SumOne

EBS BassIQ Blue Label arrived and it's good, I'd only got it on impulse expecting to probably return it but I think I''ll probably keep it - there's tough competition in this price range though. Compared to the M82: Not much in it between the two but if I was just after a bandpass filter sweeping up I'd probably get an M82. The M82 clean/wet controls and depth control are things the EBS doesn't have, and the M82 has a bit more of an in your face 'quack' than the EBS, I do like the EBS tone though- it's smoother. And the EBS bandpass is okay at keeping the low end without a clean blend because it seems to work a bit differently to the M82 in that the threshold at zero is pretty much 100% clean and it gradually gets blended out, that along with the Q and Attack seem to all interact with each other and the amount of clean blend a bit more than the M82 controls do, so although the EBS has fewer knobs it can still get a similar (or perhaps more) variety of tones just in the equivalent bandpass + filter up settings. The M82 sub type sounds with sensitivity dialled down are also a bit more full on than the EBS - but I quite like the milder (and perhaps more usable) EBS sub. The EBS doesn't have the Decay frequency control of the M82 which is a shame, but the main thing the EBS is lacking is output volume control- it does have an internal pot for that, and it seems to be at unity without adjusting it so it's hopefully not a bit issue, still though - what if I want the sub tone turned down and then change to a more 'quack' setting that I want louder? Seems an important omission for a £170 pedal (but the Fwonkbeta is similar). The big positive of the EBS though is that it also does full range and low pass filters, and a second up sweep setting (internally adjustable range), and down sweep. So 9 combinations in total and all of these can make decent sounds, so for that added versatility I think I'll stick with the EBS rather than M82. The EBS is also in the sort of price range of a second hand Spectrum though which has even more versatility - but that needs phone/laptop tweaking and it only has 6 presets available without buying additional controls vs the 9x EBS settings....and like I was saying with the C4, it's not as obvious that 'green light middle toggle' is, say 'lowpass sweep up' than having it there on the dedicated controls of the EBS. Of the filters I've owned: Helix and Zoom envelope filters I didn't think much of, but the Fwonkbeta, EBS, M82, and Spectrum each have their pros and cons and all are good in their own way. For the time being I think I'll stick with the EBS but will have an eye out for alternatives - my search would probably be over if it just included clean/wet volume controls and a decay frequency control.

Yeah I've been recommended the sine effects pedals but not tried them. I've got my eye on the mega para but their prices suddenly jumped up. I had a GEB-7 and it was a bit noisy, but that might have been down to my cheap power supply.

I haven't used these but they look good https://sineeffect.com/shop/micropara-1-band-parametric-e-q/

Yeah, just something like the little screen on the Zoom pedals or Boss RC pedals would really help - and it's presumably pretty cheap to do as those pedals don't break the bank. I recently got a Source Audio Gemini which I think is great as 6 modulation presets is plenty for me, and it's easy enough to tell what preset I'm on (e.g. green light = chorus x3, red light = phaser, flanger, vibe) and as they are all similar enough effects it's fine for the controls to all be fixed the same things across the presets- and 4 controls is enough for most live tweaking. A bit of laptop/phone editing is good to fine-tune other parameters but doesn't need hours of mucking about.

I got the C4 mostly to replace my M82 and Octamizer. Figured selling them would make about £200, then an extra £50 was worth it for the extra synth features. C4 is great and it gets very close but doesn't 100% replicate them, you can play a clean loop and run it through the Octamizer or M82 vs C4 to make the loop sound exactly the same - you could then listen A/B recordings of that loop and not tell the difference. But that's a bit misleading because when actually playing there is a subtle difference, C4 didn't sound quite as good across the whole range of notes and playing dynamics, and it wasn't as easy to do something like the equivalent increasing the 'growl' of the Octamizer as it fed into the M82 with decreased sensitivity - you'd ideally need a C4 preset and quite a long time tweaking to replicate that. The main C4 disadvantage for me was it's lack of 'on-hand' controls so you need to save all the different options as presets- and then it's hard to tweak them via the pedal as it's tricky to remember 'is this synth preset control knob #1 for attack, or bass? or is this filter preset control knob #1 for decay or !?' etc. And to access more than 6 presets you need phone/laptop or controller hooked up or getting a controller like the MC6 (£220) + Neuro Hub (£100) puts the overall cost at £570 and even then it wouldn't have the same 'on-hand' controls as the two separate pedals.....so I returned the C4. Not to be down on the C4 though, it is an excellent pedal, and I was specifically wanting to re-create analog pedals but I think it 100% nails replicating digital pedals like the POG, sub n up, OC2. And obviously it has loads of different synth/filter/octaver sounds so it's doing much more than just replicating other pedals. I'd be tempted to get a Spectrum as I think 6 presets and the additional 'alt' controller functions mean that it would work well as a stand-alone filter pedal without having to spend a load more on controllers.

C4 is great but I found it didn't quite replace the M82 or Octamizer. Very close though. I think it was mostly down to the limited hardware controls for on-hand tweaking. Proton looks good. I had a fwonkbeta for a while and found it a bit too much of an unpredictable speaker breaker!

Yeah, I used them (and a lot of your others) and it's very good. But I guess like you, there's just something that the M82 has that the C4 doesn't - it doesn't fully replace it.

Ah, nice one- I missed your advert. If the I like the Blue label but don't find much need for the filter switch then I'll be in contact.

