Two Notes Le Bass preamp

[Al Krow]

Why has it taken me so long to discover just what an excellent, clear, hum free, [b]headphone amp[/b] the Two Notes is! And if you want to boost the clean volume just put it on Channel A and turn it up. Stealth mode in the Krow household just got a whole lot better as of today!

[Cuzzie]

It’s because when I tell you stuff I rabbit on too much and you forget to sift through the chaff!

I’ve always liked it, shame no aux in though

[Al Krow]

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1510087212' post='3403940']
I've always liked it, shame no aux in though
[/quote]

Agreed. Ok a complete newbie Q but couldn't you connect e.g. your computer or drum machine via the Midi in (which the Two Notes does have) and won't that you get you at least 60% of the way there?

If you got a Zoom B3n to go before or or Boss RC-30 after your 2Notes, well your aux-in problems would be completely solved with either of these very useful pedals

Edited November 7, 2017 by Al Krow

[Cuzzie]

Hmmm dunno

But what with a xenys 502, PJB bass cub, Hartke HD25 and an iRigHD, or USB Audio interface I reckon I have silent practice covered!

Aside from a combo/head with aux in the xenys is such a good option as MP3, bass, guitar, mic can all go in

May revisit the USB audio interface for silent practice actually, it will give a great sound with its preamps

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1510087821' post='3403948']


Agreed. Ok a complete newbie Q but couldn't you connect e.g. your computer or drum machine via the Midi in (which the Two Notes does have) and won't that you get you at least 60% of the way there?

If you got a Zoom B3n to go before or or Boss RC-30 after your 2Notes, well your aux-in problems would be completely solved with either of these very useful pedals
[/quote]

Nope. MIDI can transmit tempo, notes on and off and other controller values, but no actual audio. The Le Bass responds to MIDI just for channel switching I expect.

A headphone amp without aux in isn’t much use to me, but the PJB Bighead solves that for me!

[CameronJ]

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1510088847' post='3403957']
Hmmm dunno

But what with a xenys 502, PJB bass cub, Hartke HD25 and an iRigHD, or USB Audio interface I reckon I have silent practice covered!

Aside from a combo/head with aux in the xenys is such a good option as MP3, bass, guitar, mic can all go in

May revisit the USB audio interface for silent practice actually, it will give a great sound with its preamps
[/quote]

What interface are you running?

[Cuzzie]

Focusrite 18i8

It’s teally good and has a headphone jack

It’s brilliant

Just not used it for silent practice yet aside for recording

[CameronJ]

I had a feeling you were gonna say a Focusrite - they make truly great gear. I’ve got a lot of love for Novation too.

[Cuzzie]

Yes

Good bang for buck, good pre-amps as well

[LegateNaarifin]

Couldn't wait to get home to post in this thread  My Le Bass arrived today (along with a Focusrite 6i6 and an AKG P2 mic - finally starting the home recording stuff), and I'm absolutely itching to get in and throw some riffs into it. I'm guessing it'll be a big upgrade over the Behringer BDI21!!

How does the Le Bass take active basses? Am I going to have to worry about input level (as with the aforementioned BDI)?

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, LegateNaarifin said:

Couldn't wait to get home to post in this thread  My Le Bass arrived today (along with a Focusrite 6i6 and an AKG P2 mic - finally starting the home recording stuff), and I'm absolutely itching to get in and throw some riffs into it. I'm guessing it'll be a big upgrade over the Behringer BDI21!!

How does the Le Bass take active basses? Am I going to have to worry about input level (as with the aforementioned BDI)?

Hey congratulations on the Two Notes (and the rest of the gear)! The 2Notes will handle active basses just fine. I tend to play my basses in passive mode but often add a touch of preamp on my pedal board when using the 2Notes, to give it additional punch, and that pretty much emulates what an onbass active preamp is doing. Plenty of the 2Notes owners on here are active bass players. 

As it happens, I've also recently acquired a Focusrite 6i6 which I need to get set up for recording (I went with the Rode NT1a mic). Are you going into a Mac or Windows computer and what software are you using?

[LegateNaarifin]

Just now, Al Krow said:

Hey congratulations on the Two Notes (and the rest of the gear)! The 2Notes will handle active basses just fine. I tend to play my basses in passive mode but often add a touch of preamp on my pedal board when using the 2Notes, to give it additional punch, and that pretty much emulates what an onbass active preamp is doing. Plenty of the 2Notes owners on here are active bass players. 

As it happens, I've also recently acquired a Focusrite 6i6 which I need to get set up for recording (I went with the Rode NT1a mic). Are you going into a Mac or Windows computer and what software are you using?

Cheers! Awesome, I tend to run active and boost the treble a little (I like a nice articulate distortion), I'll try without and see how the Le Bass sounds.

As for the Focusrite, I'm going into a Windows, and I've been learning on Reaper so I'll probably stick to that.

[Al Krow]

Brilliant. Yup Reaper is what I'm planning on using into Windows too. Is it straightforward enough to get your head around for a novice to recording software, like me?

Edited November 22, 2017 by Al Krow

[LegateNaarifin]

51 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Brilliant. Yup Reaper is what I'm planning on using into Windows too. Is it straightforward enough to get your head around for a novice to recording software, like me?

