Two Notes Le Bass preamp

[MGBrown]

51 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Obviously there are two bits to the Two Notes, Channel A and Channel B but if we did a straw poll amongst Two Notes owners and asked them which was the more important Channel then I bet you (one of your pretentious relic'd Sandbergs) that 80%+ would say they bought the Two Notes as a (Channel B) dirt pedal and not for its clean mid scooped EQ (Channel A)? In fact Channel A is pretty much emulating what a decent amp sounds like with the bass dialled back and the mids heavily scouped. 

As you're someone who has abandoned multifx pedals entirely in favour of whacky blenders, I am not sure you're best person to be discussing paperweights? In any case, the better analogy would surely be the Ampeg SCR DI, in that case most folk buy because of its excellent clean EQ and not because of its disappointing Scrambler dirt i.e. the opposite way around to the Two Notes.

@Osiris - I'd recommend a second "insurance" compressor for the role of paperweight for you as you don't actually have anything else vaguely interesting on your pedal board? If you disagree, please feel free to post your gigging pedal board for wider comment.

@rest of basschat - just a bit of banter between three good mates (always wanted an excuse to use that emoticon!)

Nope, Channel A does it for me. No mid scoup - just dial bass & treble all the way down and take it from there.

A plus B in cold fusion is also really useable.

[Cuzzie]

Ah but Bas, the key is despite the band not gigging currently, the advice I give is about a blended sound with other instruments and it’s capabilities, how I have found I used it, and no ultimatums unlike agent 004.5.

I havent given advice on a live sound and what to achieve in a London pub and how to EQ a room with carpet, wallpaper and a bar full of people effectively, how to get gigs etc.

You will however say that every new pedal you hear is the best new pedal, except for Darkglass which we know you don’t like, despite not trying anything Darkglass.......

when we look back at this sparring session it all started by me saying I mainly use the A channel on a very good pedal, not that I exclusively use the A channel and that’s it, before you waded in all guns blaring!

Remind BC land again who’s information when asked for has consistently been correct and pretty relevant to what you want?

Do I hear the names Osiris and Cuz*** wafting in the wind somewhere....?!

[Cuzzie]

@MGBrown finally a voice of reason

 

Oh and @Al Krow that ‘whacky blender’ is an ingenious double Fx loop pedal to blend with you clean tone, which I am sure if you read back your 85 gozillion posts and thread starts seems to be a pre requisite for you to keep alongside an effect.

is this not mandatory to use alongside your stuff in your version of the 12 pedals of Christmas.....

[MGBrown]

@Al Krow it's easy to get a clean flat response from channel A:

Bass in, bass/treble to zero, adjust gain until it distorts, back off a bit, then switch between unit off/channel A to adjust output vol to unity. Then fiddle with bass/treble until you have an (almost) identical sound when on unit off/channel A.

[Cuzzie]

@MGBrown now you’ve said it he may believe it, apparently I am a dotard 

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

@MGBrown now you’ve said it he may believe it, apparently I am a dotard 

Drop the "apparently".

Cheers guys - had already worked out how  to get a clean flat response from Channel A (and fyi it's almost identical to backing off the bass and treble to 'bring back' the mids on a Sansamp)  

But here's my thing: why bother? What does a clean (or even scooped) Channel A add to the gorgeous sound of big single Nordstrand pups going into a Mesa M6 carbine and a 2x12 Mesa cab? Answer nothing. I can get everything that 2Notes Channel A delivers from the EQ on my bass and my amp. Whereas my my bass, amp and cab can't come close to getting a Channel B drive sound. So if the 2Notes was just Channel A and cost half the price would I get it, absolutely not! If it was just Channel B and cost half the price, yes for sure.

[MGBrown]

I use mine into a power amp so I do have a need for a clean channel A.

[Cuzzie]

Bas, by missing the point you have actually made the point (even though you overuse the word gorgeous).

YOU get the sound YOU want with Nordy’s, Mesa (even tho you want to change maybe....) and the B channel kicked in or not.

I get the sound I want (which is one you heard and liked, which first turned you on to the 2 Notes) from mainly the A channel on the Two Notes in combination with other things which include non of your stuff (not that your stuff is bad). I can use the B channel where I wish alone or in Fusion.

