radiophonic

I think what I need is actually the discontinued PT Jr (as per GazWill pic, above). It's still available as a template option on their pedalboard builder page and it looks to be pretty much spot on - enough for one additional pedal on the back row if I stick the Tuner, LS2 and Pork Loin on the the front. I assume it's high enough to stick a PSU under it. One just went from the classifieds for £50 - alas, I've spent all this months discretionary on the Pork Loin (which is a monster pedal - low gain sure doesn't mean polite). I'm sure one will surface at some point.

Random thoughts: I'm sure my time would be full even if I weren't in a band and I've quit bands before now, due to many of the reasons listed in the other thread. But, assuming for a minute that we follow the 'this is what I do' logic- is it better to be in a band than not, irrespective? Like if you quit and had no other band to join, would that be an improvement over a bad band (use your own definition of bad)? The last band I quit, I really agonised over - even though I was really sick of the patronising 'leader' and no-time drummer - and I'm not sure I would have jumped if there hadn't been a random better offer in the free-ads that week. There definitely feels to me like there's something legitimising about being a bass player in band that makes me put up with things I otherwise wouldn't. I'd certainly never buy any gear unless I was in a band even though there is nothing stopping me playing. Before we were married, I summed it up to my (now) wife once by saying that although being in a gigging band doesn't, in itself, make me happy exactly, empirically I've never been really happy unless I've been in a gigging band. Even if they aren't very good. This is probably why I get so frustrated when some musicians have seemed hell bent on not making it work for everyone, to their own short term advantage but everyone's long term detriment (i.e. no band).

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1496741972' post='3313508'] D'Adds are excellent -- I used their nickels for a while and was v.impressed by their longevity. However, I am also a fully convinced Elixir user now. I approached them with a certain amount of scepticism -- surely they can't last as long as people say? -- but by god they do. I like a reasonably bright tone with decent bite, and my last set of Elixirs were still delivering that after 9 months. Yes they're not cheap, but they do work out to be cost effective if you consider how many ordinary sets would die in the same time. [/quote] 9 months seems incredible to me. Does the coating make them feel any different?

Elixirs look to be very pricey! D'Addario Pro Steels look like a more affordable option, if indeed they do last longer. Probably worth a punt for next time. They claim brightness, although that's not the be all and end all of course.

I've been using Ernie Ball Super Slinky's for the last year or so. They initially seemed to last a bit longer than Rotosound Swing Bass and I can usually pick them up for about £18 a set. However, since I've been gigging more regularly I've found that I kill them stone dead. I played a 60 minute gig with a brand new set last week and the E was absolutely wrecked. Sounded like a flat, only with no harmonics (although oddly, the other three survived on this occasion). I did go for it a bit, but it was only an hour! I need a solid low end but with fair amount of zing in my sound - think harmonics, chorus pedal, stingray - so I'm looking for a cost-effective alternative - ideally something that will last at least couple of gigs with some brightness intact and preferably not break the bank. I've only ever used Roto 66, Bass Centre Elites (in the 80s) and Ernie Ball. Any recommendations based on gigging experience?

Well the thread about reasons to quit raised all the usual bug-bears of band membership and being an underappreciated bass player in general, so I was thinking positive. I know there are a few Pros on here and a few more who make an effective supplementary income as a player, but most of us don't and even those who do could probably make more doing something else. The hours are long and unsociable, we hang around in bars but can't usually drink, loads of driving, late night load outs, any moderate level of success leads to time away from family and friends, band politics are a fact of life and some guitar amps get louder after the break, all by themselves. I've been doing this for 30 years on and off, but I'm never entirely sure why, other than that playing a good gig is an incomparable experience and somehow overwrites all memory of preceding duds, every single time. Also, the following exchange at a recent rehearsal raised my morale considerably: Guitar Player: We really like your playing. I'm not sure if I mentioned it when you joined, but... Me: (Expecting the worst). Uh? Guitar Player: We envisage the band's sound as being more bass driven, so you are going to have to turn up. Me: (In state of disbelief). Well OK, if you insist... What keeps you going?

I've actually run out of pedal board, so I've got break out cables as a temporary measure and I am relying on a Polytune Clip, rather than a TU3. The kill switch option is handy to have though. Sound-wise, I'm very happy with the options this gives me at the moment. It's a band board and everything gets used. The comp goes direct to the Pork Loin, with the remaining pedals in two loops. I run the Chorus as an always on pedal, except when the Delay is in play (and that has a Mod option anyway). Very impressed with the Pork Loin. It adds just the right amount of grit without being in anyway fizzy - which can be a big issue when using a Stingray - and when played alongside a heavily distorted guitar, it really fattens the bass sound out. I can hear how an Octave pedal might work in my band situation, so I need to keep enough room on whatever board I get for one of those and ultimately I may consider a different compressor, but the BC1-X seems practically idiot proof.

At pub gigs, we've had people (read: aggressive drunks) demand Oasis and Stone Roses songs even though we: 1. Only play originals and advertise ourselves as such. 2. Are stylistically a quite proggy folk-rock band. 3. Our singer is a Hungarian woman and speaks and sings with a very strong accent (hence the band name). 4. We don't have a drum kit but do have a violinist. Basically we try and avoid the weekend warrior circuit. Those are the only venues where it seemed to happen.

Just took delivery of a Way Huge Pork Loin. Super fast delivery and a top guy to deal with.

If I keep the TU3 in the path, the minimum length wise would be the Metro 24, unless I mounted one of the pedals at 90 degrees along the top. That's using mostly warwick low profile patch cables - I need one fatter neutrik one for a long return cable for a loop. I do have a PolyTune clip, but the kill switch is useful for quickly changing basses (fretless/fretted) without annoying the sound guy. However I do it, it looks like either too little space or way too much.

