mcnach

They're a lot more flexible, you'll see. Let us know what you think!

Hmm... I'm liking what I see, thank you! And that little optional patchbay thing could be quite handy too...

I'm using a couple of tiny ones mostly (a Pedal Train nano and a similar one slightly larger by Donner), which do the job well for a couple of pedals plus the wireless receiver. However, for one band I use a larger setup, and that has now become two bands and I find myself a lot busier taking the larger board with me everywhere... It's a Diago case, which is very solid and works very well... but that thing is heavy!!! With a bunch of pedals inside, some of them pretty heavy themselves, it's getting a little annoying at times when you're carrying things in both hands and need to open doors, climb stairs... As I'm about to reorganise my board, I thought I'd look into lighter suitable alternatives. One thing that is not good about the Diago case is that the power supply is on the surface with the pedals, taking precious space (Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+) so I'd like something with space underneath to fit the power pack there and also have all the cabling routed from the bottom if possible. What's out there? Hopefully something that's not going to cost me £200!

I have a Mesa D800+, I love it, but the black knobs on black background is not great for visibility, and as there are 10 of them all in a row I would really like to improve visibility. Ideally I'd like some white/cream chicken-head style knobs, but I don't think they make them small enough: the knobs are too close together and the 'beaks' will interfere. I have looked online but I haven't found the right stuff. I found a nice alternative using this kind: But I'd much prefer a chicken head style, if available in the right size. Has anybody come across any suitable ones? The shaft is solid 6.3mm (made for a set screw fixing) and the 'beaks' should not protrude much more than 20-21mm. Any ideas?

Ernie Ball Cobalt flats are very smooth (of course, they're flats!) but they're a lot brighter than any other flats I've used. If you're looking for the smooth feel with no string finger noise, but without the classic duller sound of flats... try the Cobalt Flats. Alternatively... Labella White Nylon Tapewounds are very smooth, but they have the tape feel (plastic) which not everyone likes. They're very low tension, and have a very good sound, bright if you want it to be, with strong low mids and very nice tight bottom end that doesn't get boomy easily. These are my favourite 'smooth' strings now. They cover everything you'd normally play with rounds down to 'old school' tones if you roll off the treble. You won't get the very bright Marcus Miller and Wooten type of sound, but anything else... they're very good.

oh yes!

And the input gain knob is at the same position you had it before?

I decided the black knobs on black background were not easy to see... so I put a set of yellow chicken-head style ones. Not to everybody's taste, I am sure, but they do the job beautifully. Here's what it looks like, and also next to other pedals to give a better idea of its sise: it's larger than the usual suspects, but not by much:

That Little Bear G3... Black with black knobs just doesn't work for me. It looks good but not very good in terms of visibility. So I put a new set of knobs on it... A little too 'markbassy' but very easy to see, which is the point. Here's a couple of pictures, including one next to other pedals to give a better idea of its size:

stacking overdrives... I've been having fun stacking 3 pedals together in combinations or all three... I really don't need that array of sounds in my bands but... I wish I did to justify buying a little programmable looper like the Mooer L6... Add overdrives, then induce feedback by placing the bass against the speaker and turning up the mids on the onboard preamp... controllable feedback bliss

That's the gauge I use, on two basses so fat (a Jazz and a Precision). Fortunately I did not need to widen the nut slots but on some basses you might have to. They feel reaaaaally soft. I like a mid-low action (I haven't measured it but that's my impression from playing other people's basses), and I do have to weak the truss rod a bit to avoid excessive fret buzz (when switching from DR Fat Beams 45-100), as they're really low tension. The extra flexibility feels a bit strange at first but I love it. The only thing is it encourages me to bend strings like crazy :D

I've only just got a little Focusrite USB interface precisely so that I can record stuff... I can't promise when... but I'll get something done as soon as I get my recording up and running. I'm interested myself because one thing is to try it with different voltages etc, but it involves gaps and remembering... if I record the clips then I can compare them more easily switching back and forth... so it'll happen

Thank you for that! Very lucky for me to have you tried all three! :) I must give the Pure Blues a try since I never like any string when new and wait for the initial zing to go... they sound like they were made for me!

