dannybuoy

I have a Gramma pad, it doesn't shut my wife up entirely, but I suspect she would complain a lot more if I did not have one!

^ This. Although if you have an active bass, or an effects chain with at least one non-true-bypass buffered pedal in it, then the impedance won't be an issue, in which case passive DI all the way.

That's a very diplomatic way of phrasing "are you lying about the power output of the new amps also?"! Nicely put.

[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1412433713' post='2568932'] It would make these sort of discussions much more useful if people referenced the sort of sounds and tones they are looking to get... [/quote] Normally I'd agree with you, but this isn't a "which pedal should I get thread", but a "let's list all the cheap but good pedals people should check out of they're on a budget" thread!

Maybe try a Badger Schism or something? One for sale on here that might still be around: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/236241-badger-schism-xv-parallel-loop/ Most dirt pedals will be ok, the SFT and simple boosts like the Phat Phuk and Cream Pie were the only phase flippers I've encountered, also a few wahs and the Phase 90.

That doesn't sound quite right, I thought with a Jazz, the 2 single coils produce hum when used alone but cancel when blended together. Wouldn't mixing a QP and a Stack give you the same result as a PJ combo - only one pickup is hum cancelling, the other hums and therefore so does the combination?

It should give good results if the output impedances of whatever is going into it are close to each other, so you should get good results most of the time but there may be certain pedal combinations that don't play well together.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1412600366' post='2570221'] The Orange Terror 500 is not the most versatile BUT!!!! it has a 40hm/8ohm switch on the back, so you can use it fully at 8ohms! If you get one, change the pre amp valves, IMO, the gain with the original tubes just sounds horrible after about 9 0.clock. [/quote] Just don't turn it past 9 o'clock then!

Before you run out and buy a daisy chain... I found running a Zoom multi on a daisy chain to add lots of noise to the signal, same with EHX digital pedals, so I always end up running them off of a separate power supply.

The Aguilar TH500 and the Orange Terror Bass are the loudest 500W heads I've ever played, much louder then the 600W Streamliner I had. It seems that Aguilar and Orange rate their amps honestly by rating their amps as 500W continuous, I wouldn't be surprised if the Genz was 900W only in bursts and was actually similar to those amps in overall output. If it's raw power you want, and a tubey sound, the Orange Terror 1000 would slay everything in a volume war! The GK MB Fusion 800 would also be a similar match volume wise for the STM900. Also the Ampeg SVT-7Pro is 1000W.

The necks don't have the graphite reinforcement of the US Standards I believe, but they never used to back in '62 either! I'm not a fan of the greasebucket tone circuit myself. It's good for removing treble bite but does not provide that fat low end boost that that traditional circuit does when you roll off the tone, which works really well for the Motown sound. Easy to fix with a new capacitor though!

I thought the MIM sounded really flat and dull compared to the MIA here. Mostly down to the pickups I would assume. I know MIMs used to come with ceramic pickups instead of alnico, anyone know if this is still the case?

I think that must be a misprint or misinterpretation. Any solid state amp that can run at 4ohms will be stressed less by running it at 8ohms, never heard of one that will only work at 4ohms. It's just the design of a tube power section that needs the correct impedance hooked up to the correct output socket.

Lots of controls there! Is there a simple feedback mod for Rats that could be added to a second footswitch perhaps? It's my favourite mod to add to a Big Muff, just takes everything up a notch and makes the sound go crazy as your notes fade out.

Ha, I thought the '77 sounded the best! Then the USA, then the MIJ - the MIM sounded terrible.

This amp is loud as hell, similar in volume to the Terror Bass I reckon (at 4 ohms anyway as it doesn't have the magic 8-ohm full power switch). I've been wading through the TB megathreads on this head and the general consensus is the 500W is a very honest rating and it uses the same power section that some manufacturers use in their '900W' amps (e.g. the Genz Streamliner 900). The TH350 was said to have the same modules as the GK MB500 too, so the TH500 is likely to match the MB800. Only issue I am having with the one I've just bought is that the fans kick on at full blast after 15 minutes of low volume use, making it unbearable for solo practice. Plenty say they can't hear their fans, just trying to decide if I should try a replacement, or if they are just deaf and I should get a refund!

Killing the power would also kill the LED though. Will simulatenously switching to the effect and powering up the circuit may introduce a slight delay until the sound comes through? Or introduce pops? That would explain why everyone chooses to have the effect running constantly and just switched in and out when needed.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1412109819' post='2565821'] Chord do a BOD-50 (Boss ODB3 clone) that's not bad at all. it's got a really useful blend control, and is built like a tank - cast metal case etc… [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chord-BOD-50-Bass-Overdrive-Pedal/dp/B003GSNUKU"]http://www.amazon.co...l/dp/B003GSNUKU[/url] But then of course, there's the BDI-21... [/quote] You can get the real ODB-3 for less than that used too. Forgot to mention the ODB-3, but I don't really class it as an overdrive, more a mislabelled distortion!

Only £46 here! http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/DigiTech-CM-2-Tube-Overdrive-Guitar-Pedal/AZ2

The Fairfield Barbershop gets recommended as a transparent OD quite a bit over at Talkbass so that might be worth a look. I can vouch for the DHA VT1 also, great pedal and I may get another one some day. Another great cheap option is an Earthquaker Devices Speaker Cranker - I'm using one of these as a dirty boost pedal at the moment. It holds the low end well and just boost the top end a little bit, adding a bit of gain and volume without overpowering things. If you have the cash and looking to try something fancy, I would look at the Creation Audio Grizzly! Their Holy Fire is another good transparent OD, and the Grizzly is their new pedal designed for bass.

I was a big fan of my Humphrey-modded 'Badder' Monkey until I replaced it with the similar sounding Xotic Bass BB Pre. I hear often that the Digitech Hardwire CM-2 stomps all over it though and holds the low end better too. So although I've not heard it, this is what I would spend my money on! Then there's the EHX Glove, which is a bass friendly OCD clone that internally boosts up to 18v. Don't forget the Behringer BDI-21! There's also the Joyo pedals but I think they are over hyped over at Talkbass. I found the Ultimate Drive to lose too much low end and the American Sound was too bland.

Different tones. The MB is very neutral sounding, the OTB is much more old skool and dirtier sounding. I've just received an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, and recommend it. It can cop the vintage sounds of the OTB but is a lot more flexible. Add it to the list for sure!

Pancake TRS jacks are out there, but they are wider than regular ones so may not fit. These show up in Amazon but unavailable: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0014CKHKQ?pc_redir=1410443579&robot_redir=1 Searching for pancake trs in eBay shows some ready made cables but none in this country!

Not heard of them before... A green Russian clone with blend for £73 sounds tempting!