Osiris

Both fixed frequency mid band controls and (usually) semi-parametric mid controls (those with a sweepable frequency range as well as a cut/boost control) have their uses. In my experience neither one is 'better' (whatever that means to you) than the other, they are simply different ways of controlling the critical mids. Fixed mid controls, be they part of a multi-band graphic EQ or 1 or 2 controls on the pre-amp, allow you to cut and boost the mids around the stated frequency centre for that control. If it's part of a multi-band graphic the range of the control (the frequencies affected) is usually quite narrow but you have the neighbouring sliders to help craft your tone. For amps with only 1 or 2 mid band controls the range is usually wider and has a more noticeable impact on your sound. Semi-parametric mid controls allow you to select the exact frequencies you want to control. While a single semi-parametric mid is ostensibly more limited than 2 or more fixed frequency controls, they allow you to isolate troublesome frequencies e.g. in a room where the bass is booming you can pinpoint the offending low mid and cut it. Likewise, in a dead sounding room you can find an upper mid frequency that gives the bass some clarity and definition in the mix and give it a gentle push. If you like the fixed frequencies that the manufacturer has chosen in their pre-amp design and they work for you then job done. If you want more surgical control to isolate problem frequencies then a para or semi-parametric control will serve you better.

Having having extensively gigged both a Mark Bass Little Mark 2 amp and a TC RH450, through my Tecamp 2x12 cab, I found that they are both warm and punchy amps. As others have said, the MB has a great tone with everything set flat, great as in it works well in the mix but isn't very exciting in isolation. The trouble I had with it though - and the reason that I moved it on after 2 or 3 years - was the centre frequencies of the pre-amp. Set flat everything was fine, but when it came to EQ'ing it for a room with difficult acoustics I found there wasn't any control where I wanted it - the bass EQ is voiced at 40 Hz which is handy for cutting low end rumble on wooden floors but there was no control over the audible bass at around 100-200 Hz ish, and I missed that. Likewise at the high end, the treble is voiced at 10Khz which is just too high to be usable in my opinion, for me control over the 4-6 Khz band is much more useful and usable in a live environment. All in my opinion and experience of course. The MB was replaced by a TC RH450. Someone is bound to wade in and mention the whole wattage fiasco sooner or later, if they do ignore it, the amp has plenty of power and volume. Moving on... I much preferred the EQ voicing of the TC, it has a 4 band semi-parametric which gives me tons of control right were I wanted it. Sure, you don't have control over the subby lows, but they weren't there obliterating the mix when I used mine. The drive circuit too is very good and adds a great dirty edge to the tone without getting fizzy. Oh, and the built in Spectracomp simply sprinkled fairy dust over everything and made my bass sound great! Both great amps, but as a sweeping generalisation I'd say that the MB EQ is more voiced towards studio work and isn't quite so usable on the average pub gig whereas the TC amp has all the control right where you need it down the Kebab & Calculator on a sweaty Saturday night. If you're veering towards the TC rig, I'd say you already have your answer

At the time I bought the amp, early last year, there was no mention of the HPF in the manual or on their website. I've not looked since so it may be that they have updated their marketing information. But in light of some of the above comments it may or may not be a wise move though

Unfortunately I think you are right, I'd overlooked the fact that there are some titanically stupid people about

Around 18 months ago I bought a new Genzler Magellan 800 amp and was considering getting some sort of HPF to go with it, but before giving the credit card another good hiding I emailed Genzler to ask if the Magellan had any form of in built filtering. I very quickly received the following reply; Yes, we do utilize a High Pass filter with the MG-800. It is a very steep slope and set low around the 30 Hz range. This allows us to achieve a clean, solid and authoritative low end without potential flubbyness. This also helps with protection from over-excursion for speakers under high power situations. I hope this information is helpful. Best Regards, Jeff Genzler There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth! And I can personally attest to the weight and power in the low end of the Magellan, it has depth to the lows but it is controlled and never overpowering. And neither do my speakers complain either. Agreed @Phil Starr I'd also like to see those amp manufacturers that have some sort of high pass filtering built in to their amps stating it in their marketing and on their spec sheets.

@joescartwright Take a look at the Genzler Magellan 800, it ticks all of your boxes (ooh err). It's light weight, has more power than you'll ever need and it does some amazing old school tones; the quickest way to get you there is to set the single knob EQ curve to voice B and dial in to taste. EQ curve B progressively dials in all the useful mids to give a great retro sound that retains depth and clarity. Leave the rest of the tone stack at noon and possibly add in the drive circuit for some smooth, rich, low gain warmth. It's not full bore distortion, neither does it do the driven scooped mids thing, it's just adds some extremely useable additional harmonic thickening. More of my thoughts about it here;

Thanks for the offer, I may just take you up on it as and when I get a chance

Congratulations for getting Nobsound through the profanity filter But seriously, please report back your thoughts as it looks an interesting pedal for the money.

Cheers @PJ-Bassist. As with any new gear my advice is to always try before you but whenever possible, preferably with the rest of your own gear if you can. But this is invariably easier said than done. Having said that, the Magellan is an incredibly versatile amp and will produce pretty much any tone most of us are ever likely to need - That is unless you want masses of distortion in which case you'll want to run a pedal into it. But for great sounding, real world bass sounds you cannot go wrong. If you do bite the bullet let us know how you get on.

