Re: Post your latest purchase!!
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:39 pm
EricK, thanks mate, i enjoyed that (I never imagined it being able to do things like those percussive sounds around 6 minutes, that's awesome stuff right there)
It definently add's a whole new world of variation.. I think something like that with tap tempo and patterns and such is a good match for the T3 and it's arps, note latch, etc. Could you see any use for a MF-101 LPF in addition to/instead of the 105 on a T3?
I haven't used either but i've noticed it's got an envelope follower on it.. thought it might be a good way to get some nice wet funky percy bass sounds happening.
I'm eagerly waiting for the EP-3 to be available in Australia to control the filter on the T3 via CV.. that way I can add some brights to the sound quickly (so for instance the MuRF has something to chew on) but still leave my control wheel on modulation or resonance or something.
Stiiiiiive (really not sure if that's the right amount of "i" 's, i just winged it :p )
Before I start I should make it clear that I'm not a guitar/bass player, so I don't have a lot of experience with pedals to compare to, but I am reasonably picky when I'm listening to an effect so hopefully this'll steer you true.
The B7K is a damn nice pedal. Construction quality feels up there with the Bass Big Muff, though the Muff is probably a bit heavier/sturdier over all (I honestly feel like I could stand on it)… but it definently doesn't feel flimsy.
The I/O is good, parallel out (clean), DI out, normal (wet) instrument out, ground lift.. One thing i don't like is that the power socket is on the side of the pedal next to the input jack rather than at the to end of the pedal.. Also, it's slightly noisier than the Big Muff I reckon, but I haven't done a lot of tests with the ground lift and keeping my cables away from power leads etc to see how much of it is avoidable, I should run it back into a DI box and get the signal back to a balanced line again really.. (EDIT: I just remembered the B7K (and the Bass Muff) have DI outputs on them anyway so, no, I don't need a DI box actually ) It's not invasively noisy by any means, but the noise that's there is in the very top end (if I turn down the treble knob on the EQ a touch is helps dull it a bit also..).
It's got blend and level knobs, so you can do a good job of tuning it up so there is no volume change when you turn it on (a must have IMO), the drive seems good, it adds a bit of firmness and breakup and responds well to playing dynamics also I think, though a bass player would be have an easier time sussing that out than I would I suppose.. and if you crank it right up it gets pretty absurd if that's your thing!
The EQ doesn't have sweepable centre frequencies but the centre frequencies do seem to be thoughtfully placed, a scoop on the "Lo Mids" EQ knob on the B7K gives me exactly the result i imagined/hoped it would when I ordered it (takes out a lot of those nasal/boxy tones), the Hi Mids add some oomph into the presence range, the Treble is just for taking out "air" right up top and won't kill the oomph in your presence range if you wind it back.
The Low doesn't seem to add to much mud either, but being plugged into a Taurus, I never really turn this up, actually i've turned it down just a touch before just to compensate for a bit of a change in the bottom end once or twice (probably from some subtle compression from driving the pedal?). Usually it'll stay at 12 o'clock though. The "Grunt" switch with it's "Fat " "Thin" and "Raw" settings is really useful for getting right kind of distortion happening, though you could happily leave it on "Raw" forever.
(I used to leave it on "Thin" a lot so the bass stayed clean, but i've noticed that the B7K doesn't seem to cause any phasing or anything that causes the bottom end to drop out even on the "Fat" setting, which is really nice to see..)
The "Attack" switch on this box is excellent (kinda like SPL's transient designer in a stomp box), i pretty much leave the attack boost on whenever the pedal is on, only very very rarely have i heard it do something I didn't like and that was with a patch that already had ample attack.
Infact Id probably say that the effect of this pedal is mostly about the dynamics/attack part of your sound it doesn't add too much "distortion"/"grit" to the sustained portion of your signal until you start getting quite aggressive with your settings (Though it will EQ it nicely and give it a nice firmness that it didn't have before), but gives you a nice bit of punch/edge when you're playing lots of short notes, with a nice lick of tastefully subtle distortion/fuzz to go with it. (It can get pretty filthy with the right blend settings etc, but I haven't found much need for it with my synth stuff)
Combined with a bit of a scoop in the low mids from this thing and it can make a sound quite aggressive without being too obvious… calling the B7K a "preamp pedal" I think is a very apt description (Again, it can get pretty damn filthy, this is just how I use it, I like having two stages of distortion, when I want it really in your face I layer on the muff (this also lets me have the Muff tuned more moderately so I have two flavours of moderate distortion or a layered heavy in your face distortion), but you could set it up so this has a fairly fuzzy/filthy distortion no worries).
It also plays nicely with others, I sit it first in my pedal chain before the Bass Big Muff and it does a great job of making sure that the attack doesn't get lost when I flick the Muff on.. Also the muff seems to give off a bit more distortion/fuzz in the top end when the signal's been through the B7K first.. brings out any beating/phasing and stuff and fuzzes it up… again presumably because of the compression that happens when you drive the pedal.
