velvetkevorkian

Was this the kind of Jackson Kelly style one?

Brand new and unused. Was given this to go in an old machine, never got round to it now I don't have any PCI slots. Collect in Glasgow or £5 postage.

If it happens more playing fingerstyle I'd imagine you're pushing the strings down into the frets rather than parallel to them. Try adjusting the angle your fingers hit the string at and see if that helps?

I suspect this is just a peril of positioning yourself at the bottom of the market (which Zoom did for a long time) -- when I had a Zoom 506 many years ago they were quite obviously what you got when you couldn't afford one of the Boss units. A lot of people will still internalise that heirarchy regardless of current quality.

I think this has come up before: (why does my brain file stuff like that away but not e.g. what chores I need to do tonight???)

On a real amp the effects loop will usually be after the preamp but before the power amp and cab. If your MFX doesn't go that granular, I'd guess after the amp block but before any cab sim would be technically the closest you can get, but it will depend on how much the power section is adding to the tone.

HZ/LZ makes me think Audere's High Z/Low Z maybe? This Pro Z config has volume/blend, 3 band EQ, two switches and an LED. edit: the bases of the switches and pots look physically very similar also

There was a Super 5 on Gumtree near me recently, didn't last long but maybe worth checking.

Yeah I use something similar (whatever the shop had in stock when I went in), I find it's better for my back position.

Does it make a noise if you tap on the pickup itself? If so it's microphonic and I've no idea what to do about that; if not, maybe try lowering the pickup a little, having the strings too close can cause strange ringing overtones (something about the magnetic fields interfering with each other, I think).

Nice job! Reminds me oddly of a Kubicki now for some reason.

Nice, how does the 4 string pickup work with 5? I had a bass with one of those Wilkinson kits, it's a pretty neat idea if you can manage the narrow spacing

Someone else mentioned this in this thread

Fierce Deity: https://fiercedeityband.bandcamp.com/album/pwc-directors-cut (stoner/power metal) (via my Bandcamp feed, probably)

It's probably not what I'd aim for, but if it plays well is it a problem?

Yes! It's like they're almost but not quite perfectly symmetrical or something

IME, yes...

Yeah I quite like using the studio tube preamp and studio tube compressor models for a clean sound.

Nice, I can stop window shopping for on-board pre-amps then

Quick demo of my passive Legend 6, playing the same groove three times -- both pickups, bridge only, neck only. Tone controls wide open throughout. An empty HX Stomp patch into an SSL2 interface, recorded in Reaper. Caveats: the output is pretty low, so I've had to crank the input gain - apologies for the background hiss. With a proper patch setup this isn't usually a problem. Also I think these strings could probably do with a change. Hopefully you get the idea. spector demo.mp3

I've had a few different loopers (Digitech DL8, Boss RC1, HX Stomp's 1 button looper) and the main issue I've found* is that overloading a single switch with multiple functions (press, double press, long press) was too much for my brain -- I'd be looking at units with at least two footswitches, so you can have a dedicated stop switch, at least. *aside from my lack of ability and willingness to practice 🙄

Not at the moment but I'll see if I can put something together.

I have a Legend 6 (I think) with Bartolini soapbars which was rewired from some kind of Tone Pump to passive VVTT by a previous owner -- it sounds pretty good to me with everything wide open, (although I'm not 100% sure it's totally correct: the tone controls don't do much and it buzzes when both volumes are at 0, for some reason). I have been thinking along similar lines to yourself, either a new preamp or get a new pre-wired VVTT loom, but there's no real need if I'm being honest, I rarely touch the controls on any of my basses and it works just fine as is.

I think you'll struggle to find much in your price range that has active pickups, rather than an active preamp. A Sadowsky Metro Express (the sub-£700 models) + some aftermarket active EMGs, maybe? If noise is your main concern why aren't passive humbuckers with an active preamp an option?