DLM
Power User
I don't use FR cabs, so when I'm working on the patches, I actually start out by playing them through my cabs and get them sounding good through the cabs for the live sound, and then finish the patch adjustments in headphones, since that's mostly what the recorded sound will sound like, and then balance the two so they both sound good. So the patches will sound good live through cabs, both FR and non-FR, and direct recorded. You may have to make some EQ adjustments for your particular bass, but in general they should be a good starting point.
As for the levels, I know they were kinda low on the previous patches. I've tried to correct that in these. The problem is, with bass I can only raise it so much without harshing the sound or flashing the clip light, so it's largely a quality of sound issue. Also, I use a BBE Sonic Maximizer with the knobs all at 1 o'clock. This raises the levels of the signal before it gets to the amp and mixer and improves the presence and tone. With the BBE bypassed, the output level drops. So for example, with it enabled, I can have the output knob at 9:30 or 10 o'clock on the axe and have a certain volume / output level to the amp / mixer. If I disable it (the BBE has a true bypass), the output levels from the Axe are lower, so I have to raise the output knob to say 12 o'clock to get the same output level. As far as patch levels go though, I tried to get it up as much as I could without hitting the clip light or degrading the tone.
I also crank my amp up to make sure the patches sound good both at high volume and at room level. Sometimes a patch can sound great at room level, but the tone will harsh up at high volume, or it'll bring out some tonal aspects that need to be adjusted that you don't hear very well at lower volumes.
These new patches have an added GEQ block as well to help compensate for the tone difference for those who don't have a BBE, and this can be enabled or disabled as desired. The patches both sound good with or without the extra block enabled if you don't have a BBE, but they give it a little boost at the bottom and top ends should you so desire. It's up to you whether or not to enable them. They do sound better with a BBE than they do without it, but like I said, good either way. You can play around with it and find the right sound for you. In both patches, the GEQ block for this is always the last one in the chain and is disabled by default.
Now, a note on the Bright patch. It includes a WAH block that will give you a really funky, awesome wah tone with the patch that's great for slap, tapping or even normal finger or pick playing. This is disabled by default, so you can switch it on and off as desired. It also includes a blues drive block which can be enabled or disabled to give the tone more of an edge, however, I was never able to get a sound out of it I was really happy with. It kills the bottom end when it's enabled, but it still produces kind of a cool sound. It's mostly there to play around with. If you like it great, if not just leave it disabled. The WAH block is the biggest added feature anyway.
The mellow tone has changed in that it has somewhat different EQing and I was able to bring out the higher end of the register more than I was able to in the previous patches.
Again, although these patches have cab blocks in them, I highly recommend not using them, as the tone is far better without them.
My firmware was updated to 10.0 before I dumped these and I did the patch update as well, so they should be good to go for the current firmware.
So here they are. Hopefully some of you will get some use out of them. As always, comments or requests are welcome, and if you use them in a recording, be sure to let me know. I'd love to hear it.
As for the levels, I know they were kinda low on the previous patches. I've tried to correct that in these. The problem is, with bass I can only raise it so much without harshing the sound or flashing the clip light, so it's largely a quality of sound issue. Also, I use a BBE Sonic Maximizer with the knobs all at 1 o'clock. This raises the levels of the signal before it gets to the amp and mixer and improves the presence and tone. With the BBE bypassed, the output level drops. So for example, with it enabled, I can have the output knob at 9:30 or 10 o'clock on the axe and have a certain volume / output level to the amp / mixer. If I disable it (the BBE has a true bypass), the output levels from the Axe are lower, so I have to raise the output knob to say 12 o'clock to get the same output level. As far as patch levels go though, I tried to get it up as much as I could without hitting the clip light or degrading the tone.
I also crank my amp up to make sure the patches sound good both at high volume and at room level. Sometimes a patch can sound great at room level, but the tone will harsh up at high volume, or it'll bring out some tonal aspects that need to be adjusted that you don't hear very well at lower volumes.
These new patches have an added GEQ block as well to help compensate for the tone difference for those who don't have a BBE, and this can be enabled or disabled as desired. The patches both sound good with or without the extra block enabled if you don't have a BBE, but they give it a little boost at the bottom and top ends should you so desire. It's up to you whether or not to enable them. They do sound better with a BBE than they do without it, but like I said, good either way. You can play around with it and find the right sound for you. In both patches, the GEQ block for this is always the last one in the chain and is disabled by default.
Now, a note on the Bright patch. It includes a WAH block that will give you a really funky, awesome wah tone with the patch that's great for slap, tapping or even normal finger or pick playing. This is disabled by default, so you can switch it on and off as desired. It also includes a blues drive block which can be enabled or disabled to give the tone more of an edge, however, I was never able to get a sound out of it I was really happy with. It kills the bottom end when it's enabled, but it still produces kind of a cool sound. It's mostly there to play around with. If you like it great, if not just leave it disabled. The WAH block is the biggest added feature anyway.
The mellow tone has changed in that it has somewhat different EQing and I was able to bring out the higher end of the register more than I was able to in the previous patches.
Again, although these patches have cab blocks in them, I highly recommend not using them, as the tone is far better without them.
My firmware was updated to 10.0 before I dumped these and I did the patch update as well, so they should be good to go for the current firmware.
So here they are. Hopefully some of you will get some use out of them. As always, comments or requests are welcome, and if you use them in a recording, be sure to let me know. I'd love to hear it.
