Two Notes Le Bass preamp

[visog]

These look pretty natty... any tried one yet? Look to be retailing at £220ish.

Not bad for all the features...

[dannybuoy]

I got one a couple of weeks ago, and it's the dog's danglies. Best dirty preamp / overdrive I've ever had, and I've been through a fair amount!

[dannybuoy]

It's an all analog signal path inside, even the cab sim, but it allows it to switch channels based on incoming MIDI signals, or switch other effects on/off when you change channels if you so desire. Not a feature I'd ever use though.

It's been available from Thomann for a while now, Andertons price is cheaper but they are still waiting for stock it seems:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/two_notes_le_bass_dual_channel_preamp.htm

Edited February 21, 2016 by dannybuoy

[Bigwan]

Danny what way does the effects loop work? Is it pre-preamp? Any way to run an aux-in into the thing to use the headphone out for practice? Hard to decipher their website on a smartphone...

[dannybuoy]

Not used it but AFAIK it goes after the preamp but before the cab sim / DI / headphone, as you would expect.

No aux in which is a major bummer so I still need my PJB Bighead with it for that. Also the cab sim is on the DI/headphone out only (switchable), it sounds too dark to me though and has me looking at other cab sims.

Edited February 21, 2016 by dannybuoy

[Bigwan]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1456091692' post='2985364']
Not used it but AFAIK it goes after the preamp but before the cab sim / DI / headphone, as you would expect.

No aux in which is a major bummer so I still need my PJB Bighead with it for that. Also the cab sim is on the DI/headphone out only (switchable), it sounds too dark to me though and has me looking at other cab sims.
[/quote]

Very odd omission... And strange that the speaker sim isn't more impressive given the pedigree!

[dannybuoy]

I think they borked it on purpose to make people fork out for the Torpedo CAB! It's bloody expensive though, but it does model the power amp as well. There's also the OmniCabSim (http://www.dsmnoisemaker.com/omnicabsim-tweakable-cabinet-simulator) and the new Mooer Trescab I am eyeing up.

[dannybuoy]

Looks like they've hit the UK at last:

http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/two-notes-le-bass-midi-tube-bass-preamp-5941-p.asp

http://www.andertons.co.uk/multi-fx-units/pid42769/cid693/two-notes-le-bass-pedal.asp

[Badass]

Interesting stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBdE1RyU1ww


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Gnw7LhDXA

Edited February 22, 2016 by Badass

[BigRedX]

If only it was rack mounting and fully programmable...

[JimBobTTD]

I cannot shake the idea that this pedal is exactly what I am after - my DHA VT1 is not quite doing it for me.


It strikes me that I would use the clean channel all the time and switch on the distortion so that it is in parallel. To do this, you need to press both buttons. How easy is this to do in the heat of the moment?

[visog]

Oh man GAS building... but I also was severely interested in a Darkglass Vintage Deluxe. Anyone care to comment on the crunch tone of these units?

[visog]

Cool... what's it like? How does it compare to your VT DI in tone, etc?

[visog]

Importantly, can you get a tone close to your Avatar?

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1456765346' post='2992015']
Whoa now whoa now. Never owned a VT DI and I don't get the Le Bass until tomorrow. We shall see! Chris Squire stuff should be possible given the spec.
[/quote]

Nice! Let us all know how you get on with it, please.

[Byo]

Very interested in Le Bass, let us know how it goes!

[Beer of the Bass]

Does the Yamaha THR have a three pin IEC connector, or does it use an external DC adaptor? It could be a grounding issue, if the THR doesn't have a power supply ground. Since the preamp runs on a DC wall-wart and steps it up inside the unit, that won't be grounded either. I reckon the preamp will probably be quiet when used with a conventional AC-powered amp - that might be worth checking.
The preamp does look like a nice bit of kit, but it does seem like a design flaw for a valve preamp to rely on the output cable for grounding.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Beer of the Bass

[JimBobTTD]

Very interested to hear if dannybuoy has had similar experiences...

I have had similar noise experiences with a power supply that is dodgy. Could it be that you have a dodgy 12v unit? And that the pedal is not optimal on 9v?

I really want this pedal to be what I think it is. The channel switching is not optimal either. I need it to be simple to go from clean to distorted. Argh!

[Beer of the Bass]

With everything running on DC adaptors, the ground of each device is connected together, but the whole system is floating with no earth connection. I think it gets quieter when touching the strings or casing because you are functioning as the earth connection. Have you got a mains-powered amp in the house, even a guitar amp? If it's quiet with with that, it may just be that it needs an amp with an earth connection, rather than the preamp being faulty.

[dannybuoy]

No major noise issues with mine - I got mine from Thomann so it has a European power supply which might be a different model.

The cab sim adds a tiny bit of hiss but it's only barely noticeable. It's also noisy if I plug the headphone out into the line in on my PJB Bighead, yet the same headphone out is quiet with headphones plugged in.

Definitely no pops when activating the foot switches either. Silent as can be.

In cold fusion mode, the fusion knob is simply a volume control of channel A which is blended in parallel with B.

You can easily go from clean to dirty by just switching channels. Using the fusion modes requires pressing both foot switches though which can be tricky but I find it easy enough (but then again I'm used to riding the delay knob on my Carbon Copy with my foot to play the oscillation like a theremin whilst playing bass so maybe I just have magical twinkle toes).

[JimBobTTD]

Thanks for your input, dannybuoy.

There are two footswitches. If A is on, do you need to turn off A if you want to have B on as well? If you have the fusion on, what happens if you click off A or B?

Sorry for the questions...I just need to get my head around the bits that I don't recall seeing in the demo vid.

[dannybuoy]

Click A or B and that channel is active. Press the active channel button again to go into bypass. Press both to go into fusion. That's pretty much it!

[JimBobTTD]

No killing of buzz here.

Sigh. After a lot of mumbling, thinking, rationalising and so on, I had missed the main EU-stockists who are now all sold out. Thankfully, a local place has one and I pulled the trigger last night. Same price as Thomann, free delivery and local. It should be with me in a couple of days, but I shall not be able to pick it up from the Post Office before Thursday.

Signal will be wireless - tuner - octaver - Le Bass with a touch of chorus in the FX loop. I don't use the octave or chorus all that much, so the key sound will be the Le Bass. I have a gig on Easter Saturday (minus chorus and octaver) where I can test it properly.

[JimBobTTD]

A quick fiddle with the pedal at home tells me the important things:
1. The DI works nicely
2. There is a huge range of sounds available
3. The hype is to be believed!

[visog]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1458240706' post='3005959']
A quick fiddle with the pedal at home tells me the important things:
1. The DI works nicely
2. There is a huge range of sounds available
3. The hype is to be believed!
[/quote]

Thanks for the update JB - was waiting for this update all week! Can you report on the noise and click issues Meddle experienced?

Are you happy with the distorted tone? Are the cold and hot fusion modes usable rather than a gimmick?

Can you run effects on one channel and change to the hot channel for boost/soloing, etc.?

Edited March 17, 2016 by visog