Boodang

When you plug your bass into your head, is it painful?!

I went down the whole Source Audio and Hub route. I found the best way to deal with the setup was to sell it. Now I'm back to pedals where the only interface is actual knobs and I don't want to use my laptop as a frisby anymore.

As for outboard preamps.... where to start! I think I change my mind every year on which I like but my current favourite is the EBS Valve Drive... for now!

A couple of things to consider with onboard preamps; passive pup blend allows for pickup interaction which creates peaks and troughs in the frequency response whereas an active blend is like a mixing desk and buffers each pup so no interaction (in the same way as active pickups are buffered). One is not better than the other, just different and worth considering... a passive blend jazz bass will sound different to an active buffered blend. Something to consider, John East preamps have a switch to allow passive or active blending, so maybe worth the extra.

Just from the connectivity perspective you could always use this which has 3 switchable inputs. Of course you'd have to use separate effects for each instrument.

I play sitting down on an office chair. I don't physically move but my roadie pushes me around the stage during energetic parts of the song.

I got bored of watching reaction videos so now I watch reaction to reaction videos.

I stand corrected! Mostly they're digital I guess would be a more accurate description.

Also(!).... analogue. Multi effects push you down the all digital route, not necessarily a bad thing, especially and obviously for delay and reverb, but my favourite pedals and the ones I wouldn't be without are analogue. I love my analogue octaver, and my compressor, envelope filters, phaser and overdrive are all component based and I haven't found a digital equivalent. But that's just me and it's a very personal thing. Interestingly, the one digital pedal I love and thought was analogue until I researched it, is the Mr Black Fwonkbeta which is massive sounding and great fun to play in the right contest. So in one respect I stand corrected!

Also.... KNOBS! Going the pedal route gives actual dedicated knobs to tweak. Multi effects makes me feel like I'm a programmer rather than a bass player!

I've done multi effects including the Helix but to my ears the pedals I have do each individual effect better. The bonus to this is that there's lots of fun with GAS trying out and getting each pedal plus some that I have like the Doc Lloyd and Walrus with some great art work. And for some reason I enjoy the process of putting together the pedalboard for specific setups. The downside, I admit, is that my current board (which admittedly now has 16 pedals) costs way more than a multi effect but, I think, sounds better. You don't have to go as far as getting 16 pedals though and just have fun picking out the few you need.

I play drums as well as bass. The main issue I have with sound as a drummer is engineers who think the kick should sound like a hand grenade everytime I use it. Then after the hig people come up to me and say how much the drum sound ruined their enjoyment of the music. When it sounds like that I couldn't agree more. I've taken to playing the engineer some tracks as an example of what I want but it doesn't always work. As for bass, I've taken to using a very mid heavy, bridge pickup tone which sounds very nasal on it's own but sits well in the mix and difficult for engineers to make mushy. As for volume! We have a gala gig this weekend and I know the pa is going to be way over the top and we'll be battling excessive volume the whole evening. Absolutely no need to drive the audience away just because the engineer wants to show off how loud and bassy his pa is.

Yep, I play holding my arm out without resting it somewhere but I've always done that so it feels normal. Having said that when I play siting down (which is most of the time, including gigs), I rest the bass on my left leg, classical guitar style, which probably helps.

I've got a headless but not bodyless bass, but .... don't rest my forearm on the body (or anything). Resting your forearm on the body leads to an angle where you play with a bent wrist which is not a good idea (rsi etc). Whilst a lot of players do it, that doesn't mean it should be held up as the gold standard. Maybe bodyless is a good idea as it'll stop you doing it!

I had no preference until I got a custom bass made with a neck thru that joined the body at the 24th fret. Consequently the body was smaller, the bass lighter and more ergonomic (I know! I've said all this before blah blah blah)... but by comparison something like a jazz or precision feels positive bulky, heavy and clumsy. I had a custom jazz made recently, set neck at 21st fret, a joy play compared to my standard jazz, but more to the point it was cheaper than the Fender.

I've got a thing for steampunk. Wouldn't want to play this but would love it on the wall.

I agree but I'll take your 21st fret and raise it to 24 on the Sei... although it's a bit difficult to see as it's a fretless! Makes the body small and thus the whole bass ergonomic and v comfy to play. By comparison my jazz feels bulky, heavy and the neck ends way too soon!

Yeah, I've never understood why 'potential damage' to the neck is a reason to buy a bolt on! It seems a very arbitrary thing to consider. Just get the bass that feels right for you and don't worry about the rest.

How often are you breaking necks?! PS answer is Sei Flamboyant

Why have a clunky bolt on joint when you can have something like this?!

There's a book written about management called 'the no *rsehole rule', where they don't care how good you are, you're not getting employed if you're an *rsehole. If you're doing a band for fun that rule applies.

Good suggestion and great pedal, as all Iron Ether pedals are, but... have you tried to buy one?! They're rocking horse sh*t it terms of trying to get hold of one. I'm on the email email waiting list for several of their pedals and it's a long wait! Plus not cheap... $250 plus import. EHX parallel = £100, in stock now.

If your favourite pedal doesn't have a blend then you just need a parallel mixer pedal to do the job. I use an EHX tri mixer, not just for overdrive but for other effects as well. Parallel mixing opens up a lot of possibilities. Another parallel pedal is the KMA which has a frequency crossover for splitting the signal.

Yeah, problem is I've just moved to another country, hence looking for a new band to join, and my toys (basses and drum kits) are a long time catching up, hence the opportunity to have a drum was irresistible! I borrowed a bass for the initial session, I must give it back.

I got asked to join a band as their bassist last month (I was recommend by a friend). I turned up for the first rehearsal as a bit of a try out, the drummer wasn't there as he was on holiday, so while we were warming up I jumped on the kit (can never resist a drum kit!). Upshot is, by the end of the session they want me to be their drummer as they prefer my feel. I didn't really want to do that to the drummer so I said let's see when he gets back as I was happy to play bass. Thought it was going to be an awkward conversation but it turns out he'd rather play bass than drums. Turns out he's a really good bassist! So, looks like my main gig is on drums for the moment.