SumOne

Cheers all. I've gone for a Boss BC-90X and am busy filling it with Boss comapct pedals. Positives: Using as a box for transporting it's really tough. I'm almost certain I could drop it down a staircase and the Boss pedals would still work. The part the pedals sit in comes off, it's low profile and has grips on the opposite side so works well as the pedalboard. Connectors for 1/4" in/out and to run a power supply (included) into to then go out to pedals. Power cables can be routed in channels underneath the foam (when I get around to it!). Low profile when all boxed up. Negatives: Not cheap (£169)....but then again, cheaper than many other options. e.g. a Rockboard 4.2 with ABS case might have been a better option, but that is £206 without a PSU. 2.1mm barrel type main power input that then goes into daisy-chain: Ideally I'd like a kettle lead input as the 2.1mm barrel power input seems a bit delicate in-case tripped on/pulled/stomped on etc. also isolated outputs would be better in-case of noise from daisy-chaining (that's not a problem with my current pedals though). I'm tempted to take out the in/out power and 1/4" section in the top left and fit my isolated PSU but isn't really needed with these pedals - main benefit woul be making the connection to mains power more sturdy. Doesn't seem the best use of space e.g. if the handle was on the outside like a flight case you'd fit perhaps two more Boss size pedals there and the box wouldn't really take up much more space, and perhaps the 1/4" ins/outs aren't needed as can just go in/out of the first and last pedals. Cutting the foam and squeezing pedals to grip in is fine if you use pedals of the same size (e.g. all Boss compact) as it grips them in place okay and can move them about easily, it won't be good if adding different sized pedals though. Could just do-away with the foam and use velcro though. Overall, pretty good. I'm not blown away by it though.

'Big Boss Board' is taking shape: BCB-90X Pedalboard: Tough and decent quality. I'd prefer if it had isolated power but the daisy-chain for this grouping is fine. LS-2: Being used as a A/B between two Basses, clean blend being another good use. For other uses I'd like it if there was the option to reverse the order of loops (switching between A>B, or B>A would seem a simple thing to implement and would open up a lot of sounds) . Otherwise though, all good - it's a classic for a reason. A keeper. TU-3: Accurate, bright, with a few nice extra features (2x 1/4" outputs, extra power output, battery). One gripe is the '#' isn't very obvious. A keeper. AW-3: Good features (expression pedal control, tap tempo, up, down, vowels), some interesting sounds - including some non-wah guitar like sounds if using two of the same vowels together, it could do with a volume and clean blend though. I get the impression it's more suited for guitar and an expression pedal. BF-3: I didn't think I was a Flanger fan but I really like this pedal. It is sort of a Chorus, Tremolo, Flanger and cocked wah pedal in one: On low settings it can sound very close to a chorus, but it has extra things like tap tempo, gate (tremolo), can set the frequency of the effect via 'manual' dial (with 'depth', 'rate', 'resonance' on zero this can be used to give just a mid-focussed cocked wah sound), and setting things high goes all the way up to full-on whooshing flanger. My only gripe is that the 'Mode' dial has four settings but all are in the range within a quarter turn of the dial (10pm - 1pm, each at a 1hr clock face interval), not a big deal but that makes it a bit tricky visually to tell if you are on one or the one next to it - if the dial was a 180 degree turn (e.g. 'Manual at 6pm, Gate at 8pm, 'Standard' at 10pm, 'Ultra' at noon) then it would be more obvious what mode it is set to. CEB-3: Nice chorus, perhaps a bit subtle for some, but I like it to add a shimmery sheen, the 'low pass' is great. I am going to sell it though as the BF-3 on low settings gets close enough. LMB-3: Clean sounding compressor/Limiter, good but you need to look out as some settings can make it sound bad (need to leave the enhance down, and don't put the threshold and ratio too high unless you want clipping). I'd be happy to keep it but I'll compare with a BC-1X at some point. All are pretty good, perhaps I'm too picky but all feel like some small low/no cost changes would make them great for me: LS-2 would have a reverse loop option, TU-3 would get a bigger '#' displayed, AW-3 added clean blend, BF-3 make the 'mode' dial 180 degrees, LMB-3 can lose the 'enhance' and replace with a something more useful like attack/release control or clean blend. Boss know much better about making and selling pedals than me though! It's a shame there's no easily available Boss Compact Para EQ and/or variable HPF, they are things I might need to be a traitor on. Next on the Boss shopping list is a BB-1X.

