Osiris

Not the 30" scale Thumb, (does such a model exist?) but I have previously owned a short scale Warwick Corvette, which I seem to think is something like 30.6". Ergonomically speaking it was very comfortable, light weight, balanced perfectly and had that more modern neck profile, i.e. slim front to back and tall~ish top to bottom, if that makes sense? No issues on that front IME other than the phallic top horn which I was somewhat ambivalent about depending on ones state of arousal. Tonally, it sounded like a Warwick with its stock MEC pickups, plenty of loss and highs but perhaps a little low mid-shy for my tastes, but a big pleasing punchy sound from the passive MEC's. There's also an active version with a 2 band EQ which will give you more options should you require them but I never felt anything was lacking from the passive version. I only moved in on as it was just slightly longer scale than my other basses, both 30", and muscle memory kept tripping me up whenever I picked it up, although that's a failing on my part and not an issue with the bass itself. Extrapolating the above to a short scale Thumb, I can't imagine there'd be anything to be concerned about.

The LPF on the Beta V is actually a mid control and not a low pass filter, no idea why they called it an LPF when it plainly isn't 🤷 Check out the bass the world review for an idea of what it can do.

Shameless plug - This fits the edge-of-breakup bill perfectly. I also have a spark booster and I'd describe this as kind of similar but 'bigger' sounding and with more control over the EQ, and possibly a little more Ampeg sounding than the more neutral voiced spark.

Have a look at the Fender Downtown Express, that's a cracking unit. Very flexible 3 band EQ section and the drive sound is excellent, IMO. More of a full, warm vintage vibe than modern scooped clank, but all the better for it, IMO. The compressor is OK, nothing special but does the job but it's still infinitely better than the one on the Battalion!

I briefly had the EHX Battalion a couple of years ago and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. As a clean preamp it's very good, the 4 band EQ is sensibly voiced and works well. But that's all that was good about it. The distortion could best be described as cheap and nasty. Imagine the cheapest, fizziest distortion pedal you could buy played through the cheapest, crappiest little starter guitar combo that were common back in the 80's, and you'd be in the right ball park sound wise. It was so bad it was actually funny - until I remembered that I'd paid good money for it. It sounded decent on the couple of YouTube videos I saw prior to buying it but there were no doubt doubt judicial amounts of post-production applied to polish the immense turd that it is in the real world. The compressor cut huge amounts of high end and definition from the signal and was unusable on the clean channel, unless you wanted your bass to sound like it was being played through the neighbours TV through the wall. It helped a little when trying to tame the over the top fizzy distortion, but not enough to make either of them viable for anything other than, well, anything really. And because you can't switch the compressor on and off with your feet, or have any control over it other than on or off, it's a pointless addition to the pedal. Having been through numerous pre-amp pedals over the years this one remains the most underwhelming unit of them all by a mile. 3 out of 10 for the clean channel but otherwise avoid at all costs - unless you really must have that cheap and nasty 80's transistor guitar amp sound.

Absolutely first class service above and beyond the call of duty from Lozz, I bought a pedal board from him which he very generously dropped off at my house, this was his own suggestion and not me being bone idle or spinning him a sob story! The unit itself is immaculate and we had an all too brief chat about all things bass. Cheers Lozz 👍

Yes, definitely turn the Enhance control down below 9 o'clock, anything above that just adds noise. No Idea why Boss think it was a good addition to the pedal but there you are 🤷 I've had a play side by side of the LMB-3 and the BC1-X and they are different in how they react to the bass, at least with my ham fisted playing! I'd describe the BC1-X as more transparent and possibly a bit 'bigger' sounding for wont of a suitably vague description. It's also virtually impossible to get a bad sound out of. The LMB-3 is a little more obvious sounding and the more punchy sounding of the two. It's fixed attack is also inherently faster than the BC1-X. My preference was for the LMB-3 but they're both great units and you can't go wrong with either depending on what you want from your compressor.

