thodrik

Any decent amp will be good for metal, it just depends on what is amp is good for you. If you are using pedals with EQ or drive options (say Darkglass/Sansamp/EBS/Aguilar) your amp won't be doing much of the tone shaping anyway. If you are running a pedal-less setup and need lots of EQ flexibility, compression etc, a second hand Trace Elliot would be a good shout. I do really rate the Hartke LH500 and LH1000 though. Great clean sound and super easy to use, though the EQ settings consist of a very basic passive tone stack (mid cut only etc) that some people find too limited.

As in the new 'Peavey' era ones? I haven't seen many about second hand, though being honest I'm not sure that Trace Elliot sold that many. However that doesn't mean that they aren't good amps! You will easily find an older Trace Elliot 12 band model for not that much money that will offer most of the same features of the newer Trace Elliot amps. The Series 6 and SMX stuff is pretty good. I picked up an 12 band SMX head for under £300 about five years ago.

Don't think that I would sell any of my basses. Most certainly though I would never sell my old Precision. I could easily find a replacement Vigier or Sadowsky Metro if I sold them (affording one again might be a problem) but my Fender is fairly unique, in that it barely works and is slowly falling apart. I love it.

In standard tuning I generally use 105-45. D standard and below it is 120-50. I used to be a 'light strings and low action' player, but I generally don't play much slap, double thumbing techniques these days, so I generally don't mind a more rigid heavy gauge stringwith a higher action , so long as there is enough flexibility for bending and the action is low enough to allow for some fast runs and tapping.

I have the V6, an GP12 SMX 300 head and GP7 SM 300 1x15 combo. The V6 is a bit of a monster. It does a massive clean tone, but given the fact that it is 400 watts, you won't get that power amp tube breakup sound at usable volumes. The preamp doesn't really get 'dirty' in a nice way like say an Orange, Matamp, Ampeg. I have a Mesa Walkabout and although it is a strange thing to say, the Mesa is better in terms of providing that overdriven preamp valve sound. I tried pushing the V6 with a hot active bass (Vigier Excess) and the sound actually collapsed on itself rather than giving a big valve dirt sound. The preamp is based off the classic Fender passive tone stack, so if you are looking for a 'flat' response, I would probably look at another amp. The mid settings can be a bit fiddly as well. Also, I don't find the bass and treble pre-sets and push-pull mid settings to be particularly useful. Oh, it also only operates at 2 and 4 ohms. I've read that it can work at 8 ohms as well, but I'm not really keen to try it myself for fear of what might happen. Oh yes, repair costs! Other than that it is possibly the best amp I have!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1458821629' post='3011204'] How do the DDT strings work? Do you buy a specific set for a specific tuning? [/quote] Pretty much. Same with the Dunlop ones. 105-45: drop D or standard (Personally I found them to be pretty much the same as any other set of 105-45 strings) 115-55: D Standard down to to about C standard (Personally I thought that the 'E' string to be a bit floppy tuned below C#, but tuned to anything higher than C# standard the 'D' and 'G' strings are really tight - basically I didn't think that they were a well balanced set of strings and not very good for drop D variants either) 125-65: B standard, so basically a five string minus a G string (if I need to go below a C I use a five string so I have never used them). As Dood said above, the D'addario balanced tension set of 120-50 are great strings for tuning between C standard and D standard which to me is the area of tuning that can be done on a four string bass without any problems so long as you set it up for it and don't need to tune it back up to standard tuning. They are also much cheaper than the DR or Dunlops. I also tried a custom set of Newtones and prefer the D'addarios personally.

You have got an earlier version. Personally I wouldn't make a big deal of it. It is pretty much the exact same pedal.

In terms of 'normal' bass strings in the 45-105 ballpark I have never felt that the strings were completely unbalanced. The 50-120 set though are fantastic if you want to tune to D standard/C# standard and are in my opinion much more suitable for downtuning than the DR or Dunlop 55-115 strings that are designed for lower tunings.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1457088567' post='2995139'] I do wish I liked the Darkglass 'take' on overdrive/tubes being pushed etc. I always revisit what they have coming out but everything seems to sound like modern metal, which isn't my thing. I still think the VT Bass and Sansamp BDDI are the best for that type of tone, IMO....but I like the Darkglass approach and innovation. [/quote] I have been stacking a Darkglass Duality with a Sansamp BDDI and Aguilar Agro using an old seventies Precision. I'm not into the B3K type default 'modern metal' setting either though. Haven't tried one myself though yet. Sansamp will always be the king for 'Ampeg in a box' tone but I do like that Darkglass are trying something different.

Keeley Bassist is one of the best pedals I have ever got. I don't set it to extreme levels, just to level out a few peaks. Subtle but brilliant.

