Al Krow

In terms of all the well known 'kids on the block' - this is not a bad summary of the options:

The Red Panda and both newer (6 knob) and older (5 knob) model Frantabit also have expression pedal control; with the newer model 6 knob Frantabit having enhanced expression control. Not sure that the Scrutator has a jump on either of these pedals on that score? But the Malekko does win on price! Scrutator - around £189 Thomann Red Panda Bitmap - £229 G4M IE Frantabit - around £240(??) imported from the US? Did you also go for the Mooer? Have you been able to put it to good sonic use?

Arriving late to the party in terms of getting a dedicated bit crusher, having made do with my Zoom MS-60B. Have also gone for a Mooer Lofi as an entry level dedicated pedal - it's a bit better than the MS-60B, but not massively so. Useful to have pointed out to us that knobs seem to be labelled the wrong way around on the Mooer: The bit crusher (small knob) is not particularly useful - pretty much just adding white noise. The sample rate reduction (big knob) has a 'usable range' going anti-clockwise from 5pm to 1pm (any futher than 12 noon anti-clockwise and you rapidly get into a beyond human hearing frequencies). My own preference being in the 3pm to 4pm range which does add something to the low E and B strings But it has whetted my appetite for bit crushers! Clearly a lot of love for both the Scrutator and Frantabit on this thread. There was also one mention of the Red Panda Bitmap which does also look really good! Wonder how @ben4343 got on with his?

Here's my latest incarnation. 3leaf GR2 won the filter wars (against stiff competition from a MXR BEF and Fwonkbeta). My trusty little Valeton OC-10 and a TC Spectracomp have also both been moved on too as I'm using octave down a bit less these days having gone pretty much exclusively 5 string and the Helix Stomp providing multi-band compression should I want it. In their place a bit crusher (or more accurately a sample rate reducer!) in the form of Mooer Lofi and a Tech 21 Q\Strip (which was part ex'd for a Yammy bass). Board feels like it's taking on a more settled composition, although I suspect that the Mooer is going to be the start of a slippery slope for me into the world of sample rate reduction, which does sound pretty juicy on the low E and B strings! All currently still for 'creative' home use, with a little Zoom B1X-4 still strutting its stuff for rehearsal and gigging duties.

Very high current consumption on this pedal (compared to most) "Gets hot with long use" "Starts losing volume / cuts out" => sounds like circuits frying to me.

Here's what I posted on the Yammy BB mega thread when I first picked up a Nathan East in the Yammy store near Oxford Street in London. Yamaha BBNE2 (Nathan East) Wow - Warwick Streamer Stage II meets Yamaha! It’s a completely different beast to the rest of the Yamaha BB range. BBNE2 pups are stack type Alnico V Humbucker pickups include a hum-cancelling coil. This is combined with active electronics and versatile controls e.g. in place of single tone control on the BB1025, the BBNE2 has a 3 band EQ for bass, mids and treble; mid cut frequency & mid cut on-off switch together with the usual pickup selector and volume. In combination they deliver a wonderful, tonally rich sound (even through a 75W Hartke combo at the store!) which I’ll have to admit puts even my former Warwick $$ German Corvette in the shade. It has a contoured body which provides a compact, comfortable body shape and I found the neck to be very playable. Nice touches, which sadly aren’t found elsewhere further down the Yamaha range, include individual bridge pieces and 5-piece neck-through design (but both of which Ibanez provide as ‘standard’ in their BTB Premium range). I then had to wait six months for a mint condition used white NE2 to make an appearance in the FS, but it was worth the wait. It's an absolutely lovely bass; without doubt one of the very best I've had the privilege to play and to still own.

Oh dear, this is starting to look like a serious design flaw.

You do realise that this thread you've started is the MOST popular effects BC thread of all time in terms of replies? So you're defo going to need to get one Second most popular is the Line 6 Helix thread! Seems to me that Line 6 are doing something very right, although recent stories of a couple of the Helix / Stomp pedals failing mid gig are a bit worrying - the last thing you need when playing live particularly if you are going directly into FRFR. Hopefully this lack of reliability is just isolated and not the start of a trend...

Dave - really glad to see that getting your Yammy BB P34 has given you your mojo back!

Did you have the same thing as Lewis did on his i.e. the Stomp cut out mid set? Ouch! Did you manage to get to the bottom of why it cut out - a bit worrying given that your Stomp is practically brand new?! The Zoom boxes are very good value but none of the current production models (e.g. B3n, B1-4, MS-60B) have a DI out. Not had one myself, but seems to be a fair bit of love for the TC Spectradrive from one of my BC mates. This doubles up as a headphone amp with aux in and headphone out. Has the much loved Spectracomp on board + drive + 4 band EQ + DI out. New £137 and used around £90 to £100.

