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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Dec 25, 2014 22:33:08 GMT -7
Hay guys I just wanted to share a little trick I have been using for years to solve the volume issue with non master volume amps. I have used this trick with plexi's for years with no issues, & now I use it with the Antidote with with amazing success, and it truly lets me use the Antidote at very low volumes with no change in tone. I have heard many of you say the Dote's too loud, or I wish I could use it more often in smaller venues we play....well brothers... you can! Let me first say I have never liked attenuators, many work very well, but they do affect tone in one way or another when used at max attenuation. Second, there is just no substitute for pushing air. A tube amp of any kind will just not sound the same unless we at least give it a bit of volume, not scorching volume, but at least enough to get that thump we all want, that said, this is what I use to get that beautiful Antidote tone at true bedroom volume.......an RC Booster from Xotic effects. Yeah, yeah I know it's a boost pedal right....well yes,...but it's also a cut pedal, a very, transparent cut pedal. When used at the end of my pedal chain it literarily has NO affect on the tone when set properly. Here's my settings..... -Treble @ noon -Bass @ noon -Gain @ ZERO no gain at all, none. -Volume... anywhere south of noon. When using these settings ( or with volume @ noon) there will be NO affect on the tone or volume....none. You can turn the pedal on & off & hear for your self......Now just turn the volume south of noon to meet your needs. You can actually turn it down all the way so you literarily hear nothing. I have read Many times on this forum that the Dote is just a bit to loud for many of your needs, well if it is, please give this little pedal a try, my bet is you will not be disappointed. Oh, if anyone has tried this please chime in, I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Cheers! Sam
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Dec 28, 2014 23:00:45 GMT -7
I wonder if a Timmy would work the same? Great info Im gonna try that
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Dec 28, 2014 23:35:23 GMT -7
Gonna have to try this with some of my current inventory of pedals. I've used boost pedals to hit the front end a little harder while keeping the amp volume low; this is a different wrinkle.
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Post by Stan on Dec 29, 2014 6:18:51 GMT -7
neat trick to try
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Post by gplayer1965 on Dec 29, 2014 7:37:23 GMT -7
I experienced similar results by accident but it was a soul food pedal and a different amp, it worked although it sounded a bit thin but like I mentioned it was a different pedal. It surely worked to bring the volume down. Will be interesting to hear others feedback. Try it with Xotic pedal as suggested,probably yield desired results
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Dec 29, 2014 23:12:00 GMT -7
I bet there is a pedal out there that is as transparent as the RC booster, & can be used in the same way, but I haven't found it. I've tried several others but they all seem to change the tone in one way or another.
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Post by gplayer1965 on Dec 30, 2014 6:47:27 GMT -7
I am going to try it with the Xotic BB for I have used it as a clean boost before by bringing down the gain and adjusting the volume. Shares DNA with the RC so may work. Good stuff, thanks.
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Dec 30, 2014 8:30:23 GMT -7
I've tried my Xotic RC-booster with several different amps now, and I find that at lower volume settings (i.e., quieter sound levels) I can "kick it up a notch" as if the amp's running hotter simply by using the RC. Great trick for getting that cranked tone at more reasonable volumes. One of the best, if not the best pedal I've tried for sounding just like your amp, but with added gain/grit.
Very simple setup--I keep the Bass & Treble knobs at noon ("neutral" EQ setting, no boost or cut), Volume knob near unity (no increase or drop in volume), and Gain a little past noon or wherever you like it.
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Post by gplayer1965 on Dec 30, 2014 12:43:04 GMT -7
Just got done experimenting with 4 different ppedals and by far the Xotic BB was the best for this particular scenario. The RC may be even better. Thanks again
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Jan 1, 2015 20:47:14 GMT -7
GPlayer, That's great stuff! Glad it worked out for ya. So what amps have you tried it with? ....& did you find it altered your tone in any way?
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Post by gplayer1965 on Jan 1, 2015 23:24:37 GMT -7
Therapy and I would say perhaps a little change in tone but very effective as you described Note: Therapy has an awesome master volume so no need for this volume fix but as an experiment the solution worked great
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Post by 6strang (aka Paul) on Jan 2, 2015 7:59:43 GMT -7
RC Booster does what Sam (theaxeman) implies. I recently tried it with my Antidote based on his suggestion with good results. Great little pedal the RC!
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Jan 2, 2015 13:03:51 GMT -7
Paul, That's great, glad to hear it! That RC really is a versatile little pedal. It really lets the Antidote tone shine through.....a beautiful thing indeed! I play the Dote every day, & it still blows me away every time I plug in. Like the Doc says..... Once you plug in you can't stop playing!
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Post by doctorice on Jan 3, 2015 9:16:14 GMT -7
I bet there is a pedal out there that is as transparent as the RC booster, & can be used in the same way, but I haven't found it. I've tried several others but they all seem to change the tone in one way or another. Did you try a Flying Dragon boost from Lizard Leg Effects? I recall a thread that discussed using the FD as a volume reducer, but it was a long time ago. This concept also applies if you have pedals cranked up but don't want a huge volume boost when you engage them. Of course, it entails some tap dancing on the old pedalboard.
