Xotic RC booster vs BB preamp

[Laklandfan]

Hi, I'm a current user and fan of Xotic's BB preamp. I use it as my OD pedal, but I'm interested in also having a clean boost available. Should I just get another BB and roll the gain back or is the RC somehow better suited for cleaner boots? Thanks.

 

[Dave W]

I'd say the RC Bass Booster will do what you want but so would the BB. I've got both and like both. The BB is an overdrive on my board and the RC is used as the name implies...a bass boost

 

[Laklandfan]

Sorry, forgot about this thread, lol. Still considering the RC in addition to my BB. I'm curious what the RC sounds like at it's highest gain settings.

 

[BassMonstrum]

Ressurecting this bad-boy zombie-thread! How DOES the RC sound at its highest gain settings?

 

[project_c]

Ressurecting this bad-boy zombie-thread! How DOES the RC sound at its highest gain settings?

I use one at fairly high gain with a passive short scale, it sounds great but there’s no real overdrive, just gain. I don’t use it all the time, but it’s great for bringing a slightly thin / lifeless passive tone to life. It’s a preamp / gain / eq pedal, the gain control gives you more of the character of the pedal rather than push it into overdrive or distortion. (It may behave differently with louder output / active basses, I’m
not sure. I use it instead of using the onboard preamp on my bass and it works very for that application).

 

[Laklandfan]

Ressurecting this bad-boy zombie-thread! How DOES the RC sound at its highest gain settings?

When I had mine there was barely, if any, OD with the highest gain setting. Certainly cleaner than my Saturn vi boost. I thought of it has the rc with the gain maxed was like the BB at the lowest gain. It seems like boosters are more popular now, so the RC might become more popular. I found I liked the BB better because it wasn’t so subtle. The RC now has a v2 and the bb has a v1.5 model. I’m interested in any A/B comparisons, of the original vs newest ones. I wouldn’t mind a bigger Xotic bass pedal with a built in DI.

 

[arepa_funk]

Haven't used the BB though I'm considering the 1.5. Big fan of the RC. Agreed about how passive basses sound through it. The Bax stack is really useful and easy. Funny enough, I haven't used in a bit because the W&C Phat Phuk B has checked all my boost needs plus getting close to OD when digging in. If I had a "clean" gig, I wouldn't hesitate to use a tuner, compressor, RC, DI as my board.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I'm a recent owner of the v2 RC. Very happy with it so far! As others have said, the first gain stage is more or less just a clean boost. I can get it to drive my Sushi Box preamp (set on the cusp of breakup) into, well, overdrive! But just barely. The second gain stage definitely has more drive on tap, but it's still not super heavy by any means. Except at the highest end of its sweep, but then it also IMHO gets a bit farty by that point. Definitely seems intended as a low to medium-low drive channel.

@arepa_funk I'm doing something similar to your suggestion; building a little "bare essentials" fly rig, and it's gonna be tuner > OC-2 > RC > Sushi Box > compressor. It should be a perfect fit for a board that doesn't require anything more than mild overdrive, but provide a solid boost option.

 

[arepa_funk]

@arepa_funk I'm doing something similar to your suggestion; building a little "bare essentials" fly rig, and it's gonna be tuner > OC-2 > RC > Sushi Box > compressor. It should be a perfect fit for a board that doesn't require anything more than mild overdrive, but provide a solid boost option.

That sounds great! Yeah the RC is perfect for that type of setup!

 

[butterfingers1]

So the RC and the BB run clean have the same tone. Would this be accurate?

 

[gillento]

Did anyone compare the BB vs the RC2 with the second stage activated?