Al Krow

The Soundcraft 8FX does look pretty good and ticks a lot of boxes in terms of 4 inputs and 2XLR outputs plus basic reverb FX. At 215mm x 230mm it's 20% bigger than the Behringer 1002FX, has two less usable inputs and is 60% more expensive. It does have XLR outputs, though. I think the Behringer still edges it overall.

Pulling you onto this thread - please see TJ's comments above about Sadowsky preamps, which may be of interest to you. My only Q is does it make sense to fit a such a nice preamp that is a similar price to the bass itself? Wouldn't you be better off getting a BB 734A and seeing if you liked the pre in that (it's pretty decent) and, if not, replacing it with a Sado preamp?

I think it's going to be mainly for songwriting purposes and to understand drums more deeply. Never been to a rehearsal without a drummer so far, my lot always seem to turn up! Maybe I've just been ridiculously lucky! I need to get off the pot and make a decision on a DAW. There's a whole 'nother thread on that one I know. I guess I'm tossing up between Ableton and Reaper. Very different price points for the two I appreciate, but it's about the time investment getting up to speed for me that this is the key: I'm fortunate that my bands pay their way so investing in gear / kit / accessories isn't a particularly a big deal for me (although I'm still a big fan of value for money!)

Dang - just spotted that the B1 Four has an aux in and the output jack is "for connection to amp or headphones". It's got the DSP of the B3n, rather than the older chips present in the previous generation B3 and MS-60B (and I assume the B1on too?) At £68 that makes it an incredible value multifx headphone amp. Be able to edit with Guitar Lab / no doubt the excellent Tone Lib software will be adapted for this very shortly also too. As @Chienmortbb said above "It is a PITA to programme any digital multi effects unit from the knobs and buttons on the front." Completely agree, particularly the MS-60B in my experience. An expression pedal for another £17 is going to make this a LOT of fun as a stand alone multi to take to rehearsals and gigs. Having sold my B3n to get a Helix Stomp, I'm actually tempted by the fun and convenience of this little thing to go back to a Zoom multi (although I've kept my MS-60B probably more for nostalgia as it was one of the first bass pedals I ever bought) and not to mention its price! ...Shame: I've just discovered it's got a plastic chassis which puts a bit of question-mark over how rugged the B1 Four is going to be.

Haha! For me the 424 is the one bass that will give actives a belly full. Now why did I think you were a passive bass player? Clearly getting that particular wire crossed 'cos I know you're man of great Status. At least you're not burdened with an Attitude yet. BB 734A for you next up, then matey. In fact there's one in the FS as we speak 😂

Dug out an old post from this thread (below) So I did already try an Attitude bass and I really wanted to like it, but it seems that my reaction to them is pretty similar to yours with the BBNE2. But I was probably just playing with the wrong Attitude? 😂 PS the story didn't end well for me. @CameronJ seems to have played the same dastardly role in my BB bass life (he was the guy who first introduced me to BB 1025s, he then inexplicably sold his) that @bigsmokebass seems to play in yours. Cam then force fed me BB NE2 ads till I succumbed. PPS That must make Cameron, Bassfan's BB grandad...

@bassfanwelcome aboard buddy! I see that my surreptitious loan of a BB 425, 'cos you wanted to try out a 5 string has singularly failed in convincing you of the benefits of 5 strings, but had other side effects like persuading you what a lot of bass for the money BBs are!! The 424/5 is a bit of a Ford Mustang in terms of the punch it packs. Be warned, you may find some of your other basses feeling a bit 'civilised' when you've played this a while. Happened to me with a rather nice German bass sporting Delano pups I once had...

Well actually it's a really good question! But I think the only way I'm going to find out is by 'sucking it and seeing'. I just have a 'gut' feel that a hardware solution is going to be easier to flex outside the comfort of home than a software one. I dunno if that chimes? Neither the software or relatively budget hardware options are going to break the bank at £90 / £300 respectively and both are likely to help me get a deeper understanding of the other half of the rhythm section which has gotta be a good thing. I guess the answer maybe to try both. Starting with the cheaper software and then jumping to hardware if I am finding that limiting and as blisters pointed out I can download a demo for free...

Fighting talk! Let's check in in 18 months, I may have worked out what the heck my Spectracomp is doing by then haha 😁

Android me. Consistent with my lack of imagination when it comes to bass riffs.

