SumOne

Nice! It's a shame the RE-2 doesn't seem to have the warp/twist feature so I'll be going for the RE-202. I've owned the RE-20 (twice) and really liked it. I thought the Reverb could be improved - which is what they've done with the RE-202, tape saturation and presets added too make it seem like a winner. One downside: I love the space echo effect and found it works well for pretty much any instrument - apart from Bass! Not a fault of the pedal, just that reverb and delay added to a Bass doesn't really work, at least not for what I do (mostly Reggae/Dub) where the Bass almost always sounds best being a clean and solid foundation instead of a sort of muffled reverb and wobbly echos, it's the guitars and drums and vocals that sound great with that applied.....still though, I'm not one for learning my lesson so will probably be getting the RE-202 when it's available (hopefully it's not going to break the bank, but I'm guessing it'll be quite pricey).

Yeah it seems like a great Bass, and to be fair to it the negative points I listed were fairly minor mostly cosmetic perfectionist type things. I've got the same work from home setup - any meetings where I can get away with turning my camera off are Bass practice time. I once made the mistake of keeping my mic turned on though!

Ah, my mistake. They are the same with all EQ at noon - I must have had some of the EQ boosted (possibly that Bass one which is difficult to see where it's set)

FOrdered yesterday - arrived in less than 24hrs with free delivery from Andertons: First impressions are - I'm impressed! As expected: Its comfortable to play. Easy access to all frets. Good even tones across all strings - I haven't found any noticable dead spots. It sounds good with a lot of differnt tones available. Things I'm unexpectedly impressed with: At 3.3kg it's even lighter than I thought it would be (why don't they make a bigger deal about that?), and being headless it's still well balanced. The mid freq point is sweepable (I thought it was 3 set points). This is a great feature that opens up lots of different tones. Very nice fingerboard and inlays - better than they look in photos. Minor things I'm not so impressed with are: The sweepable mid and Bass stacked knobs aren't clear where they are set so will need a bit of tippex. The backplate isn't flush with the back. Razor sharp sting ends - will need covering. Active/Passive are different volumes, this is often the case in Basses where you can switch but I've had some (Lakland) where they can be set the same which I like (perhaps there is an internal trim pot though). Edit - my mistake, Passive/Active are equal volumes so all good. None of those are deal breakers that affect the sound or playability though so I think it's a keeper. One thing that might turn into a bigger deal is that the slanted back, apparently it's to "allow the bass to rest slightly closer to the player’s body for better control and a more ergonomic feel." but I'm just finding it means that the bottom of the bass is raised up a at a slight angle - which is less comfortable for fretting as you need to bend your wrist further around. Hopefully that's something I get used to though.

I can confirm mine is a very lightweight 3.3kg (7lb 3oz), and being headless it's well balanced. I just got it this morning so have only had a quick go on it but first impressions are all good.

I ordered one today (hence my hype for them!) so should be able to confirm tomorrow but I have heard that they are about 3.4kg (7lb 5oz).

The original P & J are great Basses and still do their jobs well (especially if playing music from the era they were first produced in) but I think there has been evolution. The Ibanez EHB MS is an evolution in almost every aspect right down to small things: 5 strings, 24 frets, headless, multiscale, lightweight, active 3 band EQ, burl top, chambered body, graphite rods, Luminescent side dots, mono-rail bridge, Schaller S-Lock strap locks and a Neutrik locking jack, slanted body back. I get the impression the designers were told to look at every conventional aspect of a traditional Bass and try to evolve it. I see it almost in the way like a rowing boat hasn't changed much in 100s of years and still does it's job well, that's not to say boats have not evolved though.

