thisisswanbon

New Hotone goodness here! https://www.hotoneaudio.com/products/multi-effects/ampero-ii-stage Looks like a step up from the Ampero II stomp, which is a really impressive bit of kit, and if it was a better known brand with a bit more customisation would've been a genuine HX stomp killer! This unit looks seriously impressive!

Got mine yesterday and its great! Found its more than capable of doing subtle tubeyness. Concerned about some of the reports of a low di output though... My only issue is the cabsims turn my C4 synth patches and external drives into dark mushy mess... anyone got any experience of this and any idea of how to get around this? I suppose this is more of a general IR and cabsim issue than a SGT specific one...

You literally have a mix of my favourite pedals, and pedals I'd most like to try on this board... you have no idea how much board envy I'm feeling right now!

EHX Hot Wax is the best example of dual drives I've ever used... no preamp option though

Those are some pretty big names the boss unit has picked off! If you don't mind me asking, Do you feel like it does something that the Cali and Empress don't? I was always put off the boss unit with it being digital.

JPTR FX Jive really sweetens up my tone in the mix... also found the way huge pork & pickle to work some magic when looking for a hairy rock clean tone. Would love to try one of those JHS colourbox pre's... but so much coin!

John Willis from "Dr Tones Lab" slated them. He said they're all just generic values on standard blocks and there's nothing thought out or special. I'm sure he uploaded his own versions to the Dr Tones Lab website for free where all values were 1 out to avoid any plagiarism drama. Might be worth checking them out on his website. Worth mentioning I actually really like what Ian Martin Allison is doing, but haven't tried his or Jon Willis' presets.

So after having a play around with this through headphones, it definitely does the cali76 thing pretty well! In honesty though I think there's an element of listening with my eyes... I just remember my Origin Effects unit sounding a bit "better" but I can't put my finger on how or why. I honestly think it's a mental thing of "it's a clone, and the fit and finish is no where near, so it can't be that close". In reality though, I have no idea how they've made a compressor sound as good as this for 50 quid! If I take my cali76 head off then it genuinely is just a great compressor!

I have a problem... Had an unexpected gear sale, so was debating the cali76 cb or expresses compressors. Decided to take a punt on the completely original Demon FX Call76 first though with the huge price difference! Opinions will be on another thread, but I think it's a keeper!

Possibly... although if they've blindly copied it then it's more likely to do what the original does I guess...

Yeah I did notice that! Really bizarre design decision (or afterthought). I know what they're trying to achieve, but for the sake of putting this OUTSIDE of the pedal, they'd have given themselves a lot less grief... In honesty though, I didn't find the metering on the origin effects unit all that useful... and I've used more compressors without it than with, so I'm not overly put off

Update on this for anyone interested... Gigged it on Saturday night and am far more impressed than I was pre-gig! We run through an RCF EVOX 12 set up and I use IEMs, and honestly this just sat in the mix fantastically. The gooey mids they talk about in the pedal bumf were glorious (which I seem to miss when I hear solo'd) and it just had more life! Settings were 1st diode engaged, gain around 10 o clock and volume at unity. So thankful this didn't sell on faceache marketplace!

So this has just arrived... seen alot of noise about these, but not many have actually tried them! Those that have tried them suggest you wouldn't tell the difference in a blind test, but others suggest that the circuits are different and can't be the same.... Anyways, I present the Demonfx Call76 compact bass! Won't be able to plug in until tonight, but fit and finish impressions are confused... I've had the original Origin Effects unit, and this is in no way competition to the original. It weighs less than some micro pedals, the metal has ever so slight burs on the edges, the switch is awful, the knobs feel cheap... but it was just over 50 quid brand new delivered in 3 days, so none of that REALLY matters! Service from affordaboard-pedals.co.uk (thanks for the heads up @stewblack) was brilliant and highly recommended! Sound test to follow...

I always found the drive to be switchable when I used one of these, the IR you use has some play in how much the volume increases based on what frequencies are boosted etc. The drive wasn't hugely to my taste though and I found it more usable as a slightly dirty 2nd channel than a full on drive. Worth remembering though it's always good to have your drive slightly higher than your clean sound, as drive is compression by design and a little bit of extra volume just helps it sit right in the mix.

Ah, the bass freq on my MB preamp is 70hz so seems a bit pointless... might fill the holes in the mid and treble EQ though (Low mid 400hz, High mid 2.5khz, treble 10khz). Damn you, Stew... I thought I was sorted! 😅

Happy NPD! Really tempted by this and the Call76. Tempted to sell my JPTR FX Jive and take a punt on both... Do you know what bass and treble are boosting at?

I've only used this through headphones at the moment, but I'm not sure I like what it adds more than I miss what I feel it detracts. Definitely adds a weight and depth that's not there without it, but I just miss that natural upper punch both of my basses seem to have. This may end up on the FS Section soon, as sending back to Germany to JPTR FX doesn't appeal 😬

How do you both have these set up? I'd love to use one on my Source Audio C4 but can't work out the logistics!

I'm trying to use it for saturation, I miss the mid punch thing but I'm working on it... Great value pedal!

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to straighten that up! 🤣. Will repost when I'm victorious! 😁

Board version #1282651876.1 Added the jive at the end of my chain, but before my preamp. Makes my synths sound bigger and my octaves sound filthy...takes away a bit of this je ne sais quoi mid punch my jazz and sandberg have both got, but it adds a weight and depth that works better in the mix... Thinking a compressor at the beginning may be the final piece of the puzzle 🤔. Would love a wireless midi controller for my C4 and ultrawave, but that seems to be a logistical nightmare...

So this came after an agonising 12 day wait! - A nice not so shiny new JPTR FX Jive! I tried one of these earlier in the year but it was lost on me and returned - since then I've moved to a Mark Bass tube pre which takes pedals much better than what I was using, so thought I'd take another punt! Any current users got any tips? Not looking for high gain stuff, just to spruce up my clean tone even further...

Long shot, but has anyone tried one of these against the markbass vintage pre? I'd love to see how they stack up, love my MB pre, but gas for this just won't budge!

That cali76 rip is hugely tempting... £55 new as opposed to £200 s/h 🤔