For those of you who have experience with the Xotic BB preamp, I have a few questions please. Is this pedal a "Marshall in a box" type pedal? Does the BB have gain on tap like an MI Audio CrunchBox, or the Xotic SL Drive? Thank you
Xotic BB preamp
- Thread starter dgabbear
- Start date
telerocker1988
Tele-Afflicted
The BB Preamp isn't as much gain as a Crunch Box I know. I've not tried an SL Drive but from demos, I'd argue the BB has less gain than that one as well.
The BB is to my ears a bit Marshally yes, but lower gain sounds. The BB stands for Bluesbreaker. It's not a Bluesbreaker pedal circuit, but rather a nod to the sounds of the Bluesbreaker amp which was a JTM45 in combo form. That's what this pedal sounds like. Creamy, dark, and like the Beano Clapton tone or JTM45 thing. Don't expect Plexi/800 levels of gain or a bright kerrang crunch. This pedal is more of a solo-oriented pedal and it's really thick medium gain. I wouldn't use it for rhythm and I wouldn't expect 80s high gain tones out of it either.
The BB is to my ears a bit Marshally yes, but lower gain sounds. The BB stands for Bluesbreaker. It's not a Bluesbreaker pedal circuit, but rather a nod to the sounds of the Bluesbreaker amp which was a JTM45 in combo form. That's what this pedal sounds like. Creamy, dark, and like the Beano Clapton tone or JTM45 thing. Don't expect Plexi/800 levels of gain or a bright kerrang crunch. This pedal is more of a solo-oriented pedal and it's really thick medium gain. I wouldn't use it for rhythm and I wouldn't expect 80s high gain tones out of it either.
Radspin
Friend of Leo's
I don’t have experience with the other pedals the OP mentions but for me, the BB Preamp is the Swiss Army knife of pedals as it sounds good with any guitar and amp in Amy combination. It’s more on the warmer and smoother side. If I had to have only one overdrive pedal, it’s the one I’d pick.
I have never played the real deal BB, but do own (2) versions of the Caline OrangeBurst*, which is supposed to be a BB clone.
I would describe it exactly as in above post. Gain is gradual/tapered, but will sustain if you turn Gain knob up from NOON >
Good EQ knobs too, it's a friendly but powerful OD.
* one of the Caline 'BB's' has a Clean Boost switch w/Volume knob. You can use the either OD, and Boost separately or together. Simple and good sound.
D_Malone
Tele-Afflicted
Less gain than CB and SL.
I don’t know the topology, but it sounds/feels like a modified TS to me. Great pedal IMO, but definitely not a “MIAB”.
I don’t know the topology, but it sounds/feels like a modified TS to me. Great pedal IMO, but definitely not a “MIAB”.
I would say it’s very much in the ballpark of early vintage Marshall, and doesn’t have as much gain as the one MIAB I tried (Catalinbread Dirty little secret). No plexi sounds. It has a very usable range of EQ adjustments. To my ear it differs from a TS because it’s a little more chunky and gritty, which I like (and I don’t like tubescreamers).
It has been confirmed numerous times that it is a tube screamer circuit with baxandall tone controls. I personally did not find the gain flavor different enough to be interesting, although as noted above it does sound good as a thickening boost.
Thanks for the responses everyone. So a Tube Screamer type circuit? I wonder then if it is similar to my Reverend Drivetrain's which is a TS circuit with bass and treble. I had it in my head that this pedal was indeed a MIAB sound.
You can see Xotic’s design process too, if you’re interested. From the input through C7 and R13, it’s 100% identical to a Tube Screamer with the tone control hard-wired at 9:00, except that the drive pot value has been doubled to 1M. In the Tube Screamer, R13 is followed by the output volume control and output buffer. In the BB Preamp, Xotic essentially cut the connection between R13 and the output volume and inserted two additional op-amp stages: a variable gain stage and a 2-band Baxandall EQ. Then from the EQ stage output, it returns to the standard Tube Screamer circuit for the volume control and output buffer.
https://aionfx.com/news/tracing-journal-xotic-bb-preamp-five-variants/
https://aionfx.com/news/tracing-journal-xotic-bb-preamp-five-variants/
Junco Partner
Tele-Meister
It’s my understanding that the Drivetrain is indeed derived from the BB Preamp (and by association, the TS)
Don't give too much weight to the "it's a TS circuit" description. It is indeed based on a TS topology but to me, it sounds nothing like a Tube Screamer. I was a hardcore SD-1 guy until I played a BB Preamp, but I was sold on it instantly and haven't gone back.
To my ears, the difference between the BB and the TS/SD-1 is in the dynamics. The BB, although it adds overdrive, somehow does it while retaining the pick attack. It's a very percussive pedal. My old SD-1s (even modded ones) sound very flat and compressed by comparision. If you want liquid, sustaining leads and lots of compression, then you want a BB variant with more compression, like the AT or the Plus. However, I LOVE the stock orange BB Preamp for it's chunky rhythm sound. For leads it makes my Tele absolutely howl.
Back to the OP's question: no, it does not have as much gain a typical MIAB pedals. It's more about adding a bit of gain on its own and then driving amp harder. The EQ makes it versatile with a variety of amps. I run mine with a bit of boost to both highs and lows into an 18 Watter clone.
This reminds me, I really should pick up a second BB as a spare, or just to take along in my guitar case it I go somewhere without by pedalboard.
To my ears, the difference between the BB and the TS/SD-1 is in the dynamics. The BB, although it adds overdrive, somehow does it while retaining the pick attack. It's a very percussive pedal. My old SD-1s (even modded ones) sound very flat and compressed by comparision. If you want liquid, sustaining leads and lots of compression, then you want a BB variant with more compression, like the AT or the Plus. However, I LOVE the stock orange BB Preamp for it's chunky rhythm sound. For leads it makes my Tele absolutely howl.
Back to the OP's question: no, it does not have as much gain a typical MIAB pedals. It's more about adding a bit of gain on its own and then driving amp harder. The EQ makes it versatile with a variety of amps. I run mine with a bit of boost to both highs and lows into an 18 Watter clone.
This reminds me, I really should pick up a second BB as a spare, or just to take along in my guitar case it I go somewhere without by pedalboard.
I agree with this. Doesn’t matter how many electronic bits it shares with a TS, it sounds different.
Cosmic Cowboy
Tele-Afflicted
Calling a BB a tube screamer is not accurate. If we call it a tube screamer, then every opamp pedal is a tube screamer I guess.
CirrusBand
TDPRI Member
I don't think anyone's saying it *is* a tubescreamer, just that it's the starting point for this pedal. And it is. It's compressed, middy, soft clipping. With the EQ at noon, it's got a bass cut - I tend to find it needs to have the bass up at 2pm or more to start sounding thick, though obviously that's rig dependent.
FenderLover
Poster Extraordinaire
I think Exotic is keen on marketing hooks in the name game to ride the coattails of iconic gear. Latching on to "Blues breaker" like they did the "EP" are two examples. Nothing to do with their actual circuits. Useful sounds, perfectly fine pedals, with recognizable names. Food for these forums to discuss and keep talking about the brand. It's working.
johnhe
Tele-Meister
I’m not sure if the conversation has moved on, but I owned the mid boost of the BB Preamp. It was definitely very MIAB-like. And definitely not very tubescreamer-like. Very good pedals. Wish i hadn’t sold mine.
BB - Big British
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