I have a Nano+ and it is just a bit too small. I've got pretty much everything I need and can only realistically see me getting maybe one more pedal (Octave) or at least not playing live with more than one additional pedal. I'd need to consider a PSU in that case anyway. I've looked at the larger PT boards and they seem to be way too big for my needs. The closest is a NOVA 18, I think, but even that looks like overkill. Does anyone else make a small lightweight board with a handy carry case? I don't need immediate pedal access to the phase, chorus or delay pedals since I tend to engage/disengage them at the start of a song and then use the LS2 as the controller to get the right combinations. I may have to resort to a piece of MDF! Here's the signal path IN -->TU3 (Optional, but the kill switch is handy) --> BXC1 ---> Pork Loin ---> LS2 (IN) ---> OUT Phase 90 ---> Flashback ---> LS2 (Loop A) Bass Chorus Deluxe ---> LS2 (LoopB)

It's a YOB LP for me, so we're both 50 somehow. It's not my favourite Beatles, but I purchased the new remix on vinyl this week (which is very good) to join my Mono (which is definitive) and '87 Stereo (a bit meh) copies. My wife gave me the Lego Yellow Submarine kit for my birthday too.

Don't look at me. If I had the money, I'd be getting a VM4 for sure. Luckily for my marriage, I don't have the money.

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1496046661' post='3308274'] That's good news John. I was getting a bit worried for you after the last couple of gig reports you posted. [/quote] Yeah, plus we've lacked momentum this year, thanks to a combination of injury, illness and unemployment. I was considering jacking it in, but we've written three new tunes over the spring and have a fair bit lined up over the summer. Everyone is pretty upbeat after Sunday's gig.

I know Boss tend to get disregarded, but what about the BC1-X? I got one in preference to the Spectracomp and have no regrets so far. Its always on and I just forget about it. Unfortunately, the problem with demoing compressors is that you really need to run them at realistic / gig volume in order to see how they perform. This guy rated it anyway - http://www.ovnilab.com/

Small festival slot as a part of the Anglo-Hungarian Motorcycle Festival. 2 hour drive down to Molehill Green. We'd played a few duds recently, but yesterday everything just clicked. Decent monitor sound, me an the guitar player could run at full power for a change, somebody competent and sympathetic doing the live sound. Best of all, it was early afternoon and blazing sunshine so everyone was up and about two pints into their Sunday breakfast and there was no mud. Well worth the trip and the pay was okay too.

I use an LS2 to balance the volumes of 2 effects loops and 2 basses. 12 O'Clock for active, 1.30 for passive, 1.00 for passive with a phase 90 running. The amount of tweaking is minor although I need to give it an eyeball ahead of each song. Comp is always on and out of the loops.

Post-punk. Or 'Punk' as we actually called it at the time. Gang of Four, early Cure, Joy Division etc. All of those bands had really loud bass players so you were more obviously the melodic focus. I was also listening to prog though and my style (such that it is) is some combination of the two.

Coming up to 27 years. I've had other basses, but every single gig I've played since mid1990 has been played at least partly on my Stingray.

Only prob with the LH500 (and I have one) is the DI tap is pre-effects loop. I assume it's a money saving decision, but it does restrict the usefulness of the loop. Sound wise I'm totally happy though and at 200 quid, it's a total bargain. I don't care about fancy tone controls. I run it flat. I just wish I had somewhere to store a 1x15 XL cab since they are practically giving them away.

I think you're just finding out that you can't just remove one part of a band and expect the band not to change. I played in a 5 piece in the 80s. One of the guitar players was a really bad fit by the end (divergent tastes). When he split, we just naively assumed that we could carry on playing the same tunes in roughly the same way, but instead the wheels fell of completely and we were all over the place. It took several months to get tight again, but we sounded very different. The flipside is that in the same 4 piece, eventually the singer quit and the three of us went through it all again. Incredible how many cues you don't realise you are taking from a singer. We ended up as a monumentally tight instrumental 3 piece. Then we tried to audition singers and found that nobody could do it. They just couldn't find a way in. It was like we'd zipped it up from the inside. Instrumental we remained until we split. I guess the message here is that you probably all need to chill out a bit and accept that your new 4 piece is now a different band.

Slightly galling to get an email because I bought all my Hartke gear from them about 6 months ago! However a 1x15 XL cab for 150 quid is a total bargain. Pretty tempted. £200 for an LH500 is just stupid cheap - even with the annoying effects loop. Almost worth buying a second one and going stereo, but my back won't take it.

[quote name='Danuman' timestamp='1495025788' post='3300563'] Also - and I admit I have no knowledge of the Bonafide and only a faint grasp of buffers in general - haven't boss tuners been equipped with buffers since time immemorial? (Marketing opportunity notwithstanding) [/quote] Yes, but there are good buffers and bad. The current crop of Boss pedals seem fine to me whereas everything I had in the 80s - BF2B, CE2, CS2 - really tone-sucked an active bass, even when disengaged. After 20 years of avoiding pedals, I was really surprised at how good the current crop are.

Gotta admit I was (and remain) pretty suspicious of a Waza Craft tuner pedal. I have the basic TU3 and it is as accurate as a tuner ever needs to be. I have a Poly Tune Clip too. Ditto but easier to lose/takes up less space. Also, although I'm not a fan of TC foot switches for 'in the field' use - I'm never positive I've engaged them - and route my Flashback through a Boss LS2 for that reason, I really don't see that being an issue in a tuner. YMMV of course.