dannybuoy

Mine should be arriving today. It has some serious competition to contend with as I'm very happy with my current arsenal of drives, so looking forward to seeing how it stacks up!

Was just about to buy one, then a used one popped up so I got in quick!

Never actually played one, but I think it is the first bass overdrive I remember seeing being played on a stage and it sounded great. That was probably the start of the slippery slope of pedal buying for me!

I think the fact that Gibson stopped producing Thunderbirds shortly after releasing the Classic Pro says a lot! After not playing mine for a while I've kind of fell for it again - played with a pick through a drive pedal (Pike Vulcan or Aguilar Agro are a great pairing), it sounds incredible. I can see myself moving over to the vintage version in black though when they come out!

Don't sell your gear if you still enjoy playing. I haven't been in a band for a few years now but still buy gear! Playing bass doesn't have to be a join-a-band-or-quit deal, you can have hours of fun simply learning songs, jamming to backing tracks, and learning more theory. The better the player you become (and the more Jamerson grooves you master), the more confident you will become also!

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1498615296' post='3325905'] My Epi bird was not even close to my 1991 Gibson Thunderbird. Blue [/quote] You are probably talking about the old bolt-on Epis rather than the newer Classic Pro which has the same woods, same neck-through construction and the same pickups as the Gibson?

Amp sim / overdrive will piddle all over the Zoom, assuming you like the VT sound of course. The Ampeg sims in the Zooms don't really come close. All the other FX are probably on par with each other.

[quote name='Ruck' timestamp='1497228760' post='3316697'] oops sorry i wasnt clear I meant I leave it on all the time because for some reason the speaker sim button doesnt disengage it for the DI out just the 1/4" out [/quote] This would make sense to me design wise. Send a speaker sim signal to the desk, and a brighter full range signal to the cab. However since disabling the speaker sim makes it darker due to the additional filter, it doesn't work that way in practice. The VT DI fixes this though I think by having this extra treble filter separated out to a 'bite' switch. But then it throws a spanner in the works by not being able to have the speaker sim on the XLR only!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497226584' post='3316691'] Through a speaker cab I also prefer to deactivate the speaker sim, it's when it goes through the DI that it becomes very useful as it tames the harshness you'd otherwise get. If I had the DeLuxe then I'd probably deactivate it all the time, like you do. [/quote] Normally a speaker sim would tame the harshness yes, but the VT is a little weird. Turning the speaker sim off also adds in a filter that rolls off loads of treble. So in effect, it sounds brighter and harsher with the speaker sim on!

I'm not too familiar with their output outside of the In Rainbows album, for some reason I really connected with that one (hence the two tracks I posted earlier in the thread being from there). I'm just listening to their latest 'Moon Shaped Pool' album from 2016 on Spotify, on track 7 of 11 it's a total borefest. Looking forward to finding some hidden gems amongst the back catalog though!

Ok, not basses but guitars. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (!) had 3 guitarists playing odd shaped guitars (Danelectro, Vox, etc) that had extra frets between certain notes so they could play some quarter-steps. For some songs they all switched to regular guitars with the front man on 12-string. Very odd, never seen this before, as the guitars appeared to be different makes I can only assume these were custom mods? Edit: Yup, this sheds some light on the subject: http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/wp/index.php/king-gizzards-lo-fi-gut-feeling/

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1497605781' post='3319409'] Compared to the OTB do the other class D hybrid amps have similar high levels of overdrive/distortion available? I am planning to down-size my rig very soon. I play with an overdriven sound all the time, varied by how hard I play, pick/fingers etc. My preference is a hybrid amp with the input level high to get the distortion, I DI from the amp 99% of gigs. I’ve heard a couple of OTB heads in action and was impressed. I currently use a Hartke 3500 with the input at 7/10 to get the drive (yes I know it’s not as sweet as an all-tube head). [/quote] I have the OTB, and have used it in a stoner rock band. Great amp, but I always used a pedal with it for overdrive and tone shaping. The drive by itself is thick, dark and mushy, more Motown than metal, but it actually works really well to soften the harsh sounds that some drive pedals produce. If you want to skip pedals and want an amp with a great overdrive tone, the Tech21 VT500 is definitely worth an audition. They are great value for money too. I might even be listing mine for sale soon as I just stick to my Orange plus pedals these days... Other amps I know with decent built in overdrive are the GK MB Fusion, Aguilar Tonehammer, TC RH750, and the Ashdown stuff.

