Ghost_Bass

Nice review. It looks like a great piece of equipment but for now i'm sticking to my Korg Pitchblack. Fills my needs at the moment. If i was searching for one now it would definetly be the TC.

You're right, i haven't noticed that... send them a e-mail, it's possible they could have a spare one somewere because they are a service center for Trace gear and probably have some used parts laying arround.
good luck

www.britishaudioservice.com

direct link:
[url="http://www.britishaudioservice.com/shop_trace_knobcap.shtml"]http://www.britishaudioservice.com/shop_trace_knobcap.shtml[/url]

You will pay more for the shipping than for the knob cap but it's the price for having a all-original gear

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='846305' date='May 24 2010, 10:25 AM']In all honesty, probably not. It's a brilliant pedal, very versatile and it's been awesome for me for the last year or so because I can store so many sounds in there, but you need to carefully work around its shortcomings sometimes (tracking can get difficult to manage) and to get the most out of it you really need to understand how to program it. If you're not much of a tweaker then leave it well alone! I think it would frustrate a lot of people.



The EHX BMS is best suited for doing old '70s synth bass (Moog, ARP) sounds, although it can do some other things well too. I call it my Stevie Wonder pedal.

The Octavius Squeezer... Can sound more raw and gnarly sounds thanks to the oscillator. When I'm using it for synth sounds (it's a great individual filter and fuzz too) I tend to shoot for G-Funk -style sounds, and thanks to ADSR on the amp and filter it can do percussive-style '80s synth bass sounds - think Madonna's "Borderline". It's only got one oscillator though so it would struggle to do that doubled-up keyboard part on Just Can't Get Enough.

I had a Korg G5 for a while too. Its sawtooth octave down voice is pretty decent and you don't get the tracking issues you get on pretty much every other "synth" pedal. I found it sounded a bit fluffy around the edges though - no doubt a result of modulating the input signal to produce the waveform rather than tracking and triggering.[/quote]

Thanks, very detailed description.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='846305' date='May 24 2010, 10:25 AM']TBH for that Depeche Mode intro (and I'm recommending this a bit blind because I've never tried one) the Markbass Super Synth might be your best bet. It's got three voices you can tune, and while you're limited to them all producing sawtooth voices I think it would get closest to that sound. And apparently the tracking is stellar. It seems to me like a beefed-up Korg G5 in a smaller box, well worth looking at.[/quote]

I've heard of the MB synth but haven't spend much time researching it because i thought the MBS was better... i'm going to have a good look to the MB to see if it's more suited to my needs, thanks for the idea.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='846305' date='May 24 2010, 10:25 AM']Don't even bother considering the Deep Impact they're selling for absolutely insane money to Muse fanboys these days.[/quote]
You're right on that one! It's an absurde the prices this things are selling on e-bay! Some reach $700 or more!!!
From what i've been reading on the web it isn't such a good pedal considering it's price, some say it has traching issues and sometimes it glitches and you have to turn it off and back on... but the sound it puts out are simply juicy

thanks for everything, i'm going to search some more and post back my findings

Thanks for the replys, very usefull
"thisnameistaken", would you think i be better of with a octavius squeezer? I've heard it on youtube and it sounded pretty good.
I'm not a big fx addict (still i have 6 pedals in my board and looking for 2 more, lol), just need one good synth sound. I'm a "set and forget" guy. The synth sound i was looking for is something like the keyboard synth sound on Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" intro. Do you think the octavious can be closer than the BMS?
Thanks

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='844167' date='May 21 2010, 02:01 PM']I think I started that rumour.

