DiMarco

Soz I was typing that as you posted. I will no longer sidetrack this thread.

Aha. So the PA creating noise levels that have an impact is ok but on the stage itself we should only hear the drumkit. In-ears (several) I tried had to be turned up so loud it actually hurt my ears. Snaredrum bleeding through my vocal mic (sm58) louder then my voice did. Maybe nice on stadium size stages but not on the smaller ones for sure. You need to be 20+ft away from the drumkit in order to use one and not grow deaf. I tried Helix in the store and did not like it. It is supposed to model a Mesa bass400+? Sorry it did not come close. Fair enough I should try it in a band setting like I did with the hd and eleven rack to give it a fair chance but my experience with modellers and sansamp alike so far made me not try that. I have turned unwilling by Pods and Eleven racks. I am really happy with the hexavalve head though. Bass sounds bigger stronger and more lively through it. The Mesa is coming up for sale as I no longer use it eventho it is a great valve amp. If you guys are right about the current modellers being just as good then why do lots of great bassists keep dragging their Hiwatt/Mesa/Ampeg/Ashdown rigs around? Maybe they know what they're doing? Insulting these people by calling them dinosaurs is uncalled for. If you use your helixes, fine! Some people choose otherwise and use the real gear instead of the copied.

Almost a good point. We play music however, not sound. If the tone of your instrument has a bigger impact on you as a musician, it will inspire you to create. This is how rock music came to be.

Couple of months ago I saw Meshuggah live. No amps on stage. It sounded exactly like the album, not like a live gig. I hated it.

Much nonsense going on in this thread. Modelling I really have tried... It would be so awesome to simply plug in and sound... well awesome. But it did not. It came close but not close enough. Nor do in-ears. Bass through headphones just sucks anyway and will never work for me. Anyone wanna buy my Eleven rack just yell (already sold the line6 stuff). It hasn't been switched on in over a year. I use valve amps. It sounds better. Period. If you think not, you probbly haven't ever played through a good full valve stack. I use a lightweight 2x12 cab which is loud enough next to a hard hitting drummer in most rooms we play. My amp weighs more then my cab does. Our guitarist is currently using my 100w Engl combo+112 cab which weighs even more. I bring my atm250 mic when bass will be reinforced and want both d.i. and mic signal being used. Otherwise my fuzz and dist will slice skulls in the audience. Why? Oldskool rock is not played through computers. That would ruin the whole vibe. The whole point in playing rock is being loud as f**k. It makes the brain a happy place. Bass is heard through the scrotum as much as it is through the ears. Fact. Narrowing our stacks down to 2x12 (which really is enough) is as far as narrowing down will go, otherwise the pants wont tremble. Dinosaur? You don't know sh**.

Dazed, when using any warm sounding valve amp your overdrive pedals will sound warm and tubey as well. Been there, still doing it. For a hint of powervalve saturation at sensible soundlevels I use a pedal named "dirty little secret" which is emulating a cranked Marshall Superbass 100. This seems to work best with passive basses but its sound through the hexavalve or bass prodigy amp is sweet and oldskool Chris Squire like, Lemmy if you dial in more dirt. All without having to be overly loud. Second way for me to sound saturated is playing through the Tech21 vt500, which comes pretty close but sadly no cigar. I guess real valves are the only way, and emulated saturation through those real valves is the closest you can get without neigbours losing their minds. That said, my valve amps are 250w and 300w (I bought Dissa's Hexavalve) and both bring that lively warm but still tight tone also at lower soundlevels. Valve tone is not just about saturation ya know... So in your case I'd go for an amp that simply sounds tubey and not so much focus on saturated tone abilities.

Argh... Paddleheads! Yuck!

P-basses shine in the mix of instruments. If your band has lots of overdriven guitar noise, the P will be clearly audible and work like glue between the drums and guitars where the Jazz gets drowned in that same setting. For the same reason "smiley face" or "scooped" EQ settings on amps are nice solo because of that ballsy thump, but do not work well in a band setting. The secret is in the midrange frequencies.

LOL! Guys each pedal will have its application, dUg tone can not be created using a VMT or B7K but the Alpha-Omega can come close. I own an M900 amp and never use it because the Alpha-Omega is more flexible and sounds bigger through my Trace Elliot Hexa Valve amp then the M900 ever will. I really believe a dirt pedal on its own is only half of the ingredients in a great overdriven bass tone. Sold my B7K because it sounded fizzy and weak, still have a VMT pedal but the VMT (and also the B3K) in the M900 to me sound a lot better then the pedal versions. I have tried many many more overdrive pedals on bass in the last few years but most will drown out in the mix, making the bass sound weak. The absolute best tone I got so far was taking the bi-amping route playing through both a Mesa Prodigy through the Barefaced 2x12 plus an Engl Raider 100 combo + extra 112 cab but dragging two stacks along is really too much. Also great sounding was throwing a Tech 21 flyrig 5 in the fxloop of my Mosquito Blender to mimic bi-amping. Add an octave up to the mix and you can do that Royal Blood thing as well. Plenty of options for sounding awesome, all depending on your taste and needs. Still, if I could choose only one I'd stick with the Alpha-Omega.