Overrated: Trace Elliot. I had an SMX amp for around 10 years and grew to hate it with a passion. Stingrays. Every tone you could want as long as it's that overbearing nasal midrange. It upsets my delicate sensibilities far more than it should. Sunburst. Whoever thought that nappy chromatography would make a great finish for an instrument was gravely mistaken. Tort scratch plates. They were drab in the 50's and haven't improved in the intervening 7 decades. That widely imitated Ampeg sound, the bloated lows and clanky high end with nothing in between. Underrated: Peavey have always churned out some cracking gear but don't always seem to be considered in the same league as some of the other big names. The humble Boss LMB-3. Of the all the compressors I've been through, of which there are many, this one is my favourite. It's cheap, simple to use and just does something that I haven't been able to coax out of any other unit.

Just received a pedal from Simon, it was well secured in bomb proof packaging! Cheers!

Dropped in to pick up a pedal board from Bernard last night, no hassle, no drama and I was made to feel very welcome. Cheers Bernard!

If you're going to start using the C word I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you to the mods... 😃

Likewise, my limiter sounds more natural before the HPF. I've tried running the HPF into the limiter but it made the sound thin, but at the same settings post limiter it was punching like a good 'un.

Jack recently bought a T shirt from me. Great comms and swift payment made for a very quick and easy sale. Cheers Jack!

Joe recently bought a pedal from me, no fuss or drama just the way it should be! Cheers Joe!

I've just received another pedal from James and as with my previous purchase from him everything was fast and efficient and the pedal arrived the next day! Can't recommend him enough as a seller.

And there was me thinking that a little bundle of joy like you would fit right in on there 🤷

I use the same LD wireless system and KZ IEM's and have no lack of bass response so it could be a dodgy sealon the IEM's as acidbass says or maybe a cable wired out of phase, perhaps? Or possibly the Sansamp, which is pretty deep and bloated in the lows, IMO, but has no real low (or any other!) midrange as such so that could possibly be the issue in that there's not a lot of useful audible (rather than sub) bass coming from it for the KZ's to reproduce? Have you got access to another preamp you could try with your setup to check if it is the Sansamp that's the issue?

Thanks @LukeFRC that's really helpful. It sounds like the bass boost could be an issue as it wouldn't work as an always on pedal with out set. I was able to directly compare the Mk2 to the Mk5 yesterday too and while the Mk5 is way more flexible and doesn't have the inherent deeper and darker tone of the Mk2 (unless you dial it in!) I personally preferred the smoothness of the drive from the Mk2. That's not to say the Mk5 is grainy, if that makes sense, but the Mk2 just had what I was looking for, albeit without the exaggerated lows. And thanks for the recommendation of the Fairfield Barbershop, I shall investigate...

Yes, been using one for a few years, it's 90% of what I'm looking for but a little bit grainy with IEM's, so looking for something with a bit of a smoother drive sound.

Today I had the chance to play through a SolidGoldFX Beta MkII as well as make a direct comparison to the new Beta MkV. While the MkV is the more versatile of the two I preferred the drive character of the MkII, especially in preamp mode with the gain pushed which introduced just enough break up to really bring the bass tone alive. Now, the MkII has a reputation for being dark and boosting the low end, although I didn't get to try it a really loud volume so I couldn't decide if it was a bass boost as such or more of a roll off of the higher frequencies giving the impression of a low end boost. So my question is, has anyone used them in a band/gigging situation, and, what were the results? For example, at gig volume does it add a load of extra bass that affects the mix and causes a load of stage resonance? Or is it more of an attenuation of the high end that leaves the lows largely intact? For context, I'm not looking for an always on sound but something to kick in for a few songs so the sound needs to work alongside my clean tone, so while a darker tone is fine, I'm not looking for a big boost to the low frequencies, more of a tonal fattening with some saturation type thing.

Francine, you're absolutely right, they are absolutely sublime basses. Neither elegant nor refined but the character they exude from that combination of neck profile and the awesome pickup is perfect and then some. I awarded you a thanks TLRT thingy for your opening post but you also deserve a vomiting one for desecrating such a glorious instrument with not one but a pair of tort scratch plates. You should feel dirty and ashamed 🤢🤮