Bassnut62

i've got a GR and can get enough squelch from it when required. This is a very tweakable pedal. care and some experimentation will get you where you need to be without the annoying and speaker-threatening spikeyness of many EHX filters; but the trade-off is that it is probably about 85% as wet and squlechy as an EHX. But then when has one filter ever been enough on a board. I have a GR and an EHX Bass Balls, I also have a steel Mini QTron that i use occasionally. i checked all the demos before importing the GR a year ago and I have not been disappointed, especially bearing in mind that I love Bootsy-style filter sounds.

there's an old style QTron+ in Effects for sale right here, right now in BassChat - buy that and you'll be funkier than anyobody's muttha!

i got rid of my Boss SYB3 ASAP too - horrible piece of junk; although the wah wasn't bad and could mix with dry signal. EHX MBS can be picked up for £100 second hand; but make sure it's an old steel 24v one. I've heard the new small 9v ones are not nearly as good. It might mean a bit of saving for the MBS; but it'll be really worth the wait and you'll be synth-sorted for as long as you need to be.

for Lovetone Meatball sounds, you can try 3Leaf Groove Regulator. It is a smaller, cheaper, easier to tweak and still available version of the Meatball circuit. EHX Mini QTron is nice too and in old steel; but it is 9v not 24v. If you have the real estate available that 24v QTron would be yummy it's based on and built by the same gut that made the MuTron too

I know where there is one that needs to be released to someone that will love it. It has the matching 2x15 cab too. PM me and I'll let you know where. NB. I don't own it and it doesn't belong to a friend either! Good idea about Aguilar or anyone trying to recreate this amp / cab; but fully fit for modern usage. It is a thoroughly underrated and unrecognised diamond; which IMO is a lot nicer to live with than its obvious rival - a big old Ampeg lump. [quote name='JTUK' post='841667' date='May 19 2010, 08:03 AM']I would love a trad Bassman 135 amp...I'd probably run it with The Aguilar DB series of cabs in black unless I had the inclination to address whatever shortcoming a matched Fender vintage cab may have. In fact, I think Aguilar should have a go at the Bassman series with Valve amps... maybe..?? Now, where can I get me a Bassman amp..???[/quote]

yes, i see what you mean about under-powered vintage speakers. I bet you're right. One thing is for sure though the old Bassman cabs are generally weak and definitely need strengthening to meet modern performance standards, otherwise they fart like a dog. I do reckon the heads are top drawer just as they come. Before I had a 135 I did have a 70 for a while and that was a sweet head too; but the extra headroom of the 135 is definitely worth having and it comes with a mid control and deep and bright filters for the two channels.

[quote name='JTUK' post='839714' date='May 17 2010, 12:53 PM']Cool as f*** but not sure how practical it would be if you want to gig it...underpowered by today's standards. Didn't some of the cabs come with JBL's..? I have a pr that came out of 4550 cabs..[/quote] I guess you're right about being underpowered by today's standards; but who really ever uses 400 valve watts on stage? I reckon 135 valave watts is equivalent to about 350 solid state watts. Anyway I have never yet found my Bassman 135 to lack enough grunt to splatter brains when required and it always cuts through the mix even with two rock guitarists in my last band. Re JBLs, I think you're right, a lot of Fender cabs did have JBLs at soem point. My 2x15 Bassman cab came unloaded. My first thought was JBLs, I tried them and they weren't that nice in this cab - a bit too harsh and sterile. The top-of-the-line Emminence speakers I went for sounded much much better. They have all the usual JBL clarity and definition, but also the warmth and bottom end of classic 70s bass tones. So, yes ...... cool as f**k and sounds un-f**king-believable and a cheap-as-chips antique in the making!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='839771' date='May 17 2010, 02:09 PM']The PPB is the best bass-friendly Muff ever, IMO. that's good to know, it makes me GAS even harder for a PPB re Mammoth It's a bit of a one-trick pony though TBH. It's a great sound but it really only does that one sound. Fair comment; although I think you can get a bit more out of it than one sound by mucho tweakage of pinch and other controls. However in truth, the non-extreme-gate-synth sounds are probably done better by other pedals.[/quote]

IME G&Ls tend to have quite a gritty tone and it can be quite aggressive; but it sits well in most mixes. You can dial it out on an L series or an Asat (same think in Tele-type body) - just go passive and leave the pup phase in series rather than parallel. These basses do occupy a lot of Fender-oid territoy sound-wise like P, J and Ray; but don't hit any of them on the head. If you like any of those territories tho you'll love the G&L Lseries or Asat.

