Greg Edwards69

It could be that your bass has a hot output. The larger Helix devices have an input pad setting, to accommodate this, but I don't think the Stomp does. Perhaps just turn down the volume on the JHS compressor so that it doesn't hit the Stomp so hard.

The new Rochester comp is particularly good, even straight 'out of the box' but it can take a bit of work to dial in to your preference. A few other people have commented that compressors have been one of the weaker effect in the Helix, some being nothing more than gain stages. That said, I quite like the Deluxe Comp too - tweak the threshold to suit and it's pretty much good to go. I haven't tried it, and I don't have a real amp any more, but I wonder if you used the 4 cable method if you could use your Ashdown's preamp as a switchable block. Then you could have the best of both - Ashdown and SVT at the press of a button. (FWIW, I love the SVT model. It's pretty much perfect even with all the eq set to neutral.) I don't use cab blocks at all. Remember, cab blocks and IR;s are the sound of a mic'd up speaker in another room. They are nt representative of a cab sitting a few feet away from you. Unless you regularly mic up a traditional bass cab when you gig I'd urge you to try a simple eq block instead. Most recorded and live bass tones are a simple DI from an amp head, straight to the desk, an eq block simulates this rather well. A cut around 5khz on top and around 50hz on the bottom brings it into typical bass cab range and still sounds lively and almost like a real bass cab behind you (if you're going into an FRFR). Not to mention it would make a sound engineer quite happy with that signal going into their desk. When bass cab's are mic'd up, they are generally mixed with a DI signal too, so if this is your preference, you may want to dive into the cab block and adjust the wet/dry balance, or create a separate path for the cab. If you're going into a real bass amp and cab, then the choices get even more complex. I'd advise bypassing the cab block to your onstage amp and any of the above going to FOH, if you're using it.

That’s kind of what I was trying to get at. I think the nature of stringed instruments makes the player more aware of the limitations of the western music system more than fixed pitch instruments such as woodwind and piano.

As others have said, it's more to do with exposure than being hardwired. I feel it's the same when it comes to having perfect pitch. As string instrument players we probably all recognise that western music uses an imperfect scale that's had its mathematics mangled in order fit into an octave, which therefore isn't quite as natural as it may appear. So I find it difficult to understand when someone says they are 'born' with perfect pitch and the ability to recognise imperfect notes. I fully understand that some people have a brain that's wired to make this process easier for them, just as some people recognise logic patterns easier than other people, but they still have to be 'conditioned' to the western music scale. I wonder if people who claim to be born with perfect pitch find it easy recognising pitches in other musical cultures?

I'm constantly amazed at the number of comment on various facebook groups by people who messed up the upgrade, each and eveytime Line 6 release an update, because they didn't read the instructions properly. I must seem like a right geek as I download pdf manuals to read up on before I buy certain devices.

To be fait, he does play with gloves on

Just thinking, the other alternative could be upright bass, maybe an EUB. Completely different ergonomics that may not aggravate your injury so much.

There's also the new Vox Starstream basses, if you don't mind the look. Certainly leagues away from Hofner designs. 30.32" scale and 3.00kg (lighter than a strat, apparently). You might also want to look into a different strap system to take the weight of your shoulder. Or even eschew the strap and sit on a stool - certainly looks cooler than those braces style straps. I agree with the above sentiments though, deal with the cause, not work around the symptoms and try some physiotherapy. FWIW, I find that weight isn't necessarily the issue, sometimes it's just bad ergonomic design. I gave up playing my old Warwick Thumb bass because it would leave me in pain for a couple of days after a gig. Used to be fine, but my body started changing when I reached 30. The body was so small paired with a massive neck that the nut seemed to be a mile away, not to mention being neck heavy. It really took its toll. I now play basses that balance properly, not necessarily lighter and the difference is remarkable. My latest acquisition, a Squier 50s P bass is fantastic in this regard. Quite light but it balances perfectly. It seems that Leo Fender got it right first time all those years ago.

I remember TC coming under fire a number of years ago for "lying" to customers about their power rating and handling. TC bass amp owners who were perfectly happy with their tone, volume and headroom were suddenly outraged that they had paid for a 450w amp that was only 225w. And many more who vowed to boycott them. Trouble is, too many people get caught up in specs and numbers and forget to use those fleshy extremities on the side of the head.

On the subject of synths, has anyone had much luck with the 3 Osc Synth effect found in the Stereo Pitch/synth section? It seems to be the closest thing to a proper synth “engine”. TBH I’m not great at dialling in synths, so I’m tweaking knobs more randomly than with real intent. I wish line 6 would introduce effect level presets for this type of effect

Chad’s synth presets are the only presets I’ve ever paid for. They sound great but I’ve yet to find a use for them! The only other synth sounds I use are simple ones I made myself for Time is Running Out and Cars.. I was really hoping 3.0 would beef up the synth department but is wasn’t to be. But now they’ve built the polyphonic engine, we can hope they apply this technology into building a better synth engine in the future. I’d love a deep impact / future impact model. FWIW Dr Tone aka Jon Willis knows his stuff when it comes to bass tone, particularly driven rock tones, up synth really isn’t his thing. I have to admit though, most of his presets seem to work great for him, but they just sound awful in my hands.

