Sonic Stomp pedalboard placement

[Loganloveguitar]

I was curious as to where to put a sonic stomp in my chain the chain right now is Polytune-> morpheus Droptune-> wampler plexidrive->tc dark matter distortion-> tech 21 US steel-> hardwire tremolo-> axle grease delay->amp

thanks in advance for the help

[Jagg76]

I know a guy who uses one and he has it at the very end of his chain. I'm sure some more knowlegeable people will chime in on this.

-Jagg

[montanatanner]

I've used my SS with a Peavey Valveking, a Roland JC-77, and a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister, all of which sound very different from one another, but they all get along with the SS quite well. I've heard varying opinions about where to stick it (the pedal, that is), so I've tried it everywhere -- in and out of the effects loop, at the very end, at the very beginning, between each pedal. The differences in tone were fairly small, so now I just have it at the beginning of the chain and it seems to work fine there.

[Loganloveguitar]

Originally Posted by montanatanner

I've used my SS with a Peavey Valveking, a Roland JC-77, and a Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister, all of which sound very different from one another, but they all get along with the SS quite well. I've heard varying opinions about where to stick it (the pedal, that is), so I've tried it everywhere -- in and out of the effects loop, at the very end, at the very beginning, between each pedal. The differences in tone were fairly small, so now I just have it at the beginning of the chain and it seems to work fine there.

thanks! I will probably put it at the end of my chain then just so I dont have to unstick all my pedals and move them down one

[WaylonFan76]

Originally Posted by Loganloveguitar

I was curious as to where to put a sonic stomp in my chain the chain right now is Polytune-> morpheus Droptune-> wampler plexidrive->tc dark matter distortion-> tech 21 US steel-> hardwire tremolo-> axle grease delay->amp

thanks in advance for the help

The BBE SS owner's manual says to put it last in the chain. That's what I do, no complaints. I actually forgot to step on it one day while setting up for a gig and was wondering why my tone was sucking. One kick look revealed that blue LED wasn't on. Love me some BBE.

[Loganloveguitar]

Originally Posted by WaylonFan76

The BBE SS owner's manual says to put it last in the chain. That's what I do, no complaints. I actually forgot to step on it one day while setting up for a gig and was wondering why my tone was sucking. One kick look revealed that blue LED wasn't on. Love me some BBE.

haha I'm so stoked to get this pedal now I feel like it is goanna improve my Deville 410s muddy tone with distortions when kicked on live

goanna put it to the test at the rehearsal space tomorrow with the Marshall JCM 2000 DSLs there so that should be fun too

[WaylonFan76]

Cool. Let u know how you like it. Definitely a "always on" pedal.

[SixShooter]

Can someone explain what this pedal does?

[6Shotsdown]

Originally Posted by SixShooter

Can someone explain what this pedal does?

Nope

[Larry F]

Originally Posted by SixShooter

Can someone explain what this pedal does?

I understand how the pedal works, you have to know BBE's way of understand speakers. To them, an impulse to the voice coil pushes/pulls the cardboard (or hemp, ha ha) material to create cycles of a certain pitch and with a certain overall shape. That shape is not produced instantly throughout the speaker. Rather, the part of the cone closest to the voice coil is set in motion earlier than the impulse to the middle or edge. This delay results in different frequencies of a waveform sounding at different times which produces a smearing effect. This is hear as a loss of definition. To counter-act this, BBE's research into this produce something like 20 patents, they claimed, that delay different frequencies by different amounts, for the purpose of having them all act on the different areas of the speaker at coordinated times in sync.

I find they are most useful in mid-price gear and speaker systems. I initially was blown away by the detail and clarity of my Champ kit, Victoria Bandmaster clone, Fender DRRI, and others. But when I tried it with Ceriatone Dumble and Trainwreck clones, they add not so much. I don't use mine at all with my Quinnamp ODS D-styles.

If you are running gear that is comparable to my non-boutique types, you might really like the Sonic Stomp. As others mention, it is the kind of pedal you leave on all the time. It truly sounds like a wet blanket has been removed from the front of your speaker cabinet.

[Jagg76]

I had heard that one of its uses was to restore the amp's original sound lost when going through a PA system...although I might be confusing the stomp box with the rack unit...or do they serve the same purpose?

-Jagg

[ADinNYC]

I put it at the end.

I also use a buffer at the beginning of my chain. Mainly because I'm a sucker for marketing but I do feel running your signal through multiple pedals and cable degrades your signal. I use one of these and it definitely makes a difference. Not earth-shaking mind you but it does help.

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/redeemer-inline/

[telequacktastic]

[QUOTEI know a guy who uses one and he has it at the very end of his chain. I'm sure some more knowlegeable people will chime in on this.
][/QUOTE]

Correct, end of the chain. Larry's take on the sonic stomp is correct. To add to that, lower frequencies move slower than higher frequencies. The Sonic Stomp adjusts the frequencies so you hear them all at the same time.

