Kev

If I had kept my first bass, that would be the one that was a keeper for me. As it happens, I wouldn't say I have any unsellable bass. Sure, the only situation I can envisage selling my Alpher bass is if I give up bass, but thats not never, is it

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1462380440' post='3042565'] Ha. Here it is in its full sofa shot glory: [/quote] Stunning Back of the neck shot please, need to see that flame!

Superb looking bass right up until you get to the headstock. Ok, it accommodates a D tuner, but why base the design on such a feature, if that is what they have done? I imagine dropping that and doing a nice rounded carve around the butterfly would have looked great. Instead, yuk. Gorgeous otherwise! No comments on the price needed, lets not turn it into yet another of those threads

Multi scale instruments excel in this arena, particularly if you want to avoid extra thick strings and the more thuddy compressed sound that comes with them. Could be worth considering?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1462210678' post='3041154'] I'm guessing that's what the customer asked for... [/quote] I may have incorrectly assumed the Bassculture Bigbucker was an off the shelf pickup model, is it not? Iv also apparently incorrectly assumed this was a stock model and up for sale for the price listed!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1462196299' post='3040978'] I see that the Frog with the Wal-like pickups and circuit is May's bass of the month. [url="http://www.public-peace.de/index.php/bass-of-the-month/1939-public-peace-proudly-presents-the-bass-of-the-month-may-2016"]http://www.public-pe...-month-may-2016[/url] [/quote] Its a stunning instrument, but ruined by the pickup design. No need for them to resemble Wal so accurately, cheapens the whole thing for me

A tip that may help; give each string a good press down at the bridge anchoring point to make sure there is a clean angle. Whenever I had had an issue with strings slipping out of tune (if this is strings, of course), doing this sorts it right out.

I would not say that 45 65 80 105 was a normal set offered by manufacturers, or perhaps I am losing the plot?? I think Swing bass strings are this gauge, no others spring to mind without the help of Google. I would think 45 65 85 105 or 45 65 80 100 would be more common.

Any electronics that are in the signal chain before the WM will cause issues. Basically, if all power is off on your board and you still have a bypassed signal coming through, it is fine to be before the WM. Buffered bypass, active electronics (pickups or preamp) and, obviously, any engaged pedal will seriously reduce the usability of the sound. To more directly answer the question, the pedal does not need to be true bypass, but it does need to be mechanical and not powered. The boss OC-2 will interfere in bypass, but any true bypass alternative would not. Although, I usually have octaves after the WM, as tracking is usually fine and you avoid ruining the WMs tone with an active signal.

I use the strong industrial Velcro (the brand) type. The adhesive is very, very strong and I couldn't forsee it ever failing. I have had it stick over rubbed feet and still be stickier than ever.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1461654206' post='3036397'] Key for me is how the overdrive and cab sim sound. Currently my headphone practice rig consists of: Tuner -> Le Bass -> OmniCabSim -> PJB Bighead 4 boxes, 3 of them very expensive. If I could consolidate those I would be a happy bunny! [/quote] Give me a heads up if you do want to move the OmniCabSim on bud!

I think I said 'bloody' once in a thread - I got a formal warning from a moderator.

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1461606343' post='3036109'] I don't see what's so confusing, it's a preamp. The XLR in the front saves board space. It has a switch for overdrive and another for compressor, hold the compressor switch and you get a tuner. It has send/return jacks which are normal in a preamp, and the only odd thing is that it works as a soundcard. In my view, it's a very well thought-out product, except that I don't understand how to bypass it completely. If that's not possible, it's a big fail. [/quote] Its just a jumble of features on the front face that just don't seem to gel. Apart from it being bizarre to have the aux/phones/USB jacks on the top, if any of those are plugged in, how do you stomp on the Boost switch if you have man sized feet? Its like I said, I don't get the market. Surely most people who covet the GK sound have a GK amp (as opposed to Ampeg, for example)? It just seems like it is trying to be a multi effects do it all unit, yet falls short of being that. And the cost puts it against some very heavy bass preamp competition, most of which are not bloated with features like this one. We'll have to agree to disagree

I just don't get the design at all.

So BD are finally taking preorders for the Canadian built version, in colours including metallic black and candy purple. http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Dingwall_D_Bird.html

Hmm, Not in great nic, that Wal, certainly not at the new Buy it Now price! Strings over neck pickup do look odd, you can certainly see that the nut has shifted, but only by a little. Could be a trick of the camera, but this is certainly a bass to see any play before handing over a penny.

The BS1 is now with me Its a cool little (well, quite big actually) pedal. I owned a Woolly Mammoth so long ago I can't quite remember it, but this does a decent impression. From memory the Gate is nowhere near as tight as the Mammoth could get, but other than that it seems like a faithful clone. Build quality is quite nice, footswitch could be quieter but the knobs/pots feel high quality. Had to take off the battery assembly at the bottom to get it flat enough for pedalboard use but thats not much of an issue. Buying a battery for it would nearly cost as much as the pedal did But yes, other than it being a little oversized, a slightly poppy footswitch and a softer gate than its master, I can't complain too much at all Lows are THUNDEROUS!