Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2021?

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, SimonEdward said:

Ok... it would be absolute sacrilege to choose a multi-effect over two excellent stand-alone pedals.. <sigh> but.. yes, the preloved 'mint' H9 is outstanding.

 

Surely it's horses for courses?

 

I have a VoxValvestate for guitar, simulating amps and effects, my brother mocks it but accepts it's a sensible choice for someone whose guitar playing has only ventured on stage once...

 

An all-in-one is a great way to keep a new player interested and active and exploring different types of effects, what works and when - they can always upgrade later.

[Paul S]

My worst purchase was a totally pointless passive DI pedal that I can't in all honesty see me ever using.  There is most likely nothing wrong with it and I am sure it would do it's job perfectly well.  I just don't have a use for it - got swept away on a tide of GAS after reading about it on here.  Will I ever learn?  Probably not  

 

My best purchase has been a mid-70s Antoria Precision bass that I bought on eBay for not a lot of money.  It transpires that someone at some stage had fitted a '75 Fender P pup into it, which kind of explains why it sounds so good.  One of those rare occasions where I have come out ahead of the game financially - the pup on it's own is probably worth as much as I paid for the whole thing.   Pictured below next to my trusty JV Squier, the Antoria is on the right.  The JV edges the tape in terms of tone and build quality, plus it is lighter and the neck is beautifully figured with a rich caramel patina.  However, the neck of the Antoria is very slightly narrower and very slightly deeper and feels more comfortable for my hand.  Both are cracking basses.  Toss of the coin which one I play these days.

 

 

[SimonEdward]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Surely it's horses for courses?

 

I have a VoxValvestate for guitar, simulating amps and effects, my brother mocks it but accepts it's a sensible choice for someone whose guitar playing has only ventured on stage once...

 

An all-in-one is a great way to keep a new player interested and active and exploring different types of effects, what works and when - they can always upgrade later.

 

I was answering a Rhetorical question. 😁

 

Yes - of course, it's horses for courses. No - the M O O D and Radical Delay are not "better" or "less better" than an H9 multi-effect. Apples and pears.

[Bassfinger]

My best - my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass.  Tried a few before settling on on that was the bears porridge, just right.

 

Not really had any bad gear purchases in 2021, although the Behringer tuner pedal is a bit underwhelming.

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

although the Behringer tuner pedal is a bit underwhelming.

 

How whelmed were you expecting to be by a tuner?

 

[BigRedX]

I've only made 6 gear-orientated purchases this year and only one of them (4 sets of Warwick Black Label Strings) were directly for the bass.

 

The two sets I have used so far are performing exactly as expected.

 

The best bit of non-bass musical equipment I have bought in 2021 is this plug-in version of the classic Simmons Drum kits. Having owned the original SDSV hardware I've been mightily impressed with the sounds and adjustments available and it is a distinct improvement over the handful of samples I made before I sold mine.

 

Everything else I have bought has been cases, stands and software updates/upgrades which have all done exactly the job I required of them and therefore I have no contenders for worst bass gear purchase this year.

Edited November 10, 2021 by BigRedX

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

My best - my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass.  Tried a few before settling on on that was the bears porridge, just right.

 

Not really had any bad gear purchases in 2021, although the Behringer tuner pedal is a bit underwhelming.

Love my Geddy Jazz. So nice to play. Currently using in a 70's punk band. Who would have figured that when i bought it 😂

Dave

[dmccombe7]

I recently bought a Fender Mexican 50's re-issue butterscotch with maple neck as i wanted a P for the punk band. It does what i expected but i preferred my Jazz in the punk band until during a rehearsal last week i used the P 2nd set and it just totally transformed the overall tone of the band. The more i play it the more i enjoy it. 

There's something nice about that deep warm P tone and then you fire the tone up full and you get an amazing sharp edge but retaining its depth. I was quite surprised how cutting a P bass can sound using fingerstyle. Very aggressive.

