Leaderboard

So I spotted this on Guitar Guitar second hand page. Looked nice and I have always missed a black and maple one I bought in new 2009 and foolishly sold. It arrived today and it`s a Z8 serial so 2008 - 2012. The thing is it`s like a brand new bass, not a mark on it anywhere, it still has the original film on the pickguard that looks kinda yucky to be honest, the case is mint and it has all the goodies inside which is very unusual. There is a tag in there from a different UK instrument shop price marked down from £1343 to £1103. I paid £1099 which is around the going rate but like I say it`s mint. I wonder what happened with it? Did it sit in the back of some store forgotten or did someone buy it and stick it under the bed? At the end of the day it`s just another P bass but I`m well happy with it. Anyway pics or it doesn`t exist!

Well after about 6 years amp-less just using a powered speaker and Helix Stomp/couple other DI pedals, i recently moved house, bigger detached no neighbours to worry about so decided to treat myself. After much deliberation decided to go for the Laney as it ticked all the boxes for features I wanted. It came down to The Ashdown studio stack or this. very very impressed, the Amp is not dead the King returns, straight out of the Box all set at 12 sounds amazing on both channels couple tweaks and got the sound i want. I was worried 500w would be too loud but getting great sounds at lower volumes with plenty to crank if i ever need it. Real amps are just so responsive (or at least this is) I had to pinch myself my playing (even after 3 weeks off on holidays) was just so Dynamic. Sounds and plays just like you think an amp should. Real amps vs Modellers could be a separate threat.

Just back from playing at the (mostly) annual Let’s Play Bowie tribute gig at Leicester’s International Arts Centre. My first gig of the new year, this time as part of a multi-band afternoon gig, playing bass on a six-song Bowie set (Ziggy Stardust, Starman, Moonage Daydream, Boys Keep Swinging, Andy Warhol and Queen Bitch). The gig was a sell-out and nicely full by the time we played just before 5pm. Lovely to play a gig where someone else is sorting out the sound (very good it was too) and I just turn up with a bass and a cable. Took my red/tort Squier Bitsa P bass project strung with GHS Precision flats. Provided bass rig was a Markbass LM2 into an Ampeg 2x12 (I think). I got to catch up with other local singers and musicians, one who had brought his genuine 1971 P bass for the gig, which was splendid. What a brilliant afternoon out and a lovely thing to be part of.

Guitar player friend messaged me on Xmas Day, said he'd got his hands on a mutual friend's bass 🙂 Seeing as our pal hung himself in 1999, I was both glad and surprised to hear a bit of his gear was still about. Was even more surprised when I was told it should be with me 😲 Got another message yesterday telling me to collect it 🙂 Old Japanese Gibson copy, think it may be a Sakai Mokko. @Bassassin care to give an opinion ? Neck is straight but it's missing a fret. No sound bar a loud hum, pickup selector switch is goosed, I see one failed solder joint in the cavity. Won't be doing any fault finding, it's easier to replace the electrics. Can't see the pickups failing but I've a replacement set in a drawer. Nice wee fixer up job but I'd rather my pal was still with us 🙁

Not last night, actually sunday. We had a gig at a pub in a local beauty spot (which considering I live in Yeovil, there aren't too many!), it was the day at the end of all the holidays. It was going to be a pain to get in. Turned up just after the singer so followed them in round a corner and parked by the building, as well as we could. Had to carry everything through a door that people were insisting of standing in the way of, but it was their party so couldn't be too annoyed at them. There was a tiny width of stage, and there were already a load of guitars there as apparently there was going to be a couple of people playing at our half time. We had to move the stuff as there wasn't enough room in general! Anyway, we started and people were dancing from the start and they moved all the tables out of the room which was good. Did the first hour or so ending with whole lotta love that we haven't done for a while. Then we had a break and a lot of food from the party, while the public event of what appeared to be people singing to a backing track with a guitar went on for half an hour. Not sure why there were two guitars and a bass though! Anyway we went back on and it went well, very interactive crowd, although towards the end of the night they started tailing off as the party had been going since much earlier, and the snow was making people think they should get going. Was much easier loading again though due to the lack of people and tables, but there was a fair bit of snow. This beauty spot is the top of the hill, I was going to go the normal way down the hill, but the drummer said I should go the other way, through the villages, which isn't steep because of the weather, I didn't think it was really necessary, but driving out of the car park after the singer, on a very gentle slope the car antilock hammered. The singer was going the other way so I followed, it was a very slow journey home considering how short it is, but got there! Heres my corner, nice and cosy. This was actually 8pm and completely dark but the camera decided to just lighten it up. Thats the road. Just before load in Just before we started.

