fretmeister

NEw vid

Head of Helix Eric Klein has said it will be $449.99 And that it will have Helix models "with few caveats" All will be revealed at 10am Pacific Time. From what I gather is that it will be Helix based, but that the signal path will be far simpler than the actual Helix. No midi, no XLR etc.

Not that I've seen... and it's a nightmare getting parts from EBMM too.

Expensive is just expensive. Eye-wateringly expensive is when the product doesn't seem to go with the price... so you are completely correct!

Quite. After a year there is always someone claiming they have the insider knowledge on a replacement and there's always someone who sells quick to be ready! If it sounds good today, it will still sound good tomorrow when the new one comes out.

I've got the MXR and I use it as an outboard bass preamp for basses I don't want to chop up. It's great for that. It is VERY VERY clean indeed. No character of it's own at all. I wouldn't use it the way you are looking for - would sound sterile to me. But that might be your thing? I'd be looking at a Tech21 or Darkglass for that - or the Helix Stomp. Helix is fantastic for bass.

I thought it was lower than expected. I thought they were going to pitch it at Fractal levels at £2000+, and they didn't. They've gone straight for the Kemper Profiler - their regular unit and the new floor unit are £1500 ish and the DG tech is 3 or 4 years newer. It's more than Helix, but Yamaha have huge economies of scale and the product is now mid life too, and Helix doesn't do profiling at all. I think it's well priced.

Could well be right. Might just have to put a fresh set on.

Stereo.. so the outputs can be bridged... (I'll get my coat).

If I like the song it stays forever. If I didn’t I might forget by the 2nd run through in a rehearsal.

It made me a bit concerned. At the beginning Doug said that the algorithms aren’t finished yet! That’s the reason for the”long” lead period. In software development 9 months is nothing. I hope I’m wrong but it feels like he’s launched a year early.

Live Q&A on now

Unfortunately it's not the right time for me to be spending money on toys so I couldn't join in. I would have loved to though - even if to just annoy the church of line 6 on facebook. Don't get me wrong, I love my Helix, but the reaction on the main facebook helix group has been quite pathetic from some users. It's not quite at Fractal levels of evangelism, but it's in danger of getting there. Nobbers.

An odd question.. If you use a set of strings for a couple of months, take them off the bass to work on the bass, then put them back on, would you expect them to suffer a bit more in the re-stringing process and sound older more quickly? I notice that sometimes when I do that the little dents in the strings from being fretted can end up on top, so each string gets more dents. I recently did this and (although I might be imagining it), the strings seem to be far deader than they were just before taking them off and putting them on again. Or is it just my ears?

Seem a bit expensive to me for what it is. I'm not a pit player though so I'm not the target audience.

https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/warwick-gnome-namm-2020/ XLR and USB on them. I've never had a Warwick amp, but these look interesting, and tiny. Most of my gas seems to be amp related these days!

It does feel a bit like a Kickstarter approach. I hope he manages to deliver the units on time.

This used to be mine, and it is 100% the best bass I have ever played, with a B that shames Dingwalls. If I didn’t have medical issues that meant I needed a super light bass I would have been buried with it. Good luck with the sale!

I see Sandberg have a new model - the Lionel. 30 inch scale P bass https://reverb.com/news/sandberg-guitars-releases-new-lionel-short-scale-bass-updates-existing-lines-namm-2020 I quite fancy trying that. Unlikely to be silly money either. I'm really hoping that at some point Musicman will do a lightweight Special update to the Sterling. The smaller body and the narrower nut would be perfect for me.

Ah - I'm on PC.

Horrible shape, stunningly beautiful colour.

Very sad news, but this did make me chuckle...

A used Kemper. Other than that, no.

Rumours are 1500 Euro. So a bit more than a Helix, but loads less than Fractal. I need to start selling stuff. Mind you I doubt it will reach the shops until September at the earliest.

Video