Osiris

@Jus Lukin Yes, some sort of parametric EQ would do the job, of course. But I'm lazy and I like to keep things simple so ideally I'd like everything in one box so as not to have to faff about with a pedal board and all the extra odds and sods they require. Maybe another multi fx is the answer? @dannybuoy I'd ruled out the Tone Hammer after not being overly blown away by the amp which I thought was good but not great. But it does have a semi parametric mid so it's worth another look. You don't think the AO does the low gain thing well? There's a couple of folk online saying it does, but I guess that the only way to decide if it works for me is to try it.

I did look at the Nux but wasn't sure about the EQ center points on paper, for example, the treble is centred at 8KHz, whereas I pretty much cut most frequencies above 4KHz so I wasn't sure how effective it would be especially on something vintage sounding like the JMJ. But based on your recommendation I'll do some more homework 😊

The VT bass lasted one gig, actually not even one song! And it's reasonable to assume that the VT Bass DI is the same sound and circuit board but with a few bells and whistles attached but it doesn't work for me. I dialled in a great tone with it, but when I switched it on mid gig the bass simply vanished from the mix! I don't do mid scoops, indeed, the tone on the pedal was pretty mid forward but once engaged my bass became inaudible. The pedal volume was correctly set so it wasn't a volume issue either. All weight to the sound was lost, so much so that a couple of guys in the band looked over to see what was happening. It was as though someone had swapped out my rig - which you have heard in action and you know is very capable - had been swapped out for a cheap transistor radio. I switched the VT off again and the bass was back. I double checked settings and the volume and tried again but it was the same story. It sounded great on its own but was incapable of cutting through the mix of guitar and keys playing rock and pop stuff. Maybe it was a duff one but it sounded just like the YouTube clips I'd seen. The DP3X on the other hand worked brilliantly in the mix. As for the short scale darkness, it's something to do with physics, apparently.

@Al Krow you have a DarkGlass AO amp, don't you? How do you find the graphic for tone shaping? How do the various cab sims sound, which is your favourite? Does it do a smooth, amp like low gain sound? If so, what settings are you using to get that? How does the AO work in the mix, both clean and driven? Does the clean section have an inherent voice of its own or add anything to the core bass sound? The thoughts and experiences of an AO user will be very useful in helping me decide if it's the one to go for.

The Stomp is amazing and gives me everything I need and way more. I don't find it lacking in anyway, but having had one die on me I want a backup DI/tone shaper. My current Fender Downtown is actually very close to what I want, it just needs a bit more mid control to be perfect.

It's probably useful to list the pre's that I've tried over the years but didn't get on with for one reason or another, in no particular order; EHX Battalion, Tech 21 BDDI, VT Bass & DP3X, Trace Elliot Transit, 2 Notes Le Bass, DarkGlass B7K & Vintage. There's probably a few more but these are all I can remember for now. From these, the Tech 21 DP3X was very good, certainly my favourite Tech 21 offering, but the EQ section was a bit limited in getting the best out of a short scale, IME. The Trace Transit was a mixed bag, a great EQ section and superb dual band compression, but a weird sounding drive and the pre-shape added so much sub bass that it was actually funny. But for the wrong reasons.

Motorway city - Hawkwind

I play short scale basses exclusively these days and I'm on the lookout for a new preamp pedal, one that will help me shape the inherent darker sound of short scales. I currently have a Fender Downtown which is cracking unit but I could do with a bit more control particularly over the mid range. I'm not too fussed about onboard compression as I already have that covered by a TC Electronic HyperGravity with my own TonePrint. Some sort of drive would be useful but not essential, but if it does I'm looking for a smooth low gain, natural type sound, not some nasty fizzy distortion. So what I'm essentially after is a flexible but not overly complicated EQ, a DI out and an optional touch of drive. Some sort of cab sim could be handy too but again not essential. I've watched shedloads of Youtube demos and have ruled out a lot of the obvious contenders - the TC Spectradrive would be perfect but unfortunately you cannot edit the tone prints, as far as I can tell. I love Steve Harris's tone but his Tech 21 signature pedal hasn't got the sound in my head in the demos I've seen. I briefly had an EHX Battalion and soon sold it on, enough said there! A mate of mine has recommended the Lehle Basswitch which looks and sounds great but is perhaps over spec'd for my relatively simple needs. But I keep coming back to the DarkGlass Alpha/Omega Ultra simply because of the 6 band EQ which should give more control over the short scale sound. I know the DG X Ultra also has the 6 band EQ but I don't like the drive tone on the YouTube clips I've seen, if I can I'll get my hands on one I'll give it a go if only to rule it out. There are several comments online that the AO Ultra does a good (however you quantify what that means) low gain sound, but I've not been able to find any sound samples online. Has anyone done low gain sounds with the AO Ultra? What did you think Any other suitable recommendations that meet my needs above, guys?