[Loganloveguitar]

ok I got it and am goanna try it out tonight at band rehearsal so I will update you guys on how it sounds and if I like it or not

thanks to Larry F for teaching us all about this pedal lol

Another question I have actually is what is BBEs quality like cause I got mine and the process knob is hard to turn in one spot and the other knob turns nice and smooth

[SixShooter]

Originally Posted by Larry F

I understand how the pedal works, you have to know BBE's way of understand speakers. ...

I find they are most useful in mid-price gear and speaker systems. I initially was blown away by the detail and clarity of my Champ kit, Victoria Bandmaster clone, Fender DRRI, and others. But when I tried it with Ceriatone Dumble and Trainwreck clones, they add not so much. I don't use mine at all with my Quinnamp ODS D-styles.

If you are running gear that is comparable to my non-boutique types, you might really like the Sonic Stomp. As others mention, it is the kind of pedal you leave on all the time. It truly sounds like a wet blanket has been removed from the front of your speaker cabinet.

Great explanation. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Loganloveguitar

ok I got it and am goanna try it out tonight at band rehearsal so I will update you guys on how it sounds and if I like it or not

Please do.

[lefty73]

Originally Posted by Larry F

I understand how the pedal works, you have to know BBE's way of understand speakers. To them, an impulse to the voice coil pushes/pulls the cardboard (or hemp, ha ha) material to create cycles of a certain pitch and with a certain overall shape. That shape is not produced instantly throughout the speaker. Rather, the part of the cone closest to the voice coil is set in motion earlier than the impulse to the middle or edge. This delay results in different frequencies of a waveform sounding at different times which produces a smearing effect. This is hear as a loss of definition. To counter-act this, BBE's research into this produce something like 20 patents, they claimed, that delay different frequencies by different amounts, for the purpose of having them all act on the different areas of the speaker at coordinated times in sync.

I find they are most useful in mid-price gear and speaker systems. I initially was blown away by the detail and clarity of my Champ kit, Victoria Bandmaster clone, Fender DRRI, and others. But when I tried it with Ceriatone Dumble and Trainwreck clones, they add not so much. I don't use mine at all with my Quinnamp ODS D-styles.

If you are running gear that is comparable to my non-boutique types, you might really like the Sonic Stomp. As others mention, it is the kind of pedal you leave on all the time. It truly sounds like a wet blanket has been removed from the front of your speaker cabinet.

This is a great explanation, but I do have a few questions.

If the BBE technology is aimed at realigning frequencies headed to a speaker - what good does it do in front of an amp's input? Isn't just a glorified EQ pedal at that point? Wouldn't it be more effective (and frankly, proper) as a line-level unit between an amp's power section output and guitar speaker/speaker cabinet?

[waparker4]

Originally Posted by lefty73

If the BBE technology is aimed at realigning frequencies headed to a speaker - what good does it do in front of an amp's input? Isn't just a glorified EQ pedal at that point? Wouldn't it be more effective (and frankly, proper) as a line-level unit between an amp's power section output and guitar speaker/speaker cabinet?

These are the good questions.. is it more than just a glorified EQ
The rack unit is supposed to work the way Larry described, but does the stomp sized version do the same thing?

The rack unit version goes before the PA power amp if i'm not mistaken. So I would think in the effects loop would be the place to put it.

Between the power section and speaker is not line level, btw.. I think right before the power amp would be a good place

[Loganloveguitar]

ok I tried it at rehearsal last night in a cranked marshall JCM 2000 and a tc electronic dark matter distortion on for most of the night and to be honest I was not impressed.

Clean kicking the pedal on and off did not make a difference that much but with distortion it made everything a little clearer and brighter and made me cut through the mix a bit more but it was not a huge improvement by any means.. still contemplating whether to keep it or take it back and get me 120 bucks back , Maybe I will use it at a upcoming gig this Saturday and see how it sounds live with my setup

[schenkadere]

Originally Posted by Loganloveguitar

ok I tried it at rehearsal last night in a cranked marshall JCM 2000 and a tc electronic dark matter distortion on for most of the night and to be honest I was not impressed.

Clean kicking the pedal on and off did not make a difference that much but with distortion it made everything a little clearer and brighter and made me cut through the mix a bit more but it was not a huge improvement by any means.. still contemplating whether to keep it or take it back and get me 120 bucks back , Maybe I will use it at a upcoming gig this Saturday and see how it sounds live with my setup

I had the same experience...for 40 or 50 bucks...maybe...at $100, it went back.

[Loganloveguitar]

Originally Posted by schenkadere

I had the same experience...for 40 or 50 bucks...maybe...at $100, it went back.

yeah this pedal is hyped up way too much and I fell into it too