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Tubey + DI
- Thread starter scottfeldstein
- Start date
You are
To my ear, yes. I seem to recall Jimmy was a fan of the Hartke some time back for this reason. His ear is likely far better tuned to that question than mine.
The Bass Attack? Yeah, I'm a fan, but for a completely different reason than the VT. I like it because it's not an Ampeg or tube emulation...it's got its own Hartke thang. To be honest, the sounds it gets are usually quite scooped, but by judicious mixing of the blend knob with the dirt, you can get mids back into the picture and not lose any intensity from whatever dirt setting you choose. I don't know if it's exactly what you're looking for, Scott, since it also doesn't do a super heavy dirt sound and isn't what I call tubey, but it's a great pedal that does a lot for not much money, and it's awesome for kicking a second dirt pedal in the ass without being overbearing. Used to have clips, but I lost them in a crash a few months ago, and I still haven't rigged my new comp up to record.
From what you are saying Scott it seems to me that it is between the modded VT (DI) the Paradrive and the EBS valve drive. I'm actually after the same thing as you. I do have an Oxford and my PBDDI but I'm looking for something with a bit more mids. But I'll keep my PBDDI. I'm torn between the para and the EBS valve drive!
I don't know a lot about the capabilities, care and feeding associated with the valve drive, but jeebus. The demos on youtube that I've heard. It's the real, real deal. But I'm not paying that kind of money for one of those. I can barely scrape together the cash for a VT!
I'd take a BDDI again, just for grins. Probably won't see me pay money for one, but I could use a good DI in the bag.
I'd take a BDDI again, just for grins. Probably won't see me pay money for one, but I could use a good DI in the bag.
Or the new Firefly from Radial. Quite expensive, but the features are great!!
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VT with DI mod, or VT Deluxe. Deluxe gives you lots of options. Aside from the presets, you can get up to mischief with the parallel out and FX loop. It's an awesome tone shaper too. I usually don't even use it for dirt, just for adding sparkle and polish.
So there are two issues that get mixed up constantly. One is the tube itself. The other is the EQ coloration typical of certain breeds of old tube amps. Sometimes when two people are talking about "tube sound" they are talking about these two very different things and they think they are talking about the same thing.
I got super interested in tubes back when I had a relatively flat rig, a SWR Grand Prix preamp, a Stewart power amp, and an Acme Low B-4. That's an odd kind of rig for an old school P player, but it stripped out all the EQ that can mask the amazing things a good tube can do to bring out the natural sound of the P. There was one tube, and I was able to see what influence it had on the tone all by itself.
I learned to begin with a super-rigidly constructed tube to preserve the P's natural "grunt." A good tube preserves the delicate sonic events a good bass makes. Then I can EQ. I can tell when EQ is starting to smear over the tube's detail. If you begin with a good tube, you won't try to fix a bad tube with EQ. Can't be done.
A mediocre tube can destroy detail. I'd rather have no tube than a bad tube. Someone A/B'd a SansAmp and a Reddi a while back. I liked the SansAmp. It preserved more detail. That wasn't the question. The question was which sounded more like a tube. But who cares? All we want to know is which sounds best.
I got super interested in tubes back when I had a relatively flat rig, a SWR Grand Prix preamp, a Stewart power amp, and an Acme Low B-4. That's an odd kind of rig for an old school P player, but it stripped out all the EQ that can mask the amazing things a good tube can do to bring out the natural sound of the P. There was one tube, and I was able to see what influence it had on the tone all by itself.
I learned to begin with a super-rigidly constructed tube to preserve the P's natural "grunt." A good tube preserves the delicate sonic events a good bass makes. Then I can EQ. I can tell when EQ is starting to smear over the tube's detail. If you begin with a good tube, you won't try to fix a bad tube with EQ. Can't be done.
A mediocre tube can destroy detail. I'd rather have no tube than a bad tube. Someone A/B'd a SansAmp and a Reddi a while back. I liked the SansAmp. It preserved more detail. That wasn't the question. The question was which sounded more like a tube. But who cares? All we want to know is which sounds best.
That was me, thank you 
And I liked the REDDI considerably better. Sansamp is a very good emulation, but 75% of those voting were able to pick out the REDDI because there's no sub for the real thing.
And I liked the REDDI considerably better. Sansamp is a very good emulation, but 75% of those voting were able to pick out the REDDI because there's no sub for the real thing.
I just received a VT from a fellow TBer and absolutely love it! Im taking the BDDI back tomorrow. I was going to exchange it for the Paradriver just so I have a DI when jamming the SVT rig but after hearing you guys speak of the Reddi - maybe Ill check that out instead.
Boom. That's what I need to hear. I was just having doubts! Maybe i should get a para driver. Maybe I should just get another BDDI. But no! I need to trust my ears--and yours--and get the thing that sounds like I want it to sound.
