krysh

well, after I have tried the gr-55 extensively with bass and have decided that if you only use it, then you might use it, but then I'd miss my original basssound so much because mixing the sounds doesn't work properly most of the time because of latency - I decided to use it with my guitars. so for bass, usually I only use compressor, octaver, some kind of overdrive (tube and only sometimes) and an envelope filter. all the rest will stick on my guitar board....

usually I'm very picky with other people playing my gear. but if I know them well or like their attitude I like to listen how they sound with my stuff.

my humble opinion is that both compressors would be a great choice, alltough I'd prefer the diamond. though I ended up with the xotic sp which really does for me what you expect. front or end depends on the other pedals, so you should simply try what suits you best.

just came back from a small (semi-) acoustic gig (2x 1,25hours) at a small wine festival and enjoy a nice bottle of german "grauer burgunder" where I subbed for 27 italian/american songs from the 50s nd 60s. crowd was small, mostly drunk, but loved it, so did the promoter and we enjoyed it, too. my old eko fretless acoustic served me splendidly for this style. here I took a shot of the stage at soundcheck:

[quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1377367401' post='2186833'] ... ... [/quote] I like this. I probably wouldn't buy it, but I like this. congrats.

in the end it's always on the player. no technical gimmick will make someone be a better musician, but a good musician can use any gimmick to make even better music.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1377022847' post='2182377'] In the studio, you need a good sounding passive bass. ... [/quote] rubbish. you only need the suitable tone, sound, feel and timing within the right notes for the song and a strong signal without too much noise.

most of my[i] 5 [/i]basses and[i] 4 [/i]guitars are either a custom/franken built or modified. I always got the improved result I had in mind, in case of modifying my fretless pilot with a set of nordstrand it was even above my expectations. [i]mostly it was the pickups that I had changed (usually swappwed the original emg's for other pickups) but I also changed some tuners/electronics . [/i]so all are keepers for now and hopefully for a long time. but changing strings still is the most drastic mod every time.

thanks a lot, great comparison. liked the pensa and the 77jb best.

in the 30+ years of being an active musician unfortunately I have found out that the "typical" brands and models are nothing for my taste. neither the playability/ergonomics nor the sound did fit to what I had in my mind. so I ended up with some custom/rare/strange/unknown instruments and I love them, and the best is most people love the sounds I have to offer. for me a brand or age is meaningless if you can't express on them what you want to say with your fingers.

the DHA VT1 Bassoverdrive will do very well what you expect, only is is not very small and needs an own PSA (which all real tube pedals will need anyway). the aguilar tonehammer will work well, too, but also needs 18V or PSA or phantom power through the DI. the SFT is only an overdrive and doesn't work too well as a preamp. havent tried the dragon and the bb though.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1376676034' post='2177966'] On purely the photos and also knowing Sei's work, I'd say the Sei J5 is an awful LOT of bass for the money. He is right up there with the very best, IMO. [/quote] I can definitively confirm this.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1376558114' post='2175826'] No, I couldn't have got anything close to my Celinder for under a grand. [/quote] bad luck then. sorry mate.

[quote name='dudi8' timestamp='1376553284' post='2175725'] ... anyone tried a shuker jazz? [/quote] my bitsa only has a shuker custom neck modeled after a geddy lee neck but it is fantastic.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1374513727' post='2149587'] ...My singing is more castrato mate [/quote] you lucky bastard, at least you have some. I hate mine... edit:

punk.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1376518594' post='2175534'] I'm not sure "equally good" really means anything in the context of choosing a bass - it's an age old argument about what 'good' is. One person's stunning frankenbass is another's hideous monstrosity [/quote] I get your point, but in my case you won't get a better modern 4-string jb for even £2000. sometimes parts just match perfectly and play and sound as good as well. everybody who tried it only had words of praise: ...and of course you need a bit of luck. but with the right research and imagination you can make a perfect match for yourself, if you know what you want. there is no other 4-string jb I'd swap mine for, and I really tried some... [i]edit: and it was definately under a grand £[/i]

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1376517854' post='2175512'] Which you can't. [/quote] well, I was able to. so could you.

I simply wouldn't pay £2000 for a jb if I could get an equally good used/franken one for under a grand...

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1376517384' post='2175501'] I hear a certain bass dealer not a million miles from me has picked up the UK distribution and has a couple on order Didn't specifically ask if a Minnie would work over here but I've been offered a price on them direct from the US and I'm pretty sure they would be happy to sell them if they didn't work here. Pricing will match the cost of a personal import but with local support and backup over and beyond manufacturer warranty - plus, you can get to try them before purchasing [/quote] you luck[i]y[/i] b***vertizer.

just would love to try one to demystifie it....or to get gas...

marshall amps. don't like the design and didn't like 99% of those I tried, too. but there are some great ones out there - this is what I was told. fender basses and amps. I just don't want to have something almost everybody likes. must be something wrong with it.

subscribed, but I bel[i]iev[/i]e that the player has more impact on the sound than the brand.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1374683475' post='2151833'] Take this guy, Neil Jason. Plays a great groove, serves the song etc. Why no kudos? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAbmv70uvJ8[/media] [/quote] he's not playing a p-bass.

my two german handmade bass preamps. left velvet audio mikel allen signature preamp based on a 60ies studio eq with haufe transformers. on the right the 1st ever gp lightstone twister 2 channel tube preamp. I'm a very happy camper.