Al Krow

I'm sure the HX FX knocks it out the park. But that's not the point of this thread!

If any of you are mounting your B1-4s on a pedal board, which pedal board size have you gone for? I'm looking for something compact that can accommodate the approx 16 cm depth of the pedal - the PT Nano seems a little too shallow, and the Metro 16 overkill.

Hah! Been a bit of a wall of silence on this one from fellow BC'ers, but given that drives are probably the single most commonly used effect bar none, I've been meaning to post a note on this for a little while and also to try something out... In terms of a juicy drive on the B1-4 / B3N the "Squeak" effect, which I've renamed Rat Tail for obvious reasons given what it's looking to model, is definitely my favourite. As a drive it's more punchy than either the MXR-DI or the Dark Pre effects, but unfortunately it loses more low end than either of the other two (the MXR-DI effect seems to be best for retaining low end). This is despite me introducing a 50:50 wet/dry mix into the effect patch itself. Didn't seem to be any way around this particular conundrum until I picked up an used Boss LS-2 recently. I tried the B1-4 in the LS-2's send / return loop and blended the Rat Tail with clean from the bass (rather than synthetic "clean" through the B1-4: it's not a particularly good by-pass in the effect itself) and bingo! Meaty low end plus a delicious drive. Hmmm...I can see myself getting a little mini board at this rate to set up the LS-2 and the B1-4 Summary: B1-4 Squeak drive effect + clean blend with Boss LS-2 = very usable Rat Tail drive

Pulling you over to this thread to save de-railing the other one! I guess with over 3,000+ posts on this Yammy thread, I'd have to say you're not wrong there! 😁 Can't remember if you're a 4 or 5 string player, but there's some excellent Yammy BBs including a top of the range Yammy BB P34 in the FS currently on for a good price if you're a 4 string player, and a 'budget' 5 string Yammy BB425 which will hold its own with basses several times its price and several in betwixt and between. The more modern BBs are typically PJs...oh yes there's another thread extolling the virtues of those just now! 😊

About 3 years after the launch of FI v1 in circa Aug 2016 I presume there was a version 2.0? So the better time interval is v1 to v2 to v3...

I sense I'm passed 'peak gear' (famous last words!) helped by being on the Gear Abstinence Challenge 2020! I think gear falls into 2 categories: - stuff we 'use' and that includes both home use or use for gigging; - stuff that we simply enjoy having i.e. 'collectables'; and if these give us pleasure and we can afford it then why not? No different to any other pleasure giving hobbies / pastimes e.g. vinyl records, foreign holidays etc IMO pretty arrogant for gigging bass players, me included, to say that one use, gigging, has more value than another e.g home use, right? I have a couple of collectables that don't get used that much, a Ken Smith and a BBNE2, but I love having them both; and some gear that I have hardly used to date (basically a number of pedals, but a couple of specialist basses in that mix too) with good intentions to get around to using when time permits! Most of my kit I've managed to pick up in very good used condition and should hopefully retain their value. But I know that ALL of my gear gives me immensely more pleasure than cash sitting in a building society account earning virtually no interest. So any guilt? None.

Hope you've managed to get it all set up with your computer without any glitches. It's actually been a while since I've used it as a headphone amp, but needed to last night and it really is very convenient! Got it set up here connected to the free ToneLib software for patch editing / aux in for connecting up to Spotify etc.:

Thanks. Was a regular social event for international folk in London looking to party laid on at the club we were playing at. We've done a few of them over the past couple of years. A few clips of last night were recorded on a phone so the sound isn't great (& we had a dep vocalist in for our usual leading lady yesterday, in case you spotted that change!)

Thanks for that. When you say "chattery" do you mean very noisy even in by-pass? i.e. the thing I've been banging on about about the ("non-vintage") BOD for the last couple of years (and others for way longer)... Glad that Jim Dunlop and Co are looking to sort this out, but a little worrying that the Vintage is displaying the same traits as the BOD - this was specifically something it was supposed to have eliminated. Anyway hopefully you get yours sorted, not sure how many other BC'ers have followed you down the vintage BOD route but the same goes for them.

@naxos10 and @Bafflegab - congrats on the new purchases! Such good value bits of kit. Actually I'm looking forward to a few new patch ideas from you guys to freshen the old stuff that I've put on that tips & ideas thread!

I think it's time to stage a coup and become BL yourself. You can then become a headless chicken to your heart's content. Head and heart beautifully in sync.