What are your settings on the BDDI - PM me if needed. I get a great tone out of it and prefer it over the paradriver di.
That was me, thank you
I'm definitely a dyed-in-the-wool tubester. But the thing with Cold War milspec tubes is this ridiculous rigid construction. These things were supposed to take the punishment of being launched in ICBMs. And here, there is a special thing going on with the sound, a super hifi thing, and only some tubes have it, 3D to the max. Actually, it was a handful out of hundreds I tested (six).
Hey, have you played with the Russian milspec tubes for the Reddi? If they're as rigidly constructed as these US milspec tubes, maybe they'll do the same tricks for you. Reading about the 1970 Voskhod box plate 6N1P-EV now, sounds like quite a tube!
Its not that the BDDI sounds bad - I like the tones I get out of it - I just prefer to have a mid control. I know most BDDI guys will say "cut the bass and treble if you want to boost the mid" - I get that. I still prefer the ability to tweak the mid AND bass and treble. The paradriver takes it one step further with the freq sweep control which I love on my RPM and as Tech21 pointed out on another thread - the Paradriver is basically the RPM in a stomp box.
Is that drag control the same thing as the TD-100's load control? Both of those are appealing because they use 12AX7 types.
I have a BDDI, VT Bass, VXL Bass Attack and a Tone Hammer. The Tone Hammer is currently on my main board, the BDDI is on my secondary, my VXL is my go to in my home practice setup and the VT... the VT is just waiting for the right opportunity to come back out and play. They're all great pedals.
On the VXL in particular... I won my VXL Bass Attack from Larry Hartke himself on one of his Facebook giveaways, and I was completely caught off guard by how good it is. Like ulynch said, not face melting dirt but I think it sounds awesome. Then again, I'm a low-gain overdrive kinda guy.
You can get some MONSTROUS low end out of this pedal, and the EQ works great with the drive. For the last run through on the clip, I had the bass maxed and had to lower the level knob to TWO 
to keep unity volume. This pedal has more than enough headroom on tap.
Hartke VXL Bass Attack rough clip of various gain settings
(Modulus Q5 > VXL > PC)
Don't sell this one short just because it says Hartke. It's a very handy tool and sounds great, for a nice price. It can do quite a wide variety of low- to mid-gain drive/preamp sounds, is a fully functional DI, and has a tone of tone shaping control.
Pros:
- Nice overdrive sound
- Brite knob can add some nice zing
- EQ is easy to use
- Shape knob for further sound sculpting
- Shape and drive/EQ are separate on/off
- mix knob for blending
- Plenty of headroom
- phantom power, ground lift and pre/post EQ send
- built pretty tough
Cons:
- Level knob always affects signal, on or off (an interesting quirk)
- Not exactly small pedalboard friendly
5sg.
On the VXL in particular... I won my VXL Bass Attack from Larry Hartke himself on one of his Facebook giveaways, and I was completely caught off guard by how good it is. Like ulynch said, not face melting dirt but I think it sounds awesome. Then again, I'm a low-gain overdrive kinda guy.
You can get some MONSTROUS low end out of this pedal, and the EQ works great with the drive. For the last run through on the clip, I had the bass maxed and had to lower the level knob to TWO to keep unity volume. This pedal has more than enough headroom on tap.Hartke VXL Bass Attack rough clip of various gain settings
(Modulus Q5 > VXL > PC)
Don't sell this one short just because it says Hartke. It's a very handy tool and sounds great, for a nice price. It can do quite a wide variety of low- to mid-gain drive/preamp sounds, is a fully functional DI, and has a tone of tone shaping control.
Pros:
- Nice overdrive sound
- Brite knob can add some nice zing
- EQ is easy to use
- Shape knob for further sound sculpting
- Shape and drive/EQ are separate on/off
- mix knob for blending
- Plenty of headroom
- phantom power, ground lift and pre/post EQ send
- built pretty tough
Cons:
- Level knob always affects signal, on or off (an interesting quirk)
- Not exactly small pedalboard friendly
5sg.
That said, I'll echo Jimmy... Scott, if that video is what you're looking for, I'd pop for the VT Deluxe...
A standard VT Bass is $169 new, the mod for adding JUST a DI is $50 plus shipping to Putnam. That puts you at about $230ish and the hassle of the back and forth. For $269, you get a fully functional DI (not just an XLR out) and you get presets.
Oh h3ll... now *I* want a VT Bass Deluxe.
lol
5sg.
A standard VT Bass is $169 new, the mod for adding JUST a DI is $50 plus shipping to Putnam. That puts you at about $230ish and the hassle of the back and forth. For $269, you get a fully functional DI (not just an XLR out) and you get presets.
Oh h3ll... now *I* want a VT Bass Deluxe.
lol5sg.
