paulo m

The better adjustable units are expensive indeed... I have A-B'd Mxr' Keeley' Boss' Lelhe' Spectracomp' against a Cali 76 compact bass Compressor..... & they don't even come close... to the refined sound of the Origin.. The 76 simply has a refined sound & it takes a good ear & knowledge of the unit to get the best out of it..... Compression is a Dark Art... One' that takes time to understand & implement it....

I've been using Compression for quite some time now & I've owned three or four of them... The Cali 76 compact bass is without doubt the Finest of the Bunch!! Fat' Clean' Punchy' Uncoloured sound... they take a "Hot Minute" to get to grips with... But for myself it is then an "Always on Peddle" Expensive yes.. But you get just what you pay for. ( & place it @ the beginning of your pedal board for its maximum benefit)

I have a Tech 21 Q Strip.. Four band EQ with adjustable Two Band "Sweepable Mid's.. Boost & Cut' the pedal also has a H.P.F & L.P.F which atenuate High & Low frequencys at certain set points' 45 Hz for the H.P.F.. not exactly sure for highs on the L.P.F They certainly clean-up & tighten the bass sound (More Focused) & has been stated remove the freq's your cab or cab's will not reproduce. Interestingly I was in rehearsal with a really competent keyboard player who was using a State of the Art Yamaha synth' & really expensive amplification 1'200w of power... The Sub Bass was devistating to the rehearsal for it created what I can only describe as "Velvet Fog" inarticulate massive Sub Low's)))) swallowing & clouding everything.. I used my normal rig 400w head & a 1x15 cab on a Auralex Pad.. my sound with those filters engaged produced a far superior tight & focused low end.. SO' H.P.F's are for myself a very usefull' tool & addition to my Sonic sound.

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Non the less' I use very little overdrive' fuzz' call it what you will.... Only for use with an Octave for that "Grit" in the sound... & the Microbass 2 fits the bill.... Which is why I've chosen to stick with it.... The Microbass 3 is different again... I have played with both & for myself the tone & functionality of the 2 is "to my ears" of a superior sound to the 3... Of course which is all subjective.

I have multiple outboard Pre Amps... & I also like the EBS Microbass's "uncoloured tone" . It's their trademark in a solid state unit... I own a Tech 21 Q Strip which is an excellent unit' for everything I've tryed from Tech 21 i didn't like.... they really coloured the sound with a Synthetic Tone... but the Q Strip is a different product all together' not bass specifically but a very versatile' unit...

You say that you find the Clean channel remarkable.... in just what term's do you find its sound remarkable...?

This version is for myself aimed more at the "Metal Guys" with its Distortion/ Blower Channel.. It is still a fine tool but not of the standard of its predecessor' The EBS Microbass II... I've read that people are complaining of extraineous noise ( Hiss etc) when engaging the Drive Channel.... So' its an Okay pedal but I doubt it has improved the reputation of EBS being Chinese production with modest components.

The pedal I use & I've had plenty of people ask.... "Just what make of chorus pedal are you using to get that sound..????" The answer is T. C. Electronic John Pettrucci Dreamscape.... It has 2 types of Chorus' Vibrato' & Flanging plus the Tone print Feature... it also can emulate a Phaser very well indeed... Its an extremely versatile' subtle' pedal.... the more I've worked with it the more I appreciate its adaptability' better than Pedals three times the price. As for an Octaver... I had for twenty odd years the first generation & much coverted..Bronze' OC2 I enjoyed it' with all its warbleness & glitches... But I sold it & now I use a First Generation COG T16... which to my ears sounds just like the old OC2 but with extra functionality smaller footprint & brilliant tracking... the Boss OC 5...is definitely worth checking out.... Happy hunting.. Kev. 😉

Hello... Earlier in this thread I mentioned I had the opportunity to buy a "Iron Either Xerograph Deluxe" & it had the latest design..... For myself it was more a Synth Based Pedal than an Envelope Follower' even tho it does both Very very well.. I stayed with my GR2. Question.. "Just which of Spencer Doren's 3 Leaf Pedals are considered to be the most Coverted..????

This is indeed true.... But' I've found the Q Strip to be an excellent unit for bass' in fact' a far better a preamp' with useful features than some other high end equipment.

