Grant Fidelity Audio - Read Only

[Bassphil]

Hello curious people, I'm starting a review/discussion thread for the B-283 Tube Processor. I'm planning on posting the results of my various experiments with the unit as I drag it out to events and occasions.

First, a disclaimer. I am not affiliated with the company, and I paid for the unit- it wasn't given to me. Therefore, I plan on being honest in my review.

Some of my experiments will include use with:

a stereo

an electric bass guitar in various genres

an acoustic bass

a Fender Rhodes

ProTools

In addition to these uses, I have three different sets of tubes I'll be experimenting with.

The preliminary result is this- I can't live without the B-283. So far, every setting I have used it in has benefited from it's presence. There are, however, major differences in tubes, which I will discuss in greater detail when I have more time. Until then, subscribe to this thread if you are interested in what I have to say
_________________
-Phil
www.philpalombi.com
www.tri-fi.com

[igrant]

Thanks Phil,

I look forward to reading your comments.

Cheers,
Ian
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[Bassphil]

Well, I was planning on having a masters thesis on the various attributes of different tubes, and photos of wave forms from live gigs etc.....

Then, the other day, I realized that it all boiled down to one thing. I now have another piece of equipment to carry with me on all my gigs. I'll recount the details of one gig, which should basically paint the total picture.

I was on an R & B gig, and the tenor player who in addition to being a great player, is also a recording engineer. I was explaining the idea of using the B-283 to him, and what I thought was the reason I couldn't live without it. We did a little experiment. As we were playing the gig, I would alternate having it on and off without telling him.

Halfway through the set, I had it turned off. He turned around stated "It's off, right?". I said yes, to which he replied "Turn it back on and leave it'".

On that gig, I was using a '69 Fender Precision with flat wounds, playing into an Epifani UL502 head with an Epifani 2-10" cabinet. I ran the B-283 through the effects send and return. Normally, a P-bass with flatwounds is a pretty dead-thumpy sound. I still was able to achieve that effect, but there was an extra punch with the B-283 running, and you could really hear every note and articulation. We played a few Tower Of Power-esque grooves that night, and every 16th note was accounted for!

Lately, I've been using it with my Acoustic Image head and the house cabinet at Birdland in NYC. On Fridays, I play with the Birdland Big Band, which is coming out of the Buddy Rich tradition, thus a lot of electric bass. The B-283 allows me to cut through the band without having to turn up the amp.

That's what it all boils down to. There is more presence and clarity, thus you hear yourself better, but the volume is not loud. When I power it down, I have to turn up the volume to compensate for the boost the B-283 was providing in the signal chain, but then I have to turn it up a little more to get the feeling that I had with it on. The difference then is, bandmates turn around and tell me I'm too loud. When it's powered on, all of my articulations cut through without blowing people off of the stage.

I have three different sets of tubes, and the effect is there with all of them- the stock tubes, the stock tubes cyro'ed, and old GE's. The GE's were my least favorite- they provided the basic vibe, but were watered down. The stock tubes gave the magic of parting the sonic spectrum of the band that I spoke of, but it was the cyro'ed Chinese tubes that actually made my flatwound P bass sound like it was full of electricity! The absolute best sound for the gig, however, was when I accidentally had a stock Chinese tube in the left side, and a cyro'ed Chinese in the right. Since I'm not running a stereo signal, it didn't matter, but on the gig it did something amazing.

Now, I run that mix of tubes, but jumper the tube together to run them in a series. I run from the effects send into the R on the right, run an RCA from the L to the R in the left channel, then out of the L of the left back into the return.

Much like when I ran the B-283 between my preamp and power amp of my stereo, using it on a gig brings out more clarity and articulation. I've also used it with a Fender Rhodes (a friend was playing it, not me) and the effect was the same- fatter and more present, but not loud.

At the price Ian is asking, I recommend checking it out. There aren't a whole lot of choices out there for us bassists when it comes to tube amps, and the ones that are there are really heavy and expensive. You can't go wrong with the B-283!
_________________
-Phil
www.philpalombi.com
www.tri-fi.com