TC Electronics Spectradrive.

[Jimryan]

Just ordered mine as a birthday present to myself..along with some rum...and a Dingwall...I think I’ve got myself enough presents.

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, Jimryan said:

Just ordered mine as a birthday present to myself..along with some rum...and a Dingwall...I think I’ve got myself enough presents.

Cant beat that combination. I love a glass (or three) of rum when I’m playing at home,. Helps loosen the fingers.....and mind lol. 

Mines waiting to go out for delivery tomorrow, cant wait for tomorrow evening. 

Happy birthday, it will be a good one by the sound of it. 

[CameronJ]

38 minutes ago, Jimryan said:

Just ordered mine as a birthday present to myself..along with some rum...and a Dingwall...I think I’ve got myself enough presents.

That is a spectacular trifecta of presents. Enjoy!

[dave_bass5]

Well it arrived today. Very impressed with the quality. Heavier than i expected, and the knobs feel really nice and smooth, but with good resistance.

I wont get a chance to plug it in before tonight's rehearsal but ill report back tomorrow.

The only slight issue i have is its been supplied with a European 2 pin PSU (and shaver adaptor). Not too happy about that so ill email G4M and see if they can source the correct one. Ill be using my Cioks DC5 for the pedal board but for home use id prefer a smaller form factor as far as PSU goes.

 

[CameronJ]

Ah, yes, Euro power supplies are sadly the norm when ordering from G4M and DV247...my friend ordered a TC Helicon Floor unit from DV a couple of years back and it was a similar situation. He told them about it and they sent out a Euro to UK adapter without argument. Still, made the whole setup that bit bulkier.

In my limited experience Thomann tend to send the correct adapter with the product, which saves everyone time and hassle...

Edited April 9, 2018 by CameronJ

[CameronJ]

Loving the matte black finish on the pedal casing though!!

[Al Krow]

Looks good. How soon before we can buy it off you second hand? (I give it three months, tops) 

[dave_bass5]

44 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Ah, yes, Euro power supplies are sadly the norm when ordering from G4M and DV247...my friend ordered a TC Helicon Floor unit from DV a couple of years back and it was a similar situation. He told them about it and they sent out a Euro to UK adapter without argument. Still, made the whole setup that bit bulkier.

In my limited experience Thomann tend to send the correct adapter with the product, which saves everyone time and hassle...

Yeah, i got a EU plug from DV27 when i got my Aftershock. I also received two adaptors with it, but i wish i had got a UK PSU. I emailed Source Audio about this and they confirmed that due to their location DV27 will supply EU PSU's. Ive not had this with G4M, although in this instance i assume as it came direct from their EU warehouse its understandable. Not the end of the world really, but ill chase it as far as i can go.

43 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Loving the matte black finish on the pedal casing though!!

It does look cool. a bit of a finger print magnet though.

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Looks good. How soon before we can buy it off you second hand? (I give it three months, tops) 

Just composing the ad now :-)

I have so many boxes i really need to sell, but im just so lazy. I like having the choice to go back to ones i have replaced, and sometimes im glad i haven't sold them, but they are building up now. Must have a clear out soon.

[CameronJ]

 

[dave_bass5]

Yaaaaaay. A pick player doing a demo That makes a really nice change to all that slap stuff demos that show absolutely nothing. :-)

Love that tone.

[Jimryan]

Just had a text from DHL.  Mine is scheduled for delivery on Thursday.  Works for me, I’ve got Thursday off anyway.

[Al Krow]

23 hours ago, Jimryan said:

Just ordered mine as a birthday present to myself..along with some rum...and a Dingwall...I think I’ve got myself enough presents.

Lol! Love it. A milestone birthday or just a rum of the mill one? 

[Jimryan]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Lol! Love it. A milestone birthday or just a rum of the mill one? 

Yes mate, my 30th on Wednesday.  The Dingwall was going to be a green NG2 5 string, but spotted a used AB1 5/3 at bass direct and bought that.  So whilst technically it was a early birthday present, I had it for Christmas.  Absolutely love it and even more so every time I play it.

 

Got the Rum arriving tomorrow and the spectradrive (hopefully) on Thursday.

[Al Krow]

Happy birthday for Wed! Enjoy. All down hill from here on in (well until you reach 47 that is )

 

[dave_bass5]

Just got back from rehearsals, so these are first impressions only., 

From the moment I plugged it in everything sounded just a bit better. It was still my tone, only with a bit more definition and punch. It might be the fact that I had the comp on, but whatever it was, I liked it a lot. The EQ is pretty subtle, but it seems to be just at the right frequencies. It’s no Q/strip, but it more versatile than my BDDI and VTBass. 

The drive section wasn’t quite as positive. Kicking in the stock tome print I lost the fullness and low end. Beaming the  Natural tone print resulted in a nicer OD, but nowhere near as nice as the Aftershock. In fact the AS sounded really nice after the Spectrdarive, better than it has ever been. The two work really., really well. 

The Spectrcomp sounds exactly like I remember from the standalone, so no complaints there, and its nice to have it integrated.

The ‘issue’ I have with it though, is, like the Q/strip, its not going to colour my tone like I’m used to with the BDDI etc. This isn’t a bad thing as such, nor a negative,  just that I will still need to use other boxes to add the colour. 

Tonight ill test out thei headphone side, cant wait as that was the original reason for getting it. 

