Tone Hammer DI appreciation thread

[Zbysek]

I love the AGS circuit on this pedal so much. I know some people aren’t a fan of it because of the volume difference between switching it on and off, but to me this is always been an always on pedal. I don’t think it was ever designed to be switched on and off. For some reason the way that this AGS circuit saturates and does some light overdrive to the signal is amazing.

How are people liking the AGS? I’ve had my ToneHammer for 3 years and haven’t used that since the day I bought it. The volume spike when it’s engaged makes it unusable. Leaving it on all the time is not an option. I like some hair or distortion only at times when the songs get more intense. I primarily play at church these days.

Mine is always on as well - gain most of the way CCW depending on if I want any grit in, or just a subtle 'vintage' voicing. I love the high & low pass attenuation, it gives sound techs a nicely slotted signal that (I've been told) they don't have to do much to make fit into a mix.

There's been lots of discussion on how AGS is implemented, personally I think that it would be better to just have a small toggle switch instead, as the footswitch misleads people into thinking that it could be changed on the fly.

I have read numerous posts about the volume difference between AGS on and off.

I have yet to receive my TH, but my thinking is that this issue has a simple solution: use "Engage" footswitch instead of AGS switch. I plan to use the pedal disengaged for clean sounds and the pedal engaged (both lights on) for saturated sounds. That way, one should be able to use the "Master" control to ensure that there is no significant volume difference between both sounds.

What do you all think?

 

[Mr. voodoobass]

That, or use a conpressor after it to smooth out the levels between clean and ags.

 

[johnk_10]

I have read numerous posts about the volume difference between AGS on and off.

I have yet to receive my TH, but my thinking is that this issue has a simple solution: use "Engage" footswitch instead of AGS switch. I plan to use the pedal disengaged for clean sounds and the pedal engaged (both lights on) for saturated sounds. That way, one should be able to use the "Master" control to ensure that there is no significant volume difference between both sounds.

What do you all think?

if you only use it with the AGS on (engaged), then you can easily adjust the master to match your output.

 

[Zbysek]

if you only use it with the AGS on (engaged), then you can easily adjust the master to match your output.

That's what I thought. Thank you.

 

[Marihino]

That's what I do too. I believe some of the disappointment people have had with this pedal was caused by the expectation that it's a two-channel preamp where one can freely switch between clean and AGS. I think it's a one-channel preamp with two very different, either/or characters. I use it with AGS always on, low gain.

 

[Zbysek]

That's what I do too. I believe some of the disappointment people have had with this pedal was caused by the expectation that it's a two-channel preamp where one can freely switch between clean and AGS. I think it's a one-channel preamp with two very different, either/or characters. I use it with AGS always on, low gain.

Understood. I think I will use it as a one-channel preamp most of the time (with AGS always on).

My point was that one can use it as a (sort-of) two-channel preamp if he uses the pedal disengaged as a clean channel...

 

[Marihino]

Exactly, yes, completely doable. It's easy to get unity levels and the DI is still functional with the pedal off.

 

[Zbysek]

Exactly, yes, completely doable. It's easy to get unity levels and the DI is still functional with the pedal off.

 

[Zbysek]

So my TH pedal arrived. I am looking forward trying it at my gigs this weekend!

 

[Zbysek]

So I have two gigs with the (new-to-me) TH pedal under my belt.

I like it quite a bit. I use AGS always on, boosting lows and treble and leaving mids flattish.

The sound guy said he was happy with the signal I sent him and didn’t need to do any EQing.

Next time, I plan to try to follow Eublet’s advice to cut mids at 750Hz (3 o’clock).

 

[eric_kiser]

That day has come.

@dwagner What did you end up thinking of the Tone Hammer/Nobel DI combination?

 

[eric_kiser]

Here are some of the settings @Eublet has shared...

SansAmp Bass Driver DI Settings
(With tighter high and low end due to HPF/LPF effect of using AGS)

AGS: On
Gain: Set based on the amount of overdrive you want
Bass: 2:30 or 3 o'clock
Treble: 1 o'clock (then tweak this knob as if it were the BDDi's "Presence" control)
Mid Frq: 1 or 2 o'clock
Mid Lvl: 8 to 10 o'clock based on taste for that big mid scoop the BDDI never gets rid of

Something to remember here, according to @Eublet, the AGS changes the effect of the Treble knob. With AGS on, it acts like a Presence control.

