HazBeen

This! Rock was only just developing in '71 so by saying it peaked then means you are either incredibly uninformed, arrogant, thick or a combination of all 3.

Play one, I am not a fanboi at all and was totally ready to mop the floor with yet another boutique Jazz, it blew my mind. I have never played a passive bass with so much depth, warmth and tone and the fit and finish was just perfect. I would never buy a 5k bass, Stenback or any other, but my word the Stenback I played (just 1) was just magic.

I disagree with this, Tom Stenback puts more work into his jazz basses than any other luthier I have ever seen, for instance he has designed the bridge plate as he felt that available bridges were not correct and you should check out his videos on "tuning" his basses. He makes Lull look like a kit builder (but then they are much cheaper, and very good) in comparison. And this was the case long before Paul Turner caught on to him.

So Phil Moore is a Nashville bassist. I cannot ID the bass, it looks a proper custom job (see the string retainer in a Y shape) perhaps bought via the Lowend Bass shop (with is also in Nashville if I am correct. I would send mr Moore a message via Twitter or FB and just ask the question.

Ha ha! If only

I think we can all put our GAS on ice for a bit, I spoke to Paul Sips at Bassmatters not too long ago and basically the Stenback order books are full for years, so add your name to the list now and hopfully you get your bass in '21/22. Generally I am somewhat anti high-end basses (say the 3k plus range) as often I do not see where the additional money went. Stenback is an exception, 5 grand is a lot of money for a bass, but I have never ever seen a builder so obessive with quality as Tom Stenback. That he is so obssesive re detail for a price that is not too dissimilar from a Custom Shop Fender, Lakland US, Alleva etc really shows he is about creating the best instrument he can. I totally get wjhy Paul Turner has two and Paul Sips (who besides a nice guy who has a great bass centric store is a stonking bassist) cannot stop raving about them.

Whilst gear and settings have great influence I find that I pretty much sound like me on any rig and dare I say bass....... Oh dear, think I just debunked the entire foundation of all the GAS I’ve ever had.... my point is your attack/how you hit the string/left hand technique etc. is a large part of your “sound”. So actually my biggest achievement I feel has been to embrace MY natural sound and then select gear that supports it. I am pretty much there.

It is superior, but to be fair to the B3n the Zoom’s HPF is good.

Actually I get the comment re B3n to HX if you need a headphone, aux in and amps/cabs. So probably good to add the caveat to my comment: “in regards to fx and switching in a live /gigging environment”. I am keeping my B3n for at home.

Have waited a few days before writing this up until I was able to use if at home and out in a gigging situation. So what is the Helix HX? It is basically all the effects you get when buying a full fat or LT Helix, plus some more added from the big 4 button and M series pedals, minus the amp and cab modeling in it’s bigger brother. In addition the HX can be used to control your pedalboard switching and routing needs. It has 2 FX loops to incorporate and switch existing pedals. There are 2 basic settings, stomp box mode and scene mode. In stomp box mode you switch individual pedals/loops on and off with the foot switches, in scene mode 1 button would switch on/off a specified group of pedals and loops. Very flexible and both settings give you real control of your pedalboard. At 43 I have one foot in the analogue era, but have been exploring DSP based effects for years. I am happy, although a little melancholy at the same time, to confirm the hype is real. Line6 have cracked component level emulation and the end result is that the HX delivers 117 or such emulated pedals that can fully compete directly with their stompbox (often analogue) brethren. There is a lot on BC and other forums on Helix, so it makes sense to not spend too much time on the technical aspects and focus on what it does for me as a frequently gigging, sometimes depping and periodically recording part-time musician. How have I set it up? Bass goes to my preferred compressor the Keeley Compressor Pro (the onboard compressors actually are very good, but I own the Keeley so might keep using it), into the HX. Loop 1 has my Future Impact and a COG Octaver (the FX loop has a blend function which is so handy), loop 2 has my long time favourite low gain Bearfoot Blueberry BOD and a DG Duality. These loops can be allocated to any position in the FX chain, so e.g. the Dirt loop can be the latest in the chain or earliest as required. My main issue with DSP effects WAS that dirt, octave and filters were generally okay but not a viable alternative to my stompboxes. I am amazed to report that I would be perfectly happy for Helix to cover my dirt. It is that good. So much so that I no longer have a B3K in loop 2 and use the emulated B7K instead. I simply cannot tell the difference in a real world situation. The Duality and BBOD are still on as I prefer them over equivalent emulated pedals, but if Line6 would emulate the Duality and BBOD I am comfortable they could be replaced. There is a really good Octaver in the HX, but I doubt the COG (or FI for that matter) will ever be replaced. But I have 2 switchable loops so who cares right? The envelope filters are very good. I use filters only in combination with octave and fuzz. Built in are more than acceptable for my application. Other may feel they still need a separate filter pedal, difficult for me to judge. All in all the HX is a compact (slightly larger than an M9) multi that doubles as a control centre for your board. Sounds great, is intuitive, is flexible and appears to be built as a tank. Some Zoom B3(n) users might think, why pay so much more for getting rid of the amp and cab emulations etc? Understandable question: I own a B3n, great fx unit in it’s own right, but totally and utterly put to shame by the HX on application, flexibility, sound quality (especially dirt and filter) and construction. DSP is here to stay and I am fully bought in.

But what to do with the 4003 now Chris? I would repost under an alias or 7

It’s Gibson.... lol

@ped your inner gear nerd is coming out. Who knew

I am officially intrigued:)

This may be true, I have more tracking issues with Fender AVRI P on my synth and octave pedals compared to when I use my 100% composite Bogarts, they simply are more precise and track better. I often use both the P and one of the Bogart basses in a set and side by side the difference is quite noticeable.