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Post by greenblues58 on Jan 3, 2015 9:45:01 GMT -7
Sorry to take the thread of track slightly but what are the differences between the EP and the RC. I know the AC is more of a drive type pedal. I have an EP which I like but have seen an RCI at a good price . I want something to replace my soul food as just haven't bonded with it due to the extra noise it adds though it really sounds good with single coils just to noisey above unity gain for me.
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Post by BritInvasion on Jan 3, 2015 11:06:32 GMT -7
I put my RC at the end of my board and dimed the MV on my Maz 8 , just to try this. Worked real well. Love the RC , one more use for it now.
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Post by BritInvasion on Jan 3, 2015 11:11:48 GMT -7
Sorry to take the thread of track slightly but what are the differences between the EP and the RC. I had both for a while , and have since sold my EP. I'd say the primary difference is that the RC can add or subtract bass and treble (and volume / gain of course) whilst the EP seemed only able to add these parameters. I also liked having the controls all mounted on the front instead of dealing with internal dip switches. Just my experience FWIW.
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Post by Funk#49 on Jan 3, 2015 13:43:16 GMT -7
^ This works really well. It also gives me a little more tone variation with my Ghia.
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Post by Funk#49 on Jan 3, 2015 13:50:34 GMT -7
greenblues58 the RC is a clean boost that give you the option to add or take away bass and treble to your overall tone. Plus it also has a little gain to push your amp over the top...if you choose to use it that way. I use my EP booster in front of my drive pedals, just to hit them a little harder.
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Jan 5, 2015 9:51:43 GMT -7
I bet there is a pedal out there that is as transparent as the RC booster, & can be used in the same way, but I haven't found it. I've tried several others but they all seem to change the tone in one way or another. Did you try a Flying Dragon boost from Lizard Leg Effects? I recall a thread that discussed using the FD as a volume reducer, but it was a long time ago. This concept also applies if you have pedals cranked up but don't want a huge volume boost when you engage them. Of course, it entails some tap dancing on the old pedalboard. Doctorice, Haven’t tried the Flying Dragon only for the reason that the RC works so good for this particular application, but I sure wouldn’t mind giving it a test drive….
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Post by Joey Beverages on Jan 7, 2015 6:34:45 GMT -7
theaxeman, if you are in the greater Toronto area, lemme know - I can hook you up with a Flying Dragon for test-drive cheers always, eh Joel
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Post by nmz on Jan 7, 2015 6:58:59 GMT -7
Better yet a Draconis. That way you could use one as a boost and the other as the volume. Oh, it just so happens that I have one for sale (How was that for a plug eh?)!
+1 on the flying dragon!
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Post by harry on Jan 8, 2015 10:04:21 GMT -7
Sam! I have an RC booster and use it basically as a buffer for my board. I can't wait to try it instead of messing around with attenuators. I love my Antidote but also am challenged by the volume and the flying body parts that ensue when I fire it up. I will report back tomorrow.
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Post by kustom250 on Jan 8, 2015 10:12:23 GMT -7
I'm sure I'm missing something....
It sounds like you're just feeding the amp less signal. Like turning down the guitar. Which isn't like an attenuator at all since you're not driving the amp as hard.
Not that it's not a way to make the amp quieter.
What am I missing?
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Post by harry on Jan 8, 2015 10:34:58 GMT -7
He said that there isn't any tone loss, just volume much like an attenuator. I agree that a lower guitar signal will not give you the same tone, there might be a difference between turning down your guitar volume and turning down the overall signal with a full guitar volume but the proof is in the pudding. If it in fact retains the tone at any volume then that would be fantastic. I agree with you that you need to be driving the amp hard and I am skeptical as well which is why I am going to give it a try tonight. I am sure this issue will be debated 7 million different ways in this thread but at the end of the day it is what you actually hear regardless of how you get there.
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Jan 8, 2015 21:34:18 GMT -7
Joel, & NMZ,
Hay thanks for the offer, much appreciated! Though I did try a flying dragon just recently, nice pedal, but I gotta stick with my Mojo hand Rook for my main overdrive & the RC for volume & tone shaping.....not that the Dote needs any tone shaping, but the volume cut sure is a huge help.
Harry,
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how the RC works for ya!
Kustom250,
There's a big difference between the RC's ability to cut volume, & what the guitar volume is doing. With the guitar volume, the tone is very dynamic as you know. With the RC, if the gain is on zero, the volume doesn't change the tone, it just acts like a very good master volume on an amp......Not sure how it makes it all happen, but it works.
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Post by gplayer1965 on Jan 26, 2015 18:40:30 GMT -7
Apeman Guess what? Got a dote and have an RC coming
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Post by gplayer1965 on Jan 26, 2015 19:07:08 GMT -7
Freaking phone auto correct Correction:Axeman not apeman
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Post by prettynoiselab on Jan 26, 2015 20:49:57 GMT -7
Can't wait to try this on my Galaxie!!!!!
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Post by theaxeman (aka Sam) on Jan 27, 2015 10:03:32 GMT -7
Gplayer,
Congrats on the Antidote! Very happy for ya, always great to pick up top quality new gear that just reeks of tone like the Dote. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how the RC works out for ya.
On a side note, I’m jam’n with an drummer tonight & he’s a very hard hitter. The Dote is the perfect Remedy for guys like that, boatloads of clean headroom, along with that KT66 tone through a couple G12mCream Back’s……..& life is good.
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