Neither of us are wrong it is how we use the equipment.

are you gonna tell Tim Commerford he is wrong to use a Stingray for his sound, nordstrands are better pups?

Or Flea that his Qtron settings are wrong?

tell Duff McKagen he was using the wrong chorus pedal in combination with his PJ signature bass?

is it a waste to not use the FX loop of your amp, it’s there, you must use it surely?!!!!!!

you get my drift, if you get the sound you want from your combination, that’s all good buddy, and it’s not a waste of a pedal it’s using the pedal. 

Nowt you say will make much difference on this to me having explored the pedal at great length with an amount of combinations of other pedals and basses for a little bit longer than you have...!

[Al Krow]

Cuzzie you make your points eloquently and with passion. A bit like Jeremy Corbyn. Doesn't unfortunately mean that I can necessarily entirely agree with them.

Let's just have a think about what Two Notes were doing when they put together their pedal? 

Two thirds of the pedal control is given over to Channel B which includes mid sweep, mid control and fusion mode, all of which are missing from what they have provided in relation to the 33% devoted to clean Channel A. So it's obvious to me and I presume to any impartial bystander that the 2Notes is a dirt pedal with a clean EQ bolted on? It is certainly 'famous' for being a dirt pedal and not a clean EQ.

The Ampeg SCR DI is opposite way around, with this being primarily a clean EQ and what it is 'famous' for, with a (not so highly regarded) Scrambler dirt bolted on. 

You're obviously at liberty to use your 2Notes exactly how you wish to maximise the benefit for your sound.  And, in your defence, I completely acknowledge the sound you are getting with the various components of your signal chain from relic'd Sandberg bass via your carefully thought through pedal chain with some great, and occasionally avant garde, pedals through your 1000W Form Factor Amp into a BF ST cab is nice (you've banned me from overusing 'gorgeous').

[Cuzzie]

Love you to Bas

World peace is now achieved, big rocket man over here can rest from the threat of Bazza Trumpet.

IMHO the key to there being so many controls on the dirt side, is because of the inherent nature of distortion to potentially suck a load of mids and low end out of your signal, hence you need to ability to tweak these variables for a successful sound, so yes there are more dials, but that is necessary for the type of effect, just like envelope has filter, Q, wave form type etc and compression has ratio, input, ouput, attack release etc.

now I know you are not a DG fan, but having all these dials is why their B7K and ultra pedals work really well clean without any distortion because of their EQ capabilities, yes you can argue it’s a waste, as that is what you get it for, but that level of grit is only 1 dial (+/-gain), that’s where my logic comes from

 

[Al Krow]

@Cuzzie meet @mike.kennedy who has just bought my Two Notes off me.

Mike was just asking me about the clean channel on Le Bass and actually I suspect you're a much better man to ask about that given than I was primarily using mine for Channel B dirt, before deciding to downsize my gigging pedal board.

Edited December 13, 2017 by Al Krow

[Cuzzie]

Hello

feel free to message a PM if you want, but in short, I think it’s bloody brilliant, it brings your bass out in a lovely way and I like the tone of it. So far as the B channel goes, having played with it massively I preferred it in lower gain mode and in Hot fusion, but I did tweak it extensively to the Nth degree.

i also found I loved it most with my passive jazz, with slightly lower output pick ups rather than something hotter or more forceful in the mids, it allowed its delicacy to shine out, and don’t forget you can change the tube in it for preference!

key is have fun and tweak and then tweak in a mix, make sure you have the correct voltage and mA’s fornit and you are away

[Al Krow]

@Creeper in case you're interested, this thread is also worth a little read through - some useful tips and comments.

I really enjoyed my Two Notes le Bass but it became surplus to my needs after I got my DG M900 amp.

I think quite a few folk on this thread have since moved theirs on, but young Cuzzie I know has held on to his and has managed, in combination with his Hartke VXL, to get some great tones from this Two Notes - so he's definitely a brain worth picking.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Al Krow

[jimbobothy]

Hey all,

Recently acquired a Le Bass Preamp off here and overall it sounds great when used in a specific manner.

