dannybuoy

As well as the pickups, I'd expect a sound difference due to the blend pot too. You might get different loading on the pickups with each connected to their own pot (a blend pot is just two regular pots stacked together) vs a single volume pot. Also, not all blend pots are equal - at the middle position some blend pots are 100% of both sides, but this isn't always the case. Love my BB1025X in the middle position though, sounds most unlike any other PJ I've encountered. I think the fact the J is proper meaty has a lot do with it!

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Sub bass is frequency content under 60Hz (or any arbitrary value down there, some might say < 40Hz) Sub octave is a tone generated an octave under what you are playing. If you are playing high up on the neck through an octaver, you have a sub octave without excessive sub bass! Octave down should be switch off if you're playing below regular open A IMHO, otherwise you're just generating speaker/trouser flappage (a technical term that).

I think I'd rather pull out a backup bass than make the audience wait for my soldering iron to warm up mid-set! Although I have never brought a backup bass to any gig in my life!

The volume boost of the AGS switch is not necessarily a downside of the pedal if just comparing to the amp, since the amp has no such switch. Aguilar really should have put that control on a toggle switch instead, there'd be a lot less complaints! The main difference is the drive control on the head is like a variable AGS switch. As you increase it, it applies a speaker-like EQ to roll off the top end as well as the deepest lows, as well as determining how much overdrive the gain control produces (i.e. with drive off, the gain control is just a clean volume boost). The head also has a -10dB pad for active basses that the pedal doesn't. I'd go for the head, unless you plan on using it a lot at home as a preamp/DI for practice/recording - the fan noise of the TH500 I had was rather annoying!

The pickup is the least likely thing to die, much more likely to be a jack, string, or strap button!

An LS-2 will do it yes, it’s one of the few pedals that can blend two effects in parallel. Also try putting the OC-2 last - common guidance is to put it first, but I prefer octave further down the line to keep the sub octave clean as you say, and I find dirt and envelope don’t negatively affect the tracking much at all!

The TRBX 504/505 sounds much duller than a Jazz though. Humbuckers sacrifice some top end. I love the look of them though, I was interested in getting one until I played one! The cheaper 305 sounded much more lively. I'd compare it to the difference between Barts and Nordstrands in the Ibanez SR line that you're familiar with Al. The Barts are much more polite, the Nords growl!

Got mine in. Have to say at the moment I prefer my VTDI. But I do have ancient strings on well overdue for a change, plus haven't tried it alongside a mix yet, so will give it a fair run! With the BB1025X which has quite a lot of output and low end, the YYZ definitely needs the tight switch to stop overloading the clipping section with too much low end. It's the same with the VT, but I achieve a similar effect to the tight switch with the VT by cranking up the character and cutting back on the mids and blend. It somehow sounds more Geddy than the Geddy pedal, but I probably would not be saying that if I had a Geddy bass with fresh strings on! It's definitely more than capable of being a subtle warm drive pedal though, it's not overly nasal/fizzy/clanky until you really push the gain.

I've got a lot of pedals here, I don't think any of them do! It can often be found in the manual though.

150mA should do.

If it's a 12V DHA pedal, you can run it a 9V no problem, Dave Hall himself (RIP) said so. Just make sure it has plenty of mA on tap (no idea how much it needs though) and expect slightly more breakup at lower gain levels than you would get from 12V.

All of those look horrific, but especially the Marcus one. Italics, serif and handwriting fonts, silhouettes, and red & gold. Each one a design crime alone, but combined?! Mesa, Aguilar, Darkglass and Genzler make the classiest looking heads IMHO.

Not jumping on the C4 train Al? Seeing as you're already MIDI'd up and all for presets, it should even be able to replace the Manta (and who knows, maybe the GR2 and FI depending how good a job they did!).

What kind of noise issue, could it be an earthing problem? There's a chance it could be fixed without replacing the electronics.

If you don't find someone, one option that I did once was to buy the cheapest hard case I could find for about £35, get it sent direct to them and get them to put the bass in and reseal, then pay for and arrange a courier to bring it to me. Might be a bit too much effort, but worth it for the right bass!

It's better than the Boss as in the toggle switch gives you an entire preset including knob positions, whereas the Boss looks like it just has a 'mode' switch without presets (not sure, I've not read up on it)? It's not too much hassle for most people to just flick one switch before a song. MIDI's not for everyone, it's a balance between how many presets you need, how badly you need those on a footswitch, and your willingness to sacrifice £ and board space and deal with additional complexity.

If I needed more than 6 presets and I was playing live (which I no longer am), then if course I'd go down the MIDI route. Until then I'll just use the toggle switch and footswitch to access the 6 presets directly, or use the app if messing about at home or in the studio.

MIDI? Nope, I’ve no desire to go down that path! I didn’t gel that well with the Manta, but I wouldn’t mind a more compact version with more filter models, features and a realistic Mutron III and OC-2 model on board for instance. I didn’t even realise this pedal was out, their site says it’s still in development! Whatever happened to the Spectrum filter then, I would have expected to see that out too as I thought it was a cut down version of the C4.

I don’t have much use for a synth pedal, but the fact this is supposed to replace the Manta and cop a whole bunch of different envelope filter tones, plus cop an OC-2 has me interested.

I think the point was, you think your know which are your favourite dirt pedals are, until you play them with a band at high volume, then you change your mind! I ended up using the SolidgoldFX Beta as my dirty boost in the band, even though I thought it sounded meh at home.

Plenty of pedals out there without a blend that do not drop lows. Blueberry, Mojomojo, Beta, Blower Box for starters! I find with the Mojomojo I have to raise the treble up to 3 o'clock, it still doesn't sound bright, but it does remove the murkiness. I'd choose the Spark over the Grizzly even if the prices were reversed. You might like it Al. Then again you might not!

I've not tried the TC but I would probably go for that due to the sheer number of options it has, you may be more likely to find the sound you seek. If you delve into the editor you can EQ the affected signal to remove some of the shrill upper frequency content from the octave up for example, which the Mooer can't. Also there are 2 versions of the Tender Octaver. The first one (which I have) got pulled from the shelves because it was a direct clone of the EHX MicroPOG. The MkII is their reworked version, which I''m not sure is as good, you'd have to search for some comparisons!

This stinks. I can understand Gibson going after those making cheap replicas of their instruments that could eat into their sales, but the D-Bird is nothing like any Gibson bass. It's not like there are people tossing up whether to buy a Dingwall or a real Gibson/Epiphone, they are worlds apart.