xotic bb preamp

[jhguitar1]

I own a Roadster head and have heard great things about the BB preamp. Does it really make a difference in your tone? I would be looking to use it for a little extra drive in tweed and for a lead tone.

Thanks

 

[Rocky]

super nice pedal. I prefer the AC Booster though.

 

[atonal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiW22O914Cg

 

[Johnson]

I just got my BB in today. I got a chance to use it at practice tonight to boost my clean tones. It really sounded good and complemented the C+'s clean tone. Worth the $ in my opinion.

 

[jdurso]

After almost a year of putting it off i finally pulled the trigger on one of these... i never had a chance to truly give one a test drive. The shops i had seen it at never had a mesa to try it with and while i loved it then, i finally had the opportunity to try it with a roadster.

Needless to say i plugged it in, adjusted the amp settinsg to match mine and let'r rip, and knew i had to have it. I love my OCD but feels its better suited for boosting the higher gain channels... i still have yet to get a sweet, smooth mid-gain type out of the OCD, its just too grainy if that makes sense. The BB on the other hand lets you make some finer adjsutments and is so smooth, it sounds absolutely fantastic infront of my clean channel. It doesn't add much if any gain, but just gives you more feel and fattens things up quite nicely. What I'm really astounded by is that is so quiet and like the OCD is super transparent, which for my application is perfect.

So while its a pricey unit, its definitely worth the money. Quality build and an absolute pristine sound... sounds amazing with the Roadster.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

Any of you BB owners try the BB Plus? I'm considering one of these two pedals and not sure which to buy. No where around to try either where I'm at. From all the reviews I read I'm confident that I will like the BB but the Plus is intriguing. I am not sure I want another large pedal on my board but if the Plus is worth the extra $$$ and space then I'll try it. I already have the AC Plus and like it a lot. Only got the Plus in the AC because of a ridiculous deal, new for $160, so I had to try it.

 

[Elpelotero]

I once asked someone on this board who owned both to compare the plus and regular BB and his opinion was that the Plus was not as pure sounding as just the regular BB. Take it as one man's opinion.

 

[Chris McKinley]

They're both nice. These days, I'm more into building my own effects the way I like 'em, but I have to admit that the BB Preamp (or the plus) is still tempting to add to my collection. It really is one of the better OD's out there.

 

[Sickindian]

I recently seen mxr gt-od so I gave it a try.I found it cheap on e bay but i watched tons of youtube clips first and i need to tell that its not bad but still i miss something. The tone is ok you can get RATM sounds quite easy.

Buti would still give a credit to bb.

 

[SonOfIAm]

Any of you BB owners try the BB Plus? I'm considering one of these two pedals and not sure which to buy. No where around to try either where I'm at. From all the reviews I read I'm confident that I will like the BB but the Plus is intriguing. I am not sure I want another large pedal on my board but if the Plus is worth the extra $$$ and space then I'll try it. I already have the AC Plus and like it a lot. Only got the Plus in the AC because of a ridiculous deal, new for $160, so I had to try it.

I had the BB+ and own the BB preamp. The BB+ for me was just okay. I could get a really nice crunch/overdrive on the B side but I couldn't ever really get the A side to sound the way I wanted, always seemed too thin and artificial. Together there was just way too much noise no matter how I set it up. The BB preamp on the other hand is an amazing sounding pedal. Very well rounded overdrive, great tone on both of my Lonestar's channels.

 

[GIG4FUN]

I really like my BB preamp. The tones knobs really are handy to dial in its use too. It does all in my view.

 

[jab]

if anyone is interested, I'm selling a like new Xotic AC+ ($210 shipped in original box). Great pedal but I find I only use one side of it, so I'll just get a regular one to cut down on the "pedal real estate" on my board. My pedal dealer talked me out of a BB because Mesa amps have so much gain as it is, he thought AC would be more versatile and I agree. You can add anything from some slight hair on your clean channel all the way up to super high gain.

 

[flieger67]

I own a Roadster head and have heard great things about the BB preamp. Does it really make a difference in your tone? I would be looking to use it for a little extra drive in tweed and for a lead tone.

Thanks

That sounds rather like what Andy Timmons does with his BB. In fact, Xotic just issued a limited-edition run (1000 pedals) of Andy Timmons Signature BB Preamps.

I got one of the BB-ATP's and it's very cool. Not enough gain and distortion for the met-uhl crowd, I wouldn't think, but in your case, where you want to use it as more of a boost and voicing pedal, I think you should try it. The two EQ knobs have a good amount of cut/boost ability. With my plexi-style amp, the BB sounds great, in my opinion. Put it this way, I have no plans to sell it.

 

[73h Nils]

Is the BB good for channel 3 lead-type stuff? Just curious because someone above said it wasn't really that high gain (not that it's technically gain I'm after).

 

[GIG4FUN]

Is the BB good for channel 3 lead-type stuff? Just curious because someone above said it wasn't really that high gain (not that it's technically gain I'm after).

YES!

It is what I use on some of my Santana leads. Much love beyond words. buy it PERIOD sings sings

 

[lerxst88]

actually i have an AC booster that im looking to get rid of. PM me if interested

 

[bobby wasabi]

How well does the bb preamp work for adding dirt to the clean channel, but at unity volume? Most guys seem to be using it to boost the clean channel - either a clean boost or to drive the channel more. I'm looking to add some light to medium overdrive to the clean channel of my 5:25 without boosting the volume when the pedal is engaged.

Other pedals I'm considering:

-Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (switch reliability seems to be an issue)
-MXR GT-OD

I own a Boss Blues Driver, which I consider "OK".

 

[GIG4FUN]

How well does the bb preamp work for adding dirt to the clean channel, but at unity volume? Most guys seem to be using it to boost the clean channel - either a clean boost or to drive the channel more. I'm looking to add some light to medium overdrive to the clean channel of my 5:25 without boosting the volume when the pedal is engaged.

Other pedals I'm considering:

-Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (switch reliability seems to be an issue)
-MXR GT-OD

I own a Boss Blues Driver, which I consider "OK".

It will "dirt up" great, it is a great pedal. Just adjust the volume on it where you want it. You can have it overdrive it and be quieter if you want. The controls are marvelous. NO I don't work for them etc! LOL

 

[MrMarkIII]

the BB is just a very good sounding Tube Screamer medium-gain type pedal with more gain and output than the Sparkle Drive. The switch reliability problem on VooDoo Labs pedals is old business. I never had any problem with my Sparkle Drive, or the Tremolo, either.
Haven't tried the MXR, want to try a Maxon OD808.

 

[marzzz]

+1

I have been using the BB Preamp for about 6 months, just love it- whether adding dirt to the LSC clean channel, using it solely as a clean boost, or getting Mark I-ish tones out of the drive channel, it just works. I can get it so that I sound like Andy Timmons, or NOT sound like Timmons.