JPTR FX : JIVE - Saturation, Boost, Overdrive | Bass / Bass VI | theoandhispedals

[@BillonBass]

I love the Jive for my bass. I run it into my JHS Morning Glory as a boost with light gain and no diodes on and it produces the best and smoothest overdrive I have ever heard. You can’t get that sound out of any one pedal and bass players would kill for it! You ought to collaborate with Josh and put the Jive and the MG into a single box with multiple options! I’d be first in line to buy it and take it on tour with me.

[@thewetterbass]

You’re getting sounds from your Jive that are slightly different from mine. Goes to prove that it’s really good at transmitting the character of the instruments you plug in. Cool review!

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

Thank you!

[@kevmac1230]

I bought the Kaleidoscope reverb from JPTRFX and while it sounded pretty good,it quit on me shortly after a bit of playing. I contacted jptrfx and it took a while but finally I was sent a new unit . Guess what? That one also crapped out. So I contacted them again and again,but I've never gotten a reply, so now I have a $250 paper weight.

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

Oh damn. im sorry to hear that. That really really sucks. I have to say whilst i havent had any manufacturing issues (other than not being able to get the bottom screws out of the Death Saw), I wasnt super impressed with the fact that their website says that stuff is in stock when it isnt.

[@kevmac1230]

@@TheoAndHisPedals I started on guitar as a youngster but got serious about bands in my teens and switched to bass because most guys back then didn't want to.But I fell in love with the instrument.Dispite this I'm a gadget lover and have amassed a huge pedal collection. C.S. is sometimes more important than ingenuity because what difference does it matter if a great sounding pedal doesn't work? Tattoos and Dreads might create an image but I'll take a guy like Brian from Subdecay, that spared no expense, and worked overtime to please me when I emailed him about a tracking issue with bass on an M1 Synth pedal.He actually built me a bass version for free saying " we need to pay more attention to bassists needs." How cool is that?

[@kevmac1230]

P.S. you have a good site that I've been subbed to and following for a while!

[@distorson]

@kevmac1230 when did you get your replacement unit? Does it still have warranty?

[@mattnorth6007]

Love the jive! Have also been looking at the Jhs colour box for some time now, you mentioned they are similar but prefer the jive. Do you think the will pair up nicely? Or do you think it’s best to keep it simple was mainly wanting the colour box for home recording

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

I had a v1 Colourbox and really liked it for recording, but i liked the cleaner sounds out of it and the v1 got dirty pretty quickly, the v2 has extra eq and a hi/low input so it can be alot cleaner if you want. In terms of drive sounds, I prefer the Jive all day BUT as a preamp/eq i'd go with the colorbox v2 if money was no object. I think the closest analog would actually be the JHS Crayon i guess as it doesnt have a full EQ section and is just the dirt from the Colorbox with a tilt EQ...but again i'm not a massive fan of that overloaded console sound on bass, the Jive sounds more like a natural overdrive so if you're just looking for a nice, semi-transparent boost/OD - go for the Jive.

[@pruppek]

Would love to compare it against a DOD bifet boost and the Wren&Cuff Phat Phuk B - a dirty boost kind of shootout :D

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

this could be good for me as i use the neve 542 tape emulator for my studio bass distortion and never can get something similar in my live board

[@mouthmw]

Just ordered one, wanna use it as a slightly dirty/saturated boost. Your video was fantastic! What voltage do you run it on? Also, do you prefer this to Saturn VI?

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

I've only run it on 9v so far, I havent felt the need for 18v just yet but i'm sure i will give it a go. I really liked the Saturn VI, maybe more than the Jive but to be honest the Saturn was alot more subtle, for me it went from clean to slightly dirty and could get a bit darker or a bit brighter....and actually thats what I liked about it - it didnt take you too far away from your clean signal. The JIVE is capable of much heavier distorted sounds and some variety within that with the switches but doent have an EQ section really.

[@PorchBass]

It doesn't sound flat - the clip is very soft so it's bark is more quacky - which I liked a lot on the bass vi with plectrum. I way preferred that muff you did for drive.... HARD Edit: the violin bass sounded pukka on low drive, really plummy.

[@OlandoMcCall]

Having actually worked with 2" tape this sounds nothing like tape saturation.

[@issamukti]

With any of the clipping diodes activated its deviating from the tape reel saturated sound but with all of them off & only using the volume & gain knobs I could see how they could market it that way.

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

Thats totally valid, i look at it more like a clean boost to overdrive....but more along the lines of the JHS Crayon and Hudson Broadcast, which both emulate console preamp inputs rather than any sort of tape machine preamp

[@parkerellerbeck1674]

What strings on the axe brother

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

On which bass?

[@MadMagicPaul]

I love the Flatwounds tones. Much fatness!

[@ileutur6863]

This really doesn't impress me on it own, I wonder how it would sound at the end of a pedalboard with more signal hitting it

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

I'm gonna find out and take a quick vid to show.

[@marvinkmooneyoz]

DO you prefer it early or late in the signal path?

[@OlandoMcCall]

This sounds nothing like a signal hitting tape....

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

Seemingly that seems to be a common consensus, I used to have Strymon Deco that had a very nice tape saturation model but i cant say how close it was to actual tape saturation. I'd like to give that a go again some day. The way i look at it is that the Jive is a nice boost/overdrive and its full range enough for bass an guitar. JPTR FX state thats its based on an Akai tape machine, but i also cant comment on how close the Akai actually sounded like peoples general understanding of tape saturation or how much the Jive sounds like the Akai.

[@pooscooper]

have you tried the Fairfield Barbershop by chance? I’ve seen the 2 compared before, but this seems to have a lot more options and a different type of distortion character. I go back and forth about whether or not to keep my Barbershop sometimes

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

yeah I owned a barbershop for a while years ago, it’s really good but I felt the clipping character was kinda weird, almost kazoo-like. I actually think the barbershop might have more options as it’s got the high cut switch and sag control but I like the character of the drive in the Jive more. You may also like the Creation Audio Grizzy Bass and Spaceman Saturn VI, both do the transparent thing really well with the Grizzly being pretty comprehensive in that regard

[@pooscooper]

@@TheoAndHisPedals Awesome thanks. I like the distortion tone here, so I’m intrigued now. My main instrument is a danelectro with flats, and the barbershop can maybe sound a little brittle on higher notes. Thanks for all the recs