So the P bass is now growing on me more and more but i have to ask P or J or do i fork out for a Ric and get best of all worlds 😂

Dave 

[Stub Mandrel]

Well not sure how to rate the latest purchase. A 1/6 share in a pair of powered PA speakers. The seem pretty good, linear arrays on top of bass bins. Hopefully we will do more than the two gigs we have lined up.

 

Two bands  like chalk and cheese. One cautious, the other we were gigging after five rehearsals.

[Burns-bass]

Boss Waza Air has transformed practice for me, bringing the fun back to bass and guitar. It’s tied in first place with the 1971 Martin D35.

 

Worst purchase was one of those annoying and fiddly folding music stands that is useless.

[Al Krow]

On 06/11/2021 at 14:51, chris_b said:

You have jinxed me, yet again!!!

 

The "Must be better than what I already have" rule kicked in again yesterday, but this time it really was better than my current amp, so I have just arrived home with a new (to me) Bergantino Forte HP.

 

Am I bovvered. . . . ?

 I may have just acquired the other half of that once amazing rig that you began dismantling by plundering the amp from. So who is jinxing who now? 😁

[Rich]

On 10/11/2021 at 17:10, Woodinblack said:

 

How whelmed were you expecting to be by a tuner?

 

My only purchase this year was a tiny Swiff tuner and I am completely whelmed by it. Perfect for my needs.

[Al Krow]

25 minutes ago, Rich said:

My only purchase this year was a tiny Swiff tuner and I am completely whelmed by it. Perfect for my needs.

I find the 3 light tuner on B1-4 to be incredibly whelming! But that pedal was my best gear purchase of 2020, which trumped two basses and a Barefaced cab, so probably entirely inappropriate to be still going on (and on and on!) about it a year later... 😁

Edited November 11, 2021 by Al Krow

[Merton]

14 hours ago, Rich said:

My only purchase this year was a tiny Swiff tuner and I am completely whelmed by it. Perfect for my needs.

I have one now too. It’s great because it’s so small I’ve managed to add another pedal onto my board 🤓 More importantly the display is a nice big bold bright clear thing which my crappy eyesight can’t miss 😄

Edited November 12, 2021 by Merton

[Chris2112]

My best purchase is undoubtedly the 1993 Spector NS-5CR I picked up in October. That has been the only gear related purchase this year, I think. 

 

[Al Krow]

Super impressed with all you guys who have managed to limit your gear purchases to just a couple of items and, have instead, been managing to put what you already have to good use! I'm hoping that will be me one day soon, but certainly wasn't the case this year! 

 

I recently took a pic of my function bass rig and realised that most if it, apart from a couple of pedals and my Boss WL-20 wireless, were actually all 2021 purchases! If I allowed myself 'category' awards for things I've bought this year, then:

• best bass is the pictured Yamaha BB2005 (just pipping a lovely Elrick);
• best amp: Bugera Veyron 1001M;
• best cab: Bergantino 212 NXT; and
• best new pedal: Boss OC-5.

 

[Dan Dare]

G&L Kiloton Tribute. Bought on a whim and the only and therefore best and worst purchase of 2021. 

[krispn]

I tend to change my rig every 4 years or so as my gigging needs change and post lock down it’s been nice to make some adjustments to my gear and get a chance to hear them in rehearsal and gigs…

 

Fender Rumble 210 combo - bought this after doing a ‘back line provided’ gig which had one supplied and I was really impressed with the sound, not just how well it took my pedals but more importantly with the variety of sounds I could coax from the amp itself. It really is a cracking and very capable unit. If it came with a foot switch it’d be just about the perfect no nonsense gigging combo (I got mine used locally and it came with a cover so was pretty chuffed about that). Most of my gigs are iem these days but it’s still really nice to have some bass on stage as I know I enjoy it and the drummer always prefers it too so the Rumble is a great sounding way to get that on stage presence in a portable package without compromising on sound quality. Why more folks aren’t using this combo I’ll never know. I’d honestly consider getting the matching 210 ext cab but I’m unlikely to need it! 

