Current live boards

Posted at TOMB:

I get larfed at sometimes for having lots of pedals – and I don’t mean owning, but rather on my bass or guitar pedal board.

I typically take 10 + a wah to jam sessions, because I like sounds. I know of guys that use 3-4 different envelope filters on their bass board, so I’m not the only one.

Current live bass board (2 envelopes, 1 octave, phaser, chorus, EQ, ‘pressor and dirt – I wanna add a flanger):

Current live guitar board (the Mooer mini-Muff possibly [awesome cheap Chinese pedal] and the boutique super fuzz will likely be replaced soon by some EHX or a Chgo Stompwrks muff and a Catalinbread fuzz I have coming – envelope, phaser, delays, reverb, dirt):

I use a 1 Spot daisy-chained – never hadda issue.bandcamp; vlayman;
THD; Geronimo Cowboys;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

Frequency Dynamics (part 2) and Emulators

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I’m experimenting with this stuff – I do so much like live amps better it is going slow – and I’ll try that levels thing, thanks.

At this point, I’m just using regular pedals altho’ I do have:

Eleven Rack: not really got into it – pre-sets sound so processed and digital, but I’ve not spent a lot of time as it’s in a rack and not convenient – gotta move it
Hafler T2 into Microcab: can be OK for rhythm stuff when used along with live tracks
Zoom GM200: surprisingly useful S$20 digi emulator inna plastic box – some patches are really good and it’s the best Zoom I have
Vox Stomplabs: I have the latest guitar and bass floor pedals; very processed and digi sounding, OK when used along with live tracks
Zoom 505: very processed and digi sounding
Zoom 606II: very processed and digi sounding – I had two, gave one away to my guitarist who has never mentioned using it
Tech 21 Character pedals: I have a few of these and overall they are the best of the bunch, the VT Bass is really, really good
Joyo T-21 clones: slightly different from the T-21’s (ex., cab emulation is not defeatable) but sound just as good
Joyo Ironman series: just have the Orange pedal, fizzy at high-gain and better thru an amp

A few years back I was working with tons of Pod tracks and grew to hate them for the fizz, etc.

With the T-21 pedals as an exception, I think emulators lack random harmonics, which may be part of the problem.bandcamp; vlayman;
THD; Geronimo Cowboys;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

“Frequency dynamics”

Posted at TOMB:

Frequency dynamics – is this a thing?

Posting here to describe a pedal, I kinda stumbled onna description of what I perceive as the weakness in modeling pedals: I’m-a call it, “frequency dynamics”.

By that, I mean, even when levels are dynamic, playing is dynamic, the frequencies on the track feel pre-EQ’d, band-passed, and not as I would adjust real mic’d amps.

There’s no thunk and thump, no squeal-like-a-pig, and the mid-range is so consistent …

The modeler tracks feel flat, lacking variation, chaos, rock-n-FUCKING-roll, altho’ they sounded good in cans while playing.

Anyone agree with this description?

Review: Minutemen, *Double-Nickles on the Dime*

Decades ago I was guitar and 1/2 the vocals and writing inna power trio based on RHCP, 24-7 Spies, Bad Brains and these guys.

I so disliked this, I brought in War, and then a Living Colour influence.

Todd, I was wrong – this really is genius.

Review: Carl Martin Envelop Filter, EHX Small Stone Phaser, Broughton HPF

Carl Martin Envelope Filter – really good, bumped the EBS, still behind the Aguilar, about even with the Dr. Green.

I have a modded EHX that is still the best, tho’.

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EHX Small Stone Phaser – a really cool thing (besides the paint) is it loses no bottom, sounds great on bass.

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I hang some at talkbass, and a trendy thing over there for a long time is a boutique builder makes Broughton pedals, and a recent trendy pedal is a high-pass filter, and they are expensive, (but I high-pass a lot when mixing – it’s totally useful, and said to clean up bass cabs) so when I saw a great price on one – well, it’s mine.

When will I be able to use it (it’s basically for a live board) – who knows.

I reckon it’s a investment. 

Review: TC Spark Booster, Hotone Krush, Rowin Plexi

TC Electronics Spark Booster: this is the 4 knob one, and it is awesome. I would have bought it years ago, except I resist TC because of the computer program part and Behringer connection – which do not apply to this pedal.

It really is good, lots of EQ control, 3 voice switches, 20+ dB boost, small footprint. It’s gonna compete with the Bass Soul Food for 2nd pedal on my live bass board (after the compressor, which also boosts), and if not there may well wind up as first pedal on the live guitar board – it seems that good.

FWIW, I have a few boosts, including a cuppla-3 boutiques, and this is better. We’ll see after I can finally use it live …

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Hotone Krush, a nifty little bitcrusher, like a lo-fi Zvex.

Rowin Plexion, a Marshall style, works well on bass, like a full frequency, smoother Rat.

The short version

one odd memory I have is of a construction project I worked at age 18
we were building 3 ranch houses on adjacent lots
the parcel was on the outside of a rising curve in the road that went from S/B to W/B, right into the setting sun
every cuppla nights, for weeks in the summer, as we were wrapping up work part of my job was to move a dump truck and park it in back
and “Stairway to Heaven” – the short version – would pop on WLS

V;ayman: *Sappho One (a e.p.)**

1. Sweet Spot 03:13
2. Baby, Any More 03:34
3. Sappho One 04:23
4. The Tribute 04:08
5. Entheogen 03:34

Epic pandemoniumic stuff.

released March 7, 2021

All noises yo except drums as credited.
Writ, mixt, masturd, sequenced at FetaCentralRecording DDL in March, 2021 pre-innoc.

Fartwerk: Jose Jones

all rights reserved

bandcamp; vlayman;
THD; Geronimo Cowboys;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.