£30 for the stereo one is a great deal, but £13 for mono is even better. I'll go for two of the mono ones and save myself the princely sum of £4. I guess the drawback is it's perhaps a bit more clutter/less neat than having one box - but it means that if I decide to go Mono for Keys then I can use just one smaller box, and I'd have the second one spare or to use with Bass without 1/4" cables having to meet in one DI place if that doesn't work for stage placement.

Thanks, I'll give it some experimenting - perhaps mono is going to be better live. A bit more background: We are a 7 piece band that does some Reggae/Dub stuff, the 3x horns and lead guitar use wireless. I usually play Bass for the band but have just started playing Keys for a few dubby songs that really need piano/rhodes chord chops and echo type effects (one of the horn players steps in for Bass for those songs). In practice sessions using 2x un-balanced 1/4" cables from keys to the mixing desk there has been interferance (possibly due to all the wireless users) so some sort of balanced signal is probably needed. A lot of the dubby keys FX that I set up at home are strereo - they sound better in stereo at home and in practice sessions but I get what you're saying, that stereo might not be so good for an audience member in a live setting stood near one speaker, so perhaps mono (or limited stereo) will be better. Perhaps a related thing: Reggae soundsystems tend to be in mono, and some club soundsystems are mono or with limited stereo. I don't have a Bass DI as have always been using an Amp/Cab for pub gigs without going through the band PA (as it is a bit weak for Bass), or festival things I've still used the Amp/Cab for stage and ran the DI from the Amp to PA. So a DI that I could also use for Bass if the situation required would be handy. Perhaps a stereo DI is going to be most useful for me as it gives the options of: a) mono Keys, b) stereo Keys, c) Bass, d) Bass and mono Keys.

I am occasionally using things like ping pong echo so stereo is needed. That subzero DI looks like a winner.

I'm getting interference on the long unbalanced 2x mono cables (1/4") between my keyboard and the mixer so need a DI. Is there any benefit to getting a stereo DI (£197 for Radial Stereo DI) vs 2x mono ones (£82 for Radial stage bug)? As far as I can tell, the stereo unit is basically just 2x mono together. 2x mono saves £33, and means I could use just one for Bass if needed. Downside being a bit more cluttered than just one stereo unit. Are there other benefits to stereo units?

Dennis Bovell, picking up the pieces:

Burning Spear 'Marcus Garvey' has probaby been posted before, but worth a re-up! A geat live version:

To paraphrase Homer* "The problem with failing marriages is communication...... too much communication" I guess the same wisdom could be applied for bands! *Simpson

Funky!

Bought a Chorus pedal from Andy and all was good: easy transaction, quick delivery, item as described. Thanks!

Ah sorry, I think I misunderstood. Are you after it muting when the power is turned on (not when stomped on to engage)? If so, I don't know a tuner that does that.

Most default to mute (the ones I've owned are Korg Pitchblack, D'Addario, Nux Flow tune, Boss TU-3) and usually have an option to bypass too. What tuner do you have? There might be a way to change the settings. Perhaps it needs a battery to remember the setting.

Having listened to the new Creation Rebel album a couple of times I'm now going back over their old stuff. 'Rebel Vibrations' album from 1979 is decent dubbyness.