 

Darkglass B3K - I’m not a DG fan boi but the updates to this pedal have made it way more useful IMO for my needs and I was specifically after something which would play nicely with synths. The addition of a mid button and the tone control and how it’s voiced make this quite a practical unit. I’ve joined an 80’s band and thankfully we all agree that powerful, supportive bass tone is better than me trying to sound like a synth. We already have keys in the band and this prompted me to try the B3K. From what I can tell after some early testing in the rehearsal room is that it’s a great choice for bolstering the low end, adding enough supportive mid range so as not to get lost when I switch it on but also controlled enough in the high end to be heard but not brash or harsh in any way. Rehearsal earlier this week was great as the guitarist wasn’t there so I was playing with a bit more gain than I normally do (to be fair it wasn’t really that ‘aggressive’ per se considering usual DG standards) and it was a great fit. Doing tracks like Material Girl which was probably a synth or bass/synth doubled the B3K got a nice approximation which just seemed to lock in and sit really well with the kick drum - this was all going via the rumble combo which having 210’s might just be a bit more of a punchy sound than I’m used to with my regular 212 cab. Looking forward to having the guitar back and hearing how we can make things work to fill out that mids range and both have our place along with the keys.

 

Spark booster (4 knob version) - total low gain dream pedal for me and one of the best voiced 2 band eq’s for bass too IMO and in conjunction with the MID setting it really pushes the low gain/low mids thing. For me this is a damn fine always on type pedal to allow the bass to sit right where you want it in the mix. I have A/B’d with the Rumble built in drive and both do the low gain always on sound really well. Had the Spark at the pub band gig and would switch between it and the built in drive on the Rumble - both worked a treat and did a similar thing but it their own way with either being a brilliant solution to getting that sound.

 

 

 

[Cuzzie]

18 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Super impressed with all you guys who have managed to limit your gear purchases to just a couple of items and, have instead, been managing to put what you already have to good use! I'm hoping that will be me one day soon, but certainly wasn't the case this year! 

 

I recently took a pic of my function bass rig and realised that most if it, apart from a couple of pedals and my Boss WL-20 wireless, were actually all 2021 purchases! If I allowed myself 'category' awards for things I've bought this year, then:

• best bass is the pictured Yamaha BB2005 (just pipping a lovely Elrick);
• best amp: Bugera Veyron 1001M;
• best cab: Bergantino 212 NXT; and
• best new pedal: Boss OC-5.

 

Tidy pedalboard and set up

 

What songs are you using the FI/sound modulators on and what settings?

is the VT pedal/drive always on and how does the zoom fit in/is it used?

Bugera wins for functions above the DG AO - how so -strengths of each?

Berg vs BF cab you have (BB2 I think) did the BF struggle in functions you are playing to outweigh its greater portability?

 

Would be good info for us all

[Cuzzie]

46 minutes ago, krispn said:

I tend to change my rig every 4 years or so as my gigging needs change and post lock down it’s been nice to make some adjustments to my gear and get a chance to hear them in rehearsal and gigs…

 

Fender Rumble 210 combo - bought this after doing a ‘back line provided’ gig which had one supplied and I was really impressed with the sound, not just how well it took my pedals but more importantly with the variety of sounds I could coax from the amp itself. It really is a cracking and very capable unit. If it came with a foot switch it’d be just about the perfect no nonsense gigging combo (I got mine used locally and it came with a cover so was pretty chuffed about that). Most of my gigs are iem these days but it’s still really nice to have some bass on stage as I know I enjoy it and the drummer always prefers it too so the Rumble is a great sounding way to get that on stage presence in a portable package without compromising on sound quality. Why more folks aren’t using this combo I’ll never know. I’d honestly consider getting the matching 210 ext cab but I’m unlikely to need it! 

