Osiris

@Salt on your Bass? I'm just a few of miles down the road from Rushden, I reckon I'll be able to hear every note of that beast when you fire it up

Definitely set your patches up through whatever you're going to be gigging with, I made that mistake, I originally set them up at home through headphones and on the first gig with the Stomp they sounded utterly 💩, way too dark. It took more than a quick EQ change to rectify the sounds I wanted when I borrowed one of our PA cabs to set the sounds up again, but I got there in the end. Save yourself the time and effort and go straight to the QSC

Yes, I think that the ACO patches are acoustic ones. Whether any are actually configured for acoustic basses is another matter!

Compression is a bit of a black art and very easy to screw up as you seem to have found out At the risk of sounding patronising, (and I'm not meaning to be) are you familiar with compressors? Do you understand what the various controls do and how they impact your sound? If not, then it's definitely worth taking the time time get an appreciation of what the various parameters do as this will enable you to dial in exactly what you want. There are different types of compression, some obvious, some more subtle, so you need to know what you're aiming for and then use the knowledge of what the different controls do to try to achieve what you want. There's a very useful guide on the Ovnilab site and @51m0n has written a sterling guide to compression basics. Both of these will be able to educate and inform you way better than I ever could @Al Krow often badgers me to share my settings with him but ultimately there are so many variables when it comes to compression that what woks for me is almost certainly not going to work for you. Different playing styles, different output basses, different tastes in compression etc. can all have a marked effect on how a compressor will react to the individual playing. For the record, I use the Stomp Multi-band compression for each of my gigging basses. Each one is set up differently to compliment the bass and the style of compression I like, but generally speaking it's a low-ish ratio, fast attack with slower release times. After that everything else is a matter of taste, the various thresholds, gains, crossover points and so on. Having re-read this I can see how unhelpful it is

Did you buy the Stomp new? If you bought used, I think there was an issue with the recent firmware updates where, if they weren't done exactly to the letter, there were issues. If I remember correctly one of these issues was that the pre-set names didn't appear - either correctly or at all. Maybe the previous owner made a mess of the firmware upgrade, perhaps? If you did buy it new, then I have no idea. Maybe try the view button (the one with a house icon on it) as @krispn suggested. Failing that, see if there's a way to reset the unit to its original factory settings. You may then need to reinstall the more recent firmware updates, but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Thanks @MoonBassAlpha it's something to investigate. Our keyboard player is an electronics engineer, I'll ask him if he wouldn't mind taking a look.

OK, understood. In that case it's sounds like it's a case of using the tried and tested method of playing it slowly at first until you get the feel and the timing right and then gradually increase he speed until you can play it at the correct tempo. Use a drum machine or metronome to keep things steady. And if you can play it smoothly even quicker than you need to you'll have no trouble with it.

I'm not totally sure I understand what you mean by this, is it that the octave note isn't loud enough? If that is the case, there are a couple of non-technique related things you could try that may (or may not) help; First, how are you EQ'ing your sound? Try adding some upper mids to help give some extra definition to the octaves to help them stand out. Are you using a compressor? If not, they are an invaluable tool to help even out all notes from across the fret board. Are you popping the note as in the slap sense? Maybe try plucking it instead? The octave pull/pop thing will give you a bright snap but plucking the note will give it more body. Other than that, as you say it's just a case of keep working away at it until you get it right.

How about a graphic EQ pedal? Assuming that you like the fundamental sound of the Fishman on both basses and it's just a tonal change you're looking for it could potentially work out as a cheaper option than those you had proposed in your original post. For example, set up the Fishman for the fretted bass and have the EQ pedal set up with a sad face (boosting the mids while rolling off the highs and lows) for the fretless). Could that work?

That looks great. Do the pickups work well together? I'm guessing that the bridge will help add some clarity to the meaty humbucker?

No, I've only tried this with passive basses, neither of which have hot outputs. There is also an input trim pot on the Smashup, the optimum position for this so that it doesn't clip is around 80% open, but even with the trim set at minimum the whistling is still audible. I even tried it with no bass plugged in and the cable removed and it was still doing it!

OK, thank you. Good job I didn't rush in to ordering one in that case! I was trying a few things earlier, I even moved the pedal to the next room and ran it into the amp with a 6 meter cable, but it's still whistling. Also tried swapping cables and even a different bass but I still couldn't get rid of the noise. Looks like it might be time to get something to replace it. Unfortunately, the Smashup is no longer made, which is a shame as it has some great sounds in it. Ah well.

Cheers @Woodinblack, I'll order one and see what happens.

Cheers, I guess that rules the Joyo out? It also looks like it's for a DC voltage, would that even work with AC? This isn't something that I understand! Thanks again @paulbuzz. I read the relevant sections of manual and tried moving and swapping cables but it's still whistling, unfortunately. Does anyone know if something like this would work? The blurb mentions eliminating AC hums and hisses, although my issue is not what I'd call a hum or hiss but a whistle with an underlying tapping or drumming sound. https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/SubZero-Hum-Destroyer/27BH?origin=product-ads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItufu4_Cv5AIVBrDtCh0L0A9kEAQYByABEgJqb_D_BwE Could it be worth a punt for the money? If not, I guess my options are; Live with it, it's only my little practice rig, and you don't really notice when playing, only when there's a gap. Buy another suitable AC power supply. But I guess that this won't necessarily solve the issue? Play without the Alesis. But the dbx model sounds so big and punchy that I'd miss it too much! Get another compressor pedal. Play without a compressor. No. Not an option

Cheers folks, @dannybuoy does the Joyo filter have standard Boss sized connections (I can't remember the actual size but the industry standard size for pedal power connections)? If it does it won't fit due to the different sized connector, which could be because it's AC as @itu says. Thanks @paulbuzz Yes, it sounds like the same issue described on the Ovnilabs review. I must have had this for around 15 years, and although I haven't used it for years because I'd forgotten I had it, it had never made the whistling before.