When I only use headphones and the original PSU there is a pretty awful earth hum when I’m not touching the strings. If I swap the PSU to a Cioks DC7 or use the output into my amp head all is quiet. It seems like the unit needs to find a decent earth, either via me when touching metal parts of the bass, or via an earthed PSU or amp head. 

I’ve done some reading on this thread and it seems I’m not the only one that has has this type of thing. 

Any suggestions (apart from NOT using the original PSU lol)

Peace.

[Cuzzie]

Afraid that is pretty much the case if I remember when I had mine......

[Lfalex v1.1]

Just about to acquire one (Very late to the party,  I know!)

Can it match the Ampeg SVP Pro  for tone,  though?

We'll see.

 

It's not a perfect fit for me (don't want or need the MIDI or cab sim)

No aux in, and I'd prefer a ¼" headphone out.

 

On the plus side, it's switchable. And the Ampeg isn't.

 

Can't see Hot Fusion being much use to me, but bypass, A,B and Cold Fusion ought to be enough...

[joel406]

11 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Just about to acquire one (Very late to the party,  I know!)

Can it match the Ampeg SVP Pro  for tone,  though?

We'll see.

 

It's not a perfect fit for me (don't want or need the MIDI or cab sim)

No aux in, and I'd prefer a ¼" headphone out.

 

On the plus side, it's switchable. And the Ampeg isn't.

 

Can't see Hot Fusion being much use to me, but bypass, A,B and Cold Fusion ought to be enough...

I have one. Awesome pedal. I go direct with it. Ampless. You will love it.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Definitely a good 'un.

Dialled in the sound I wanted almost straight away. 

I've got it running as a multi-flavoured OD/distortion pedal in front of the Ampeg or via a Nux Mighty Plug, and it's all good. 

I've got it set up so;

 

Channel A: Bass and Treble wound back for a flatter response.  Enough gain to make it break up when I dig in.

 

Channel B: Bass up a smidge,  treble down and upper mids advanced a bit. Gives quite an old- school tone with a little grit.

 

Cold fusion is oddly uninspiring with A&B set up as above. 

Hot fusion defied my expectations and delivers a vintage distortion with a solid underlying tone. 

 

I've got it all set to unity gain,  so bypass, A,B and Fusion are all the same in terms of output level. 

It's extremely responsive to playing dynamics,  and I think I detect a little natural compression being introduced. 

A second opinion said that it sounded thicker and fatter but still had plenty of attack and definition. 

 

Nothing's perfect,  though. 

I'd still like a tuner out, maybe a "fusion" switch,  and a mute button would be a good addition. 

 

Also, as it's zero gain in bypass mode,  you'd probably not be able to use it to drive a power amp- in spite of  the manual depicting otherwise.

 

I'm bemused that the overall result is still good with the signal passing through so many EQ stages;

 

Bass guitar internal pre.

Le Bass preamp. 

Ampeg SVP-PRO (with the graphic "on")

Markbass CS450 head- even with the Ampeg wired into the FX return, it leaves the head's EQ still in circuit, only the gain stage is bypassed.

 

[Henrythe8]

PIcked one up - very late to the party, I know. 

It's a real nice piece of kit, the A channel is really blooming the sound up, the passive Bass/Treble controls are quite efficient and not everbearing when everything is on 10. 

Spend a good hour trying to dial a nice tone with the B channel and the Hot Cold Fusion, but none were satisfying sadly. Being incredibly Anal with the Dirt sound, it's no surprise. It's a shame though 'cuz I really wanted this one to work and be able to just bring this to gigs and voilà. Definetely worth the price seeing the quality and possibilities, definetely not worth it for me to only use one channel. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

^^

 

I try to think of channels A and B as being

 

"Modern" and "Vintage" respectively. 

 

I don't know what bass(es) you're using,  but I agree that A is the better channel for aggressive grit/dirt, whatever you're playing. 

 

B really comes into its own  for me using very modern, lively-sounding basses. Works a treat toning down and warming up my Warwicks in particular in a way that their own EQs can't. 

 

It sounds even better through my Ampeg SVP-PRO.

 

Bypass- just the Ampeg

A - Grrrrrr

B- just a gentle push to drive the Ampeg to do the dirty work. 

 

Can't say I need the fusion modes much though. Bypass, A and B are enough for me.