For me, DR Fat Beams mostly, but also Sunbeams. However, over thepast year or two I've also developed a taste for the Labella White Nylon tapewounds. They're not 'thumpy' like most other tapewounds. They can be quite bright and do slap well, but what I like the most is how tight and focused they can sound on the low end, with strong low mids and very good definition. On a Jazz, in particular, they work very well.

How would you compare the Sunbeams to PureBlues, both in terms of sound and feel (coarseness and flexibility)? I like Fat Beams a lot, but I'm finding SunBeams very nice on a couple of basses (PJ types). I keep hearing about the Pure Blues and I'm curious...

Well, I really don't like the higher gain sounds... but for low to mid gain it is very cool. For higher gain I prefer the Multidrive. Curious, as I expected the reverse!

A thread about this pedal here (that's how I found out about it): https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/330442-cheap-valve-drive/

Have you experimented with other valves? I quite like it as it is, but of course I'm curious. If you try 12AX7 type valves remember to change the switch by the base of the valve accordingly (they seem to come with a different type valve, fits in the same base but different pin layout which the switch adjusts for... I only realised that by watching a video)

But... there's a pedal that has surprised me a lot recently: the Nobsound (I know 😛 ) Little Bear G3... Less than £40, it's a little quirky in its design with a valve that actually seems to do something and with a larger footprint than most other pedals... but it sounds really good. Although the (sometimes cryptic) instructions state you should use at least a 350mA capable power supply, it seems to work with less. I tried it on the 250mA output of my Voodoo Power 2+ power supply, and also on one of the 100mA outputs... and there's little difference. Actually maybe a bit more gain and compressed on the lower power output and maybe a bit quieter but the level control adjusts easily for that. I even tried it with a 9V battery on an adaptor and still works reasonably well, although I suspect the battery would not last long). The videos on YouTube are pretty dire... if I had watched them before I bought the pedal, I would not have bothered. Pretty cool little pedal...

I have one of these. Pretty cool sounding on bass, despite a little bit of low end loss, still useful. There's also the Mosky Black Rat for about £17, again in a similar compact form, supposedly based on the Rat. I received mine today and has the same slight bass loss but still usable. It has two modes: vintage and turbo. I prefer the vintage, it's smoother, and its sound actually overlaps a lot with the Hustle Drive. On Turbo mode, I prefer it with low gain, as it gets a little too 'raspy' for my liking (with a Stingray) when the gain is high. I still think the Joyo Ultimate Overdrive is the nicest most versatile cheap unit. Using the mids on my onboard preamp you can sort of control how smooth the overdrive gets...

+1 I had a pair of BB2 for some time, using various amps (MarkBass LMIII and LMT800, GB Streamliner and Shuttles). They worked well, but I was never really fully happy with them and I found I needed to work the EQ carefully to get a sound I was happy enough with. Eventually I 'discovered' the Two10... and I now use a pair of them instead of the pair of BB2 and it's just what I was wanting. Despite their original description being "Retro", they are very versatile. They do the 'old school' sound very well, but not only that. I find it very easy to get a great sound with these (now using mostly a Mesa D800+ but still have the LMIII and it never sounded better).

Well... I didn't really have time to sit down to test everything... but earlier today I found myself in front of the pedalboard and I thought I'd start at least. I plugged in and... it sounded worst than last time I used it. Not just the volume issue and slightly degraded sound... there was a bit of a weird fuzzy noise that followed the envelope of each note I played. I started wiggling patch cables... yes, very technical, I know... And what do you know? One cable, between the last overdrive and the wah started making noise... and in one position made the bass sound perfectly clear... then move it a bit and the problems start. I think it all may be THAT single cable. Since I'm at it, I'm going to revise the setup to make the cabling tidier but... replacing that cable seems to be doing the trick. The simplest things...

Borrow a wireless system

This. I had just mentioned my favourite cabs have nothing above 6 KHz and (to my ears) they sound great with plenty treble. I was talking about the Two10. Largo uses a pair of One10. Same speakers, and nothing much above 6 KHz either.