Ok cool. I just need to buy an iPhone then to go alongside my £50 pedal... 😁 That sounds good. And we know that factory works well, so a very nice parachute to have!

Yeh - I need to hook it up to my PC, I guess, and see what's going on under the bonnet! But there does seem to be a lot of love for the 'straight out the box' setting on the Spectracomp with a lot of users. And it's such bloody good value and takes up so little space!

So it sounds to me that if I'm looking for something that has a "flexible semi-live" capability to it I should be looking for a hardware-with-knobs rather than laptop software with mouse and keyboard?

No to your first query - but perhaps only 'cos I wasn't pushing it too hard. Like the sound of your alternative approach, but obviously you'll have two pedals to handle rather than one. Couldn't you just get away with a B1Four by itself or does that not have an HPF sim? Alternatively just get yourself a Thumpinator for HPF duties? It's class leading as an HPF to clear up low end crud, but you don't have the flexibility of where it kicks in (it's fixed to cut at 28Hz)

@Zoe_BillySheehan great thread btw! As a fledgling fretless player I'll be following with interest

But it's a Fearless cab (my first) so worth dancing a jig over methinks? I power my entire board with a MXR PSU and no batteries were supplied with the pedals, but I like your thinking! Completely gratuitous pic of my 11 new (very expensive) strings and the free basses that were supplied with them in the packaging: ...oh just had a thought(!) There is just one 12" speaker on the new cab and I did actually get rid of another cab with four 10" speakers so I'm actually 3 speakers down, so that could work? Shame about the pedal batteries though...😂

Well someone has just filched my Keeley Bassist. Tbf I decided that a dedicated limiter was overkill at the end of the pedal board signal chain to protect my cab against filter and synth 'spikes' fed to it via an amp, when I'm just using the pedals at home practice volumes currently and the cab can handle 1200W, and also when my Helix Stomp has perfectly adequate limiter ability, I'm sure, if needed for live use. So I just now need to work out why the heck my TC Spectracomp manages to do such a great job straight out the box when set to 3/10! Bit tricky with just one knob to do that...but when I have worked it out, the Becos Stella is definitely next on my list. Maybe you'll be ready to sell me yours used by then? 😄

Hence 'high impedence' line inputs for guitars on mixers. Hmmm...so what's the correct take away from this earlier post Woody?

@blisters on my fingerscheers for that. Use an * if you're getting pis*sed off by being censored... 😄 Only hesitation with software is how does a laptop stack up against hardware in a rehearsal / live situation in terms of usability / interface to amps and sound quality / tweakability? I'm probably being completely luddite in asking this! There's something comforting about being able to tweak knobs in real time, right? 😁

Ok I'm (nearly) back in then, I've also bought two expensive sets of strings, but at least I got 11. Thank goodness for the two free basses that came with them! But I guess the pedals I got to vary the tone of the strings and the cab to listen to them through are a little harder to explain away... 😄

So here's the thing: it's not your bass. Why should you care how long it hangs around in the for sale? If you were genuinely concerned for the guy you would send him a private message. If you're after the bass and you want to put in a much lower offer, then send him a private message. When someone pointed out in that thread that the OP wasn't looking for price advice, that post got a LOT of likes from your fellow BCers, but you didn't get the hint... So please, get off this particular seller's case. He's selling a lovely bass and the 'market' will decide on what is a fair price. If he wants your advice I'm sure he will ask you for it.

Yeah, none of the footballers actually live in Manchester, just play there... 😄

Fair point. Fortunately the Behringer Xenyx 1002FX has up to +15 dB gain ability on each of the four line inputs. Not too shabby for a £55 piece of kit

Are we missing a bit of the story? I'd love to know if there is big difference tonally between e.g. the 1025 and the BBP35 or it's more down to the quality of finish. Trouble is playing anything in the Yammy store in London through that 50W combo they have there doesn't really give you a good idea of anything!

Mick - don't disagree with any of your positive comments. The SR16 and 18 are really good bits of kit and also not exorbitantly priced. But I think I'm correct from what your saying, that you're pretty much using its presets rather than writing your own progs? If so, yes it's gonna be just fine for your needs or indeed something like a BeatBuddy by Sigular Sound would also hit the mark (and be much more compact). My query for this thread is 'cos I'm looking to move on from presets and the Alesis SR16/18 interface is not the easiest for programming your own drum lines in my experience.