The digital-recording outfit's latest features a Rupert Neve-designed preamp, a Z-Tone impedance-adapting circuit for transforming your guitar's voice from single-coil-like to humbucker-esque (or vice versa), and Amp Out jack, and a host of free software, including AmpliTube 4 Deluxe.
AXE I/O SOLO
AXE I/O SOLO is a premium 2-in /3-out USB audio interface designed specifically for guitarists. A custom Z-TONE guitar input offers active/passive pickup switch, PURE and JFET channels and adjustable input impedance for ground-breaking tone shaping, and a dedicated Hi-Z Amp Out makes re-amping a breeze. And a PURE mic preamp with phantom power, 24-bit, 192 kHz converters and wide, flat frequency response ensure the most pristine sound for any type of recording. All this plus a massive software bundle make AXE I/O SOLO an amazing solution for the recording guitarist.
Fig. 1
These inexpensive little boxes aren't just for bassists. Invest in one and it'll open your studio to a universe of tonal possibilitiesāand likely save you a lot of time and headaches.
The DI boxāaka direct input, direct injection, or just plain DIāisn't something guitarists usually think about or have in our arsenal of pedals. If you're like me, DI boxes are easily dismissed as āthat box bass players plug into before going to their amps." But this month, we're going to borrow from our low-ended brothers and sisters and learn about the DI box and how we can take advantage of it for some creative possibilities.
Ed Wolfrum was a teenager when he invented the DI Box. An elegant and simple design, Wolfrum's boxes (known as the Wolfbox) sought to resolve the impedance mismatch between guitars and studio gear. Simply put, direct boxes convert the high-impedance signal coming from a guitar to a low-impedance signal that can be used with mic preamps and consoles.
"I indeed designed (in late 1958-'59), built, and sold a plethora of them (using Triad A-11/12J transformers) in the Detroit area throughout broadcasting and audio recording studio facilities starting in the early 1960s through the '70s. By the middle 1970s, almost every Detroit studio and radio and TV station had at least one," Wolfrum writes on his audiographicservices.com website.
Wolfrum's DI box was a big part of Golden World Records, United Sound Systems studio, and, most notably, Motown. James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, guitarist Dennis Coffey, and other members of the Funk Brothers used it almost exclusively.
Besides converting our line level signal to mic level signal, there are other benefits Wolfrum's design has for us. We can send our guitar signal cleanly over much longer distances without losing high-frequency information (so it won't sound dull), there is a ground lift (so we can get rid of that 60 Hz cycle hum), and we can split our signal into two signals, just like bass players, with one signal going to our amp as usual and the other going into anything that has an XLR input: your DAW, mixer, mic pre, outboard compressor, etc. You can then add plug-ins to a completely clean performance and add a crazy amount of effects, amp simulators, harmonizers, sequencers, and anything else you dream up.
Once you've laid your track down, you can let your creativity go wild tweaking the clean DI track with plug-ins, sequencers, amp sims, and more.
Note that this is different from re-amping, which adds an extra step by reversing this process by taking a clean or non-effected performance from the DI into your DAW, then taking that signal from your DAW back out through the DI and into an amp (or different amps) for re-recording.
Amp modeling and simulators are good enough these days that I often find this re-amping step unnecessary. It's much easier for me to pull up a host of modeled amps as plug-ins within my DAW and sample them quickly. Plug-ins like Universal Audio's modeled amps, Guitar Rig by Native Instruments, and others offer plenty of choices for experimentation and fun.
Say, for example, you want to record a screaming, super-distorted, solo through your amp. But you also want to preserve other options. Take a look at Fig. 1. You'll need: a DI box, one microphone, three 1/4" guitar cables if you want to plug into your pedalboard, and two XLR (mic-style) cables. Connect your guitar into the input of the DI box. Connect the 1/4" output of the DI box to either your pedalboard or your amp. If you plugged into your pedalboard, connect the output of your pedalboard to your amp. Mic your guitar amp and plug that into your DAW (just like normal). Finally, connect the XLR cable from the DI box to another input on your DAW's interface. You'll have two tracks you'll be recordingāone your normal way (guitar to pedalboard to amp) and one that's completely clean coming directly from the DI (before your effects pedals).
Once you've laid your track down, you can let your creativity go wild tweaking the clean DI track with plug-ins, sequencers, amp sims, and more. You can also blend the two tracks for even more possibilities.
A final word. DI boxes can range in price from $30 to $1,000. A good starting point is the Behringer Ultra-DI DI400P. It's $23 and perfect for this!
[Updated 7/26/21]
This versatile outboard preamp/DI combines the flavors of two classic amps for tone-sculpting nirvana.
All clips recorded direct into Avid Mbox into Logic X.
Clip 1: [ā84 Yamaha BB 3000S - neck pickup soloed] Lo gain distortion with compression at 10 o'clock, blend at 1 o'clock, 2k boosted at 3 o'clock on both channels, tone and drive at 2 o'clock, character switch engaged, and deep switch engaged.
