fretmeister

I love using a ton of it. Really squashed, massive sustain similar to using overdrive on a guitar amp. It's not a sound suitable for everything, but I do like it!

Isn’t there a different thread for ABM?

Well, I've had mine for 3 or 4 rehearsals worth now and each time I am more pleased with it. It's very powerful, very punchy and it really lets the sound of the different basses come through. The compressor is still a bit crap but it will do for when I can't be bothered to take a pedal and I don't need to swap between fingers / slap / pick. The drive at low levels is great - just to add a bit more harmonic information. I leave that on most of the time now. Very happy with it.

Mine's really quiet too.

Aguilar make some decade inspired ones. I had the 60s wind and it was ace. I don't like Quarter Pounders as a P pickup - they have too much bass and not enough mids. They are a great powerful pickup, but they don't sound like a P pickup. They have their own thing going on. If that suits - then that's great. But it's not a P sound.

Yup - you'll be fine. They are heavy compared to new class D amps but 10kg isn't a lot for a big iron amp. They are VERY clean sounding so if you want any type of grit or warmth you will need a pedal. In fact I'm not sure I've ever seen a pro rig using them that didn't have a pedal or 2 with it.

There's an amazingly upgraded Ibanez Mezzo medium scale in the classifieds.... 32 inch scale, nice slim neck, 8lb weight etc ahem.

Any EQ pedal.

Definitely this.

A set of Hipshot ultralites can be a half pound lighter than large plate tuners. Thats a big weight saving, and as all that weight is coming off at the end of the neck, the balance improvement is immense.

I love Ovnilab... Am I right...

I've had them both. Again, both very good. I think the Empress has a cleaner sound to it whereas to my ears the 76 added a bit of warmth. The Keeley Pro is up there too - lots of fine control. I'm tempted with another Empress now that the enclosure has been updated. The original one, being a wide box with side mounted jacks making it take up even more board room was quite annoying. If it hasn't had been very good I would have sent it straight back when I got it. The new slimline one has solved that.

I've changed machineheads on many basses, always to get the weight down. Swapping from large plate tuners to Hipshot ultralites can lower the weight by half a pound, and when that is right at the end of the neck the balance benefits are massive. I really don't understand why many makers keep using unnecessarily heavy tuners.

The drop in value of kit that I like doesn't bother me. If I've kept something for years then chances are I really enjoyed using it. The drop in value is just the cost of that enjoyment. And even when it drops or a new thing comes out - the item sounds the same today as it did before. I'd really like the try the QC - but I'm waiting until they do the firmware upgrade that will allow the Neural plugins to be run on it. Then I'll decide whether to spend the money.. which TBH is likely to clash with my kids being at university so I might not have any money anyway!

Class A/B power section. Mmmm.... hefty.... [/Getting my coat]

In the end I moved mine on - in fact all my compressors went when I got the Boss BC-1X. That's certainly a dark horse. It's multiband so there's a lot going on behind the scenes but I found it much easier to dial in and it suits my needs a lot better (I'm not a fan of using the words "best ever" type nonsense). The only downside about the Boss is the battery drain is horrific so it's really a power supply only option with a battery for a backup. It should definitely be mentioned in the same sweaty GASsy breath as the Cali76, Empress, Keeley Pro etc though. It's just a great compressor and a massive step up from the older Boss offerings.

The thing that makes me laugh the most is the "I took the £300 Aguilars out and put in a £300 set of Nordy's as an upgrade. So the price is £300 higher because of it" "Are you including the Aguilars?" "No" 🤡

I had one for quite a while. The magic is in the HPF control. That is very clever.

I'd get an Ibanez.

I have a tuner app on my phone. Seems easier than a noise generator on the same device.

Series 2 is a lot lighter. I'm just about in the East Mids near Towcester if that is any good to you? I have a TT4 superlight.