pedal / effects you cant live without, and why??????

[Gurnemanz]

True, Florin. It all depends on the style of music you are playing, of course, but in general, I want to hear my instrument and not some "noise". I want to hear "The Sound of Wood" (Not surprisingly, Glockenklang are the amps I'd like to own eventually.)
I can live without distortion, OD, or fuzz. But I do have a the Tech 21 VT Bass "character" pedal for the rare cases I need this sort of "vintage sound".

 

[Gerry]

I added this pedal in front of a decent pre and cabs ect and my satisfaction was immediate. I don't use pedals or distortion because I don't need them. I also don't get to do many big shows like some of you pro level guys here, with soundmen and good pa support. I don't consider this an "effects" pedal since I use it only to send a cleaner signal to the HB pre or as a pre straight into my Eden WT1250 to my Berg 2x10 (which is tone heaven btw. I do reggae mostly with some 311 thrown in and my band likes to "feel" the bass. Warm, clear and heavy is where I am right now and so far can't see a downside by adding this pedal. I don't have mid control on my SB5000 or the pedal. For me, the HB pre tweaks the mids quite well if I need it. When using the PNut, I dial out most mids anyway to smooth out the reggae tone but lose a bit of clarity, naturally. For me, it seems to be a good compromise. I have rehearsal in a few days and a gig on the 11th. I'll test it out fully and see, since we know the living room does not a gig make. Nothing wrong with home playing, I just need to do both.
Oh and Florin, your tone is always undeniably awesome and you clearly don't need anything else! If I posted one of my gigs, you will se why I should NOT be allowed to set myself up and need all the help I can get:roll:!

 

[beany2510]

Hi, sorry i haven't been around over christmas to read up on all of your super helpful responses, my broadband router went belly up on sunday before christmas and only got back online 2 days ago.
I need to go and play with some of these pedals and work out what works for me i think, but your answers do give me food for thought.
Thanks to all, and a very happy new year......

 

[Nachobassman]

Thank you X 10,000! I bought this today based 70% on your tone (which I really like for some reason). I put it in front of the HB pre and my new jazz style bass and ! I took back the recently aquired Tech LM300 head and got this, hoping it would be as good as the LM300. This is now a permanent part of my sound and I haven't even tried it with my PNut yet! I'll be slappin the jazz with this thing for at least another hour.....I might even find and actual groove

Hey, Gerry, what a surprise, never thought my tone would influence somebody.

Enjoy your new toy, I sure do. I´ve been a Sansamp BDDI user and abuser for almost a decade. 8:

 

[Gerry]

Yeah, I'm diggin it for sure. I do notice a slight mid cut but for the warmth and clarity, I'll just dial the mids back in with the HB pre at the 800hz and 1.5khz range, right where i like to adjust. This works for me because it seems some amps don't sound right while adjusting these same frequencies. This pedal has the exact same effect as putting a John East pre on board. It's quite elegant and is not for everyone. It's a super clean studio tone but it will slightly scoop the mids a bit while flat (J-Retro) and give you a sweepable mid option to put them back. I'm guessing this is why they are not popular with Warwick bass enthusiasts. We love those Warwick mids! I feel the HB pre does a great job dialing back in whatever mids the bddi scooped but it's so much clearer and warmer.

 

[Gerry]

Florin, i see why you would like and dislike this pedal. You can only use a small percent of the blend before the mids go bye bye and the bass and other effects sounds completely colored. I'm using 40% blend with the jazz basses and 60% on the PNut. Again, this is at home. I appreciate the honest feedback too! If you didn't mention something, i would have just left the blend maxed out and probably wouldn't cut through in a live situation. I'm even happier with it now, thanks!

 

[Florin]

Hi Gerry,

If you cut the mids from the SA, you cannot boost them back... It is hard to boost something that isn't there
Thanks man,

Flo

 

[The_Other_Aaron]

Only effects I'm using right now is a bit of Darkglass b3k on all the time for a little extra grit and sustain. Love it.

 

[Gerry]

Hi Gerry,

If you cut the mids from the SA, you cannot boost them back... It is hard to boost something that isn't there
Thanks man,

Flo

Thanks Florin! I was told today that this pedal is more of an amp modeler and what I'm hearing is the box attempting to sound like old school tube amps. What i perceived as a mid cut is the SA attempting tube amp clarity. The mids must still be there since I can make adjustments from the pre. They just seem more transparent and slightly compressed. I'm still in the honeymoon phase with a new piece of gear. I'll test it out and check back in from a new perspective. Thanks again!

 

[JSmith]

Thanks Florin! I was told today that this pedal is more of an amp modeler and what I'm hearing is the box attempting to sound like old school tube amps. What i perceived as a mid cut is the SA attempting tube amp clarity. The mids must still be there since I can make adjustments from the pre. They just seem more transparent and slightly compressed. I'm still in the honeymoon phase with a new piece of gear. I'll test it out and check back in from a new perspective. Thanks again!

Gerry, with the SABDDI, the mid frequency is fixed. You can essentially give yourself a mid cut by boosting the highs and bass or a mid boost by lowering the highs and bass.

 

[Gerry]

Thanks Jeff, I decided to read up on the pedal and came across the same information. Whatever is going on with the mids suits me fine. I really got the pedal just to smooth out my jazz bass and ended up liking it all together. I was saying that I could see how someone that uses multiple effects or needs an aggressive midrange would end up removing it. For me, it sounds best alone. I got an Aguilar TH pedal today and will be returning it tomorrow. For now, this ones for me

 

[JSmith]

Thanks Jeff, I decided to read up on the pedal and came across the same information. Whatever is going on with the mids suits me fine. I really got the pedal just to smooth out my jazz bass and ended up liking it all together. I was saying that I could see how someone that uses multiple effects or needs an aggressive midrange would end up removing it. For me, it sounds best alone. I got an Aguilar TH pedal today and will be returning it tomorrow. For now, this ones for me

It's really a great pedal and you'll find like the rest of us that you'll probably never sell it. I don't always use it but I'm glad I have it around. I'm really contemplating using it to record with in the next couple months.