+1
I really like how they describe it. In the sea of internet nonsense, this is technically correct and well said. It probably clears up a lot of questions for people.
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He just launches right in and is frank and concise about it. Nice. Even when describing the Fender tone stack 
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Very informative videoā¦
Iāve got my Tech 21 VTBass DI connected to the āEffects Returnā at the moment. I go back and forth between that and the input of the amp. I havenāt decided which way I like best.
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I know, I know I said in the other topic that I was leaning towards the Zoom B1 Four for silent home practiceā¦ but in the end I got this.
Itās analogue, and digital (the part where you can ābeamā different effects to the drive and compression controls from your phone) but itās not as fiddly as a modelling device, and has a DI out, a line out, pre and post switch, an aux inā¦ likely everything Iāll ever need in a pedal (although unlikely my last ever purchase).
I realise itās total overkill for what I need right now - although having a nice headphone amp with EQ is SO good after the Blackstar Fly 3 experience - but itās so inspiring to have it nonetheless. And anyway, I had Amazon vouchers lying aroundā¦
(I hope Iāve posted in the correct place - I feel rules are pretty liberal about starting topics, but Iām still a bit shy 
)
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Excellent buy @TL ! I donāt think this is overkill at allā¦ Personally Iām not that impressed with the effects of the B1 four. I would gig with this preamp. It even has a compressor built-in that is based on the TC Spectracomp which is a top notch compressor. According to the site Ida Nielsen, Roger Glove and Hendrik Linder even used a Spectradrive.
A good preamp is all you need to get started imo. From there you can connect to your headphones, DAI or PA. Enjoy!
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nothing succeeds like excess 
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I wouldnāt call it overkill. With all the functionality it offers, I call it a good foundation.
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Agreed. I wanted to get one of those at one time, but opted to get something becauese I like a little more from a compressor. I am pickey with compression. Donāt get me wrong, it is nice to have it there, It just wouldnāt be the only compressor in my line. and heck, I have 3 right now.
That is a super transparent Preamp. Some donāt like this, buy the Ampeg, and Sansamp, and preamps from Paul Jones, Gallien Kruegerr. etcā¦ to get that dignature flavor toning the signal.
Others prefer transparant, so they can do what ever they wast with the signal, once it is in a DAW. So with a transparent amp, it basically just amplifies the sound of your bass, not the sound of your bass thru an Aguilar Tone Hmmer, or Ampeg SCR-DI, etcā¦
With that signal in for recording, you are not going to get a clean a mix when you start trying to add effects and amp and cab sims within the software. To ME, I like the uncolored sound straight from my bass, into the computer where you can play wih all the sounds you want, and make magic.
It can be done with those other preamps, and you can get amazing effects off a track in a Daw, but I do like the choice you got. I recall playing with one for like 5min, and got to add a couple tone prints, via the phone, and I liked what I heard, for both overdrive AND compression.
For me, this is the perfect 1st or 2nd in the pedal chain, giving the ability to start out with compression, and mix it up with a little dirt, and get a good growl.
Tone Prints can be fun, and you can get it souding great, and of course starting with a compressor, this XLR would be the obvious one to take the the DAI (Inerface) to plug into, and it plugs into the computer.
Thats the beaUTY. your first or 2nd pedal has DI out, so before you start messing with anything in your effects loop, you can bypass all of that and send the unbalanced signal directly to the computer. Many reasons this is helpful, you donāt need to know them all right now, just be aware of it.
So you can add Fuzz, Octo, Distortion, another compressor or two, Chorys, Reverb, delay etcā¦ So you get to play with the sounds you are creating, but you can still record the song, possibly in 2 ways. Unbalanced in from the Spectradrive at the front of the unit in the XLR channel, and when you get to the end of your pedal chain, and thnk it sounds bitchen, you love it.
Ok
Send a music cable with 6mm to the musicians hole in the DAIU, and youy can at the same time record the bass track thru with all the effects active, in one track, and you can fall back on your balanced output. If the processed effects track doesnāt do what you want it to do, then you have a clean track in Reaper I assume, and then you can start using all the tools in there to make it sound even better.
Idk if tha is what you wanted to hear or tho
Sorry if this post is hard to follow. I was on 4 phone calls, answering 3 texts, and had 8 people knock on the Door. had to reset 5 time alarms, etcā¦
I was a bit destracted, I hope I didnāt butcher it too much.