REDDI settings

AGS: On
Gain: 8:30
Bass: 12:30
Treble: 12:30
Mid Frq: Fully counter clockwise
Mid Lvl: 12:30

I've never used a REDDI and I never found the original post from @Eublet. Another user posted these settings from a post they had seen from @Eublet. YMMV

 

[eric_kiser]

Also found this thread... Hammer Time! (Post your Tone Hammer settings) | TalkBass.com

@Eublet and others posted a bunch of settings.

 

[pisces_bass]

Here’s one that I use a lot. From the thread linked above, Eublet’s setting for a jazz bass with round wound strings.

AGS on
Gain: 10:00
Treble: noon
Bass: 12:30
Mid Freq: 2:30
Mid level: 10:00

 

[eric_kiser]

I have a love/hate relationship with my Tone Hammer pedal and I would like to know if anybody else struggles with this.

I'm going to start with the Hate, so I can finish with Love.

It started with this marketing blurb from the Aguilar website.
Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification
"AGS allows the player to kick in an additional gain structure allowing you to go from modern tones to vintage, tube-like saturation with the stomp of a button."

I suppose there might be somebody out there that uses it that way. The general consensus, and I completely agree, is this just doesn't work in practice. It's really important for people to understand this before getting one.

There are two modes. And you don't want to flip between them in the middle of a song. I don't care what the Aguilar marketing department says, it just isn't designed for that.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
In mode one, it's a clean boost with very versatile EQ and gain control is for input sensitivity.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Trebble control becomes a Presence control, HPF/LPF is enabled and works interactively with the Gain control which also works interactively with the Mids controls. The gain now goes from none to lots.

The next thing was this blurb from the manual.
tone-hammer-manual-v1.2.pdf (aguilaramp.com)
"Please see our website, www.aguilaramp.com, for sample settings."

I have searched their website multiple times and have never found anything supporting this claim. A couple of years ago, I sent them an email asking for guidance and they never responded. Today, I sent them another email and I'll let y'all know if I get a response.

Last, and this is a bit of a mixed bag, is the Tone Hammer is so incredibly versatile.

It's like telling a teenager they can grow up to do anything and asking them what they want to do. Every one of them I've asked, feels overwhelmed by this question because they don't know where to start filtering out what they don't want to do.

I'm kind of like that with this pedal. Without a lot better understanding of EQ than what I have, I mostly just feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what not to do, so I can figure out what I want to do with it. [sigh]

Now, for the Love.

It sounds really great. That's why I keep fighting with it.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
All the EQ knobs at 12:00
Gain at minimum
Click Engage
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Change nothing from Mode #1
Click the AGS
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better, but now it has that tightening of the lows and the highs.

I keep hoping that I will find enough of other people's settings and do enough knob twiddling that I will have that Eureka! moment and it will all become intuitive like it was for @Eublet.

Ultimately, I Love this pedal and I Hate that I'm unable to use it to its full potential.

 

[Zbysek]

Does anybody know (by memory) which position is which for the pre/post knob...and the ground lift? Thanks!

 

[eric_kiser]

Does anybody know (by memory) which position is which for the pre/post knob...and the ground lift? Thanks!

I did a search because I couldn't remember either.

Out - Pre EQ
Out - Ground Lift Off

In - Post EQ
In - Ground Lift ON

 

[Zbysek]

I did a search because I couldn't remember either.

Out - Pre EQ
Out - Ground Lift Off

In - Post EQ
In - Ground Lift ON

Thank you. That means that I need to have both in the "in" position as a default. Cool.

 

[lildrgn]

I have a love/hate relationship with my Tone Hammer pedal and I would like to know if anybody else struggles with this.

I'm going to start with the Hate, so I can finish with Love.

It started with this marketing blurb from the Aguilar website.
Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification
"AGS allows the player to kick in an additional gain structure allowing you to go from modern tones to vintage, tube-like saturation with the stomp of a button."

I suppose there might be somebody out there that uses it that way. The general consensus, and I completely agree, is this just doesn't work in practice. It's really important for people to understand this before getting one.

There are two modes. And you don't want to flip between them in the middle of a song. I don't care what the Aguilar marketing department says, it just isn't designed for that.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
In mode one, it's a clean boost with very versatile EQ and gain control is for input sensitivity.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Trebble control becomes a Presence control, HPF/LPF is enabled and works interactively with the Gain control which also works interactively with the Mids controls. The gain now goes from none to lots.