I am waiting for the release of this multiband overdrive from Tech 21. Always admired Dough Pinnick's tone. Clean lows, distorded mids/high mids. Sounds like a plan.

I've been a member for ages really. Hi everyone, DiMarco here. Dutch long time bassist and gear addict. Currently I play in a coverband as nowadays I have a demanding job and hardly any time for the creative process. Other then practicing with the band a maximum one time per week there's zero time for making music. Loving father and husband, daughter who's 10 and having the most awesome wife in the world. Until recently I was an admin at another bass related forum but my (non existent) patience combined with temper and low tolerance for crap made me give up that position. (The #^&^%* you get from some people because they regard you as "establishment" - oh I know the pain and have the utmost respect for people running forums!) That said, I will not drag any of that piece of history into Basschat any further then the above notice. I used to be a bigtime fan of Warwick basses but decided to move on after discovering my Zon Sonus, and (yes getting older) I play my Rics and P a lot more then any "modern" sounding basses. I ,mostly play through my several valve amplifiers, using a Barefaced Big Twin II gen3 cab all the time. Do own a couple of class D amps as well but meh. Must say I really like the forum software and functional upgrades done lately to this particular forum, making it more modern feeling but still no lose its "forum" feel either. Great job staff!

Excellent choice, but either would have been. I never liked the Streamer shape either, it looks just a little too slick to my taste.

Indeed. This little fella opens up a world of possibilities. Still I keep grabbing my Alpha-Omega. Nothing beats it.

If you want transparency, choose the Mxr. The Cali76cb if you play a low B string occasionaly (it has a hpf that keeps the comp from squashing lows) If you want aggressive slap punch, get the Aguilar. It is awesome for that. If you want buttery sweetness, the diamond or supersymmetry. Digital compressors? Stay away from those.

I never used the pre-shape on mine, it is the suck mode knob. Instead I use the 12band to cut 30hz and boost 40-200hz around 4db, also boost trebs a tiny bit for more crisp. Otherwise EQ is flat. The SMX dualband comp sounds WAY better then that dualband Ashdown budget piece of **** I threw away, Tube warmth can be created with either pigtronix or ehx (black finger) pedals, also find a used market SMX compressor pedal and you're there. But again, I find the pre-shape circuit is AWFULL and very eighties sounding. Don't need or want that. Alas my RAH600SMX has died, I am now using the Hexa Valve exclusively, with a Cali76cb compressor pedal. I think it sounds even better now then the SMX did back when I used it. Trace sound but more responsive and warm.

Awesome and correct description by Al there. I feel the same. When I want fat "big" sounding subs to go with a fuzz box to crank out Muse like goodness I kick in the MXR. For a more transparent and clean sub octave the bass whammy is used, which also does a few extra tricks when needed. I tried an Aguilar octaver and that is probably the one I'd go for if I could have only one. Its tone sits in between the mxr and a transparent oct.

Cali76 cb. Without any doubt. It is way ahead of the competition.

I use compression only subtle. When I play by myself you don't reallly notice it is there. Within the total band mix though it is a completely different story. The whole band sounds more tight and compact because of me using a compressor. I love it! Snaredrum pops out more, guitarists accents in his playing are more evident. After trying a number of higher end comps I settled for a Cali76 cb because of its highpass filter making it behave less squashy then others on my five stringers. I never play without a compressor anymore.

Yeah it kind of sucks. I love the feel and look of that lacquered neck with its bindings and block inlays. Currently waiting for a price tag and delivery time on a Moses Graphite 5 string jazz neck.

Judging from the pickup placement, by modern standards that bass will sound boomy as fork. I am not sure your son will be happy with how it sounds and handles... Parts are hard to come by but you could try https://shop.warwick.de/en/Parts+for+Instruments/Framus+Spare+Parts In good shape it is worth a couple hundred max. I am afraid the old Framus basses are not very popular.

Odd. Should really be able to sound great then. My tone control on the P is always dialed down around 25%. Did you try this?

Some amps like Ampegs heavily colour your tone and don't like modern sounding instruments but really shine with a P and flats. A Pbass does not throw subs or treble at ya. That is the secret. My Mesa valve amp sounds clanky with my active Jazz. What bass were you playing through the Ampeg stack?

I bought the bass used. Neck was inspected by me then and okay. For now I will stick to playing the Zon when a low B string is needed, the Miller sig is scenery.

I dig. This is an upgrade. Mobile version also looking proper now (I used to switch to full version all the time on my mobile). Nice!

I own an RAH600SMX and the somewhat newer AH300-12. Both have the pre-shape, 12band, hybrid valve/ss pre and dualband compression but that last series, built under Gibson flag does not sound as good by any means. The compressor cuts treble, the valve does not warm up the tone at all. The SMX is clearly the winner here. Too bad mine blew itself up and sits around my attic for historic value only, I won't repair it. But yes I agree with the others. SMX or SMC is the most logical way to go (I believe the SMC has dualband compression going on but only one comression level control knob). Hybrid pre, awesome compression, very powerful tone. If you want even more of the good stuff, have a look at Quattra or Hexa valve heads. My Hexa makes all my basses sound better then any of my other (Mesa, Darkglass, Tech21) amps, I am humbled by its powerful and warm-yet-articulate tone. Wow just wow...