Quatschmacher

Resonance is a gain boost centred around the frequency of the filter cutoff, the higher it is, the more of a peak there is. On some equipment, when resonance is high enough, the filter self-oscillates so that you get an additional sine wave pitched at the cutoff frequency. In gear where the filter cutoff can track the input at 100% then you can play this as an extra oscillator.

Just launched: https://www.sourceaudio.net/zio-analog-front-end-boost.html

This and many other tracks indicate otherwise. 🙂

I’m hoping to get to try it at the weekend.

You’re welcome. I had to go through it the first time I imported a bass from the USA (back when £1=$2). Effects pedals don’t have their own HMRC category so I was looking under “electrical musical instruments which require amplification”.

Still a few purple filters missing from that collection!

If it features a McMillen 12 Step Program, count me in! https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/12-step/

Thanks. Not sure how long I’ll last though.

I might be tempted to take part in this, though depends if my midibass I ordered in 2019 actually gets made and sent this year. I suspect the Shuker I started the order for last year but has yet to be given the final nod will disqualify me. I had a good start and resisted the temptation to blow loads on a new synth on Monday even though I had a generous discount voucher. However, it might all fall apart if I cave and order a new Rhodes. As for pedals etc., I get a fair few now for beta testing so don’t buy many. I only bought two all last year, and I sold one of those on within 24 hours (rather than returning it).

Not to throw a spanner in the works, but I saw this and immediately thought of you: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Shuker_P4.html

As regards import costs, you can easily work out in advance what it will cost using the HMRC website, which has a list of goods categories. It’s 20% of the declared value in Import VAT plus the Customs Duty (which varies depending on category of the item, around 2.5% at most) plus about £12 fee to Royal Mail for paying the fees on your behalf. For reference, a $279 pedal + $35 shipping cost me about £308 all in, though it depends on the exact exchange rate, which you can also look up. I haven’t ever had chance to play an OC-2 yet.

I managed to score one and got it on Friday. It’s a couple of years since I sold my MKII so can’t compare directly. From memory it seem to do all the things I loved about it in a smaller enclosure. Tracking might be slightly better, though I don’t have the same bass I had back then, so it’s difficult to know for sure. What I have noticed is that it tracks my J bridge pickup really well. The differences compared to my MXR VBO really come out when running into a Mastotron, the the response varies hugely depending on which of my two basses I use. With the lower-output Fender P, it sounds so fat, whereas using the higher-output Lakland P it sounds weedy. The MXR sounds better on the Lakland.

A few of my pet peeves: Lack of volume controls (especially on envelope filters); Lack of dry blend (again on filters); Lack of dry kill switch on octave pedals; Internal trimpots/dip switches - if the controls are there, for God’s sake put them in an easily accessible place on top. (This is much of the reason I haven’t experimented much with the Wombtone MKII’s potential - the dip switches are on the back so pretty inaccessible when mounted on a board.) Half-cocked MIDI implementation - this was the disappointment on the Dr. Scientist Dusk: it had preset capabilities but not all parameters were stored so it negated the usefulness of the feature; Another vote for non-standard naming of parameters (like “decay” on the MXR BEF actually being the cutoff frequency). It’s so much easier to get one’s head around controls if they actually say exactly what they control.

It drifts way more than a proper Minimoog Model D (but is £220 as opposed to £3.5-5k so no too bad). Calibration is a pain in the árse too - it requires opening the innards and the trim pots are explicitly excluded from the warranty. Have heard of a few people reaching the end of their travel and not being able to get the thing in tune.

They do sound good. Tuning drifts quite a bit though. Wondering if they’ve addressed the mod depth issue that I had: use a single saw with a fully open filter, amp eg sustain on full. Set the mod source to be “filter EG” on the switch, and turn the mod source dial to fully filter EG. Then turn the osc mod switch on. Dial all the filter eg knobs to zero and hold a note. While doing so, turn the modulation depth dial up. If there’s no fault, you should hear jo change in pitch. If there’s a fault, the pitch will go up maybe a semitone.

If someone buys my MXR VBO I’ll get one of these.

Was going to say he’d been caught with his stick in someone else’s hand but thought that was better.

Is that what cross-sticking is then?

Recently sold Paul a very lovely Miami Blue Fender P bass, which he collected today. Communication was excellent throughout, he paid in advance of collection and turned up exactly as arranged. Lovely and friendly guy and it was nice to chat about basses; it was only after I’d kept him talking for a king while that he mentioned his wife was sat outside in the car so I hope I didn’t get him into trouble. 🙂 All went seamlessly and I’d happily trade with Paul again and recommend him to one and all. Many thanks, Paul. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the bass.

Just when my gear habits were calming. MXR octavers have the best tracking I’ve ever encountered so I’m sure this will be worth checking out.

I’d love to give one a try as I’ve heard good things about them.