 

Darkglass B3K - I’m not a DG fan boi but the updates to this pedal have made it way more useful IMO for my needs and I was specifically after something which would play nicely with synths. The addition of a mid button and the tone control and how it’s voiced make this quite a practical unit. I’ve joined an 80’s band and thankfully we all agree that powerful, supportive bass tone is better than me trying to sound like a synth. We already have keys in the band and this prompted me to try the B3K. From what I can tell after some early testing in the rehearsal room is that it’s a great choice for bolstering the low end, adding enough supportive mid range so as not to get lost when I switch it on but also controlled enough in the high end to be heard but not brash or harsh in any way. Rehearsal earlier this week was great as the guitarist wasn’t there so I was playing with a bit more gain than I normally do (to be fair it wasn’t really that ‘aggressive’ per se considering usual DG standards) and it was a great fit. Doing tracks like Material Girl which was probably a synth or bass/synth doubled the B3K got a nice approximation which just seemed to lock in and sit really well with the kick drum - this was all going via the rumble combo which having 210’s might just be a bit more of a punchy sound than I’m used to with my regular 212 cab. Looking forward to having the guitar back and hearing how we can make things work to fill out that mids range and both have our place along with the keys.

 

Spark booster (4 knob version) - total low gain dream pedal for me and one of the best voiced 2 band eq’s for bass too IMO and in conjunction with the MID setting it really pushes the low gain/low mids thing. For me this is a damn fine always on type pedal to allow the bass to sit right where you want it in the mix. I have A/B’d with the Rumble built in drive and both do the low gain always on sound really well. Had the Spark at the pub band gig and would switch between it and the built in drive on the Rumble - both worked a treat and did a similar thing but it their own way with either being a brilliant solution to getting that sound.

 

 

 

Nice work - B3k is way more versatile than DG drive - looks like you found a sweet spot as well as that little spark

 

Really good info on how you use your kit 👊🏾💪🏾🤘🏾

Edited November 14, 2021 by Cuzzie

[krispn]

41 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Nice work - B3k is way more versatile than DG drive - looks like you found a sweet spot as well as that little spark

 

Really good info on how you use your kit 👊🏾💪🏾🤘🏾

Well it’s only a best of/worst of thread but it’s sometimes good to get context. I’ve had a main pub band gig for ages but I like to have a second project on the go too.  Did a C&W band for a bit which was great fun but now it’s an 80’s thing and I get to try out a different sound.  It’s half the fun!

[Cuzzie]

4 minutes ago, krispn said:

Well it’s only a best of/worst of thread but it’s sometimes good to get context. I’ve had a main pub band gig for ages but I like to have a second project on the go too.  Did a C&W band for a bit which was great fun but now it’s an 80’s thing and I get to try out a different sound.  It’s half the fun!

Any room for actual synth as well as ‘pseudo’ synth?

[Linus27]

Best has been my Warwick Gnome Pro I which was originally bought as a backup amp but is so good that I'm using it all the time through my Barefaced Two10. Well, only used it for two gigs but it's been amazing so far.

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Linus27

[Linus27]

Bought a couple of cheap Behringer pedals, their chorus and Octave pedals. Both have been brilliant, especially the Octave pedal which I use all the time.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Linus27

[krispn]

5 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Any room for actual synth as well as ‘pseudo’ synth?

‘Yeah that’s the thing the keys player is basically I’ll not do any left hand parts so it’s all up to you what you wanna play. I have been using logic and a keyboard and working on all the songs where I might be able to play synth - as for actual bass synth I’m not against the idea and think it would be cool but I’m enjoying the phat bass sound I have just now. It’d be cool to have a SubPhatty or some Moog type sounds set up to switch on the fly but I’ll see how I get on with the mac. I have used Moog plug ins which sound great via my Apollo but then it’s more gear to schelp - a synth into my Basswitch when I can just A/B makes much more sense on a practical level but not a financial one - if we make any money and it become a decent gigging venture I’d invest but the set list would also need to justify it 🙂

Edited November 14, 2021 by krispn