BigRedX

It's a tube pre-amp with a class D power amp in "retro" styling with minimal controls. Tiny photos on the web site don't show any details, video demonstrates just one muffled farty sound which I supposed some people might like, but not me.

With the Helix you have the option to record both the effected and direct sound of whatever you put through it via the USB interface. This along with the Helix Native plug-in allows you to make changes to the sound of what you have recorded should the mix need it.

There are plenty of "tone woods" whose sawdust can be a serious irritant, and some where it is actually toxic. Just because it's "natural" doesn't necessarily mean it's better for you. And there are plenty of other luthier websites that are equally bad if not worse in failing to have moved with the times.

I don't have a problem with import taxes and VAT. IT's been an accepted part of buying from outside of the EU in the past, and I have probably bought more musical instruments from the US and Japan than I had from the EU. From my PoV I just have to accept that everything I buy from abroad will incur VAT (and import duty depending on the price). What I do have a problem with is the increased unreliability of shipping for anything coming into or leaving the UK and the increased administration/paperwork for anyone sending stuff abroad. @Steve Browning who hopefully has the relevant information: Are all these import/export item codes and EORI numbers something that was in the pipeline anyway for international shipping, or was it specifically triggered by the UK's leaving the EU? Even the mighty Thomann aren't immune from these problems, because while they may have sorted out the calculation and payment of VAT and import charges at source they are still insisting on using DHL for UK deliveries and returns, when it has been proven numerous times that the UK part of the organisation are simply not up to the job.

I'm only 5'6" and I can always find somewhere to stand where I have a decent view of the stage. Unlike at "seated" gigs where if everyone stands up and the person in front of me is taller, there is no possibility of moving to somewhere else.

Which reminds me that I missed Les Paul from my list of seated gigs. I went to see him at Iridium in NYC about 6 months before he died. Mr Paul was a great raconteur, despite arthritis of the hands he was still a better guitarist then I'll ever be, and his band were great, but everything else about the gig was horrible. We were packed in so tightly at the tables that it was almost impossible to eat your mandatory burger without assaulting the people sitting either side of you (and being assaulted in return). Standing other than to visit the "rest room" was forbidden. As soon as the "show" had finished we were ushered out so the next sitting could take our places. TBH the sorts of bands I want to go and see do not suit sitting down to watch them. I'm happy to carry on going to standing gigs until I reach the point when I can't do it any more by which time I'll probably also be too deaf to hear the music anyway. Similarly with the playing. I'll do it until I physically can't (despite being the oldest in both my bands I'm probably in better physical shape than any of my bandmates) and then I'll record at home and release the results on-line.

After "Commercial Enterprises" had taken their cut what was left over would have to be split between the 5 members of the band and their road crew. I doubt whether each member of the band actually received vey much of the £125

I think in 45 years of going to gigs I've been to 5 where only seats were available. Three of those bands I have also seen in standing venues and the experience there was far superior. Having to sit down for most the bands I would want to see is definitely less attractive, and it would have to be someone very special where there was absolutely no chance of getting a non-seated ticket. If I wanted to sit down to see a band I'd do it at home watching them on TV, where I'm not going to be disturbed by people pushing past to get a drink or go for a fosters, where there is no chance of being stuck behind someone who is tall enough to block my view and where the drinks are better and cheaper.

The Pretty Things for £125.00 when they were at their (IMO) creative peak.

When I get that that stage I'll stop going to gigs.

This. I spent the best part of what should have been one of my days off at the weekend sorting out the various product codes, getting my EORI code, so I could send a large box full of specialised printed items to my client's distributor in Belgium. This was a job that had previously taken about 5 minutes of my time to book a collection on line and print out the label. However now no courier service would touch the parcel without all the relevant codes. Even after all that the parcel still managed to disappear somewhere in transit, and it took 6 weeks before the various delivery and customs services would admit it was lost and I could put in my insurance claim. During this time I had to field almost daily calls from both my client and the distributor asking where their labels were. Quite frankly it was an embarrassing mess. My client found another printer who were local to their EU distribution centre who did a less good job for quite a bit more money but at least the items didn't get lost. I had similar problems with sending my band's CDs and records to EU countries, where roughly 50% of everything I sent out would either disappear or the customs charges would be refused by the recipient resulting in the parcel eventually returning to me in a very second hand condition that was not suitable for sale again. After a year of this I changed all the merch pages so that I would only accept orders from the UK.

