Atomic Bass Box

[Tripehound]

Looking for something to use as an alternative to lugging around the Helix (I use one sound and rarely employ effects!) I came across some videos of this pedal. Sounded very good in the demos (don't they all?) but is it going to be trumped by something like the Zoom B6.

 

I'm also wary that it might not have been a success and will get dropped fairly soon - it's clearance price at Andertons and the Atomic site says sold out...

 

Has anyone had a go with one of these?

 

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Tripehound

[Skybone]

Assume you're happy with the sounds you're getting from the Helix?

 

If you have one sound, and only use a few effects, then maybe look at the POD Go. Same amp/cab/mic models as Helix, can load & use IR's, but limited to a few effects. It's a lot smaller & lighter than a Helix.

[paul_5]

Zoom MS60B will do it - I think 4 effects at once, so amp &cab sim as one, then anything else you want to add.

[Boodang]

I could be judging a book by it's cover but the Atomic seems like it's trying too hard to be a darkglass clone.

I'd give it a miss just for the marketing b*ll*cks 'digital vacuum tube'!

[jimfist]

I got one of the first ones. And I just ordered the B6, due for arrival this week, I'll have opinions

 

I think the Atomic BassBox is a really nice multifunction bass pedal, and yes, it's as good a pedal as Pete Thorn makes it sound IMO. Totally different animal in the way it's designed compared to a typical digital multifx modeler. 

 

Not sure what to make of Atomic right now, though all my experiences with them have been good. Very, very small outfit, and guessing they've been having supply chain issues for key components like everyone else. 

[Tripehound]

8 hours ago, jimfist said:

I got one of the first ones. And I just ordered the B6, due for arrival this week, I'll have opinions

 

I think the Atomic BassBox is a really nice multifunction bass pedal, and yes, it's as good a pedal as Pete Thorn makes it sound IMO. Totally different animal in the way it's designed compared to a typical digital multifx modeler. 

 

Not sure what to make of Atomic right now, though all my experiences with them have been good. Very, very small outfit, and guessing they've been having supply chain issues for key components like everyone else. 

Be very interested to hear that - opinions on the B6 seem mixed at the moment.

[SumOne]

It does look good, as an 'all-in-one' Helix alternative won't you still need a tuner though? And if it doesn't take batteries you'll need power. 

 

Considering those things I got the Fishman Platinum Pro as a backup/all-in-one. If you want something convenient to carry about which covers most of the important things then it does them well: Tuner/mute (with footswitch), boost (with footswitch), compressor, EQ (including sweepable mids and a HPF), line out and DI XLR with ground lift and pre/post switch, FX loop, analogue, and can run on battery power. No drive though, and it's quite big. It covers me for practice sessions, and if my power supply or other pedals die on me at a gig it'll cover the essential things. 

 

Zoom type multi FX things will do more FX in a cheaper and smaller size but I didn't think I would choose them as my main 'all-in-one' utility pedal for gigging: No separate DI/XLR with ground lift and pre/post, to boost isn't as obvious as the Fishman's 'boost footswitch' with a corresponding LED, need to scroll and look at a small screen to adjust things like EQ for the room, not always obvious if something has been clicked on/off in the background etc. I'd use them as a backup, or for practice sessions, or in the FX loop for effects though.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by SumOne

[jimfist]

9 minutes ago, SumOne said:

A slightly cheaper alternative I just got is the Fishman Platinum Pro. If you want something convenient to carry about which covers most of the important things then it does them well: Tuner/mute (with footswitch), boost (with footswitch), compressor, EQ (including sweepabnle mids and a HPF), line out and DI XLR with ground lift and pre/post switch, FX loop, analogue, and can run on battery power. No drive though. 

 

Zoom trype multi FX things will do more in a cheaper and smaller size but I didn't think I would choose them as my 'all-in -one' utility pedal for gigging: No separate DI/XLR with ground lift and pre/post, need to scroll and look at a small screen to adjust thigns like EQ for the room, not always obvious if something has been clicked on/off in the background etc. I'd use them as a backup, or for practice sessions, or in the FX loop for effects though.

 

 

True enough that all-in-one multi-fx pedals do present challenges for quick live adjustments on-the-fly...even with the high ticket items. Certainly there are a slew of guitarists and bassists who can make this work, myself included.

