BigRedX

Plywood is perfectly fine.

Whichever of the Line6 Helix range does what you want for the lowest price.

Surely it's got more in common with the Memory Moog?

Interesting. Any idea what the nut width and string spacing at the bridge is? How do I ask a seller a question on Gumtree?

As I say each time the subject of streaming comes up I'm amazed at how many people have apparently ditched their vinyl and CD collections in favour of something that mostly requires and internet connection and could quite easily be gone tomorrow. The important thing to remember is that NONE of the streaming services actually make any money. They are either loss leaders for the parent company's profitable divisions or being propped up by fickle investor confidence (and what will happen if that confidence should evaporate?) For me they are fine for checking out music provided that it was released in the last 10 years and is broadly US/UK centric. However none of the current services will ever replace my CDs and vinyl because there is far too many artists and albums that I consider essential listening, missing.

Can someone give some good starting point settings for the B7K emulation? Because the default setting sounds horrible and every adjustment I make seems to make it worse.

Those would work. I'd probably go the second route to save on blocks.

I've spotted another potential problem. Unless the two outputs can be configured as two completely independent outs, you can't use the volume control to set your on-stage volume without also affecting any DI to the PA. The Helix (full version) allows me to send one output at full volume to the PA and the other via the Helix's volume control to my FRFR stage monitor.

I only need to use more than 6 blocks if I have snapshots with very different sounds in them that I get by turning on and off blocks. Without snapshots and without having dedicated footswitches to turn blocks off and on, I doubt that only having 6 blocks is going to be a massive problem to most people. However I personally couldn't live without the snapshot function as there is too much latency when switching between very different sounds without using snapshots.

IMO audiences want the bassist (or any other member of the band) to look as though they belong in the band. That means being dressed appropriately, having the correct instrument for the band image, and presenting themselves on stage in a way that fits in with the overall band performance. Other than that unless you are horrendously out of tune or out of time they really don't care.

Manual is already available on-line. Nothing specific about the power requirements other than they recommend that you use the supplied PSU.

Surely that defeats the object of it being battery powered?

Got a prompt reply from Newtone basically saying that because the strings are wound on a Hex Core, I don't need to worry about cutting them before fitting. It would have been a good idea if the packaging reflected this advice. Anyway the strings are a higher tension than the ones originally fitted to the Barracuda as evidenced by the tail-lift of the vibrato mechanism. I'll need to adjust the vibrato springs to compensate. However they are IMO much better strings for both feel and sound, and at £18 plus P&P a set a far more affordable alternative the the LaBella Round Wounds. I'd whole-heartedly recommend these if you are looking for round wound Bass VI strings.

Enjoy your new bass. For getting the best out of a Bass VI, have a look at this thread - in particular EssentialTension's posts about strings, set up, shimming the neck and replacing the bridge. Then move on to my review of the Bass VI including more set up and modification advice. Then you might want to have at look at this thread about the alternatives.

The binding and inlays on that look fantastic! Yet another quality build.

What platform? If you have a Mac you'll already have Garageband which should be perfectly adequate for your needs. Otherwise Reaper is essentially free and has a large following here so you should get plenty of help (although you're more likely to get a quick and useful response if you post any further questions in the "Recording" section of Basschat).

Everything I have bought from Thomann has arrived the middle of the week after the one in which I placed the order, irrespective of the day the order was made or the size of the item ordered.

Just looking at your set list, it appears that a lot of the original versions of the songs feature more than a little sequenced parts in their backing. What does your band do about those? If they are included is your keyboard player expected to program them up and provided the means to play them back? Oh and "Together In Electric Dreams" is not by The Human League, it's by Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. There's an important difference [/pedant]

For a normal 5 string set a low B string tuned up to C will be lower tension than the standard E. Have a look at D'Addrario's string tension guide.

I would agree. It's also a rubbish bit of design to leave any part of the valves exposed. It might look cool but it's not in the slightest bit practical.

I find it incredible the number of people who put their faith in streaming services when AFAICS none of them are actually making any money and are either being propped up by the profitable parts of their parent company or through 3rd party investment. The only service who were turning a profit - Soundcloud - were only doing so because they weren't paying any artist or publisher royalties. Streaming services are fine for checking out new (to me) music although if your tastes run to non-US/UK artists or back catalogue for bands that are now defunct, you are likely to be disappointed in their offerings. Neither AppleMusic or Spotify can manage better than 70% of my CD and vinyl collection, and many of the missing artists or albums are ones that I would consider indispensable. So for me it is CDs first and foremost for audio quality, durability and general convenience. Secondly vinyl - ideally with a download code. After that the music has to absolutely brilliant for me to consider investing in a download only version. When it is possible to do a limited edition run of 100 glass mastered CDs (no crappy CDRs) with full colour sleeves for under £350 and 500 CDs for only £150 more, there is absolutely no excuse for not having a physical version of your single/EP/album available.

Here's my early 60s Burns Sonic, which was my first bass bought in 1981. It had already been heavily modified when I bought it, and I had to make further replacements (the bridge, machine heads and all the electronics bar the pickups) to keep it in a playable condition. And here is my newest bass a Burns Barracuda Bass VI bought earlier this year. Out of all the easily obtainable Bass VIs this is the one that suits me the best, although it still has several short-comings notably the string spacing at the bridge due to using an unmodified version of guitar vibrato system. It will probably end up being replaced by something custom made to my specifications.

Buy the pedal that you like the sound of. Strip it down and spray the case the correct shade of brown. Get a five year old kid to scribble all over it in crayon and clear coat over the top. When you reassemble it, if possible arrange the controls in a less obvious order and perhaps swap one of them with either the input or output jack. Give it a sexually suggestive name that would appeal to average 14 year old boy. Then you can tell everyone that it some ultra-rare boutique pedal that was made in a limited edition of 50.

Yes. There was one in the Bass Gallery in Camden many years ago. It was one of the many basses I tried on my journey to find my ideal fretless bass. Unfortunately my main memories of it were rather underwhelming. IIRC Ped has played this instrument as well. I'm pretty certain that there is also at least one Ritter made from a single piece of wood.

I think a lot of the time Basschat members have an over-protective feeling towards instruments and also that the value of an instrument matters to others. IME if an instrument is going to get stolen, it will happen whether it is a sub £100 Fender copy or a high end bass costing several thousands. The value is almost certainly irrelevant to the person stealing it. They simply won't know what it is worth. 10-15 years ago when I was buying a lot of instruments and was the musician who seemingly had a different bass at every gig, the one that caught all the punter's eyes was not the Gus or the Pedulla or the Overwater or the Sei - each worth several thousand pounds - but a Traben Phoenix with it's bling fingerboard inlays and over the top flame shape chrome bridge which had cost me the grand total of £300 including shipping and import from the US. Also in 40 years of gigging I've never seen a guitar or bass receive anything worse than surface damage at a gig unless it was being deliberately being abused by the person playing it. Guitars and basses are resilient things. It takes a lot to damage one.