mcnach

I have only just started to use it, and I am liking the M-Comp model a lot. It's not the pedal to kill all pedals... but it is pretty decent, and the compression effects are definitely useable, something I was not expecting.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1376333547' post='2172369'] Bit sexist. [/quote] what? Manuel does not complain...

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1376314445' post='2171975'] Just don't tell that girlfriend that double bass players are barred from washing up, lest they soften their delicate hands. [/quote] We have a dishwasher

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1376221439' post='2170868'] Just admitting that in public is the first foot on the slippery slope [/quote] My girlfriend txted me once, from a gig by some friends of a friend of hers, and sent me a picture of the double bass the guy was playing. "it's beautiful! and he is selling it! shall I ask?" she says she can see having a DB as a decorative item (much like her classical guitar, which has needed new strings for over a year, but I digress...) and would not mind having that beast of an instrument somewhere visible... unlike my electric basses that have to be kept under lock and key in my little music room away from the gaze of visitors... So a significant part of the battle is already won.

I don't play DB but... I admire them from afar and I lurk sometimes I love your solution, Pete. Nice one!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1376085739' post='2169703'] That whole assertion about there being no stupid questions has just failed QA. [/quote] be nice...

[quote name='Stan_da_man' timestamp='1376064215' post='2169273'] G&L - the improved Stingray. [/quote] except it sounds nothing like a Stingray! I see it more like a deriveation from a Jazz, rather... even 'though it really it's a different bass altogether. But the placement of the pickups means you sort of get a Jazz sound, and a very FAT Jazz sound from the bridge pickup (parallel and series respectively), and a kind of P-bass type of sound from the neck pickup too. It does not, in any combination, get a sound that's reminiscent of a Stingray. Fantastic bass, the L2000 (which I assume is the model you are talking about). I have a L2000 that I modified. I removed the preamp, which I really did not care for, and installed a 3-band MMSR Stingray preamp from John East. If the L2000 was a beast before, now it's a veritable monster.

The USA MM SUBs are fantastic basses. Really not much other that aesthetics when it comes to comparing those and real modern Stingrays. Some have the pickup wired in series, unlike a Stingray. I personally think that works really well with a 2-band EQ, perhaps because it's a little punchier and more mid-rich. But both are great. If you want a Stingray without spending much... the answer is a MM SUB (the USA model only). It *is* a Stingray.

If you really like the FX25B, you could use it with a Boss LS-2, and use the LS-2 to switch it on/off and adjust the volume. I always have at least one LS-2, as there are quite a lot of pedals that either sound too loud or too quiet, or need blending with clean signal.

Well, I received mine yesterday. The usb on my battery operated miniPA system is not suitable for this pedal, too noisy (probably not enough current). So that won't work as backup and AA batteries will do. I only had a quick test... and this thing sounds really good!!! Really tempted to get a B3 now and transform my pedalboard...

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1375707143' post='2164496'] Not sure I can think of a situation where 2 Compacts can be justified, but I'd recommend a cab with a tweeter, maybe the Midget T. [/quote] That was more or less what I was thinking, actually. Something with a bit more midrange, and the Midget seems to be described that way. But I'm not exactly in a hurry. The MarkBass + Compact is really good. Mostly I just see my RS210 being for sale very soon.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1375652300' post='2163994'] I'd be looking at a better 2x12 (or 2x10 or 1x15) that is lighter. Maybe a TC RS cab, or have a look at the 2nd hand section on here, you could pick up a pretty decent single lightweight cab that could cover all you need. [/quote] I would also considere Barefaced, and keeping your existing head. I just got my Compact (1x15), and it's extremely light and portable... but boy, it's huge sounding! That 1x15" sounded comparable to a (and better than some) typical 4x10" cab. There are other great cabs around too... but this is the one I just got and I think it's really good. I used last night the Compact with a MarkBass CMD121P combo... so two good cabs: 1x15 and 1x12. It was huge sounding (playing in a mid size bar with no PA reinforcement) and I had plenty of power left that I did not need. A good 2x12 or two 1x12 cabs could be a great solution too. Good speakers with good drivers are not cheap, but if you want light, small and powerful, it'll cost. If you don't care about size/weight... the options increase.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1375649908' post='2163952'] Well, my band had been hired to provide a couple of hours entertainment outside a café in Putney for the crowds watching the cycling event that was going on in London today. 60s and 70s covers mostly, with a few of our own numbers thrown in. In between sets a guy came up from the audience and, after a little negotiation about fees, booked us to play a party he is throwing on Saturday night. [/quote] great! True, nothing guarantees that someone in the crowd, someone passing by, will book you. There is a degree of luck involved, and choosing the right spot. What is absolutely sure is that nobody will walk into your house when you're practicing your scales to offer you a gig

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1375705382' post='2164460'] They were too poplar, that's why they stopped making them [/quote]

