Kev

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?

$360, someone has posted on the FB group. Not sure if this is based on anything concrete. Going off current B7K/B7U prices, that will stick it at £325 here.

9 years on and he still manages deals like a champ! Purchase a green tank off him, its explosive! Cheers bud.

[quote name='andyonbass' timestamp='1485282818' post='3222794'] If you're in Manchester you could have a look at the Bass Lounge in Worsley - their web page indicates they have a couple of ACGs and Alpher in stock... [/quote] Good advice! Those two are certainly up there with the best (particularly Alpher ), but as others say Im not sure they will necessarily be what you are looking for. Shuker fits the bill.

[quote name='ixlramp' timestamp='1485256422' post='3222460'] > what are the best strings now for low gauge and high tension? This is impossible, actual tension is determined by string mass which is determined by gauge. I guess by 'tension' you mean stiffness that raises 'perceived tension'. Why do you want stiff (big core) strings? If you don't prefer stiff strings on your Dingwall there's no reason at all to start using them on a shorter scale instrument. If instead you use larger gauges of a more flexible string you will have the same feel but with better tone, clarity, intonation and harmonicity. I recommend just using the same brand as on your Dingwall, or another brand you like, but raising the gauges of the lower strings to compensate for the shorter scale lengths of the lower strings. Something like 45 65 85 105 140 or 45 65 85 110 145. A tension chart can help you match the per-string tensions to what you have on the Dingwall, this chart has scale length as an input value [url="http://store.kaliumstrings.com/TensionCalculator/index.html"]http://store.kaliums...ator/index.html[/url] [/quote] I dont understand where you are coming from here. I like the feel of thinner gauges, but prefer the 'perceived tension' (as you put it) of thicker strings. The DR strings seem to be exactly that, as they have thicker less flexible cores and less winding. The key here is not having thick strings, and sadly that is all using things like the kalium chart will suggest, hence this thread

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1485120247' post='3221380'] Try DR strings DDT? I love them but I play heavies. [/quote] You know, I overlooked these as I had it in my head that they were much heavier gauge. The 40-60-80-100-120 would be ideal if its not a gimmick and they are much stiffer, has anyone tried this set?

Kalliums are impossibly expensive and I didn't get on with Newtone that well. I don't think either of those offer a thicker core in any case. Custom gauge isn't really the issue here, it's higher than 'normal' tension im after.

I play in B Flat standard and have struggled to find the right strings for my 34" scale bass. I prefer playing with as light gauge strings as I can get away with, whilst still having high enough tension for the kind of music (metal) I play. Dingwall is my main instrument with the band and due to its scale length I can use light gauge strings with no problems. However, on a 34" scale it IS a problem. I typically use along the lines of 45,65,80,100,130 but the tension is understandably not enough when tuning down a step. Being a little out of touch with the round wound string market at the moment, what are the best strings now for low gauge and high tension? Imagine we are looking at hex cores and thicker cores, but Im not sure whats really working out there. The dunlop heavy core strings look like what I wold want, but bizarrely they do not do 5 string sets!

Hideous, both of them.

Always get anxious about the quality of pedals that list an 'all metal chassis' as a feature...

It will have to be beyond remarkable at that price point, I really hope it isn't more than a B7K.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1485079587' post='3220873'] If manufacturers were required to quote their power ratings in a way that they were all comparable, and accountable to a certain degree, I think things would be very different. I've gigged with 100 - 200 W amps back in the day, pre class D and never ever wanted more power. If Trace are being honest about their ratings, then surely 200 actual watts will be enough for most people, and as a bonus it fits snugly into the back pocket of lady jeans... Eude [/quote] I'd love this to be the case, but I can't see how it is anything but another low powered Class D head, comparable with the MB200. If not, brilliant! But they will have to market it well as it will be overlooked.