dannybuoy

[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!

What do you need it for? If it's for an fx loop, try and get one of these EBS insert cables: [IMG]http://www.ebssweden.com/content/images/products/icy30.png[/IMG]

Yeah, there's a big thread on Talkbass dedicated to it. The amp is fine with other 2x 8ohm cab combinations, but distorts in a bad way when used with a pair of the cabs that were designed to go with it! I bought a new Micro VR head about a year ago and it had issue so returned it.

Hard to describe, but where I had the knobs set to get a flat EQ on the v1 was different, and the overdrive sound didn't sound as good on the later ones somehow. Maybe my v1 was just unique! Also, the character right up will give you a really nasty high mid boost, not really warm at all. You'll see when you get it, it will hurt your ears cranking it past 1 o'clock! You can still sort of turn the bite off on the other VTs. When you disengage the speaker sim (which you would typically want to do to open up the treble), Tech21 thought it would be a good idea engage a low pass filter to make it sound even darker than it did with the speaker sim on. In the latest DI version they have separate these functions to different buttons, so you can disable the 5k rolloff of the speaker sim, and the 'bite' button is that same low pass filter that used to be paired with the speaker sim button.

That Harley Benton looks like a pretty good deal! I run loads of pedals off of a standard daisy chain and don't get any issues with noise unless I add a digital pedal (EHX B9, Zoom Multi, etc). Typically if I put a digital pedal on the daisy chain then it adds a lot of noise to the signal so I end up running it with a dedicated power supply - and digital pedals sometimes use more than the 120mA max output that Harley Benton provides. For those pedals though you'll have no problem with a standard power supply, e.g. a [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/diago-micropower-9-1919-p.asp"]Diago MicroPower[/url], or [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/One_spot.html"]OneSpot[/url], [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/9v-dc-regulated-power-supply-with-integrated-6-way-daisy-chain-2-p.asp"]or one of these[/url].

Yes, I think the bite sound on is the standard VT Bass sound, so you can get less treble bite out of the DI version. Why would the drive knob be pointless? Most important knob on the pedal! Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I had the original which I sold, then got a v2 which sounded totally different, sold that and got the DI version which again sounded like the v2... I couldn't get the same sound as the original, which I preferred.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1411484952' post='2559942'] Wow! Great if customs don't flag it on the way in, but if they do.. Currently $209 = £127 + 20% vat = £152 + Parcelforce admin of about £10 = £162 + whatever the shipping is + 4.4% import. So no real USA saving at the mo if it gets caught by customs. [/quote] Also they have a 15% discount code pretty much permanently (TONE15) and regularly have offers of as much as 30% off. $209 - 15% = 177.65, + $15 shipping = $192.65 = £117.73 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1411485713' post='2559954'] Hands-up whose prymaxe orders have ever been nailed for customs? [/quote] I don't think you'll be seeing many hands there!

Good shout on the Fender Rumble too, these look like a good option: http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Fender-Rumble-500-2x10-Bass-Combo-Amp