wateroftyne Posted February 15, 2023 Author Share Posted February 15, 2023 Here's another clip from the bass bash on Monday. Something a bit slappity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) I'd come to realise there's definitely something different re: the core tone of the 'old' WB-100 and the new mid-knob version (and presumably this applies re: the R-400 too). The new version seems bigger, wider and cleaner. I chatted to Leszek about this, because I quite liked the more complex mids of the earlier version, which just 'happened' with the bass and treble set flat. His answer was simple and obvious - 'Turn the mid knob up more boldly'. To paraphrase the longer answer, the preamp in the new version is built so the mids and highs saturate less readily, to achieve a super-clean signal. So, last night, I did just that. I pushed the mid knob (600) more than I ever normally would on an amp, rolled the bass back a little... and introduced the mid glow I was looking for. Yum. Edited February 19, 2023 by wateroftyne 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 14 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: I'd come to realise there's definitely something different re: the core tone of the 'old' WB-100 and the new mid-knob version (and presumably this applies re: the R-400 too). The new version seems bigger, wider and cleaner. I chatted to Leszek about this, because I quite liked the more complex mids of the earlier version, which just 'happened' with the bass and treble set flat. His answer was simple and obvious - 'Turn the mid knob up more boldly'. To paraphrase the longer answer, the preamp in the new version is built so the mids and highs saturate less readily, to achieve a super-clean signal. So, last night, I did just that. I pushed the mid knob (240) more than I ever normally would on an amp, rolled the bass back a little... and introduced the mid glow I was looking for. Yum. So you/we could hear something different and it explains our differing preferences on the contour of the older version. Nice to know you're not as cloth eared as we feared! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 That's good to know Michael. I'll maybe try that at the next gig. Oddly enough i've started tweaking the mids a little but not that far. Interesting to see you have the distortion button in with the gain at crunch point. Sound guy last night noted the DI out was quite hot with gain at crunch point without distortion button selected but he said it wasn't too bad and not the worst he's had to deal with. I did fore-warn him it was going to be a hot DI. Last night with the punk band and using my Sandberg MarloweDK i had the bass at 1 o'clock and mids just past the mid point and treble flat. Its possible it was the mids that needed a bit more boost but overall the tone was very nice. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: That's good to know Michael. I'll maybe try that at the next gig. Oddly enough i've started tweaking the mids a little but not that far. Interesting to see you have the distortion button in with the gain at crunch point. Sound guy last night noted the DI out was quite hot with gain at crunch point without distortion button selected but he said it wasn't too bad and not the worst he's had to deal with. I did fore-warn him it was going to be a hot DI. Last night with the punk band and using my Sandberg MarloweDK i had the bass at 1 o'clock and mids just past the mid point and treble flat. Its possible it was the mids that needed a bit more boost but overall the tone was very nice. Dave Yeah, I'm generally averse to excessive EQ-tweaking, so I had to take a deep breath before ramping the mid, but what a difference. So much character. re: the input gain, my old '71 isn't the hottest. It would be set a lot lower if I was using my Maruszczyk Jake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 4 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: Yeah, I'm generally averse to excessive EQ-tweaking, so I had to take a deep breath before ramping the mid, but what a difference. So much character. re: the input gain, my old '71 isn't the hottest. It would be set a lot lower if I was using my Maruszczyk Jake. I only just realised last night at soundcheck that the Marlowe is quite a bit lower output than the Vintera P bass i use as a back up with the Punk band. With both being passive i assumed they would be similar but noticeable difference. At some point i might actually use the P bass for a full gig but i just find the necks a little wide for me. I've occasionally used it for first set. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: ... With both being passive i assumed they would be similar but noticeable difference... Nah man, my Fender P with passive DiMarzios is hotter than my Stingray with a John East. Sad to hear that the newer amp is cleaner. I've got stuff for that, it's old school rock n roll I'm missing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 1 minute ago, Jack said: Sad to hear that the newer amp is cleaner. I've got stuff for that, it's old school rock n roll I'm missing. As mentioned above, a tweak of a knob sorts it. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 19/02/2023 at 10:48, wateroftyne said: Yeah, I'm generally averse to excessive EQ-tweaking, so I had to take a deep breath before ramping the mid, but what a difference. So much character. re: the input gain, my old '71 isn't the hottest. It would be set a lot lower if I was using my Maruszczyk Jake. Brought the WB100 into house and tried your settings above with gain at 12 an WOW it doesn't half make a difference in tone. Will try it at gig tomorrow night with the berg VM4. Biker rally in a hotel with vocal pa only. Thanks for that little tip on set up. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 Tried your settings at the gig last night but found the distortion/overdrive was a bit too heavy for me so took the distortion button out. That sorted it. Its amazing how much the amp tone changes at gig volume. Was using my VM4 active bass to be fair. Liked the mids at 3 o'clock and it made a huge difference to my overall tone. I was able to get far more flexibility of tone with the mids at 3. Use my Roland GR6B to flick between my normal smooth bass tone to a more Ric type tone and having the mids up on the amp gave me far more bite on the Ric tone. Dave 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Well after a lot of weighing up options and looking at some SS, hybrid and all valve amps I think I've settled on the WB-100 as my goal. I love the VBA400 tone but I think the main thing missing when I've tried other SS heads was that low end saturation. The preamp itself wasn't adding a whole lot of colour, much less than I thought at least. When I tried a different bass and took all my pedals out of the equation it sounded like a great valve head with plenty of grunt but not quite the game changer I thought, and certainly not enough to warrant hauling 40kg to gigs! The thing that really sold me on the WB-100 was the size when I saw an unboxing video on YT, it look's about half the size I thought it was. I knew it would sound incredible but the portability... 🤯 Now just gotta raise funds 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Yep the weight and size is a huge bonus on the WB-100. I'm using mine at every gig now. I was initially concerned it might not be powerful enough but its managed some large 150-200 people venues without PA support and still some left in the tank too. That's me running it with gain at 1 o'clock or thereabouts and master at 11 max. I started with most of the EQ flat but after seeing WoT's comments about boosting the mids a fair bit i gave it a try and it certainly made a big difference in cutting thru the mix in both punk and glam bands. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Aye tbh I'll always have access to the VBA for bigger gigs etc as it belongs to the guitarist but its so overkill for most where we have PA etc. It's also incredibly awkward rocking up to a gig where the headliners have supplied a backline and plonking down a huge bass head that dwarfs their cab. Especially touring bands who are rocking pretty compact rigs, if it was my cab I'd be well nervous 😬 I've dropped a message via FB asking about pricing but has anyone here bought a WB100 recently? Any rough estimate on total cost? I had a scan back but could only see r400 prices i think. Gutted I missed one on here a few months back 😭 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Got mine last year at circa £840 i think it was. I'll check my messages as i had long PM discussions with a few others waiting for amps. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Yep £840 i paid and that included P&P but i think he was surprised how much the postage was to the UK now and said he made a loss on the postage but had already quoted me a price and stood by it. Superbly packaged too with the amp in its HB padded box and then placed inside another box and that was packed with padding too. Postage can take a few weeks because of customs checks. I didn't pay any customs charges on the first one i got but the 2nd one i had to pay £47 charges via customs. I would assume circa £900 and you shouldn't be far away. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 1 hour ago, MrDinsdale said: low end saturation What means this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 2 hours ago, Downunderwonder said: What means this? Not sure what the correct term is but there's some kind of low end compression or something that I find very appealing which I've never really found on my GKs and other SS head etc in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Might possibly have a chance to grab one for £850 in new condition 😬 Thats not money I particularly had available right now but seems like a pretty fortuitous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 18 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said: Not sure what the correct term is but there's some kind of low end compression or something that I find very appealing which I've never really found on my GKs and other SS head etc in the past. Possibly just the natural valve compression. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 Well I'm officially on the Handbox train after picking up a WB-100 tonight, very excited to give it a proper play at practice tomorrow. I'm completely blown away by how compact it is in real life, the build quality is incredible. Might have to look at the Two Notes Captor style attenuators for home practice/recording. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Great stuff and hope you are as happy as i am with the WB-100. I've not had any issues with the DI out at gigs. Few SE's have mentioned the DI is quite hot but they manage to make adjustments at the desk and it doesn't affect me on stage. I'd try it first before buying the attenuator. Keep us posted on how you get on. The one thing i would point out is to ALWAYS think about where you plug your cab into. On some gigs i use one cab in 8 ohm socket and other gigs 2 cabs into 4 ohm socket. I always take time to confirm what i'm doing with cabs at gigs. Getting impedance wrong can result in damage to the amp. Otherwise great amp to work with. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Yep, most decent desks will have enough headroom to cope. Unfortunately my Scarlett interface and one of my band's desks were a bit clippy, but the attenuator sorted it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 1 hour ago, wateroftyne said: Yep, most decent desks will have enough headroom to cope. Unfortunately my Scarlett interface and one of my band's desks were a bit clippy, but the attenuator sorted it. I think you might be talking about attenuating the hot DI out when newbie was considering a speaker substitute load, which could lead to a very wrong conclusion if he wasn't all that bright! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 1 hour ago, wateroftyne said: Yep, most decent desks will have enough headroom to cope. Unfortunately my Scarlett interface and one of my band's desks were a bit clippy, but the attenuator sorted it. To be honest i have considered getting one just to be on the safe side at gigs where SE isn't quite so knowledgeable. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said: To be honest i have considered getting one just to be on the safe side at gigs where SE isn't quite so knowledgeable. Dave Again, newbie was talking about a 100w reactive loading DI for recording. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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