[The59Sound]

Hmm... so wouldn't be a huge upgrade if any from my MXR M80, just an added comp installed.

I like my M80 - the clean section is really good. The OD section leaves me cold though; it can do full on retro 70s fuzz but that's it. No gain break up, no 'normal' OD. Probably why I have a BBBOD and Russian Muff RI!

Edited April 10, 2018 by The59Sound
Spelling

[dave_bass5]

I think the one knob OD wont be to everyone’s tates. It seems quite limited. Ill try the other tone prints tonight and see if they are any better. I can see me using it if I can get away from the tone shift when engaging it, I thought the OD wasn’t bad as such, it just wasn’t my tone with OD on top like I got when engaging the AS. I could get a good dirt tone if I re adjusted the EQ once I turned the OD on, but that’s not practical in a live situation. 

If it didn’t have the Spectracomp in it I wouldn’t bother with it for live use, but the box as a whole worked well. It’s a lot more set and forget, even over my BDDI, and I like that. I didn’t feel the need to keep tweaking it like I do with my other Preamp boxes. It reminded me of the Prok Loin when set to fully clean, only with more EQ. It was never going to replace my AS, and I still have my BDDI, VTBass DI and one or two other boxes for colour  if I want more of that. For now I think ill keep the board as it is, it seems simpler now. 

[foxyFuze]

My penny's worth from what I've seen:

Having low and hi mid EQ is rather useful, especially when you've got used to it with GK stuff.
That distortion sound in the video is really nothing to write home about but I'd be very surprised if there weren't other more usable Toneprints. As per the comment about the SA Aftershock, digital OD can be very good - I only sold mine prior to getting a Kemper.

I think the usable compression, headphone option and "sheen" on a sound (much like the BDDI provides) when engaged makes this a good deal; kind of tempted to use it as a travelling practice box and also for volume and EQ boost. I look forward to more videos!

[dave_bass5]

8 minutes ago, foxyFuze said:

My penny's worth from what I've seen:

Having low and hi mid EQ is rather useful, especially when you've got used to it with GK stuff.
That distortion sound in the video is really nothing to write home about but I'd be very surprised if there weren't other more usable Toneprints. As per the comment about the SA Aftershock, digital OD can be very good - I only sold mine prior to getting a Kemper.

I think the usable compression, headphone option and "sheen" on a sound (much like the BDDI provides) when engaged makes this a good deal; kind of tempted to use it as a travelling practice box and also for volume and EQ boost. I look forward to more videos!

Pretty much spot on.

I think the OD needs a bit of coaxing, but im sure its in there.

The EQ is nice, and i like the fact that turning the knobs to the left lowers a different freq's compared to boosting to the right. The set Freq's seem to be just right for me, although i never turn EQ knobs too far either way.

Ive still to test out the headphone side, but im hopeful. The foot print is a lot smaller than my B3n, and although the SD cant match anywhere near what the B3n can do, i like the idea of a basic tone (which is all iuse the B3n for anyway) in a smaller footprint. Just a shame it wont run off batteries.

[CameronJ]

2 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

The foot print is a lot smaller than my B3n, and although the SD cant match anywhere near what the B3n can do, i like the idea of a basic tone (which is all iuse the B3n for anyway) in a smaller footprint. Just a shame it wont run off batteries.

+1 battery power would have been a nice bonus and helped make it truly portable but I suspect it’s the current draw that’s the limiting factor here. The Ditto X2 (same chassis) is battery power able but it only draws ~100mA compared to ~250mA for the SpectraDrive.

[dave_bass5]

Ive just tried it out on headphones, and i like what i hear. Its not got the depth of tone that my B3n has, but i can get some very usable tones. The bass sounds a bit more natural, and close if that makes sense. No ambience added.

I wouldn't say the speaker sim is doing much, i suppose its just a slight tone curve after all, but it doesnt sound harsh or thin.

The Aux in works well, and it actually sounds better than going through the B3n. I guess its not getting processed like in the B3.

I actually prefer the stock OD tone, and with the correct use of the Gain knob its sounding quite close to my AS as far as drive goes.

 

All in all, very happy. Its not perfect, its not going to repace any of my dirt pedals, but it has replaced my Q/Strip and Spectracomp, and at home my B3n. Time to get some for sale ad's up.  It will be more than 3 months before i decide to sell it :-)

 

[CameronJ]

Just discovered - courtesy of the Talkbass thread - that the Aux input only goes to the headphone out and not the main outs. That’s a pretty large nail in the SpectraDrive’s coffin I’m afraid!

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Just discovered - courtesy of the Talkbass thread - that the Aux input only goes to the headphone out and not the main outs. That’s a pretty large nail in the SpectraDrive’s coffin I’m afraid!

To be fair, it states that in the manual, so i was well aware of that before i got mine. I think some people are expecting more from this box. I cant personally see why its a problem as you can take a line out from the headphone jack anyway, and get the speaker emulation. If you had the Aux in going to the main out it would be mono only, so not sure how useful that would be.

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by dave_bass5

[CameronJ]

Alas, I hadn’t read that part 

[dave_bass5]

10 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Alas, I hadn’t read that part 

No reason to really, but i always try and get an idea of what a box can, and cant do before i get it. The PR blurb always makes things sound perfect, but my experience tells me there is always going to be a small feature that doesn't work quite as expected and can make the whole thing unusable.