Alfie

That's a work of art

Some of my homemade collection. Valvecaster, Woolly Mammoth, mini booster, tube screamer, LPB1 and super hard on

I play the bass with my feet, it keeps my hands free for knob-tweaking.

Not a pedalboard, I've gone down the pedal shelf route

I have a GEB-7 and an LS-2 for use with dirt pedals. My experience is that I tend to use the LS-2 more because in live setting the issue is rarely bass loss alone, it's more about bass punch and a concurrent clean signal provides that better than a boosted dirt noise. I also prefer the action of engaging a Boss in a gig, rather than a 3PDT, it's more idiot proof. I also have modded pedals (DS-1, ODB-3, OD-3), the fun with these is mostly in the process of modding. The standard DS-1 mod I would still run through a LS2, however the diode lift is a completely different beast, it's an awesome sound (not a DS-1 sound) and so works well as a standalone pedal. Horses for courses etc. Using a guitar pedal and LS-2 is great, but it is more about adding a distorted flavour to the higher frequencies of your tone, a modded pedal is more transformative to the overall tone, it depends on what you want.

Many years ago I bought a DS-1 from a maker called Penny Pedals, this is the mod I think: C1 - .1uF C2 - 1.0 uF non-polar metal film (NP MF) C3 - 1.0 uF NP MF C4 - .022uF C5 - .1 uF C7 - .00022uF (22pF) ceramic disc C8 - 1.0 uF NP MF C9 - 1.0 uF NP MF C11 - .1 uF C12 - .1 uF (no need to change really, same value higher quality cap) C13 - .1 uF C14 - 1.0 uF NP MF (again, just a quality upgrade sounds the same here) Wire in a switch to lift the clipping diodes (D4 & D5) out of the circuit. The modded values give generally better bass response and the diode lift completely transforms the sound of the pedal, giving a lot of gain and bass. As a recommendation, I have bought and sold many many many pedals in the years since, but this one has never left my board.

Lots of companies won't refund delivery costs unless the item is faulty. I imagine this gets abused by unscrupulous consumers trying it on. I think the company are being perfectly reasonable.

Do they have silk at the ends?

Does anyone here gig in Bristol? I am in an Oxford band, but the music scene in Oxford has dropped off a cliff in the last 10 years so we need to branch out. I am looking for tips on good venues/promoters. Does anyone need a little support act? We are alternate rock apparently, whatever the fulk that means.

I've had good experiences with Peach. In fact I wouldn't buy from a shop that allowed walk ins. A bass that has been played by umpteen people is not a new instrument, it is a demonstrator/ex display/used, and should be priced accordingly. If I am going to pay new price, I want a new instrument.

Thanks Bill. Would a 100W tube amp running at 2ohm into three SVT210AVs be a sensible idea?

Would two Ampeg SVT210AVs be comparable in volume and bass as one Barefaced Two10 when paired with a Fender Bassman 100t? I owuld love a Two10, but the recent hefty price rise has put it further out of reach and the one I thought I had bought from here was suddenly withdrawn, so looking for an affordable alternative.

Thanks to the helpful advice here I realized I was being pathetic. I worked some charm and reconciled my warring band mates, we now have three gigs on the horizon. I also started a band with some colleagues and an in talks with a couple of other projects. To expand my musical horizons I have decided to learn Motown styles.

I gigged a lot in my 20s, then family happened. The lost years. I reckon I went months, maybe years not touching a bass except to move it the get to something else. Encouraged by the pupils I teach, who had unearthed one of my old bands, I restarted in my late 30s with a talented originals band, just done our first recording and have some promising gigs lined up, but everything has just imploded because of an argument over an album cover, the band is apparantly dead. I'm 40, probably too old to be in an originals band treading the unsigned indie circuit, but I have never had any interest in being in a covers band. I don't want to give up, but I can't see how I can continue.