binky_bass

Just to chime in - I absolutely hate the Hofner 'violin' body shape! It is the ugliest major production body out there... The Fiat Multipla of the bass world. EVIL I tell thee! There. Off I go!!!

Curious how people's experiences can differ so wildly. I bought an GR AT410+ a few months back and absolutely love it. Shame you had the issues you had as when they're 'issue free' they are fantastic bits of kit.

I don't disagree entirely with what you've said - and usually I don't both writing such things. If it had been a case of me buying the pedal, saying nothing, and them contacting me the next day apologising and saying they didn't have it, then so be it. A little disappointing but OK. The specific gripe on mine is that I explained exactly why I was asking for clarification, I laid out the precise reason for my concern and they didn't look into it at all, the just said 'yeah we have it'. If they'd actually looked into the concern I outlined then they'd have known they didn't have it. The secondary gripe is them not even entertaining the idea of an alternative or potentially a minor discount if I bought a new version of that pedal. It was all very much "here's your money back, go away". What I didn't add to my initial post is that the day before this issue I spent a considerable amount of money with them buying a new amp, and only a few weeks ago I spent a considerable amount of money with them buying a new cab, (over £3000 in total) and even with those recent very expensive purchases there was absolutely no effort to make sure a sour taste (such as it it now) wasn't left in my mouth given my recent not insignificant custom. Bass Direct aren't the devil by any means, and they offer a great service (when it goes right!) The seemingly consistent point of issue is that when it goes wrong, you get treated poorly. Good customer service, like manners, doesn't cost much and it doesn't need to be that way.

I haven't used it in a band setting yet, but one thing I have immediately noticed is that it isn't particularly quite... even with the gain and volume each at the 9 o'clock position there is a lot of hum. When you turn them both to the 3 o'clock position the noise is extremely loud. Did you find the same thing with your amp?

I am by no means saying that Bass Direct is terrible. I am however saying this particular situation fell down because of multiple unnecessary failures at their end, all of which could have been handled differently. There is a fairly constant underlying vein of poor reviews that seem to fit the same outline as mine, but there are also a lot of good reviews too. Bit of a mixed bag. What let me down is effectively asking them to do a stock check due to a suspicion of them incorrectly listing a pedal (which ended up being the case!) And instead they just ignore what I said, insisted they had it, then the next day admitted they didn't and refunded the payment to avoid any discussion of providing an alternative.

I'll be honest and say I've bought a good few things from them before (basses, cabs, amps etc.) in fact GR Dual 1400 arrived today with no issue. But... and the big but here... is that if nothing goes wrong, its fine, but if something goes wrong it seems that the service stops dead. I've long maintained that the mark of a good business is how they act when something goes sideways. At some point something will always goes sideways, but if it's dealt with well then its not an issue.

What gets my goat is the clear lack of them being arséd to actually check the pedal was there when I very specifically told them exactly why I was asking for confirmation... In balance, when I've bought things from them and there's been no issue, well of course it's all gone fine and everyone's happy, but this pedal issue has really annoyed me as it just shows total lack of anyone actually caring.

So, a quick rundown... They had listed in their second hand section a pedal I was very much after, I paid straight away via PayPal. I then noticed that further down in the list of pictures of their second hand pedals that there was no picture of this pedal, but there was a picture of a pedal by the same brand that wasn't listed in the pricing... As I'd already paid, I emailed BD to ask if the pedal I paid for was definitely the pedal I was actually going to get, I even explained why I was asking that question... The swift response was "Yes, we definitely do have that pedal in second hand stock". Excellent I thought, worries alleviated... Until I get an email this morning saying "Sorry we don't actually have that pedal, it is actually another one by the same brand" I emailed back to say that I'd asked that question and was told you absolutely do have it, I expressed my disappointment and was simply sent a one-liner back to say "We've issued a refund". Massively frustrating... It was on the website, I even emailed to MAKE SURE it was the right pedal, and after explaining why I was asking you'd think they'd actually check... instead no, just pure disappointment. If they'd checked and said "Sorry, you're right, it is a different pedal", then fine. It just frustrates me that I specifically asked and was still told it was the right one for it to end up NOT being the right one... Anyway, rant over.

One of my favourite hobbies is to stare directly into the sun... I only bought the head for the LEDs! 😋

NAD is here once again! This time it's out with the Markbass Multiamp Mono and in with the GR Bass Duel 1400! I already have the GR Bass AT410+ cab (15kg and 1200w!) so this head being 3.5kg and 1400w should give me an obscene 1200w usable headroom in an 18.5kg package. The set up of the amp is super clever too... it has two channels that you can run separately (either a bass and a keyboard or two basses at the same time) or you can run both channels with one bass and use both EQ sections either together or separately. It also has a built in tuner (which shows BEADGC, and as a 6 string bass player that is a MASSIVE plus) and built in overdrive if you want to blend in a bit of bite. Can't want to give this one a try!

Sell the Headrush and buy a HX Stomp. It's smaller and I genuinely think the quality of effects on the Helix does beat that of the Headrush - though to be honest not by much! Either keep the Headrush and enjoy it, maybe explore it more, or get a HX Stomp and go super compact!

Well, by some miracle Bass Direct had a pre-owned Source Audio Collider for £150... the deal is done! Nope... Bass Direct massively let me down... very frustrating.

Already 'watching' that one! I have a Line 6 Helix LT which is superb, but I'm very specifically after a delay/reverb in one small box that concentrates on delay/reverb only. My experience with multi-effects pedals are that especially with modulation, they are a jack of all trades and master of none. The Collider and the Specular Tempus are the two ill try next, if all else fails I'll stick to my Helix as its fantastic but massive!

And back goes the Slarp! The decal was all out of alignment which is disappointing from Walrus Audio and the 'Rise' function just doesn't track correctly, so back it goes! Might see if I can try the Source Audio Collider...

Likewise. My bass parameters are extremely specific too, but there's still enough that fit the bill out there for me to make the odd purchase and for the collection to grow! My parameters would be: 6 or more stings Through/set neck Active pickups Above 16.5mm spacing, below 19mm spacing 30.5" to 34" only Not a painted body That narrows it down to about 0.01% of the market, but the collection still grows every now and then.

That has never stopped me buying more basses! I mean, if I had the funds my 'perfect car' might be a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, but that would stop me buying the odd Lambo or a 66 Shelby GT! Owning the perfect bass won't cure the lust to build the perfect collection!

I've pulled the trigger on a Walrus Audio Slarp. Should be delivered today... hopefully it'll be exactly what I'm after, If not, I can return it and then I might take a closer look at the Collider - app control is a cool feature.

Hi all, The only effect I use these days are reverb and delay. I have a Line 6 Helix LT and its great, but I'm wondering what is out there in as smaller package as possible that combines reverb and delay? I don't want two pedals, I'm specifically looking for one pedal, as small as possible, that has a very good reverb and delay with the ability to manipulate the decay and mix of both. Anything out there? Ta! Russ.

This guy will be joining me in my coffin when I die... Having owned hundreds of basses from almost all of the 'boutique' brands, there's a reason why I have 6 ACGs. In the illustrious words of Tony the Tiger, they're grrrrrrrrrrrreat!