Comment on TB that's interesting on the power output: The GK 1200 would need two 4 ohm cabinets to get your 1200 watts since it's a a 2 channel amp, each amp producing producing 600 watts into 4 ohms (whereas the Bergantino Forte HP will give you 1200 watts with one 4 ohm cabinet since it uses a higher powered ICE module) Is that correct regarding the GK 1200 - if so it's definitely a point worth noting. Are the GK 800 and 500 also similarly 2 channel amps?

Final post on Grizzly Bass. YouTube clips for all of the following if you're interested in checking what this pedal sounds like:

Haha - don't worry - you're on my radar too, Woody 😂 I started a Yammy BB thread back in 2017. Probably the single most expensive thread I've been foolish enough to start...I ended up getting SEVEN Yammy BBs along the way!! (I still have 3 of them). Almost as many as that chap @AndyTravis...zero regrets though - they're wonderful PJ basses and a lot of bass for the money. And let's face it, you're entirely to blame for my love of Ibby SRs! Sounds like you've really been 'through the mill' over the past 8 months! Only suggestions from me are a bit of creative and GAS therapy: write a song and buy some gear, that you're gonna love having, to play that song with

Hah! They did sound good through a decent monitor, I agree. There's a white NE2 currently in the FS! Whatever you do, Tyler, don't ever try a Ken Smith...it will leave you with a sense of "Oh my gawd, can a bass really ever be this good?". Ok I appreciate that's a bit of Yammy heresy!! 😄

Well given that you started this thread, you're obviously obliged to get one! 😂

Fixed. (For my facts and circumstances anyway). PS I DO have an imaginary friend. But he recently issued me with a non-contact Court order.

...more on the Grizzly Bass. Was checking what the price of these currently are (£220 new) and also found an explanation of why it seems to retain low end so well: "Typical distortion pedals use a ton of gain and clipping. This creates a lot of unwanted noise which needs to be heavily filtered and that thins out the tone. This is why pedals intended for guitar don’t work well for bass. Grizzly Bass borrows analog wave-shaping technology from the Holy Fire to re-shape the waveform and achieve tube-like FX without adding noise or heavy filters, preserving your bass tone all the way down to 20Hz. This makes Grizzly Bass a very musical pedal that responds to your touch. Play with a softer attack and velocity for a cleaner sound, or dig in and the Grizzly Bass goes there with you – with as much grit as you need. It’s here to serve you, not the other way around! Control the effect with your playing dynamics. When you plug directly into a sound system or use a solid-state amp, Grizzly Bass is a great alternative to a bulky, fragile and expensive tube preamp. *For best results use the High-Current output of your power brick (250mA recommended)."

Sounds like a good combination and I agree you won't need more than that!

So @dannybuoy where are you currently landing on your drive quest?

Haha indeed! But I recall you saying you didn't have it long at all before moving it on and this is definitely a pedal that is worth living with for a little while to get under its (very capable!) bonnet

Creation Audio Grizzly Bass I'm finding that as I get longer in the tooth as a bass player I'm ending up with gear that Ed Friedland is already be a fan of! Most recently the Fearless F112 cab which handles the low end superbly. Speaking of which, one of the gripes I've had with bass drive pedals has been the loss of low end. Well that's not an issue for the Grizzly Bass by Creation Audio. This little wonder, which I have had for six months or so now, retains low end better than any dirt pedal I've come across to date. I was introduced to it by young Mr @bassfan and when I first heard its ability to produce a rich tube like dirt, I definitely knew I had to give it a try out! Unlike other drive pedals which have a clean blend to make sure that the loss of low end is minimised but means that half your bass signal is clean rather than driven, there is no clean blend on the Grizzly; it simply doesn't need it! Instead it provides additional tone shaping, allowing both a mid cut and treble roll-off, which allows you to do pretty much what its sister pedal the Funkulator can do in terms of giving a Motown feel to a jazz bass. It has not one but two drive circuits: an overdrive and a separate distortion circuit which let you go from valve break up all the way through to downright driven and dirty! Fully analogue. Well the Grizzly Bass seems to be another piece of kit that the Bass Whisperer is a BIG fan of. Here's a YouTube review of his putting it through its paces:

Hah! Depending on its condition, it sounds to me you've potentially bagged yourself a bargain! Time to change the thread title... I've done a very clever stupid thing. Ebay whizz kid struts his stuff bid dilemma Fixed! 😁

...although tbf 6 string basses are probably the work of the devil. Our Creator clearly meant us to play 5 string basses given how many fingers he gave us, right? 😁

Learn to play 6 string bass and then sell all your four and five string basses! 😉