MichaelDean

You say that, but hardcore KISS fans will buy almost anything branded or endorsed by the band - or at least they used to. I remember watching a TV programme years ago where Gene was marketing a KISS kasket (it is apparently still a thing). You wouldn't make that unless you think you'd be able to sell it!

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All amp/cab manufacturers: black is boring. Why must EVERYTHING be black all of the time?!? No-one, other than Orange, Zilla and occasionally Aguilar, has fun with colours as standard options.

It's probably something to do with holding stock in limbo in a basket. It might stop other people buying it, or artificially decreasing stock levels on the backend if stuff is just sat there in 10 people's baskets. I'd imagine they've probably got a system that automatically clears your basket after X amount of time. It's a much smaller operation than something like Amazon and the website itself isn't the snazziest. Maybe drop them a line and see if you can get the lowdown on how to best use their site?

It sounds like you've pretty much made your mind up, but another vote for an ABM600 here. I gigged an Ampeg PF500 for years and it was good, but the Ashdown just sounds so much better to my ears. Much more versatile, articulate, easier to carry (yes, it's heavier but it has a handle!) and the valve drive really adds a bit of warmth and character. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Enjoy! And thanks for the thread! I got one last week - I'm loving it so far!

After not being decisive enough to spend a relatively small amount on one pedal, I got something that will probably replace everything on my board 😅 It is an ex-demo unit I found on Reverb that I offered a bit under the asking price on, so I feel like I got a good deal. Plus they are an authorised seller, so the warranty is still valid in case something happens to it! I've only had an hour or so playing it through headphones, but it sounds huge! It also hasn't left me with option paralysis (yet). It's fairly easy to work out how to make it do my bidding and I've not referred to the manual yet. I've got a working patch that I can take to practice on Sunday and see how it pans out. There will undoubtedly be some tweaks required, but it seems to sound great on its own and I think it'll work pretty well into my amp. I've not even tried any parallel processing yet. All of the ods/distortions/fuzzes have got a clean blend plus an extra bass boost/cut, so it's pretty easy to dial in something very useable there quickly. We're going to be putting a demo together soon and I think this will be amazing for getting a solid bass sound for that. The only niggle I had found was that the tuner couldn't handle a low B. Turns out I needed to turn up the input gain and it was all fine. Not quite as accurate as my Polytune, but good enough. Also when I tried one out in PMT, the touchscreen must have been turned off because it definitely does do what I expect it to do. XLR or balanced jack outputs are the main omission on the hardware side. Still not really sure why they were left out, but I decided it was a compromise I could live with. I can always get a DI box to put on my board.

Thanks. I hate it. Fair play, he got what he wanted, but I'm not sure if Fender will need to make too many of them!

Calling @Chownybass. Hopefully they can help.

I'd recommend contacting them for clarification. Or you can always get them to make up one with the top handle hole.

Or some lollipops. That would give it a different look, but not out of place.

Idles are a shouty and angry band. Lovely bunch of blokes too by all accounts (that I've heard). I was at their first ever Glasto appearance back in 2019 and it was an amazing set.

When I had my Mark Bass CMD102P, I'd quite often put it on its side if it was a smaller stage or I wanted a seat at practice! That was always fine. I didn't really notice any difference in the tone either.

I was happy sounding like myself for ages. It wasn't until I was about 20 when Sigur Ros released Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust and was in a post rock band of my own. The tone on Við Spilum Endalaust was what I wanted. I saw the bassist was using a Mustang so I had to have one! Still love that bass.

Are the side dots in the right place for fretless? If so then you'd probably want them to be moved too. Seems like a faff to me. Get a fretted neck to bolt onto it. It would probably be cheaper than getting that one fretted.

I didn't find that overdrive or distortion worked that well with my SUB Ray 5 either. I couldn't get a dirty sound that I liked. It does work well with my Dingwall though. I think it's more the instrument itself. See if you can try it out with your pedalboard.

I've used my Combustion (with the EMG preamp) in a function band. Sounded great. I've just restrung it with Payson strings specifically for drop C for a Doom band I've joined and it sounds huge for that. You could have a look on YouTube for Claudio Rocha. He's a Dingwall artist who doesn't play metal exclusively. Also, on Talkbass there are plenty of people who use their Dingwalls for other stuff. There is a massive thread over there. I'd suggest a day trip to Bass Direct and playing a few to see if it matches your style. Maybe bring your head and any pedals to see what you think with your gear.

I had a go with the GX-100 on my lunch break. Really impressed. It can doom and be all ambient. Pretty easy to use based on a 20 minute play. I didn't see the point of the touchscreen - it didn't work the way I expected it to and I could do everything from the controls anyway. Also played it with a very nice Yamaha BBP35. Now currently wondering how I can sneak the thing into the house! 😅

I was surprised when I got my B3n - even more so after loading some of the guitar effects on to it. Although the dirt pedals on it aren't up to snuff (in my opinion, I know some people on here do use them), it was a massive jump from the first Zoom pedal my brother had about 20 years ago. And the tech has just gotten better since.

Thanks @T-Bay! Really useful. I spotted one in PMT in Bristol. I ought to go have a play.

From another thread, it seems like @T-Bayhas a GX-100. I'd be keen to hear impressions as well, if you don't mind. Particularly on the distortions.

I've recently joined a doom band (very fun so far!) and my Joyo Ultimate Drive has died, leaving space on my pedalboard. Already on my board is a TC Electronic MojoMojo and EHX Bass Big Muff, which are working for me, but I'd like another flavour of noise making. Up to £50 new or secondhand, what do you recommend?

This sounds really cool! Here's what I'd be looking for: - 6 footswitches seems like a good number, with the option to set one as an instantaneous tuner/output mute and have plenty to play with. I hate that the tuners always need to share with tap tempo, or you have to long press it. - The option for parallel processing. - A stereo effects loop, with the ability to split the routing on the stereo jacks to mono so you can make into two that can be placed anywhere in the chain if needed. - Expression pedal output. - I really like the idea of using VST/AUs as the signal processors - I'd like to be able to run some really big delays and reverbs and maybe more than one of each, so plenty of processing power please! - The ability to sync the preset with a tempo, so all of the delays are matched up if I want. - Balanced jack and XLR out with independent level controls and the ability to leave an amp and cab SIM on for the XLR, but leave it off for the jack out. - Audio in and headphone out might be good for practice and possibly receiving an in ear monitor mix.

@BigRedX the lightning connector is a standard that can't upgrade from USB 2 though. This means that the transfer speed is capped at 480Mbps. USB C is capable of adapting to USB 4, and potential transfer speeds of 40Gbps. That's a massive increase and means it can stay a relevant connector for much longer. Also important for iPhones as the latest ones are rumoured to shoot 8K videos, which would result in massive files. Trying to transfer that via a lightning cable would be a massive pain in the derriere. Plus, USB C can also carry much more power than a lightning connector, which means you can do fast charging for your phone/tablet/laptop, so you don't need to rely on them all needing charging at the same time. Or if they do, it's half an hour and done. Rather than three hours attached to the wall. USB A connectors may well stay on the charger end too, it's the device itself that needs to have the USB C connector.

Do you remember mobile phones before they all became some sort of USB charging port? Each brand had their own proprietary charging connector where the cable itself was also usually pretty poor quality and moulded into the plug. So if the cable then broke, you're stuck paying whatever they have the gall to charge for a replacement.