I meant it though - I was really disappointed with the XO model it doesn't have the same grunt as the old one, the controls are harder to use and it feels cheaply made. I sold it and bought another old 24v model and modded it for true bypass. [/quote]

Can you extend a bit more your thoughts betwen both these Synts, please? I'm thinking in buying a MBS in a near future but never herad the rumor that the old one is better. Thank you

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='843473' date='May 20 2010, 07:53 PM'](...)I believe that's what the 4/8 switch is for on the back. (...)[/quote]

If that's the case i would say to turn the switch to 4ohm for more safety to the cab, assuming that with a 8ohm load the amp (at 4ohms) will put out something like 275W at máx... If the full 500W are driven in a 8ohm load cab capable of handling only 300W the cab could get hurt if the volume is set too high...

In any case is possible to play with this setup but some atencion is required

[quote name='Mr Rabble' post='843861' date='May 21 2010, 09:46 AM']No, for two reasons
The thumbrest was repositioned over the E string years before 1979
There had never been a route for the thumbrest which is screwed directly into the body (just like the pickguard)[/quote]

But that body could be in stock from the time they put thumbrests below the strings...
Probably some series came out with the route, to me the thumbrest theory seems the most likely but i don't know enough Fender history to testify any of my words

That route is to acomodate the screws of a thumbrest, in my opinion. Probably back then the thumbrests screwed to the pickguard and not to the body or had some kind of reinforcement plaque under the pickguard. Don't realy know, just trying to guess what it is but it seems in the right place

I could be interessed on the head if you're willing to ship it. PM me for a price.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='840492' date='May 18 2010, 08:16 AM']Mar 1999 Introduction of 12-band series (GP12X preamp)[/quote]

And what a hell of a amp it is! My 1215 GP12X (1999) combo was found lost in the back room of a music store in 2007, costed 1400€, about £1200 ! Never been giged, just demoed a few times. It sounds gigantic, only shame is it's wieght...
My GP7-SM combo (2x10+H) is from 1996 (if not mistaken).
I've made a AB between my heads, connected to equal speakers, side by side: the GP7-SM has a nice bright sound but the GP12-X has more punch and low-end. The comparison was made with the amps set flat and with the shape turned off. Both are 300W@4ohm.

Great chronology, i've been curious for it for a long time but never found nothing on the web. Thanks dlloyd

Don't realy apreciate the shape of it but for a bass with my age it's amazingly well preserved (perhaps even more tham me, lol) and has top components! I guess it would sound huge! Congratulations

If you don't want to get too far apart from Trace sound try a ashdown ABM 210T. If you want more punch you could go for a ABM 410T but keep in mind they are both 8ohm. The best would be to couple one of them with a ABM 115.

I'm sorry if this question has already come up but has anybody successfully modded a behringer VT911 to suit a bass? I've searched the web but only found mods for improving the pedal sound for guitar.
I have a Markbass Distorsore and love the sound of it but is way to big to fit in my board. I would like something smaller to give just a valve drive ( the key word is drive, not distorsion or fuzz, just a bit of bite in the signal) in the high freqs but maintaining my bottom end. I think a mod to make the VT911 able to act on the low freqs of bass plus a blend knob for fx/clean would be sufficient. Oh, and a new valve as well (i have a EHX 12XA7 at home). I have a few skills for soldering and have a very basic knowledge of electronics but not even close to define what kind of caps or resistances to apply here or there on the circuit. I'm willing to take the plunge and buy one to become a guinea pig for this experience.
Some help would be very appreciated.
Cheers

I have a MB Distorsore but haven't much time to play with it. I've searched lots of valve drive pedal before deciding to go for the MB. First impression is that is a awsome pedal. A little too big though. The high and low pass filters sculpt your tone very nicely. You can get anything from a cool soft drive to huge amounts of fuzz. I recomend it if you have a big empty space on your pedalboard. One problem is that it is 12v powered.
I'm curious in trying out the Behringer VT911 and see if i can mod it to suit the bass. In a near future i'll open a topic for that.
Cheers

[quote name='keeponehandloose' post='837350' date='May 14 2010, 04:20 PM']True,but its what I use and its never been a problem.You can switch past the ones you dont want before you even hear them[/quote]

Good point

[quote name='crez5150' post='837043' date='May 14 2010, 11:55 AM']Indeed... I have just been offered £450 for my spare one that's basically new... very tempting....[/quote]

You have two?!!

