JPJ

I’ve been running a micro thumpinator for about five years (maybe more). It’s difficult to describe exactly what it does other than to say the results are ‘cleaner’ and I’ve had a lot of compliments from pro sound guys & girls for using one. Most FOH engineers will engage a high pass filter on your signal anyway, normally around the 50hz mark just to clean and tighten the overall sound.

Thanks for this. As I had some money lying in PayPal from recent gear sales and it’s my birthday this week I’ve gone for it. Will report back once she gets here.

Quick question for the X5 users - is the Spectracomp available on the X5? Reason for asking, I was just about to pull the trigger on a Sub’n’Up and Corona Chorus pedals when I stumbled across the TC Plethora X3. If the Spectracomp is available on the X5/X3 then the X3 will cover everything I need and my pedal board would be considerably tidier. Sansamp into X3 into Thumpinator = job done in my book.

It definitely matters to me. I’ve been lucky enough to play some big stages with good monitors but always relied on a good amp with a minimum of a 4x10 cab. At rehearsals last night I had the pleasure of playing through a 6x10 (it made me think why did I sell mine 🤷‍♂️) and even though we were at relatively low volume, the authority of the tone was just mesmerising.

Whats the consensus these days for the best chorus and octave pedals? Are the Boss CEB & OC still the market leaders or has something else usurped them? Also any good options in the small form factor?

So we have closure of sorts. After a further three unanswered emails I have finally received a reply stating that the unit is irreparable and no longer supported by PJB so that’s the end of the road for my little Bass Buddy. In truth I have been without it for so long now that I’ve moved on and its not going to be a huge miss. For the record, Selectron have had this unit in for repair since April 2021 and have only come to the conclusion that it is irreparable today. The complete lack of commas from their side is the most annoying and frustrating part.

Guy has a personal page on Facebook and also a TrickyAudio page here

^ THIS 😍

You would think so wouldn’t you, and I must admit I haven’t tried this myself but they seem popular so I assume they have some positive affect?

Blue'bursts always look cool to me. Nice and dark (almost black) around the edges fading to the current original colour in the centre 🥰

From my experience on this, there are a lot of factors to get growl and or mwah. I currently have two fretless basses and they are both very different beasts. My old faithful Ibanez Roadstar from the early '80s has an unlined maple board and my newer early 00's Overwater has an ebony board. Both basses are active (two band on the Ibanez, 3 band on the Overwater) and are strung with flat wound strings. Both basses exhibit mwah, although the Overwater is certainly darker and softer sounding. That said, a nice bump up in the mids and she growls like a tiger. The Ibanez mwah is much more 'in your face' and can actually become over powering and you do not need much vibrato to make it sound very chorus like but its harder to make her growl, you have to really dig in and it becomes tiring after even a short while. So I guess my conclusion is its horses for courses and you need to try both fingerboard materials to decide which one suits your style of playing.

This is why you occasionally see bassists using a 'Fatfinger' or similar clamp like device that adds mass to the headstock. Great for dead notes, not so great for neck dive.

Agreed on the BG208 combo which on reflection I actually think sounded better with the EUB than it does with the electric bass

Can you not do something with a switcher pedal like the Radial Big Shot or similar? I used to have mine wired so that my effects chain went into one input and my EUB into the other. Sort of electric bass > wireless > compressor > sansamp > big shot > micro thumpinator > amp with my EUB going into the second input on the Big Shot which then went via the micro thumpinator to the amp. Just a thought, and don't want to extinguish your combo GAS 😎

Mine came with the correct Allen key in the box

I was, but with only two or three Geezer gigs per year, this is a bit more of an all round option and it scratches my P bass itch I believe this bass has the Lindy Fralin pickup which sounds exactly like a vintage P bass to me.

Just to clarify, I am fully expecting and more than happy to pay for the repair, and I believe Freda Jones has been instrumental in securing what limited communications I’ve had from Selectron so far, but after a full twelve months waiting, I’ve simply exhausted my patience.

So, many years ago I purchased a second hand PJB Bass Buddy preamp from this forum that has lived on my desk next to my audio interface and was my main headphone practice/recording pre. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of using one of these, you’ll know what a great piece of kit they are. Back in 2020, mine started to pop, followed by a drop in output, and finally no output at all. After querying on here, I got in touch with Selectron UK, the UK distributor for Phil Jones Bass, and despatched my Bass Buddy to them in April 2021 for diagnosis and repair. After a considerable delay and with the intervention of Freda Jones at PJB I finally managed to get communications out of Selectron and after consultation with PJB in the states, the fault was diagnosed, new components sourced, and a repair was under way. That was back in November 2021. Since then I have been unable to get in contact with the lady at Selectron and now, one whole year on, I’m thinking I might not see my Bass Buddy again in either a repaired or original condition. So if you are unlucky enough to own any kit for which Selectron UK are the distributor, I strongly recommend you do not make use of them for any repair work.