woodyratm Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Hey guys, Silly question here - My band are looking to do some lower stuff but i can't justify getting a 5 string again, so i'm tempted to use my Stingray 3EQ 4 sting tuned to BEAD (with 5 string set on) and use this for the low songs. But I've not tried the 'ray with my Deep Impact and Wooly Mammoth or Mastatron. They work amazingly with my passive lakland, but i'm worried about trying them with the 'ray. Anyone use two different basses (active + passive) for live work with these type of compressing pedals? If i recall - the 'ray didn't really play ball with the other pedals, but this was when i was still trying to get sounds (and using a midi pickup also..) And finally is there a way i can try and get the same sort of dirty tone/synth tones as with the lakland? So i dont need to actually change settings on the amp/pedals I do have SFX clean boost/buffer that i think might work. Cheers for any help. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoth'd Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Morning I used to play through a 4 & a 5 string - both were active (the 5-string was very loud). I tried various synth and distortion pedals with mixed results. Since moving back to a passive bass, I'm having much better results with all types of pedals. The synth ones seem to prefer the passive input more - easier/better note detection and tracking. The distortion ones are better too - more flexibility with tone as the signal isn't so overpowering to start with. My advice would be to give it a try & see how it sounds to you - if your active level is too high then you will need to either go passive or drop it's output level before it gets to the effects pedals (a cheap eq pedal should be enough if you turn it down). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 i have an EBMM sterling, and while i can use the deep imact with it, i have to be careful to set the input level just right and not to boost the eq, or it glitches. compression can help. i also find that some fuzz pedals work better with it than others, mxr blowtorch, way huge swollen pickle = good ; EHX big muff pi = not so good. in short, i fear that you're right, maybe a buffer is the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Ive found with the Deep Impact that Active basses work far better. I'm using a Status through mine and because of the 18v pre-amp it tracks far better than with other 9v pre's i've tried.... no problems on the B string either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm486 Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) [quote name='woodyratm' post='1198940' date='Apr 14 2011, 12:12 AM']But I've not tried the 'ray with my Deep Impact and Wooly Mammoth or Mastatron. Anyone use two different basses (active + passive) for live work with these type of compressing pedals?[/quote] Hey, I believe the mastatron has an impedance buffer built in. The relax/push knob is designed so that when turned fully to push it is clear, perfect for passive basses, but when its set fully to relax, it acts like an impedance buffer and helps your active basses to work better. I haven't tried the mastotron so i don't know how well it works but i was interested in it a while back. With regards to the mammoth, i am having the exact same problem. I have 2 active basses and a passive bass, all of which react differently with the mammoth. I posted a thread in this forum a few weeks back and got replies from people giving lots of helpful idea's. The simplest idea was essentially a variable resistor inline between your bass and the pedals. Pedals like the woolly mammoth like to see a high impedance, which is measured in ohm's, so increasing the resistance in series with your instrument cable, should allow the pedal to see the input impedance it likes and work as you expect with your passive basses. Unfortunately, as i am home from uni over easter, i have no active basses with me, only a cheap passive one, so i haven't bothered to build it yet. Essentially what i was told to try was literally to put a potentiometer between two input jacks. I don't know which size to try, so i have bought 470k and 1M and i will try both and see which works better. I go back to uni in may, so that'll be the soonest i get to try this with an active bass, i'll let you know how it turns out and if it works for me. Tom Edited April 14, 2011 by tm486 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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