Looking at the manual, this has way more models of bass overdrive/distortion, and also lots of bass amp models - as far as I can tell, the MS-3 has no amp modelling whatsoever. Shame, as a combo of the FX from the GT-1B but with the patching/routing options of the MS-3 sounds like the perfect combo.

Most overdrives designed for bass don't drop any low end. But to answer your question, your amp can boost bass that has been lowered in volume as a result of going through the pedal, but if your pedal totally chops off anything under 100Hz for example, then there will be nothing down there to boost back up!

Not cheap at just over £1k, but still highly recommended: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3zYPr3vMpNc

Thought the Glastonbury set was great, will catch up on the first half that I missed on iPlayer tomorrow. I agree with Mark Radcliffe about Nude being the standout track for him, that's one of my favourites too. So atmospheric - if you feel nothing listening to this then there's something wrong with you! http://youtube.com/watch?v=BbWBRnDK_AE

I was never a fan of Radiohead either until I heard this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoLJJRIWCLU

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1498213181' post='3323144'] That's not what I'm saying, the content isn't my concern. What I am saying is that if you wish to discuss various bass playing ads then starting the same style of thread over and over isn't the best way to do it. Why not have one long thread ? The forum has many long-running threads on specific subjects, from the very technical to the funny. A longer thread may even improve the discourse as it lends itself to less segmented discussion. People can also subscribe to it. If serious discussion is your aim then I would suggest posting many similar threads isn't the way to do it. [/quote] +1. Megathread is the way to go. Also, I don't see any malice in this thread, I think it is useful for both people answering these ads so they know what to look out for, and for people placing ads so they know what not to say!

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1498206393' post='3323070'] Thanks for all the advice so far! Rehearsed last night and noticed something else peculiar... With no pedals on everything was running fine and the VU meter on my ashdown amp was peaking at less than half its range. However, engaging either my hartke di box to change tones or add some drive, or engaging my Jim Dunlop bass wah all made the vu jump in to the red! With input volumes less than half. Quite concerned by this. Think I need to have my boss limiter engaged to protect the amp? [/quote] If your input signal is going up as a result of engaging pedals, they must be boosting the volume, so simply adjust the levels on the pedals. A limiter would of course do a similar job, but it might end up squashing the signal too much! You won't be in danger of damaging your amp by feeding it a hotter signal, the only side effect you might see would be more distortion. The only danger you could face is blowing a cab due to increased overall output level if you are already pushing your cabs to the limit without the pedals. If this is the case then a limiter may help, as would a high pass filter like the Thumpinator, but the safest option would be simply adding more speakers!

I've no idea about Fender, but I know you can phone up Yamaha and order spare parts including pickups for anything they make. Just because they don't advertise them doesn't mean they won't sell you one!

If the input impedance of both amps are the same, and you have an active buffer before splitting the signal (which you do), then a simple passive splitter box or cable should work just fine. There are some simple active splitters around also, SFX Sound make one, as do Lehle, there's the Boss LS-2, and a new one I saw recently: https://www.prymaxe.com/products/ohmless-pedals-hatchet-signal-splitter

Try contacting Fender? Or you can always go vintage: https://reverb.com/uk/item/4340764-fender-vintage-telecaster-bass-wrhb-wide-range-humbucker https://reverb.com/uk/item/4340949-fender-vintage-telecaster-bass-wrhb-wide-range-humbucker

Another option of course would be to ditch the tuner and replace it with a TC Polytune Mini - I've not had any noise issues with mine on a daisy chain!

Sounds like a bit of drive combined with an expression controlled filter too, maybe a Moog MF101, Iron Ether Xerograph, or Source Audio Manta.