SumOne

I want to be able to stomp one footswitch to go from an overdriven mid focussed tone (ska/punk) to a clean and dubby tone (dub/reggae part of songs). So a change in overdrive and EQ with one footswitch - seemingly fairly simple thing but without going the multi-fx route it is only the VT Deluxe, or perhaps the EBS Microbass 3, or Darkglass Alpha Omega Photon that spring to mind, any other recommendations? Or I suppose I could put a EQ pedal and drive pedal in one FX loop and an EQ pedal in another fx loop, that seems a bit inelegant/bulky/expensive, and the opposite of the KISS principle though. A digital multi-fx is the probably the obvious answer given that things like the Darkglass cost £500 with fewer features.....which probably means back to the sell pedals/buy multi-fx cycle again!

Robbie Shakespeare Bernard Edwards Flabba Holt Aston Barrett Geezer Butler Dennis Bovell Bootsy Collins Larry Graham Stanley Clarke James Jamerson

It looks good. I'd buy one right now if it also had a tuner that'd bring the convenience of an all-in-one like the Fishman platinum Pro or EBS microbass 3 (or some of the digital multi-fx pedals). As it is though it'd need to be teamed up with a tuner pedal - which probaly means needing a power brick and small pedalboard, then it isn't much more cost effective or convenient than having seperate pedals - I have a Broughton SV pre and could add a Spectracomp and Hotone IR/DI for similar overall price, size, and additional functionality.

Is the compressor on the Valeton GP 200 decent enough for Bass? I assume it's alright as the 'S Comp' has Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Tone, Blend. And generally does the unit seem reliable - no long loading times when you turn it on, connectivity issues, or annoying software updates/glitches?

Got an EHB 1005 MS for the second time (bad back and tennis elbow were good excuses that I 'must' get a lightweight and ergonomic bass) Then got carried away with the glow fret markers!

Bought a pedal from Paul and it arrived quickly and is as described. Thanks!

Earlier today I played a £4,550 Yamaha Nathan East, it is better than my £175 Yamaha RBX765A.....but not that much better! As well as the Yamaha shop I also went to the Denmark St shops and played all sorts of Basses but nothing made me think they are worth getting, none were enough of an improvement over the RBX to justify it. I might get an Ibanez EHB 1005 MS (again!) though, mostly as it is lighter and fretting is easier. I don't expect to make better sounding music from it - but it'll be more comfortable to play, and I spend a lot of time playing so I reckon that's probably a worthwhile reason.

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I just watched the Graceland ('Classic Album' series) documentary last week and he discussed this: He said it was about a point in his life where he was feeling down and unsure about life, had recently split from his wife and the Garfunkel partnership, but then he finds redemption in S Africa recording the Graceland album. A lot of the lyrics are depressing and he sort of regrets the jokey video. A man walks down the street He says, "Why am I soft in the middle, now? Why am I soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard I need a photo-opportunity I want a shot at redemption Don't want to end up a cartoon In a cartoon graveyard" .....that's him writing about himself, feeling irrelevant - like the famous version of him is a cartoon caricature, a 'cartoon' joke that'll die Bonedigger, Bonedigger Dogs in the moonlight Far away in my well-lit door Mr. Beerbelly, Beerbelly Get these mutts away from me You know, I don't find this stuff amusing anymore ......... again, fairly depressing stuff: graveyard, dark, dogs after him, unfit, he's had enough of feeling afraid and worrying about death. If you'll be my bodyguard I can be your long lost pal I can call you Betty And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al ...........he needs help (he doesn't mention why the Betty/Al in the documentary but other places say it was him and his wife being mistakenly referred to as that at a party) A man walks down the street He says, "Why am I short of attention? Got a short little span of attention .......aparently a Richard joke. And, whoa, my nights are so long Where's my wife and family? What if I die here? Who'll be my role model Now that my role model is gone, gone?" ...........dark. He ducked back down the alley With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl All along, along There were incidents and accidents There were hints and allegations If you'll be my bodyguard I can be your long lost pal I can call you Betty And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al Call me Al A man walks down the street It's a street in a strange world Maybe it's the third world Maybe it's his first time around Doesn't speak the language He holds no currency He is a foreign man He is surrounded by the sound, the sound Cattle in the marketplace Scatterings and orphanages He looks around, around He sees angels in the architecture Spinning in infinity He says, "Amen and Hallelujah!" ......recording 'Graceland' album in South Africa and finding redemption.

