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Post new topic Anybody try the Two Notes Le Clean preamp?
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Author Topic:  Anybody try the Two Notes Le Clean preamp?
Karlis Abolins


From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
Post  Posted 20 Dec 2016 6:47 am    
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I came across the le clean preamp stompbox during one of my web searches. Has anyone tried one for pedal steel? The price ($299 at sweetwater) is low for a preamp but high for a stompbox. I use a powered monitor (qsc) with my eleven rack but a smaller device is appealing.

Karlis
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Karlis Abolins


From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
Post  Posted 11 Jan 2017 12:16 pm    
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I bit the bullet and bought one. In function it is similar to the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube pedal (discontinued). I have missed the Twin Tube since it died and have looked for a similar device. Well, Here it is. The tube runs at 200 volts. The Le Clean has two channels (think clean and drive) which can be used individually or together. When used together, it can be serial or parallel.
The clean channel has gain, volume, bass, and treble for controls. I found it very easy to get a "sweet" tube sound with the gain around 12 o'clock. The transition to a thicker sounds happens very quickly above 12.
The drive channel has gain, volume, Bass, Mid with Mid Sweep and Treble. It crosses into thick and driven much sooner the the clean channel.
I ran the balanced DI out into my QSC K10 and the sound is clean and quiet without signal. There is a slight bottom of white noise which is consistent with my tube amp experience.
Le Clean has an effects loop for adding reverb, delay, etc. It also has midi in and out to be controlled and to control externally. The headphone jack and the DI out have speaker simulation available (one model only). Two Notes offers speaker simulation plug-ins to be used by your favorite DAW.
$299 for this unit was more than I wanted to spend on a preamp pedal but I now consider it well spent. I hope to get a lot of miles from this unit.
Karlis
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Ken Morgan

 

From:
Midland, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2017 4:57 am    
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Been looking at this... now that the newness has worn off, do you still see the unit as good investment?
_________________
67 Shobud Blue Darling III, scads of pedals and such, more 6 strings than I got room for

Ken Morgan
Midland, TX
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Karlis Abolins


From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2017 8:30 am    
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This unit far exceeds my expectations. Pick response allows me to go from clean and sweet to full and crunchy. I have two pickups with volume pot for each pickup. I get an excellent range of sounds just by adjusting the "bridge" pickup against the "neck" pickup. My E-B-E-G# power chords leave me grinning. The clarity of the note separation has me exploring "HugheyLand" which I have always avoided before.
I used the headphone jack the other morning with its speaker emulation and I can truly say that I have never heard my guitar sound so good.I have been using the "A" channel with the bass, treble, and volume at 12 o'clock and the gain at 1 o'clock. I use the XLR direct output to connect to my QSC K10. The direct out also has the option of using the speaker emulation which I leave on all the time.
I put my Boss RV-5 into the effects loop and it works seamlessly.
Here is my signal path: Alumitone pickups to 500K pots to Peterson classic strobo-stomp pedal to Le Clean to headphones or QSC K10. The Boss RV-5 runs parallel in the effects loop.
Two Notes has a hardware unit that offers a variety of speaker emulation and based upon the sound I get from my unit with its built-in speaker emulation, I think that they "get it" as far as providing the equipment that a modern guitarist needs.
All this is subjective but my experience has been positive. I hope that the unit continues to operate correctly for a long time to come.

Karlis
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John Sluszny

 

From:
Brussels, Belgium
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2017 1:33 pm    
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I'd like to hear that ! Any sound clip ? Thanks !
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Karlis Abolins


From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2017 8:33 pm    
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I have posted some noodling to demonstrate my guitar without the Le Clean and then with the Le Clean. The first part of each section is rhythmic and the second is more melodic. Please ignore the clams. I have not been playing pedal steel for over two years and am just getting back into it. I just wanted to give interested folks some idea of what the Le Clean sounds like with my settings which are: the bass and treble at 12 o'clock, volume at 1 o'clock and the gain at 11 o'clock. My signal path is: Alumitone pickups to 500K pots to Peterson classic strobo-stomp pedal to Le Clean to steinberg UR44 USB interface to Presonus Studio One 3 pro.

Karlis
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John Sluszny

 

From:
Brussels, Belgium
Post  Posted 10 Feb 2017 11:47 am    
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Thanks ! I think I'm going to try one !
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Jerry Overstreet


From:
Louisville Ky
Post  Posted 10 Feb 2017 2:04 pm    
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Le Clean, Le Crunch, Le Lead etc...who markets these? Pepe´ Le Pew Question... Laughing....sorry.

Seriously, the features and specs look pretty good. Keep us posted.
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Karlis Abolins


From:
(near) Seattle, WA, USA
Post  Posted 13 Feb 2017 7:42 am    
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I'd like to point out that the Le Clean acts like a classic tube amp. That is, it helps to have a volume control on your guitar to adjust the nuances of the pick response. I know it is stating the obvious but I think anyone trying this preamp would have a tougher time of getting "their sound" without a volume pot in front of it. Smile

Karlis
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