Look away (Big Country)

That's a cracking review @Bassdude BE 👍

I've just received a power supply from Gareth and everything was great, the unit was as described and was posted off quickly, he also kept me informed along the way. You can't really ask for more than tat as a buyer. Cheers, Gareth

Interesting. I have the Magellan 800 and have gigged it many times and never found it lacked anything. Most of my gigs are pub & club type so they're loud but not deafening. I only played one gig where I really had to push it, a large hall for a wedding in a room that just seemed to absorb the bass frequencies, but the louder the Magellan went the bigger and fatter it sounded. I favour a flat-ish bass sound with no major cuts or boosts across the frequency range. The lows are big and deep without being subby or booming, the mids thick and the highs defined without getting brittle. My cab is a Tecamp M212, a 600 watt neo 2x12 cab which will throw out what you put into it. I don't use any effects either, other than some multi-band compression. They're just a great match and I can't see any reason to change this rig. But obviously what works for me doesn't work for everyone. For balance, by far the biggest turd of an amp I have ever used was the Trace Elliot SMX. I think they're class A/B or whatever, I don't know nor do I particularly care other than to avoid another one like it at all costs. To say it was gutless would be a compliment. It was a one trick pony, but that pony had been sent to the knackers yard decades before. I bought one new in the early 90's a 1x15 combo with the matching 1x15 cab. At the time I was still relatively new to bass and the Trace was the rig to be seem with. As I matured and began to understand what I wanted from an amp I came to realise that the Trace could not deliver it. It was all highs and nothing else. With a 12 band EQ, a valve pre, and a million other bells and whistles you'd have thought you would have just about every sound you ever wanted, but no, it just wanted to make me sound like Mark King using some 15 year old kids mobile as backline. It was just a thin clank. No depth, no mids, just a a ton of treble. A breath takingly awful amp. They seemed to be the holy grail of bass amps for a lot of folks. Ah well, each to their own. Just a thought @alexa3020 how do you have your current amp EQ'd? Are you scooping all the mids out? If you are, I suspect this may be part of your problem. I see and hear a lot of guys scooping the mids out, and yes, it does sound good. But quite often, depending on what other instruments you are playing with, the frequencies you are cutting are the ones that you need for the bass to fit into the mix. Yes, the bass sound isn't as sexy as with a big scoop, but the bass works better in the mix with those mids present.

Just had an easy transaction with the lovely @Raymondo who bought a bass from me. He turned up when he said he would and paid promptly in cash. We then retired to the pub and spent a few hours chewing the fat and being daft. Ray is another Basschat legend and I can't recommend him highly enough.

Cheers @Raymondo it was a pleasure!

Yes, the shorty is the TMB30, everything else is a 34" scale, as far as I know. I love mine, it's one of my favourite basses ever even though it looks like a melted Mr Men character.

John recently bought a case from me and it was a doddle from start to finish, he paid instantly and was friendly in his comms. There's not more you can ask for as a seller!

Yes, unfortunately they're not as light as feather as the Mikro is, as you say they are much more chunky. The neck too is very un-Ibanez like with a more Precision-esque profile. So there's a lot more wood overall which, obviously, adds to the weight. But I don't think of mine as being excessively or unplayably (is that a word?) heavy. See if you can get your hand on one, pick it up and try it on a strap to see if you think you could live with it.

I don't know the exact weight of my Talman but it's not light. I also have a Mikro, the 4 string version (Shameless sales plug - it's currently up for sale in the classifieds!) and the Talman is noticeably weightier, but the body is surprisingly thick so there's a lot of timber in it. But it's not prohibitively heavy, IMO. On my wide strap, approx. 10cm wide, it's comfortable enough on a 2 hour gig. At a guess it's around the 4Kg mark. Ish.

Richings Park and ride?

Had my second meet up and car park dodgy deal with Frank this afternoon and it was as painless and easy as the first. This time I took a case off Frank's hands, we'd been chatting privately and I'd mentioned I was on the lookout for a semi rigid case, to which he said he'd got one he was looking to move on which he very kindly gave me. Not only that, he steadfastly refused any payment whatsoever and wouldn't even let me cover his petrol for the 3 hour round trip. What can you say to that? Frank is a man of his word and a Basschat legend to whom I now owe not only a coffee but a cheese sandwich too. I look forward to honouring my side of the bargain as well as announcing the birth of our first child.

If it's a Chorus effect type sound it could be due to the pickups being too close to the strings. Try lowering the pickups to see if that helps, you just need to give each screw half a turn or so, maybe a little more.

In the pink Range Rover.

It is, of course, all personal taste but I find all of those things I listed earlier utterly minging 😉 Oh, and I forgot to mention gold finishes too, anyone playing one clearly drives a pink Range Rover and is married to a football player.