BB Preamp model quality

A

adonix

New Member
I never owned BB preamp, so im wondering if anyone compared the AX FX model of the BB preamp to the real unit? I really like to model sound, im just wondering if anyone has any first-hand experience?
 
I've also heard amazing things about the BB but I've never used the real thing. I tend to prefer the Full OD or the regular Tubescreamer.
 
Clark Kent said:
I've also heard amazing things about the BB but I've never used the real thing. I tend to prefer the Full OD or the regular Tubescreamer.
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Same here. To me, the BB sounds kind of watered down in comparison to those two. Of course, I didn't like the Full OD that much at first and now it's my favorite, so my opinion of the BB could always change.
 
I like the BB model in the Axe. Sounds good in front of a clean Fender amp, and is spot on to the original IMHO.

My favourite is the AC Booster though, and hoping Cliff will model this in the Axe too!


You can vote for the AC Booster pedal and add your comments here:


viewtopic.php?f=29&t=13472&start=0


Cheers
 
I used the BBPreamp pedal extensively. I'd say that the model is very close, though it seems to lack a bit when using it as a boost with lower gain IMHO.
 
I have a "real" BB, and frankly, I don't think it's all that great. It's kinda noisy, too. Andy Timmons dialed it in pretty good with his Lonestar, but I don't have a Lonestar, nor do I have his guitar or fingers. For me, the best way is to plug straight in, and if there's not enough gain, just switch to a gainier channel.
 
plexi59 said:
I have a "real" BB, and frankly, I don't think it's all that great. It's kinda noisy, too. Andy Timmons dialed it in pretty good with his Lonestar, but I don't have a Lonestar, nor do I have his guitar or fingers. For me, the best way is to plug straight in, and if there's not enough gain, just switch to a gainier channel.
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The one that Timmons uses is not the standard circuit either. It's either a prototype or an early one before some circuit changes. We have a mutual friend, and he has verified that Andy's BB sounds a little different than the rest. I'm sure the difference is small though as Andy's playing is really the inspiring thing when you listen to him. I've heard him play through several different rigs, and he still sounds like him...

D
 
shredi knight said:
[quote="Clark Kent":1k8stdie]I've also heard amazing things about the BB but I've never used the real thing. I tend to prefer the Full OD or the regular Tubescreamer.
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Same here. To me, the BB sounds kind of watered down in comparison to those two. Of course, I didn't like the Full OD that much at first and now it's my favorite, so my opinion of the BB could always change.[/quote:1k8stdie]

I too switched to the FullDrive model recently after comparing it to the TS and BB.
 
I'm a fan of the Fulltone OD for some things, which is funny because I wasn't a real fan of the pedal.

I like the TS808 quite a lot with a few tweaks. I found that it's a lot sweeter and almost indiscernable from my Keeley if I raise the low cut a bit from stock. I need to check the exact low cut value and post it, but it sounds great.

The BB sounded congested to me when I first tried it to the point that I wasn't interested in it. I listened to a clip of Andy demoing it yesterday and now I have a better understanding of what to do with it. I think it works better in front of some amp sounds than others.

D
 
My FullDrive settings, when used with for example the Brownface, Budda or TopBoost:

Drive 4.02, tone 3.50, level 5.98.

On another note:
I use another Drive block within almost all presets. I tried a lot of things in order to add bite to clean amps, and some edge to dirty tones. Almost like a RC Booster. Tried the Tube Drive but it's too harsh IMO, and the FET Boost doesn't really seem to do anything.
I settled on the Tape Drive. Settings: Low Cut at 100Hz, Drive 10/Level 3.50 with clean amps, Drive 5/Level 10 with dirty amp tones. Like it a lot!
 
plexi59 said:
I have a "real" BB, and frankly, I don't think it's all that great. It's kinda noisy, too.
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I agree completely. I had a BB Preamp on my pedalboard for a while, but it was too noisy and too compressed for my taste. It went out when I got my hands on a Tone Freak Abunai 2, which is a lovely overdrive pedal.

I don't use the BB model in my Ultra, but at least it is not noisy, as the real BB happened to be.
 
I'll definately check both of those settings out. I like the tape drive idea a lot. I haven't given the fulldrive a fair shake yet.

D
 
Jenssen said:
plexi59 said:
I have a "real" BB, and frankly, I don't think it's all that great. It's kinda noisy, too.
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I agree completely. I had a BB Preamp on my pedalboard for a while, but it was too noisy and too compressed for my taste. It went out when I got my hands on a Tone Freak Abunai 2, which is a lovely overdrive pedal.

I don't use the BB model in my Ultra, but at least it is not noisy, as the real BB happened to be.
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I have the real deal also and I love my BB, but I hear you guys and don’t disagree! I find it mates real well with some amps and others it can sound a bit thin and at times a bit harsh. It mates real well with my Mesa Mark IV, just use it to push the front end a little never really have the gain more than 9-11 o’clock the one setting works wonders across all three channels.

However months ago I did a small gig and used a Peavey Classic 30 (BTW I do like this amp) same thing I just wanted the BB to give a little push, it was not bad but found myself constantly tweaking the BB and never getting satisfaction.

I find the sim in the Axe Fx pretty close it captures the flavor of its real counterpart pretty well and its better in some ways cause it's more tweak-able
 
IMO the weakest link in the Axe is the drive pedals. They don't respond or act like the real life pedals at all. I have owned, or currently own pretty much every drive pedal in the Axe. The only one I have gotten some good results with is the Tube Drive. I'm in love with my Ultra, but I haven't been able to dial in a drive pedal that doesn't sound horrible.

Just my .02
 
dk_ace said:
I like the TS808 quite a lot with a few tweaks. I found that it's a lot sweeter and almost indiscernable from my Keeley if I raise the low cut a bit from stock. I need to check the exact low cut value and post it, but it sounds great.
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please do!

yek said:
I settled on the Tape Drive. Settings: Low Cut at 100Hz, Drive 10/Level 3.50 with clean amps, Drive 5/Level 5 with dirty amp tones. Like it a lot!
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will try, thanks!
 
The Drive effects can be tough indeed.

Although they are modelled, I think the trick is to not treat them the same as the original pedals.
If I understand correctly controls such as Drive, Tone and Level don't correspond visually with settings on the original pedal. That's because the range of the controls can be different. The soul of the beasts is captured, but the Axe lets you control them beyond the limits of the original device. That's my explanation for the fact that a lot of the Drives, even the TS808, sound harsh on my Axe with everything at "5". It's a matter of turning down Tone etc.
 
Agreed on the point that the drive models can be tough to dial in. It depends heavily on how much drive you have going on with the amp block. I think it's easy to get awesome sounds with the Hard Fuzz and the newer Face Fuzz.

As for the BB, I think the model sounds great in the Axe Fx, maybe a little too much gain for boosting an already hot sound. I owned a BB Preamp and I didn't have the best experience with a silverface Princeton, sounded like a dirty and clean sound mixed together, hard to explain.
 
All I know is that there was some youtube video around a while back that did a bunch of A/B comparing with the Axe-Fx Drive sims and their real life counterparts. As far as I could tell, the sims were mostly all almost indestinquishable from the real pedals. This might not speak for the feel of the pedals, but they definitely sounded really, really close, to the point of probably not being able to tell if you weren't listening for differences.
 
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