I owned an M82, sold it when I got a C4, realised the C4 could sound very similar but somehow was missing something (possibly just the hardware controls) and I missed the M82 so I got another one but it seemed to develop (or perhaps I just started noticing) a clipping type sound when letting the envelope play out no matter how much I changed all the controls, one I noticed it I couldn't un-notice it! So playing the filter field a bit now. ......perhaps all roads lead me back to M82 eventually though!

Only one way to tell for sure. I've got no will power, am impatient, and it's payday tomorrow so have just ordered one from Amazon (Not Amazon's biggest fan but free delivery and returns with instant refunds makes testing out pedals quite hassle free, hassle free for me anyway- not so sure the retailers would agree).

Anyone here tried the EBS BassIQ Blue Label? https://ebssweden.com/content2/effects/ebs-bassiq-blue-label/ Seems pretty good with controls for threshold, q, attack, and switches for 2x up modes, 1x down, and Full Range, Band Pass, and Low Pass filter options. Analog, true bypass, and "Trim pots are found inside to set the Gain output level of the pedal, a High Pass mix-in trim pot sets the level of high frequencies from the bypassed tone to mix in with the effect. A third trim pot decides the Range of the envelope effect in the pedals UP-R mode setting. " It's £170, at that price it'll need to be better than things like the M82 and the emma discumbobulator v2, but it's cheaper than the Aguilar Filter twin and Mr Black Fwonkbeta, or EarthQuaker Spatial Delivery. On paper it seems to have more control/versatility than them while also being smaller (perhaps could do with having a clean blend like a couple of them have?).....but how does it sound (and feel to play) in real life? Always difficult to tell by comparing youtube videos. .....or better off spending that much on 2nd hand Spectrum or Wonderlove?

^^^^ Cheers, that and a current doubler should do it for me.

^^^ Nice one. The power supply is something I'm looking to change too. Not so much because of the big extra plug in the wall (which is a bit of a hassle) but mostly because of the long straight power connector that goes into the Helix unit which means I can't fit a pedal above it on my board - I want a 90 degree one. My pedal power supply unit only goes to 500mA so the solution seems to be a current doubler (which will be a bit under-powered but hopefully fine), a 2.1 mm to 2.5 mm adapter and center positive to center negative adapter......haven't found any one cable/adapter that fits the bill yet and it doesn't seem the best idea to have all those adapters so I'll stick with the Helix power for now. Edit: In-case anyone tries that- I think Helix things are just center negative like most pedals, so it's just the high mA and 2.5mm size that needs to be considered.

@Doddy nailed it. With that many pedals I'd start considering something like the Boss ES-5 to turn multiple ones on/off at once, and to re-route them. Or a cheaper option is the Brightonion dual reverse lopper.... which I just so happen to be selling in the sales section

Sorry if this has been posted before by does anyone have Amp sim IRs they recommend that work with the Helix Effects? Ideally free ones to start with. The way I understand it is that most IRs are cab + mic sims (and searching around - most are aimed at guitar), but I already have an analogue Bass Cab sim pedal (Bass Simplifier) which is good for that, so is there such a thing as a good Bass Amp IR? I assume they are basically a combination of Comp+ EQ + preamp/Distortion + FX which I can re-create with different effects but that would take up 4+ blocks so I guess a good IR could reduce that down to 1?

Nice. I was torn between the Stomp and Effects. I have a cab sim pedal so I went for the Effects which arrived yesterday. I'm impressed and will be keeping it- it's bumped a few pedals off the board which I think the Helix covers quite well, I'll probably keep others that it doesn't seem to do so well....but they might go too if I can tweak the Helix to sound as good good as them:

Helix Effects arrived today (very fast free post service from GAK - ordered Saturday, arrived Sunday). First impressions are that it's great, I expect I'll keep it and there will be a few of my pedals up for sale to pay for it.

I'll soon find out (HX Effects arrives Monday), but I assume amp and cab sims in the Stomp are basically things that can be done (in theory) with the HX Effects via eq, comp, distortion and fx, or by importing an IR with them set? I have a Bass Simplifier (preamp/cab sim/DI) and moving the mic is pretty much a sweepable tone knob, and 'resonance' seems to be a bass boost + slight reverb, a 1x15 cab is basically eq'd for more bass and less highs etc. Perhaps there's more to it though.

Have gone for the HX Effects. I make full use of returns policies lately so it's easy enough to just try out - if I like it I'll have a few pedals for sale in the next week or so to pay off the credit card!

Nice one. I'm gonna go for it. Just got to decide between the HX Stomp vs HX Effects.

Nice one, yeah since posting that I read backwards and have seen the same sort of things asked. It looks like the Stomp can mostly do what my Preamp/DI , Freeze, Tuner, Chorus, and Compressor do, and selling them would fund it (I wouldn't be selling overdrive, fuzz, envelope filter, octaver as it doesn't seem to do them so well). I reckon I'll go for it.

I'm trying to not be in the market for new pedals but I'm thinking if I sold my tuner, compressor, Freeze, Chorus, preamp/DI then I can minimise my setup and raise enough ££ for an HX Effects or the Stomp (which at only £30 more with amp and cab sims seems better in theory, but I think I'd prefer the interface of the HX so I can't decide between the two). Do they sound as good as those individual pedals though? I know it does lots of additional things too so that's a bonus, but they're the main things I'd want it for. e.g. Does it's Chorus work as well as a dedicated CEB-3 with the low-filter? Is the compressor as good as decent compressor pedals adjusting attack/release/ratio?