dannybuoy

Either upgrade the PA or upgrade your amp. Unless you are playing big venues and have a soundman adjusting your levels who knows what they're doing and is positioned to hear everything out front, I would just upgrade the amp, with a cab that's light and loud and designed for good dispersion throughout the room - like a Barefaced perhaps.

I've not tried either of them, but SFX also do a micro compressor, although it's not listed on the site. [IMG]http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll268/photomx/Micro-pedals/micro-comp01.jpg[/IMG]

Just got delivery of this today, only £20 delivered from here (took a while to arrive from China though): http://www.donnerdeal.com/2013-newest-nux-phaser-core-guitar-effect-pedal-4-stage-and-tape-8-stage-tone-lock-true-bypass-white.html How they can sell a pedal for this price with 32-bit DSP, stereo in/out, relay based true bypass switching (like you only usually get on top notch boutique pedals), and even a battery, is beyond me. How does it sound? Better than the Small Stone or Phase 90 to me. I've not played with a great deal of phasers, but this one's very versatile and has no low end loss. Speed, Depth, Feedback and a Mix knob, and a 4/8 stage switch. You can even save a preset which you can recall by putting the switch in the middle position. Drawbacks? Knobs feel flimsy, like they might break with a clumsy stomp (but I'm quite careful with my stomping). There's also a clicking sound when turning it on and off like some true bypass pedals suffer from. There's also a bit of volume loss if you have the mix set low, like the dry element is a bit too quiet. But this isn't a problem as I set it high and reduce the depth/feedback knobs to make it more subtle. But for £20, I'm a happy camper!

[quote name='FretNoMore' timestamp='1396794580' post='2417387'][/quote] [quote name='FretNoMore' timestamp='1396812449' post='2417626']No, I don't know anything about the circuit. Soundwise, it's a quite "polite" overdrive for lack of better words, touch sensitive, has a bit of low end boost but doesn't muddy the sound. Gives the sound a fatter character without being too obviously distorted if that makes sense. I haven't tried it with the band yet, but I think there are a couple of ballsier blues numbers where it should fit.[/quote] Good description of the Beta, I find it to be the only overdrive I've used that can handle a really hot signal going in (like a Ray4 with the bass knob whacked up full) without overloading and farting out. Great pedal for blues / R&B. I've been thinking of picking up the Cusack Screamer also, what's your take on that one?

Sounds like you could benefit from a nice creamy, bassy, mild overdrive that plays nice with hot active basses and boosts/fattens up your sound in a supporting role in a big band situation- like a Solidgold FX Beta perhaps. Or a VT Bass to make your Markbass sound like a grindy Ampeg tube amp, which is versatile anywhere. Then for the solo stuff, something with lots of clarity that won't destroy your tone, which means a blend, like the EBS Billy Sheehan, Ashdown J-Lo, Brimstone XD-1, Darkglass B3K/B7K/Vintage, VT Bass DI, etc.

Pretty much any amp would work with any cab, no need to stick to a single manufacturer, let alone a single range. For example, I pair up an Orange head with Ampeg cabs. It is nice to have a matching setup though, especially when they are as cheap as Ashdown are knocking them out for these days.

[quote name='ThePapabull' timestamp='1396974934' post='2419352'] thanks to all…. anyone checked the soundblox 2? [/quote] It's not bad. Does a REALLY good low gain tubey overdrive, I found the high gain sounds rather meh, but it certainly gets a lot of rave reviews. You still haven't told us anything about what sounds you're after or what gear you use to help us to help you!

Add on the VAT and they are the same price.

I bought a couple of pedals from the same place using the same shipping method - one took 7 days and the other around 10. It's part of the gamble of buying cheap pedals form the US. If it was 100% trouble free, everyone would be at it!

Try entering the same tracking number into Parcelforce.

Pretty much every solid state head comes with a pair of 8 ohm outputs, and you can hook one of those up to a 4 ohm cab no trouble, I assume this can do the same. The only amps that come with a selection of different outputs where you need to be careful which one you're plugging into are proper heavy tube amps.

This is probably the most bargainous rig out there at the mo! The wattage rating of a cab has nothing to do with how loud it can go, it will tell you how many watts you can pump through it before it will break, and they are usually expressed in average RMS values. Also, a 4 ohm cab will let the head run at full power of 400W RMS, whereas the head will only be producing just over half of that when pushing an 8 ohm cab. You probably want a 4-ohm 2x12 or 4x10 with a power rating of at least 400W, ideally a bit more. This looks like a good deal: [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ashdown-MAG414T-Deep-Bass-Amp-Cab/C5W"]http://www.gear4musi...ass-Amp-Cab/C5W[/url] Otherwise, a couple of 12" cabs would cost a bit more but would be easier to cart about and would give you an option of just taking the one to quiet gigs / rehearsals (2x 8 ohm cabs equals a 4 ohm load): [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-cabs/pid24233/cid686/ashdown-mibass-mi12-1x12-cab.asp"]http://www.andertons...12-1x12-cab.asp[/url]

Depends on so many things, what bass you use, what amp/cab you use, your playing style, your musical genre, size/cost limitations, etc. If you want the 'best' 'distortion', the Brimstone XD-1 takes some beating, if you have the cash and the board space. [url="http://www.brimstoneaudio.com/crossover-distortion.html"]http://www.brimstone...distortion.html[/url] [url="http://www.prymaxevintage.com/brimstone-audio-xd-1-crossover-distortion/"]http://www.prymaxevi...ver-distortion/[/url] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pHo6fPdPvM[/media] The EBS Billy Sheehan looks cool too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ch5ZIJgp2Q But there may well be other pedals more suited to you depending on your needs!

Agreed, I've put V1 of the VT Bass through a real time analyser and with the bass, mids, and character at noon and the treble at 10 o'clock, it was pretty much flat with a 5k speaker sim rolloff, and you can dial in a mid boost from there. The LH500 has a passive EQ so mids are probably cut only, if so that knob should be cranked and then backed off a little to taste.

The Fishman will give you an EQ, but the VT has built in distortion and sounds more like an Ampeg, so whether or not they can do a similar job, depends on the job! Personally, I don't have a major problem with the gain of the stock valves in the old model. I keep the gain set low, and have an XLR attenuator adaptor should I find the DI output to be too hot. Put up a wanted ad here and you'll be bound to find some cheap valves, but they're not that expensive new either (check out Hot Rox and Watford Valves).

SBMM Ray4 - Stingray on the cheap with a Jazz width neck!

The Orange will sound clean if you turn the gain right down. The EQ on it is not very flexible, and the amp is quite dark sounding overall, but it's perfect for rock and blues! It's loud as hell and has real thump down low where some other class D heads are lacking. If you're not just after micro heads, check out the Markbass TTE500. The Aguilar TH500, TC RH750 and GK MB500 Fusion, and Ashdown MiBass/Rootmaster are all worth a look too. The Ashdown LB30/CTM30 probably won't cut it volume wise. Avoid the Ampeg PF500 as they are unreliable.

Nobody said you had to boost 31Hz, it could be used to cut down there too!

I think the Aphex alignment trickery just applies to the top end, the 'big bottom' circuit is some kind of bass boost with a limiter to compress the lows I think. But yes, it does the job very well, and might be just the ticket if you just want to fatten up an OC-2.

If you want bright sounding nylons, try the LaBella 'white' tapewounds. They're not really white, the outer wrap is transparent: http://www.labella.com/category/products/bass/white-nylon-tape/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNdiB2gAUSA