When I use my B3n or G5n (done hundreds of gigs with them), or BassBox running into my stage rig (bass head & cab), I utilize the bass amp head EQ to address stage/room EQ issues.

The multi-fx/amp modeling feed to FOH (when used) is taken PRE stage rig.

This eliminates most of my live tweaking issues since I've sorted out my effects/balance and core tones in my multi-fx at home & rehearsals.

Any individual gig tweaks are just fine tuning that can be done during sound check, and I'm probably the only one who knows or cares.

 

The B6 does have the optional Bluetooth dongle which allows for pairing with an ipad/iphone, which would be convenient for on-the-fly adjustment.

 

Circling back to the Atomic BassBox, I can understand why getting one - even at a great blowout price - would be a little scary, being across the pond from a very small manufacturer such as Atomic.

I'm in the US (Boston) and only a couple hours drive from Atomic's facility in Connecticut, so it was an easy decision for me to buy at the pre-sale discount (for being on the BassBox wait list).

 

Beyond that, feature-wise, I wouldn't say that the BassBox is trying to mimic the DarkGlass B7k (or the like) or Tech 21 Sans Amp BDDI (or the like).

I'd classify it as a 'tweener' to both of these, and tonally it I find it has a broader range of excellent sounding tone possibilities due to its flexible options: choose from 3 types of each

• Drive (OD pedal, tube, FET)
• dynamics (comp, limiter, leveler)
• Amp/Cab (factory default solid state amp+12" cab IR, tube amp+15"IR, SVT amp+SVT 8x10 IR) all programmable via editor software
• EQ (4 band fixed a la API module, 3 band w/mid sweep, 3 band 'state variable' Bass/freq/Q/Treble). 

 

The computer editor is basic, but most importantly allows you to change the 3 amps & cab combinations available via the hardware amp switch, and add 3rd party IRs.

Dr. Bonkers supplied the stock IRs, and they're excellent quality IMO.

For me, the benefit of the BassBox is for WYSIWYG old-school knobs and switches with immediate control of core tone and switched overdrive/boost, without the bells-and-whistles of ear candy effects.

It is limited in this respect, but far more flexible and programmable than most stand-alone hardware preamp pedals (BDDI, B7K, etc.) of this format/footprint.

From my use of it (and all JMHO, YMMV), the BassBox can easily cover a wide range of bass tone styles (I do everything from old-school R&B, classic hard rock & metal, and modern metal) and sound excellent doing it.

The BassBox is, physically and sonically a QUALITY device. Though technically a digital box, it holds up under scrutiny in a way that many low-to-midrange digital multi-fx might not.

BTW, the compressor/limiter/leveler is GOOD, which you can't always say about a lot of 2-knob compressors. For me, this is critical, and I'm very picky about compression/limiting. EQ section is also excellent.

 

Where the B6 comes into play with the BassBox will be, for me, if the B6 is improved enough to really, truly compete with the BassBox for CORE functions (described above) and possibly replace it. That would impress, but not banking on it.

I may find the B6 to be markedly improved (specifically how TBD), but still not up to snuff with the BassBox core tone aspects.

In this case, I'll have to decide if it can be justified for use as ear candy special fx only, or as a B-rig all-in-one to include amp modeling. 

A looming question is whether it has enough available DSP to handle all effects and amp modeling duties, which may force the issue one way or another.

 

Will know more in a couple days.

[Tripehound]

59 minutes ago, SumOne said:

It does look good, as an 'all-in-one' Helix alternative won't you still need a tuner though? And if it doesn't take batteries you'll need power. 

 

Considering those things I got the Fishman Platinum Pro as a backup/all-in-one. If you want something convenient to carry about which covers most of the important things then it does them well: Tuner/mute (with footswitch), boost (with footswitch), compressor, EQ (including sweepable mids and a HPF), line out and DI XLR with ground lift and pre/post switch, FX loop, analogue, and can run on battery power. No drive though, and it's quite big. It covers me for practice sessions, and if my power supply or other pedals die on me at a gig it'll cover the essential things. 

