MrDinsdale

Hey! Wondered what noise gates people are using (if any) on their pedalboards. I used to have the GT1000core which had an excellent noise gate option. Since getting rid I’ve been dealing without, usually not an issue but once you get to high gain territory I certainly miss it. Any recommendations? Are there any low profile options that could sit under the board? I've heard good stuff about the Fortin Zuul but seems a little overkill for me!

I mean I love them both but they do a very different job. I’ve played American Fenders, they were nice but I still prefer the Schecter. “Best” is so subjective, ultimately it’s the thing that makes you excited to play, I’m fortunate that for me that I’ve found that at a more affordable bracket.

I never advocated buying 8 Harley Bentons, for me there’s a happy middle ground which is too mid ranged basses that get the most value (for me). I mean the Gucci and Porsche suggestion was in jest but no more ridiculous than a plumber purchasing gear from poundland. As I said, I personally don’t think I’d hear or feel any difference between my mid range and higher end bass in a live context so for me spending more is a waste. My higher spec boutique bass gets way less play than my 2 Schecters so for me personally I’ve found my sweet spot.

I wouldn’t sink loads of money into something I knew I was going to beat the hell out of. First gig with my Schecter and the guitar launched his guitar into it and made a big dent, had it been a £2500 bass I’d have been gutted. I also don’t think I would have noticed any difference in that context between a well setup £500-600 instrument vs a high end one. I wouldn't buy a Porsche to do school/shopping runs, I would however want something reliable and cost effective to run. If I was a plumber I wouldn’t be rocking my diamond emblazoned gucci overalls to work 🤷‍♂️

I'd rather have a more low/mid-spec bass and treat it to some upgrades and a proper setup over a stock high-end bass and have a little left over. I've played quite a few basses and my Schecter J4 is honestly just as fun to play as any of the more expensive ones but cost me around £550ish. The lower/middle range of instruments is so good now, that returns on the higher end have never been so diminished. I think the only way I'd go for something more expensive is if it was custom-built like an Alpher Instruments bass or something.

I accidentally forgot to cancel a free trial to Ultimate Guitar so I'm currently working my way through the top bass tabs. Some stuff in there I've never learned but should have, some stuff I learned and forgot, and the occasional one I had to skip over. A few RHCP ones I'd forgotten just how fun they are to play cropped up too like Californiacation etc. I've gotten really weak at playing with fingers over the last couple of years so it's been a great little workout.

They’re all so pretty 😍 I’m very interested to see which make the cut and which go on sale, I’ll be waiting patiently for sloppy seconds.

Yeah I did the CV thing with an expression pedal connected via midi. Had it so the EXP controlled ranges of random CV oscillators which controlled some delays to give a kind of funky warbling sound which got more extreme and chaotic as you used the pedal. The CV stuff is incredibly cool, takes a little getting your head around.

I think you can save over the presets to my knowledge. I think the desktop app lets you back up and reorder patches although I don't think you can edit them via the software which is a pain. You can also make it so only a selection of patches appear on the device, say you just had 4 effects you jumped between, you could lock it down.

Aye that’ll work, just make sure you do a little experimentation as it will introduce a bit of extra latency. Thats one of the reasons I stopped using the 2nd channel as an fx loop, especially with Portals it essentially doubles latency. If no Portal is required though it should be manageable as long as iRig isn’t adding too much.

The HX One is cool, really compact and perfect for adding occasional fx or experimentation. At the moment I mostly use it for the compressor but wanna get a Cali76 on ideally as I’ve found the ones on the HX aren’t great. As it’s just single fx I usually just set them up and play as I need them.

The more the merrier! The SLO, FeT and Mother all provide their own flavours. I’m contemplating moving the Mother on to a separate smaller “guitar” board though.

They really are pretty fantastic. I’ve just been having a more casual play around the house or popping a film on downstairs while having a noodle. A nice change rather than having to always sit in the office to play. I wonder what that means for support? I mean Boss are notoriously bad for QOL content updates for products compared to some of the competition but I’m sure the app will at least continue to get support.

I’ll be honest I forgot about the “for gigging” part of the question, the Marshall VBA400 doesn’t don’t the criteria as it’s around 40kg. The Handbox WB100 I have delivers about 95% of what I loved about the VBA400 at a much more manageable 15kg so I guess I’d have to swap them out.

There’s a really nice GK700rb, I think I added a Capo model too. I’ll see if I can do a capture of my new Shift Line Olympic preamp at some point. I got some good results combining stuff like the Alembic preamp, a valve simulator and I’m sure a power amp emulator. It was far lighter on CPU than the AIDA models too. I need to give the MOD Dwarf another play. I’m pretty good for drives and preamps etc so I don’t really need an all in one unit. It interests me more for reverb, delays and some slightly more experimental fx.

Marshall VBA400 and the GK700rb (would likely be an 800rb but never had the chance). I have no idea what the last one would be tbh. Never cared for the Ampeg stuff for me but love how it sounds with other people and it doesn’t get much more iconic so probably and SVT.

It’s definitely pretty capable of some filth! 😂

Another week, another pedalboard. Really loving the SLO, I loved the Capo but ultimately I think I just love the gooey valve thing too much. Doing lots of testing with the SLO and Capo with other pedals to help decide which stays has reminded me how much I also love the Halberd, Dagger and the brutal 0xEAE Fuzz. Next up is probably to grab a Cali76 after I’ve sold some stuff. Maybe some day I’ll crack on with actually making some music and stop fiddling.

I like B once you get to around 3 o'clock though and then you get into EAE Dagger territory, 11-3 though seems like a slightly awkward area for bass. That being said, B takes other drives really well when I've played with it.

I grabbed the Mother and really like it, having a bit of a dilemma as I now have the Mother, Model feT, Capo and soon the SLO mk3. I can’t keep them all so I need to either return the Mother or sell the Capo or SLO 😭 I really love the depth and absence controls on the Mother though. Jury is still out on the B channel, amazing on guitar but I do struggle to dial it in just how I want on bass a little.

It’s pretty accurate too!

I’m not going to pretend I really understand most of that but it sounds like it’s excellent 😂