Both the B7K and the Big Muff do pretty well across about 4 octaves, but I have noticed that if you open the filter up wide once you're in the 3rd octave and higher the results are a bit questionable, not "bleep" just not really earning their moneys worth up there, the synth itself is plenty dirty once the filters open (Taurus is Saw wave only though, so not sure about others).. I'd still describe them both as "full range" pedals.. but you probably wouldn't want too much content above 8-9kHz in your sound once you get up in the octaves, like, a big dirty filter sweep in the second octave or something is no problem, sounds great, but you wouldn't really appreciate it in the 4th octave for instance…. but to be honest, in the higher octaves, I don't really see a need for either of those two pedals anyway (but again maybe it's cause they don't do much up there..), they wouldn't be turned on so maybe that's a moot point.. You could definently get away with using them on a full range electric guitar rig for instance, but I don't see them being very useful for a big solo, just some crunchy rhythm chugging and such. So for that reason, I guess I don't see myself getting much use out of the B7K on a Little Phatty… but that's because I imagine myself using a little Phatty for mid range stuff not bass. If you were using the Phatty for Bass, i'd say it's worth a shot looking at some bass distortion pedals like the B7K, you'd get more versatility in shaping it than you do in the Sub Phatty for instance… But, all that being said… does the Phatty put out Instrument Level? Because the B7K is setup for guitar/instrument level outputs, it's not like the Moogerfoogers that'll accept line and instrument level.. so you'd need a re-amping box or something in that case…
It's also worth noting I think there is a bit of a natural frequency curve in both pedals that makes the T3 sound just a little bit more like a bass guitar.. but not in an unpleasant way.. as an example, on the right patch, especially something that emulates a bass guitar style sound (with it's beating and pulse envelopes the T3 seems really good at that..) you can hear that sort of bass guitar stringy quality around 600Hz, definently not a bad thing… doesn't show up on all patches either, but it's there. It shows up more if you turn the blend knob all the way to the right so you're just hearing the distortion circuit.
If a bass player with an unbalanced rig etc asked me "hey do you think I should try a B7K in my rig?" my answer would be straight out "yes and you will probably just leave it on forever once it's plugged in"… but in a balanced, low noise studio environment with synthesisers, a much wider freq range and stuff like that, it's a little more subjective.. the B7K isn't exactly a cheap pedal, but i'm definently happy with it for what I'm doing, it's added a lot of versatility to my Taurus and it's all at home on the floor where it should be.
I hope that gives you some insight.. speak up if you've got any more questions
EDIT: I did have some stuff in here about some popping I was getting the other day, but I've done some tests just and that was MIDI double triggering and causing things to act strangely, nothing to do with the stomp boxes
Also I tried moving some cables about and that helped with the noise in the B7K a little bit, whats left I suspect is normal for anything with a drive knob on it.
It definently add's a whole new world of variation.. I think something like that with tap tempo and patterns and such is a good match for the T3 and it's arps, note latch, etc. Could you see any use for a MF-101 LPF in addition to/instead of the 105 on a T3?
I haven't used either but i've noticed it's got an envelope follower on it.. thought it might be a good way to get some nice wet funky percy bass sounds happening.
I'm eagerly waiting for the EP-3 to be available in Australia to control the filter on the T3 via CV.. that way I can add some brights to the sound quickly (so for instance the MuRF has something to chew on) but still leave my control wheel on modulation or resonance or something.
Stiiiiiive (really not sure if that's the right amount of "i" 's, i just winged it :p )
Before I start I should make it clear that I'm not a guitar/bass player, so I don't have a lot of experience with pedals to compare to, but I am reasonably picky when I'm listening to an effect so hopefully this'll steer you true.
The B7K is a damn nice pedal. Construction quality feels up there with the Bass Big Muff, though the Muff is probably a bit heavier/sturdier over all (I honestly feel like I could stand on it)… but it definently doesn't feel flimsy.
The I/O is good, parallel out (clean), DI out, normal (wet) instrument out, ground lift.. One thing i don't like is that the power socket is on the side of the pedal next to the input jack rather than at the to end of the pedal.. Also, it's slightly noisier than the Big Muff I reckon, but I haven't done a lot of tests with the ground lift and keeping my cables away from power leads etc to see how much of it is avoidable, I should run it back into a DI box and get the signal back to a balanced line again really.. (EDIT: I just remembered the B7K (and the Bass Muff) have DI outputs on them anyway so, no, I don't need a DI box actually ) It's not invasively noisy by any means, but the noise that's there is in the very top end (if I turn down the treble knob on the EQ a touch is helps dull it a bit also..).
It's got blend and level knobs, so you can do a good job of tuning it up so there is no volume change when you turn it on (a must have IMO), the drive seems good, it adds a bit of firmness and breakup and responds well to playing dynamics also I think, though a bass player would be have an easier time sussing that out than I would I suppose.. and if you crank it right up it gets pretty absurd if that's your thing!
The EQ doesn't have sweepable centre frequencies but the centre frequencies do seem to be thoughtfully placed, a scoop on the "Lo Mids" EQ knob on the B7K gives me exactly the result i imagined/hoped it would when I ordered it (takes out a lot of those nasal/boxy tones), the Hi Mids add some oomph into the presence range, the Treble is just for taking out "air" right up top and won't kill the oomph in your presence range if you wind it back.