It's very unscientific as I didn't have the others to directly compare it with, but I'm often after quite a specific tone (a slightly saturated low-mid heavy slightly compressed Reggae/Dub sound) and I found the Boss got me a tone I was happy with and I stopped adjusting it, with other multi-fx I've always been constantly adjusting and trying different things like IRs and never quite being happy with them. (As individual pedals, an FEA Opti-Fet compressor + Creation Audio Grizzly Bass + Q-Strip got me there too). For more distorted sounds I get the impression that the Zoom and Line 6 things are basically different EQ & gain versions of the same thing, the Boss ones felt a bit more individual to me - closer to having individual pedals. I find most multi-fx are pretty good at modulation and delays so there isn't much in it there, and none are much good at filters (which is odd seing as Source Audio do it so well digitally, so it is possible). I suppose the ability to have multiple split paths with dynamic switching and huge amount of fx available for long chains set the Boss apart as a more powerful multi-fx, most of what I'm after was simpler than that though - just a good solid Reggae tone, but perhaps that does actually take some powerful processing to sound really good.

I'm fickle with multi-fx. I've owned the Zoom (B1-four, MS-60B, MS70 CDR), Line 6 (Effects, Stomp, Stomp XL, Pod Go), and recently the Boss GT 1000 Core. I think Zoom are the best value, Line 6 the nicest interface, Boss the most powerful and best sounding. Just as I've sold all my pedals I've joined up to a new band that uses a PA so am considering my pedal options again though (I've been using an MPC Key 61 as a Bass multi-fx at home - that might not be practical live though). As I'll be playing through a PA I think Amp/Cab sims and IR loader would be good, 2x inputs (keyboard and Bass) and a way of splitting the output signal would be useful - one to mixer and one to a monitor. It looks like the Valeton GP 200 is a relatively cheap contender, downside being it only has one input....the Boss I've just sold would probably be ideal so @Al Krow bear that in mind it you don't get on with it!

No way! Norway

It hasn't been confirmed, but reports that Jah Shaka has died. ☹️ https://www.clashmusic.com/news/jah-shaka-soundsystem-legend-has-died/

That's a good interview. I'm a big fan of Barrington

The experience of dozens of people (including me) would beg to differ though. A good proportion of this talkbass thread is people complaining about it. Perhaps it was bugs that have since been fixed though.

Reggae morning!

Tapper (at least that's how it's spelled on the record, half the YouTube videos say 'Tappa' though) Zukie, Escape from Hell ♨️

You might as well get a Zoom 2nd hand to try out, can sell without much loss if you don't get on with it..... Then again, the same argument can be made for expensive individual pedals! I don't think the Zoom compressors are as good as high-end ones but it does the job fine. Similar with the Rat and other effects but there isn't a huge amount of difference.

I like mucking about with pedals and think good analogue envelope filters are hard to beat but everything else gets close enough with a decent multi-fx, especially if playing with a band and through an amp and cab where subtleties get lost. And if playing at home or recording then a clean recording and then using a laptop to add effects gives more control than most pedals - not as immediate or fun though. ....then again, pedals are fun and can be more inspiring than multi fx and laptops. Logical vs emotional parts of the brain battling! It keeps me on a cycle of buying/selling pedals.

My pedalboard has grown keys! (Akai MPC Key 61) It's not exactly portable!... but can plug the Bass into it and use it to add live effects (including compressor, amp and cab sims, modulation, complex delays etc. all are as good as any other multi fx I've used), it also has a tuner. Can only apply 4x effects to the live input channel at one time, but can add another 4x to the main output (and can quickly change presets). And obviously can also use the keys for synth stuff, and the drum pads for drum sounds and samples, and can record and play loops etc. It's not practical for all situations (although some pedalboards seem a similar size!), and I don't fancy stomping on it! But I'm moving house so am bandless for now and it's great for home Bass practice and I reckon it could fit in some band situations - especially if there are songs that need synth bass/pads/samples/loops etc. and can switch back to using it like a Bass multi fx for other songs. I also have a Boss GT 1000 core but it has been sidelined since I got this so I think I might sell it and go back to a trusty Zoom B1 four for backup/portability etc.

Frank bought a pedal from me and all was good, thanks!