sockdeluxe_mikey

[quote name='algmusic' post='919810' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:55 PM']If you like the markbass sound, go with that.. I love markbass, but I like the balance of option of that vintage grit.. I have the programmable one, which I like, as on some gigs, I need more grit or more warmth or blend or straight DI I can sort it out in the sound check then switch sounds between songs, just with my foot. Also if you're going minus amp you are at the mercy of the sound engineer and their gear, which is a gamble (some great some awful), so try them both if you can.. . The EMO are the broadcaster's fav's very good.. but that's assuming you always have a good desk behind you.. [b]Just the down side of not having your monitoring (amp) is if you change your awful sound on stage, you might ruin the great sound FOH..[/b][/quote] I concur with being at the mercy of the soundman - my Lakland (bass I use 90% of the time live) has a really good preamp which has already helped me out when using loanded equipment on a gig so I then don't have to touch their amp (a plus for both you and them). Going direct in the fashion I'm thinking of in conjunction with the onboard preamp (3 band, really nice sounding and powerful) should hopefully be enough to avoid the not-too-serious EQ problems I might encounter without amps (or EQ on a D.I box possibly for that matter). I actually used to really like having footswitchable vintage overdrive sounds but I've actually learnt that isn't what I've been after which was a minorly expensive lesson to learn. The MarkBass filters however do allow me to apply what some of the other D.I boxes I've been looking at such as a low pass filtering (the VLE on the MarkBass amps/Super Booster) and as I already mentioned, the boost would work as preamp gain. I still can't decide however whether all I want is a passive D.I box by itself (a la Radial, EMO, MarkBass Super Pro DI(?) or any of the others) or have some more powerful (or one of the bass specific preamps such as the Aguilar Agro, one of the SansAmps etc.). Half of my desire to sort this out is so that I can avoid the sometimes awkward arrangements of being one of the first bands on in somewhere you a) either can't drive (or don't want to drive) to, and for this reason you can't take your amp and starts to get awkward when due to miscommunications you turn up at a venue and the band who end up bringing the equipment aren't aware they were supposed to lend it - or at the last minute decide not to! Then, I can just run my pedalbox through a D.I and that can all be avoided - and with very surprisingly good results sometimes, judging by what I've read about the experiences of some people who just gig on D.I all the time. What I highlighted in bold I also want to be very aware of and I am actually very respectful of this - I almost always err on getting the sound great out front and try and be very reasonable, unless the sound is completely unusable and mental on stage! Actually EskimoBassist, I have been looking on and off at the MXR M-80 - what has been your experiences of it? It actually looked really nice and appealed to me, but had a hard time working out what kinds of sounds it could do.

[quote name='algmusic' post='919757' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:08 PM']Sansamp.. it can be powered via phathom power and on a rare occasion you don't have that it takes a 9v. Very few desk don't have PP. To be honest, a 9v power supply is pretty cheap these days, I think I pad £20 and that had lots of adaptors for many pedals and it'll fit in your gig bag. Also the sansamp will give a good range of tones that don't sound synthetic.. That said I do like the EMO..[/quote] Actually, what I meant was that I was hesitant at getting a D.I box that needed phantom power from the [b]desk[/b] etc. just in case the desk can't power it and it can't accept a wall power supply - I took delivery of a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon last week so as long as an active D.I box can accept a power supply the Chameleon can take care of it although it does seem to sound like that most desks should supply 48V phantom power. My girlfriend has the programmable SansAmp but I need to give it a proper try out - I've not been a big fan of the SansAmp (although when she got hers I learnt how to use them a LOT more effectively, which may be a factor when I try it out again properly). The Super Booster by MarkBass looks really appealing because it has the two filters which I happen to already like (I have a MarkBass SA450 as a normal amp) and it has variable preamp gain. Doddy, those EMO's look good too! I have a Studiospares catalogue and they catch my eye quite a lot.

I really have to bring the Rothwell Love Squeeze to the table as well. I have tried the EBS MultiComp properly and owned a dbx 163x, plus when shopping for other compressors I listened to quite a few different models extremely thoroughly inc. the T-Rex Compnova. I think one of the best ways to sum up the Love Squeeze is the ultimate compressor for the person that normally doesn't like compressors the only thing some people may not like is the fact that it's a bit too subtle for some players. I would actually really highly recommend giving the T-Rex Compnova a try as from what I've heard it sounds like it's a compressor really full of potential. The Diamond compressor actually sounds really nice as well! It's a shame they're not more widely available.

Hi all, I have been assembling a sort of 'system' that would allow me to either go to a studio or a live gig without my amp and be able to (close enough at least) get a great sound that I can take around with me. I bought a Rothwell Love Squeeze about a month or two ago and that is perfect for one half of the job - natural subtle string-to-string eveness and room boominess, if needs be at worst a 'room fixer'. Now for the second half of the job I need a D.I that will obviously go directly into a desk, either live or in the studio. My situation is I don't know really whether I need a passive or active D.I - I do have two active basses (a Lakland 44-01 and an 18V Peavey Forum) and logic would dictate that a passive D.I would do the job, two which have caught my eye being the MarkBass Super Pro DI and the Radial JDI/Pro DI. If it turns out an active D.I would be best to get, then ideally I would like one that can source its power without the need of phantom power (such as the MarkBass Super Booster) because I wouldn't want to risk going to a gig and then not being able to source phantom power for the box. On the other hand, is phantom power from the desk actually a bankable option? I just don't want to turn up to a gig one day and be told I can't get phantom power! Thanks everybody, all help would be welcome

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='898413' date='Jul 18 2010, 09:55 PM']You've got to love the name, I do anyway. Anyone tried one ? How do they compare with the EBS Dynacomp and the Aguilar TLC ?[/quote] I was the one who posted on your Talkbass thread I'm just looking forward to seeing how this pedal does with 18 volts - that will be a spectacle! EDIT: andyjingram, here is the short post I did for 6stringbassist on Talkbass: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676593"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676593[/url] Great pedal.

I bought one after owning a Marcus Miller 4 string Jazz Bass for most of my bass playing life and enduring a complete love/hate relationship with it, and from what I've seen it kicks it squarely in the nuts. I tired myself out trying different basses for under £600-700 in GAK and the Lakland just stood out for me in terms of build quality, playability and sound. It was just an 'obvious' choice! Believe it or not, there is a seriously handy little trick that you try out if you have the stock electronics - I *love* how the pickups sound and for me they have just the right balance to them, BUT if you want to achieve a more vintage (dare I say Fender style) style of sound that sits in the mix a different way, roll off a slight amount (and I really do mean a bit of a hair, 5-10%) off the volume pot and most of the more modern high end bleeds off (past probably around 5-6Khz or something like that) - instant tone variation! That way, it's possible to achieve a remarkably good 'Jazz Bass-a-like' on ALL of the different pick up positions. I also added a scratchplate to mine - black on rosewood tends to need breaking up a little visually