(insert envious insult here)

[quote name='keeponehandloose' post='837071' date='May 14 2010, 12:31 PM'](...)
Each press of the pedal scrolls through and mutes the other 2.[/quote]

That's not realy a good thing cause you may have to go by one of the basses to switch to the one you want and if it is on and you didn' cut it's volume it can make noise!

[quote name='bartelby' post='836572' date='May 13 2010, 08:27 PM']I'm surprised by how little I miss mine. But selling it meant I could get the Steve Harris Precision, so it was a decent trade off.[/quote]

I would love to get my hands on one of them but the obscene prices they reach make me go for a microsynth and use the extra cash for something else... like a new amp!

[quote name='pete.young' post='837004' date='May 14 2010, 11:20 AM']One reason is that they don't all have 6mm jacks. It's a good point about the leads though.[/quote]

Oh, that's a problem... even using a adaptor the baterry issue woudn't be fixed... i'm guessing the other plug is a XLR (probably a acoustic bass), you could have a XLR to 6mm (female) Jack adaptor but isn't very practical unless you would leave it connected to that bass.

Why don't you just simply mute your signal (with a tuner pedal for example) and use the same cable for all your 3 bases? Just need to unplug the bass, lay it down on the stand, pick another up and connect the jack!
I used to play with 2 bases, a electric and a acoustic bass and used a Boss AB-2 to switch betwen both but the trouble you get from keeping the cables from wrapping arround themselves or even your legs simply isn't worth the trouble... and you save more battery having them disconnected (if active).

As for your use of the looper i guess you'll have no problem with it. Go either way

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='834746' date='May 11 2010, 09:54 PM']now this is interesting, you seem to like the compressor at the end of the signal. ..

i like it at the start, but maybe the compression at the end is another requirement..how did you find that option better ? please give me your knowledge ..[/quote]

I want my dynamics coming out wile playing and use them to affect the sound and tracking of my pedals resulting in different effects with the same settings (i.e. the 3leaf, the drive or a synth). I use a compressor in the end to level out some occasional peaks (mostly pops wile slapping). Even with a compressor i want to keep my dynamics and if i want to play lightly in the strings or give it a good smack i don't want it to raise or lower my volume becoming it dull and constant and boring!! I hate that kind of compressors!!!
You probably would say a limiter is more suitable for me but when it attacks a peak it simply cuts the sound at some point of the peak... A compressor decays that peak resulting in a more pleasant sound with a more continuous flow. The best pedal i've come across for that is the EBS but i have some curiosity with the Aguilar TLC.

Hope you can understand my idea, my english isn't very good

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='832145' date='May 9 2010, 01:09 PM']i love the look and sound of these basses

However, something really bothers me about them! and all Musicman basses!

The string spacing and pickup pole pieces never, ever match up! it just does my head in! i mean how much money/time goes into the design process? my guess is rather a lot! but they still cant get that simple issue sorted out!

The picture above really shows how bad it is, i personally like a little more attention to the design of a bass and its pickups, we could be heading for another Musicman weak G string issue here!

Rant over [/quote]

My SR5 has all it's strings nicely aligned with the poles...

That Big All is a great bass. will wait for a review

+1 on the 8ohm load here! I have a 1x15" combo and a 2x10" combo. both have 8ohm internal speakers. i agree with getting a 4x10" TE cab from the same era but the weight of that rig will become obscene!

That's exactly what i'm trying to get in my pedalboard:

Tuner (korg pitchblack) -> Octave (MXR) -> Valve DRIVE (MB Distorsore but still searching) -> Fuzz (pickle pie B ) -> Auto-wah (3leaf audio) -> Fuzz in the 3leaf internal loop (EHX BBM) -> Synth (EHX Bass Microsynth or Akai Deep Impact if i could score one ) -> Compressor (EBS)

Just missing the pickle pie and the microsynth!