It's for this reason my band sometimes has the odd 'Technical rehearsal" when we need to try new gear or new sounds and ideas. It does help trying these things at gig level, with our gig rigs in a band context. If everyone is in the same mindset of being listening to the actual sound and being aware of what everyone else is going you can be more critical on the actual tones everyone is producing rather than concentrating on the the song and playing the right notes. I don't play loud at home either, but I've gotten better at dealing in usable sounds at home lately since going fully frfr. I initially bought a Headrush 112 for gigging with rather than plugging my helix into my old bass amp and cab, and I used headphones or my little Blackstar Core ID Beam set to 'flat' mode for home use. I was getting closer than with my old rig, but it still wasn't quite there. What made the difference was getting the smaller Headrush 108 for home use and rehearsals (seriously, this little things kicks serious derrière at full band rehearsals). Tonally, the two frfr speakers are very, very similar and my results are far more consistent. I also engage the contour switch on them at home which boosts the bass and treble and helps factor in fletcher munson loudness effect. And, playing along to tracks in via the spare speaker input also help gauge my tonal mix. Reminds me of my fuzz quest too. I was so disappointed in the big muff PI and it's quirks that I replaced it with an MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe which had proper dry and wet controls. What a waste of money. It simply didn't have enough volume in the fuzz part - you turn up the dry to maintain unity volume and the fuzz disappeared in a band mix. Ended up getting a cheap Mooer Fog fuzz which worked really well. This is what I love about the Helix thought. If any effect doesn't sit quite right in the mix, you can add eq etc to it and mangle it into shape without having to buy extra pedals and rewire a pedalboard every gig. Even better is the ability to tweak effect settings on the fly, with your feet, whilst you're playing! The future is now.

I hate 9v battery clips with a passion. Why do so many bass builders and stomp box manufacturers insist on using cheap, flimsy battery clips? I'm not heavy handed at all, but I've broken a number of clips over the years, where one of the studs comes away with the dead battery. It scares me everytime I need to change a battery and I have to carefully ease it off with a thin tool.

Or when people mis-spell Squier. Only joking, I've done it more times than I care to mention.

I just reply and ask them to make an offer. What annoys me more is when they ask for a discount because they have to travel to pick the item up. Sorry, I’m happy to negotiate, but I’m not compensating for your travel fares.

Great answer which pretty much aligns with my thinking. Although I hadn’t thought of the retrospective angle. Regardless of the ergonomic, comfort and playability benefits which I’m intrigued by, it definitely seems to be en vogue or “fashionable” hence the likes of sire, Warwick, and musicman offering shortscale models. I just wonder if it’s a trend that’s here to stay or a passing fad.

I'd likely take you up on that offer too. It would be good to meet a fellow bass nerd in the local area. I am quite intrigued to try one. As much as I love my current clutch of basses, there are times it get challenging, more so physically than technically. I had to part ways with my old Warwick Thumb for ergonomic reasons. A 2-3 hour gig would leave me in pain for days - as great a bass as it was, it wasn't worth the agony it left my back and shoulder in. Now that I like the sound of. Could be best of both worlds. Short to medium scale in one instrument. Ibanez make both short scale and fanfret designs - maybe they need a nudge to combine the two. I think you might be onto something. Fender designs are the most ubiquitous to the point of becoming standard. A bit like MS Word - I'm a graphic designer by trade and you wouldn't believe the number of times customers have asked for the finished design in word format! It's probably this ubiquitousness (is that a word?) that made long scale the industry standard.

As the title really. I’m neither for or against short scale - indeed, my first bass was a no name beaten up short scale jazz-ish copy I bought of a mate for £35 so I’m not adverse to them. I know they've been around since the 60s, but I’m seeing more and more of them lately and even big brands not associated with short scale are getting in the act, such as Sire, musicman, Ibanez and even Jackson. Is it the royal blood or Justin mendelson effect, is it just a passing fad, should I join in?

"Look But You Can't Touch" - Poison "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" - The Georgia Satellites "Don't Come around here no more" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Reach" - S Club 7 "Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond (Hands, not touching hands, not reaching out, not touching me, not touching you). "Everybody Hurts" or "It's the end of the world as we know it" - REM

I think Davie504 might win this.

I looked at the pdf manual earlier, but it's rather simplified and doesn't give the information I was after Good to know about the battery life. Yamaha's session cake webpage says that if you use the 4 pole cable supplied (TRRS) you can use an ios device to record and use effects apps to process the input signal. Have you tried this at all?

These devices have just been brought to my attention, and I'm very intrigued! Could be very useful for a silent rehearsal. I have a couple of questions though. Does the SC-02 let you use XLR for vocals and the guitar input at the same time? I'd assume yes, and you simply balance the volume with the guitar volume? Battery life. How long does a good set of AA's last? How does the "iOS device an an effector" work via the aux in jack? Can you use amplitube or Bias to get an amp sound?

I went to my local for a cheap dinner last night and got quite annoyed. Two of the main reasons in the guidelines for not having live music in pubs are social distancing and mitigating the risk of droplet spread caused by raised voices of people singing along. It appears however, that it's perfectly find for pubs to show big screen football matches and for viewers to huddle up, shout, cheer and jeer without intervention.

I'm not sure about that. I highly doubt people are purposely not going to gigs so that can stay at home watch a live stream from someone's iphone instead.