Prime_BASS

I've gone from using one to not using one too many times too count. But now that I'm playinmg 80% with a pick it helps a thousand times better than with my fingers. Does exactly what everyone else said it does. The hard part is finding the right one for you. I don't think mine is out there, but the T-rex squeezer I'm using now is fantastic, it's not perfect (level knob seems obsolete in some settings) When you find the right one it's a keeper.

"warmth" can be substituted for a low mid 'hump' slightly boosting around 150-200hz will help. Also the STL900 is a pretty hifi amp so find away to get it low fi, lowpass the really high stuff, will help. Could try sticking a valve OD infront of it see if it helps. The EBS valve drive is quite good at the warm side of things. Not tried a TTE myself but if it's the usual markbass sound then with a tube pre then it has the similar sort of sound as a STL but I guess 'punchier' and warmer due to it's natural low mid hump. The LMTube 500 is a great bit of kit, very warm with the tube side and still so but cleaner i guess with the SS preamp. I wouldn't get the 800 watt version though personally, as the actual power output is not much more than the 500.

next step is a homemade case. Out of an old pair of leather boots and an umbrella. excellent job

This is why it's great to get out to places that already do the music you are aiming for, do some actual networking (not just liking random dudes on facebook) and get connected with the right people. Looking doesn't mean just sitting at home and searching here or bandmates.com or whatever(I don't know if thats an actual site). Go to gigs that have ska/soul/funk bands on talk to a few people(they'll be people there who arn't just regular audience but musicians aswell) Get to local rehearsal spaces and put quality ads up (not just scribble on A4), keep your ear to the ground. Personally, I would stick to my gun's. Find a drummer who wants to do the same and the rest usually fall in place. Remember there is a lot of crap out there before you find a gem.

The thing is when find the 'one' is that you may potentially be looking a long time, you have to try a lot of flack before you find one that feels special to you. I have two that I feel a special, one is very very special to me and it's upsetting that it has to have a new neck, which will potentially change it forever............... edit: by very special, I mean I wouldn't resell it for the current going rate

[quote name='Thor' timestamp='1333441101' post='1601602'] I can fully understand the need for Shep to choose the Gigrig set up - with his EPIC set-up it's needed. But for the average pedalboard I see no reason for anything else but a Diago - perhaps as Janmaat eluded to earlier in the thread - everyone says Diago - probably because they're the best all rounder and reasonably priced. I agree, their boards do seem expensive for what they are? I'd sooner stick with the Pedaltrain. [/quote] I would only suggest to anyone gigrig if they had the money and a similar setup to Shep. It's only fair to state the gigrig stuff as it isn't that expensive and has the ability to power everything out there, with ease (unless it's AC ofcourse) It should be noted that diago stuff isn't isolated(although there is an adapter) and the voodoo stuff is so if you wanted 5 isolated powers voodoo works out cheaper than the diago stuff. You have to decide what's best for you and your needs.

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1333437024' post='1601532'] Thanks for the helpful replys so far. I understand everyone says "diago", but I'd really like to know some more technical info like Prime Bass has pointed out. For example, seems that when you buy a Pedaltrain board, it has a slot only for the size of the Voodolab power supplies. Apart from that, there is the T-Rex Fuel Station, and there is the cheap copy of that, and then there are a gazillion more with very different prices. I guess there will be things like how firm the cables sit and so on. Can someone hint me out what justifies these huge price differences, and if they make any sense? [/quote] Honestly, no idea. Why is diesel at BP 1.49 where it is 1.32 and Sainsburies............ I highlighted the basic facts you need to know, the pedal train allows for any supplies to be attached, many people have velcro'd on top their units. Shep uses gigrig stuff which is the best 1 stop shop for power supply needs and is made very well. [url="http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html"]http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html[/url] Diago proves that the voodoo stuff is vastly overpriced what it is and does. 3000mA is a lot of pedals. At the same time diago actual pedal boards are expensive, compared to pedal trains. If you want an easy solution and only have standard 9v pedals to power then you are set to go with a powerstation.

