Two Notes Revolt Bass

[Derek Williams]

Now this looks very interesting. Tube preamp/DI with lots of goodies: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Derek Williams]

 

[munkeyfish]

Very cool. And $400 isn't bad for what is provided.

 

[Derek Williams]

Very cool. And $400 isn't bad for what is provided.

it looks like a great all-in-one. Looking forward to seeing some videos.

 

[munkeyfish]

it looks like a great all-in-one. Looking forward to seeing some videos.

With midi no less!

 

[Killing Floor]

Yeah it does. That channel 2 is calling me for sure. Especially if it hits right on the edge of break. Looks awesome.

 

[Derek Williams]

Very cool. And $400 isn't bad for what is provided.

Surprisingly good price in the UK too, £350. Two Notes ReVolt Bass Analog Amp Sim Pedal - andertons-cas

EDIT: Preorder placed

 

[fu22ba55]

Someone who knows what they're talking about (like @agedhorse ), please enlighten me:

I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that these "look! there's a real tube in there!" pedals are basically NOT taking advantage of the tube? Something about the power supply or plate voltage or whatever, not being adequate enough to make the tube make any difference?

I remember the EBS Valve Drive (a few years ago) had some marketing based around this idea: that if you want to squeeze that tube, you need meatier voltage. (And the EBS provided enough to take advantage of the tube, hence the higher relative cost.) So something like the old Tube Works Tubedriver had inadequate voltage to make the preamp tube relevant?

1) Am I misremembering (and stupid)?

2) Does this unit address that issue (if the issue even exists)?

Anytime I see a 12AX7 front and center like that, it seems more like marketing than anything else? How wrong and misinformed am I?

 

[Derek Williams]

Someone who knows what they're talking about (like @agedhorse ), please enlighten me:

I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that these "look! there's a real tube in there!" pedals are basically NOT taking advantage of the tube? Something about the power supply or plate voltage or whatever, not being adequate enough to make the tube make any difference?

I remember the EBS Valve Drive (a few years ago) had some marketing based around this idea: that if you want to squeeze that tube, you need meatier voltage. (And the EBS provided enough to take advantage of the tube, hence the higher relative cost.) So something like the old Tube Works Tubedriver had inadequate voltage to make the preamp tube relevant?

1) Am I misremembering (and stupid)?

2) Does this unit address that issue (if the issue even exists)?

Anytime I see a 12AX7 front and center like that, it seems more like marketing than anything else? How wrong and misinformed am I?

That's quite possible. The webpage states that the tube is running at 200V. I don't know if that is enough for proper operation or not. The pedal itself is 12V 500ma, which seems like a good upper range target if you want this pedal to be used on pedal boards.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

Someone who knows what they're talking about (like @agedhorse ), please enlighten me:

I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that these "look! there's a real tube in there!" pedals are basically NOT taking advantage of the tube? Something about the power supply or plate voltage or whatever, not being adequate enough to make the tube make any difference?

I remember the EBS Valve Drive (a few years ago) had some marketing based around this idea: that if you want to squeeze that tube, you need meatier voltage. (And the EBS provided enough to take advantage of the tube, hence the higher relative cost.) So something like the old Tube Works Tubedriver had inadequate voltage to make the preamp tube relevant?

1) Am I misremembering (and stupid)?

2) Does this unit address that issue (if the issue even exists)?

Anytime I see a 12AX7 front and center like that, it seems more like marketing than anything else? How wrong and misinformed am I?

Back in the day the only options for high volt tube function required AC input and a transformer, which meant they were all huge and hard to build a board around. Now that charge pumps are commonplace getting a proper tube plate voltage just requires a lot of current at more standard pedal voltages. I have to admit that I haven't used any of the charge pump versions so I can't speak to their sound.

 

[fu22ba55]

Now that charge pumps are commonplace getting a proper tube plate voltage just requires a lot of current at more standard pedal voltages.

"Charge Pumps" is a new piece of vocab for me. TIL.

Sounds like something on Wonder Woman's utility belt.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

"Charge Pumps" is a new piece of vocab for me. TIL.

Sounds like something on Wonder Woman's utility belt.

