thisisswanbon Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 On 24/05/2024 at 20:10, fretmeister said: I ordered on Monday and haven’t had a “shipped” note yet. Mine took an age to come, Took a good few weeks before shipping... currently up for sale on faceache marketplace before I put a listing up on here. Cracking bit of kit and I love what it adds, but when I turn it off I always feel like it's taken something away too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 53 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said: Mine took an age to come, Took a good few weeks before shipping... currently up for sale on faceache marketplace before I put a listing up on here. Cracking bit of kit and I love what it adds, but when I turn it off I always feel like it's taken something away too Leave it on then! 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleASmith Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 6 hours ago, mouthmw said: 1 at a time. The lower one supersedes the one(s) above it. Due to the design (wired in parallel), they do not stack. The gainier one will always be the active one. This has been debated on the DIY pedals forum, and I'd take their word over youtubers as they know what they're talking about. Also, I have on myself and I've tested it. They do not stack. If that’s the case, if I have 2 selected and I switch the lower gain one on and off, there should be no difference correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 11 hours ago, DaleASmith said: If that’s the case, if I have 2 selected and I switch the lower gain one on and off, there should be no difference correct? Correct. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 Ooo! I have a shipping email! Assuming Germany to UK is as efficient as ever these days I might get it next week! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 19 hours ago, mouthmw said: 1 at a time. The lower one supersedes the one(s) above it. Due to the design (wired in parallel), they do not stack. The gainier one will always be the active one. This has been debated on the DIY pedals forum, and I'd take their word over youtubers as they know what they're talking about. Also, I have one myself and I've tested it. They do not stack. If that was the case - why does the demo on their site show 2 switches activated for some of the sounds? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 21 hours ago, mouthmw said: 1 at a time. The lower one supersedes the one(s) above it. Due to the design (wired in parallel), they do not stack. The gainier one will always be the active one. This has been debated on the DIY pedals forum, and I'd take their word over youtubers as they know what they're talking about. Also, I have one myself and I've tested it. They do not stack. Here's a video using a 'scope At 7mins it shows that they do stack - it's subtle, but there's a trace change. JPTR Jive - Soaking your Sound in Saucy Saturation (youtube.com) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKWkaD7Mxc&ab_channel=StompboxBreakdown Also - if that circuit is accurate - then it shows that the diodes are able to run together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 (edited) 45 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Here's a video using a 'scope At 7mins it shows that they do stack - it's subtle, but there's a trace change. JPTR Jive - Soaking your Sound in Saucy Saturation (youtube.com) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKWkaD7Mxc&ab_channel=StompboxBreakdown Also - if that circuit is accurate - then it shows that the diodes are able to run together. You'll be able to test it yourself. I tried and heard absolutely no difference when using 2 clipping diodes together and using just one higher gain one. They don't stack in any meaningful way IMO - the DIY forum said that yes, technically they stack, but to no particular useful result. My findings with stacking confirmed that, but you should try it yourself. I use it with no diodes 99% of the time and it's my favorite low gain pedal, bar none. Excellent headroom and a great, saturated tone. I love it. EDIT: Here's a quote from one of the DIY builders: "The toggles are parallel and to some degree they could be mixed, but in general if you have 2 diodes in parallel in the same direction, the one with the lower forward voltage cancels out the other. (Quite a cool fact actually for making something like a rat with 3 clipping options, as you can do it with a simple on-off-on toggle, LEDs being always on and putting silicone or germanium in parallel.)" Edited May 28 by mouthmw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 52 minutes ago, mouthmw said: You'll be able to test it yourself. I tried and heard absolutely no difference when using 2 clipping diodes together and using just one higher gain one. They don't stack in any meaningful way IMO - the DIY forum said that yes, technically they stack, but to no particular useful result. My findings with stacking confirmed that, but you should try it yourself. I use it with no diodes 99% of the time and it's my favorite low gain pedal, bar none. Excellent headroom and a great, saturated tone. I love it. To be fair, you did say they do not stack - not that you just couldn't hear a difference. I might not hear any difference either, but my ears aren't as good as a 'scope. I do wonder if the changes would be more obvious with different signal chains / instruments. That might be a fun thing to do when mine arrives. Compare guitar and bass use and maybe even a keyboard too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 5 minutes ago, fretmeister said: To be fair, you did say they do not stack - not that you just couldn't hear a difference. I might not hear any difference either, but my ears aren't as good as a 'scope. I do wonder if the changes would be more obvious with different signal chains / instruments. That might be a fun thing to do when mine arrives. Compare guitar and bass use and maybe even a keyboard too. The one with the lower forward voltage cancels out the other. They're not designed to be stacked, ergo they do not stack. Any minuscule difference that the scope picks up is meaningless and I stand by when I say "they don't stack". Also, he's using an older version of Jive in that video (could be pre SMD, could be SMD), they used different clipping diodes in the past too, the QC is much better now that they went SMD and in this modern version, the diodes do not stack in any perceivable way. I'd avoid the pre SMD Jives tbh as the quality was pretty iffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 I view stack / no stack as an electrical question not an audio one. The circuit shows that the switchable components can be in the circuit at the same time. Thus, electrically they stack. Whether that is audible or not is irrelevant to that issue. Audibility would be in a separate column regarding actual benefit or not / audible by humans or not of the stacking. Semantics are important to me even when they annoy others. