JimBobTTD

The drummer said this about the singer the other week. He sometimes, instead of coming in on the 1, will come in between the 3 and 4 before it.

I have, in the most diplomatic and pedagogical way, suggested that he [b][i]learn the damn[/i][/b] [i][b]songs[/b][/i] so that he sings the lyrics from memory...I think this will help him know the songs better. He is still reading the lyrics of sheets, even though we have been doing them for months. For some songs, he goes off memory but often gets them wrong.

I also suggested that he look at a clock, watch the seconds tick by, count along with it, then close his eyes for a while, opening them to see whether he is still right. This will, if nothing else, give him an idea of [i]time[/i] if not [i]timing[/i].

Any other tips? We have our first gig in three weeks. It will be the singer's first as a frontman (he has done open-mic gigs and busking before).

For those with a good memory, yes, this is the band I joined in January where I noted that everyone was very inexperienced. I decided to stick it out as it improved.

80s Thrash and Death metal.

Cliff Burton made me play bass.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1495358706' post='3303156']
[Robert Robinson] Ah, but how much are you willing to [i]pay [/i]for it, eh..? There's the rub..!' ([i]Taps side of nose knowingly, one eye half-closed[/i]...)[/Robert Robinson]
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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1495301460' post='3302859']
[b]Sweepstake on the sale price?[/b]

A '61 FenderP would probably sell for around £5k?

With proven provenance I reckon this would sell for around [b]£30K.[/b]
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Not £5k, not £30k either. How does £500 sound? Cheap at half the price, all these bananas - one pound, can't say fairer than that, I'm basically giving it away.

I don't play 4-strings, I am not obsessed with Jamerson or Mowtown, I have read on this thread that there is question over its providence...I still want it.

I can echo the comments about power supply...

I had one DHA pedal, a VT1-EQ-Bass-Drive that I bought off someone here. It sounded great as an overdrive and I used it to warm up my amp and, later, to give an OTT distortion when I did a few grindcore gigs. However, I was never fully happy with it as it was huge and needed its own power supply. The headphone out was noisy to the point of being unusable and, if I remember correctly, I had to have its volume on 0 or else it put a huge amount of noise in the signal. When the DI went noisy, I decided I had had enough and moved it on at a low price due to its defects. As a pedal in its own right, though, it was very good albeit a touch noisy. I would have kept it if not for the power needing to be 12v AC (if memory serves me well). I was not alone with the headphone out problem, although I could not find any other comments about the DI.

The paint job was never a problem with me. However, when combined with the headphone out not working and the DI going south, it made the whole package look amateur.

Switches on the sides look like repair jobs waiting to happen. Valves sticking out of holes look like poor planning (sorry, Dave, it is nothing personal) and I remember reading someone here in another thread complaining about them getting broken when moving the pedal about.

Hurrah! Glad you like it. It really is a great chorus.

I have mine on:
Bass: 3 o'clock
Treble: 3 o'clock
X-over on
Intensity: 10:30
Rate: 1 o'clock
Width: 9 o'clock

It gives a gentle chorus on the higher frequencies and really warms the signal.

Ignore me.

I have found a setting on my Darkglass Vintage Deluxe that works very well with the Blue Berry. They pair very well together.

It is:

BBBOD: Vol 11:30, Drive 10:00, Nature 10:00
DGVD: Blend 13:00, Level 11:00, Drive 15:00, Era at max, all EQ at 12:00

...which makes me think I should move on the Vintage Deluxe for a standard Vintage Microtubes (or perhaps a B3k). I don't use the DI on it, either, so I could free up £60 or so and a bit of space on my pedalboard.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1493905680' post='3291710']
Will you still be using flats and fretless for Ace of Spades then?

If you like the Blueberry flavour, one pedal that has a similar vibe but is way more agressive is the Aguilar Agro. A little light on the low end for some though, I wouldn't say it has low end loss but it can definitely sound thin if boosting the presence too much.

Other recommendations would be a Two Notes Le Bass, Tech21 VT or Oxford, or the Joyo Orange Juice which looks like a right little bargain.

