Kev

[quote name='Jorduan' timestamp='1485946742' post='3227859'] Hello all, I'm currently very tempted to splash the cash on a Darkglass preamp effect. Either the BK3 or BK7. Has anyone got experience of these? I play in a heavy metal band, which requires a lot of distorted sounds. However, I am not happy with losing the true low end power and clarity. Just from researching, the Darkglass products seem to give what I am looking for. If anyone has any other suggestions then please let me know! [/quote] I have exclusively used Darkglass B*K circuits for my drive sound with my heavy metal ensemble. Its perfect for it, not an ounce of low end loss of course, clangy distorted goodness that you can have as much and as little of as you like. Clarity is enhanced

Yikes, give them chance to respond but naming would be almost the responsible thing to do, I'd rather not come unstuck! The bass needs to go back, or you need to get a full refund. From your description, they are the only two options, you cannot just accept what they have done. Obviously, your custom order can be used as leverage to sort this at least, but I agree with your concerns about continuing with the commission. Sorry you are having trouble

Cool basses, nearly picked one up for £300 at bass direct, £200 is a good deal

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1485720008' post='3226126'] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-Hand-Made-Extremely-Rare-Electric-Two-String-Bass-Guitar-/322406502455?hash=item4b10ecd037:g:yLUAAOSw2xRYji8W"]http://www.ebay.co.u...LUAAOSw2xRYji8W[/url] I was tempted to offer £9.00 for it but seeing as it is collect only from Herne Bay I may give it a miss just in case it is the best offer the seller gets! [/quote] Bugger. I offered £12.50 and didn't take that into account...

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1485416107' post='3223730'] Best of luck mate. The only regret I have about taking part in M2TM is winning it two years ago, meaning I can no longer take part! It's a great experience and you get to network with a lot of good bands you might not have had the chance to check out before [/quote] Cheers bud. I see you guys are paling Quest Fest next month, I'll be coming along for that!

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1485614949' post='3225324'] EVERYONE needs a dirt pedal for bass! [/quote] +10000000000000000000 Particularly with a solid state head!

[quote name='Higgie' timestamp='1485570905' post='3225055'] You can go down on the FI by double tapping the program up switch. Double tap and hold for fast scrolling downwards. [/quote] I can't see that going wrong in live use....

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1485497800' post='3224351'] Just wait for the behringer version that will cost £40 [/quote] Helpful.... This looks like an interesting piece of kit and, providing the £ price doesn't exceed the $, it looks like a good price too! Haven't checked, but do tech 21 sell power amps to accompany this??

$349 has been confirmed to me by DG.

[quote name='Burrito' timestamp='1485422982' post='3223803'] a high end Squier doesn't sound 10% as good as a Fender custom shop. [/quote] I agree with the comment in isolation, but perhaps not as you intended

Seems fairly in line with other official amp bags, like Markbass for example. The odd thing for me is that it doesn't immediately appear this bag will fit the new footswitch.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1485418476' post='3223754'] It's still almost £100 more than what I paid for the VMTD. Still, when we are out of the Single Market it can only get better.... [/quote] And the VMTD was $385 at release, which makes it even worse Special trade deal with Finland???? Let's hope so!

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1485414854' post='3223722'] Dollar price doesn't have Vat on it! 360 USD is £284 + 20% = £340 Either way, I'm out. I not paying that for a drive pedal. [/quote] It's a full preamp, as opposed to a drive pedal. But the value of the pound really buggers us on this one.

