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Yes, they were recommended because of the "adjustable pole pieces to improve the string balance"

Im quite shocked at how much tone im missing. I had a play with the EQ last night and could get some of it back, but can't get rid of the slight phasing issue. The more top end I use, the more obvious it is. Not so much when playing along to music, but on its own its off putting. I only want it for headphone practice, would never use it with a band. I loved the Cab sim in the Nux NBP-5 so thought they would all be like this. I even loaded an IR I had in the Nux in to the MVave and it sounded completely different. Must admit I too gave up on the Helix Cab sims when I had mine, although again, that was just for headphone practice.

That was my thinking, although i tend to put a bit of brightly coloured tape on the receiver anyway.

Pimple Minds

We've not been as busy recently, feels like ages since I've posted! We were supposed to have a big slot at Northern Kin festival on Sunday but that festival, along with a load of others, went bust. We managed to put together a show a Billy Bootleggers in Nottingham instead. One support act, then our 30 minute "acoustic" set for Rebellion Festival next weekend, then our latest album in full, then another 10 songs. We arrived at 1:30. The sound engineer was outside, "no staff here until 2pm". Apparently this was known to our front man so god knows why he wanted to get there so early. He was desperately hungry and went to order some over priced pizzas while we waited. Then it turned out the staff had locked themselves out of the venue so we had to wait another half an hour for someone else. Finally load in at 2:30 in the world's smallest lift. I was soaked with sweat by the time I'd set my drums up. Boiling in there! Sound was fine and the venue was rammed by the time we went on. The acoustic set was fun, but I really was soaked by the end of that. Everyone else got a nice 5 minute break while I re-jigged the drums for the "proper" set. Our latest album has some very intense and difficult drumming on it, for which I can only blame myself, but after playing it all the way through, and then another 8 songs from our back catalogue, I was absolutely done. I could literally wring out my t-shirt. Anyway, absolutely wonderful gig in every way but I really, really wish I'd booked today off to sleep and hydrate.

Yes, interesting coincidence, although I do generally like things to be shiny, new and well looked after. Maybe they both spent their childhoods in bedrooms full of broken toys..? At least with these reliced basses, you're definitely not worried about scratching them! 🤣

“But it was about the intent of making music as a band, without that digital safety net. It’s a wonderful thing to have limitations in your creative process, because you have to decide, in the moment: ‘Is it played well enough? Do we move on? Do they play it again, or do we cut those pieces together?’ I just think working in analogue is such a beautiful way to make art. It is a romance, because it’s a physical medium. The joy of tape editing is that you’re making something, in the truest sense of the word.”

From those two choices I'd go for the Fender simply because it's easier to tell which is the transmitter and which is the receiver.

It's funny that two of the most well liked Fender signature basses are from rocks bassists from the 90s (or late 80s if you will) and are both roadworn/reliced. Might be nothing in those two coincidences but just crossed my mind there.

This was a long time ago, but then, my struggle when leaning the craft was not the pitched notes, but the rhythms (or the maths behind it). The book(s) were when the 'penny dropped' moment. So yes, hugely valuable.

Agreed. With the right set of strings, the Pure Vintage 64's are just about the richest sounding Fender single coils. The American Original has the same set. I couldn't get PV64's for silky999's prototype Daphne Blue Nitro Jazz, so I've ordered a set of the newer Pure Vintage 66's from the Am.Vintage II to go in that one.

Shall I pull out just one button of the battery and measure the current from the open contact and from what other point?

Alternatively intrigued to know why you need any additional pedals.

Which is essentially what most bass cabs are doing, and why I have given up on them for all my Helix Patches. Most of the time I can get a sound that is more suitable for the band mix just using EQ. The only cab sim I'm currently using is a guitar one that is part of a guitar combo model.

Take the other half of the battery from the contact, and measure the current from the open contact. Should be zero.

In the article, Mr Flea says that he "showed up, rocked out, and split". I must say that sounds terribly painful, and I hope the studio staff were able to administer suitable first aid until the paramedics arrived.

I would second @neepheid in terms of Artec's 'bang for the buck'. I can't think of any Artec product I've used or fitted that hasn't hit way above its weight and I've certainly used their lipstick pickups in my own guitars in the past.