Catalinbread SFT = Ampeg in a box, clean, Hair or dirt and more...and it's not an amp modeller; just a great valvey drive.

I've had a '78 Bassman 135 for the last 10 years and it is a truly fantastic bass amp. When I bought I was strongly urged by various people to get the 3 EQ 135 amp as it has more headroom. The beuaty of this amp is that you can drive it very hard indeed and it still sounds so sweet. If you really want it a bit more gritty, you can jump the two channels with a patch lead to use both sides od the pre-amp tubes. I agree that the cabs are weak though. I have the vertical 2x15 cab loaded with some nice tight high end Emminence speakers. I completely rebuilt and strengthened the cab before reloading it. All the seams are now lined with extra wood and glued and screwed. The baffles are braced back to front across the waist of the cab too. Now it weighs a ton and sounds absolutely incredible. This rig cost me not much more than £500 all in and nocks the crap out of everything going. I honestly mean it, it gives a truly great bass sound. Many unknown punters at gigs over the years have noticed how good the bass sounds and asked me how to get such a good full, warm, clear, punchy yet gentle and allround dynamic bass sound. So my recommendation is pick up a Bassman 135 and an old cab and you will never look back, if you don't mind doing a bit of work on the cab. Now I've got a Catalinbread SFT to drive the amp front end with too and this has opened up even more versatile and scrumptious crunchy tones.

yeah the Mammoth is horribly expensive; but IME nothing touches it for synthy gated fuzz and it is equally delicous with the gate and synthyness rolled off. Yeah, I know it doesn't like active....so shouldn't everyone have a P Bass somewhere in their arsenal, even a budget one or maybe a clone? I've got the Mastotron too and it is a great pedal for the money, very versatile and covers quite a good impression of a Mammoth too. I GAS for a Pickle Pie B and a silicon Assmaster, wouldn't mind a tasty Muff too. Would love to try The Goose as well, that sounds very synthy on demos and has some nice features. The only other dirt I use is a Catalinbread SFT and that is truly I great pedal too IMO. However, if i could only take one dirt pedal to a desert island, i wouldn't even blink before choosing the Mammoth. If you get one and learn how to get the most out of it, you'll find it really is worth the money. If it's too expensive new, look out for a used one on TB, they come up for a reasonable price from time to time. ; but if I couldn't only take one to a desert islan

mine just arrived last week too and what a tasty pedal the SFT is. As you say, it oes exactly what all the reviews said - tube bounce, subtle hair or full dirt, very EQable, a lot like an Ampeg fliptop or at higher gain settings like a big Ampeg valve head with loads of punch. I've even been using it for recording direct into board - didn't bother taking my Bassman amp/cab. It is nicer thru the Bassman; but sitting in a recording I really don't think anyone would know that I wasn't using a nice tube amp. this pedal is very much worth the money IMO

another and possibly cheaper solution that may give you more sound options is to get a Catalinbread SFT drive/od pedal. check out the Motown/p-bass/b15 vibe demo. this would be one way to carve those gritty warm tones out of a hi-fi modern sounding amp here's the link..... [url="http://www.catalinbread.com/SFT.html"]http://www.catalinbread.com/SFT.html[/url]

[quote name='krispn' post='811149' date='Apr 19 2010, 11:07 AM']The SFT is a great pedal. It will open up some new tonal options and add tube bounce, some hair or a decent lump of dirt as you require:-) I've had one but had to shift it again due to needing a passport renewed last minute. I'd defo get one again should the finances see fit.[/quote] thanks for the affirmation on the SFT just waiting for air transport to sort itself out now and hopefully a little discount through one of our BC brothers before ordering one up from other side of the pond. Sorry, Andyingram, I've run out of witty huntin' 'n' fishin puns!

