Skybone

Happy Talk - Captain Sensible

My point was that the POD Go is £360, has 14 Bass specific preamp/amp models & 7 cab models, an loads of effects. It is possible to build a fabulous sound for stage and studio, and have loads of possibilities to take your sound where you want. It's not bad if you have a guitar as well. Headphone out as well. Like @Al Krow said, the Zoom B1 Four gives you all that for the princely sum of £65. Or there's the Zoom B3n for about £185. Both with headphone out. There's a B3n in the For Sale section for a very reasonable price. Alternatively, the Tech21 Bass Fly Rig v2 has 2 different preamps built in, as well as giving you a compressor, a fuzz/ovtave, chorus and tuner. Loads of flexibility there for about the same price as the EBS. There's a fantastic Tech21 VT Bass Deluxe in the For Sale section, which gives you 6 preamp's in a DI capable pedal. No headphone out though. I was merely suggesting some alternatives that you might want to consider, as they are all very viable solutions in a similar price range. Of course, you are free to make your own mind up, it is after all, your money. Whatever you choose, enjoy it.

The Dead Loved - Rudimentary Peni

If you're after a "Do It All" preamp, then why not look at something like a Multi-FX? The MicroBass 3 is around £310-330, the Darkglass pedals are between £280-£500 for the ADAM. You could look at something like the Tech21 Bass Fly Rig v2, which will give you not only 2 flavours of modelling preamp (BDDI & VT Bass), but also include a Compressor, Chorus, Tuner and an Octafilter/Fuzz, in one box, which retails for about the same price as the EBS. Something like a POD Go, or a HX Stomp, which have all the amp/cab/effect models you could want will set you back around £360-500. Caveat, just bought a POD Go, and very pleased with it so far. Guess it boils down to what you want to acheive with the preamp.

Another long term sufferer ringing in... It's a PITA, but it's just a case of trying to manage it. Must admit, I only use the Etymotic plugs, only ever got as far as looking at the custom made plugs. One downside to it is that you need to remember to carry some earplugs with you, as in some "normal" situations, the background noise is just way too loud and it does start to make you cringe. It also makes you realise just how much "background" noise we all "put up with".

The POD Go is more of a "Helix Lite", has the same model sets (less 3 effects so they say), but has reduced routing. The Helix range has the ability to create parallel signal paths, where you can only have 1 signal path on the POD Go (hence having a "Blend" control on the dirt pedal models is quite important), and only 4 assignable effect blocks of the 6 (one is assigned as the FX Loop, the other is assigned as the EQ). Though saying that, having 3 or 4 effects available, as well as amp & cab models is probably more than enough for most bassists, and if you do have requirements for other effects for different songs, there's nothing stopping you copying one preset into the next slot and assigning different effects. Still haven't got my head around snapshots, but can't see much use for them for bass players. From what I can gather, they allow you to tweak the settings of the signal chain in the preset (i.e. a bit more drive, tweak the EQ, tweak the controls on the effects), but you can't add/amend/change effect blocks. As with most tech, I would assume that there's probably slightly less processing power & memory in the POD Go than any of the Helix range. However, it's still a great piece of kit. The downside is that it's not cheap. If you want a great modelling multi-FX with the ability to add a parallel signal path, and not spend too much, definitely look at the HD500X, and get the HD Bass pack. Definitely keeping mine, even with the POD Go.

Wheels of Confusion - Black Sabbath

Girls and Boys - Blur

Oooh... New discovery. Found & tried the SVT 4 Pro amp. Wow, fabulous sounding sim, very pleased. Had a more in depth play around with some other effects & settings. Really happy with the results, can't wait to get back into the rehearsal room and see how it sounds in a band setting. It'd be nice to have a bit more selection of bass-specific dirt pedals, preferably overdrives rather than distortion or fuzz. It's great that the 3 that are there have the "blend" control. Maybe meka a few suggestions on Ideascale.

I'd agree with these. Learn the songs as per the recordings, however, if you think you can add to the song as well as adding your own touches, ask them what they want you to do while at the audition. If you can show you can add something, then they'll see that you're proactive as well as thinking about what's best for the song. Good luck with the audition!

Master of Puppets - Metallica

I know I'm in the minority, but I do like the Dunlop Stainless Steel Roundwounds.

No wonder you're getting fuzziness if you're turning the Gain full on. Big fan of Matamp's though.

Doctor! Doctor! - Thompson Twins

The Chase is Better Than the Catch - Motorhead

I Need A Dollar - Aloe Black

I have found some sounds I really like, easily & quickly. I just need to try and get the time for a more in depth tweaking session. Must admit though, I am somewhat underwhelmed by the SVT. Absolutely loved the HD500x version, but just can't seem to get anything close with the POD Go. Saying that, the Cali 400 has definitely taken it's place.

Stairway to Heaven - Percy & Chums

Anyone tried those glasses/screen wipes? Might be good for taking the worst of the crud off. Or switch to Stainless Steel strings and not have to worry about it.

After Forever - Black Sabbth

Zoom B1 Four?

Further forays into the depths of the POD Go, still can't quite get my head around the Snapshots (especially on the Editor). Think I need to spend a bit of time looking into that. Pleased that the Bass-specific drive pedals have a "Blend" function, particularly like the Ampeg Scrambler. A touch frustrated with the effects options though, you can only have 3 selectable effects on each preset (the other 3 are the EQ, FX Loop & Dynamics/Compressor), and then I do like a touch of reverb, so that takes it down to 2. Still, after many years of mucking about with the HD500x, I pretty much only use a couple anyway. Time to look at copying patches and playing with the effects there... Sound-wise, it's very good, though IMO, it's not a huge step up from the HD. There are more amp/cab models available (the only criticism of the HD), which gives a bit more variation. I do need to spend a bit more time playing about with it, but first impressions are very good. Edit: the EQ and FX Loop are always there, you can turn them off, but you can't assign their slot to another effect. The Dynamics/Compressor are assignable, so that's 4 effects slots if you need them.

A Bomb in Wardour Street - The Jam