Parametric Eq pedal for a solid state Dv Jazz 12

[Bobby_Dazzler]

Hey there,

As a fairly inexperienced pedal user and overall sound shaper in general i've been scouring the discussions here for advice on an eq to dial in something similar to a warmer tube sound on my Dv Jazz 12.

Am I barking up the wrong tree by looking at an EQ to do this for me/am I better off looking at a drive pedal of some kind to give the signal a boost?

Or as an alternative to both those things, should I just bite the bullet, get a gym membership and get in good enough shape to lug my deluxe reverb around to crappy café gigs instead of trying to ask my little Dv to do something it's incapable of.

Ideas and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[jorgemg1984]

Hi, Bobby!

First, I'm not sure how you set your Deluxe Reverb. If it's clean, then you a need a tone stack pedal. If it's semi dirt, you'll need a tone stack and gain pedal.

The parametric eq is NOT a good option for any of those.A good pedal for a blackface clean emulation is the Barber Barb EQ. If you want some dirt I guess the Wampler Black 65. Mambo amps will also have a new Fender pedal soon, that will be brilliant for sure (but cleans only).

When you stick a pedal like this in front of the DV, keep the knobs at 5, so the preamp is flat. It still won't sound like a Deluxe Reverb, because a DR has a big 12 open back cab with a Jensen, while the DV has a small ported cab with some bass speaker.

There could be other slightly more complicated options on how to get a DR sound in a lighter, smaller package.

[Longways to Go]

I'd start by messing around with the EQ on the DV Mark. The middle knob is quite powerful.

I have the Little Jazz, and for a long time I just left the EQ set everything at noon, which produces an excellent jazz tone for me.

A couple of months ago, I tried rolling the treble all the way down & turning the middle knob way up.
Viola, a different jazz tone -- also very nice.

[Frank67]

If you want a bit of dirt I find the Boss Bassman and Deluxe pedals not bad. Somehow they work better in front of an amp then as a preamp (directly to a poweramp)

[WillMbCdn5]

I'm not familiar with the amp/s in question but do find my Empress Para EQ absolutely indispensable. My amp - Peavey Bandit Red Stripe 112 has a bass/mid/treble which gets me close to what I want but the Empress allows a level of refinement that takes things to another level. I'm looking for a very smooth lots of clean headroom sound but I imagine with the versatility the pedal offers you could enhance whatever sound you are after if you have a good base to work from. The Q width control on each low/mid/high channel really allows a lot of refinement to the range of frequencies you can control. There is also a configerable boost switch that does what it says and transparently boosts the output. Great pedal and no I get nothing from Empress ))

hope that helps

Will

[Bobby_Dazzler]

Hi, Bobby!

First, I'm not sure how you set your Deluxe Reverb. If it's clean, then you a need a tone stack pedal. If it's semi dirt, you'll need a tone stack and gain pedal.

The parametric eq is NOT a good option for any of those.A good pedal for a blackface clean emulation is the Barber Barb EQ. If you want some dirt I guess the Wampler Black 65. Mambo amps will also have a new Fender pedal soon, that will be brilliant for sure (but cleans only).

Hey Jorge!

I've looked in to the BarbEQ actually, partly on your recommendations in other discussions and it does sound like a pretty decent option for the clean Deluxe sound.

I've been trying to find one for a few months now without any luck as they've been discontinued (I think?) and I live in Australia which doesn't seem to be exactly teeming with second hand boutique pedals but I will persist!

Also, have you had much experience getting a little 'grit' out of a s/s with a gain/overdrive pedal? I'm talking barely any drive mind you. Kind of Kenny Burell Midnight Blue?

Thanks for getting back to me in any case man.

Regards

[Bobby_Dazzler]

Hey man!

I've been reading a lot about the empress of late. It sounds amazing and seems to be the benchmark in taking absolute control of your sound.

Would it be, in your experience, something that a self confessed sound noob could make use of though? I'm not sure i have the know how to harness it's power

Regards

[MaxTwang]

I've found these 2 to be outstanding clean/warm/drive pedals. They can be run at 9v or 18v, at 18v there's more headroom and the highs/lows are more clear and detailed.

The 5f6 has quite a lot of range in clean to barely breaking up. The sound of the SFT nails the Rolling Stones 'Start Me Up' tone (the SFT is based on an Ampeg SVT amp and gets the cleans of an SVT). Both work well for warming up a jazz guitar w/o necessarily sounding distorted (I use the SFT to warm up an Ampeg tube bass amp for guitar).




