Nocturne Brain Dyno Brain

[omphalopsychos]

Does anyone get what this pedal does? Seems to be a favorite pedal of the American Folk. I got one out of curiosity. It added some noise to my signal, plus now my guitar can be louder. Does it do anything else? Do I need a Gretsch, sideburns, and a green tuxedo to hear the difference?

[neatomic]

back in the tape echo days, a lot of guys would plug into the tape echo unit and not use the echo..they just liked the boost and bit of grit they got from the units preamp...many players like jimmy page and van halen loved the sound of the preamp in the echoplex...and there are now a few echoplex preamps available from different companies in pedal form...

well the dyno brain is tavos take on the preamp from the roland 301 space echo...which is a big part of the brian setzer tone..since he always used a roland



cheers

[omphalopsychos]

I totally get the idea, and with pedals like the EP booster you can definitely hear the change. I feel like aside from the volume boost this pedal is really too clean to be noticeable. Moreover I haven’t really found the descriptions of the effect very specific. I’m just wondering if there’s something particular I don’t hear. I like tavo and I like that western sound, just not sure what I’m listening for in this one.

[D.G.]

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that if you normally just plug the guitar straight into the amp with a relatively short, low-capacitance cable, you just don't need anything else. OTOH, if you use pedals, especially passive volume pedals, then a buffer/preamp of some sort is vital.

[neatomic]

i dont know about a "western sound"...setzers from long island new york...and the roland from the "far east"! haha

t did make it with gretsch (brooklyn) traits in mind..filtertrons etc...it is basically a clean boost type circuit..albeit an older one..so its going to have some unique traits..but it wasnt really meant to color as much as enlarge...
those roland tape echo's were really not intended to be run in guitar line..they were outboard units

i remember when they were the rage in the nyc club soundboards...maxs, cbgbs, great gildersleeves all used 'em...for vocals mostly!!....then the mxr rack digital delays came out..and everyone switched to those

echo history...history...history! haha

cheers

[citizenk74]

back in the tape echo days, a lot of guys would plug into the tape echo unit and not use the echo..they just liked the boost and bit of grit they got from the units preamp...many players like jimmy page and van halen loved the sound of the preamp in the echoplex...and there are now a few echoplex preamps available from different companies in pedal form...

well the dyno brain is tavos take on the preamp from the roland 301 space echo...which is a big part of the brian setzer tone..since he always used a roland



cheers

In my freelance days I did a couple gigs with a certain country band. Financially, the gigs were a wash as I ended up buying the pedal steel player's Echoplex. What a sound!

[omphalopsychos]

Lol these are all solid responses and I know what an echoplex preamp sounds like, but I have to admit I just bought the nocturne to understand what the hell the description meant from one user review.

The Dyno Brain is a pre-amp, not an effect. It enhances sound – it does not change sound. At unchanged volume levels it expands your sound. It creates the sense of a room full of sound rather than sound coming from a box in the corner of the room.
Some have said it is (sort of) the opposite of a compressor – it opens up notes rather than limiting of compressing them. However, it works very well with a compressor. I’m running mine through an Origin Effects Cali 76 – with great results – along with a Strymon Flint and El Capistan.

Having plugged in I have to say I’m still lost! What does any of that mean?

[neatomic]

"The Dyno Brain is a pre-amp, not an effect. It enhances sound – it does not change sound. At unchanged volume levels it expands your sound. It creates the sense of a room full of sound rather than sound coming from a box in the corner of the room.
Some have said it is (sort of) the opposite of a compressor – it opens up notes rather than limiting of compressing them. However, it works very well with a compressor. I’m running mine through an Origin Effects Cali 76 – with great results – along with a Strymon Flint and El Capistan."

ok..i'll play

the dyno brain is a recreation of the front stage of the roland 301 tape echo...it wasnt made to change tone..it was just meant to match the input to the echo...it was trying to remain transparent..the only thing it was supposed to do was increase or decrease gain/volume...before the echo stage kicked in...so if you had a low input source you could match it to the echo effect..or if you had a high input source you could reduce it...

if you set the volume on the pedal so that the output is the same on or off..without boosting volume..called unity gain...this ^ reviewer believes that it still enhances tone in a 3 dimensional way...(this really just a result of changing the frequency response..and the way certain tones frequencies pop out)

he then compares it to a compressor which basically levels the highs and lows and says that he thinks the brain does the opposite..which means it exaggerates the dynamics between low and high notes
like a bbe sonic maximizer/expander unit used to do (google it)

then he mentions the great origin and strymon gear he uses

so basically he's saying. even if he doesn't use it as a boost..if he keeps the volume the exact same when the pedal is on or off (unity gain) he feels there is a 3 dimensional presence that occurs...which he likes!...and that presence still exists...cuts thru... even when he uses his other great pedals

i cant get clearer than that for you bro!!! haha

luck

cheers

[omphalopsychos]

So he thinks at unity it adds presence (call it high mid and treble boost) and adds amplitude range. I’m just saying I don’t hear any of that happening and I’m wondering if it’s a function of gear. Maybe I need dearmond 2000s and a bassman to hear it then. All I’m hearing is a clean boost. At unity, all I’m hearing is a higher noise floor. That’s with a CC Pickup into a GA 25, for the record.

Also 3-dimensional is an annoying gear head way to describe equalization. There’s frequency and amplitude. 2 dimensions. Having higher amplitude across some frequencies doesn’t suddenly create an orthogonal basis to the existing space of the signal.

Hope it’s clear I’m having some fun. Love my barnyard lol.