Orange Pedal Baby / other Class A/B + Modeller (FM3) ?

jellodog

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The Pedal Baby

I've done the Class D power amp thing for a while and that's okay. Still doesn't quite have the dynamics, although they're not too bad... and I'm not sure I love the high end. So I'm also interested in trying out a Class A/B with my FM3 Fasbox.

Question for @JiveTurkey : At The Other Place™ you said that the PB adds too much colour for your liking, which indicated to me that it's a no go. You've experimented with so much more gear than I have, so your opinion carries a great deal of weight with me.

Plenty of people have said that the PB is not 100% flat and that it has an upper mids hump. I can even hear that mids hump in all the online demos.

Others have said that they have simply added a PEQ block with a suitable mids cut at the end of their signal chain to counteract that hump, and that it sounded good with thier modeller. If that's all that's required, then I'd still like to try the PB. Now I don't know what to believe.

@JiveTurkey - when you said "color", were you only referring to the mids hump or was there something else, some other sort of colour that made the PB untenable as a power amp for you?

There's also the FX return of the Orange Terror Stamp. Super cheap, Class A/B, and still more power and headroom than I'd ever need at home (@Ola The Swede got it up to 109 dB with a 4x12). But I've seen one report saying that there was a lot of hum doing this with a modeller.

Matrix
In addition to the various issues the company appears to be having right now with product availability and customer support / repairs, I don't want to be spending that kind of money at this stage for my experiments with Class A/B power amps. Also, this is for my own amusement and enjoyment at home - I don't need pro level gigging stuff at this time (although I do seem to have a bunch of that gear already haha).


Katana Sauce
Maybe @Alex Kenivel is right? Maybe there's no Katana Sauce after all, and that it was just the speaker colouration all along 🤔

I've avoided the Katana since it came out, but at it's very affordable price point, and just to satisfy my Class A/B curiosity, perhaps the Katana Head's A/B power amp is exactly what I need. I don't need the shitty Boss cabinet or speakers in the combo, but if the power amp is decent enough for the price then why not the head?

I'm not interested in "FRFR" at this stage (maybe later). I mean, I'll use IRs for recording ofc, but when playing for my own enjoyment, I like Amp where I'm at.
 
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The Pedal Baby

I've done the Class D power amp thing for a while and that's okay. But I'm also interested in trying out a Class A/B with the my FM3.

Question for @JiveTurkey : At The Other Place™ you said that the PB adds too much colour for your liking, which indicated to me that it's a no go. You've experimented with so much more gear than I have, so your opinion carries a great deal of weight with me.

Plenty of people have said that the PB is not 100% flat and that it has an upper mids hump. I can even hear that mids hump in all the online demos.

Others have said that they have simply added a PEQ block with a suitable mids cut at the end of their chain to counteract that hump, and that it sounded good with thier modeller. If that's all that's required, then I'd still like to try the PB. Now I don't know what to believe.

@JiveTurkey - when you said "color", were you only referring to the mids hump or was there something else, some other sort of colour that made the PB untenable as a power amp for you?

There's also the FX return of the Orange Terror Stamp. Super cheap, Class A/B, and still more power and headroom than I'd ever need at home (@Ola The Swede got it up to 109 dB with a 4x12). But I've seen one report saying that there was a lot of hum doing this with a modeller.

Matrix
In addition to the various issues the company appears to be having right now with product availability and customer support / repairs, I don't want to be spending that kind of money at this stage for my experiments with Class A/B power amps. Also, this is for my own amusement and enjoyment at home - I don't need pro level gigging stuff at this time (although I do seem to have a bunch of that gear already haha).


Katana Sauce
Maybe @Alex Kenivel is right? Maybe there's no Katana Sauce after all, and that it was just the speaker colouration all along 🤔

I've avoided the Katana since it came out, but at it's very affordable price point, and just to satisfy my Class A/B curiosity, perhaps the Katana Head's A/B power amp is exactly what I need. I don't need the shitty Boss cabinet or speakers in the combo, but if the power amp is decent enough for the price then why not the head?

I'm not interested in "FRFR" at this stage (maybe later). I mean, I'll use IRs for recording ofc, but when playing for my own enjoyment, I like Amp where I'm at.

A used Katana head is certainly an easy/cheap way to try an AB power amp. I got my 100 MKII for $300 at L&M (+ tax and shipping). It sounds really good to me with my FM9 and a Lone Star 2x12.
 
A used Katana head is certainly an easy/cheap way to try an AB power amp. I got my 100 MKII for $300 at L&M (+ tax and shipping). It sounds really good to me with my FM9 and a Lone Star 2x12.
Your Canada-flavoured advice is appreciated 🙂

So in terms of the signal flow from the power amp input onwards and up to the speaker jack; in your opinion, is the head "flat enough" and uncoloured? Was the Katana Sauce thing more to do with the combo cab and speaker? I'm encouraged that you're also using it with a similar FAS product.
 
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Your Canada-flavoured advice is appreciated 🙂

So in terms of the signal flow from the power amp input onwards and out of the speaker jack, in your opinion is the "Katana Sauce" a myth? Is it "flat enough" and uncoloured? I'm encouraged that you're also using a FAS product.

I honestly can't say because I have no point of comparison. I haven't heard my FM9 (and currently-used Fractal amp models) through anything else.

It does seem like the overall feel isn't neutral, in that it's similar from amp model to model and seems like part of the Katana thing, but it's actually a good feel so I don't mind (if that's even the case).

About a year and a half ago I had an FM3 and Friedman ASM-12, but it's been so long I can't make any useful comparison.
 
Heh. Just realised that this thread has become about the Katana power amp, and nobody has mentioned the Pedal Baby so far 🙂
 
Heh. Just realised that this thread has become about the Katana power amp, and nobody has mentioned the Pedal Baby so far 🙂

I almost bought a used PB, but didn't go through with it and have no experience. It seems pricey for what it is, although the price is comparable to the Seymour Duncan's 170 and 200, I guess.

One thing, with a Katana setup, you have a backup if the FM3 goes down. With a PB or similar amp, you've got nothing.
 
Dude guy, all you need is to fetch a used Quilter Toneblock 201, and run that f****r into the Quilter’s effects loop, into a quality cab (obviously a Mesa).

Heh. I've had 3 Quilters, including the flagship Mach 3. Mind you, I've not had the 201 / 202. I've put pretty much everything into that FX return whilst I had it. Not bad. Still, I'd like to try "not Class D" which is what the Quilters are - admittedly good ones, ofc. Just looking to try an affordable but not totally shitty, AB power amp to play with.

I do appreciate your help though; I just feel that I should wait a while before buying my 4th Quilter :rolleyes:
 
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Pedal Baby is fine. Katana is fine. Though I haven't tried the V2 with power amp in? Really only SS power amp I've yet to try is the Toneblock 202 (with that acronym we don't use) mode and 3 band traditional eq. I prefer Katana sauce over Pedal Baby sauce, fwiw.
 
Pole mounted Fender Mustang has entered the chat

Leaving See Ya GIF by MOODMAN
 
Haha! Good luck trying to get a straight answer.

People seem to even avoid the sweet or dill pickle question.

Here Schrodinger's undetermined Cat is undetermined. :crazy
 
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