Boodang

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.

Not sure about my #1 bass but I think my #1 pickup for all situations has to be the Sims Super Quad... a J, P or humbucker in one housing. Hmmm, I think I can feel a new custom bass coming on!

He was a true prophet.

A bit like analogue octavers, the mono synth tracks best with less harmonic content in the note, so playing towards the neck rather than nearer the bridge definitely helps. But your right, not the best tracking pedal. Having said that the sounds are too good to ignore so I persevere.

Creamery pickups come highly recommended. I've got several jazz and P basses with his custom pickups in and they are amazing. The P bass needs no eq with his 'custom '14' solo pup in it. He also does a '52 tele in either alnico 5 or 2 magnets but you can have discussion with him about the tone you want and he'll wind to suit. Why go off the shelf when for the same money you can go custom!

Active EMGs into active preamp = no problems. My experience of active EMGs is that they have a much wider frequency response than passive pickups (less coil windings = greater frequency response), with the consequence that I end up using more EQ to tailor the sound than I would with passive pups, especially the top end (unless of course you like that wide open sound). There's a good jazz pickup comparison video on youtube where they go through about a dozen different pickup manufacturers (Bartolini, Dimarzio etc) and the EMG's come out really trebly.

Depending on what synth sounds you require (anything specific?), another alternative is to use an octave pedal (preferably one with an octave tone control so you can go from smooth to edgy) and an envelope filter pedal. Edgy octave into envelope = synthy goodness. You can even add some overdrive in there to really get it going. So, not a dedicated synth pedal but more versatile. If you can get hold of one, a COG T65 octave pedal; it has an octave down and plus an octave up with overdrive, and the pedal has a switchable parallel loop in which you can insert the filter. Also check out the Iron Ether pedals... there's a great demo with an Idiot Box bass overdrive going into their filter pedals for some insane sounds. Perhaps a more expensive way to do it than say the EHX but lots of GAS fun and experimentation where you can come up with your own unique sounds.

Tried a few recently and keep coming back to the EHX bass mono synth. Attaching an expression pedal brings it to life and really transforms it. Oh, and added bonus, it's cheap!

Absolutely no idea, but.... apart from this vacuous statement I'd thought I'd mention that tilt EQ was my main discovery last year, especially useful on compression. Acquired a couple of pedals with tilt on them, never really thought about it before but turns out I'm a fan and I find it really useful. Between tilt eq and compression my tone sculpting is sorted. Who knows, you might find that on the Diamond it's a useful feature.

I used to prefer an ebony or resin board for fretless but now I've gone back to rosewood as my favourite. My latest custom bass has a slab rosewood board which is extended up to the neck pickup as a finger ramp. It could be just auto-suggestion but the TI flats feel more 'buttery' to play on the rosewood compared to my resin and ebony fitted basses.

Well, I was bit off on the price!