Clip 2: [Spector Euro 4 LX with both pickups at full volume.] Hi gain distortion with compression at 10 o'clock, blend at 1 o'clock, 2k boosted at 5 o'clock on dirty channel, tone and drive at 11 o'clock, character switch engaged, and deep switch engaged.
Clip 3: [Sadowsky Vintage reverse PJ 5 in active mode with both pickups at full volume.] Clean channel only with 180hz boosted at 2 o'cloc and character switch on.
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RatingsPros:Versatile sounds. Clear layout. Dual XLRs. Channel blending. Cons: No cab sim. Street: $349 EBS MicroBass 3 ebssweeden.com | Tones: Ease of Use: Build/Design: Value: |
Swedenās EBS has a rich, 30-plus-years history of innovation as a purveyor of hi-fi bass tones. Players like Marcus Miller and Stanley Clark helped put EBS on the map, and when the companyās HD350 was introduced in 2001, the amp (now called the HD360) quickly became a favorite among slappers and modern gospel players alike for its squeaky clean highs and tight, modern lows. Meanwhile, EBS was determined to also be known for a wide variety of tones, including midrange-forward hard rock and metal, and the model that carried the rock torch for the brand was the Fafner II. Why all this reminiscing about two classic Viking warships in the sea of bass amps? The EBS MicroBass 3. Itās the companyās new all-analog floor unit that combines the characteristics of both amps into a small, road-ready enclosure.
Nordic Know-how
Unpacking the MicroBass 3 from its black, rune-themed box, I was immediately struck by its build quality. The housing is solid, and the controls have a confidence-inducing amount of resistance at first turn. Pedals with lower-resistance knobs will often come out of a gig bag with the previous showās settings altered, so itās a feature I always appreciate.
Many bassists, including me, love a simple, SVT-style layout. If presented with too many controls, we can be slightly pensive about a new piece of gear. The MicroBass 3 has a plethora of controls, but they are laid out in a very concise and efficientādare I say very Scandinavianāway that almost makes the ownerās manual unnecessary.
The first feature that grabbed my attention is the pair of XLR outputs. One is a designated post out at all times, while the other can be a completely unaffected pre out or a second post out, determined by a small button next to the output. (Why this isnāt standard on every bass preamp/DI designed for professional use is beyond me.) Other features on the sides of the unit include a separate input for the drive channel only, serial on/off switch for series mode, an aux-in for playing along to music, a headphone out, and an effects loop. The effects return can be sent to the FOH or mixer in stereo by pushing the button located to its right. Next to the effects loop is the mute footswitch, which engages the onboard tuner that displays on the small LCD screen.
Ebony and Ivory
The MicroBass 3 houses two channels which can be run in parallel or series: a dirty channel (Fafner II) and clean channel (HD 360). The clean channelās controls are assigned an angelic shade of white, while the distortion channel, of course, is black. (The color scheme is actually incredibly helpful.) Located underneath the two rows of channel controls are a character switch for mid-scooping and a bright switch that adds hi-fi sheen to the tone, but without adding any noise to speak of.
The gain switch on the upper right side of the pedal maneuvers the overall sound of the distortion section, from vintage-sounding, lo-gain distortion to a more modern, super-saturated hi-gain sound. Next to it is the 3-way type switch, which provides a varying amount of thickness to the distortion channelāthin, middle, or deep.
Out to Sea
With an ā84 Yamaha BB3000S running through the clean channel, it took me no time to find a high-quality, rich-yet-neutral bass sound, without any control tweaking at all. I achieved full P bass-tone glory and was ready to gig or record by simply engaging the well-voiced character switch. With a slight boost on the treble control, the pristine high-end presented itself by showcasing all the overtones of my brand-new stainless-steel strings. I appreciate gear thatās able to let the top-end shine through vintage, passive pickups. And the MicroBass 3 did exactly that.
Eager to hear both flavors of distortion, I set the type switch to deep, added a little onboard compression, set the mids to 2k on both channels (about 3 oāclock), and set the distortion channelās tone control to 3 oāclock. My sound was definitely on the more aggressive side of āvintage,ā but it was warm and well defined while listening on headphones through an Mbox interface. My midrange setting also gave the sound a nice honk that cut through, without adding gain.
When I flipped the gain switch to high and cranked the mids to 5 oāclock on the distortion channel, I was rewarded with a creamyābut also very aggressiveātone, reminiscent of what the companyās Billy Sheehan Signature Drive can achieve. I then switched over to my EMG-equipped Spector Euro4LX, and the tone cut superbly with these settings.
The Verdict
I felt like I had run a short-distance race after my first session with the MicroBass 3. The pedal can do so many things at once, and is a lot easier to navigate than you might think at first glance. For anyone travelling or short on space, the MicroBass 3 is an effective solution to several issues we contend with as bassists. The amount of control the pair of XLRs provides is truly a godsend for anyone who dreams of easily hauling their 2-channel studio rig to gigs. And when you consider the upgrades since the previous-generation MicroBass, such as the onboard tuner and compression, this pedal is well worth some time and attention. Color me impressed.