Played the Bungalow in my home town of Paisley last night. Weather was a bit miserable and we weren`t sure how many tickets we had sold prior to the gig. With pre sales and on the door we sold it out so the venue and us were well happy. It`s a great small venue, drink isn`t too expensive and Kev the soundman is a cool guy who used to work in the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow, one song and the soundcheck was done. I used my Greco P bass prob for the last time live as I have a US P coming next week. The only downside to the gig is I had done my ligament in my knee and the rhythm guitarist had one of his many knee op`s on Xmas eve so I had to sit down at one point whilst he stayed standing for the whole gig, both our knees are bloomin sore today but we got the gig done.

Electrik Soup, at The Beehive, Brentford that London Saturday's gig. When we were offered it, we said about possible low attendance due to it being early January but they were up for it, and fortunately there was an audience. We brought a few people and the pub was full, without being packed. We were set up in a corner, but the pub extends around the bar, so we could hear applause from people not in front of us, who we couldn't see. Our 90s and 00s indie classics went down well, even though one of our guitarists was peely-wally. Fortunately adrenaline kicked in and he was glad he made it. The bar staff and Guvnors were all lovely, and we've been offered follow up gigs. Gear: Shuker 3 is at the menders having some DR Neons fitted (Xmas gift) so I used Camille (Shuker 1) -> Getaria wireless -> TC Electronics BH800 (DI out to PA) -> Orange isobaric 2x12. My opinion has changed about the BH800. I previously thought it only sounded good if using the tone prints, but it sounded great FOH on the recording even when I wasn't using FX. Footwear: Blues ASICS trainers.

First Gig of the year for our six piece, centre of Hull. we have a residency there- once a month ( residencies have changed over the years ! ) Our Dep drummer did great and was a great change having a drummer that actually speaks. My thoughts were that it was going to be a quiet night but seems most of the punters in the Town centre noticed we were on and a full house was experienced by the band. We all played great and after a good soundcheck sounded spot on. Some good comments on my Bass tone- first gig with my Origin Bassrig 15. Sounded epic with my fender Jazz Ultra 5 string. Should be a good gig this one, easy to load in and park, which after doing this for 40 plus years is a real positive!

Our first gig of the new year. We played with a dep drummer on New Year's Eve, as our own drummer had a long standing arrangement for a family party in Wales. I turned up a bit frazzled after having forgotten a couple of things and having to go back home for them. The parking was difficult. We had people shutting the rear door of the venue as we were loading in which didn't help and a couple of people were getting in our way. We were a bit loose in the first half. The second half was a lot better.

On Friday our Blues band opened for an excellent Eagles trib at The Ferry in Glasgow. Ultra busy so what could go wrong? I've been with them since 2015 and it's a really tight well rehearsed band. Anyway, I stepped up to sing the 2nd last song which I've sung dozens of times. Carnage! 1234 drums and instruments totally out of time as in different song out of time. Stop smile and start again. Same result. Eek. Third time I kept singing through the cacophany until we reached verse one and it finally gelled. No doubt we'll reset the song at our next rehearsal. Such disasters seldom happen but wow. If C@rlsb3rg did onstage disasters.

We packed the Conny at Thurmaston - standing room only, so happy with that. Plenty of dancing going on too. We even got complaints from staff who were on a night off, but had to help out because it was so busy 😂 I have pretty much settled on the Stingish bass as it's now just so comfortable to play, and I think I prefer a 2-band pre tbh. The Rumble v3 500 combo certainly isn't going anywhere. Even the black DMs are getting to be standard gig equipment. Just the one gig this weekend. I quite like a slower start to the year after all the December/Christmas/NYE rush just gone.

