stewblack Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 A couple of firsts for me. I've never had an MXR pedal I liked, and I've never had a Fender pedal at all. Well, the bass envelope by mxr is a really cool filter. The controls make sense, it's simple to get a good sound and, above all, the clean blend option makes the entire sweep usable. The Fender pedals have been on my radar a while now. They're attractively priced, and look good (to me). I waited for a second hand option and this two stage fuzz /octave came up the other day. The octave is either incredibly well tracked or non existent. I kind of can't tell if it's there or not. Which is as weird as it sounds. But the fuzz sound is really, really good. I dialled in a big fat blatty kind of overdriven valve sound with ease. Being able to keep that then kick in a second stage of fuzz can only be a useful tool. So first impressions are super positive. Where and when they will fit in the universe of my pedal horde I don't know. But that's fine. What matters is they're great pedals. This pleases me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 That envelope filter is my second favourite filter ever. It's really really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 27 minutes ago, fretmeister said: That envelope filter is my second favourite filter ever. It's really really good! No argument from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 The Trapper is perfect for bass. Low end is never lost, the contour and tone controls are extremely flexible and the range of fuzz sounds very versatile . However... the thing that really impressed my inner geek is the coolest, best designed battery compartment I've ever seen in a pedal. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 6 minutes ago, stewblack said: … However... the thing that really impressed my inner geek is the coolest, best designed battery compartment I've ever seen in a pedal. Come on Stew, surely the (optional) light-up knobs are cooler! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 1 minute ago, JapanAxe said: Come on Stew, surely the (optional) light-up knobs are cooler! OK, OK they're a close second. But no one makes a battery compartment you open without undoing anything, flips closed on its own and has a solid fixed position for the battery with no trailing wires. It's bliss. (the lights turn on and off with a small switch at the top face if the pedal, so, you know, they're pretty cool too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Just now, stewblack said: OK, OK they're a close second. But no one makes a battery compartment you open without undoing anything, flips closed on its own and has a solid fixed position for the battery with no trailing wires. It's bliss. (the lights turn on and off with a small switch at the top face if the pedal, so, you know, they're pretty cool too) Yeah I have the Lost Highway phaser on my main guitar ‘board. Trouble is those blue LEDs are so bright that I can’t make out which way they’re pointing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 I've not tried any of the Fender pedals. I might have a look now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 1 hour ago, fretmeister said: I've not tried any of the Fender pedals. I might have a look now. The phaser, envelope and downtown express are on my theoretical list. Not a real list. I don't need any more pedals. 😬 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quatschmacher Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 Yep, the MXR BEF is a fantastic filter. I’m on my second one after I foolishly sold the first one I had. Their octave pedals are excellent too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 The Trapper Bass pedal might get a spin. From what I can hear it’s a bit like the Sub-lime only in a sensibly sized enclosure. The SL is a great sounding pedal and I hear some of that in the Trapper Bass from demo’s I’ve heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 On 03/06/2021 at 19:17, fretmeister said: That envelope filter is my second favourite filter ever. It's really really good! begs the question I never asked... what's the first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 On 25/06/2021 at 23:03, stewblack said: begs the question I never asked... what's the first? Source Audio Spectrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Source Audio Spectrum. Only scratched the surface of mine, but yes I love it too. Probably Spectrum, MXR, Fwonkbeta in that order for me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 1 hour ago, stewblack said: Only scratched the surface of mine, but yes I love it too. Probably Spectrum, MXR, Fwonkbeta in that order for me Definitely plenty of love for the MXR on BC. I tried to love mine (have had two of them) but just found it too harsh. My favs of the ones I've had, in order, are: 1= 3 Leaf Proton 2020 1= 3 Leaf GR2 3. Fwonkbeta 4. MXR 5. Aguilar Filter Twin 6. Zoom mulits: B1-4 / MS-60B / B3n 7. Helix Stomp / HX Effects But the 5 dedicated pedals mentioned are all pretty decent (and the 3 Leaf gear excellent if pricey); the multis tend to struggle with filter and synth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 Good point, @Al Krow, the Zoom multi fx units have great envelopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 11 minutes ago, stewblack said: Good point, @Al Krow, the Zoom multi fx units have great envelopes. From what I can tell - particularly the older ones? I've heard a pretty good envelope from the old B3 (which I'm assuming is also the same as on the MS-60B) - but not as good on the B1-4 / B3n. Does that tie in with your experience Stew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 20 minutes ago, stewblack said: Good point, @Al Krow, the Zoom multi fx units have great envelopes. I first got in to envelopes with my first Zoom (B3). Even better was the ability to add just a hint of drive in front to really bring them alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: I first got in to envelopes with my first Zoom (B3). Even better was the ability to add just a hint of drive in front to really bring them alive. Totally agree Dave - just recently added some dirt to an analogue chorus on a Zoom B1-4 patch and it' makes for cool cutting-through alternative to clean chorus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Totally agree Dave - just recently added some dirt to an analogue chorus on a Zoom B1-4 patch and it' makes for cool cutting-through alternative to clean chorus. Yeah. I find a bit of dirt goes a long way to getting the tone to have more presence in a mix, without sounding dirty. Its the secret to a good clean tone lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 1 minute ago, dave_bass5 said: Yeah. I find a bit of dirt goes a long way to getting the tone to have more presence in a mix, without sounding dirty. Its the secret to a good clean tone lol. Nicely put! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 27/06/2021 at 12:12, Al Krow said: From what I can tell - particularly the older ones? I've heard a pretty good envelope from the old B3 (which I'm assuming is also the same as on the MS-60B) - but not as good on the B1-4 / B3n. Does that tie in with your experience Stew? B1on is my favourite - so I guess yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 I nabbed a Bass Trapper from Reverb and have to say it’s a nice pedal for the low gain and “amp like” drive tones. I’ve been messing with it into a very clean amp and it achieves that slightly edgy amp sound easily. Just been jamming along to Sure Know Something by KISS and it’s very easy to get that mid forward fat tube type sound too which puts me in mind of the Bass Soul Food. I had been eyeing up a large enclosure Spark Drive but went for the Fender out of curiosity and it’s certainly a decent pedal. It’s another one of those ones I think will work best when played with the band but not displeasing to play in isolation either. Its a totally different pedal to the Trapper Fuzz! Either channel can be played independently or stacked and the clean blend and x-over are what grabbed my attention over the Spark booster. In saying that I think this can be set up to work like the SB in as much that it can have a pre amp like quality to its cleaner and ‘just pushed’ type low gain sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share Posted June 30, 2021 Used the Trapper fuzz at volume recently. Could barely contain it, lots of feedback. Suspect the bass Trapper would be much more usable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 Bass trapper is a different thing. Stacked it can be nasty and you have the choice of nice, disrespectful and nasty between the switching options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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