dannybuoy

A lot of people say TIs are floppy but maybe they are just used to higher tension flats. To me they are perfect and feel similar in tension to a typical set of rounds. I've even used a low B on a Fender P5 and it was superb. What kind of bass will you be fitting them to, Al?

TI flats on a P Bass, job done!

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1506808702' post='3381320'] Likewise, I love the VT bass sound(s) but I found them to be way too compressed out of the box (and I like a healthy dose of compression), certainly too squashed to use in a band situation. Are you sure adding in more compression is the right thing to do??? [/quote] I know what you mean, but if I just wanted to blend clean bass in, the VT500 / VTDI have a blend knob already. But it sounds much better putting the 'clean' side through this Effectrode unit - it's an unusual compressor in that as well as having a tube in to fatten things up, at low compression levels it adds low end, so perfect for using as a 'deep' channel! I think a low gain BDDI in parallel with a higher gain VT would work really well too, closer in concept to the Geddy pre I guess. I'll have another go with the Two Notes into the OmniCabSim too.

Someone on Talkbass just posted a demo of the new Mooer Tender MkII and it sounds pretty good too! The MkI is awesome.

Fender Rumble or Ashdown gets my vote. Decently priced and usable overdrive too.

[quote name='sifi2112' timestamp='1506764454' post='3380937'] so far I'm looking liking it , so much so my M900 might appear in FS soon lol [/quote] Haha, snap! My trusty Orange Terror Bass actually performs very well as a power amp and if my tone shaping is all on the board including a B3K I may not need the M900 either...

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1506761373' post='3380907'] Do you reckon you could get close with your Two Notes? I am watching eagerly for myself as i May experiment... [/quote] The Two Notes does do a similar sound out of the box, but I don't like its speaker sim or the fact it only applies to the XLR output. The VT has a much nicer top end roll off. I'll have to compare both setups later!

Not looking at bi-amping, but my needs mean I could use a cheaper v1 VT Bass and then run the blended channels to a Radial JDI or something.

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1506720026' post='3380746'] My first was a Yamaha RB270F (£90 iirc). Kept it for years. [/quote] These are great. My first ever bass and still have it!

Anyone ever try this or use it as their core sound? I’m a big fan of the VT Bass sound but always felt it overcompressed the low end and took away the thump of the note at medium drive levels. At least it does with my BB1025X, which has hot bassy pickups in it which only exacerbate this. The blend feature found on the DI and head versions remedies this somewhat, but it didn’t sound very fat just blending in a dry bass tone. So, inspired by the Tech21 Geddy preamp and Dug amp which blend two parallel chains, I tried a little experiment this evening. I split my signal to run through my Effectrode PC-2A compressor (which has a real fat thumpy low end for my ‘deep’ channel) and VT500 preamp section in parallel, then into the input and fx return of my Mosquite Blender to adjust the balance (which handily has a phase invert switch to counteract the polarity flip of the PC-2A), and finally into a PJB Bighead. Bloomin’ eck! One of the best bass sounds I have ever got into my headphones. So if anyone has a v1 VT Bass, BDDI, Oxford or Joyo Orange Juice for sale let me know, I’d like to play around with some more combinations!

The little Ampeg Micro VR stack sounds great, and there is just such a rig in the classifieds. The cabs sound like an 810 with less low end. I have a pair of them and use them at home! A word of warning about the Micro VR stack though, it is designed to be able to be used with a pair of the matching cabs (which you would most likely need to get to gigging volume with only 100W), however it goes snap crackle and pop, sounding like it’s about to explode when you do so. That amp plus pretty much any other pair of 8 ohm cabs is fine, or these cabs with any other amp is also fine. Probably just tolerances and the cabs a slightly lower impedance than labelled compared to other cabs.