I would recommend trying a fuzz too, my favourite has to be the FEA Photon. It can cover the whole spectrum from mild grit/OD to full on fuzz, has blend and EQ too.
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Thanks for the tips! Yes, still flats and fretless.

A little update:

I am still extraordinarily happy with the Bear Foot Blue Berry bass overdrive. I leave it on all the time. Volume set to 12 o'clock, Drive set to 11 o'clock and the Nature set to twelve o'clock. The Nature knob is a bit odd in that it seems not to do much for the first 80% and then makes the tone a bit mushy towards the last part.

I also picked up a Darkglass Vintage Deluxe for heavier distortion, as it was available and I was curious, but I am not overly sure it offers what I want. The Darkglass does low gain well but not as well as the BBBOD, I feel. The BBBOD into the Vintage Deluxe sounds good but not great, I feel. The Vintage Deluxe on its own sounds good, but the BBBOD has become an always-on for me.

Anyway, to summarise: the BBBOD is excellent in every way and it will be with me for a very long time if not forever, having made a place for itself in my sound. I would gladly accept any tips from anyone who has tried a second distortion pedal for heavier sounds (think Ace of Spades and upwards) that plays well with it.

I like mine.

It really adds warmth to my signal. I bought it for a little chorus on the higher registers (I'm not a massive fan of chorus, truth be told) and to warm up my signal and it does that job very well indeed. I highly recommend it. Built like a tank, too.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1490476471' post='3265459']
I hassled him mercilessly to build me a pre CBS 5 string jazz. He only has jigs and templates for 4 strings If he has jigs for left handed ones you are in luck but I have not seen any left handed ones.
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Oh Sweet Lord...I'll have one of them, too. But with blocks and binding on the neck, please. Sunburst...3TSB. Minimal to no relic work. If necessary, I could see myself purchasing a Warmoth neck to save him making a neck jig.

Er...I would like to point out that Amazon is not the only place that will have these.

Also, I paid a lot less than £80-odd for mine off Ebay.

I was after something like this a while back and bought a Stagg case. No rubber - I was scared of it affecting the nitro on some of my guitar necks - but it looks well nice. The downside is that it shows all the dust it collects. It holds six guitars and basses.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Guitars-Gear/Stagg-25011805-Universal-Electric-Acoustic/B000NZOCQK

The last three band rehearsals have been done using my trusty MXR M81 Bass Preamp pedal, DI to the PA. I use the same setup at home to headphones. It all sounds rather good, actually. Monitoring is a bit awkward, but this is due to the limitations of the room rather than my lack of amp.

I shall be looking at pedal compressors (yet again) as it seems that my amp - in a rack with a rack compressor - will be at home for the foreseeable.

I've done it a couple of times. I hated it the first time but I have become used to it a bit now and find it mostly ok. If you have good monitoring, it is no problem and no different from playing with an amp (someone else's amp, albeit) other than the sound is coming from in front of you rather than behind. Er...sort of...

I can't really hear much of a difference there. I would think that any difference would be inaudible as soon as other instruments kicked in.

Thanks for the vid!

OK. I have now received the Blueberry BOD from Bearfoot. I have had a quick fiddle with different levels and settings.

Fretless Jazz with flats > BBBOD > MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe > MXR Bass Preamp (using its DI) > Mixer > Headphones. On the BBBOD: Volume between 10 and 11 o'clock, Nature at 2 o'clock, Drive at 10 o'clock. Chorus and Preamp on the settings that were there before (there are five knobs and two buttons on the chorus and six knobs and two buttons on the preamp, so I'll skip the details).

Pretty much the sound in my head...exactly what I wanted. Unbelievable. A quick look at the videos earlier in the thread tells me that I have the volume a bit higher but the other settings the same as the one with the geezer at 25 seconds - the bit which Dannybuoy suggested might be a good sound. The sound is chunkier and "more", which is what I was after. There is a bit of hair on it, especially on the higher notes, but this is probably due to the chorus which, with the crossover, mainly affects the higher notes. I would think that the hair would disappear in the mix, leaving the glorious chunky bass bits intact.

