New pre-amp pedal wanted for use with short scales

[Al Krow]

Nah - ok that's fair enough.

I guess I've just been very fortunate not to have had any bits of gear blow up over the past 7 years during a gig, which is colouring my view of life. But tbf, I've mostly had a simpler set up for much of that time i.e. bass-->amp & cab, job done! And 7 years is not nearly as long as the ancient Egyptian empire has been around for.

Btw - out of interest how many of your blow ups / kit failures have occurred in the past 10 years? I'm kinda hoping gear reliability and QC may have improved since the 80's.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Al Krow

[krispn]

I mentioned on another post that I had an amp die on a gig (well it was pre gig as it took a tumble in the van after the singer set it on top of something when loading in🙄) it wasn’t the age or condition but the unfortunate but entirely avoidable drop!
I’ve had aSWR power amp die years ago which put me off SWR ironically I’d be happy with older pre-Fender SWR but we develop these ‘quirks’ when we experience a failure first hand. 
I’d agree with AK it would be unlikely that a Stomp would die again and it would be terrible luck but having had to rely on back up gear I’d agree that an analogue type unit ‘plug and play’ just takes the worry out of another electronic failure is confidence inspiring. 
I guess the beauty of a bass/amp/cab set up with no effects is there’s less to go wrong on the gig. 

Edited October 7, 2020 by krispn

[Cuzzie]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

Why not? Yes, I'd be unlucky to have a second stomp fail, but it could happen, I hope that it doesn't but none of us can categorically state that they will never have any particular bit of their gear fail on them. I've been gigging regularly since '86 and have had 3 or 4 gear failures on gigs in that time. I've also seen PA cabs go over and pints spilled over pedal boards which have caused gear failures. It happens.

And if you're being paid to play a gig (Corona, yes, I know) then you should be prepared for all realistic eventualities, that's why I always carry spares of just about everything (cables, strings, fuses, strap, amp, bass etc), other than a cab, on a gig. It's no good having something blow up and then you just turn round, shrug your shoulders, pack up and go home.  You're unlikely to get rebooked if you do. If you're being paid you need to be able to get through the gig. Simple as. 

Sounds an entirely sensible approach To prepare for all eventualities 

[Al Krow]

On 07/10/2020 at 06:15, Osiris said:

The current favourite is the ISP Beta - the blue one, not the new Dave Ellefson signature model - for the twin semi parametric mids, but it doesn't look like you can get one new in the UK so I'm looking at possibility getting one from abroad, but that's a ball ache for returning it if it doesn't work out. 

And I'm still curious about the DG AO Ultra which some folks online say do an organic, low gain drive, but I appreciate that you say it's not so great for low gain, so the only way to decide is to try it for myself. 

The EBS Micobass 2 also looks interesting, it's got a couple of additional tricks up its sleeve that make it more flexible than it appears at first glance.

And the Plex. 

There's a DG AO Ultra on the fB BPM on for £250.

[dave_bass5]

Has anyone mentioned the Q/strip yet? 

[krispn]

Don’t think it’ll do the desired low gain drive/dirt 

[Osiris]

19 hours ago, Al Krow said:

There's a DG AO Ultra on the fB BPM on for £250.

Cheers, but I'm going off the idea of the AO now. 

[dave_bass5]

2 hours ago, krispn said:

Don’t think it’ll do the desired low gain drive/dirt 

Ah, i missed that. I will say though that you can open up certain freq’s and get a bit more growl/dirt, although its only revealing whats already there. I used to get a nice mild dirty tone from my P bass with the right settings. 

[Osiris]

10 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Ah, i missed that. I will say though that you can open up certain freq’s and get a bit more growl/dirt, although its only revealing whats already there. I used to get a nice mild dirty tone from my P bass with the right settings. 

I do like the look of the Q strip but would want to try one out before committing. Fortunately, there's no hurry to get something soon! 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Osiris said:

Cheers, but I'm going off the idea of the AO now. 

No worries. Btw - was a genuine question about when else you've experienced gear failure besides your Stomp, in particular anything else in the past decade since 2010?

As I mentioned, I'm kinda hoping that QC may be on the up compared to what it was a few decades back. 

[Thunderbird]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

No worries. Btw - was a genuine question about when else you've experienced gear failure besides your Stomp, in particular anything else in the past decade since 2010?

As I mentioned, I'm kinda hoping that QC may be on the up compared to what it was a few decades back. 

His gear never fails he's got a mate who looks after it lol

[krispn]

A quick poll of bc asking if anyone has had a bit of gear die in recent decades should cover it 😀

[3below]

Left field choice, Tech 21 Leeds pedal.  I like what I get with it and my Gibson SG, TI Flats and Barefaced Dubster.  No shortage of mids, bite, punch etc with what might seem a 'dark' setup.  The Leeds pedal really reminds me of the Hiwatts I owned in my youth.

[Al Krow]

24 minutes ago, 3below said:

Left field choice, Tech 21 Leeds pedal.  I like what I get with it and my Gibson SG, TI Flats and Barefaced Dubster.  No shortage of mids, bite, punch etc with what might seem a 'dark' setup.  The Leeds pedal really reminds me of the Hiwatts I owned in my youth.

Very well loved from what I can tell. Only issue: Tech 21 in their wisdom have discontinued and there a bit hen's teeth!

[Osiris]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

No worries. Btw - was a genuine question about when else you've experienced gear failure besides your Stomp, in particular anything else in the past decade since 2010?

As I mentioned, I'm kinda hoping that QC may be on the up compared to what it was a few decades back. 

Off the top of my head I've had the Stomp go down and an amp die when gigging over the last 10 years. 

As for QC improving, I'm not sure that I'd necessarily agree with that. Business these days is about making as much money as possible for as little outlay as possible, which is why so many things are made in the far east, corners are cut e.g. components are allegedly swapped out for cheaper alternative which has a knock on effect of reduced reliability. Things just aren't made to last, that way you go out and buy another one after a few years. It's how consumerism works. This probably explains, at least in part, my own failures plus the ones you've experienced e.g. the compressor pedal you returned for a refund, the broken USB port on your own stomp (though I still believe that this was damaged by the original owner). And of course, your Yamaha Nathan East, which was allowed to leave the factory with cheap gold hardware 😃

[Al Krow]

But it's not true across the board is it? British Leyland??

Dammit you're right about that bloody bass! How come you've not mentioned that before and more to the point how come I never noticed? It's going straight back to Wunjos. I'll just pretend I was the original purchaser...