Anyone own the Boss FBM1 ?

[mechanicdave]

I've been looking at dirt pedals for awhile and seem to keep coming back to the FBM1. First off, I am NOT a fan of the TS type drive, I've tried and tried again, not for me. Second, I'm not a dirty player, light grit at best. I did own and enjoyed the LTD, more so with humbuckers than singles, unfortunatly its not waterproof.
That said, the tonal adjustments of the FBM as well as presence lend itself to what I like about the amp I'm using now. This is for at home use and volume playing jazzy blues, jump and rockabilly. Thanks, Dave

[badmelonfarmer]

I did have one but never really got on with it to be honest. it came off the pedal board and sat arround doing gthering dust. every so often I went back to it to see if there was something I could find to use it for.

That said, I have and use a Line 6 Pod X3 Live all the time and I preferred the Bassman tone from of thatbut I still tend to go back to a Fender DR tone as it seems more my thang.

I love the tone of a cranked bassman, just I have never found I managed to get it with these models.

Other amps yes, the bassman no.

Cheers

BMF

[robert1836]

I have the FBM-1 and I like it. I use it through a Roland JC-120 clean channel and is sounds great to me. It is my lightest grit pedal compared to my others (BD-2, TS9). I think the amp through which you use the FBM-1 is a significant factor. You can buy a used FBM-1 on eBay and try it out and then sell it if it doesn't work out. You will only lose about 20% of the cost for trying it out.

[robert1836]

Here's an older thread about the FBM-1:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box...boss-fbm1.html

[IronStomach]

I like it for the Fender-y tone it adds to your sound, not just for the overdrive. The crunch is a little bit too digital sounding for my ears, so I don't usually crank the gain up, but it does in a pinch, and it's nice having the full equalizer controls.

[guit30]

A lot of the reviews say you need a reakl big tube amp for it to sound good, true?
Jm

[Lawn Boy]

I'm back and forth with mine. Right now I'm liking it in the
normal side of my DRRI with a reverb pedal. Never gig it,just
play around with it at home. LB

[electrablue]

Originally Posted by guit30

A lot of the reviews say you need a reakl big tube amp for it to sound good, true?
Jm

I use mine with either a Peavey Classic 30 or a Fender Blues Jr. I like it either way.

[Chito]

I have the FBM-1 too and have compared it to the MI Audio Crunch Box. I've tried it both on a Fender Twin, a Peavey Classic 30 and a Traynor YCV50. Both pedals provide me with almost the same character but I prefer the Crunch Box.

[badmelonfarmer]

Originally Posted by guit30

A lot of the reviews say you need a reakl big tube amp for it to sound good, true?
Jm

It is a weird one and I never figured what was best.

The general consensus on modeling is that it's best to use a full range amplifier, such as a PA, to let the transparency of the amp show tor true colour of the model.

BUT the FBM1 manual says it is designed to be plugged into an amp.

SO.... if you plug it into a Marshall stack on full tilt you are gonna get a hell of a different sound running it into a fender champ 600.

It's kind of an impossible task for a little pedal, IMHO.

Cheers

BMF

[badmelonfarmer]

sorry, should add...

I mean in the "Buy this pedal to make your amp sound like a '59 Bassman"

I have never figured out what the amp you need to use to get the "'59 Bassman" sound as any amp is surely going to sound like a amp running through another amp.

Even if you had the best sounding '59 Bassman ever and then mic'ed it up through the best sounding AC30, I doubt it would sound like the '59 Bassman on it's own. they all add their own flavour.

BUT, if you use the pedal and like the tone through your amp ..... THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS!

I am sure you could get some cool tones out of it.

As a dirt pedal it's cool, adds a nice grind to the sound.

Don't get me wrong I am a fan of modeling technology and have been mainly frustrated in getting the models to sound right. I gave up with guitar amps, for modeling, and have found FAR better results in running the modelers direct into the PA. I found I get a more true representaion of what you would expect through a PA, than through a guitar amp.

I spent six months looking for an amp to match my PodXT Live about 4 years ago. Tried all sorts of guitar amps only to find the PA was the way to go. Went against all my instincts.

Cheers

BMF

[klasher]

Originally Posted by guit30

A lot of the reviews say you need a reakl big tube amp for it to sound good, true?
Jm

I tried the Boss Deluxe Reverb modeling pedal through a used silver face bassman, really big amp, in a store a few weeks ago and it kind of sucked. Kind of dull and lifeless. I then tried the same pedal and tele through a new solid state fender sitting right next to it and it sounded much better. Really spanky and alive sounding. Had a lot of those tonal characteristics that you hear in a DR.
I've also tried the bassman modeling pedal in a different store, again through a fender solid state amp, and it sounded ok, but not as impressive to me as the DR pedal. The bassman pedal seems to take a lot of the tonal characteristics of the bassman - the chimey highs and very loose bass - but it over exaggerates them. The highs are too airy and chimey and the lows are too loose sounding. Plus the previous post was right, when you crank the OD, it does become too digital sounding. But on low OD it sounded much more organic, but again some of the traits we all love about bassmans just seemed a bit too exaggerated.
I was much more impressed with the DR pedal. They seemed to nail that one a bit better than the bassman pedal. Again, though, too much OD and it started to sound digital too. I think the key with both is to use them more for low gain sounds, that not quite clean but not quite overdriven tone that we all crave. And I do suspect they may work better through solid state amps rather than tube amps. That's what my experience in the store seemed to suggest. The cool thing about these pedals is you can can get them on ebay for like $75 or $80, so if you want to get one and experiment with it, it won't cost you much. Or you can order from musician's friend or whoever and return it if it doesn't work for you.

[mechanicdave]

I'm glad to see some input on the FBM1, seems to be a 50/50 split. While this is a modeling pedal, I'm not at all interested that it sounds like a 59 Bassman, what I'm looking for is a tonaly tweakable non-TS sounding dirt box that will add light grit to my clean sound at home volume.
The DR pedal would be ok, but I don't have any need for digital reverb or trem. I may even go back to the LTD but try the SR this time. Dave