My P-bass is in the office, so I cannot give it a go with that.

Initial impressions are that the Blue Berry BOD is amazing. [i][b]Believe the hype! [/b][/i]

I also pulled out my EMG-equipped, roundwounds, neck-through bass I used to use for metal. At the same settings, the sound is far more brutal than without. This pedal is magical. [i][b]Believe the hype! x 2 [/b][/i]

Thanks to all for tips, especially Dannybuoy. I hope that the research I did and all the YouTube clips come in handy for someone else later.

On a board on the floor, using a wireless from bass to effects...this would have one cable from pedalboard to amp.

Or have I misunderstood what you want to do?

Nice. I have considered changing my 6-string to F#, too, but not done anything about it at all....more toyed with the idea of toying with the idea of possibly considering changing to F# rather than actually considered it.

Let us know how you get on. The bass looks lush.

The Two Notes Le Bass was great for warming up your sound...and also for making it snarl and scream. I too am looking at warming up my sound and giving it just a little more bite.

Having said that, I sold mine just recently. The sound was excellent but I found the pedal too large and heavy and the power supply was an extra hassle. The pedal does a lot, but what I actually need can be found in a pedal a third of the size and would run off 9v.

This (kind of) happened to me the other week. I was going to learn Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". I was going to look for the tabs but decided I thought, after one listening, that it was in A. I picked up my bass and played along with it just like that. [b][i]Just like that[/i][/b], I tell you!

Truth be told, it is only six notes, but still...[i][b]just like that![/b][/i]

No probs. The thread is about low-gain pedals, but I would say that a low-gain channel on an amp falls under the same category. Besides, a discussion thread is a discussion thread!

I shall report in great depth about the Blueberry.

The MXR Distortion and Overdrive pedals have a sound to them that is not to my tastes. This is a shame, really, as they are a good size and are very well-built. They were the first ones I went to when looking, but there is something about the sound.

The Pigtronix...hmmm. Here is Rudy Sarzo demonstrating it https://youtu.be/DBAiyThPlP4 and another one with Dave Burnett, whose bass face looks like he has food poisoning https://youtu.be/RMEcY1hIF0c

Thank you, Vinny!

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1491157355' post='3270910']
OK, so not a pedal, but check out the drive channel on the Genzler Magellan 800 amp.
Like you, I've been searching for ages for the perfect low gain drive that sounds smooth without low end mush or a nasty fizzy top end. I'd tried some of the pedals on your shortlist but ended up with the Magellan instead

I ought to point out that I play fretted basses and round wound strings.

Someone mentioned the Tone Hammer earlier and that was the best of the pedals, in my opinion.
The Boss BB-1X bass driver sounds titanically crap on every YouTube clip that I saw but was surprisingly good in the flesh for low gain sounds.

However, the Genzler is totally very similar to the Tone Hammer but with an additional level of clarity, not brighter but somehow clearer and more refined. When you engage it, there is a subtle eq curve added in too that rolls off some of the high and low end and bumps the mids a touch. My guess is that this would work really well with a fretless. I'm hoping to post a more in depth review of the amp soon.
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Hmm...not my cup of tea in the Premier Guitar demo (https://youtu.be/YzkCtlcffw0) but other demos are out there.

For me, much like Japhet, it is not the basic tone of my amp that I dislike, it is just that I want a little extra. I found the GK 500MB Fusion to be a great amp for a warm clean, but I could not push it to a (what I felt to be) musical overdrive. Also, I use a different amp in rehearsals and I have not had the luxury of using my own amp at a gig for quite some time, going straight to the desk and using the house amp for a bit of monitoring. So I was after a good overdrive that would work with my amp (valves in the preamp), a fully solidstate amp and for DI.

Thanks for reminding me about the ToneHammer. I shall edit my post above with links to demos of it when I get a bit more time. The one with Norm Stockton was [i]incredibly[/i] brief but he produced a great sound.

For the record, I have found a Blueberry and ordered it. I was a bit unsure at first when listening to demos of it, but when it was at its best, it was better than anything else, I felt. More info when it gets here and gets used.