf >
Panda audio future impact >
W&C pickle pie b >
Sushi box UA >
Markbass compressore >
Mr. Black fwonkbeta >
Mxr phase 95 >
Fire on the mountain (couldn't resist)>
Sushi box MORE >
Trickfish minnow (boss tu 3w tuner out)

Mmmmmm.....mmm!

Oh, I could ramble about the virtues of this board, but I don't want to bury the lead:

- UA early is great. What a tone! Big bottom, singing highs, ample gain, lovely when overdriven, honestly lacks for nothing.
- I ended up prefering the UA before the Compressore, which was a surprise to me, but just works.
- I'll say it again: the UA lacks for nothing, but following it with the MORE is heavenly... or heavy-enly. It's seems facile to say, "it's the UA, but... MORE", but that's what happens... extra juice... heft and presence.

I am simply delighted with what the different tubes involved do for my tone when used together in this arrangement.

 

[One Two]

Thanks so much for the reply Nathan! Apologies for my late response, but the info is very much appreciated. Sounds like Slampegg could be the way to go for a pedal which can do clean, but with some balls in the mids when needed on a gig.

Hey everyone, sorry I disappear from time to time, got a lot of boring stuff going on that you don't want to hear about (not the least being taxes), and I fell behind on here, answering emails, and getting repairs turned around. I have the day off work tomorrow so I'm going to make tonight a long night and see how caught up I can get.


I agree with what was said before, as far as first-in-chain versatility goes for guitar, Underground Accelerator takes the cake. Finally is a great tool and can get some great tones, but it was really designed to go near the end (or at the very end) of the chain.

More is a neat thing to have, but I'm not sure beginning of chain is the best place for it, especially on guitar. I will say that the guitarist in my band had been asking me for a clean boost recently, so I gave him a More. He uses the gain channel on his amp for dirt, he just wanted a nice boost to push it a little harder for solos. I brought More to practice on Tuesday and let him try it out, and his exact words were "I want to have sex with this pedal." So More by itself is good, but I think it really shines when stacked with other gear, either before a dirt pedal for more gain, or after a dirt pedal to allow the other pedal to push More's tubes a bit.


UA and Slampegg are very different creatures. For starters, UA is lower gain higher output, Slampegg is higher gain, lower output. UA has a Fender/Marshall/Vox/Orange tonestack, which measn bass and treble are boost only, mids are cut only. Slampegg uses a James (baxandall) tonestack, which allows boost/cut for both controls.