Al Krow

My 912As arrived a week back, which I'll be using for larger venues in a month or so's time. Have to fess I'm still enjoying drummers / guitarist taking the band PA to gigs, which they've been doing over the past 6 month after I sold my 310A PA set-up to one of them, and just being able to turn up to gigs with my bass and a Zoom B1-4. I was the band PA gofer for the 8 years prior to that, so I feel I've done my time!

I think that's because they are more "linear" ie they will continue to get louder as you turn them up after 12 o'clock, whereas not sure whether your dxr15s will get much louder once you have got to 12 o'clock? If you give that a go, be interested to get your feedback.

I've got a plastic cased Zoom multi and had no issues or concerns about its robustness, despite regularly gigging it. I also own several Boss pedals which, I agree, will likely outlive me, haha! But I'm not sure it's correct to say that platic is always more fragile / less robust than metal. It will depend on the plastic and the construction. I mean plastic is regularly used as an alternative for car bumpers, right? There's a thread on the Zoom B6 and several BCers own one (mine's the little B1-4).

Alongside the hardware, what makes for a great multifx is as much, if not more, the software and quality of the effects sims. That for me is why Yamaha and Zoom have stolen a march on the competition at their respective price points with their Line6/Helix and Zoom multifx ranges and why, despite better hardware, some of the competition is struggling to match anything like their popularity. Many bassists, from what I've seen are keen to have something really usable "out of the box" and don't have the time or patience to be creating their own set of effects sims. (For some weird reason, they seem to be more interested in playing bass and making music, haha!) And, even if they do, then the easier the interface the better to allow for an easy "workflow". For me, Zoom have nailed this side of things, particularly when aided by free down to load patch editors such as ToneLib. Do you know which other devices have "succeeded" using the OSS model from the outset, rather than having a base set of patches included in the tin?

A little clip from my former band The Retros earlier in the year. We didn't know it at the time, but this ended up being our last gig together and we decided to disband The Retros not long after. We had a lot of fun along the way, and we've kept in touch - several of us are working in other projects together now.

Hmmm... you make a very good point! Wonder what the Midium crew have to say in defence of touchscreens? A few of the more recent multfx have also gone in that direction.

You sure the audience is going to notice, once you have added power?

Just sold a pedal to Ben - excellent comms and a pleasure to deal with. I hope you enjoy releasing your inner Geddy with it!

You'll only need an IMF loan if you decide to go for the 932As rather than the 912A. But given you've been using 710As when we've been content with more lowly 310A (Mk2s)... 😄

I think a decent compact mixing desk will need to come first!

I know, right? What's your money going on next? 😄

Guess you didn't quite manage the Gear Abstinence Challenge this year?

Have quickly put the 912As through their paces at home with a 5 string, to make sure everything is in working order. Comfortably handles the low B string with an authority that my old 310As couldn't manage and the addition of 3 settings, "linear", "boost" and "stage" is a nice touch. I'm going to be tempted to have this on default (bass) "boost", haha, and not let on to my bandmates. I suspect that would give a decent kick drum & bass without needing to add a sub. I think these are going to be great and not require any backline support - will be able to confirm for sure when I've gigged them at decent size venue; we've got a couple of larger ones coming up at the end of the year. You mentioned that the 710As weren't a standalone "bass cab". I'd be pretty happy using one of the 912As as a bass combo in a way I wouldn't dream of doing with a solitary 310A. Apologies if that's not helping!

Well, they've arrived! Personally, I think the look of the new 9 series RCFs is an improvement on the older series with the addition of a front grille. They're also not outrageously heavy, although will obviously be more of a challenge getting onto poles than the 310As have been. Speaking of which, I gigged through the 310As on Saturday night, with a 4-piece rock band with no backline, and the bass was just fine in the mix. Can't believe it took me years to get our drummer to give this set-up a go in the first place! Now my bands just accept me turning up with my bass and going through the PA and no back-line without batting an eyelid. I'll give the 912As a spin at home tomorrow and obviously the real test is going to be in a band mix, but I'm expecting / hoping that they're going to be a decent step in sound for the band. Looking forward to it!

Hey S'manth - loving this project of yours. Another big mutifx fan here. In terms of interface - these guys seem to have raised the bar:

Happy to echo all the other positive feedback on this thread - just bought a pedal from Paul and it was a super smooth transaction. Cheers mate!