Over the pond the Subway D800 is reasonably priced, but over a grand here.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1506687602' post='3380430'] Amp-wise (looking at Thomann as a quick example) Ampeg, EBS, Markbass, Ashdown, Hartke, GK, Tech 21, Fender, TC and Warwick can all do a 500w bass head in the £500 region, some [u][i][b]significantly[/b][/i][/u] below. What makes the M500 so special that I should buy it at a premium? While I liked the M900 I had quite a lot (and the Vintage Ultra I'e just sold), there's no doubt that in the value for money stakes Darkglass are in danger of disappearing up their own bottoms. [/quote] Quite, but I find all this vitriol rather odd when there are no similar threads ripping into Aguilar, Mesa, Glockenklang, Vanderkley etc, whose amps cost even more?

I gotta disagree about the "yesterday's sound" thing too. Just because the pedal/pre is capable of full on distortion doesn't mean you have to use it that way - I for one use the B3K mode on the amp set to minimum gain, where it sounds clean unless I dig in. The baked in EQ curve of this mode has a mid scoop that's in just the right place so that it slots into a busy mix perfectly with distorted guitars, and unlike a lot of drive circuits they only distort the midrange, leaving the bottom end clear and uncompressed. They produce a great sound for direct recording, even without a cab sim. But those prices are getting out of control!

TC Spark Mini, One Control Granith Grey, Mooer Pure Boost or MXR Micro Amp will do the job too.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1506526926' post='3379366'] My 'phone..? I hardly know where it is, most weeks. Sometimes I charge it up, if I remember. [/quote] This, but in reference to my house phone rather than my mobile. I think BT and cold callers are the only ones who know what the house phone number is, I’ve no idea!

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1506507543' post='3379183'] Firstly, we use Messenger. I've nothing against What's App other than it's not iPad friendly. [/quote] Btw, you can get WhatsApp working on the iPad by going to https://web.whatsapp.com and choosing ‘Request Desktop Site’ from Safari’s options. Still not friendly, but a workaround nonetheless!

If the footswitch was included you can bet the price would be higher. Personally, I would prefer to pay less rather than get something I might not use. I just use it set to B3K mode, minimum gain, blend about 3/4 and leave it there - sounds perfect with my BB. Although I am now bringing an acoustic fretless into the equation where I will probably just switch the Microtubes off manually.

Does anyone actually use their footswitch much? Like the switchable drive in the Ultra series, I don't find it terribly useful unless you have the blend set really low due to the drastic EQ changes when switching the Microtubes on or off, or going between B3K and VMT (which you can do with the new super duper footswitch).

Got some Royal Blood style fake guitar ready for this evening's shenanigans! Tender Octaver into the American Sound nails the RB tone, then the doubler recreates the fat sound they get from using multiple amps. Board is split 50/50 for 'guitar' and bass, with the guitar sound going to a mixer in stereo. Two compressors on board for different basses, although I may eventually restrict myself to one. Just using the Beta as a dark & dirty boost which works well into the bright sounding Darkglass amp. That might get replaced with the Green Russian though...

New headphone jack is worthless to me without an aux in, but the pre-master DI/loop is an overdue fix!

The Le Bass runs fine from a single 300mA output on my DC5. So that's one socket freed up right there! Pretty sure I've used the Manta from a single 100mA socket too. When it comes to the other fx, current draw should be really low on anything that is analog and doesn't have tubes. I routinely chain 3 or more off a single 100mA output, and I've never bothered to calculate beforehand. If it works, it works! You will usually find that power supplies can dish out more than they are rated for and pedals use less than quoted in their manuals. I estimate that both sides probably add a safety margin of at least 20-50%.

Manufactured in the UK too apparently, so hopefully reasonably priced over here. I wonder if they have collaborated with Barefaced or someone else we are familiar with...

Sorry, not tried either, but there is the TC BH250 and Markbass Nanomark also!

There's a few in that list I didn't actually like but I just recommended them because they can sound very similar to the Phat Phuk (which I have bought and sold twice now!). I've heard a lot of love for the MojoMojo actually, I should try one out. Quite a different feel to the PP but it does sound like a great low gain OD.