Summary
This pedal is brilliant. To enjoy the real brilliance of the Vulcan Bass Overdrive, however, you have to understand the rationale of its audio and interface design. Until you do that, you’ll get some good sounds from it anyway; but at minimum you won’t be able to reliably match the volume of the pedal switched on with the volume of your bass when the pedal is switched off. More on that in a minute.
Background
My interest in the Vulcan was threefold:
Comparison
In my experience (not exhaustive, but representative), speaking of the difference between modern and vintage styles, I found the quality and precision of the Vulcan’s sonics and control interface to be more like the Bearfoot FX Björn Juhl-designed pedals than any other I recalled playing. Generalizing, Spence is doing modern and Björn is doing vintage, but they are attaining some similar ends.
Methodology
The keys to using the Vulcan’s controls are
You know what it is? Think of Mix as being the level control for your dry bass sound, and Volume as the level control for your overdriven sound.
Also, even if Mix and Volume are not actually interactive, the effect of using them together amounts to as much. You’ll see.
Sound
As for the Vulcan’s sound, I find that with bass guitar, in some of it's range (Color fully left, for instance) it can be a pedal that either must be used with some dry signal mixed in or that will need some low end to be added after the pedal. That's about spectral balance: prominent highs, not a loss of low end.
Historically I like my drive pedals neat: drive only, with no dry signal. But in the Vulcan, the sound of mixed dry and wet signals is so natural that I don’t notice any mixing going on. From the attack on down, it doesn’t sound layered. Call it the Vulcan sound meld if you will.
I didn’t say much about Color yet. The key to Color is getting the midrange right. Depending on your pickup selection and sonic goal, Color can either preserve and enhance your sound or it can subvert it (and that subversion can be aesthetic or frustrating, depending on your interests). This is most true of midrange-focused bridge pickup sounds.
One other important thing: As the manual mentions, varying the passive tone or active treble control on your bass guitar is how you vary the Vulcan’s high frequency balance. The technique is quite effective. And unless you happen to want the Vulcan’s rather distinct high frequencies all the time, the technique is essential.
In the Vulcan’s overdriven sound, the upper midrange and high frequencies make me wonder if there is some harmonic exciter stuff happening; its scintillation reminds me of that. But again, the Vulcan’s overall sound is natural.
I almost forgot to say that I prefer the Vulcan Bass Overdrive powered with 18 volts.
Conclusion
So far, when I design sounds on this pedal, and they are just to play bass guitar, not to experiment, I end up with a credible (evoking preamps, amps, classic channel strips, etc.) and vital-sounding result.
It is what I consider to be a modern style of overdrive: fast, tight, detailed, and emphasizing higher frequencies. Yet like my favorite vintage style drive pedals, the Vulcan Bass Overdrive is tactile, dynamic, and sweet-sounding. This is a precise approach, not a romantic one; and it simply sounds and feels really, really good.
This pedal is brilliant. To enjoy the real brilliance of the Vulcan Bass Overdrive, however, you have to understand the rationale of its audio and interface design. Until you do that, you’ll get some good sounds from it anyway; but at minimum you won’t be able to reliably match the volume of the pedal switched on with the volume of your bass when the pedal is switched off. More on that in a minute.
Background
My interest in the Vulcan was threefold:
- Hear firsthand some of Spence’s new Pike Amplification work
- Try one more time to find an example of a modern style bass overdrive that I can like to play
- Confirm the hi-fi, high dynamics sonics I thought I heard in the first online demo.
Comparison
In my experience (not exhaustive, but representative), speaking of the difference between modern and vintage styles, I found the quality and precision of the Vulcan’s sonics and control interface to be more like the Bearfoot FX Björn Juhl-designed pedals than any other I recalled playing. Generalizing, Spence is doing modern and Björn is doing vintage, but they are attaining some similar ends.
Methodology
The keys to using the Vulcan’s controls are
- the 6db boost of the dry signal when the pedal is on,
- the fact that the Volume knob affects only the wet signal, and
- the relationship of the Mix knob to 1 and 2.
Exercises
First try this: With the Vulcan switched on, turn Gain to 12 o’clock, Volume fully off (left) and Mix fully left. Play something for a few seconds. Then switch the pedal off. Then play the same thing again. When the pedal was on, you should have heard no wet signal, and only the dry sound of your bass presented louder. And when the pedal was off, you should have heard the sound of your bass softer than with the pedal on.
