dannybuoy

Try some preamp pedals out. The VT Bass is a good place to start, especially if you're into more vintage rock or R&B tones, it can make any amp sound like a growly Ampeg tube head.

I bought a B3n thinking it would have different sounds. It did. So it stayed! 😁

If anyone wants a free FireWire Mackie Onyx Satellite, let me know. The dock died but the main unit still works and has 2 ins and 2 outs. Probably doesn't work on Windows 10 though!

Also, I'm not only interested in the amps to use as amps, but rather to use them as effects. I managed to get very close to my Darkglass Alpha Omega by blending a Fuzz Face in parallel with a Hiwatt tube amp for example, or getting close to the sound of the DuG pedal by sending my highs to a guitar amp.

The point is many people wanted a mini box with Helix technology, wishing the HX was perhaps smaller and had the amp models, but buying it anyway because it was the only option available. Then Line6 come out and release what they actually wanted in the first place!

I was on the fence about the HX, I wanted the amp sims but the other units were too big and expensive. If I had decided to forfeit the amp sims and get one anyway, I would have felt shafted for sure when the Stomp came out with amp sims, a smaller form factor and a USB audio interface.

Firewire is pretty much obsolete I thought. No new systems come with it on board any more.

Do you need 1000W? £266 for the 600W version is pretty reasonable compared to other offerings if you ask me.

These get good reviews from below bassists: http://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/Mobile/power-amplifiers-for-guitar-and-bass-c102x3124037

On the other hand I would skip the B1on and B3. If you’re playing metal you really ought to give a Darkglass B7K a try, and only the B3n has that model.

Playing that phrase with two fingers is just inefficient in my opinion. Give the 1-3-2 way a try if you haven’t, so much easier for me but I realise everyone’s different!

That's the one! I can just about do it, but only if I'm truly in the zone!

That's the one that made me decide to learn it. She's a great player and makes it look effortless, during that fast run I mentioned she is smiling whereas I'm probably gurning with concentration!

Playing the first note with the thumb (T-2-1) is how I first tried it and found it easiest to begin with, but the note thumps a lot more using the forefinger. Rolling my fingers 3-2-1 comes very naturally to me, I've always used it for finger percussion instruments (which was basically my desk until my new acquisition of a Rav Vast drum!) and crabbing (which isn't as dirty as it sounds, it s a DJ technique of stuttering the fader by bouncing against your thumb!).

I struggled with this until I found an unorthodox way to play the galloping octaves. First finger on the low note, then roll the ring finger followed my middle finger on the high note, then repeat. So, 1-3-2, 1-3-2, etc. Now I can play the track pretty easily except for that fast downwards run that comes later! Feels so much more fluid and natural to me than the 1-2-1 approach most go for.

Well it was picked up this morning!

I've not tried the Boss, but it is obvious that Zoom or Line6 are way more popular on here and on Talkbass. The Darkglass distortion models on the B3n and Helix are killer for rock and metal and I don't think the Boss has anything comparable, that would be one of the main deciders for me.

Bolt ons are supposed to sound punchier though, I assume because the neck joint dampens the vibrations making the attack louder then the note that follows. I believe the 1024-2025 range sound pretty different too, overwound pickups so louder and darker. Peter Hook wasn't happy with the sound of them until they came out with the new range that sounded more like the vintage ones anyway!

Same as applies to real world FX chain. Ultimately there are no rules and just use what sounds best, but typically the amp and cab will be last. Although you could put compression or EQ etc afterwards if you wanted, just as an engineer might do to a mic'd cab signal in the studio.

Free piano to anyone who can collect from Buckden, St Neots!

And how flat is your cab? With most amps I would just say go into the fx return to bypass the preamp, but as I recall Markbass amps are unusual in that the EQ is after the fx loop? Search previous issues of BassGearMag online, they tend to measure flat settings on most things they review and I think they did the LMII.

I don't find it to hard to get my head around. Drive off, it's just like any amp, gain doesn't have any real effect on the sound. Dialing in drive lowers the headroom, so that the gain control starts to produce soft clipping overdrive. It also starts to roll off highs and lows as you turn it up, so you can think of it as a modern/vintage knob. At low gain, you could just use this drive control as a HPF+LPF speaker simulator. The final thing to realise is that the mid control is placed before the clipping section, so has a massive effect on the overdrive character. Boosting mids gives you more drive, but boosting bass/treble does not, since those controls are placed after the clipping section. Therefore don't be afraid to drastically scoop mids if using lots of drive!

No, the pedal needs a variable AGS knob like the amp!

I for one couldn't manage with one foot switch. Rather than one patch per song, I typically would have several FX that I would stomp on and off throughout a track. It would be too complicated to remember 'right I want to add a fuzz now so that's 2 patches up, then in a minute I want clean with a phaser which was 3 patches down'.