Al Krow

Flattery will get you everywhere! I really don't need any excuse to be reposting a pic my vintage white BB1024-sibling even if it's technically got a redundant thumb rest string! But I'll resist, given that I must have posted it almost as many times as @bassfan has posted his very lovely Status (and which has gotta be one of the most coveted basses on BC) 😁

Just gonna give this a little plug on here, in case anyone is thinking of moving on their 1024 (great choice btw! 😊) Yamaha BB 1024 - Items Wanted (NO TRADES) - Basschat

No worries; I thought you were meaning something like the fx return (and also that you knew what you were talking about, which is usually the case!) Personally I've never gone for pedals in an amp's fx loop, partly 'cos I've not really got my head around as to whether there's any real benefit to doing so! But always had them straight into the front end. As you're probably already aware, the M900 series 2 range is very flexible in terms of where you take your outputs with separate volume controls for DI out (pre or post) and main output as well as an independent volume control for the headphone out. It does have a couple of quirks that you need to get used to e.g. the M900 headphone amp (which is 'post DI' so you get the benefit of the full 6 band EQ) is impacted by the amp mute, so you need to leave the amp unmuted but the master volume set to zero for silent practice; and the aux in only feeds into the headphone amp, and not the main amp, which seems to be an unnecessary limitation when you're not wanting to do silent practice.

Yup, but you don't need to do that! And certainly not what I would be doing. Simply plug the dUg or any pedal in at the front end and you can entirely bypass the AO 'module' (it's clear from the circuit diag in the manual) via a panel switch or footswitch. So you still have the benefit of the 6 band EQ.

Enjoy the red. But seriously...I have to disagree on one point. I mean, how can you say that the dUg Ultrabass is better looking than the AO 900 (even if you have wee D3PX sitting on it)?! I mean, does it have EQ sliders that light up helpfully on a darkened stage? 😁

Oh ok, I think if you read back the emphasis was all around the headroom and 6 band EQ: "not come across many power amps that trump the M900 with it's huge headroom & 6 band EQ" which is the point I've just restated. Wasn't really going any further than that I guess worth mentioning that DG kit does have a good rep for reliability and, certainly to me, the form factor & design of M900 are top notch.

Well it obviously depends on what folk are after. As I've pointed out a couple of times previously it offers 900W at 4 ohms and decent 6 band EQ. If the combination of headroom and EQ flexibility are important criteria in your amp choice then it will trump a lot of others, which don't match it. If you have different priorities, then I'm sure plenty of other amps will be fine.

Tbh I'm not too bothered either way, as neither the DP3X nor Ultrabass are on my radar. I was more interested, given the discussion, whether you think there will be a significant difference in sound that makes sense for Paul to trade in what he already has and replace, which I think you are suggesting? As an expert on the relevant products, I'm assuming you can set that out fairly easily for us? If not, no worries, I'm sure Paul can research further if he's interested 😉

The M900 has a very good power amp section with 6 band EQ, Sure there will be others equally good or better. But I'm struggling to see that the Ultrabass amp offers anything more than a DP3X pedal + M900 amp, both of which Paul already has?

But is it offering anything more than a DP3X pedal + DG M900 power amp**, which Paul has already got? And you get a tuner thrown in for good measure, always handy 😁 **with the M900 you can clean by-pass the AO (or B3K/VMT on the Mk2) preamp.

Tbf I've not come across many power amps that trump the M900 with it's huge headroom & 6 band EQ and there's no guarantee that Tech 21 would necessarily match the DG offering on that score** So you're kinda there already surely, just in pedal preamp format + Class D amp, as separates? **quickly revisits Cuzzie's pic from earlier 😁...the variable HPF and LPF are pretty cute features and I'm guessing it's 1000W at 4ohms from it's name? It doesn't weigh a ton (12 lbs), but it's a proper Mesa Boogie price!