Digging around in my odds and sods box earlier I found my old Alesis Smashup digital compressor and thought I'd have a play with it having not touched it for years. When plugging it in everything appears to be working fine but there there is a persistent high pitched whistle while using it and what sounds like a sort of Morse code tapping underneath it too, which from what I can gather online is digital clock noise (although I have no idea what that actually means!). Further looking online suggests that the issue is the power supply not being isolated, but I'm using the original Alesis power supply that came with the pedal, I'm not using it with any other pedals, it's just bass into the Smashup into my amp. It's worth noting that the pedal is sat on top of the amp in case this makes a difference. The amp and the pedal are plugged into the same multi gang socket. I've tried to power it using a different power supply but it appears to have an odd sized connector, my 9V Boss adaptor being too big to fit. I've also tried other cables but to no avail. Anyone have any thoughts as to what I can do to resolve this? Or is the pedal had it? Be shame if it has as it's a great sounding unit.

That's cool, no harm done here either 😀 The output on the Bass Block fascia is marked in wattage values, I've no idea how accurate these are so there could have been some variation either way but at the mark for 40 watts, around 10 o'clock ish on the volume control, through a pair of Barefaced One10's, it was really loud, perhaps too loud for in house use. The Bass Block also appears to have a linear output too, it wasn't running out of stream beyond the midday setting. Assuming the 45 watt power section of the new amp is comparable then I think we may be pleasantly surprised. Of course, we may also not be, but my head isn't so far up my own exhaust that I can't happily admit to being wrong. 😀

I'm inherently sarcastic, a bit of a pi55 taker and an occasional wind up merchant, so I'm happy to hold my hands up if I say something that sometimes gets interpreted in a way that it isn't necessarily intended. So yeah, I see how that can be read as a bit of an over reaction, even though that wasn't my intention. No offense meant to anyone 😀 But I do also believe that it's wise to reserve judgement on something until you've had first hand experience of it. As I said, the Quilter Bass Block is very loud at its 40 watt setting, so while I'm not saying that the new amp can keep up with a drummer, it wouldn't surprise me that it could keep up with one when paired with an efficient speaker. But again, we'd need to try it in anger to know either way.

No, I'm not a Quilter rep, but I am trying to offer a balanced view of the product. The rip it apart comment was meant somewhat tongue in cheek but was in response to the comment; 45 Watts at 4 ohms though?  I'm struggling to think what gap this would be filling. Even though the product description clearly states the intended uses for it. Fair comment about the Elf having an XLR, but a TRS to XLR cable is still a simple solution. @Reaper I assume you're being ironic with the engage brain comment, particularly as you then made the assumption that I must be incapable of making an objective assessment of the unit based on the comment "... something new and shiny, let's all rush out and get it!" bandwagon." Bandwagons aren't my thing, but I do believe in being fair and objective. If you know something about the Interbass that I don't, based on your experiences with it I'd be interested to hear about it.

It's nice to see that this has already turned into one of those classic There's something new on the market, let's all rip it apart before anyone has even got their hands on one type threads! *Facepalm. According to the online blurb the Interbass contains "... the best features of the Bass Block signal path...". Anyone who has tried the Quilter BB, and I have, will tell you just how loud it is even at the ostensibly unusable 40 watt setting. The blurb mentions this being "enough volume for practice and small gigs". And with that Bass Block DNA, I have no doubt it will be, especially if you have an efficient speaker. Not only that, if it is voiced the same as the BB it will be a great vintage sounding little amp with a real valve like response, especially when gain is pushed and the limiter kicks in. The line out is balanced, while an XLR socket would have been welcome, a TRS to XLR cable cheaply remedies this. With bass gear getting smaller and smaller, I suspect that we'll be seeing more balanced quarter inch balanced outputs in future. Other than some online whinging it hasn't proved a fatal design flaw on the Helix Stomp, for example. And no doubt the effects loop return can be used as an auxiliary input. If the Interbass turns out to be a baby Bass Block, and it looks as though that is indeed the case, then I think that this will prove to be a very useful tool and I could see myself getting one.

As @Ed_S says, try it without the Sansamp. The classic P sound has that big low mid rich kick that sets it tonally apart from classic J and MM type sounds, but the Sansamp has a huge void in the mids that will be detracting from the classic Precision sound. A Precision through a Sansamp is a tried and tested sound that a lot of guys use but it's not the same as a P through a clean amp. Just don't scoop out those mids 😀

I use amp modelling to replace my physical amp and cab. Around 12 months ago my band moved over from having traditional backline on stage to using in ear monitors. Using an amp and cab sim (more accurately sims as I use different amp and cab models to suit my different gigging basses) allows me to keep the bass sounding natural, as though it's still being played through an amp and cab, so the sound is still coloured to some degree. I personally prefer this colouration to going straight into the desk via a DI. And with the quality of modelling currently available the sounds are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing what with responsive touch dynamics and realistic weighty sounds. My sound is simple, just an amp and cab model and a compressor plus a touch of drive for a couple of songs, no other bells or whistles. Bass into the modeller into the PA.