 

Zoom type multi FX things will do more FX in a cheaper and smaller size but I didn't think I would choose them as my main 'all-in-one' utility pedal for gigging: No separate DI/XLR with ground lift and pre/post, to boost isn't as obvious as the Fishman's 'boost footswitch' with a corresponding LED, need to scroll and look at a small screen to adjust things like EQ for the room, not always obvious if something has been clicked on/off in the background etc. I'd use them as a backup, or for practice sessions, or in the FX loop for effects though.

 

 

 

 

I'll definitely have a look at the Fishman - thanks for the lead. If I had to name one feature on the Helix that I don't think is up to much it's the tuner! I carry a TC pedal in my bag rather than use the one on the LT. The apparent attraction of the B6 is that it has all the things that the older Zoom units don't have - the DI, ground lift, touch screen etc. On paper it looks great because it offers many of the features of the Helix but in a smaller footprint and aimed squarely at bassists but responses I've seen thus far are lukewarm.

[jimfist]

2 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

I'll definitely have a look at the Fishman - thanks for the lead. If I had to name one feature on the Helix that I don't think is up to much it's the tuner! I carry a TC pedal in my bag rather than use the one on the LT. The apparent attraction of the B6 is that it has all the things that the older Zoom units don't have - the DI, ground lift, touch screen etc. On paper it looks great because it offers many of the features of the Helix but in a smaller footprint and aimed squarely at bassists but responses I've seen thus far are lukewarm.

Don't worry...I won't mince words or couch my opinion on the B6. I've owned the HX Stomp (flipped it after a couple months), and gigged for many years with the Fractal Audio AxeFxII.

It will be the good, bad, and ugly as I see it, albeit as a Zoom fan and user for many years.

[Tripehound]

11 minutes ago, jimfist said:

Don't worry...I won't mince words or couch my opinion on the B6. I've owned the HX Stomp (flipped it after a couple months), and gigged for many years with the Fractal Audio AxeFxII.

It will be the good, bad, and ugly as I see it, albeit as a Zoom fan and user for many years.

That seems to be the feedback. Seems not a lot there in the B6 that the LT does albeit in a smaller format and I'm suspicious that it might be a bit - dare I say - tacky? 

 

You've persuaded me! I've taken the plunge and just ordered the last ABB in Andertons. Will give it a go and maybe later get in a B6 (they're out of stock but in soon) to evaluate returning whichever doesn't convince. Longer term thinking of parting with the Helix and getting a Quad Cortex for home, guitar playing etc and the ABB or the B6 for bass gigs.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Tripehound

[jimfist]

8 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

That seems to be the feedback. Seems not a lot there in the B6 that the LT does albeit in a smaller format and I'm suspicious that it might be a bit - dare I say - tacky? 

 

You've persuaded me! I've taken the plunge and just ordered the last ABB in Andertons. Will give it a go and maybe later get in a B6 (they're out of stock but in soon) to evaluate returning whichever doesn't convince. Longer term thinking of parting with the Helix and getting a Quad Cortex for home, guitar playing etc and the ABB or the B6 for bass gigs.

 

I was hot for the Quad Cortex until I saw how the initial roll-out went, and then with supply chain difficulties, delayed firmware updates, etc. etc. That's cooled me off for a while, until I have a better feeling that the QC is more mature.

Cool that you're willing to go with the BassBox. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. There are some operation things that you might want to explore with the software editor, as it also does adjustment for the gain/OD, and has an overall mix/blend feature. It also allows you to do signal path assigns to the main XLR and 1/4" outputs.

Apologies for this, but over at TalkBass, there's a whole forum thread on the BassBox that goes pretty deep. 

 

I hear you re: the B6.  Zoom is.....Zoom. I've had good luck with the B3, B3n, and mostly the G5n (with the hack to port B3n blocks into the G5n). 

It's not world-beater gear, but for simple operation and bang-for-buck, it's been good to me now that I've got less demanding gigs WRT crazy effects programming.

With the B6 being a steeper price tag, I'm likely to be more critical of it than, for example, the G5n which cost me $299US in 2017.

[Tripehound]

45 minutes ago, jimfist said:

 

I was hot for the Quad Cortex until I saw how the initial roll-out went, and then with supply chain difficulties, delayed firmware updates, etc. etc. That's cooled me off for a while, until I have a better feeling that the QC is more mature.

