The Most Versatile Bass

[Maude]

5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I've got the Helix floor, and it has what looks like a locking RJ45 socket labelled "Variax".

 

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

The helix will control the variax.

The new Shuriken Guitar has loads of demos and even a full album recorded by Twelve Foot Ninja.

Stev from that band has loads of helix and variax shuriken vids on YouTube. 

That's cool. I'd only assumed because our guitarist got an M13 and it doesn't have a Variax input that they'd moved on from it. 

I might have to look into it as I really do like the feel of my Variax, apart from the weight. 

[fretmeister]

9 minutes ago, Maude said:

 

That's cool. I'd only assumed because our guitarist got an M13 and it doesn't have a Variax input that they'd moved on from it. 

I might have to look into it as I really do like the feel of my Variax, apart from the weight. 

Here you go. In depth explanation.

 

There are 2 versions - a 25.5 scale and 27 scale for d-tuning fun

 

 

 

[LukeFRC]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

The helix will control the variax.

The new Shuriken Guitar has loads of demos and even a full album recorded by Twelve Foot Ninja.

Stevic from that band has loads of helix and variax shuriken vids on YouTube. 

Check that before buying one. From my understanding the control ability will work with the newer Variax but not the older generation of which the bass is part of

[Maude]

2 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

Check that before buying one. From my understanding the control ability will work with the newer Variax but not the older generation of which the bass is part of

I'll be doing plenty of research before reaching for my wallet, but thanks for the heads up. 

 

[NoirBass]

Yes, the Variax bass will work with the POD HD 500 and the Helix

[Maude]

I'll admit to being in the dark about the quality improvements in the Line6 family. 

I use an X3 Live at the moment and I'm happy to be honest as I don't use any of the wacky effects, just the amp and cab sims, and basic effects like chorus, reverb, overdrive, compression, etc.

I know the Helix gets named quite a bit on here but how does the level of improvement go from model to model? By that I mean is the HD 500 vastly better than the X3, and is the Helix vastly better than the HD 500. As I've said previously, I'm not interested in exact replications of named brands, just good quality effects. I know it's all subjective but is it worth me upgrading or just stick with the old X3, what's the general consensus? 

[Maude]

@barlemniscate there's a T40 ending on ebay later today, still only £340 which seems pretty good. 

[fretmeister]

7 minutes ago, Maude said:

I'll admit to being in the dark about the quality improvements in the Line6 family. 

I use an X3 Live at the moment and I'm happy to be honest as I don't use any of the wacky effects, just the amp and cab sims, and basic effects like chorus, reverb, overdrive, compression, etc.

I know the Helix gets named quite a bit on here but how does the level of improvement go from model to model? By that I mean is the HD 500 vastly better than the X3, and is the Helix vastly better than the HD 500. As I've said previously, I'm not interested in exact replications of named brands, just good quality effects. I know it's all subjective but is it worth me upgrading or just stick with the old X3, what's the general consensus? 

I've had Pod2, XT and XT Pro.

 

The amp models in particular are night and day with the Helix. But as per any sound you may still prefer your version. It's easy to get hung up about the accuracy of amp models rather than whether the sound is good. But the IR capabilities, multiple routing for even 4 parallel paths, Cab sims on the feed to the PA and no cabs on a feed to a power amp / real cab and USB to a DAW... all at the same time is amazing.

[Owen]

I am late to the party on this thread, but I used to think that I needeed one bass to rule them all. I had custom soapbar pickups wound each containing 1 J coil and half a P coil. They are placed very close together so eveything is kind of where it should be. I also got John East to do a tweaked version of a Uni Pre to make the magic possible.

I then learnt two things.

1. I like the sound two J pickups on full make more than a P pickup.
2. Live with a drummer and a noisy guitarist the difference is negligable.

YMMV

Edited May 14, 2020 by owen

[Kiwi]

On 12/05/2020 at 05:03, barlemniscate said:

So I'm looking for a way to make my main bass "do it all."

The three main systems I have found are

• Sims Bass Pickups 
• Roland Midi Pickup with Synth
• Peavey T40
• Line 6 Variax

I already made a thread on the Variax, but I figured I'd just do one big one.

So which one is the most versatile and which the most accurate?

I think the answer depends on what you mean by 'all'.  Every conceivable genre and style in every pick up combination?  And then there's the question of how much ballache you really want in your life as you grapple with complexity of the system you eventually choose.  And are you playing live or recording?  Are you wanting the system as a way to discover what you want or are you wanting it because other people have asked you for different bass sounds?  And none of the systems you have mentioned will be totally accurate.

I've been through the same process and fell back on a pair of humbuckers with parallel/single coil switching.  They did the job 80% of the time for what I needed live and the addition of a 3 band semi-parametric eq allowed some tweaking for the odd recording session. 

The Variax is probably the cheapest option if you are just wanting to discover things for yourself at home.  They can be picked up for silly money considering the tech that is inside them.  It's like a Kempler system but for instruments rather than amps.

You can also look at the Mooer GTR pedal as a cheaper (and less sophisticated) alternative to the Roland system if you can borrow the basses you want to sound like.
https://www.amazon.com/MOOER-Guitar-Tone-Capture-Pedal/dp/B07VQZQM7F

 

[therealting]

@owen What is that bass?

[Owen]

1 minute ago, therealting said:

@owen What is that bass?

Shuker Uberhorn.

[therealting]

3 minutes ago, owen said:

Shuker Uberhorn.

Love the shape! I discovered I am a P guy rather than a JJ guy in the past few years, and for me it does make a difference in the mix. 

[Owen]

48 minutes ago, therealting said:

Love the shape! I discovered I am a P guy rather than a JJ guy in the past few years, and for me it does make a difference in the mix. 

I also love the shape

 

[spectoremg]

It's all in the fingers, just make them more versatile 😁