GarethFlatlands

Nice, those look very cool. Glad to hear there's usable bass sounds in there too, seems like it would make an ideal all round home practice amp.

Forgot to rotate before uploading but you get the idea. Goes from a boost all the way up to an in your face but not over the top grind. The voice seems to be a bass cut/boost and the cut knob seems to roll off the high end. Very easy to dial in a great sound, we were a guitarist down so I left it on most of the time to fill the sound out. Worked like a charm and very low noise even when on maximum gain.

Tom's prototype was sadly out with another customer so he's very kindly hooked me up with a custom model someone ordered and he decided he liked so much he made one for himself! Bass distortion with clean and dirty level knobs, a pre gain "voice" control, 4 way selectable mids with level control and a "cut" knob. Not 100% sure what the voice and cut knobs do (hence the quote marks) despite him running through them with me briefly but I get to try it at practice tomorrow and see how many faces I can melt along the way.

I may be getting my hands on a prototype tomorrow for testing purposes. Obviously can't say any more at this stage but I'm very excited to give it a try at practice.

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1449662016' post='2925650'] I'd love to try the 6505 Mini Head but they don't seem too common in the UK, I'd also have reservations about how loud it can be played cleanly (20 watts distorted will still be ridiculously loud). [/quote] I assume they're the same as the micro heads in which case Rich Tone in Sheffield have 2 in stock if you want a trip across the Pennines. [url="http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/peavey_6505_micro_head_230gb.asp"]http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/peavey_6505_micro_head_230gb.asp[/url]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1457529449' post='2999369'] Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie. Stunning. [/quote] Love it, the production sounds a little flat on the louder tracks these days and there are a few misses on there but overall it's amazing. Still have the telephone directory sized guitar tab book too. Also love The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. As fond as I am of Pink Floyd, I've always struggled to make it through The Wall. As amazing as parts of it are, it's very dour sounding and it reminds me of my days at a horrible primary school so that might be a factor.

[quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1457509312' post='2999110'] Need to sell some stuff to get my hands on the 502T. Its beautiful. [/quote] Nice, you going to give it a review once you've had a bit of time with it?

Nice, understated and classy looking. There's a few in stock at Rich Tone, I might have to have a play next time I go in.

You'll still get change from £400 on the Mascis model, let us know if you try one and what you thought of it! The bridges seem to be a better design than the regular spec models so you'll save yourself £34-40 on a Mustang bridge upgrade too.

I own an '98 MIJ (or possibly CIJ, I can't recall and it's in a case atm) Jazzmaster and had a look at the Squiers a while ago when I was after a backup guitar. The ones with the regular JM/Jag pickups (Vintage Modified) didn't feel much like my Japanese version, the bodies were very thick and they felt a little clunky. The build quality was also very hit and miss, some looked OK but a couple were terrible. I had a look at the neck pocket and could see light through a gap between the neck heel and pocket on one of them. The build quality put me off plugging one in so I can't comment on the amplified tone. The J Mascis sig one played a lot better and seemed to be better quality overall so might be worth a look, although they are more expensive. If you can get to a shop with a few in stock it'd be worth having a look at them and picking a good one if they float your boat but I wouldn't buy one blind because of the build quality inconsistency. You might be able to get one of the Japanese models from the 90's for a more reasonable price (£500 very roughly) than a USA model but be warned, the pickups aren't accurate to the originals. The pickup windings are taller and don't go as far towards the edge of the housing as the originals and so the tone is different. They're not terrible but I didn't like them and swapped them out for a pair of Mojo pickups. As they're niche instruments, the prices of after market pickups are a lot higher than regular single coils or humbuckers so you might need to factor that into your budget. Any other questions, give me a shout.

I read ages ago (and can't be bothered trying to find any corroborating evidence now) that certain finishes can take years to fully cure, so that might account for at least some difference in tones over the time. As usual, it might not be better to your ears but it might sound more "vintage" once that's happened.

Line 6 M5 seconded, very cheap these days as well. Ampeg Octave Scrambler does octave up with an optional fuzz blend too. Gutted I can't seem to find the BYOC version I made at the minute for some reason.

When you're bad, don't tell yourself you're bad. Stops you giving up. When you're good, don't tell yourself you're good. Stops you not trying any more.

10/10 which is impressive as a 5 of them were either educated or blind guesses. Real life self score would be 4 or 5, I'm not as into metal as I was as a teenager but enjoy it fairly regularly.

Our guitarist uses the GT100, sounds pretty good and looks like it does 5+ effects and amp sims with 200 odd save slots.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1455144769' post='2976526'] Thanks, GarethFlatlands Actually, there are a number of aspects that are easier...but you have to get your head around the design musts and must nots. And there are quite a few extra jigs and fixtures to make (body mould, radius dishes, go-bar deck, neck joint jig, etc)! [/quote] I guess there's less routing which looks fairly terrifying if you're not confident at it but more steps that need taking your time over and gear required. Still, nice work!

Very cool, you make it look so easy even I'm thinking I could put one of these together!

Very nice! Acoustic builds look like the hardest to get right but it looks like you've got the skills and gear for it. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1454656306' post='2971651'] I also have probably one of the most underrated chorus pedals, the original 18V Danelectro Cool Cat chorus from the 1990's. Sound amazing on bass! [/quote] Don't, I still regret selling mine on ebay for peanuts

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1453989195' post='2965019'] Somme of you may laugh but I have tried a few chorus pedals and my favorite one is an old 80's Rocktron pedal I picked up on ebay [/quote] I chatted to a guy on another forum who swears by their Zombie distortion so I'm sure they have a few hidden gems.

Had an EBS Unichorus on there for a while. I wasn't using it for the current band (Bowie covers) but might put it back on if we learn "Absolute Beginners" for the intro and I'm helping out a friend in April and will need it for one song then. It does me fine but I'm not really a huge effects fan on bass so there's probably better out there.

If you're handy with a soldering iron you can get a BYOC compressor for around £50-70 and assemble it yourself. I use the optical compressor and the reviews on Ovnilab compare it favourably with the BBE Optostomp and the 5 knob comp has a good review. Not for everyone but something to consider.

I loved my Les Paul, if they weren't so fragile and I wasn't so scared of taking it out the case (the headstock had been broken twice before) I'd still have it.

Gutted, always been aware of him but never really got into him since joining a Bowie covers band back in August when I went back and really started appreciating quite how much he'd accomplished over the years. We did a gig on Saturday as a celebration of his birthday and new album and everyone in the band is a little stunned about his passing. Listened to Blackstar on the way to work this morning and the lyrics seemed very poignant, it's very much a farewell to this world and I got a little choked up during Lazarus. Struggling to think of anyone that comes close to him. Time for a Bowie binge.

I usually just add a touch of treble on my on bass EQ and shift the pickup balance to a little towards the P position to keep some low end in there, so essentially making a scooped type tone for pick work. I realise this is useless for single pickup, active basses! Works for me but I'd advise playing around and seeing what you like in the context of your band. From the sound of it, you need a little more attack with fingers so add a little treble and roll the bass off slightly to stop it getting boomy. Maybe play a little closer to the bridge as suggested elsewhere too. I'm sure you'll get there with some experimenting,