Not tried many others, but I've heard it's pretty good for beginners, and definitely goes deep enough for pro stuff. And there are some brilliant videos on YouTube - check out Home Brew Audo in particular, made my start to Reaper much easier

[bassmayhem]

I bought my Le Bass second hand at a ridiculously low price from the first owner. I've read in the thread about noise issues, but mine is nice, clean and slient, except for my bass tone. I won't use it for overdriven tones, but more like a mixer between my "hi tech" Dingwall basses and my "low tech" passive basses. My fear was that it would be very mid scooped - as it is - but it is east to tweak: just set bass and treble on 8-9 o'clock and get a "flat" response on the clean channel. The preamp does a good work flavouring a dry bass tone in a nice manner, especially for rock, blues etc. Maybe not for jazz gigs.

I have used it in front of a bass rig - a hyper clean EBS rig - as well as through my PJB Double Four and for pushing my old tube bass amp, but also with different headphones: my studio phones and my "phone phones". The unit sounds equally good in any environment. No hiss, no hum, no noise from power supply. I'll mount it on my big overkill pedalboard. 

Edited November 22, 2017 by bassmayhem

[Cuzzie]

@bassmayhem like you I got it at a ridiculous price second hand

love it, just love it and mainly run the A channel alone

[Al Krow]

54 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

@bassmayhem like you I got it at a ridiculous price second hand

love it, just love it and mainly run the A channel alone

Having a Two Notes and just using it on Channel A is a bit like having a DG M900 and never engaging the microtubes, but far far worse. The Two Notes is its Channel B dirt: that is whole point of the pedal! 

[Cuzzie]

So then @Al Krow last time I looked there were 2 channels on the Two Notes, A and B both tweakable, but different EQ points. Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t that mean that the Two Notes is the sum of BOTH of its 2 channels, that is the point of the pedal and the user dictates how and in what way. Please note I said mainly.....

Enlighten me then, if the Two Notes IS the B channel do you only use the B channel on the pedal and nothing else?

If this is the case are you not missing the point.....?

Maybe you are right, maybe it’s like having a multi fx unit and not using or not trying to use all the effects and tweaking them to taste instead of using it as a large paperweight on your pedal board........

Edited November 23, 2017 by Cuzzie

[Osiris]

18 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

 

Maybe you are right, maybe it’s like having a multi fx unit and not using or not trying to use all the effects and tweaking them to taste instead of using it as a large paperweight on your pedal board........

I'm looking for a new paperweight for my board. Must be true bypass and transparent. Any suggestions? 

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

So then @Al Krow last time I looked there were 2 channels on the Two Notes, A and B both tweakable, but different EQ points. Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t that mean that the Two Notes is the sum of BOTH of its 2 channels, that is the point of the pedal and the user dictates how and in what way. Please note I said mainly.....

Enlighten me then, if the Two Notes IS the B channel do you only use the B channel on the pedal and nothing else?

If this is the case are you not missing the point.....?

Maybe you are right, maybe it’s like having a multi fx unit and not using or not trying to use all the effects and tweaking them to taste instead of using it as a large paperweight on your pedal board........

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!)

[Bigwan]

19 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

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

I thought you'd gone all TalkBass on us!

Edit: @Al KrowRound here, mates don't get on like this. We're far more abusive! Last place I worked an American chap joined the team and spent the first few months thinking everybody hated each other! He went on to coin the phrase "things you'd never hear in an American office!".

Edited November 23, 2017 by Bigwan

[Osiris]

9 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@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.

Oooh, a spare compressor, now there's a thought.....

[LegateNaarifin]

Boy am I glad I pulled the trigger on Le Bass, I can tell me and it are going to be very good friends for a long time. 

Bought it for it's cold fusion mode, and that seems to be where I favour it, but it or either channel all work amazingly with my two dirt pedals (Chowny Fuzzster and Darkglass B3K), but in different ways. With the Fuzzster into channel A I can get a fair impression of Mr Wolstenholme of Muse, into channel B I get a nice vintage-y kinda Fuzz sound, a little thin but cool sounding. The Darkglass is a little more baked in, but the more subtle changes are still appreciated.

But with the Fuzzster and B3K run in parallel (Boss LS-2) into cold fusion mode... Special feelings. Filthy high gain special feelings. 

 

23 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

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

Well I enjoyed it! Made me hanker for a new paperweight though, maybe a tremelo-flavoured paperweight this time...

[Cuzzie]

Bas’s straw poll has about as much sense as the straw in the scarecrow in the wizard of Oz, and maybe the grand wizard may grant him an effects and logic brain......especially with his consistently bonkers 80% rule.

Does one not actually need to have owned a multiFX unit to abandon one, and surely by buying at leat 2 copies of every effect on your FX unit before actually using those effects, are you not the one who has abandoned.

Actually Bas the Ampeg SCR is not a bad circuit, and as well as a DI box, it works and it works as a headphone amp too.

The key on this is what YOU want to hear from a pedal and what works for you be it 20p or £20k

Bas, as someone who asked my advice on the Two Notes, power supplies and has just discovered effects pedals, and is unable to drill a tiny hole in a cheap sheet of metal lest the cosmetic effect of a hole hidden by a strip of velcro should ruin it, are you best placed to speak about?

Talking of decent amp heads how is agent zig zag going on that......

[Al Krow]

@Cuzzie lol! Playing live in two gigging bands is perhaps what allows me voice? Playing alone with yourself (and never live) must surely limit yours? Get yourself into a gigging band mate and stop merely theorising: there's nowt so joyful as playing bass live in front of an appreciative audience. Look up and see the sky and don't merely look down and play with fire. And don't even get me started on decent amp heads...