The next thing was this blurb from the manual.
tone-hammer-manual-v1.2.pdf (aguilaramp.com)
"Please see our website, www.aguilaramp.com, for sample settings."

I have searched their website multiple times and have never found anything supporting this claim. A couple of years ago, I sent them an email asking for guidance and they never responded. Today, I sent them another email and I'll let y'all know if I get a response.

Last, and this is a bit of a mixed bag, is the Tone Hammer is so incredibly versatile.

It's like telling a teenager they can grow up to do anything and asking them what they want to do. Every one of them I've asked, feels overwhelmed by this question because they don't know where to start filtering out what they don't want to do.

I'm kind of like that with this pedal. Without a lot better understanding of EQ than what I have, I mostly just feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what not to do, so I can figure out what I want to do with it. [sigh]

Now, for the Love.

It sounds really great. That's why I keep fighting with it.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
All the EQ knobs at 12:00
Gain at minimum
Click Engage
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Change nothing from Mode #1
Click the AGS
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better, but now it has that tightening of the lows and the highs.

I keep hoping that I will find enough of other people's settings and do enough knob twiddling that I will have that Eureka! moment and it will all become intuitive like it was for @Eublet.

Ultimately, I Love this pedal and I Hate that I'm unable to use it to its full potential.

I feel you on this. For the year or so that I've had it, it was always engaged, AGS never used. But been diving deeper into it lately and based on earlier upthread somewhere, I tried engaging AGS, adjusting gain, utilizing the mids to boost at about 9:30 and really liked what it brought via my amp. And then, the conundrum: do I use the amp EQ after the pedal or disengage it?

Truth is, it sounds great with the EQ engaged (Trace Eliott with the 12-band EQ). So what I may end up doing is just run with what sound I like, rather than worrying about if I'm doing it "right" or "wrong."

Ultimately, I am learning to love this pedal as I'm learning how to use it.

 

[epoxo57]

I have a love/hate relationship with my Tone Hammer pedal and I would like to know if anybody else struggles with this.

I'm going to start with the Hate, so I can finish with Love.

It started with this marketing blurb from the Aguilar website.
Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification
"AGS allows the player to kick in an additional gain structure allowing you to go from modern tones to vintage, tube-like saturation with the stomp of a button."

I suppose there might be somebody out there that uses it that way. The general consensus, and I completely agree, is this just doesn't work in practice. It's really important for people to understand this before getting one.

There are two modes. And you don't want to flip between them in the middle of a song. I don't care what the Aguilar marketing department says, it just isn't designed for that.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
In mode one, it's a clean boost with very versatile EQ and gain control is for input sensitivity.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Trebble control becomes a Presence control, HPF/LPF is enabled and works interactively with the Gain control which also works interactively with the Mids controls. The gain now goes from none to lots.

The next thing was this blurb from the manual.
tone-hammer-manual-v1.2.pdf (aguilaramp.com)
"Please see our website, www.aguilaramp.com, for sample settings."

I have searched their website multiple times and have never found anything supporting this claim. A couple of years ago, I sent them an email asking for guidance and they never responded. Today, I sent them another email and I'll let y'all know if I get a response.

Last, and this is a bit of a mixed bag, is the Tone Hammer is so incredibly versatile.

It's like telling a teenager they can grow up to do anything and asking them what they want to do. Every one of them I've asked, feels overwhelmed by this question because they don't know where to start filtering out what they don't want to do.

I'm kind of like that with this pedal. Without a lot better understanding of EQ than what I have, I mostly just feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what not to do, so I can figure out what I want to do with it. [sigh]

Now, for the Love.

It sounds really great. That's why I keep fighting with it.

Mode #1 - AGS OFF
All the EQ knobs at 12:00
Gain at minimum
Click Engage
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better.

Mode #2 - AGS ON
Change nothing from Mode #1
Click the AGS
Adjust master volume to taste
My playing sounds better, but now it has that tightening of the lows and the highs.

I keep hoping that I will find enough of other people's settings and do enough knob twiddling that I will have that Eureka! moment and it will all become intuitive like it was for @Eublet.

Ultimately, I Love this pedal and I Hate that I'm unable to use it to its full potential.

I'm a TH fan as well and asked about sample settings a couple years ago and this is what I got:
Sorry about the confusion... We do not have the sample settings on our website any longer as we re-launched our site recently. Perhaps we’ll do new clips in the near-future.

That was 2020 and still waiting........

I guess its the ol', "twist knobs until it sounds good to you" in their minds for customers