Good strings. Don't use them any more though as I've pretty much switched to D'addario nickels.

Darkglass Duality works well with active basses. Doesn't get to the synthy levels of the Woolly Mammoth though.

Ditto X2 is a good basic looper and is pretty much all I need. The Line 6 DL4 is cool but not much loop time. The Boss RC 30 is nice but I found it a bit fiddly. That is pretty much my knowledge which is next to useless.

I think that Peavey has quietly let the band trail off. The first sign was when manufacturing was moved from the UK to the USA. The second was Paul Stevens leaving. I think that the new line of Trace Elliot missed the boat a bit. They sounded alright but they were still big and heavy and had that 'hi-fi mid cut' sound in an era where people wanted 'lightweight', 'flat sounding' or 'gritty valve' type qualities from their amps. I still have a set of the Peavey era Trace Elliot speakers. They are pretty good.

I recently got the Keeley Bassist compressor. It works really well as a limiter and as a transparent 'always on' compressor. You can also turn the compressor setting to zero and use the pedal as a clean boost via the level control. It also has a small footprint and is easy to use. No complaints so far anyway.

Dood beat me to it but the D'addario 50-120 balanced tension set are ideal. If it is only for one gig though the strings you have should be able to do the job if you set the bass up for it.

45-105 should be fine. If I am honest though I didn't find the strings to be any more suitable to downtuning than a standard 105-45 set. A half step down is a pretty small adjustment and should be easily achievable with standard strings and a decent set up. I have used the the 45-105 set and the 115-55 set. I used the 115-55 set for tuning to D standard. They were okay, but pretty unbalanced in that the 'D' and 'G' strings were really tight until I tuned down to about C standard, by which time the E string was getting pretty floppy. Dunlop do a similar line of 'downtuning' strings that are a bit cheaper so you could try them. Perhaps try the D'addario balanced tension set as well. They do a set that is something like 45-107.

Aguilar do some nice pre amps as do Bartolini. I think that Sandbergs have Delano pick ups with Bartolini preamps and they are really nice. I think that Marcus Miller's main bass for years was a seventies Jazz bass with a Sadowsky pre-amp. You could buy a Fender Jazz and buy the Sadowsky outboard pre-amp or have one fitted. The active jazz bass market is pretty saturated though. Just play a bunch of basses and get the one you like most.

Baroness in Glasgow. Maybe the Cult in March. Also maybe Cult of Luna.

I used to be on it a lot but have barely been on in the last three four years. Work and time pressures mostly but also because I preferred playing bass as opposed to reading and writing about it.

Billy Sheehan comes across really well when it comes to presenting his gear or showing off techniques. I bought the original Billy Sheehan EBS pedal. It is a nice bit of kit but I really didn't take to the voicing of the drive and felt that even with the blending option the drive resulted in a bit of low end loss.This isn't me having a go at either Billy Sheehan or EBS, as obviously the pedal was designed with meeting Billy's approval not mine! I think that the 'phase invert' switch on the new model is probably a reaction to my issues though. The loop functions on the Billy Sheehan pedal are fun, but I found them a bit limiting in the sense that the loops only worked when the pedal was on with the drive engaged. I also would have preferred a two band stacked EQ like the Boss ODB3 rather than the 'tone' knob. I don't think that the features on the new Billy Sheehan model will tempt me to shell out more money, but if EBS ever want to release a signature drive for me I am just a phone call away... In the end I have gone back to my unblendable and barely working Aguilar Agro pedal for my 'bit of grit' needs.

[quote name='D'AddarioUK' timestamp='1453281117' post='2957980'] As far as I'm aware, we have no plans to discontinue Balanced Tension. As for a 5 string set you'd need to pair EXL160BT with a .160 to achieve a BT 5 string set. As I'm sure you can imagine there are issues of practicality that arise from putting such a big string in a set! We sell most of our strings as singles, if you were wanting to try a .160 the item code is XLB160 or XLB160T for the tapered version. [/quote] That is good to hear. The Balanced Tension strings are great. I may have to try an XLB160T sometime.

I remember one being 'sold' in Orkney a few years back. I sent the seller a message along the lines of 'I will be in Orkney this weekend, I could try the bass out then with a view to buying it'. I got an almost an instant reply of 'sorry mate, I've just moved to the Isle of Wight and taken the bass with me'. I hear the Isle of Wight is lovely though, so I couldn't really blame them.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1453226118' post='2957640'] Just a great well thought out set of strings in my view. No messing about! [/quote] I just hope that they aren't discontinued any time soon.

I take care of all of my instruments but small cosmetic dings are bound to happen over time. A massive split on the body, neck or headstock would really upset me though!