Remarkably, quite a few people made their way through the frozen snow to the Cannock Social Club to see us on Saturday (including us). And an hour or so before we went on, Jayler's guitarist[1] rang up our BL and asked if he could come along and play with us. He said yes, so we had a fairly full stage. All went well - James is an excellent guitarist and proved adept at picking up songs he'd never played before. Admittedly this is mainly 12-bar R&B but there are a few more awkward songs and he picked those up OK. We also had our regular interval singer Amelie along. Sei Jazz 5 -> M-Vave wireless -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Tecamp Puma 900 -> GR Bass AT212. Velcro fastening trainers replacing the usual Caravelles. [1] Young rock band, will be supporting Guns N Roses and Deep Purple this year

We played Bootleg Social Club in Blackpool on Saturday. It's a very cool venue. No other drummers so I could leave everything set up, which is always a big bonus for me. The two acoustic acts were ace! I was a bit worried 'cos I've not been playing at all. I am not gig fit! I warmed up for hours before but still ended up with cramp towards the end of the 20 song set! It was great to be back out gigging anyway. I'll do my best to take photos and keep up to date on here

Simple but with a lot of thought going into it. Peterson Strobostomp HD - Mojohand Cream Pie - Beta MK1 - Subdecay Noise Theory - Bright Onion Patchbay - Darkglass Element. This was basically my gigging rig until I got the Anagram, it’s just so blissfully simple, sounds great, easy to dial in, everything stacks. I have an effects loop where I can drop a filter or modulation after the noise theory and any other gain or octave pedals just slot in before the board. Gigrig Generator into a Cioks 4 gives me the ability to power the board with IEC or Usb C, also I can use the power out of the Peterson to power anything I add in the patchbay. Board is also tall enough that if I ever wanted to add something, the Element fits underneath. Very pleased with how this has turned out.

My gig on Thursday at a local social club saw Otis Jay Blues Band play to an audience of just 15! Storm Goretti didn’t really disrupt Bournemouth, but the combination of strong publicity and gusty wind kept people at home. Never mind, we have been rebooked for April. And we got some good practice… some photo ops too. So an ill wind didn’t spoil everything.

Great first gig of the year for me last night. New venue for us, The lion at Cas Vegas (Castleford), a well known music venue in these parts. Known as a bit of a rockers venue so booking a glam band was a bit of a punt, however it was banging with a full house and happy smiling punters. Booked back in October and already looking forward to it.

Here’s my new, much simplified board. The Origin Effects pedals are amazing, and with some more tweaking the HX One will give me all I need effects-wise. My trusty Rockboard power bank means no need for a mains PSU, but I have a connection tucked away if it’s ever needed. Patch leads were made up by me using high quality Van Damme cable and good quality jacks. Tuner>Cali 76>DCX>HX One>Amp The DCX is set to EQ mode, and really does just make things sound better. The footswitch bottom left is to move up or down through the HX One presets; I’m working on just using drive, octaver, chorus and an envelope filter.

First gig of the year last night. Bluesfire at the Bush. Couple of mates of the guitarist and the drummerxs brother in, plus several familiar faces. Free pint of Guinness. Had a 'bucket' of sweet potato fries 🤗 one day I'll get there early enough to sample their pizza. Experimented with a bit of mid boost, and I got positive comments on the tone. AVII, Orange Terror and AT212 slim. A good gig but I had the wrong inserts in my earplugs for the first set, so took them out after two songs. Used the right ones for set two. Made a few fluffs but nothing too bad. My technique has improved a little recently, made a few changes to what I play. Got a couple of compliments 😁 Back at 1pm 😴

Not mine, but if it's still unsold when I get my income tax check... This is a custom model based on the Jaguar bass. The body is made of ash, the fingerboard of rosewood, and the neck of maple. It features both a PB-type pickup and a Music Man-style. Controls include a master volume, pickup balancer, and tone knob, allowing seamless blending between the PB pickup and the Music Man pickup.

Hey all, I just managed to get hold of a bargain Vanderkley 410LNT (4ohms) to pair with my 210LNT (8 ohms), powered by my Glock Heart Rock II (putting out the full 1000 watts @ 2.67 ohms). Although it also sounded great when I had a 4 ohm 210LNT (now for sale here!) paired with the 8 ohm 210LNT, something bothered me about having unequal power going to the same cab types. This is has scratched that itch. Good Lord. It sounds huge. (Sorry, neighbours)

Hey Barabas (and all) thank you for being patient! For a few reasons we've experienced a lil delay in getting reviews out, but I can confirm that I have submitted my full review and my edited (and produced) video to the magazine! The review includes both the Monaco and Silverstone II so you can compare the two! I can see them both having their place in a wide range of situations and they easily deliver the sort of sound that I demand behind me.

