Origin Effects has unveiled a pair of high-end preamp and overdrive pedals for bass players that are inspired by vintage Ampeg and Fender bass amps.
The BassRIG Super Vintage takes the monster tones of the Ampeg SVT and houses them in a compact pedalboard-friendly unit, while the BassRIG ’64 Black Panel similarly recreates the warm thump of Fender Showman and Bassman amplifiers.
The BassRIG pedals are built around Origin Effects Analogue Amp Recreation circuitry, and comprise an entire valve amp circuit. They can be used with your bass amp, or with an analogue cab-sim DI output, you can send your signal direct to the desk when playing live.
“The BassRIG Super Vintage captures every nuance of the world-changing Ampeg SVT and its iconic 8x10 speaker cabinet,” says Origin Effects. “Released in 1969, the SVT was the world’s first purpose-built, high-powered bass amp and it remains the first choice for the biggest names in bass guitar. The BassRIG Super Vintage boasts all the versatility of this classic stack, with deep low end, growling distortion and wide-ranging controls – but you don’t need a team of roadies to move it!”
The BassRIG ’64 Black Panel, meanwhile, is even more old-school, and “delivers all the warmth and grit” of a Fender Bassman or Showman running through a 2x15 speaker cabinet – a sound that was foundational in reshaping popular culture through ‘60s soul, RnB and rock acts.
Appropriately, both pedals share a similar amp-like set of controls and functionality. There are dials for Output, Bass, Midrange, Treble, Drive and Blend, the latter allowing you to dial in how much clean signal you need, plus the Amp Out EQ filter to make these suitable for any amp and cab setup.
The Super Vintage has a toggle switch for Ultra Hi and Lo Cut, with the Ultra Hi position acting like a bright switch and the Lo Cut allowing you to keep the low-end tight via a high-pass filter in the preamp. And there is another toggle for selecting the frequency affected by the Midrange control, choose from 220Hz, 800Hz or 3kHz.
The ’64 Black Panel, meanwhile, has all of the above but with a different complement of toggle switches. It has a three-way Bright/Fat toggle that operates like a Showman in the middle and Bright positions, and emulates the Bassman circuit in the Fat position.
The BLK/TWD switch selects between Black Panel and Tweed tone stacks, with the latter offering a grittier and more aggressive mids-heavy voicing.
Both BassRIG pedals share a heavy-duty all-metal construction and are designed and made in England. Priced £399 / $489, the BassRIG Super Vintage and ’64 Black Panel preamp/overdrive pedals are available now.
Origin Effects has also launched a special edition Cali ’67 compressor pedal to mark the release, which is appropriately offered available in Super Vintage blue or ’64 Black Panel black.
See Origin Effects for more details.
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