Al Krow

Whereas I love having access to 3 band EQ rather than just bass and treble on my active basses. If you think it could provide a back up to a Sadowsky, then that would seem to me to be high praise indeed! Well I moved my BB 735A on earlier in the year, and this indeed could be a tasty replacement for it! Even has a striking similarity to the Yammy headstock

Sooo much going for this bass, as you guys above have also spotted! But your last point could be the killer one and not in a good way! I've been trawling the net for some idea on weight and not found anything that looks accurate / sensible. I took the liberty of emailing Jackson last night - hope to hear back within a couple of days. If anyone beats me to it, please do post.

You're welcome 😁 I would also have potentially thought about getting the C4 if you hadn't started this thread (or more likely kept my FI), so I guess one good turn and all that...

I think synth lends itself to polyphonic use perhaps more so than many other effects. And if polyphony is available that seems a really nice plus to me and in Woody's case a "must have" which I can understand. There were some nice, albeit brief, examples of polyphony on the most recent short clip of the SY-1 I posted last night on this thread.

Fair enough, Dave. Fyi - the F112 isn't much bigger than the SC and has a wedge corner to enable it to be used as a monitor:

Just a thought - but why not dispense with the ST, not bother getting the SC and just get a BB2 as a one stop shop that will cater for all your needs? Or if you want something outstanding, a Fearless F112 which, as much as I love my SC for its lightness and general capability, just deals with the whole sonic spectrum (lows, mids and highs) with more authority than either the SC or even the BB2. It is IMO the best 1x12 cab I've ever come across - had a fellow BCer over last night @dave_bass5 buying a pedal back off me and I suspect he's a convert to the Fearless F112 too

Harry - I think you are spot on. It seems to me that Boss have taken the SY-300 and packaged it into something that is 1/5 the size and 1/3 the price and without the program-ability with their new SY-1. My expectation is that the FI and C4 will almost certainly edge it over the SY-1 in terms of quality of synth engine, but the SY-1 wins on price and for many of us (me included) on work-flow and is also polyphonic which the other two aren't. Once I have incorporated synth as a staple sound into our sets and got my bandmates used to it, I don't rule out returning to the FI, or joining the C4, fold. Particularly if FI release a more compact Mk II (there's a a lot of empty space in the FI shell!) with polphony to refresh their offering.

@Osiris Yup indeedy! That's exactly why I've sold my FI and this will be arriving shortly to take its place (starting to land in the UK) I'm afraid that as @HazBeen confirmed, the Stomp isn't much cop a synth machine. You won't get anything close to even the SY-1, let alone the C4 or FI with the Stomp. The Stomp's filter sims are pretty decent though and its drive effects seem to me to be very good indeed. Looking forward to you posting your recommended settings for multi-band compression, which I am sure a lot of your fellow BC'ers will be interested in.

Yup: more bass player's grin, less space at home for 95% of the time and smaller bank balance. But also less grumble from your back

But you were seriously thinking of a whole day trip up to London over the weekend, so I don't entirely buy that 😂

Well let me start by actually using a synth pedal live (which I'm much more likely to do with the SY-1) and I can always 'graduate' to the C4 when these start coming up in the FS in six months time, if the consensus by then is that it really is that much better. I've decided to nail my colours to the SY-1 mast and I'm sticking with that for a while And although you say there is no 'hurdle' to using the C4, there's a reason why @GisserD hasn't given it a spin despite having had it for a few weeks; it's not that he's not tech savvy, he is (and a lot more than me)! Bet you if he'd got the the SY-1 it would be out and being used from day 1. Mine certainly will be.

Agreed. Ok in which case, the more expensive and potentially more capable C4 and FI win out for home noodling then 😉

+1^^ That's exactly the conclusion I came to i.e. BF SC + (in my case 450W at 8 ohm) D class amp = great combination of power & portability

And FOUR times the ease of use of its current leading competitors. I'd rather have something that is allegedly only half as good as e.g. the C4 or FI but that I actually end up using as it doesn't require a PhD in PC editing / oscillator theory to make sense of! Does depend on your key priorities e.g. ease of workflow vs sonic perfection. The former will appeal to many gigging bassists who only need to find a couple of usable synth sounds for live use but who absolutely require great tracking; the latter likely to be more a priority for recording (but then you're in competition with much better quality keyboard synths). Horses for courses.

That is an interesting take. I've only played the Mesa D800 briefly and wasn't particularly blown away and a fair number of folk have commented that it is quite 'dark'; there seems to be a lot more love for the D800+. The LM3 is undoubtedly a good amp (I had a sibling for 4 years in my AC Lite combo), but with some significant EQ centre point short comings. These EQ shortcomings seem to have been fully addressed in the new Marcus Limited range and then some! In the non D class range I have no hesitation in saying that the Mesa M6 is a truly outstanding amp.

Finally(!) some bass samples being uploaded. Tracking seems fine from this clip although it will be good to see it played with faster riffs. Nice demonstration of polyphonic capability. Looking forward even more to mine arriving in due course now!

Not particularly come across Jackson basses as being 'big' on BC. But this recently released SIGNATURE DAVID ELLEFSON CONCERT BASS CBX-M V has got my attention! 5 string PJ & blend knob reverse P EMGs 3 band EQ 35" scale graphite reinforced neck £659 GAK in the UK (vs $750 in the US?) Downsides seems to be purely active; no passive 'fall back' 21 frets rather than 24 frets heavy??

3. Helix Stomp vs Future Impact (Synth) 1-0 to FI

Bite the bullet, you know you want to. https://kytary.co.uk/digitech-mosaic/HN153214/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIraeav-bu4wIVDbTtCh3ZtQnGEAQYASABEgIy9PD_BwE Don't bite the bullet you know you don't want to.

Never played an M3 (or an M9!). @agedhorsewill will be able to answer your query next time he's on this forum. But in the meantime, I'm guessing the mid point 3 / flat setting of the 5 point selector dial.

Not something to worry your pretty little head over, then is it? 😋 Agreed - that's likely be a better use of both our time 😎 In the meantime, I'm going to spend some quality time practising my one hand clap technique...

Haha - same to you @Osiris with regard to the Stomp compression vs dedicated compressors. I'll happily add a couple more when folk have contributed their tuppence two-comparisons worth... The synths on the Stomp are not in the same league as a Future Impact. Sadly I can no longer compare 'cos my FI has now departed pending the imminent arrival of its successor, but I'm sure Mr @HazBeen will be able to confirm. It's like comparing a Non League club to the Premier League. @LukeFRC - obviously this thread is gonna bore you senseless, so no need to lurk...😂

First off, the M9 isn't 900W. It's 600W at 4 ohms or 320W at 8 ohms i.e. the same as the M6. The main differences between the M9 and M6 are (i) the 9 band EQ and (ii) built in compressor neither of which are available on the M6. The M3 has a cut down version of the power module i.e. 300W at 4 ohms / 160W at 8 ohms and doesn't have the active 5 voice mid-voice switch which is available on both the M6 and M9. This provides quite a nice additional 'instant' piece of tone shaping. The EQ centre points on the amps should otherwise be the same (will be clear from the manuals - I've only really delved into the M6 manual as that's the one I have, but a quick look at the manual of the other two seems to confirm this).