The Low doesn't seem to add to much mud either, but being plugged into a Taurus, I never really turn this up, actually i've turned it down just a touch before just to compensate for a bit of a change in the bottom end once or twice (probably from some subtle compression from driving the pedal?). Usually it'll stay at 12 o'clock though. The "Grunt" switch with it's "Fat " "Thin" and "Raw" settings is really useful for getting right kind of distortion happening, though you could happily leave it on "Raw" forever.
(I used to leave it on "Thin" a lot so the bass stayed clean, but i've noticed that the B7K doesn't seem to cause any phasing or anything that causes the bottom end to drop out even on the "Fat" setting, which is really nice to see..)
The "Attack" switch on this box is excellent (kinda like SPL's transient designer in a stomp box), i pretty much leave the attack boost on whenever the pedal is on, only very very rarely have i heard it do something I didn't like and that was with a patch that already had ample attack.
Infact Id probably say that the effect of this pedal is mostly about the dynamics/attack part of your sound it doesn't add too much "distortion"/"grit" to the sustained portion of your signal until you start getting quite aggressive with your settings (Though it will EQ it nicely and give it a nice firmness that it didn't have before), but gives you a nice bit of punch/edge when you're playing lots of short notes, with a nice lick of tastefully subtle distortion/fuzz to go with it. (It can get pretty filthy with the right blend settings etc, but I haven't found much need for it with my synth stuff)
Combined with a bit of a scoop in the low mids from this thing and it can make a sound quite aggressive without being too obvious… calling the B7K a "preamp pedal" I think is a very apt description (Again, it can get pretty damn filthy, this is just how I use it, I like having two stages of distortion, when I want it really in your face I layer on the muff (this also lets me have the Muff tuned more moderately so I have two flavours of moderate distortion or a layered heavy in your face distortion), but you could set it up so this has a fairly fuzzy/filthy distortion no worries).
It also plays nicely with others, I sit it first in my pedal chain before the Bass Big Muff and it does a great job of making sure that the attack doesn't get lost when I flick the Muff on.. Also the muff seems to give off a bit more distortion/fuzz in the top end when the signal's been through the B7K first.. brings out any beating/phasing and stuff and fuzzes it up… again presumably because of the compression that happens when you drive the pedal.
Both the B7K and the Big Muff do pretty well across about 4 octaves, but I have noticed that if you open the filter up wide once you're in the 3rd octave and higher the results are a bit questionable, not "bleep" just not really earning their moneys worth up there, the synth itself is plenty dirty once the filters open (Taurus is Saw wave only though, so not sure about others).. I'd still describe them both as "full range" pedals.. but you probably wouldn't want too much content above 8-9kHz in your sound once you get up in the octaves, like, a big dirty filter sweep in the second octave or something is no problem, sounds great, but you wouldn't really appreciate it in the 4th octave for instance…. but to be honest, in the higher octaves, I don't really see a need for either of those two pedals anyway (but again maybe it's cause they don't do much up there..), they wouldn't be turned on so maybe that's a moot point.. You could definently get away with using them on a full range electric guitar rig for instance, but I don't see them being very useful for a big solo, just some crunchy rhythm chugging and such. So for that reason, I guess I don't see myself getting much use out of the B7K on a Little Phatty… but that's because I imagine myself using a little Phatty for mid range stuff not bass. If you were using the Phatty for Bass, i'd say it's worth a shot looking at some bass distortion pedals like the B7K, you'd get more versatility in shaping it than you do in the Sub Phatty for instance… But, all that being said… does the Phatty put out Instrument Level? Because the B7K is setup for guitar/instrument level outputs, it's not like the Moogerfoogers that'll accept line and instrument level.. so you'd need a re-amping box or something in that case…
It's also worth noting I think there is a bit of a natural frequency curve in both pedals that makes the T3 sound just a little bit more like a bass guitar.. but not in an unpleasant way.. as an example, on the right patch, especially something that emulates a bass guitar style sound (with it's beating and pulse envelopes the T3 seems really good at that..) you can hear that sort of bass guitar stringy quality around 600Hz, definently not a bad thing… doesn't show up on all patches either, but it's there. It shows up more if you turn the blend knob all the way to the right so you're just hearing the distortion circuit.
If a bass player with an unbalanced rig etc asked me "hey do you think I should try a B7K in my rig?" my answer would be straight out "yes and you will probably just leave it on forever once it's plugged in"… but in a balanced, low noise studio environment with synthesisers, a much wider freq range and stuff like that, it's a little more subjective.. the B7K isn't exactly a cheap pedal, but i'm definently happy with it for what I'm doing, it's added a lot of versatility to my Taurus and it's all at home on the floor where it should be.
I hope that gives you some insight.. speak up if you've got any more questions
EDIT: I did have some stuff in here about some popping I was getting the other day, but I've done some tests just and that was MIDI double triggering and causing things to act strangely, nothing to do with the stomp boxes
Also I tried moving some cables about and that helped with the noise in the B7K a little bit, whats left I suspect is normal for anything with a drive knob on it.