For those that are not averse to an AO drive sound (which has gotta be a good starting place if you're thinking of getting the DG M900 AO amp, right?), here's an AO setting I'm currently using that's delivering a rich creamy drive: Bite - engaged, Growl - off Drive 3pm (8/10), Blend 1pm (6/10 i.e. 40% clean) Omega (10/10) Think I can safely conclude that I'm clearly not an Alpha male! As dbuoy has commented elsewhere, the Zoom B3N B7K patch (which I also have available on my Zoom B1-4) is pretty close to the real deal and it's been interesting A/Bing them. The B7K is closer to the Tech 21 sound; I'd describe it as being more mid scooped / nasally than the AO, so quite a different flavour and definitely nice to have both on tap as alternatives.

Think we could be seeing an M900 AO hitting the FS very shortly after that post...😁

In terms of "your sound", are you still using the very capable clean power section on the M900 but simply not engaging the AO drive but using your Tech21 pedal of choice instead? Yup I agree, that's a Tech21 clank (does sound very Geddy YYZ) and not the AO drive tone. (The B3k on the M900 Mk2 would be closer IMO - maybe @Muppet will trade you, he liked the colour of the AO better 😁) But if a dUg + clean D Power amp gets you there, you've got to your sound with the addition of one pedal which is not a bad result.

And just to tie that in with my earlier post the available effects patches on B3N and B1-4 are the pretty much identical. I think the B1-on has been now been discontinued, but still come up used.

Another +1 for the Audio-Technica kit. I bought the ATH-PRO700Mk2 7 years back, as I similarly wanted something that could deliver a very decent bass. Happy to say that they're still going strong!

Revisiting an old thread... @NancyJohnson - just spotted you've also got an M900 AO and I'd be very interested in hearing what your favourite amp settings are and when you're using? And if any of you other AO / M900 Mk2 want to chip in similarly with yours, then please do!

Hey welcome to BC! I'm a bit of a stuck record on this(!) but if you're getting into a particular set of pedals for the first time then you get a ton of choice / opportunity as to see what's likely to work or not work by going for a cheaper multifx - and then you can follow up with a dedicated pedal which will nail the particular sound you're after. Personally I've got a Zoom B1-4 on my board and it also doubles up as a tuner, drum machine and headphone amp (with aux in) - as well as providing a decent selection of dirt options from Darkglass to RAT. The other recommendation if you are going for dedicated pedals is to see if you can pick up decent quality ones up used - that way you shouldn't lose much at all on a resale and means you get to A/B a bunch of pedals without breaking the bank. And one of the helpful things about buying from the BC for sale forums are the feedback threads which can you give you a lot of assurance that you're dealing with genuine folk. Having said all that the HB and Behringer pedals are already incredibly good value!

BBP35 vs BB1025 vs BB735A The 734A/5A does give you more options. I've had two shots at giving a 735A a go and in my case my 1025 is the bass I've held on to! And FWIW I preferred my P35 over my 735A, but there are several 734A /5A owners on this thread who are very happy with their basses. If you pick a 734A/5A up used, you'll very probably be able to move it on for what you paid for it, so you can A/B them for yourself without too much risk of loss. @Dean Vincent - here's a couple of my previous posts on the subject in relation to your current query. You may, of course, prefer to pick the brains of someone who has never so much as laid eyes on any of the basses, but has enough performance experience to know that differences in feel... 😁

@RigorMortens I've just been asked to re-write my post above by a mate, who is desperately keen to take your 1025x off your hands...so please accept the following corrections:

Actually on reflection it does look very similar to the NS5 Helium range which can be had over here:

Yup agreed - the flexibility of parallel routing is great to have on a multifx and something that would be a "must have" for me on anything that is not in the Zoom budget bracket. Allows simple but important stuff like running a clean blend in parallel to preserve low end / more natural tone. Not available on all Helix though (e.g. Pod Go).

Their British Citrus looks particularly wicked. At one point it seems as though they were using the pedal as a power amp, which is mad (in a good way)! Not sure whether it would work particularly well on bass, but I'm tempted to find out!