@Al Krow shortly after selling mine to you I changed bands and missed having it so bought anouther one brand new (I don't have the best business brain!). I must admit, I have got pretty lazy with it lately so only have about eight presets, and three of them get 90% of the use ( 'Reggae', 'Punk', 'Ska' 'Clean') as that's what my band plays and it's easy to just go up/down between those presets. One tip is you can set the limit of presets that the unit scrolls through. I've got them sounding exactly how I want though so the fact I just leave them alone is probably testament to how good the unit is, I am probably underusing it. I am a bit obsessed with buying/selling and trying out different pedals though so might sell the Core at some point to fund new things....it's likely I'd regret it shortly after though and end up buying another one!

I had the Fishman Platinum Pro and kind of regret selling it. Apart from digital multi-fx units, it's the best all in one pedal I've owned. HPF/LPF, EQ, DI, Tuner, Compressor are all good on it.

I think I've been focussing on Basses too much as just had a look at their other stuff available, it makes a £4k Bass look cheap: Grand Piano £150k Bassoon £25k Saxaphone £11k Vibraphone £10k

Yeah, that is just asking for one more! BF-3 Flanger perhaps. Or, room for a PSU if the Boss daisy-chain from the pedalboad is noisy.

I'm not usually one for brand loyalty but my recent pedal fetish is for the Boss compact. There's something OCD/stamp collector 'gotta catch 'em all' about getting colourful collection of them in a Boss hard case pedalboard. They're not particularaly cool or boutique (although the Waza ones are trying to tap into that market) but they are: Reasonably priced and are easily available second hand (usually). Tough and reliable (can often see 40+ year old Boss compact pedals still in use/for sale). Clear/simple/intuative for stage use (no hidden digital menus or masses of dials and small buttons/switches). Big/tough footstomp area (which is also good for home use non-shoe wearing stomping). On/off LEDs in the same place that aren't blindingly bright. Most are quite low power consumption, and have the option for battery. They tend to have sensible features like level and blend, crossover for the chorus, 2x outputs from the TU-3 and BB-1X, extra power outlets from the TU-3 and LS-2. All that combined makes them seem like 'get the job done' gig after gig year after year types of pedals. ....the eagle eyed will notice this is not real life - I did it on www.pedalplayground.com. I only currently own the TU-3 and LMB-3. A CEB-3, AW-3, and the BCB-90X (pedalboard) are on the way to me, and I'm tempted to get the LS-2 that's for sale on here. The PQ-3B will be the tricky one to get (anyone selling one give me a shout), I want it as I'd like some mid EQ control but want to avoid the GEB-7 (I had one and found it to be noisy, and those sliders seem delicate - not in keeping with the tough dials on all the others). The RE-2 might not make the final cut as it's expensive and isn't very useful for any Bass gigging I'm doing (and I'd prefer the RE 202), and for the sake of OCD I'm not sure I'd like one pedal being sideways. It isn't the most sensible plan as some are arguably industry standard (TU-3, LS-2, OC-5), but others (PH-3, AW-3) don't generally get much love as there are probably better alternatives from other companies....wouldn't fit the look though!

Yeah it's a good shop, or I suppose more a 'flagship showroom' as others have said - it's seems too good (size, space, location, low/no pressure sales) to be a profitable shop. I played a £4,400 BBNE2 (Nathan East signature BB) and was completely left alone with it and a few other similar priced Basses to try out. I thought that was very trusting of them, not for theft but it'd be very easy to give it a scrape or dent without a strap. They didn't seem to give it a glance once I'd finished. Good selection of keyboards to try too.

This is my main concern, although user reviews seem to all say it's fine. I do have an isolated PSU I could use, would seem a shame to take up that extra space though (and the Boss has no underside for that sort of stuff). I suppose it'd mean I have the Boss power as backup though. As I already have an isolated PSU it makes the Pedaltrain Classic Jr + Flight case, or Rockboard 4.2 + ABS or flight case similar sort of size/durability/price to the Boss. So I'll perhaps go for one of them. I guess any of them would be fine.

New album from Creation Rebel, their first in 40 years, and it's good.