Next try this: Leaving the controls as they were in the first test, switch the Vulcan on, and play quarter notes on an open string with your plucking hand. Then, still playing, use your other hand to slowly rotate Mix from full left to full right. Your should hear the net volume become softer as you rotate toward the right, until finally it is silent. Now, while playing as before, set Mix to 1 o’clock, then switch the pedal off then on and back every few seconds. You should hear the net volume be about the same with the pedal on or off.
Lastly try this: Leaving the controls as they were at the end of the second test, switch the Vulcan on. Now set Volume to 11 o’clock and Mix to 10 o’clock, then play something. You should hear wet and dry signal mixed, and at about the same volume as when you play the same thing with the pedal switched off. I assume that this is an example of the now classic approach to blending in dry bass guitar signal with overdrive.
Referring to those three tests, you should be able to set Mix and Volume to balance the dry and wet signals for any given Gain and Color settings.
First try this: With the Vulcan switched on, turn Gain to 12 o’clock, Volume fully off (left) and Mix fully left. Play something for a few seconds. Then switch the pedal off. Then play the same thing again. When the pedal was on, you should have heard no wet signal, and only the dry sound of your bass presented louder. And when the pedal was off, you should have heard the sound of your bass softer than with the pedal on.
Next try this: Leaving the controls as they were in the first test, switch the Vulcan on, and play quarter notes on an open string with your plucking hand. Then, still playing, use your other hand to slowly rotate Mix from full left to full right. Your should hear the net volume become softer as you rotate toward the right, until finally it is silent. Now, while playing as before, set Mix to 1 o’clock, then switch the pedal off then on and back every few seconds. You should hear the net volume be about the same with the pedal on or off.
Lastly try this: Leaving the controls as they were at the end of the second test, switch the Vulcan on. Now set Volume to 11 o’clock and Mix to 10 o’clock, then play something. You should hear wet and dry signal mixed, and at about the same volume as when you play the same thing with the pedal switched off. I assume that this is an example of the now classic approach to blending in dry bass guitar signal with overdrive.
Referring to those three tests, you should be able to set Mix and Volume to balance the dry and wet signals for any given Gain and Color settings.
You know what it is? Think of Mix as being the level control for your dry bass sound, and Volume as the level control for your overdriven sound.
Also, even if Mix and Volume are not actually interactive, the effect of using them together amounts to as much. You’ll see.
Sound
As for the Vulcan’s sound, I find that with bass guitar, in some of it's range (Color fully left, for instance) it can be a pedal that either must be used with some dry signal mixed in or that will need some low end to be added after the pedal. That's about spectral balance: prominent highs, not a loss of low end.
Historically I like my drive pedals neat: drive only, with no dry signal. But in the Vulcan, the sound of mixed dry and wet signals is so natural that I don’t notice any mixing going on. From the attack on down, it doesn’t sound layered. Call it the Vulcan sound meld if you will.
I didn’t say much about Color yet. The key to Color is getting the midrange right. Depending on your pickup selection and sonic goal, Color can either preserve and enhance your sound or it can subvert it (and that subversion can be aesthetic or frustrating, depending on your interests). This is most true of midrange-focused bridge pickup sounds.
One other important thing: As the manual mentions, varying the passive tone or active treble control on your bass guitar is how you vary the Vulcan’s high frequency balance. The technique is quite effective. And unless you happen to want the Vulcan’s rather distinct high frequencies all the time, the technique is essential.
In the Vulcan’s overdriven sound, the upper midrange and high frequencies make me wonder if there is some harmonic exciter stuff happening; its scintillation reminds me of that. But again, the Vulcan’s overall sound is natural.
I almost forgot to say that I prefer the Vulcan Bass Overdrive powered with 18 volts.
Conclusion
So far, when I design sounds on this pedal, and they are just to play bass guitar, not to experiment, I end up with a credible (evoking preamps, amps, classic channel strips, etc.) and vital-sounding result.
It is what I consider to be a modern style of overdrive: fast, tight, detailed, and emphasizing higher frequencies. Yet like my favorite vintage style drive pedals, the Vulcan Bass Overdrive is tactile, dynamic, and sweet-sounding. This is a precise approach, not a romantic one; and it simply sounds and feels really, really good.
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