Al Krow

Super easy. Particularly if you edit on PC using the free Tonelib software - it's then literally just a few seconds job to copy and paste and then another min or so to select additional effects or to reposition them in the chain. The lack of availability of similar editing software for non-Apple devices was a key factor in giving up on the recently released MS-60B+ which I'd had high hopes for.

Yes it is! 😊

The nice thing about multifx is the ability to set and forget. The trouble with cheap multifx like my Zoom B1-4 is that they can be noisy and you end up loading them up with a noise reduction patch which can take a little of the life out of your sound. But the flexibility is fantastic. I was eyeing up the Walrus Badwater as a tempting prospect but then discovered that the "lower" mid range starts from 500Hz and the "upper" mids go from 3.5kHz to 7.5kHz. So a big gap in the 100 Hz to 250 Hz in terms of being able to add a bit of weight to your bass tone, and not really adding too much to our desk in terms of tone shaping. So maybe the best of both worlds is going to be a decent rather than a cheap multifx and it will, of course, do a lot else besides.

That all makes good sense Phil. When playing function gigs, our band have been advised that pretty much most function bands augment their tops with a sub. And there's no doubt that the kick drum can really benefit from a sub.

"Try playing any well recorded music through the PA and switch the tops off and you'll find there is almost nothing coming out of the subs even when playing the PA at quite loud volumes." That is such an interesting observation! What is it about studio engineered music that, in practical terms, it does away with the need for subs and obviously sounds great?

The point about venues is spot on Phil. Subs in British pubs is often going to be overkill / unnecessary - but can be a nice to have if you get it right. For larger venues and definitely for outdoors, particularly where there is no wall/floor reinforcement for the bass, it seems they start to become a "must have". We've very much noticed at the couple of outdoor gigs we've done that the bass has to be set quite loud but then falls at immediate FoH but seems to tail off pretty rapidly - I'm guessing that's to be expected? In terms of thinking about new tops nope, haha, we're not currently thinking of getting anything else. We're pretty content with the band's RCF 732As and my RCF 912As, which we alternate and is a real treat not for me to have lug the PA to every gig. I may be tempted to upgrade mine to an RCF 932A at some point, but that is well down the pecking order below (i) a better digital desk (maybe the A&H CQ18) and (ii) a sub.

Sure, but wouldn't it also helpfully take a bit more of the bass load off the tops? I guess it's a bit irrelevant if the X-over is fixed at a lower f?

Cheers Phil. I'll be dropping the TX from my shortlist then! The TS looks more capable on a number of fronts including a frequency range of up to 140hz which is nicely into the low mids. Couldn't immediately find anything about the X-over f though? What are these really useful trolleys you mention? Do they pack away nicely to take up minimal boot space?

alto tx212s subwoofer On sale at PMT for < £350. 20kg weight is very appealing, but is a single sub delivering 450W RMS going to cut the mustard? Maybe worth paying the extra and getting something like this (1,200W RMS): Alto Trusonic TS12S Active Powered Subwoofer and figuring out how best to manage handle the additional weight?

"Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results" - attributed to Albert Einstein 😂

Fluorescent? Good shout!

I was thinking about a Pod Express too, but got completely slammed in an 'honest' pretty detailed review, too.

Our keys player is banned from using her left hand 😅

@Baloney Balderdash - impressed with you quoting a post of mine from 6 years back! I'll happily admit to not being the same BC'er I was back then! Maybe it is actually possible to grow wiser and not just older? 😅

Agree with all the comments about the benefit of HPF's to eliminate low end crud to improve speaker efficiency, particularly in the subsonic range (<20Hz) and equally also below the low B fundamental at 31Hz (or 41Hz for the low E for 4 string basses). My key learning point, with very helpful input from fellow BC'er @ratman, who is both a pro bass player and a capable sound engineer, and who kindly came along to one of our gigs recently, is to think of the business end of the bass frequency range as being up to 200Hz. Our analogue desk has a built in HPF with cut-off kicking in at 100Hz - engaging that for the bass left the sound feeling thin and lacking weight, so I've gone instead for a pedal setting at 50Hz with a 12dB/oct cut but then adding a 3dB boost at 140Hz in the "low mids". (Fwiw I've personally found it unhelpful to think of 120hz+ as "mids" because it's very much in the bass frequency range and mids go so much higher! Maybe time to reclaim this end of the spectrum as "bass", haha!) Bingo, the bass is now 'back' adding that proverbial 'heft' that had been lacking. So we are currently HPF'ing everything on the desk other than the bass and kick drum, and applying a separate HPF at 50Hz to just the bass.

A very warm July evening on Sat and no air con! But had a really enjoyable wedding gig with our 'dep crew' - first time with our new drummer and he did a great job! Al Krow (@al_krow) • Instagram photos and videos

But finally a 5 string with an 'actual' reverse PJ available at Euro LX5 prices available over here...yes!! How do the rest of the electronics stack up against the Euro LX series e.g. EMG X vs EMG etc?

Recommend also checking out the Harley Benton Powerplant series - slimline, plenty of output capacity and really good value! The ISO-2 Pro or even the smaller ISO-5 Pro should be able to handle your needs? I've had the latter powering my little gigging pedal board with no fuss for quite a while now.

The point about lower latency for the GT1000 was certainly one I wasn't aware of! I'm guessing yet another benefit of greater DSP?

Agreed on what you say about the B1-4: the slightly muffled and the need to use the Zoom Noise Reduction on pretty much all the patches I've set up, are the things I can and have lived with, but if there's an overall better multifx at a decent price with PC editing (which the B2-4 doesn't have) then that would be ideal. I've personally never bonded with the Helix Stomp and I know quite a few of us have had a mixed experience with that one in terms of holding onto it, but I've seen how quickly/easily guitarists who I work seem with get a good sound from their GT1000 Core, so when one of those pops up used, I'm going to be very tempted to pick one up. I did have high hopes for the MS-60B+ but as I mentioned earlier, it's limitations in terms of lack of PC editing and inability to display name of the patch you are on other than very temporarily have ruled it out for me. Shame - I feel those are both things that Zoom could easily fix and, if they do, I'll have another look at the 60B+ down the line.

Out of interest, what is it about the MS-60B and B1-4 that's a turn off for you?

Haha for sure, the B1-4 works well, which is why I have indeed stuck with one or more of them since they came out in 2019 and currently still have two - one of which makes for a neat standalone board when I'm travelling light. But hopefully some of the digital tech we're using have moved on since half a decade ago? 😂

It's now been confirmed by Zoom that this is not going to be possible, which makes using the 60B+ live less enticing for me. That, plus lack of PC editing capability means that the it's is not sufficiently 'better' over the B1-4 at the things it does well for my purposes to warrant replacing my B1-4, and add in the drum machine, looper and headphone amp capability of the B1-4 for home practice and the older pedal continues to remain remarkably good value and will survive for another day on my board. So, having spent a couple of full days working with the 60B+ I've decided to return mine, and will maybe head back to a higher end multifx in the near future e.g. the Boss GT1000 Core.

Has anyone figured out how to change the patch display so that the patch name stays displayed and it doesn't default to one of the fx in the chain? That could be very helpful for live use to remind me which exactly which patch I'm on! I've not spotted anything in the manual that obviously allows me to do that.