Catalinbread - 5F6 Tweed Bassman-style Foundation Overdrive




Catalinbread - SFT Foundation Overdrive

[WillMbCdn5]

I'm also a sound noob but felt I needed/wanted more bass/mid/treble control to get the sound I was after . The Empress has been a learning curve but it has allowed me to explore - ok is the sound I want a more pronounced low-mid or upper-mid or ... where in the frequency range do I need to adjust and by how much to get what I want ...... ok that sounds good but now I want some of the treble frequencies adjusted.... With some dedicated listening pretty quickly knob twiddling turns to educated guesses which turns into really dialing things in which turns into ok now this sounds amazing. I just looked at it as some more ear training

Will

[jorgemg1984]

Hey Jorge!

I've looked in to the BarbEQ actually, partly on your recommendations in other discussions and it does sound like a pretty decent option for the clean Deluxe sound.

I've been trying to find one for a few months now without any luck as they've been discontinued (I think?) and I live in Australia which doesn't seem to be exactly teeming with second hand boutique pedals but I will persist!

Also, have you had much experience getting a little 'grit' out of a s/s with a gain/overdrive pedal? I'm talking barely any drive mind you. Kind of Kenny Burell Midnight Blue?

Thanks for getting back to me in any case man.

Regards

I'm not a big fan of that kind of sound, I kind go for 100% clean or actual overdriven sound - not exactly that in between Burrell used. A long time ago I tried a small white Lovepedal pedal that gave that Tweed breakup sound, can't recall which one. Anyway, there are some threads in regards to that KB sound where people recommend a few pedals!

As I said, it might be worth to cehck the Wampler Black 65 - it might do everything you want. Never tried one, but in theory it seems perfect.

As I said, part of the problem (12 ported cab with bass speker) will still be there, even with the pedal.

Good luck!

[mercosound]

Another vote for Empress

[medblues]

I have Empress ParaEQ. If you want detailed control, that will work great. It will be useful in many other situations also. If you want a "themed" EQ with some overdrive Black 65 is very good too.

For a Kenny Burrellish sound, there is a nice readable thread supporting the TC Electronic Mojomojo pedal.

[mambosun]

I currently use a Lovepedal OD 11 in my rig when playing with my rock band, but this could fit your need: at minimum drive level the sound is clean and can be level boosted and Eq (individual bass and treble settings). The transition from clean to dirt is really progressive.

[Bobby_Dazzler]

I have Empress ParaEQ. If you want detailed control, that will work great. It will be useful in many other situations also. If you want a "themed" EQ with some overdrive Black 65 is very good too.

For a Kenny Burrellish sound, there is a nice readable thread supporting the TC Electronic Mojomojo pedal.

Just watched a video on the thread you're talking about and I actually quite liked the slight break-up sound that the mojomojo was getting. I think they go for about 100 bucks as well so that isn't bad either.

I can't help thinking that maybe i'd be better off holding out for the slightly more expensive wampler 65 though which i'm guessing could achieve roughly the same effect as well as giving me more control over my cleans as well?

Would that be a fair assumption?

[Bobby_Dazzler]

I'm not a big fan of that kind of sound, I kind go for 100% clean or actual overdriven sound - not exactly that in between Burrell used. A long time ago I tried a small white Lovepedal pedal that gave that Tweed breakup sound, can't recall which one. Anyway, there are some threads in regards to that KB sound where people recommend a few pedals!

As I said, it might be worth to cehck the Wampler Black 65 - it might do everything you want. Never tried one, but in theory it seems perfect.

Good luck!

Just had a look at the Kenny threads you were talking about and saw that one of the guys was using a tc mojomojo and getting a sound that wasn't too bad.

Would I be right in assuming though that the Wampler 65' could do roughly the same sound as the Mojomojo while also shaping a decent blackface clean sound that the TC pedal wouldn't?

[jorgemg1984]

Just had a look at the Kenny threads you were talking about and saw that one of the guys was using a tc mojomojo and getting a sound that wasn't too bad.

Would I be right in assuming though that the Wampler 65' could do roughly the same sound as the Mojomojo while also shaping a decent blackface clean sound that the TC pedal wouldn't?