Congrats on the purchase. A few patch ideas for the B1-4 on here also: Given how slim it is, it will easily slip into a gig-bag pouch. Combine with the convenience of being able to battery power it and it becomes so convenient to use from tuner to headphone amp with a plethora of patches in between! (I guess I can stop the sale pitch now - haha!)

^^this. Tbf BC is relaxation / social media for many of us BCers, me very much included! Obvs being Pastorious standard is something that never crosses my mind ('cos it wouldn't happen even if I stopped doing anything else and only played bass). I'd be content on settling for being a much improved bassist, though. 7 years in, I still get a huge buzz from playing tightly with great band mates to an audience who really appreciate the music. So Frank are you having second thoughts about holding onto your ACGs? You've rated them very highly indeed in other posts - why don't you feel any particular pull to be using them?

Function gig last night and, given that it wasn't an East End pub, I thought it would be a good opportunity to christen the LX5 on its first gig outing. Must admit the 35" scale vs my usual 34" was more of a stretch than I had expected when I first played it a few months back. The 17mm spacing was however fine, sitting as it did between the even narrower 16.5mm of my Ibby SR 5ers and the 18mm of my Yammys. The slightly heavier weight was also a bit of a concern for me over a 2 hour gig (it's just under 10 lbs) whereas my Ibby is sub 9 lbs, although tbf the LX5 is only a little heavier than my Yammy 1025. But it was such a lovely bass otherwise in terms of design and sound that I was determined to persevere. At the gig last night it was difficult to hear how the bass was sounding in the mix as I was going straight to DI with no backline (plus ear plugs of course). The stage monitoring was individually tailored rather than being a full band mix and I had a crap farting monitor, which I asked to be turned right down for the second set! And the venue's mega sub woofer was close to my bit of the stage which obviously also impacted what I was hearing. But the gig went well; the band was in the zone and the punters seemed to really enjoy our sets. The LX5 was surprisingly comfortable to play over 2 hours and the time previously spent getting used to the 35" scale meant it felt natural and very enjoyable to play. The higher frets (17 and 19) were dead easy to access for the one song that needed it. So overall I continue to be delighted by this bass (so much so that I briefly considered putting my Yammy NE2 up for sale - I've been quickly persuaded of the error of my ways on that one!). I'm really looking forward to hearing it with some proper back-line in a band mix. Needless to say, none of my bandmates spotted that I was playing a different bass to the usual. Lol! @M@23

That's one cool rig! What swayed it for the LMV over the other two? The GenzlerM 800 has a pretty devoted following on BC, so the LMV must be going some if it held its own against such august competition! PS if you're tempted by that Strandberg, check out the new Ibby headless range!

Nice OC2 patch!

No issues with latency on the G75? And does it have a decent range?

Nothing as fancy as that! From the blurb... EMG 40TW (or 40CS-TW) The single-coil mode is the JCS pickup built with ceramic magnets and steel pole pieces. The humbucker mode is the ceramic steel dual-coil for a big, aggressive sound with a pronounced mid-range. Push/pull volume pots allows switching from the clarity of the J pickup sound to the fatness of the CS humbucker. This five string bass pickup uses a 40 Extended housing that is 4 inches (102mm).

Euro LX owners - what EQ settings have you got your basses set at? For general use I'm kinda landing on: single J neck + MM bridge, with treble at 7/10 and bass dialled right back. The single J neck is crisper / less full bodied than the double MM setting at the neck and having lower output than the full MM just takes a little of the edge off the bridge MM without diluting the latter's crunchy tone. For a more vintage tone - solo MM neck pup plus treble rolled right off.

For the past 6 years I've not really felt that anything has managed to put my old Markbass AC 121 Lite to shame as a combo, in delivering a combination of portability / weight (39 lbs), overall build and sound quality, and power (delivers 500W through it's solo 12" cab). However @lee650 has just brought these to my attention. On paper, they looks amazing. Can't wait to find out how they sounds. I've moved onto separates more recently and not felt tempted to get another combo, until now... For a comparable weight to my AC 121 Lite, there's a choice of: 800W, 2x12 cab, 40lbs 800W, 2x10 cab, 37lbs There's also a featherweight 112 (32 lbs) but I presume that its single 12" speaker won't be putting out 800W solo (nearer 400W I suspect). None of them are budget offerings, as you might have guessed with the inclusion of the new range GK Legacy heads. Pic of the 212: