Miked with Audio Technica ATM650 into Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface into GarageBand using ’70s Epiphone Scroll bass.
Clip 1 - Bass at 1 o’clock, low-mid at 1 o’clock, high-mid at 1 o’clock, treble at 1 o’clock, gain at noon. Compression switch on.
Clip 2 - Bass at 2 o’clock, low-mid at 2 o’clock, high-mid at 11 o’clock, treble at 10 o’clock, gain at noon. Fuzz switch on. Compression switch on.
RatingsPros:Impressive volume. Nice EQ. Onboard fuzz and compression. Cons: Clunkier to move around than a little combo—a small price to pay for its hip factor. Street: $379 Vox Mini Superbeetle Bass voxamps.com | Tones:  Ease of Use: Build/Design:  Value: |
Like the Mini Superbeetle released for our guitarist friends last year, the new Vox Mini Superbeetle Bass is, at least somewhat aesthetically, based on the monstrous rigs the Fab Four favored in the mid ’60s.
The small, 4 1/2-pound amp head manages to squeeze in a 4-band EQ—including dials for both low-mid and hi-mid—as well as volume and gain knobs, and a pair of mini switches for fuzz and compression. There is a headphone/line out jack around back (as well as a 1/8" aux in), and the 50-watt amp sits securely on the recognizable chrome frame surrounding the cabinet, which houses a single 8" Vox driver.
The sound from this petite, Nutube-powered rig is surprisingly robust. While the stack itself (18 1/2 pounds total weight) isn’t that much bigger than many typical bass “practice” amps, it can invoke some impressive volume, enough to handle smaller gigs. Also, again for its size, the sound isn’t boxy or tinny, but rather full and warm. I was impressed with the headroom and how far I could push the volume and gain and remain clean. I like the onboard fuzz and compression, though—understanding space limitations for such a small amp’s panel—I would have liked to have seen level controls. But, for the fuzz function in particular, there is plenty of control over its flavor with the EQ and drive controls. I could dial in a warmer, subtle fuzzy tone up to more of a piercing grind, all with a vintage hue. The Mini Superbeetle Bass is distinctively Vox, and is a distinctively moving little rig.
Test gear: Late-’70s Epiphone Scroll bass, Fender Precision, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, Audio-Technica ATM650
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
