Skybone

I know, first world problems and all that... Backstory so far: I'm selling a guitar valve amp, I've found a buyer, agreed a price etc., and I'm meeting up with them tomorrow todo the deal. Some of the funds are going to go towards a Rumble 500, but I've been looking at the Helix LT as well. I don't need the Helix, I'm more than happy with my HD500x, but GAS has struck and I'm sorely tempted by the LT. So... Talk me out of it / talk me into it...

Some good suggestions here, but my recommendation would be Hawkwind's "Space Ritual" live album. Primus is a good suggestion, and anything with Steve DiGiorgio if you like heavy, heavy stuff. Om are an acquired taste, heavy again, but bass & drums duo. Anything by Killing Joke, especially anything after 2003's self titled album, featuring a certain Dave Grohl. "Pylons" is a brilliant album. Check out a band called Evil Blizzard, bass led/driven bonkersness, great stuff. Sure there's more, but can't recall just now.

The old tale is that they wrote the album & recorded it, but only realised when Geddy came to do the vocals, that they'd written it in the wrong key for his voice.

I remember buying the misprint vinyl version, and being absolutely gutted. Well, i was rather young at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, i really should have kept it, but I wanted to listen to the whole album, not just the B side.

You can get a HD500x for a decent price second hand.

Looks like a very nice bass.

There's usually a few on eBay. I got mine second hand, brilliant investment IMO. If your singist is having problems in standard, then why not drop the whole tuning to D? Valid excuse for another bass (honest dear!).

Been having a play around with the HD500x (also have a HD Bean, so had a play around with that as well to compare). The "Pitch Glide" is the one to go for, setting the pitch at -1.00 gives a seriously good detune effect (so much so, I had to keep checking - headphones on/off, effect on/off), no wobbles detected (in the sound). -8.00 gives the octave, -24.00 and +24.00 give silly extremes. You could have a lot of fun with it. Not sure if you can assign the foot pedal to adjust the pitch, I'd have to dig deeper to check. Would it hold it's own against a detuned guitar? You would have to try that yourself I'm afraid, but it's convinced me that it should sound good in that situation.

I do have a patch that's harmonised to a 5th up, and an octaver set to an octave down. Great fun, tracks seriously well, no latency and not warbly. I'll have a shot at the pitch shift later and report back.

My experience has been that, on average, if the item is in stock, it will arrive 3 days after ordering. Some UK based shops can't manage to post things to the Highlands in that time. Very good service from Thomann. How Brexit will affect their service to the UK is anyone's guess.

I have an HD500x, but I must admit to never having used the pitch shift on it. It is ace, and the Bass Pack is well worth getting. The effects are pretty good sounding and track well. I really like it, and it is a really good, affordable alternative to a Helix or other high end modeller.

Unfortunately, my preferred strings are no longer available, Fender 7350m Stainless Steel Round's. Thankfully, I do have a few packs stashed away for a rainy day. Been searching the t'interweb for some suitable, not too expensive alternatives. I have managed to get some Elite Stadiums for a decent price, so I think they'll be used for the next string change. I have used them before and liked them, but that was a while ago, and I'll have to see if they are better than the Fenders. Also used Warwick Red Label previously, they were good (cheap too!), but a bit rough compared to the Fenders.

Congrats on the new acquisition, only ever so slightly jealous! Try moving your anchor point to the neck pickup, and "play from the hip".

The PolyTune works for bass, but the UniTune's better. Aren't TC owned by Gibson, or have they moved on from them?

Plec, just to be annoying. And it's a scratchplate. Like valves instead of tubes.

Not forgetting that the 12AX7 is the American designation, the ECC83 is exactly the same valve. I'd agree with bert's recommendation of the JJ ECC83. From what I've learned, it would seem that the 12AX7/ECC83 valves that were placed in pre-amp's were there solely for their qualities when overdriven, rather than for "warming" the sound. Overdriven pre-amp valves tend to sound too "spikey" when driven, rather than the smoother distortion achieved from driving a valve power-amp stage. A non-valve pre-amp should be able to be made a bit warmer, just don't "push it into the red".

I've had a few MultiFX over the years, however, I'm more than happy with my current Line6 HD500x. Yes, it's designed primarily for guitarists, but with the HD Bass Pack loaded up, it sounds great to my ears, and the effects are pretty good too. A lot of people are saying very good things about the Line6 Helix too, with both Bass and Guitar. The Boss GT-10B & GT-6B get good reviews too, but I would seriously look at something like the Zoom B3n or alternatively, an older B3.

Well, after a while with the Tokai T'bird… I don't like it. It sounds great, looks great, plays great... but... Years of lusting after one, and now I have one, I'm a bit deflated. Anyone want to buy a Tokai T'bird?

My suggestion is outside the music... If you don't know the other band members, ask to meet up outside the rehearsal room to see if you all get on. IMO, getting on with future band mates is just as important as the music. Get to know the tune, see if you can add anything to the tune, fills, runs, etc. Be yourself, have confidence in your abilities, relax and enjoy.

You can also get the flat bridge pickup mounts. Someone on the Ric Bass FB Group was making wooden replacement pickup rings, though he seems to have gone quiet recently.

A good set of Sennheiser's will last for years.

Very cool looking bass. The double P pickups look very "authoritative"...