Sharkfinger Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 12 minutes ago, GisserD said: I'm a bit late to this thread i appreciate, but the strymon Deco adds all the saturation and overtones i could ask for, into my fairly clinical genz benz head (which i love like my only child). Its effectively a tape recorder saturation and flutter/wow emulation pedal. here's a great Italian bass demo, the satutation solo`d starts at 3:10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c3SQjePF5I The saturation side of the pedal is by no means an obvious "effect" but gives a subtle warmth to the sound that wont change the core tone like all the pedals already mentioned on this thread. The flutter side of the pedal can do everything from subtle tape warble, lush chorus and into double tracking. And it has stereo outs if your into that sort of thing! The saturation is indeed nice. Sounds like the drive and compression you would hear on a Phil Spector track. Good sounding pedal but not really what I'm after, particularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 14 hours ago, Al Krow said: @Sharkfinger...see what you've gone and made Dave do?! He's just gone and broken his 2019 Sibob vow of chastity 😂 You and me both. On the plus side, it's saved me from getting it as I can hear one of these boys playing it live first! Only one thing for it: we should defo come check out your next E London gig with you playing through my marvellous ex cab (which is FINALLY being let out the house to be gigged) and this new Basswitch SS pedal (and maybe get @Reggaebass to come along for the ride - particularly as I've just ordered 4 bass books from Amazon including a Bob Marley greatest hits...) Not really sure I want two actual bass players at one of my gigs, picking me up on my mediocre playing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 13 hours ago, Crawford13 said: If you do decide to go down the route of getting a different amp, i think it would be a decent shout to try a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 or above. Tube pre amp and solid state power amp. Sounds fantastic and is very light. You can pick them up used pretty cheap. I'm really not keen on class D amps. Mine is class D but has a huge toroidal transformer, which makes it about 9Kg. Go figure. Well, I'm putting my BDDI Deluxe up for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 41 minutes ago, Sharkfinger said: Not really sure I want two actual bass players at one of my gigs, picking me up on my mediocre playing I was thinking THREE rather than two 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 @Al Krow tude warmth and magic sparkle - give us more info on this snake oil! Not heard this one before 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 @Al Krow when did you hear my amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, Cuzzie said: @Al Krow tube warmth and magic sparkle - give us more info on this snake oil! Not heard this one before Hah! Perhaps I need to turn this around and put it as follows: the complex overtones and harmonics that I can hear from my Mesa M6's valve preamp combining with its A/B power section for me give a "magic sparkle" to the sound which I don't hear with my other amps. And, indeed, isn't this pretty much exactly the quest that the OP is on i.e. adding tube warmth to a SS amp? I suspect there is very little more snake oil in this than the "sprinkling of fairy dust" which you have similarly described on many occasions that your Cali compressor seems to bring to the party? One man's magic sparkle is clearly another's fairy dust and a third's snake oil! 😁 Edited January 11, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 That fairy dust is due to the pre amp as well as it’s normal compressor duties based on the Urei 1176 FET compressor I like. Same reason, why I like the Solid State BUS compressor because of its innards as well as it’s compression duties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 2 minutes ago, Cuzzie said: That fairy dust is due to the pre amp as well as it’s normal compressor duties based on the Urei 1176 FET compressor I like. Same reason, why I like the Solid State BUS compressor because of its innards as well as it’s compression duties. So "fairy dust" IS a thing right? 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Yes Fairies exist, and I definitely believe in them. If they didn’t then Kylie, Julia Roberts, Liv Tyler would not exist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 7 hours ago, Sharkfinger said: I'm really not keen on class D amps. Mine is class D but has a huge toroidal transformer, which makes it about 9Kg. Go figure. What is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 This?! Certainly not cheap at £369 But looks seriously tempting and could tick a lot of boxes. Looking forward to trying one out when they become available... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 2 hours ago, LukeFRC said: What is it? Ah right, you might not be able to see my signature. EA iAmp800. One of the first, and in my opinion, best class D amp made. In terms of power section, anyway. Guess it weighs 9Kg instead of 15Kg a 800w MOSFET powered amp would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Al Krow said: This?! Certainly not cheap at £369 But looks seriously tempting and could tick a lot of boxes. Looking forward to trying one out when they become available... Yeah.... naah. Full preamp, fine. But I've had an ashdown amp and a rack Pre / power amp and didn't like them. Not my bag, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 08/01/2019 at 16:26, Lozz196 said: These are the only pedal I’ve used that really has that spongey valvey feel to the sound. Hey Lozz - out of interest would you not consider your fav Para Driver v2 as being up to the task here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 What about a Kemper Profiler? https://www.kemper-amps.com/news/1/Bass-Rig-Pack-II Get a Valve power amp to finish it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Mark Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, Sharkfinger said: Guess it weighs 9Kg instead of 15Kg a 800w MOSFET powered amp would. I think you are confusing MOSFET with class AB. MOSFET is a type of transistor that can be used in the class D or AB output stage of amplifiers. The important thing is whether it's a class D or AB; class D being much more efficient than AB reducing the physical size of heatsinks, fans and other output components. Even then a class AB doesn't have to be heavy if it uses a switch mode power supply in the output stage like the Markbass LM2. Edited January 12, 2019 by Sparky Mark . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 4 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said: I think you are confusing MOSFET with class AB. MOSFET is a type of transistor used in the class D or AB output stage of amplifiers. The important thing is whether it's a class D or AB; class D being much more efficient than AB reducing the physical size of heatsinks, fans and other output components. Even then a class AB doesn't have to be heavy if it uses a switch mode power supply in the output stage like the Markbass LM2. Arer there some resources where I could read up on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Mark Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 1 minute ago, Sharkfinger said: Arer there some resources where I could read up on this? Google is your friend. Just search for MOSFET, class D, class AB, amplifier topology. Basschat and Talkbass has loads of great info on all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 17 minutes ago, xgsjx said: What about a Kemper Profiler? https://www.kemper-amps.com/news/1/Bass-Rig-Pack-II Get a Valve power amp to finish it off. Tried a couple of digital modelling preamps. Not in the league of this Kemper but they felt lacking somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) In terms of weights my (600W) Mesa M6 rackmount is 11.4kg. This has a valve pre and a "Transclass" MOSFET power section. I've always presumed that "Transclass" is more akin to A/B rather than D, but I could be wrong! Be interesting to A/B against your EA iAmp800 at some point. What were your thoughts on the Mesa WD-800 (apart from pricey! )? Edited January 12, 2019 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 2 hours ago, Al Krow said: Hey Lozz - out of interest would you not consider your fav Para Driver v2 as being up to the task here? Well I suppose it could do this, but as I have it set twangy/driven I`m using it to harshen the sound of my warm ABM600. I never said I was normal...……………….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 2 hours ago, Sharkfinger said: Tried a couple of digital modelling preamps. Not in the league of this Kemper but they felt lacking somehow. Could that be due to your amp/cab? A valve preamp isn’t gonna be any warmer than a good digital preamp. Maybe a more coloured cab would be better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusbass Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 My Precision never sounds without my DHA VT1 Std Bass with valve JJ ECC81 (12AT7) The best Precision sound for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfinger Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 55 minutes ago, xgsjx said: Could that be due to your amp/cab? A valve preamp isn’t gonna be any warmer than a good digital preamp. Maybe a more coloured cab would be better? Had a zoom B3 and it sounded a bit artificial, even through headphones. Hard to describe, a bit 'glitchy'. Same with the COSM preamp in my otherwise marvellous Roland 2x10 combo. Really wish I'd kept the speaker cab part of that when the Amp gave out. Anyway have a Mesa PH 212 combo, as stated in the OP, which is a little coloured, in a nice way. I really wish Ashdown did their dual tube preamp in a stand-alone format. Still on the lookout for a Spyder head for sale on its own. 3 hours ago, Al Krow said: In terms of weights my (600W) Mesa M6 rackmount is 11.4kg. This has a valve pre and a "Transclass" MOSFET power section. I've always presumed that "Transclass" is more akin to A/B rather than D, but I could be wrong! Be interesting to A/B against your EA iAmp800 at some point. What were your thoughts on the Mesa WD-800 (apart from pricey! )? If I can find one used, might give it a go. If it's got the tone and headroom, could work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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