Xotic Bass BB Preamp v1.5

[butterfingers1]

Been trying my new BB (and RC booster) all weekend and I’m a bit disappointed. Was hoping to get some colour or special tone or enhancement of some sort. Besides the distortion from the Gain I can’t really tell wether it’s there or not, the eq doesn’t do much that my amplifier eq’s don’t. The overdrive tones are clean though, no noticeable low-end loss or compression. Reminds me of the Damnation Audio MBD3 in a simpler format.

 

[Boy_Narf]

Been trying my new BB (and RC booster) all weekend and I’m a bit disappointed. Was hoping to get some colour or special tone or enhancement of some sort. Besides the distortion from the Gain I can’t really tell wether it’s there or not, the eq doesn’t do much that my amplifier eq’s don’t. The overdrive tones are clean though, no noticeable low-end loss or compression. Reminds me of the Damnation Audio MBD3 in a simpler format.

Indeed it's nearly transparent. Only a bit of tampering in the mids. I like that it sounds like the amp just with hair and a touch of cut.

If you amp can get gritty then I don't think you would have much use for this pedal. I use it with my crystal clean Traynor SB115.

Did you try it at 9v?

 

[butterfingers1]

Indeed it's nearly transparent. Only a bit of tampering in the mids. I like that it sounds like the amp just with hair and a touch of cut.

If you amp can get gritty then I don't think you would have much use for this pedal. I use it with my crystal clean Traynor SB115.

Did you try it at 9v?

I used them at 18V, I have Traynors too. I don’t hear the mid thing either. Traynors are mid forward too, it sounds to me the Xotics are just really transparent.

For the low-gain overdrive I have other pedals that I prefer. The BetaV and Barbershop sound more organic(?). The Scorpion sounds much richer, with and without grit.

Maybe the Xotics are just not for me at this point. But what they do, they do very well. The MBD3 is to many a distortion gold standard, and the Xotic Bass BB sounds the same, with more practical eq, less expensive and simpler format.

 

[arepa_funk]

The RC won't get dirty, it's purely a clean preamp with a Bax stack. It sounds really great with passive basses.

The BB on the other hand is a dirt box. From overdrive to light fuzz. Also has a Bax stack. I like it with gain around 11ish and B and T around 1 o'clock each.

Fwiw, ymmv, etc.

 

[butterfingers1]

One thing about the dirt of the Xotic BB and the MBD3, it is fluid, there’s little choking even at higher gain than I use. Many other dirt pedals compress (too much) as the gain is raised which can be frustrating.

 

[butterfingers1]

After a few days, I’m finding the RC Booster has a subtle something, a tone clearing or something, and it’s a bit addictive. The BB doesn’t do this . I also find the second Gain is not completely clean, there’s a very subtle distortion, but it’s definitely there. It’s comparable to the light distortion produced by the Empress bass compressor tone switch. The BB always sounds a little darker and more compressed even with Gain almost off. These two pedals are different, the RC is not just a blank BB.

 

[Frank_Raider]

RC is one of the best tone enhancers out there. It makes any bass sound better. I've been using it for that purpose for more than 10 years and I find myself never turning it off.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Sorry to revive an older thread; but I recently got the BB 1.5; dig it and do find that I have to boost both the bass and treble to get it to sound transparent. Anyone else have an incredibly loud footswitch? Especially at 18v?

 

[butterfingers1]

I find the BB dark and mid-forward. Scooping mid frequencies somewhere sounds smoother. But the strong mids, which is more audible in a busy mix, is a good thing, it’s always easy to reduce.

 

[arepa_funk]

Boosting B and T cuts mids, fwiw. The opposite is also true. It won't be truly transparent to my ears.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Boosting B and T cuts mids, fwiw. The opposite is also true. It won't be truly transparent to my ears.

Yeah I used it on a gig last night, we play direct with IEMs and I guess I’ve been spoiled by my ODR 1 pedals where it sounds like your instrument blanketed in saturation, in a super pleasing way. I couldn’t tell if my tone was too dark or boomy when it was engaged and of course I might be the only one who really noticing. Might need another gig with it but I’m leaning towards sticking to my Nordland (that’s in Nashville being modded at the moment.) The RC booster is going nowhere though; might be one of my favorite pedals of all time

 

[projectapollo]

Does anyone know ow what the BB and RC stand for in the Xotic product names? Curious.

 

[Backdrop]

Does anyone know ow what the BB and RC stand for in the Xotic product names? Curious.

Bluesbreaker and Rig Conductor.

 

[Zbysek]

Does anybody know whether the Bass and Treble controls are before or after the drive engine? THX

 

[karter2000]

Does anybody know whether the Bass and Treble controls are before or after the drive engine? THX

After the drive engine.