ern500evo

I showed the pic to Mark Goodhay, he said to email the pic to Dave Green and see what he says. I’ll see what Dave comes back with, and see if it’s economically worth repairing

I have a Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra on my board, which I can use as a Di in emergencies. Had to do it recently and with the cab sim on, it was fine through the PA. If I wanted something solely as a back up, I’d be tempted to get a used GK MB500 to keep in a gig bag

Think I may have found the cause of my ABM500 going pop!

I’ve always used steels, but I put a set of Dunlop super bright nickels on my Dingwall just before I sold it. They actually felt quite nice

It just sounds more alive. My 500 is a very early model, so I’m not surprised the 600 sounds better. To me it sounds much clearer, with a great clean tone. The 9 band eq makes it easy to fine tune your tone.

Used the ABM600 for its first proper gig last night. It sounded fantastic. I can’t believe how much different this thing sounds to my old ABM500. Definitely pleased with this one so far

Might have to give them another whirl. Like I said, I’m sure it was maybe just a duff batch. I do like the brightness of Pro Steels, they sound a little bit scooped but that can always be overcome with a little eq tweak. I’ll see how these EB hybrids go and maybe give the Pro’s another try

I’ll give them a try. Just put a set of EB hybrid slinky stainless steels on, but I’ll add the red labels to my list of strings to try

Funny you should mention Dunlop Super Brights, I’ve just taken a set off my Sire bass as they were completely dead. Checked my emails to see when I bought them, beginning of September. I’ve used my Yamaha on a couple of gigs since then, so by my reckoning the Dunlops have done 3 gigs and 3 short rehearsals and they are completely shot already.

One of the reasons I stopped using Rotosound steels, they seem to be very harsh on frets!

What are the red labels like for longevity?

Are all of those strings nickel? What is it you prefer about nickel over steels?

I like Prosteels too, they have a really nice top end to them. I used them for quite a while, until I found the E string dying really quickly in a couple of sets. Maybe a different batch or two, but it did really put me off.

Was chatting to a fellow player recently, and the subject of strings came up. He was puzzled to learn that I use different brands of string on different basses. He uses Elites on all his basses, except for one P bass which has flats on it. It got me wondering, how did you guys settle on a particular strings, did you find a set you liked and stuck with that brand/type, or did you go on a bit of a string trying journey and then decide which ones you like best? I’ve currently got my Yamaha Attitude Ltd strung with Elixirs, my Warwick SS1 strung with DR hi beams, and my Sire V7 jazz is about to get a set of Ernie Ball hybrid slinky stainless steels. I’ve tried a multitude of strings over the years, and with my Sire in particular, I’m still experimenting. What criteria is key for you, is it tone, price, feel, longevity, or a compromise of all the above. I think for me it’s tone and longevity. I like the zing of fresh steel roundwounds, and once they start to lose that, i start to think about replacing them. I think of all the ones I’ve tried, the DR’s and Elixirs seem to tick the boxes. Just to add, I always use 45-105 steel roundwounds. Just curious as to what led you guys to your favourite brands/types of string.

Get well soon! That was a pretty speedy turnaround from Ashdown, did you just get it serviced or was it in for repair?

Used it for the first time this evening. Have to say, I’m thoroughly impressed. Plenty of versatility in the eq, nice depth and warmth to the sound. Used it ‘dry’ and also tried a few pedals through it, Ashdown Lomenzo hyperdrive, EBS Sheehan sig, and Darkglass X Ultra. Only took my Sire V7 tonight, so yet to try my Yamaha Attitude Ltd 2 or my Warwick SS1 yet, but so far I’m loving this amp

And it’s got the added bonus of an extra sleeve, so if you ever want to use it with a different cab, you just take the amp section out and put it into its own case

There’s an Ashdown Mark King combo in the classifieds at the moment, which has been price dropped to £300, it’s in Stockport. That’s a great price.

I quite often used to use my BDDI into the front end of an amp. Using it more as a drive pedal that I could switch on and off as needed, with the added bonus of having a di box with me if I had any amp emergencies.

Picked this up this morning, looking forward to giving it a run out at rehearsal on Tuesday. Will get the ABM500 sent off for repair sometime soon

I should probably give a V2 BDDI a whirl. Had an amp fail on me mid gig last week and was relieved to have my Darkglass X Ultra pedal with me, to use as a DI box for the remainder of the gig. I’ve been toying with getting rid of it, as I barely scratch the surface of what it’s capable of. Don’t want to be without DI pedal now though, and as the Sansamp is about the same footprint, wouldn’t need to shuffle my little pedal board around too much either

I can’t honestly remember. I’d have look one up to be honest. It was several years ago now

It’s been a long time since I used either. I used the BDDI first, the V1, and thought it was cool, but having no mid control wasn’t ideal. Then I got to use a Paradriver and it was just like “wow, this is everything I wanted the BDDI to be” The sweepable mids control just seemed to make a huge difference to my cloth ears. I think @Lozz196 has plenty of experience with both pedals, and could explain it far more eloquently than me. I think the BDDI has more drive on tap, but I only ever used either on a fairly low drive setting anyway. More of a grit than a overdrive as such

I’m picking up a ABM600 this weekend. Sold my EBS and my ABM500 decided to give up the ghost last weekend. Seriously thinking about swapping out my Darkglass X Ultra for a Paradriver too.