dannybuoy

Good comparison of them here: http://pedalsandeffects.com/fuzz-wars-round-5-weezer-bassist-scott-shriner-and-dot-hackers-bassist-jonathan-hischke/

Were there any other basses in the shop you liked the look of? They may be more willing to swap you for another bass as that way they don't lose out on a sale.

It's an awesome fuzz, the best muff clone I've ever tried, but I wouldn't go for the one with the built in blend - it sounded like the clean was out of phase with the fuzz, with a big volume drop somewhere in the middle of the blend knob travel. Not sure if they're all that way, Matt at W&C insisted they were not out of phase but my ears told me differently, having owned various fuzzes with blend controls as well as standalone blenders in my time.

Surprised by this as we don't hear much about this amp, or any Carvin stuff for that matter outside of the US. Did you use the on-board compressor? If so, could it be that that provided the 'bounce' that you're seeking?

Schecter Hellcat VI is another option for a Bass VI with E-E tuning. If you're after a baritone tuned to B, there's a new Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster which looks pretty tasty. Also, if you have a guitar lying around already you could try a set of baritone strings like the D'Addario EXL158 on it; many metal players downtune their guitars this way.

Better quality version without the radio announcements: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfUimq2KeI[/media] Shame you can get it via iTunes at the moment. Anybody know what bass Geezer is playing on the new album? Sounds like a growly Precision pickup.

Think I read somewhere that the BB1025X guard doesn't fit the BB415, so who knows. They may look the same but there are subtle differences. Best contact Yamaha to check!

I don't think they ever made a BB415X; there is a BB425X which might not be an exact match!

I'd go for the Ampeg or Orange over the Markbass. I don't want my clean sound 100% clean, I prefer a vintage, slightly furry sound, which the Orange delivers. Granted, you're not going to get power tube distortion out of a hybrid with tube pre, but the tube can help smooth out the sound and add extra grit when digging in. I've gone the route of ultra clean amps and have come back to the slightly dirty ones! A Markbass amp may well put out what you put in, but the colour of the amp is a vital component of the sound, flat hi-fi response is not what I'd choose for this genre, which is all about sounding lo-fi and retro. Other amps I would look at if you want a tubey sounding head are the Mark Bass TTE500, TC Electronic Classic/RH series, Ashdown MiBass and Genz Benz Streamliner 900. Also cab choice is important, you don't want any tweeters if you're using distortion, they sound too fizzy. Most tweeter equipped cabs have a volume control to turn the tweeter down or even off off, but with some designs this might not sound so great if the crossover is still rolling off all the high mids from the main speaker. Markbass amps have a VLE control which rolls off the highs to emulate a vintage speaker, but it sounds a little fake with fuzz. To get the best sound with distortion I prefer to go straight into the speaker, no crossovers or tweeters in the way, and let the speaker's natural roll-off tame the fizzy highs. Seems to work for guitar players! If I was splashing out on the best and biggest cab for the job I would probably go for a Barefaced 69'er or Bergantino NV410/NV412. Overkill for small venues though. I play the same kind of music and am pretty happy with my Orange Terror Bass and Ampeg SVT210AV cab. The little Ampeg cab delivers the SVT810 vibe in a quarter of the size, you can stack them up two high (which makes it easier to hear clearly and takes up less room on stage), they are very cheap and weigh bugger all!

They are great down by the first fret, most comfortable 5er I've ever played. Only 42mm wide at the nut which is very narrow for a 5, plus the bridge is set quite far back making the whole bass feel shorter and less of a reach than some.

That lead free solder is hard to work with. I knackered one of the pots on a bass by overheating it since I had to hold the iron on there for so long before it would melt! A hotter iron would help. Not too many places sell the leaded solder any more, Clas Ohlson in Croydon does - and as luck would have it they have a branch in Kingston! [url="http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Electrical-Solder/Pr309565000"]http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Electrical-Solder/Pr309565000[/url]

Tried that BB into the Tall Font? Works great to kick the fuzz up a notch!

The B.J.'s

Funky Ball Of Tits From Outer Space [url="http://mightyboosh.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Old_Gregg#The_Funk"]http://mightyboosh.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Old_Gregg#The_Funk[/url]

I have the Yamaha BB415. Cost me £280 new, which is less than the CV Squiers these days! Both Yamaha and Squier prices have shot up in the last few years though. It's a great bass and if you play rock I would choose it over the other two hands down. Those PJ pickups sound massive, and I've never liked the sound of any active dual soapbar equipped bass that I've tried. The low B is better sounding and the neck more comfortable to play than the Fender P5 and SBMM Ray35 that I've had to compare it to.

I've had similar noise issues daisy chaning just about every digital pedal I've had - B2, B3, EHX Hazarai, and the Wahoo. Johnny Shredfreak power supply too. Also tempted to get one of these.

Best off asking Yamaha to make sure - I guess you'd have to get in touch with them to order one anyway, since they don't come up for sale used too often! I know in the review of the 2025 on BassGearMag they said the neck pocket is 5mm deeper, not sure if that applies to the whole new range or not.

Thread resurrection... Another option - add a blend to it. I've found this pedal sounds so much better in a blend loop so I'm looking at ways to build a blend into the pedal to save on board space. I've found this so far: [url="http://www.guitargeek.com/chat/stompboxes-7/small-stone-blend-control-mod-pics-88042/"]http://www.guitargeek.com/chat/stompboxes-7/small-stone-blend-control-mod-pics-88042/[/url]

I too used to stretch the hell out of my strings until I read that it wasn't such as good idea - be gentle with them, if you go past their elastic limit you'll affect their sound and possibly make them even more prone to going out of tune! Most common cause is the string sticking in the nut slot. You tune it in, but then it's slightly higher or lower in tension behind the nut and after a little while the string slips slightly to even itself out. Get a fine graphite rod from one of those mechanical pencils and rub it in the nut slot where the string sits. Also after changing the strings, push down just in front of the bridge saddle so that it comes over at an sharp angle rather than a curve. Another thing, it helps if you always tune up to the note rather than down; if it's too high in pitch, bring it down then slowly back up.

Look out for a Yamaha BB415 / BB425. Used mine when playing in a doom metal band, tried lots of others but never found anything to beat it!

I went to Digital Village several years ago expecting to buy the Tapco S8's but ended up walking out with the Alesis M1 MkII active monitors, to me they just sounded the best of the bunch. Dirt cheap used too, mine were £200 new at the time.