And another vote for the Genzler from me! I play similar stuff to you and it has tons of versatility through the simple tone stack, and the drive is a low gain jobbie, not a balls out distortion type circuit so you can go from funky scooped to a warm Motown vibe with just a push of a button (either on the amp or with a foot switch). More of my thoughts below;

I currently use either D'Addario EXL 160 & 160S, or Ernie Ball Slinkies in the nasty green packet, as they're the most readily available off-the-shelf sets that come in 50-70-85-105 gauge which is my preferred string size. Why do I think that NYXL's might be for me? Well, I've been playing for more than 30 years and have tried many different brand and gauge strings in that time, some cheap, some more costly. And I have come to the conclusion that the choice of string makes very little difference to my sound. No doubt this is anathema to a lot of people reading this and there is a lynch mob gathering at my door, but that's what I believe based on my own experiences For reference, I don't care for the zingy new string sound and I find flats too lifeless. What works for me are played-in roundwounds. I play them for a few hours at home until they lose the new string zing and then they are where I want them, nice and punchy and still more defined than flats but not as sharp as a fresh set. Then they're good for 2 or 3 years of regular gigging before they become too dead for my tastes. I play finger style more or less exclusively with an occasional bit of plectrum work. So, throw a set of NYXL's my way and prove me wrong

PM sent. Cheers

Thanks for the heads up guys, I've just nabbed the last one currently in stock from Amazon to use as a back up DI According to Amazon they will be back in stock on the 15th, which is this Saturday so if you order one now you should get it in about a week or so. For £17 delivered it's a no brainer. But it does say this is an Amazon prime exclusive price so I don't know what the current price for non-prime members is.

Thanks for that @Dood, I'm not sure that I have the knowledge of skills to do something like that so it sounds like the mic-less option is the one for me

Do any of you who own the KZ ZS10's have the cable that includes the mic? Is it any good at picking up ambient noise to help reduce the feeling of isolation? Or is it crap? If so, how? The option to have the mic is only £1 more on Amazon so I'm wondering whether to go for it or not? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CM6Y82R/ref=twister_B07CVHH8SN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

OK, I understand now I've only recently made the move to short scales, a dodgy nerve in my left wrist is forcing the issue. Like you I had no luck finding a sensibly priced, widely available short scale case. I already had the Protec for my 34" scales so I just use that. There is obviously some dead space in the case but it's not an issue for me. Having said that, as and when a decent, affordable short scale case becomes available I'll be tempted to pick one up.

I cart my Mustang about in a Protec Contego. There's obviously a bit of a gap (but possibly not as much as you might think, less that 100 mm) between the end of the headstock and the casing but once the bass is secured in place with built in the velcro neck retainer thingy it's very secure and doesn't move about in the case. And while it's around £120 on the Thomann link above, I got mine from Amazon for about half of that 3 or 4 years ago.

I met up with Mike last night to try out an amp he was selling. In the end I didn't buy it but he was more than happy to let me try it out first before committing (or not, in my case!) and he was not pushy in the slightest. He, like me, wanted to be happy that I was getting what was right for me and had no qualms when I decided not to buy it. That earned my respect for him straight away. We had a chat for a few minutes and to echo everything that has been said, he's a very friendly, funny, genuine and down to earth guy. I'd certainly be more than happy to deal with him again in future. And he even laughed when I called him Pete by mistake

That's more 80's than a Betamax player, love it

OK, understood, thank you. It seems that the Behringer threshold control works backwards to just about every other compressor that I have ever used, seems a bit of odd design decision to me but I guess you get what you pay for (I was going to use the 💩 emoji but that would just be puerile).

Interesting! Mine have tons of character, like a traditional single coil but somehow bigger sounding. The neck single coil has an almost Precision like tone with a real low mid kick that gives the bass authority in a busy mix. My favourite pickups by miles!

What's the thinking behind having the threshold at minimum on the Behringer? I don't have any experience with that particular model but it's likely that with the threshold so low that the signal was not triggering the limiter to kick in, especially if your source material was fairly consistent dynamics wise.

In my experience the Nords and the Bart's are just different flavours. Both are fantastic quality pickups but to sum them up in a sweeping generalisation I'd say that the Bart's are very clean, clear and precise whereas the Nords generally have a more traditional sound with a bit more character and personality. I'd say that neither is better than the other, they just have their own tonal traits. If you like a more clinical and controlled sound then the Bart's are the obvious choice. If you want a more traditional sound then go for the Nords. Personaly I'd take the Hausells in my Sandberg TT over both of the Nords and the Barts anyday

@songofthewind There's actually nothing wrong with Bartolini pickups. Both of my Ibanez SR's had them although they were different models in each (I don't recall the model number of each and my '1000 is currently inaccessible). The set in my SR1000 have a more inherent mid range grunt than those in the 500, with the EQ on the bass and the amp set flat, in my experience. However, both basses shared some similar characteristics; they were very clean sounding, there is an even response across the entire range of the bass (on 4 string versions at least, I have no experience of the 5 or 6 sting versions) and both basses sit perfectly and effortlessly in a busy bass mix with a flat EQ, your are not fighting against them to make them work. They really are fantastic pickups in that regard, indeed on paper they are something of a perfect design. But for me personally, I prefer the grunt, punch and warmth of a good old passive single coil. But that is just my personal preference. I don't care what the collective opinion is on TalkBass. I've always gone with my own opinions, which more often than not don't follow the crowd anyway The Barts are very good, really good, especially if you're after something clean and precise. Just a word of warning if you are considering changing your own pickups. I tried to change the Barts in my SR1000 a couple of years ago to some Nordstrand Big Singles (I think it was that model?) which are supposedly a direct replacement for Bart' sized pickups. The stock Barts in my 1000 are a custom model and are very slightly different sizes to the regular ones. If I recall correctly mine are a little taller and thinner than the regular size. But it may have been that they were shorter and fatter! Not by much, only a millimetre or so on each side, but it would have meant routing, or at least botching, the pickup cavities to make them fit. And without a scratch plate to cover things up it would have looked messy so I decided against it. So please bear this in mind if you are thinking of changing yours.