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 (edited) 56 minutes ago, fretmeister said: I view stack / no stack as an electrical question not an audio one. The circuit shows that the switchable components can be in the circuit at the same time. Thus, electrically they stack. Whether that is audible or not is irrelevant to that issue. Audibility would be in a separate column regarding actual benefit or not / audible by humans or not of the stacking. Semantics are important to me even when they annoy others. Sorry. Voltage and cancellation is an electrical thing, but ok, you do you. You can stack them to your heart's desire. They also stack with any other switch on any other pedal as well. Edited May 28 by mouthmw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 I emailed Chris to ask him. I got a 1 line reply "They all work together but you would just hear the strongest one." That's interesting to me as the 'scope trace shows a difference when more than 1 switch is active, but Chris does not expect it to be audible. I wonder why he went with 3 separate switches rather than a rotary or other single switch. I also wonder why on his website the graphic demo app-thingy shows 2 being engaged for a particular sound. I'm beginning to think he's taken a leaf out of Lee Sklar's book about switches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 1 minute ago, fretmeister said: I emailed Chris to ask him. I got a 1 line reply "They all work together but you would just hear the strongest one." That's interesting to me as the 'scope trace shows a difference when more than 1 switch is active, but Chris does not expect it to be audible. I wonder why he went with 3 separate switches rather than a rotary or other single switch. I also wonder why on his website the graphic demo app-thingy shows 2 being engaged for a particular sound. I'm beginning to think he's taken a leaf out of Lee Sklar's book about switches! It's a great pedal either way. The switches give you a nice option of different dirt tones. It's fairly versatile. I still love it mostly with no diodes active, but there are cool drive, distortion and synthy-like fuzz tones in there. I dig the third switch with an octave pedal - awesomely synthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 From the demos I'm expecting to like the option with the switches all off just to add a little something. I often like a p bass with flats, but with some mid range nasal nastiness - like John Deacon's 'Live at Wembley' tone - that just seems to bump the harmonic content a little bit. Sounds a bit rubbish on it's own but nice and fat when the rest of the band are playing. I will be trying the synthy suggestion though. I do like noises like that. I've tried lots of synth pedals and I either come back to separate pedals working together, or the good old Digitech BSW. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleASmith Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 4 hours ago, fretmeister said: From the demos I'm expecting to like the option with the switches all off just to add a little something. I often like a p bass with flats, but with some mid range nasal nastiness - like John Deacon's 'Live at Wembley' tone - that just seems to bump the harmonic content a little bit. Sounds a bit rubbish on it's own but nice and fat when the rest of the band are playing. I will be trying the synthy suggestion though. I do like noises like that. I've tried lots of synth pedals and I either come back to separate pedals working together, or the good old Digitech BSW. I just use it that way. Adds some nice subtle gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthmw Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 (edited) I AB'd Jive with more expensive boutique pedals for that "on the verge of breakup" or "low gain" tone, but nothing sounded better than Jive to me. It's a keeper. That's with a P with flats and Stingray (3 band) with rounds. Edited May 29 by mouthmw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 I have a Catalinbread SFT already and it's nearly exactly what I want. It's so close that I'd describe it as a meal that has 1 ingredient in slightly the wrong quantity, particularly at very low gain levels. I'm hoping the Jive will sort that. I also have the T21 Paradriver which I can dial in closer, but the layout is very annoying for my tiny gigging pedalboard so it stays on my larger home & silly noises board instead. Hopefully my Jive will arrive next week sometime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 It's finally out for delivery! Looking forward to giving it a proper try over the weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Ooo! Stickers and circuit boards and…. Flower seeds! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 I like it. I think I like it best either without any of the switches on, or with the top one on. It just adds a little harmonic richness to the sound. At the moment I’ve got it first in the chain, but I’ll experiment another day when it isn’t rugby final day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleASmith Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 2 hours ago, fretmeister said: I like it. I think I like it best either without any of the switches on, or with the top one on. It just adds a little harmonic richness to the sound. At the moment I’ve got it first in the chain, but I’ll experiment another day when it isn’t rugby final day. that’s how I use mine. Always on and first in the chain. Just adds a little gain. After a while you won’t notice it at all unless you turn it off. I mean that in a good way of course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 I've decided the best placement for me is after my compressor. Evens out the response a bit and gives me more punch from the compressor too. It's definitely best suited as an always-on pedal as it does cut a tiny bit of low end compared to the bypass state (no switches used), but nothing that amp EQ cannot fix. I will experiment with the switches more to see if any preserves the low any better, but it sounds so good when it is on that since I've got it in the right place I don't think I've turned it off at all. My chain is currently Tuner> DG AO> Compressor > SFT > Jive > OC-5 > HPF. The SFT might stay, might not. It's very good too and with the 2 band EQ it can be set to stack with the Jive very nicely. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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