Ok, Alex is building me another "quickly" and they are collecting this one. Alex has amended the website today to prevent this from happening again. So now when ordering the "old style logo" to match your existing cabs, there is now an option for "Cab Mirroring" which has the following description - "If you want this for a One10 to match an old One10, where the handle and side feet are on opposite sides to the current One10, this requires a custom cab build - please select this customisation if you want us to build a reversed One10 to match your old one." https://barefacedaudio.com/products/old-badge-block-style-not-script-style If this had been an option when I ordered, all of this could have been avoided. Still, I think their response is the right one now, and I'm going to get the cab I thought I'd ordered. Rob

I haven’t posted on this thread for a while now, mainly because my gigs are often residences and subsequently fairly similar, rinse and repeat jobs etc. Usually in a duo these days too, with the occasional dep here and there with other bands. I did just short of 100 gigs in 2025, ( so much for semi retiring etc.) so still doing a fair few. 2026 is looking around the same so far which is good. Anyway, couple of recent ones worth a mention. Scarborough Yacht Club was an interesting venue, located on a pier in the harbour and part of the lighthouse building. Needless to say a challenging get-in, where we nearly drove the van over an old bridge which wouldn’t have held the weight! (See pic 1 below) So we had to carry all our kit on foot, with heavy rainfall not helping. The gig went well, although a very boozy do with plenty of audience ‘interaction’. Been promised a return gig in the spring so think they liked it. Played a nice gig at a lovely hotel just outside York in December. It was a trio, headed by wonderful saxophonist / flautist and singer Jon Taylor. Jon has played in many bands over the years, and is a great character. First time I’ve played with him, and a thoroughly enjoyable gig, at a great venue. (Pic 2). We did our annual Christmas gig at Beverley’s ‘The Sun Inn’, where we get invited guests up to sing with us. As last year, we had some mega volunteers, including landlord Paul and also Dave Hemingway from ‘The Beautiful South’. Dave did a version of Bowie’s ‘Starman’ which was really good, and the pub was rammed with a ‘one in / one out’ policy to avoid overcrowding. (pic 3 shows the group shot). My go to rig for most of the gigs has been either a Fender Kingman electro acoustic, or a Squier Jaguar SS when I know it may get a bit loud and lairy. Then one of two Rumble V3 combos, either the 100 or 500. Shoes have varied but often black Chelsea boots.

Just wanted to introduce my bass in case there’s any interest! I bought it 14 years ago after searching for a USA made Lakland in the UK - unsuccessfully! I was on the verge of importing a new 4 94 from the USA when this popped up on eBay from a collector in Chicago. It’s a one off 4 94 made by Ed Reynolds from parts supplied by Dan Lakin. Ed was luthier consultant to the fledgling Lakland operation. It has a chambered body, pre-CBS Jazz pickup in neck position, Seymour Duncan MM in bridge position, nitro paint finish (lots of dings!) and fabulous neck. It’s been my go-to bass since I bought it and I love it, though very few bass players I meet in the UK seem to know much about USA Laklands, let alone a one-off like this!

I have one, and love it deeply. It is thumpy, particularly with my TI flats, but I use a high pass filter/splitter to get acceptable brightness... I also added a 'bridge' pickup to get tighter tones, and now it's a monster.

Definitely 2 of them... Since selling my 1994 Blue TRB6 as a poor mature jazz student to someone on this site in the mid-2000s (that subsequently sold it on a few times and unable to trace), I still massively regret it to this day. I bought it from Chappells in Milton Keynes as a 16 year old after working and saving for a long time. Every so often I look for it, but I've accepted it's likely locked away in it's case somewhere but hope it's being enjoyed by a young bass player somewhere. However after this one came up at Bass Bros I knew I had to try it. I've had many basses over the years but none have ever felt so natural to play. Maybe 10 years of formative learning on an instrument is ingrained in me. So this one was same year albeit different colour. Still, in immaculate condition. Think it was Cairobill's? Although it seems to be like buses...a Black 96 TRB6 also came available. Tbh I wish I could keep both but reality is after losing job last year (FU tech industry) I recently also had to shift my KS Burl Burner which in any other circumstance I'd still have. But man, I got 3 kids to feed... So going to play both for a bit and decide which one stays and which one goes... To this day I'm convinced there is no better value for money and sounding 6 string that these OG Japanese Yamaha's.