I had the chance to try my Compact properly last night, for the first time. We were asked to play in this bar in town (The Potting Shed, formerly Native State, for those Edinburghers in the forum), and they had a small PA through which we put three microphones for vocals and saxophone/clarinet, and everything else was provided by our own amps (except the drummer and our very loud trumpet player,, that did not use amplification). I took along my Compact, alongside the MarkBass CMD121P combo. Essentially this below, except I was using the Stingray rather than the SUB in the picture: The results? MIGHTY. Lots of bottom end. LOTS. More than I was used to when I used the MB alone or with the RS210 cab. Also more than when using the RH450 head with the RS210 and BC212 cabs. It sounded big. Alex said this 1x15 cab could sound like or even bigger than many 4x10s, and I don't think he exaggerated. I would add "not just any 410, but a good one". The sound was a bit "darker" than I would normally prefer, but it's early days, I'll just have to experiment until I get it just the way I want it. I did not normally have this amount of bottom end available so my Stingray and amp settings will have to be different now, of course. It sounded big, and with definition. It's a really good combination, using the MB combo and this cab. I was using my wireless, so that I could go around the bar for sound check... and it sounded really really nice out there. On stage it sounded louder, obviously, but no overpowering, it just sounded... "big". Drummer was very happy with it too. And this is a rig I could easily carry in one trip if I wanted to: bass on my back, MB combo on one hand, and Compact on the other. I can't get over just how light this Compact is... and how big it sounds. The volume knob on the Markbass was set also noticeable lower than I used to. This rig has some serious punch and volume. I'm in love. I see a future where I sell the RS210 and buy another Barefaced...

Keir bought my Joyo Sweet baby overdrive. Very good communication, pleasant and easy. A while ago I bought an SD preamp from him but forgot to leave feedback as... over a year afterwards I still have not used the preamp and is sitting in my drawer but I am sure it works fine and I remember the transaction back then also being smooth and easy. Thank you, Keir! PS: oh, and it seems he likes guitars with P90 pickups as well. Clearly a man of taste!

I just bought Matt's modified EHX Nano Bassballs. Great communication and a real pleasure to deal with. Really enjoying this pedal, thanks!!!

I had a love/hate relationship with my first Bassballs pedal. Actually, it started with a Behringer clone. The VB-1: This looked a lot like the old BassBalls and is based on it. I found it interesting but a little bland. I got tired of it rapidly. Then I read reviews that essentially said that Behringer's take one the Bassballs fell off the mark... and one day I ended up with a EHX Nano Bassballs. And I really liked it! Definitely nothing like the Behringer. When reading reviews on the Behringer, I also came across pedal modifications. People have often opened up their Bassballs and tweaked the two internal trimpots, which control the two filters, to taste. Aha! I opened the Behringer and there was only one trimpot. I was able to tweak it to enhance its sound. Cool. But it was still a little bland. I sold it. A while later I sold the Bassballs too, as it did not seem to have a place in the music I was playing at the time and I did not really use it. Fast forward a year or so... and a situation came where I thought "oh, I think a Bassballs here could be pretty cool", and I bought another EHX Nano. It was ok. Then one day, I came across someone selling a modified Bassballs, the older version in the large box, where the internal trimpots were now accessible from the outside via two extra knobs! I went for it... and I wa so glad I did! The Nano started to languish, unused, as the modified one was just sooo much fun. The general sound is the same, of course, but you could get the sound just right with the three knobs, getting the right amount of whump and waah and weee and gurgle. I still used the Nano, because it was a lot smaller and fitted better in my board... but I often used the modified one, running on batteries (they last forever on this pedal!), without a pedal board. Lovely quirky pedal. The Bassballs stock is... alright. You could open it up, tweak the trimpots to taste and leave it there, and get a great sounding pedal. But because the sound depends greatly on how hot your bass signal is etc, it seems a bit silly to leave those controls with such awkward access. Having them easily accessible on the top of the pedal allows you to get a few extra great sounds too, very very easily. I am sure they would have sold a lot more of these pedals if they had these controls outside. What were they thinking? Why did they not come out with "Bassballs II" or something with this modification? The nano version is a bit tricky to modify, sure, but the original is dead easy. Lots of room! I have just found a modified Nano, which I received today The modification was made by SFX (probably known to many in this forum), and it looks great... I spend nearly an hour this morning playing with the Nano alongside the old version modified one... and I am pleased to confirm that they sound identical to me. The modified one sounded so good that I was a little afraid that something had changed when making the Nano and could not be made to produce the same sounds... but it does It's a quirky pedal, it's not a pedal to use in every song... but it's a great sound to have. Long live the Bassballs! And here is a picture of my balls a quick and dirty clip just using a hand held ZoomH2 recorder: [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38169404/Pedals%20to%20sell/STE-035.mp3"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38169404/Pedals%20to%20sell/STE-035.mp3[/url]