dannybuoy

What about the rest of the setup? Sounds good whatever it is. Also can't beat a phaser on bass for spaced out fuzziness, a Phase 90 would be an excellent addition to that line-up!

Valve preamps can be designed to be very clean, e.g. Hartke LH500, or very grungy like the aforementioned Orange. Not sure where the Spyder sits - but just because it has a valve pre doesn't mean it'll sound like an LB30. I use an Orange Terror Bass myself, and warm it up even more with a pedal - I recommend the Bearfoot FX Blueberry, Catalinbread SFT, or Xotic Bass BB Preamp as my current favourites. Not a fan of the Sansamp stuff personally. Other amp options I would look at are the TC Electronic Classic or RH series, Genz Benz Streamliner, Aguilar TH500, Markbass TTE and GK MB Fusion. But I would start with the Orange, cheapest, simplest and dirtiest of the lot!

Cool! What are you using for bass fuzz? Sounds like you should be using one of these! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaJZsIwIlR8

Should be pretty easy to make one. Plug in a TRS cable if you have one, then experiment bridging the connections at the other end of the plug. In all likelihood connecting the tip to the bottom part will enable one effect, and connecting the middle section to the bottom will enable the other effect. Then you just need a box and a couple of footswitches! Otherwise, any footswitch with a TRS plug and a couple of latching switches should do the trick: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guitar-Amp-Amplifier-Channel-TRS-Footswitch-for-Roland-Boss-FS-5L-2-Channels-/141168092281?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item20de462479

I notice the bridge is mounted a lot further forward than the on the Kala. Anybody got a Harley Benton and a Kala to post a side-by-side pic?

Afraid not!

I tried the Retrovibe pre in my Sub but far preferred the stock one so switched it back. The stock one sounds great, just a bit too loud. Somewhere in the talkbass thread are instructions from a Sterling rep detailing how to mod the preamp to resolve this, wiring the volume control after the preamp instead of before it and adding a resistor in somewhere. Definitely giggable stock though, no sharp fret ends, low action, great tone and very light weight.

Played both but not at the same time - I think you'll be happy with the Tarkin, the mids knob is magic!

Picked it up from the post office after paying £16.80 to her majesty, been out all day but just returned and gave it a blast. A massive thumbs up from me! I was just playing around with the Vintage Deluxe, BB Preamp, SFT and this. It's closest to the SFT in character, but sounds much nicer when digging in hard, more tube amp like. I've had the Dark Driving before too (original one knob version) which is based on the BBBOD and this sounds miles better. If you're after an always-on drive (or booster), that's really warm but not too dark, that can be set to clean with just a hint of natural sounding drive when digging in without overly colouring your tone - give this a go. I recommend it over the SolidgoldFX Beta for sure.

I think it is a standard Tech21 sized enclosure already, it's smaller than it looks in the photos!

It's a great little bass, intonation isn't a problem as I got the fretless! It has been returned though as this one has a dodgy connection somewhere and crackled occasionally when plugged in. I love the ultra short scale fretless though, not quite sure whether to get a replacemen or go for a slightly smaller [url="http://omegamusic.co.uk/buy/korala-ukbb-310fe-fretless-bass-ukulele-with-built-in-tuner"]ukulele bass[/url]. There's also this [url="http://ortegaguitars.com/en/product-finder/acoustic-basses/acoustic-bass/show/Product/pm-shaman/pm-shaman/"]Ortega PM Shaman[/url] coming out soon, looks awesome but twice the price!

The B1on is less than half the price and has an added aux input for jamming along to tracks too. No DI output though, but it sounds like you want it for headphone practice and don't really need a DI?

A DPDT relay with some kind of microswitch built into the chassis somehow should do the trick. Something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=microswitch&x=0&y=0 And this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/12v-dc-1a-dpdt-miniature-relay-n04aw Then you can either rig up the relay to do the job of the old footswitch; or you can permanently remove the old switch and wire it to be always on, then connect the jacks directly to the relay, converting the whole thing to true bypass. You'd probably need to spring-load it somehow as well so it had enough force to press the switch when returning it to the heel position. Sounds like an interesting challenge! Just thought of another way - use a reed switch just inside the casing underneath the heel, and put a magnet underneath the bottom of the treadle at the back. The magnet then serves two jobs - it will hold the pedal in place at the heel end, and it will also activate the reed switch which will be in turn connected to the relay!

I would keep it simple - put the tuner in line with the rest of the pedals, that then becomes your mute so you can do away with a separate mute switch. Then plug the lot straight into the main amp input - one cable going to the amp! Just because the amp has tuner out and mute sockets doesn't mean you have to use them all.

Damn that's ugly.

It's great IF you use pedals in the FX loop, which most people don't. The FX loop is very useful for guitar amps where the player wants some delay/modulation/etc to come after the amp's distortion. Bass amps are usually pretty clean however and most people with most effects just run them straight into the front end. Also the signal level in an FX loop is usually a lot louder, which better suits rack gear, some pedals are designed to only work with instrument level signals.

You need the G-Lab True Bypass Wah Pad: http://www.glab.com.pl/true_bypass_wah-pad_en It's pressure sensitive and activates a true bypass relay when you step on the wah. I have their bass wah which uses the same switching and it's easy to activate, instant, and silent. Only downside is it's not cheap at £90: http://www.thomann.de/gb/g_lab_tbwp_true_bypass_wah_pad.htm Converting a normal wah shell to one like the 105Q however will not be easy. As well as the spring mechanism, there is special circuitry to control the switching and time delay which would've been part of the main PCB, and you'd have to rig up the equivalent. Might be worth giving the Ibanez Weeping Demon, Dunlop 105Q, and G-Lab Wowee Bass a go, you never know you might like one of em more than the wah you have now!

I use Dunlop nickels, but my next set to go on is a set of Cleartone EMP coated strings which should last a lot longer. Give both a try!

He said he needs a bass with a lot of harmonic content, which would rule out the rubber stringed uke basses... But you can buy metal strings for those nowadays too. Ibanez do a Mikro bass in a 4 string PJ and 5 string J version: http://www.ibanez.co.jp/usa/products/jumpstart/eb_mikro.html There are a few more options out there like the one above too, there's a few threads on Talkbass about them.

Here are the first three options that popped into my head: - Peavey TL6 - Cheap 6 string with dual P pickups. Can be run in passive mode, which will give a darker sound and will play better with certain fuzzes. - Mike Lull does a 5-string Thunderbird. I'm sure he could be persuaded to build a 6! - DINGWALL! I wouldn't place a major importance on neck through for sustain. At doom volumes, feedback creates its own sustain!

You could put some bass strings on it though, there are metal 23" scale bass strings out there now due to the recent surge in popularity of the micro bass! You'd get a bit of a workout trying to fret those strings though!