...I sent it back after a week or so's use. I'm afraid all my own fears about the pedal were realised from the moment I opened the box. The pedal had quite a rough (on mine, anyway) white paint job with vinyl covering. The vinyl was not of high quality at all and the imaging on it was not as sharp as it looks in pictures on the inter webs. In fact, the finish of the overall pedal reminded me of an old clone pedal I had once, were the pedal was built in a cheap enclosure and a sticker replaced the silk screen of the original. Perhaps mine was a dodgy one, but at this price point the quality of the box was just unacceptable. The knobs: I cannot for the life of me understand why the parameter knob isn't notched. It is difficult to select the parameter you want on the fly as you have to line it up almost perfectly with the line on the sticker. Worse still, if you don't turn it far enough, the display occasionally flickers between each parameter either side. In fact, it seemed to occasionally do this even if it was lined up. Most pots were also rather loose feeling, particularly the Parameter knob, so turning too far or simply knocking when adjusting another pot is very easy. The edit knob felt good though. Footswitches and jacks were fine. Whipped the pedal open to have a look, as I always do. Lots of wasted space inside, it is clear that Panda wanted to keep it as Deep Impact esque as possible; The pedal could have been a good deal smaller. The Deep Impact filled its case entirely with the circuit board, whereas the board in the Future Impact covered less than half. Clearly components and/or pcbs have got smaller over the years, but I wish the pedal had gotten smaller with it. The pedal sounded identical to the Deep Impact in its copycat settings. Not better, not worse, I couldn't notice any difference of note in sound quality. Perhaps default parameters were slightly different, but general tone the same as I remember mine being. On this basis, it would be questionable to own a Deep Impact instead of one of these pedals. You would have an extra couple hundred quid to play with too. You do have to live with a less impressive build quality and pedal interface, but its probably worth it. The rest of the sounds? Well, it can do a lot, thats for sure. Tracking is pretty much the same as the Deep Impact, which I was disappointed by. Its an incredible sound engine though, for sure. You could spend hours and hours finding new sounds with the editor and still only scratch the surface. I wish you could do more from the pedal itself; not having a midi interface for your pc will rob you of an awful lot, as parameter changes on the pedal are very limited. Practically nothing has changed on that front from the Deep Impact. I'm not sure why time wasn't spent on this as a proper display and parameter control would take this pedal up a gear. Overall, I found it to be far too expensive for the product it was. If it was built in a good solid enclosure with a quality finish and quality pots/knobs, with a modern display and usb connectivity, you may be getting close to what would be worth the asking price. The whole feel of the pedal for me was a cheaply made version of the Deep Impact with upgraded functionality. I worry that the Talkbass thread (surely the main drive for this pedal even happening) and the constant pressure from members there may have caused this to be more rushed than it should have been. Or, perhaps Panda just didn't want to change the original recipe too much. Would I choose this over a Deep Impact at the same price? Absolutely, as it can do so much more. But I sold my Deep Impact because it was worth FAR too much for what it could do, for me at least. Hell, it sold for £80 odd new after all. All in my opinion, and I appreciate that the problems with mine (poor paint job, poor quality printing on the vinyl, flickering screen, loose pots) may have been a one off, and I did pass these comments on to Thomann to see if I get any feedback. I so wanted to like it

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1485330925' post='3223088'] I have a couple of dirt pedals but they don't do it for me. I'm actually starting to wonder if my basic bass tone is incompatible with distortion and fuzz pedals! I don't have anything fancy, just a EH Bass Big Muff (too fizzy - I actually prefer it as a guitar pedal) and an EH Crayon - which was cheap, got a bit of coverage in the other place and is 'OK' if you really boost the bass pot and use an LS2 as a blend. I've been thinking about a B3K (a lot of money for a dirt pedal IMO) but I know there are other boutique makers out there. The problem is that I can't try any of this stuff out. What should I be looking at and what is it possible to try? I need to keep the bottom end - so a blend is probably essential and I'd rather not have to add the LS2 just to obtain it (pedalboard footprint issues). I typically only use distortion when playing more or less unison riffs with the guitar so I'm after something that sounds really heavy, rather than smooth and fuzzy. More grit than fuzz, definitely. There are some connoisseurs on here I know, so recommend away. I do need to be able to try it out though - so internet only ops are probably out. [/quote] Budget? Second hand on here is the best way to try gear, particularly more unusual stuff. 9 times out of 10 you will sell it on and not lose anything. A B3K has just popped up for £130 in the classifieds There are also a couple of Cog Knightfalls around the £65 - £75 mark. Both are excellent options for grit.

The pathetic pound can be blamed for most of it. There is a good healthy dollop of retail stores blaming further profit margin pushes on 'brexit' too, despite it not actually happening yet. I don't think pedal builders are contributing too much to it necessarily. Everything is looking out of reach at the moment. £200 is looking cheap for just about anything handbuilt in Europe or the US.

Aside from next weeks epic Barbikan-ridden heat, is anyone going tomorrow night for the first one?