Basically it boosts voltage without an inductor. A really big deal in the pedal world 15-ish years ago.

 

[melloncollie]

I just got a Le bass and I really like it so this is interesting. Though the functionality is slightly different. I'll be waiting for videos before placing an order.

 

[Nick von Nick]

This looks awesome! Additionally, I simply need to say that more preamps need effects loops...
...
...
...
...by more I mean all.

 

[Obese Chess]

Phew, I gotta say if the "modern drive" circuit is anything like the Le Bass, and it has all this other stuff in it for four hundred bucks, that's an astonishing deal.

 

[kevmac]

Now this looks very interesting. Tube preamp/DI with lots of goodies: Invalid Link Removed

Wow,that rocks.I have Le Bass and I'm a huge fan.This is the problem with all gear.You buy this months latest,greatest and by the time you settle in with it something with a bit more comes along.You can't win.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Similar to a point to the Audient Sono interface (which I have), which has Two Notes technology and a tube on board. The Sono is an interface, this is not.

 

[SirMjac28]

I had a Two Notes Torpedo and the build quality was incredible love this new entry for sure.

 

[agedhorse]

Someone who knows what they're talking about (like @agedhorse ), please enlighten me:

I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that these "look! there's a real tube in there!" pedals are basically NOT taking advantage of the tube? Something about the power supply or plate voltage or whatever, not being adequate enough to make the tube make any difference?

I remember the EBS Valve Drive (a few years ago) had some marketing based around this idea: that if you want to squeeze that tube, you need meatier voltage. (And the EBS provided enough to take advantage of the tube, hence the higher relative cost.) So something like the old Tube Works Tubedriver had inadequate voltage to make the preamp tube relevant?

1) Am I misremembering (and stupid)?

2) Does this unit address that issue (if the issue even exists)?

Anytime I see a 12AX7 front and center like that, it seems more like marketing than anything else? How wrong and misinformed am I?

It depends entirely on the intent of the designer. There are ways to take advantage of a tube's properties (both good and bad) no matter what the plate voltage. Different tone goals might dictate one approach over another. In the case of the Tubeworks amps/pedals, the tube certainly makes a difference (and a fairly large difference IME) even though they were being operated at a low plate voltage (which was in fact a necessary part of the goals BK Butler was trying to achieve.

There are a million ways to skin this cat, each way has advantages and disadvantages depending on the specific application.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Someone who knows what they're talking about (like @agedhorse ), please enlighten me:

I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that these "look! there's a real tube in there!" pedals are basically NOT taking advantage of the tube? Something about the power supply or plate voltage or whatever, not being adequate enough to make the tube make any difference?

I remember the EBS Valve Drive (a few years ago) had some marketing based around this idea: that if you want to squeeze that tube, you need meatier voltage. (And the EBS provided enough to take advantage of the tube, hence the higher relative cost.) So something like the old Tube Works Tubedriver had inadequate voltage to make the preamp tube relevant?

1) Am I misremembering (and stupid)?

2) Does this unit address that issue (if the issue even exists)?

Anytime I see a 12AX7 front and center like that, it seems more like marketing than anything else? How wrong and misinformed am I?

EDIT: lol he got here while I was typing

I'm not agedhorse, but I've built a couple tube pedals and have a general idea what I'm talking about and I can tell you that they are absolutely taking advantage of the tube. Most tube pedals nowadays (including all of mine) use a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) to take a lower voltage DC input and spit out a higher voltage DC output. This eliminates the need for transformers, so you can save a lot of space, weight, and cost. 200V is absolutely high enough to get the job done. I typically run pedals anywhere from 230V to 350V on a 9-12V input.

There are plenty of (usually older) designs out there like the Tubedriver that use a "starved tube" in the circuit. The tube is still relevant, it's still doing something, but running a tube at low voltage will lose clean headroom and will affect the frequency response. Designers take advantage of this as they can get the tube to distort (clip) at lower levels, which is what the Tubedriver does. Most of these (including the Tubedriver) still add additional solid-state circuitry to boost levels before the tube to drive it even harder. I haven't seen any Two Notes schematics so I don't know what they're doing, but I have every reason to expect that they're using the tube as it's supposed to be used.