You probably want to have a read of this thread and be prepared to be disappointed.

In over 40 years of gigging I've only come across just a few originals bands who owned their own PA, and it was either because they used to be a covers band or because they had their own permanent rehearsal room and needed one for that. Since the mid 90s it's been in-house PAs everywhere no matter how small the venue, and before that there were several local small PA hire companies who were geared up specifically for the originals bands circuit.

There's increased paper work for senders, customs and shipping delays, and unexpected charges for EU customers who haven't realised the implications of now buying from the UK. After having several items (not musical instruments but part of my day job business activities) go astray in customs or be refused by the recipients (not necessarily the customer depending on circumstances) because they didn't want to pay import and customs charges, I had to suspend a rather lucrative part of my business because it was no longer cost effective for me to produce the items here in the UK and then ship them to an EU country for distribution; and that decision ultimately cost me all business from one of my better clients. I'm sure that if your business is of a sufficient size you can get around these problems but for smaller concerns and private sellers it has turned out to be far more trouble then it is worth.

The whole point of having a web site with a buy now button next to items for sale is so you don't have to deal with humans and can purchase something with a few clicks. And their email service should be completely separate and not at all affected by any changes to the web site.

Exactly. I use a Helix and no amp. It's as much or as little processing as I need between the bass guitar and the PA amps/speakers. At one extreme it's just some EQ and maybe a bit of drive to allow the bass to be in the correct place in the mix. At the other it's making it sound like almost anything I want. And anything in between. Also I can go from one to the other at the press of a footswitch.

Only covers bands need their own PA. Originals bands play venues with in-house PAs and engineers. Since the mid 90s the only venues I have played with an originals band that didn't have their own PA were ones that do not normally put on live music and for those we hired in a PA.

I'm lucky in that exhausted my cravings for second hand exotic basses from outside the UK in the days when getting them was cheaper and easier. At the moment all the gear I am interested in is new, and either made in the UK or has an official UK distributor. On a separate note, I lost part of my business and ultimately a whole client due to problems shipping stuff outside of the UK after we had left the EU.

Bass > Line6 Helix > PA. For me personally, an individual amp is redundant. I only very rarely play gigs where the bass doesn't go into the PA (about 5 in the last 40+ years of playing in originals bands). Having no amp means less stuff to take to gigs, less stuff to potentially go wrong, less stuff to potentially mess up my sound. For one band where we have ditched the backline entirely, it has lead to a better sound FoH and much better sound on stage.

If you were properly purist you'd just have an upright bass and no amp.

Most of these bands with one or no original members are essentially covers bands in everything but name.

This thread makes me sad. The idea that what was once a relatively expensive musical instrument has been reduced to having no value, and people are actually destroying them as entertainment. I would love to have a proper piano. We used to have one in the family (it originally belonged to my Gran) but when my sister who was the last owner decided she no longer wanted it, I said I'd have it, only to work out that I wouldn't be able to get it into any room in my house without taking down actual walls! I think it left behind in her garage when she moved. On the other hand it should probably also serve as a cautionary tale for those paying over-inflated prices for "vintage" Fenders and enormous amps and cabs. There will be a time when no-one wants them either.

I was twice in a band between 1988 and 2002 that went through: 6 Singers 6 Guitarists 3 Bassists 4 Drummers (including one who was in the band on 2 separate occasions) and three line-ups where the drums were provided by various combinations of sequencers and loops 3 keyboard players, plus several line-ups where the synths and samples were all provided by sequencers. I ended up being the longest serving member having been in the band twice as the bass player and once as guitarist. Between 2010 and 2015 The Terrortones had a total of 8 different guitarists and 5 different drummers...

https://markshreeve-tributealbum.bandcamp.com/album/berlin-a-tribute-album-for-mark-shreeve

You may want to experiment with the positioning, but IME the volume pedal normally wants to go before delay or reverb, so that any ambient tails don't get cut off.