Al Krow

Well it's always fun to try out new gear and, if it's not for you, you can always move it on - with hopefully not much more than the cost of the postage to bear if you're buying used. Just spotted something I wrote up on the 2Notes a few years' back I'd forgotten about the "low end suck" I was finding, so perhaps worth just mentioning that so that it doesn't come as an unexpected surprise! It created quite a stir when it came out in 2016.. Two Notes Le Bass preamp - Effects - Basschat Be kinda interesting to find out how many of us who have had one have held on to them.

Two reasons: firstly it wasn't a million miles from the DG B7K and I have a pretty decent sim of that on my cheap-as-chips Zoom B1-4, that I'm happy to use both at home and in a band mix. Secondly, I couldn't get away from the fact that I prefer the dirt tone from my Pigtronix Octava (obviously that's purely personal), so the Octava is staying and the MBD-2 getting moved on - it's actually already been snapped up via eBay. But it's an itch scratched and I think I've finally found a dirt pedal I'm really happy with in the shape of the Octava.

Which is why Doc J knows his way around basses much better than me 😁 Tbf it actually belonged to my missus, but was still my "first":

Bax have on for £485 Boss GT-1000CORE Guitar Effects Processor for sale | Bax Music (bax-shop.co.uk) There was one for sale at the start of the year - one of our BC'ers who is a sponsored Boss artist had been given one, not sure who he moved it on to. If it had the Boss SY-1 and OC-5 built in, I'd have been very tempted to get it. Been a bit more chat and actual purchases over on Talkbass.

Nailed it. Although I'd also love to see how the drives really fare up against our favourite dedicated dirt pedals. My little Zoom B1-4 struggles to match up to my current goto dirt (Pigtronix Octava). I suspect the Helix would do better!

Please do share your particular favourites, it would be great to check them out! Have you held onto your PM2 and are still using?

Even though I can only get the gist of what he's saying with just one year of school German under my belt, I love the sounds he manages to coax from his PM2. He's confirmed he's playing through a G&L Precision Bass - I thought initially it might even have been a keyboard given how much better sounds he is getting than a lot of other reviewers. And the use of an expression pedal with this seems to unleash a whole additional dimension to it. @Quatschmacher would I be wrong to assume that fluency in German is yet another of your talents?

Yes, the 2 Notes should have this completely covered. And they have been going for pretty modest prices used recently. But here's my caveat: not convinced that tube pedals really deliver that tube dirt you get from a valve amp any more than a normal dirt pedals? Partly 'cos the voltage that's typically put across a tube in a pedal is a fraction of what you get in an amp. But I'm not an electronic engineer so I may have that wrong in terms of impact. I've recently stumbled across the Pigtronix Octava which is aimed primarily at guitarists, but has a clean blend which makes it great on bass too and it seems to lose precious little low end in any event. It's seen off all-comers recently, including some high-end dirt pedals I wasn't expecting it to. And it takes up 1/6 of the pedal board space that a 2 Notes would. It won't deliver the additional tone shaping that you can get from the 2 Notes, but I'm guessing a combination of your bass preamp plus your Orange Terror may have a lot of that covered anyway?

That's a PITA. Sorry to hear that. Not a case of needing an input or output jack to power it up, is it just dead?

My lot are not free that day unfortunately (well tbf I am but, believe me, the audience would notice for once). 2 x 1 hour sets. Usual pub rates. You will need to provide PA and backline. If you're free and would like to do it, please PM me asap with some live material clips.

They've been threatening to release a Hotone Ampero Stomp mid 2021, to go head to head with the Helix Stomp and provide greater processing power and the additional benefit of parallel signal path and which the current Hotone Ampero range lack. Will be a chunk more expensive than the model you're looking at though, and no sign of it yet! Covid plus global chip shortage maybe to blame for the delayed release. On my wish list for 2022!

My privilege and pleasure to start a feedback thread for Esther. Esther bought a Zoom B1-4 multifx off me. Prompt payment and excellent comms throughout. I would be very happy to deal with her again. Hope you enjoy the pedal! Bas

Agreed: I can get pretty close to that with my Proton Mk4 (2020) so an envelope filter is very much at the core of that sound. Even closer with a synth patch overlaid from a cheap-as-chips Zoom B1-4!

There was a really excellent comparison video of a Fender P vs Yammy BB posted on this thread a while back. On solo'd P setting the Fender seem to edge it. It wasn't played in the mix but, lets be honest, we all know just how iconic / great a Fender P can sound in a mix so we don't need any further "proof" of that! I completely agree with the general sentiment about pups though - for me they are the single most important tone shaping component on a bass.

My two bands regularly play at a local East London venue and I know the manager very well. A couple of his other regular bands are currently indisposed - one has split up and the other are stuck abroad due to travel restrictions. He's asked me to see if I can find another couple of London bands who might be interested in filling the gap. Gigs are paid at typical pub rates. You will need to provide PA, backline etc. First date he's looking to fill is 24 July, and then broadly a regular slot every 6 weeks after that, so approx. 8 gigs a year are on offer. Not the end of the world if you can't do the 24 July but would be available to start later. If you're interested, please PM with a showreel or decent footage of you playing live (that's a must please) and we can take it from there. Look forward to hearing from you! AK

I think he has always truly loved the FI best 😉 And tbf if the manual and interface were half as good as they are now after a couple of years dedicated work by him, I almost certainly would have held onto mine.

Was he able to provide any insight into the what the "1200W" is i.e. at 4ohms? Peak vs RMS etc?

There you go, sounds like you're both in perfect agreement!

And I'm guessing someone swapped their C4 for an FI, so balance has been maintained in the universe?

In terms of value for money, it's going to be hard to beat Sire for an active PJ bass or Yamaha for passive. I've had the Sire P7, great bass, only gripe for me is that it felt like it had only 17 accessible frets which was a little constraining for me, but I suspect may not an issue for a lot of folk. And it has a ridiculously well featured preamp, in terms of EQ options including semi-para mids. If you like passive and are cool with Yamaha body shape (it's not everyone's cup of tea), I'd actually recommend a used "Series 2" Yamaha: either the BB 425 or the 1025: there's a lot of love for both on the Yammy thread and for very good reason. They are superb basses and hold their own with basses costing several times as much.

Your finest board ever, dare I say Mr Bassfan!