I reckon it's best to keep them good ole boys on the friendly side! If there was even a possibility of talking FX pedals, I'm guessing that you're staying with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Still GASing for an SFT....pardon the pun, but I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on one in next few days.

in terms of useful/interesting effects to use while slapping........ A compressor is definitely useful and can help even out the dynamics and help your sound sit better in the mix. I use an envelope filter while slapping sometimes too; but i find i have to be careful not to make the pedal clip while slapping. I use a Groove Regulator, whihc has a switch to rein the filter in a lit to prevent clipping and volume spikes when putting peaky signals through it. However none of these effects are going to really change the amp's natural characteristics; in fact I don't think it's really possible to do that. I eould suggest researching amps a bit more though. As there are plenty of alternatives to Ashdown and in my humble opinion plenty of much better alternatives, possibly for even less money too. Selection of amp requires a lot of consideration and trying out in my opinion. My conclusion after nearly thirty years of playing and owning numerous different amps is that you cannot beat a simple honest valve head and one or more tight high quality 15" speaker cabs with maybe a horn or two. I use a Fender Bassman 135 and love it to bits. In terms of how you will sound through an amp, even the choice of cab/speaker combinations will make a huge difference to your sound, especially when slapping. If you're on a really tight budget a second hand Hartke 3500 (about 10 years old)would be a good amp to choose, it has a nice tube pre-amp as well as a solid state pre-amp, it has a built in compressor and a good EQ; personally I think it's a much better and more flexible amp than the Ashdown equivalent.

[quote name='andyjingram' post='808544' date='Apr 16 2010, 04:02 PM']Well, I'm off for a gun shooting-steak munching-'godammit' saying boys day out tomorrow! I'll ask one of the guys whether he's had any trouble getting any British gear. There was something quite frustrating about calling my parents to see if they had picked up my parcel within the six week postage period I had paid so much for, when I was now in a situation where I could have had it sent here for free in a couple of days, but then life seems to like those little curve balls! Anyhow, I think I said earlier on, much agreement on the the lack of availability in the UK. I thought that with more than the average days pay to spend on a pedal I'd have a luxury time trying the best, listening my hardest to get exactly what I wanted from some great options, and maybe not getting sneers from the shop assistant too! Instead, I found exactly one place I could try exactly one of the pedals I was interested in- and it was far enough away that my decision would have been biased by the 'Well, I've come this far already' factor. I understand the economic reasons for not stocking what are effectively specialty pedals, but my brain still has to close one of my eyes when it thinks that there doesn't seem to be [i]anywhere[/i] in the country with more than one 'mainstream boutique' pedal in the shop. I might even see that as a great business opening, if I weren't so busy being a loser muso! [/quote] I recognise those googlies and curve balls and I still don't have a neat cover drive to answer them with. So did it take six weeks for your SFT to arrive and was that from Tone Factor or somewhere else? Anyway hope the huntin', shootin' 'n' fishin' trip goes well.

[quote name='andyjingram' post='807899' date='Apr 16 2010, 12:38 AM']Well unfortunately I can't offer much on the SFT from experience, but the clips on their site and youtube are pretty useful. Along with the other pedals I mentioned earlier, I was also looking at the Way Huge Pork Loin to do a similar job, but couldn't find anywhere to try one out. That said, I bought an SFT without trying thanks to the endorsements enclosed in this thread, so there you go![/quote] reckon I'll be doing the same shortly and shelling out blind for an SFT. it's so frustrating not having many outlets in UK where you can actually try all this great US gear under one roof, or even just a few of them. but then I bet our cousins across the water are all saying the same about some great UK gear too.

very interesting thread this. I've been seriously looking at an SFT for more subtle crunch, drive and OD end of things to compliment the full-on fuzzed-up loonacy I use a Woolly Mammoth for. Like the OP, I just can't get excited about the Sansamp and VT stuff. I was up for a Pickle Pie B; but not sure it can do the subtle hair end of things and the dynamics like the SFT appears to. BTW I do want the full-on dirt end of the SFT too as this seems more controllable like a rapier than the sledgehammer distortion of the Woolly Mammoth. Seems like the SFT is the one to go for. Anyone got any more comments/thoughts fr me? So Tayste, you might be getting another PM from me soon...hope that's OK!

got a JM4 Deluxe a year ago (made in 2008) and it is frighteningly good. It's my go-to bass now over a 63 Precision, 79 Stingray and 89 G&L Asat