One Control BJF Series FX Blue 360 Amp-In-A-Box Bass Preamp Pedal

While guitarists have often expressed a degree of disdain for solid state amplifiers ever since their inception, bassists have always been more open-minded about these transistorized beasts. And while there have been quite a few famous solid state bass amps over the years, none are as legendary and storied as the original Acoustic 360 preamp. Paired with 361 18" powered cabinet, the Acoustic 360 may be one of the most-heard but least-acknowledged amps in music history. John Paul Jones used a pair of them with Led Zeppelin, John McVie used them in the early days of Fleetwood Mac and the 360 was the favored amp of legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius - the "Hendrix of the Electric Bass Guitar". In the 1960's, as guitar amps began to take on monstrous proportions and reach new sonic levels, a bass tone was needed that could match the loud, distorted sounds produced by the high-output guitar amps, to maintain a balanced, dense band sound. The 360 was designed by Harvey Gerst and Russ Allee, two to compete in volume with the Marshall stacks and Fender Twins that guitarists were using. The 360 was loud, but thanks to its innovative design, it also had a wonderful tone and a very musical sound. The newest member of One Control's rapidly growing collection of Amp-in-a-Box (AIAB) style pedals, Blue 360 reproduces the sound of the legendary 360 preamp. Blue 360 can instantly give your modern, high tech amp the response of 70's-era high-powered transistor amp. Blue 360 delivers a bass tone that fits in perfects with high-density, powerful band sounds - especially those with high volume, distorted guitar - making it a great option for classic rock, punk, etc. Blue 360 features a switch on the side marked 0dB / -18dB, which works as a pre-set master volume. All boost is set by the Volume control. At the -18 dB setting, cranking Volume to full will deliver a similar level to bypass mode, allowing you to set the pedal to create distortion tones when on, while keeping your signal at the same volume whether the pedal is on or off. At the 0dB setting, the output level will increase as you turn up the Volume until you reach 360mV of clean sound or 600mV of distorted tone. Typical instrument level is just 60mV, so 600mV is enough to drive a standard power amp. If you do use the Blue 360 as preamp into a power amp, the sound will start to distort on transients at the full power of the power amp. Just below 600mV, you'll get an almost-clean, compressed sound that amplifies weaker notes but veers into distortion at peak transients. This response is very similar to how transistor powered bass amplifiers were made to compete with roaring tube guitar amplifiers.