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Ooh, interesting. What are you using to blend the 5th Gear? Is it pedal-based or post-processing/DAW?
My 5th Gear V2 is set similarly to how others have gotten V1-like sounds... max vol, Heat very low (but not all the way down), Gain at 10-11 o'clock, and always on... it's a very nice tone sweetener.
I've been toying with the idea of bringing down the volume to unity gain to have more tonal variety/options but I'm not sure if it'll lose any of that "magic" if I drop the volume down from max. 
I've been toying with the idea of bringing down the volume to unity gain to have more tonal variety/options but I'm not sure if it'll lose any of that "magic" if I drop the volume down from max.
It might be hard to make a generalization if your 5th Gear works like mine. It's pretty sensitive and I've noticed distinct differences in vibe and response when switching among the basses I own. So I think a lot of that very real magic it has might depend on you and what you're plugging into it.
Only way to find out is to try it.
Fortunately, I have yet to discover a bad sound anywhere in it. Which I think speaks volumes for Southampton and the design of this pedal.
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A one control blender, it’s a great toanOoh, interesting. What are you using to blend the 5th Gear? Is it pedal-based or post-processing/DAW?
My 5th Gear V2 is set similarly to how others have gotten V1-like sounds... max vol, Heat very low (but not all the way down), Gain at 10-11 o'clock, and always on... it's a very nice tone sweetener.
Have one of these incoming and am pumped! I usually use a Rat Tail into an MBD-1 as my tone; hoping to put the fifth gear first as a boost and either use that for when I want to get crazy OR leave it always on and use the MBD-1 for crazy bits.
The 5th Gear is slowing becoming my main dirt pedal with my Mesa rig, does anyone have any experience juicing it with a boost in front? If so, which boost? I have my eyes on the EQD Arrows.
My V1 Fifth Gear prefers to go early in the chain. When boosted, it tends to compress oddly and distort the bass in unpleasant ways. It also shelves off a lot of high end. Instead I use it to boost other pedals, which it excels at.
Bought v2 #47 secondhand and boy, this thing is just outstanding at any setting.
I could totally see the need for a Ten Speed, but would it have Heat knobs? Did it ever happen?
I could totally see the need for a Ten Speed, but would it have Heat knobs? Did it ever happen?
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Getting to know this pedal now. The dynamic response is just amazing. It’s easy to set it on the edge, and just tread that line with your fingers. And the bass response is the opposite of what most drive pedals produce.
I think of Gain as “Hair” and the Heat knob as “Flaps”, although I would award a second P for uniqueness, to make it “Flapps”. That’s just the character of the noise it makes, to my brain. The quality of this pedal is a sort of Anti-Darkglass; the two create a yin/yang situation.
if Southampton ever wanted to give me a present, it would be a Fifth Gear with Volume, Hair and Flapps knobs screened on the case, with the Mustang being carried by a Montgolfier balloon, to commemorate the inflation this pedal produces for any bass you shove into it. Totally amazing. I’m in love.
I think of Gain as “Hair” and the Heat knob as “Flaps”, although I would award a second P for uniqueness, to make it “Flapps”. That’s just the character of the noise it makes, to my brain. The quality of this pedal is a sort of Anti-Darkglass; the two create a yin/yang situation.
if Southampton ever wanted to give me a present, it would be a Fifth Gear with Volume, Hair and Flapps knobs screened on the case, with the Mustang being carried by a Montgolfier balloon, to commemorate the inflation this pedal produces for any bass you shove into it. Totally amazing. I’m in love.
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Hey Fifth Gearheads,
Can anyone confirm something for me? If I put a buffered signal in front of my FG, the quality of the distortion suffers greatly. It gets ratty and the flappy clipping quality I like so much becomes mush. For example, if I set my upstream MXR BOD to dry only, at unity (3:00), the FG falls apart. Same if I feed it the output from my Noble DI.
Anyone confirm? I think I have to treat it like a fussy fuzz pedal.
Can anyone confirm something for me? If I put a buffered signal in front of my FG, the quality of the distortion suffers greatly. It gets ratty and the flappy clipping quality I like so much becomes mush. For example, if I set my upstream MXR BOD to dry only, at unity (3:00), the FG falls apart. Same if I feed it the output from my Noble DI.
Anyone confirm? I think I have to treat it like a fussy fuzz pedal.
Do you happen to have a Subway rig? That's what I have and I am interested in this OD! Thanks!
