thumbo

Fretboard markers are for other people to see what you're playing, side dots are for your reference. I'm all for basses without fretboard markers because it'll keep your guitarist on his toes when you take the lead in a song and he can't see what you're doing!

I know I say this every time the compressor threads come up- DBX 160A! Ahhhh that's better.

I'm a big fan of the massive tone of the AD200B but it's a shame they don't offer bassists more. A 1x15 all valve combo, or a slightly lower powered version of the AD200B with different voicing would be great.

I've used both the whammy and the Micro POG with bass. I found the Micro POG much more bass friendly because you have control over the volume level of octave up and octave down individually. The Whammy is quite a different beast though. You're probably best off having a go with them before you buy.

45-65-85-105 is generally the most popular gauge for standard tuning. This gauge won't feel too heavy and they'll sound nice and chunky. For drop C you'll need heavier than this if you want to retain punch in your sound, i agree with the other guys up there that are saying 55-110. I used to play my Jazz bass in CGCF, I tried out many different gauges and brands and finally settled on putting together odd sets. My gauge of choice for this tuning was a set of Rotosound 55-110 with the 110 changed for a 115. Having the 115 for the low C made the strings feel much more balanced across the board.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='213972' date='Jun 6 2008, 04:59 PM']Do you think he'd allow me to take my erbs?[/quote] What's a camping trip with out some good erb?

If there was ever a good time to get a great deal on a second hand Warwick, now is the time. Keep your eyes on ebay but try some out before you commit your money to it. I fully agree with the sentiment of Warwicks being like "marmite". If you get the chance to try out any older Warwicks you'll really notice the slimmer necks and slightly smaller frets, IMO these two aspects quite massively change the playability of the old ones against the new ones. My 98' Warwick Thumb plays much nicer than my 06' Streamer Stage 1 because it's really worn in and has the slimmer wenge neck. However the Streamer is *almost* my perfect gigging and recording bass because it sounds so good and it's light. My Thumb stays at home in my room on a stand and it gets played a lot but I doubt I'll ever play another gig with it. You'll find that the range of Warwick basses varies a lot within that signature "growly!" tone. It's important to try out as many as you can to get a good idea for what they offer and how all those different body shapes feel.

That looks awesome OBBM! What kind of qualities does that cab bring to AD? The AD is a monstrous sounding amp, I can imagine that rig breaking things!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='188781' date='Apr 30 2008, 01:12 PM']Is the EBS IQ a dynamic envelope follower? You should have that first if so IMHO Do you not have the DD20 in a loop because of the way the delay decays when you turn off a patch (I don't know if it does this)? I bet someone could design you a box to put it in a loop so it wont suck your tone until it's on, but when you switch the loop off you still get the decay at the end.[/quote] I think it depends on the effect you're after from these kind of pedals. The Bass IQ is very dynamic but if it's before my Deep Impact is makes it go nuts because i use the two together for big swooshing envelope effects (i have the envelope dial turned up to about 2 o'clock), I don't use them in a funky way at all [i]even though[/i] they are possibly two of the funkiest sounding effects out there! For shorter funky envelope tones I would probably have the IQ before the Deep Impact like you're suggesting. That's an interesting idea about having the DD20 in my effects loop. If it ever gets to the point where I can't stand the tarnishing of the DD20 I'll look into this. Thanks for the suggestion

Thanks for the reminder to change my bass' batteries. I completely forgot that both my Warwicks require a 9volt!!

The expected availability date for these to hit the UK is June according Strings & Things (one of the main UK distributors for MXR).

I use my Deep Impact synth going into my envelope filter with the envelope opening (or closing) really slowly for that massive drone/wall of sound... gotta be careful with those synth sounds though, otherwise it can sound like utter cheese!

[quote name='Muppet' post='196265' date='May 10 2008, 11:08 PM']Sure The trademark sound from the unit is much the same but there's a greater range in that the transition from clean to fully overdriven if that makes sense so fine tuning is much easier. essentially you can get more variations in a distored sound. Also with 18v it's much cleaner or clearer than on 9v and there're much more headroom available on both the regular and boosted channel. Don't get me wrong though, 9v is excellent, I'm not suggesting that the pedal underperforms with 9v, cos it doesn't.[/quote] Thanks for clarifying, I'll have to try out an 18v PSU with mine now!

[quote name='Muppet' post='196004' date='May 10 2008, 03:05 PM']Yes It'll work on 9v obviously and it's good at that voltage but the range gets much better with 18v. I'm afraid I do use the Diago power supply with an 18v adaptor.[/quote] Can you elaborate on this please- When you say range what do you mean? My Bassdrive has become an essential part of my rig, talk of this 18v powering excites me!

Bass Fulltone Bass Drive Akai Deep Impact EBS Bass IQ Envelope Filter - I put it here in my chain because it opens up the possibilities from the Deep Impact Boss DD20 - a bit of a tone sucker but I use a lot of the features very regularly DBX 160A compressor - in my effects loop on my amp, I strangely seem to get the best results from it being there

I use a MLP Pro bag, I can fit everything I need in it- [url="http://blogs.chron.com/whitehouse/archives/my%20little%20pony.jpg"]http://blogs.chron.com/whitehouse/archives...ttle%20pony.jpg[/url]

You'll really notice the difference of having that valve-pre at higher volumes. I've been using the MB TA503 for over a year and I've been very impressed with it's overall performance, it's been great in rehearsals, on stage and in the studio. That valve pre has made it just that bit more versatile for my bass playing needs.

I've not tried loads of compressors, but i've been using a DBX 160a for the past couple of years and I couldn't be happier with the way it sounds. I run it in my FX loop too, it seems to work really well in there with my markbass amp. There's a certain kind of nice tone that the 160a kicks out, even when it's not compressing.

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='132472' date='Feb 2 2008, 11:06 AM']EHX Blackfinger sounds awesome and I love the clips on the EHX website, but is very noisy from what I've heard.[/quote] I've owned an EHX Blackfinger in the past. It adds a nice warmth to your tone but it's quite subtle- you can't squish the hell out of your sound with it. If you're after a subtle, nice sounding compressor it's worth a try. I found it to be completely silent too, with no unwanted noise.