Alfie

That was a surprisingly thought provoking documentary. I have found that the joy in owning pedals seldom matches the excitement of wanting them. I used to get caught up in the Talkbass vortex of bullshit and one-upmanship, but now whenever I read the phrase "getting a lot of love on Talkbass" I am highly sceptical. [quote name='BigBassBob' timestamp='1386832514' post='2305035'] I think there's lots of great information and advice to be had on forums but there is also a lot of misinformation. I think if you're level-headed it's easy to discern who is a gigging musician and who's a bedroom player (the kind I find that tend to regurgitate popular opinion). Not having a pop at non-gigging guys at all but 90% of the time what you hear out of a 30-watt combo in your bedroom isn't going to be the same coming out of a 500 watt rig in a crowded room (not taking into account other instruments and the mix as a whole). [/quote] It was interesting to listen to some of the makers talk about lawyers and doctors being the main market, it makes me wonder whether some of these pedals are designed for bedroom-players and whether they work in a band scenario is something of a lottery.

I am of the opinion that simpler is better and it doesn't get much simpler than an EH LPB-1, one transistor to add a bit of gain and drive, no messing around with ICs. They are less than £30 new and loads of expensive boosts are based on the circuit.

I have taken the plunge and gone all valve. I thought I might as well try a valve amp while I am still young enough to lug one around, so here it is, a Fender Bassman 100T. A brief summary of my first impressions:[list] [*]It is big [*]It is heavy [*]It sounds amazing and it is surprisingly easy to get a range of sounds out of it. [/list] What initially attracted me to the 100T was the ability to switch the output from 100W to 25W and it is the latter that I have been mostly playing around with, getting nice overdriven tones at respectable volumes at home. 100W will have to wait until band practice next week, but even then I might end up settling for 25W as I play in a country band with fiddle and blues harp. The separate vintage and overdrive channels are fun to play with and I am not sure which one I will settle for. The vintage channel offers a traditional Fender tone stack and is nicely beefy, whereas the overdrive far more control than its name suggests. The only problem I have now is working out what to pair it with. Previously I have been playing through an orange SP212, but the head is far wider and looks a bit strange sat on top. I have a Barefaced Midget on the way, but the combination, while probably being good acoustically, will look ridiculous. I am tempted by the Fender Neo 410, but I don't really need a 410. Would two midgets sat side-by-side work well?

Just got my final invoice through, it was £415 plus the £100 deposit.

Quick question: what was the price for a barefaced midget in 2012?

I have a modded DS-1 and it is perfect for a bit of uncomplicated distortion. It may not be so fashionable any more, but my Bass Drive is still my go to if I want some overdrive, distortion or clean boost. Any other tube screamer clone would be fine. You could always add a Boss LS 2 to your chain and dial your bass back in. Pedals like the LS 2 are essential IMO, they make just about any guitar distortion work well on bass. Fundamentally your average audience would be hard pressed to notice the difference between a DS-1/LS-2 combination and an expensive boutique solution once the sound is cranked and the sweat is flowing.