Cool that you're willing to go with the BassBox. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. There are some operation things that you might want to explore with the software editor, as it also does adjustment for the gain/OD, and has an overall mix/blend feature. It also allows you to do signal path assigns to the main XLR and 1/4" outputs.

Apologies for this, but over at TalkBass, there's a whole forum thread on the BassBox that goes pretty deep. 

 

I hear you re: the B6.  Zoom is.....Zoom. I've had good luck with the B3, B3n, and mostly the G5n (with the hack to port B3n blocks into the G5n). 

It's not world-beater gear, but for simple operation and bang-for-buck, it's been good to me now that I've got less demanding gigs WRT crazy effects programming.

With the B6 being a steeper price tag, I'm likely to be more critical of it than, for example, the G5n which cost me $299US in 2017.

Thanks for the advice and yep - I've noticed you need to be very much an early-adopter to get a QC just yet hence no rush!

[funkydoug]

I had the atomic amplifire 6, a slightly different proposition admittedly, but it it certainly sounded as good as anything else I’ve tried. 
I’m a serial pedal flipper and would certainly give the bass box a go based on the quality of the amplifire, which is of course designed for guitar but could be made to sound great on bass too as it had the SVT model.

Edited February 21, 2022 by funkydoug

[jimfist]

39 minutes ago, funkydoug said:

I had the atomic amplifire 6, a slightly different proposition admittedly, but it it certainly sounded as good as anything else I’ve tried. 
I’m a serial pedal flipper and would certainly give the bass box a go based on the quality of the amplifire, which is of course designed for guitar but could be made to sound great on bass too as it had the SVT model.

 

Ha. I had the original 3 button Amplifire and used it briefly, but long before they introduced the SVT model. 

I struggled with it at the time. It was very nice for guitar tones, but for some reason couldn't find a guitar amp model that suited my tastes.

As though it was too dynamic, and too squishy, especially for the gritty heavier/metal tones I needed. Fender Bassman didn't cut it. LOL.

I suppose I just didn't work hard enough on it, and also found the compressor block to be dodgy, not quite tuned the way I like it for bass.

The BassBox sure doesn't suffer from this IMO. Seems VERY well-tuned for bass.

I did have to engage the input pad for the BBox drive & comp to behave. I hit hard and my bass' output is pretty healthy.

[jimfist]

The B6 landed today, and I had some time to wrestle with it this evening. As expected, it's a mixed bag of pleasant surprises and the foreseen problems with DSP and 6 slot maximum limitations. I'm late for bed, so I'll just say that this is the best sounding bass pedal I've heard out of Zoom, in terms of core sounds for drive pedals, preamps, amps, and cabinets (IRs). The DI selections flavors are very cool.

 

With respect to the Atomic BassBox, I'll be doing some side-by-side listening to see what my ears tell me. 

[Tripehound]

7 hours ago, jimfist said:

The B6 landed today, and I had some time to wrestle with it this evening. As expected, it's a mixed bag of pleasant surprises and the foreseen problems with DSP and 6 slot maximum limitations. I'm late for bed, so I'll just say that this is the best sounding bass pedal I've heard out of Zoom, in terms of core sounds for drive pedals, preamps, amps, and cabinets (IRs). The DI selections flavors are very cool.

 

With respect to the Atomic BassBox, I'll be doing some side-by-side listening to see what my ears tell me. 

Looking forward to hearing that.

[jimfist]

OK.  Spent some time doing a direct comparison of the B6 with the BassBox for core tones: Boost > Comp > EQ/Amp > Cab IR.

@Tripehound, the good news is that the BassBox wins this shootout rather easily IMO. The comp, EQ, and amp settings just seem to be dialed in, and there's just a more immediate feel with the BassBox. It has an "it" factor of quality that's easily felt & heard, but tough to put into words.

 

Not so much a knock on the B6, as I think the BassBox is on par with the some of best dedicated bass pedal processing out there (albeit in limited format...I prefer it over the HX Stomp, too).  The B6 does well, though. No problems gigging with the tones I'm getting.

 

I've always been of the opinion, though, that the Boost drives on the BassBox are perhaps its weakest point....very fiddly in some respects...I've had to go into the editor a few times to tweak the Boost level...still not sure if I'm 100% good with it.  This may be where the combo of B6 front-end into the BassBox is the best scenario, as I do like a number of drives in the B6.

