Underrated Bits Of Gear...

[Paul S]

Peavey Fury.  Made in USA 1988-90 (I think), Precision-a-like but with a really slim neck.  Stock pickups are pretty aggressive.  For some completely inexplicable reason they usually change hands for under £300, often a good deal less.

[kodiakblair]

6 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

but Behringer bought the rights to the name of a new start up company who had some great pedals but hadn't yet registered their name and then sued the original company for using their own name. That's not good.

Rickenbacker did the same to the replacement bezel boy . They didn't sue him ; just copied his product , used the name then told him to F.O.

[Doddy]

I generally think that the most underrated pieces of gear are things like gig bags, straps, cables, and DI boxes. They are often the things that a lot of players seem to have a "that'll do" attitude about, and don't want to spend much money on. But cables and DI boxes (not preamp/DI's) can have a huge effect on your tone, a good strap can make playing long sets much more comfortable, and if you're spending good money on a bass,why would you not invest in a high quality gig bag to go with it? 

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, Doddy said:

if you're spending good money on a bass,why would you not invest in a high quality gig bag to go with it? 

Because you only trust your precious to its OHSC.

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Because you only trust your precious to its OHSC.

 

Because OHSCs are a PITA?

Edited December 20, 2021 by neepheid

[Downunderwonder]

1 minute ago, neepheid said:

 

Because hard cases are a PITA?

That would be the answer to a different question.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

That would be the answer to a different question.

 

It would, I was going for four letter acronym humour. Oh well, can't win 'em all - especially since you managed to quote me before the edit which added that in, ergo making me look even more stupid. Clearly one of us hasn't had 4 whiskies and a pint of Guinness.

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

It would, I was going for four letter acronym humour. Oh well, can't win 'em all - especially since you managed to quote me before the edit which added that in, ergo making me look even more stupid. Clearly one of us hasn't had 4 whiskies and a pint of Guinness.

Should have stuck with whiskey. The pint has put you crook as the edited version is still the same answer to the same different question!

[Doddy]

7 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Because you only trust your precious to its OHSC.

Because a quality gig bag will actually offer more protection than a lot of cheap hard cases, especially those wooden rectangular ones. 

[Nail Soup]

I don’t hear these get mentioned much….. rechargeable power supply for pedal board. Great way to avoid another cable on stage and at rehearsal.

I use this one but  others available.

[Downunderwonder]

51 minutes ago, Doddy said:

Because a quality gig bag will actually offer more protection than a lot of cheap hard cases, especially those wooden rectangular ones. 

I'll stick to my OHSC as it suits.

[neepheid]

5 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Should have stuck with whiskey. The pint has put you crook as the edited version is still the same answer to the same different question!

 

I know.  The edit was adding the extra acronym - to clearly stunning humorous effect!

 

[Doddy]

21 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

I'll stick to my OHSC as it suits.

Cool. I'll stick to my gig bags.

[T-Bay]

On 18/12/2021 at 22:13, binky_bass said:

Behringer are a mixed bag for me... some of their gear is very much sub-par, even for the money - which is often much less than any competitor product. But sometimes, just sometimes they absolutely nail it and you can grab a seriously good bit of kit for pennies on the pound. Some of their mics fall into that category. 

I was going to mention their mics, We tested my cheap one against an SM57 and 58 and it was the match of either. My sound engineer buddy was very sceptical before and gobsmacked after. Doesn’t make me sound any better though 😂

[dmccombe7]

Gruvgear Duo strap . Comfiest strap i've ever had. Only down side was it only came in shorter length to suit players like Damien Erskine. The extra length strap wasn't available in UK at the time. It is now.

I was having neck and shoulder issues and this worked a treat sharing the load on both shoulders. Once my neck issue went i used it as a standard single strap but the length was too short so i made an extension from a leather belt trimmed to fit length i needed.

Been using it now for approx 5yrs and still so comfy no matter what bass i use.

Dave

[Steve Browning]

My Mike Hill mini ground loop eliminator. Simple bit of kit that makes sending your signal to two amps completely silent. Proved to be invaluable in a studio setting when a guitarist insisted on using two amps and the hum was deafening.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Steve Browning

[Thunderbird]

Might I throw a noise gate into the mix I recently started using a bass with single coil pickups and the hum was doing my head in so cheap noise gate and problem solved 

[King Tut]

On 19/12/2021 at 10:15, Maude said:

 

I drive a Ford era Jag so I really was jesting. 

 

And no that's not good practice by Behringer. 

Although I do really like their XM8500 microphones, our soundman prefers them to the Shure SM58 that they copied. 

I've got  couple of those mics that i've used for years either for my vocals or in a kick drum. Amazing mics for next to nothing.

[Roger2611]

I would like to offer up the Digitech Drop pedal, yes, sure it works better on guitar than on bass but for the few songs I need it for it saves a drop tuned bass on stage and another offstage in case of issues with the main bass!

[tauzero]

On 19/12/2021 at 01:04, Downunderwonder said:

Home made leads.

 

Soldering good enough for leads can be learned in a few minutes.

 

My soldering on one of the TRS to XLR leads between the Behringer X-Air mixer and one of the Behringer monitors wasn't quite good enough on Saturday. Still, the other monitor and the FOH was sufficient.

 

Antoniotsai basses - great stuff, although they seem to have pretty much disappeared now.

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

XLR

Recommended to get a good handle on TS TRS before launching into these buggers.

[EBS_freak]

2 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Recommended to get a good handle on TS TRS before launching into these buggers.

Soldering XLRs are one of the easiest connectors to solder... as as long as you have a jig.

 

EDIT: underrated bits of gear... introducing the soldering jig

Edited December 20, 2021 by EBS_freak

[Bunion]

Compressors, always a bone of contention. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Bunion

[ezbass]

7 minutes ago, Bunion said:

Compressors, always a bone of contention. 

[Bassfinger]

Wilkinson tuners.

 

Sure, they're not in Gotoh or Schaller territory, but theyre decent bits of kit in their own right, a good upgrade for the price of a pub lunch. They've replace the tuners on many a budget bass Ive owned and they've  never failed to make me happy.

 

 

Warman pickups.

 

He'll wind them pretty much however you want them, and still undercuts the likes of Entwistle or Wilkinson. 

 

 

Marvel locking strap nuts and cheap chinese copies.

 

A little less compact than the likes of Dunlop or Schaller, but very positive in operation and long lived.  Best of all, the cheap chinese knock offs appear identical (and may even be from the same factory for all I know) and work equally effectively.

 

 

Adagio Pro nickel flats.

 

Oft overlooked. Incredibly cheap, but punch well above their weight in tone and durability.  Slap them in upmarket packaging and people wouldn't blink at paying 50 nicker for them, but they sell for a mere 15 sovs.

 

 

All these things seem underrated, yet they all serve me very faithfully while undercutting their more expensive mainstream rivals. Happy shopper.