The Tech 21 Q Strip has H. P. F & L. P. F's plus Speaker simulation & a beautifully sweet analogue Two Band' EQ a multitude of use's for bass' & just about most everything else.

John East's 'On board' Pre amps are Stellar unit's J Retro or J Tone' in a Jazz Bass with any of Nordstrand's NJ4 series pickups.... Passive Pickups with Active Electronics... An acknowledged high quality Combination... Outboard preamp's in my experience are subtley different tone wise' & the difference'can be immense' from a Quality unit such as a EBS MICROBASS II right up to let's say a NOBLE UNIT.... & its interesting to see that ORIGIN have entered into this market recently with their BIG RIG offering's that I'm sure will be excellent units.

These compressors are Stellar units in the respect that they add a superb sublte' warmth & girth.. to our exsisting bass tones. The H. P. F side chain is an excellent addition in that it allows the lower frequency's to pass through unaffected while compressing the mid's & upper register.. together' I've owned mine for four years. It's always on' & infinitly tweakable but always in a musical way' I place it first on my board' & I don't employ 'Squash' I always want to hear fingers on strings ( That Attack' even with a plectrum the Click needs to be heard) I myself also favour the fast release & lower 4 to 1 ratios...

Origin make excellent products no-doubt' i have a Cali 76 compact...... But' Do we need or require more knobs to twiddle nor switch's to switch?...... interesting to hear that Gregor Fris (Bass the World) say's that they "Wont" turn your pedal platform into either a Fender nor an Ampeg..?? Dedicated Pedal Addicts will be head over heels' for these well designed & beautifully made products.

The EBS Microbass 2 stands head & shoulders above the crowd not only for its first class sound... But its functionality & myriad of applications... & they sell used for around £ 130 they don't hang around long... So be quick.

Rapture' Anita Baker. Little Feat' The last record Album. Weather Report' any of em. Victor Bailey' Low Blow The Nightfly' Donald Fagen Graceland' Paul Simon Prince Diamonds & Pearl's Tower of Power Soul Vaccination... & of course any Jaco Pastorius.. Motown Chart busters Vol 3. Chic' any of it.

The Noble is reassuringly expensive indeed & a tool of studio & live applications ( I've never tryed-one) but I have played the Microbass 3.. of which I was a little disappointed... Not the same quality of its predecessor... More aimed @ the Metal Bassists for myself..

Once again matt excellent little demo with great sound quality & clarity. I've owned a microbass II for years & it's a unit I simply wouldn't part with for its multitude of applications' the valve drive is of an equal quality if' a more rarefied taste for myself.. The Crunch' Drive' Distortition' is not something I would find myself using on a frequent basis but' it is most certainly convincingly audiophile quality. Your choice of P Bass is ideal for this demo... From the Jamerson motown grit' to the full-on rock-metal face melt. Hours of endless sound sculpting... & may I say with exceptional results.

I choose to go with tuner' compression' octave' envelope filter' distortition' Chorus/Flange/ Vibrato/ Reverb... & end with a Q Strip for extra EQ & H.P.F plus L.P.F I don't feed this through the amps effects loop prefering to go straight into the front... 😉 Enjoy.

Spencer's Pedals are quality tools but' not the holy grail of Pedals.... I've owned Proton mk2' Wonderlove Deluxe' & my favorite the GR2 a few months ago I had the offer of a Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe... Or a Chase Bliss filter' both which are far more expansive than 3 Leaf stuff.... But' I didn't go for it... Why? Because I use an Envelope Follower very rarely... & the GR2 for myself is just a Great Filter which I enjoy.

The Simplifier for myself wasnt anything like it's title... I found it to be gadget ridden' & it's so called filters nothing new... Its designed to attract the button pusher's & knob twiddlers ( Gadget Freaks) .. Its industrial appearance is no-accident & its so-so sound reproduction average at best' for myself. Strange that the Premier or elite pre-amp builders these days employ a minimal approach.. A la' Noble.. As for its performance 'with passive instruments I found it to be far superior to its sound & performance with Active Circuits... Once again this is only my subjective view... to others it may appear desirable. Take a listen to the excellent Demo Video on this thread with the equally adept Nathan King' & judge for yourselves on this unit's non- revelationary performance.