Ive got just the right suit to match if you wanted to borrow it 😁

I started up an 80s band some time ago. We are still "forming" finding the right songs and so forth but it's feeling good. So I wanted an 80s bass and having sold off three basses at the end of last year I was feeling good and came across an Ibanez Musician from 1980, fully original. Struck a deal and it was delivered yesterday by the owner and used last night at band practice. First impressions: chunkier neck than I'm used to but not unmanageable. Weight is ok and a decent strap. Lots of knobs! These are a bit excessive I think: vol vol tone, three way pup selector, active/ passive switch, bass, mid, treble... So for ease of use it's both pups on full then using the active to find the sound. I played through an Ampeg head and Trace cab with the EQ relatively flat. This bass cuts through the mix! Gorgeous consistency all over the neck in terms of tone and volume, lovely for high fills, really nice sound for finger pops that I can't seem to get with other basses. So far I'm chuffed. Terrible photo, but I've been too busy playing it to just admire it.

These are the bass related NAM captures I’ve found on Tone3000. I haven’t downloaded them all yet, and this is copied straight from my ‘Notes’ app in my phone because that’s what I do in my spare time 🤦 haha. The Avalon VT737 sounds really nice on a clean tone, just adds a bit of sheen and depth - really nice, but I thought it might be easier just to list them all here with the links as I had them saved anyway: @tayste_2000 Tone Pack (Punchline, Beta, Cranbourne et al): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/steven-taylor-tone-pack-41791 Ampeg B15-66: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b15-66-31103 Sushi Box Finally v3: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/sushi-box-finally-v3-41381 Ampeg B15-64: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b15-64-33702 Sadowskyw Preamp: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/sadowsky-sbp-2-bass-preamp-32439 DCX Bass 1: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-28027 DCX Bass 2: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-43362 GR Bass One 800: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/grbass-one-800-48257 GR Bass One 1400: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gr-bass-1400-5840 Genz Benz Streamliner 900: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/genz-benz-streamliner-900-47263 Audio Kitchen Fake Plastic Trees: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/audio-kitchen-fake-plastic-trees-2715 Full Rig - SVT/Pultec EQ/Cab: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/bass-full-rig-pultec-svt-4x12-cab-re20-mic-55 SVT/Pultec EQ/NO CAB: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/clean-pultec-svt-no-cab-30 SVT/Pultec EQ/Sansamp Drive/NO CAB: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/bass-chain-pultec-sanamp-ampeg-svt-no-cab-drive-59 GK RB800: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gallien-krueger-rb800-070-2694 Ampeg SVT-PRO4: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/aaf-ampeg-svt-4-pro-6629 SVT Hard Rock: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-hard-rock-28715 Various Power Amps: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/slammin-poweramp-mega-pack-5688 Ampeg B-18N: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b-18n-portaflex-fliptop-43868 Benson Preamp:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/benson-preamp-pedal-2078 Way Huge Pork & Pickle: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/way-huge-pork-pickle-bass-overdrive-fuzz-36541 JHS Colourbox: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jhs-colour-box-v2-anniversary-edition-37335 Jule Monique:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jule-amps-monique-31287 Trace Elliot GP7SM: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/trace-elliot-gp7sm-26545 Eden Glowplug: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/eden-glowplug-2025-47312 Ashdown CTM-100 DI: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ashdown-ctm-100-pre-eq-di-47287 Ashdown Triple Shot: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ashdown-triple-shot-30523 JPTR FX Jive: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jptrfx-jive-30514 Earthquaker Plumes:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/earthquaker-devices-plumes-40366 Earthquaker Plumes (Switch 3): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/earthquaker-devices-plumes-switch-3-pack-1853 Jam Pedals Rattler: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jampedals-rattler-base-mk2-49462 Ampeg SVT-CL (Cln/Lo/Med/Hi): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-cl-bass-head-45809 SVT Fuzz (Blend with clean): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/svt-fuzzedup-5509 Ampeg SVT-Pro6 (Cln w/mids): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-6-pro-di-clean-sound-with-tasty-mids-42667 SVT (Hard Rock/Pick Rock): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-hard-rock-28715 Ampeg SVT + 410 (Cln & Pushed): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-ampeg-4x10-47165 Tech21 VT Bass v.1: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/tech-21-vt-character-series-37097 GK MB Fusion 500: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gk-mb-fusion-500-di-mark-settings-42577 Kasleder Albatross Fuzz: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/kasleder-albatross-30490 Avalon VT737: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/avalon-vt737-for-bass-guitar-052-2056 Hope that saves a few of you some time, or gives you some ideas for downloads 👍

Given that’s the case and with you being in metal bands I’d be tempted to go BEAD. Loved my time playing in that tuning for a few years.

