Incoming NBAD! One question?

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Les Paul Lover
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Re: Incoming NBAD! One question?

Post by Les Paul Lover » Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:24 pm

Dors that mean that your fretless needs a set up, or are you simply too ham fisted for it?

I've never had a fretless myself, but never have heard those issues from people who have owned them before.


Brilliant news that Orange could confirm that your amp works as intended!!!! Have you tried it with both gain and blend turned right down?
Ant

Orange Gear: RV50 MKI, R30, AD15, PPC212
And.... Genz Benz Black Pearl 30
Past Orange: AD30TC Combo, TT, AD5


Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, Vigier Expert Retro 54, Gibson SG 70s Tribute, Aria Pro II RS X80, G&L ASAT Special Tribute

Boy_Narf
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Re: Incoming NBAD! One question?

Post by Boy_Narf » Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:40 pm

Indeed on the ham-fist (I don't think the pickup height on this is adjustable). The strings are setup to be as low as humanly possible on this thing which probably doesn't help. My other amp with a touch of dirt from the BB sounded unreal when I was digging in, so I got in the habit of reefing on the strings. The Lace pickup on this thing is crazy dynamic, but sounds great when it's really peaking. I think it could have benefited from a bit of on board boost, but aside from that I adore the bass.

Yes I have turned the blend and gain off. When I first tried it out I went all clean hence why I thought something was up. If I'm playing lightly with gain/blend off, it does sound nice and "warm", not really tuby though. If I start to dig in it gets gritty, and not with the most smooth transition between grit and clean (guess that's why we like tubes so much). The second side of the amp is more like a distortion/light fuzz. You are basically blending dist/fuzz over od with this amp. Orange support suggested if I want a "clean sound" I should have picked up the 4 stroke. I guess playing a fretless with a dirty amp is a bit un-traditional. They are not the first folks to raise an eyebrow at my semiacousticfretlessbass all gained up :) Anyway I'm covered on the clean side with my Traynor head. This one was all about dirt! There is a slave out on the OB1, so if I ever get another bass cab, it would be interesting to try running both at the same time. No new cabs in my future sadly enough. OH! I suppose I could always run my Traynor combo out of the slave! WOW NOW I CAN HAVE A BASS MONITOR BEHIND MY DRUM KIT! Excellent idea! Thanks!!!

Boy_Narf
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Re: Incoming NBAD! One question?

Post by Boy_Narf » Tue Jun 19, 2018 3:49 pm

Just wanted to report in after another week of jamming, and I'm loving this thing. I think my initial slightly harsh reaction was more due to the amp being something different than what I was used to. I've been playing my Traynor with BB for nearly 5 years, so it was the sound I knew and loved. It's always hard for a new amp/pedal to make it's way into your rig especially when it's replacing something that previously held the #1 spot. I've determined that the amp really lets each bass shine through. Other amps I've played have just sounded like the same bass no matter what you use. This one is very true to the instrument you plug in. The MM we use sounds way different than my Fretless. Through the Traynor combo we used to use, everything kind of sounds the same, so this is a new world for me. I've got my eye on another bass or two, and it's great to know I now have an amp that can reproduce their distinct sound.

The only complaint I have is string balance. Set "clean" it's pretty balanced, but once you dial in some upper harmonics, the G string gets much louder than the rest of them. Of course this is easy to adjust with your right hand technique, just something I'll have to get used to. Aside from that I'm super happy! Since the dirt is built in, my bass board now consists of a power supply, wireless, and gate. Nice and compact :) I'll probably never take this thing out for gigs however, as I have a combo for that purpose. I do wish they offered it in a head version as instead of just offering the rack mount. I've found a few quotes on head sleeves, but they are not cheap (I might still end up getting one, they just look so slick). The final thing to test will be the DI. I'll be running it on some new demos in late August once we are in our new place.

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