 

I hadn't yet ported the IRs from the BassBox into the B6. The three I use are a Shift Line Hartke 4x10 (cleaner tones), a Dr. Bonkers Mesa 8x10, and a Dr. Bonkers SVT 8x10, all with tube amp emulation in front of them.  Of these three, the Mesa 8x10 is my favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if this stands to narrow the gap tonally between the BassBox and B6.

 

I drilled down into the B6 effects a bit, also. My view on effects is that I have no expectation every form of effect is going to be great, especially for multi-fx in this price range and lower. If I can get maybe 10 or so solid, standard effects (dirt/OD, chorus/pitch shift detune chorus, flange, tremolo, envelope filter), along with lower priority oddities like a synth and octaver, I'm getting my money's-worth. I consider compression a core part of my tone along with preamp/bass amp modeling, so those are a given (prefer the LMT 76).

 

Of course, the most dodgy of the bunch are the synths and pitch shifters. It's a mixed bag in this respect so YMMV regarding exactly what floats your boat here. That said, I've always been able to beat these unwieldy beasts into submission with patch creations that are unique in their own right to do that one thing, forgetting about all amp modeling structure. Sometimes it takes a bit of pre/post treatment to get a synth to sit just right, and slots run out fast. I will say that the tracking is pretty good on pitch effects, and the new Super LO preamp is unique, seemingly designed for those who can't get enough sub-bass (1 octave down) in their bass tone. That one will drive some FOH mixers nuts!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by jimfist

[Tripehound]

Got the ABB yesterday and although I've only had a quick dibble at bedroom volumes the initial impressions are very encouraging. I've found that the 'valve amp' c/w the 8 x 10 fridge gives me the most pleasing result - I've not mastered the overdrive/boost yet but that's not a shop stopper. This could probably replace dragging out my LT in its bombproof flight-case - should I risk it at tomorrow's gig where we'll be playing through the venue PA with a good sound guy?

[jimfist]

 

32 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

Got the ABB yesterday and although I've only had a quick dibble at bedroom volumes the initial impressions are very encouraging. I've found that the 'valve amp' c/w the 8 x 10 fridge gives me the most pleasing result - I've not mastered the overdrive/boost yet but that's not a shop stopper. This could probably replace dragging out my LT in its bombproof flight-case - should I risk it at tomorrow's gig where we'll be playing through the venue PA with a good sound guy?

 

What are you using for stage monitoring? If the tech staff allows a few extra minutes for bass-check time to iron out any possible issues, I'd say go for it.

[Tripehound]

2 hours ago, jimfist said:

 

 

What are you using for stage monitoring? If the tech staff allows a few extra minutes for bass-check time to iron out any possible issues, I'd say go for it.

 

They've got house monitors but I'll probably use one of our Alto TS212s which sounded better to my ears (considering whether to get a QSC K12 ATM) and playing my Dingwall SJ5. I'll take the ABB along and give it a go if the opportunity presents itself after setting up the Helix.

 

Will report!

[jimfist]

Cool. Smart to have plan B ready. Interested to see what you think. Good luck!

[jimfist]

I wanted to see if how much of a difference it made when I loaded the Atomic (Dr. Bonkers) 8x10 Mesa cabinet IR into the B6 and did more side-by-side listening.

Both the Atomic and B6 set for SVT amp model and the above IR.

Hot damn if that didn't narrow the gap quite a bit. Now the difference seems not as much.

Just goes to show how integral a good IR is for modeled tones.  I'm still keeping the B6 and BassBox, but now I can use the B6 with a little more confidence as a stand-alone pedal.

[Tripehound]

Home from the gig and buzzing. Helix never even got fired up and the Bass Box just acquitted itself with honour. I managed to immediately get a tone every bit as good as my best efforts in all this time with the LT and it's now going to be used on a regular basis.  I still think that the Helix is an amazing bit of gear and it's only the weight and effort of carting it around in its flight case that I need to dodge now (arthritis - boo) and the ABB is going to do a job for me. Happy boy - and thanks to Jimfist for advice.

[jimfist]

Excellent!  Glad things worked out for you.  It's refreshing to not have to menu-dive just to get a simple, solid bass tone going, or make a quick adjustment. Good old knobs and switches.