This was a fabulous day out and one of the many highlights was @Mike Brooks doing this interview with Chris Childs. It’s a very insightful chat and even if you’re not that familiar with Chris’ work and extensive resume, it’s fascinating and very funny in places. Very enjoyable watching.

I don't want to sound like a sychophant, but here, Basschat, is 'the place to shop'. Sometimes you may have to be a bit patient. I've bought some cracking gear, and recently bought a cab I've always wanted on here. I don't think there's anywhere more trustworthy and fairly priced.

Of course, the staff will think you’re likely to bump into something so will instantly give you their attention.

I am building a replica of the Audiovox 736 and have got it to the roughly to shape stage, whilst I test set up and get the pickup to fit properly. It is a through neck with side wings glued on in Sapele Mahogany with a side wheel type truss rod and an Indian Ebony fretboard with stainless steel frets. Machine heads are Hofner violin bass type and the unorthodox arrangement takes a bit of getting used to whilst tuning. The graphite nut is 38mm wide and the strings are only 13mm apart at the bridge like the original. This is wider than the Fender Bass 6 do not impossible to get used to. At the moment, the pickup is an Artec 30k mudbucker under the scratchplate which will eventually be fitted with a bar type polepiece through the scratchplate like the ones Paul Tutmarc used. Action at the 12th fret is 2mm at the moment and it plays very nicely although quietly with the big string/pickup spacing. I fitted a jack socket where the cable comes out on the original and fitted strap hangers, so there is no neck dive and with a right angle jack plug, the cable is no problem. Still needs final sanding and finishing with tung oil.

Needed a small light bass ( 23" scale) while recovering from an op and this seemed to tick all of the boxes. It's pink and a bit sparkly, has a roasted maple neck and comes with a nice gig bag and all for £200. I bought it from gig gear, the fit and finish were great and set up pretty spot on. I'm going to try a Tonerider Duke pickup in it but the stock one was fine for the price. Well done Ashdown.

Another update from me… Some tweaks to the setup of pre-amp, compression and drive. Signal chain Tuner>Comp>Pre… I then I have a signal split Pre-amp DI out>CabM+>FOH/IEM and Pre-amp 1/4”out>Genz4OTF>LDP>Box ofWar>Thumpinator>Amp Box Of War - this is a custom shop version with the mid switch which fills out the scoop / fattens up the low mids from the 0700 to 1100 position but isn’t much use to me personally dialling it above noon. I keep the mid-switch engaged and am enjoying the thick muff tones which grew up listening to in the 90’s grunge stuff. My guitarist doesn’t really use much dirt live (he’s a cowboy chords kinda player) so there’s scope for the bass to do the more driven sounds in songs like Zombie and 7 Nation Army. LDP- boost and drive. The drive is a pretty solid sounding unit with bass specific touches and does the low gain to a moderate gain sounds we can appreciate on the gig. I like it set to low ish gain for character. The DEEP switches are engaged on both sides and they add a pleasant bump without getting muddy (I’m guessing around 100hz). The Boost side comes after the drive and is really good on its own to put a touch of something on the basic overall bass sound. I have the Tone knob rolled back for taking some of the zing out of my jazz bass in tracks like Proud Mary. Winding it up over noon can liven pick playing and I use it a lot finding it can be a really satisfying always on and versatile tone enhancer I.e turning the tone down completely for a warm pillowy sound which isn’t as muffled as turning g the bass tone control fully off. I dig it and it’s a pretty cool looking black and gold unit which I prefer to the older more industrial look Rodenberg used previously. API TranzFormer Cmp Wonderful sounding unit from studio giants API. It has the API output transformer and is a VCA style comp which can often translate to a faster punchier style of compression. The unit definitely has a colour to it from the transformer and that was part of the appeal. I have another VCA style comp which is great maybe a bit more transparent but the API ‘colour’ is real nice! In front of the tube pre amp it is adding its own thing and lifts the whole pedalboard. There’s some preset switches for attack and release so if these aren’t enough control this may not be the unit for you but there’s no denying the pedal adds something by being switched on and imparting it’s own vibe. It’s actually really straightforward and looking forward to gigging with it tonight. The blend is nice as you can push things a little more and hear that comp working but dial back in the clean to keep things juicy. I'm usually a one in, one out type of person but glad I nabbed these when I did and like I say looking forward to this board over the coming months for the live shows.