Shep goes to some depth I think here. [url="http://www.sheponbass.co.uk/blog/"]http://www.sheponbass.co.uk/blog/[/url] Working out what you need is easy. Just add up the current draw from each pedal, usually in mA and can be found on the pedal in the manual on the web etc. Power Supplies like Headroom! So let's say your supply have a output of 1000mA you can be sure your pedals will be fine/not noisy when you are using up to say 50-60% of that current. any more and the supply becomes noisy and pedals start acting wierd. Some pedals are just noisy (Moog LPF for example) and some times this can be fixed by isolating it's power. Diago has a isolated adapter for their powerstation (it's £20 though) and gigrig's battery apaters act as isolators too (this is more expensive though) From the current list, I think you'll be fine with the diago powerstation. Just be aware of overlapping power leads and patch leads etc, a tidy pedal board is a quiet one.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1333349326' post='1600225'] Not enough signal into the power amp to work [/quote] You'll just find the master volume being closer to maximum to get a good SPL rather than for example half way round the knob to get a good SPL. You loose headroom, but thats why you get a power amp with lots of power on tap. Personally my rig is there for on stage monitoring and changing the EQ to suit the room, the bass is EQ'd in a isolated situation and compared to the DI sound using the John East inside, as 90% of the time I'm going to the FOH desk anyway. If you like the sound you are currently getting (weather it's set flat or not) then there is no point changing, unless you find it really isn't working for you.

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1333203807' post='1598704'] I've been messing around and I can cop pretty similar tones with either my MD-2 with GEB-7 boosted at 800hz, as well as an ODB-3 with the same EQ'ing. Obviously slightly different sounds, but both pretty close to that recording. No blended sounds. Of course that's just in my lounge at home, those tones will sound very different in a live setting. I'd put money on him using different gear to get that studio tone to what he uses live. Oh the other thing which is important, which I'm sure you're doing, is using a plectrum, makes sooooo much difference! Si [/quote] During that era his live sound is very consistent with the studio recordings, I tried to find the live video of that track but couldn't [url="http://youtu.be/hvk7MG6F1oU"]http://youtu.be/hvk7MG6F1oU[/url] Kami-uta, similar distortion sounds, I don't know whether its the cold I have or the vid or the live setting but there isn't that big low end. Still better live sound than what we get these days with a super boosted low mid sound, making it undistinct.

I buy the stuff second hand, love my LMTube really is fantastic head. People do use the markbass stuff, and generally the QC is amazing.

Played the Nottingham's best unsigned music venue, The Maze. Was for the Chaos Promotions Battle of the Bands event final. Despite victory being stolen from us! The band that was first on some how won by crowd vote when no one saw them play........... Our set went from amazing to spectacular the MAze floor was ramo, I sweated a bucket, and the actual gig went epically well. Despite having the lurgy.

No basses I have tried that are dirt cheap and sound great, apart from a westone thunder A1 I tried at a gig once. I brought a lemon yellow Epiphone Dot Studio that is just as good as any gibson I've tried. Finish isn't great but for a semi-acoustic guitar with a mahogony block through it it sounds pretty darn good. It's the only guitar to survive my cull when I realised how much better bass is.

Havent downgraded as such.. Just got great gear at a fantastic price. Personally, if you like the stuff you have and use it then keep it. If you get rid of it for what yiou suggest what happens if you don't like it......... I got rid of a LMTube becuase of silly reasons and it took me a while to realise I just need it's sound back in my life.

JE preamps are exqusite tools, I'd EQ with them direct to get a great core tone first then change the map to suit(depending on how you roll with gigs etc.) The Jazz in pink looks ace!! Just a shame about the 2 years wait though.

[quote name='Icarus_147' timestamp='1333167612' post='1598325'] Update! So it wasn't as good as I hoped. Frets were a bit sharp, but that could be dealt with. Sound was a bit dubious around the higher notes too. And it was far, far too light. Like, could have picked it up with one finger light. It was actually a weird sensation picking it up for the first time. That said, the sound wasn't awful, it did have a lot of bottom end, and now that I've seen it in the flesh I think it's even prettier. I'll just have to ask Fender Custom Shop nicely to make me one that isn't built out of polystyrene when I'm rich. I (sadly) won't be investing in this though. ): [/quote] Just because it's light??

Hope out there for anyone looking for an old flame.

I love the sound on Park and Limit, but the rest the vocals ruin the songs for me. 4 plugs is by far my favourite album, O.U.T is a massive song. I will definitly try and get up there to try a BC1!

IME it is just a bad tracking pedal. Best resualts with a super compressed sound and not going to near the bottom end of the spectrum, having the octave before it probably isnt helping it, if that loses where it is at all the SYB is not going to know who it is let alone what it should be doing.

Indeed, I am interested in how it sounds too. Without the cat fighting...

Wouldn't the soundblox dist pro work? I have the BEF pro and it has options where by the clean signal passes through unaffected, while you can EQ the effected signal. If this is possible with multiwave distortion, you could effectively cut any frequencies you don't want distorting by turning that frequency all the way to -12? I may be barking up the wrong tree.