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Blackbird Sample Settings

  1. HomeKnowledge BaseBlackbird Sample Settings

Blackbird Sample Settings

This page shows a few sample settings for the Blackbird tube preamp that will help get you in the right ball-park for creating some stunning guitar sounds, whether playing through a vintage amp or recording direct to tape, er I mean computer (showing my age). You can use these settings as reference starting points from which you can move on to discover your own unique settings that complement your specific guitar/amp setup and playing style. Spending time experimenting with the Blackbird is time well spent as you’ll be sure find many inspiring sounds.

The Clean Channel

blackbird_green_channel_480px

When the clean channel is engaged the guitar signal is being routed through a grounded cathode stage then into the passive tone stack which is buffered by a cathode follower. This is a very pure and glassy sounding all tube circuit based on the classic ‘Blackface’ design. With all the control knobs set at their center (12 o’clock) position the Blackbird gives a pleasing subtle ‘lift’ to the guitar tone enhancing clarity and string-to-string definition making this setting excellent for choppy chord work and arpeggios. If you’re looking for that larger-than-life Stevie Ray Vaughan ‘Strat’ tone then this channel can also be pushed into overdrive to add a little more grit with a boost pedal just like a real tube amp input stage, because it is a real tube amp input stage!

The Overdrive Channel (‘Classic’ mode)

blackbird_blue_channel_480px

Engaging the overdrive channel routes the guitar signal through a custom designed 4-stage tube clipping circuit. This channel is voiced to add richness and body to the tone of the guitar when in the Blackbird is in ‘classic’ mode (blue LED lit). With all the controls set at 12 o’clock the Blackbird will impart a beautiful and subtle drive, adding even harmonics to thicken up the sound of single coil pickups nicely. This will transform the sound of a ‘Strat’ making it more playable and expressive for soloing – it’s perfectly voiced for those bluesy, Gilmourish sounds, where a tube amp is just being pushed into clipping. The Blackbird excels at creating these mild pushed tube amp and breakup tones that lie between clean and overdrive territory, the sounds which solid-state and digital modelling technologies often struggle to produce convincingly.

blackbird_blue_channel_same_as_green_channel_480px

The overdrive channel is voiced differently to the clean channel, however the tonestack of the overdrive can be adjusted so that it matches the clean channel (reference with all knobs on clean channel set at 12 o’clock). The ‘Middle’ and ‘Treble’ controls are used to match the frequency response and the ‘Gain’ has to be backed off. Note: With higher ouput pickups or harder playing technique the overdrive channel is still relatively easily pushed into breakup even when the ‘Drive’ knob is set low because of it’s higher input sensitivity. The overdrive channel is much more responsive to playing dynamics than the clean channel.

blackbird_blue_channel_warm_rich_480px

Bourbon and honey. A rich, thick bluesy setting which adds incredible body and depth to the guitar. Very responsive to playing dynamics and oozes style and class. Also great for use in the studio trying to capture an authentic blues guitar sound. This will undoubtedly be too much for a guitar fitted with Humbucking pickups so you’ll need to roll back the ‘Gain’ knob and turn up the ‘Treble’ knob a little to compensate for the thicker sound of the Humbucker when compared to single coil pickups.

The Overdrive Channel (‘Creamy’ mode)

blackbird_red_channel_same_as_blue_channel

Another useful reference setting. Here the Blackbird is in ‘Creamy’ mode (red LED lit) and the controls are adjusted so that this mode sounds the same as the ‘Classic’ mode. ‘Creamy’ and ‘Classic’ modes are voiced differently to extend the range and flexibility of the Blackbird, however there is some overlap where they sound identical.

blackbird_red_channel_crunch

An extremely dynamic and responsive ‘crunch’ setting. Dig in to push the Blackbird into generating a wide spectrum of classic rock guitar tones from the raw rock tones of Angus Young in the 1970s to the more saturated, creamy tones of Gary Moore in the early 80s when he began utilising amps with high-gain ‘hot-rodded’ preamp sections. Again, the Blackbird overdrive channel sounds like a top of the range tube amp because it is based on exactly the same tube circuitry – no compromises, no shortcuts, period. Rolling back the volume knob on your guitar or picking more softly will produce a milder distortion with a more bluesy character making it easy to transition from chord to lead playing.

blackbird_red_channel_saturation_480px

The Blackbird is capable of generating some fantastically devastating saturated sounds. This setting is perfect for dark, unrelenting chugging ‘metal’ chord work. The smooth, complex and creamy character of tube harmonic saturation makes a nice contrast to the harder sounding distortion of a typical transistorised metal effects pedal and can be quite addictive!

Tone Tips!

  • The tone controls interact with one another and sometimes the frequencies you wish to ‘cut’ or ‘boost’ to sculpt your tone require adjustment of more than one control knob. Additionally, great guitar tone, especially overdriven tone, is often a subtractive process, that is, using the controls to cut rather than boost will more effectively achieve the desired result.
  • The transformer isolated balanced output is designed for recording direct. Not only does it completely eliminate earth loops but also sweetens the sound. This output can also be connected direct to a tube amp using a standard TS instrument cable. In this scenario you’ll notice that sound is boosted a little and the mids are more focused.
  • The 12AX7 has the highest gain factor of any preamp tube type and the Blackbird ships as standard with a trio of these tubes fitted. This gives the pedal greatest range and flexbility for overdrive sounds as it increases the input sensistivity and clipping occuring in the tube circuitry so that the Blackbird can generate harmonically saturated overdrive at higher ‘Gain’ control settings.
  • Swapping tubes in the Blackbird will drastically alter the way it sounds and responds to playing dynamics. For example, a JAN Philips 5751 tube in centre position and Tung-Sol 12AY7 in bottom position will yield, lower gain for a more much more bluesy tone and feel. Additionally, setting the ‘Treble’ control at about 2 o’clock and ‘Middle’ at 9 to 10 o’clock will make the gain channel sound similar to the clean channel voicing.

These settings are really just the tip of the iceberg though and there’s much, much more to what the Blackbird can do. Think of this tube preamp pedal as a vital link between your guitar pickup and guitar amp, mixing console or sound capture device, an indispensible tone tool for ‘sit-in’ studio or gig situations to insure you’ll always be able get your tone.

For a more in-depth look at clipping distortion and how it affects guitar tone check out the article, ‘Guitar Preamp Tone Explained’

In This Section

  • A Little Vibe History
  • Blackbird Bias Settings
  • Blackbird Sample Settings
  • Blackbird Sounds
  • Blackbird Switching Options
  • Blue Bottle Sounds
  • Custom Work
  • Delta-Trem Sounds
  • Delta-Trem Tremolo-Panner In-depth
  • Everything You Need To Know About Playing And Recording With The ‘Blackbird’ Vacuum Tube Preamp
  • Fire Bottle Sounds
  • Fuzz Pedal Placement
  • How to Use a Guitar Buffer Pedal
  • Mercury Fuzz Sounds
  • PC-2A Compressor In-depth
  • PC-2A Sounds
  • PC-2A Supplemental
  • Phaseomatic In-depth
  • Phaseomatic Sounds
  • Story Behind the Tube Drive
  • Swapping Tubes in the Blackbird
  • The Dream Machine: the Echorec 3°
  • The Effectrode Blackbird: A study in tube rolling
  • Tube Drive Sounds
  • Tube-Vibe Expression Pedal Options
  • Tube-Vibe Sounds
  • Vibe Pedal Placement
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