Well, I tried the Mojo Mojo once for a few days and loved it. I remember I had to use the gain at 10, it's a really low gain pedal - so maybe it will do that sound? As I said, I don't really dig that sound so I didn't looked for it.

I never tried the Wampler but IN THEORY, it should work quite well for what you want... the only problem I can anticipate is maybe not having enough clean sound if you need? Wampler is really focused on dirt sounds... And the Black 65 is supposed to emulate a blackface sound like your DR, Burrell used mainly a Tweed (RVG studios) which is a little different amp... I understand is quite more expensive than the TC pedal, but it should be a much better solution. Should...

If you're willing to carry a few more pedals, these days you could achieve a better solution than the DV for a small fender amp sound, although slightly more expensive and complicated... This year at NAMN you got several new power amps in a pedal format, so with say - Wampler Black 65, reverb pedal and a power amp pedal, plus a light open-back cab, you should have a very light and good sounding DR. As I said, I'm afraid you'll get the pedal and still be disappointed, the cab and the speaker are very important for the Fender sound.

[medblues]

Just watched a video on the thread you're talking about and I actually quite liked the slight break-up sound that the mojomojo was getting. I think they go for about 100 bucks as well so that isn't bad either.

I can't help thinking that maybe i'd be better off holding out for the slightly more expensive wampler 65 though which i'm guessing could achieve roughly the same effect as well as giving me more control over my cleans as well?

Would that be a fair assumption?

Mojomojo is thicker (more mid and bass emphasized), does not do bright sounds. Black 65 can get you back and forth between Fender Blackface and Tweed territory. It is not intended as overdriven as other Wampler pedals, their idea was to get the sound of a maxed out Twin at low volume. If I had to pick just one, I would pick the Black 65 over Mojomojo. But I like them both. Neither will give you the broad range of EQ options Empress ParaEQ would however.

Both pedals have some good Youtube clips to obtain a fair idea about their range of uses.

[MaxTwang]

I'm also a fan of the Empress ParaEQ but it takes some time to figure it out. The interesting thing about using a parametric eq is you're playing with frequencies, and not adding overdrive or 'hair', to warm up the tone. I've found the ParaEQ to be outstanding at giving Fender amps the punch of a Polytone without adding dirt or grit. I haven't touched my Polytone since I got the Empress ParaEQ (a Princeton Reverb and Empress EQ can out Polytone and Polytone).

The ParaEQ's low control is great for eliminating the rumble common when using Fenders, Boogies, etc. with an archtop - Set the 'low q' to narrow, set gain almost all the way down then sweep the frequency until the low end is clear. Now adjust the lo gain until it's just right.

The mids give your guitar the punch and bounce I love in jazz guitar. Set the 'mid q' to wide, turn up the mid gain then sweep the mid frequency until you find the warmth & punch. Now adjust the mid gain to taste.

I approach the highs the same as the lows - cut the gain, start with a narrow Q and sweep the frequency until the highs are full and smooth but not harsh. Now adjust the hi gain.

[IanD]

Bobby_Dazzler,

Sent you a PM regarding the Barber 'BarbEQ' and the Wampler Balck65

[gianluca]

I've never played a Dv mark 12 but I like very much a demo made by Edo Righini, italian player in Amsterdam.
he plays a '62 es330 and I like his tone; he boosts it with a tube simulator

[Bobby_Dazzler]

Well, I tried the Mojo Mojo once for a few days and loved it. I remember I had to use the gain at 10, it's a really low gain pedal - so maybe it will do that sound? As I said, I don't really dig that sound so I didn't looked for it.

I never tried the Wampler but IN THEORY, it should work quite well for what you want... the only problem I can anticipate is maybe not having enough clean sound if you need? Wampler is really focused on dirt sounds...

Okay so IanD has just thrown a welcome spanner in the works. He has both a barb-eq and wampler 65 that he's willing to part with and now i'm sort of thinking to deal with the possible problem that the wampler might present in regards to the clean sound, maybe I should go with the Barb-eq and couple it with the lower gain Mojomojo that I can turn on when I feel the need? Best of both worlds?

[jorgemg1984]

I would do that! I really like the Barber and it's clean, clean... I just hope you like it!

[Bobby_Dazzler]

So I ended up getting my hands on the BarbEQ and I really like it! I've only had it a couple of days but so far i'm super happy with it.

Thanks to all for the input!

Cheers