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Me too. I thought the gain gave a good sound and the SpectraComp was a lot of fun to play around with. I was testing it out in a Guitar Center and didnāt have a chance to mess with the tone prints. The only reason I didnāt get it was because the headphone out didnāt get loud enough for me and I couldnāt figure out whether it was an issue with the one I was playing with or an issue with the SpectraDrive in general.
@TL How is the sound level on the headphone on the one you got?
In bypass, itās very quiet (unless I guess you have some extremely low impedance headphones), so I use it with the preamp EQ on usually - it doesnāt bother me though, as I wanted to have access to an EQ anyway, and as I understand it, itās a very transparent preamp, so that suits me fine. Once you activate the preamp, it can get pretty loud, in fact I had to back down the gain a bit and the bass to make it comfortable for listening through closed-back cans. So pretty happy with it, even though yes, thereās a limitation.
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Ha thanks @T_dub - I kind of followed, but thatās down mostly to me being very early in the whole home-recording/editing journey. Like I mentioned, the SpectraDrive is now being used mostly as a headphone amp, but I am definitely keen on hooking it to an interface and recording one day. I did think that having a fairly clean preamp opens up more possibilities when editing the output in software, and the fact itās got a pre and post switch too is the icing on the cake - I havenāt seen another box at this price point that packs all this in. All the features itās got, itās just fantastic, as long as one likes the tone. Heck, it even came with a power supply!
For my use case, it works great - itās my only pedal right now while I am still learning, and I like the idea of being able to hear my instrument without much colouration (in fact, I canāt wait to get something better than an SX P bass to hear it through!). The compressor and overdrive presets are lots of fun too without being overwhelming, and youāve got flexibility to load new effects on the go, without connecting to a computer. Iām sure Iād want to explore other preamps with a more baked-in tone, but the TC one looks like a really solid workhorse-type pedal.
P. S. Having said all thatā¦ I guess a little AC line noise is to be expected? (especially given my old wiring in the house and the proximity to a PCā¦ in fact Iām so used to a bit of hiss from my ultraportable laptop through the headphone jack that I didnāt think much about this in the first place) - never mind, file that under general electrical interferenceā¦ all good.
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Iām still trying to understand why anyone would want more than one compressor in a pedal chain.
Iāll check with Glen and see what he has to say about that LOL
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The last mix I did I had 12. That was across four main tracks though.
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@howard suggested this when I was making the comparison chart of little practice things. I hadnāt realized this pedal had an aux in and a headphone out. Itās really a fabulous deal and all the rest is very usable.
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You do yours in post though. Iām wondering about a pedal chain. What does it accomplish? It seems like it would over compress everything.
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I am by no means a master of compression, but have been dabbling to understand better.
What I seem to like about it in a DAW is the immediate feedback visually in the waveform and the visual of what is actually happening on the little graph some of them provide.
With a pedal, you get none of that, and have to go by sound only. My ācompressor earsā are not yet there, but working on it. That said, all the different āflavorsā of compressors/compressions that each plug in or pedal have is still a bit lost on my. I have the DG Hyperluminal, which has 3 built in compressors. I do hear the differences, however, have no idea if I like one vs. the other or why or when to use one vs. the other for each type of bass/music/etcā¦(and probably never will, will most likely go āhey, that worksā and be done).
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I think the feedback in a DAW can help you learn what settings or sound works and can be applied to a pedal.
At least that is my learning plan.
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Nope it only compresses the peaks based on your ratio. It gives a more pleasant and balanced sound/volume imo. The basic idea of a compressor is that all strings produce a similar volume. Depending on what type of compressor you have it can even do subtle tone shaping. Thatās why you put a compressor early in your chain so the signal is balanced out for the rest of your signal chain.
You can use a compressor at the end of your signal chain too (I rather call that a limiter). Itās a nice way to make sure that your signal doesnāt clip. Think Josh had a TC SpectraComp at the end of his synth board to keep his effects under control.
Compressors are one of the few pedals that can always be on. By far my most favourite together with preamps and distortion pedals.
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I use a compressor at the beginning and limiter at the end, but only on my bass track. I figure the original song had all that stuff done in the studio.
Iām questioning the need for multiple compressors.
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Ahhh I see. On a pedalboard two compressors seems a bit excessive imo.