Basschat + Credit cards + online buying/free delivery + generous shop return policies = a dangerous thing! I've just bought a EHB1005MS which should arrive tomorrow. Usually I spend a lot of time trying out different Basses in shops before buying or I buy second hand but I figured the best way to really test is with a slightly longer-term tryout including a few hours playing through my pedals/amp/cab with a band to see how it sounds and feels. If what people say on here and the online reviews (Patrick Hunter "one of the best Basses I've ever played" and LowEndLobster "This is absolutely hands down one of my favorite Basses in my collection" I'm expecting to be impressed. My slight reservation is that my current Jazz Bass has a look that would fit in almost any situation, whereas this EHB is a more divisive look, that's potentially a slight downside for certain band auditions for particularaly image concious bands....but then again, I don't think many people actually notice or care as much about the look of Bass guitars as us Bass players think they do!

Well, I didn't say you've copied someone, I said "most originals are basically cover versions with a few parts altered/songs mixed together." which admittedly is a bit of an exaggerated generalisation, but generally speaking an original punk, or ska, or black metal, or rock n roll (etc etc) band will be following some fairly well established rules from previous songs in the genre.

Well, some original music is clearly more original than others....but even that is usually heavily 'influenced', particularly in bands with bass players.

The more I've learned about music the more apparent it's become that most originals are basically cover versions with a few parts altered/songs mixed together.

I've got a more mundane reason for liking passive - they generally have a front mounted jack and active are usually side mounted. I prefer the front mounted with a 90 degree jack as it seems less likely to get accidentally pulled out while also being easier to put in/out deliberately. Also when playing sitting down it doesn't poke into the chair.

Worth a try! I guess the flaw in buying your own things from ebay or Reverb to inflate the prices is that you'd need to pay seller fees.

Or the Damien Hurst school of economics - buy your own stuff for inflated prices to set a benchmark inflated value.

A new one from Busy Signal 'Unite'

Change in plan, I'm going to go for the Markbass Compressor that's for sale on here.

No phase switch on the switchblade pro but it can run the 2x loops in series and reverse the order of the two loops via footswitch control, individually control volume for each loop while also controlling the volume of the clean signal, and can run the signals in parallel.....I think that's quite a lot more than the LS2.

Has anyone here tried both the Empress and the Cali 76? I'm after something for Reggae/Dub - to even out the volume and tone between strings, making the D and G strings sound more bass heavy where they can seem a bit weak right now compared to playing the same notes on lower strings, and making the B less boomy. They are similar price and features and both get excellent reviews. From what I understand the Empress is slightly more transparent sounding and has better metering and a few more controls, Cali is a bit better if you want a bit of tone enhancing. Neither seem to appear very often second hand (and when they do they're not much cheaper than new) so I'm tempted on payday to get both new and return one.

My journey down the pedal rabbit hole started with the more extreme/obvious effects like fuzz, envelope filters, synth, modulation. It took me a while to really 'get' the more subtle things like preamps/EQ and compressors, I think I needed to use them in a band situation to fully realise the value they bring but now I have seen the light they are what I nerd out on and other pedals hardley get a look in. I'm currently usign the Fishman Platinum Pro's single dial compressor which generally does well (and it's nice to simplify things/reduce the risk for things accidentally being set in the wrong place/extra cables and noise etc) but I did notice that playing at volume through a 212 cab my D and G strings were sounding a bit weak, they don't sound weak at lower volumes/home practice though....I'm not sure if that's down to technique, compression, preamp/EQ, Cab, or something else (anyone with any ideas?) but I've got a feeling a more tweakable compressor might be the answer. I had a FEA Opti-FET which was great and perhaps I should have kept it, it's good to play the compressor field a bit though!......So long story short, I think a Cali 76 is right at the top of my shopping list, along with Diamond Comp Jr, Empress, and it sounds like I should consider the BC-1X too.

I think I'll swop from Spotify to Tidal too. One thing that was putting me off was lazyness in needing to re-make all my playlist but apparently that can be done automatically.

Capleton 'You will make it'

Barrington Levy 'Better Than Gold'

And get a tube radio and you're covered for the nuclear EMP https://www.quora.com/Tube-electronics-will-probably-survive-an-EMP-attack-but-are-there-enough-tube-radios-in-use