dannybuoy

The Agro is more tube amp like, it also sounds like it has a built in speaker sim that adds a lot of 70s Geezer Butler if that's your bag! Can't say I've tried it with an active bass though but it works well with a high output passive BB1025X.

Yeah, I've had the original Vintage and the Ultra. It doesn't react like tubes or compress like the Spark, it's more like it keeps your dynamics intact and adds a layer of mild fuzzy harmonics on top. Also quite wooly sounding unless you get the newer Ultra with the attack switch which kicks in a high mid boost before the clipping. It might work out for you!

I doubt it, the AD200 has a passive EQ also that isn't flat at noon. Maybe Dan was just going off of the graphics by the knobs and the manual and assuming they were regular boost/cut (like most people would).

It’s not like a normal active EQ - the adjustments are very subtle but affect a wide band of frequencies, so I find the centre points to be largely irrelevant. BassGearMag measured the v1 EQ with various graphs here but they now charge $2 to read the issue: https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-6-bass-gear-magzine-digital/ They reviewed the AD200 also and I expect they would’ve measured that one too: https://www.bassgearmag.com/product/issue-13-bass-gear-magzine-digital/

The OTB 500 is the loudest 500W amp I've ever had, I think BassGearMag benched it peaking at 900W. I don't think you'd find yourself short of power and needing the 1000W version!

Great comparison but the shootout vid doesn't do the BBM justice, having it set to clean mode with the volume so low. It would've been a fairer comparison having it set to normal mode. It's a major flaw of the pedal though that dry mode always has 100% dry signal, so to use that mode effectively you have to pump up the volume to get a satisfactory wet/dry blend then somehow reduce the volume again after (which is why the master volume mod is popular on these!).

Wooly is apt. The 2nd gen OTB is supposed to be closer to the AD200B though (which I've also owned in the past), I'd like to compare them!

Similar yet different - researching YouTube demos would give you a better idea than me trying to convey it in words.

The Terror Bass is perfect for blues and Motown type stuff. The overdrive is quite dark and spongey, and not actually well suited for aggressive rock and metal without a pedal in front IMHO.

I normally can’t stand jazz but quite like that! Not knowing much about sax, I assume the sock thing is like a mute rather than a covid safety procedure?!

Sounds similar to a Cristal Baschet:

I thought the Ultimate Drive dropped the lows quite a bit unless you set the tone control really low to the point of it being too muffled. The American Sound has more low end for sure. It's the low end hitting the circuit that tends to 'bottom out' overdrives, I find the Tech21 VTDI and YYZ have good features to counter this. The VTDI character control is a high mid boost before the clipping stage; so crank that up and compensate by backing off the blend and adjusting the EQ. The YYZ has a button to lop off the deep lows going into the drive section, which you compensate for by blending in clean low end (the clean channel is EQ'd to boost the lows and roll off the mids/highs). The Amptweaker Tight Drive does something similar too.

Of course, it is the best envelope filter in the universe after all! I haven’t tried the Chromatron or the very latest Proton though...

Mutron III is legendary so should be on the list. The Source Audio Spectrum tries to copy it, so it would be good to see more examples of how close it can get. The Fwonkbeta is the best envelope filter in the universe*, so should also make the cut. * IMHO

GHS Brite Flats are half rounds too, Status used to make them also but looks like they've stopped.

Generally after compression so that your settings don’t affect the compression. Unless you want to to affect the compression! Generally after distortion so that you can adjust the tone after the distortion. Unless you want to adjust the tone before the distortion! E.g. a VT Bass has 2 mid controls, one before the drive section (the character control) and one after along with the rest of the EQ. A high mid boost into dirt is a common thing - it’s effectively what the attack control does on a Darkglass B7K. Other than that it doesn’t really matter - it might slightly affect how your filter reacts or how your octave tracks, so later in the chain may be preferable.

Audere preamps are a good solution to the blend issue. Instead of passive mixing just before the preamp like most active basses, the preamp buffers each pickup individually and the blend then works more like the cross fader on a DJ mixer. Nice smooth transition end to end rather than impedance issues getting in the way that make it behave more like a 3-way switch. I don’t know if there are any other preamps that take this approach? Only downside I guess would be that you wouldn’t faithfully replicate the tones you get from a passive bass.

Stomp XL has been announced btw, should you yearn for parallel processing!

Are you after a subtle overdrive or heavy distortion? Dark/fat/creamy or bright/brash/aggressive? Joyo American Sound is dirt cheap and will cover most of the above. Probably the best starting point you can get and you can pick em up for £25 used!

You can get pure nickel strings, e.g. Pyramid Gold flats.

🤷‍♂️ I don't have one! But I know I found all the amps too overdriven in Helix Native until I reduced the input.

Adjusting the overall input gain goes a long way towards sorting that - I think the manual says to adust it so that your input is peaking at -18 to -24 dB, when most people's natural inclination would be to set it much higher than that.

Dimmer switches too - my setup hummed like crazy when the dimmers were on until I replaced my patch cables - if they have plastic around the jack plug then they're not well shielded.

Is it noisy with just the bass into the interface and no pedals in between?

Digging these guys too: