Wolverinebass

Just to clarify, I've got a USA Hamer not an Indonesian or Korean model.

It kind of seemed to me that there was quite a lot of people flogging the cabs. Probably that wasn't the case as I was looking at them so there was probably less than I thought. However, last night I had @Al Krow round at mine and we compared my cabs with his Vanderkley 2x10. Well, that was sickening. I've long thought that the line out signal from my sansamp is harsh in comparison to the cab sound with the tweeters maxed. After trying that 2x10 with the tweeter on max it was obvious. The sound got really harsh. So, either Vanderkley cabs are really bright or Markbass cabs are slightly dull. Or both. Either way, you'd assume it's be better as it cost twice as much.

If it's the Rhapsody you've got, I'd flog it and keep the spector. If it's the Edge you've got, I'd keep them both for a bit and choose in a few months as there's less in it. Out of the box the spector is better, but I think the Dean Edge plays slightly better as I preferred the neck profile slightly. It doesn't sound better though. Enjoy!

I've been wondering for some months about this. I've seen various comments along with the recent thread on dullness of the cabs. We'll leave the amps aside for the moment. Back in 2007 they were surfing on the move to lightweight gear. Nowadays virtually everyone is doing that. Leaving aside colour scheme here I'm talking about sound properties. I appreciate that they've probably been surpassed, by brands like Bergantino, Barefaced, Vanderkley and all them. The glut of Markbass cabs in the classifieds suggests that maybe they're not keepers? I imagine that the sourcing of work to Indonesia led to some more than negative publicity as did the move from B&C speakers to in house which allegedly may or may not be as good or well engineered. Just wondering what the views were. For the record, I have the Traveller 2x10 and 1x15 and I'm not stating an opinion of the newer stuff as I've got a previous generation of "made in Italy/B&C speakers" and I haven't played the newer ones. Are they now budget cabs in comparison? Just curious.

I saw the one on @Tech21NYC facebook feed this morning. I thought the distorted portion sounded like John Entwistle circa Live at Leeds. Just brilliant. I can't wait to get my hands on this and play through it. I feel that it's stuff like this that makes Tech21 brilliant. I was a bit reticent when I saw it was going to be a fixed crossover, however I'm pretty sure that's not going to matter from the videos. Genius bit of kit.

I'm sure there are going to be more in the next couple of weeks for us all to be suitably salivating.

Paul will make anything you ask. I presume there would be some form of charge. Normal nut width on a 4 string is 42mm and the neck profile is a soft V shape.

Count me in.

Kev, what I was saying was to have patches not digital distortion. Can you imagine how flexible that would be? My Sansamp PSA1.1 is all analogue signal chain with the only part of it being digital is the bit that reads the position of the knobs and stores the midi data. Best of both worlds and that's what I was trying to get across. Don't get me wrong, I've played most of the darkglass catalogue. It's great stuff, but because of its inability to recall anything it's limited as to its effectiveness. However, just salivate for a minute over the thought of a B7k ultra or alpha omega with patches. Wouldn't that kill? Wouldn't that be worth £500? As it is, I just feel it's 10% overpriced. Only my view though. It doesn't matter, as you say people will buy it at any price. Darkglass have done well creating a premium product, but I just think its too expensive. Comparisons made may or may not be fair, but it doesn't make the fundamental point being made any less valid that maybe, the stuff is a bit pricey.

Starting to look expensive? Just "starting" to? 😋 I wait with baited breath for what slightly tweaked pedal darkglass break the £400 barrier with. The problem I have with stuff like this is they're mainly a one setting pedal or on and off if you prefer. For the price they're getting into now, if it doesn't have midi presets I consider it to be robbery. Consider. The strymon timeline. Arguably the best delay pedal on the market. Full midi implementation and costs less than the Darkglass stuff. Just saying. They are getting very expensive for what they are. I agree about the Helix actually. When my trusty Digitech 2120 dies, it's what I'll be getting.

Very true.

Possibly. But there is only so much that people will take. Darkglass have pushed the boat out with their pedals about as far as it will go. When you get to more than £350 for a pedal, it'd better have midi controlled presets. Otherwise it's just a stompbox. That's all. Say "stompbox" and "£400" in the same sentence and there is the answer. According to currency converter this morning, $289 is £203. So, appreciated that there's shipping and whatnot, are we all now going to take bets on what we think the markup for the Dug pedal will be? Previously, Tech21 said they had no control over prices, so if that's true, it's down to Rocky Road. If like the amp which is $1879 (£1318) in the States and £2550 here, then the price of the pedal here will be £405 if you apply the same markup. Surely they're not mental enough to try that? Surely?!!

Yeah, the Dug amp is beyond stupidly expensive. What I'm hoping is as its $289, it might only be £300 here. However, we shall see.

I'm sold on this. So, @Tech21NYC when can we read the manual? Is it standard 9V supply? When might this be in the UK? We're all rather interested. Hopefully we won't get price gouged by Rocky Road....

Nice. Hope it works for you. As a few people have asked, here is my 8 string. 😊

It's assumed that you have a car because you live in a place which sounds like you'd need one. That's less true for London, but it depends what kind of gig it is doesn't it? Quite correctly it's logistics as you say. I need a car!! 😉

I'm not entirely sure if I made that comment facetiously or not. Both iterations seem accurate. Still, driving gives me the fear after my experience. On a logical level, I'm sure I'd be fine, but I still have nagging doubts. A substantial amount of therapy awaits methinks.....

I know what you meant and I made my point probably a bit too harshly. What I should have said was "you can still be reliable with public transport." 😊 That situation was very disappointing. Let's face it, we've all been rejected from bands due to ability (not enough or too much), style, image or whatever, but when you nail the audition and then get thrown out for "non-musical" reasons like not having a car when no mention of how much of an essential criteria that this allegedly was it really grates.

So, when I turned up 15 minutes early after learning 9 songs in 2 evenings that counts as turning up and playing with more than a minimum of fuss? Just clarifying that. It's unreasonable. I have never demanded a lift off anyone. Nor would I. I always pay my way if it has to be done and if it's not possible I look as to how I can fix the situation myself. If someone's going to be driving past my house with literally a 5 minute detour and I'm paying for them to do it, doesn't that make sense? If it was a massive detour I wouldn't ask. Fair is fair. I don't begrudge or envy anyone with a car. I certainly wouldn't take advantage of anyone who has one either. I just won't drive again after having a massive accident. Maybe I should have therapy if my musical career is over due to it.

See, I'm not buying this at all. By extension, this argument suggests that having a car trumps musical aptitude, production skills, enthusiasm, availability and whatever other skills (marketing or whatever) you might have or be able to bring to the table. Surely this can't really be the case across the board? If someone lived in the wrong direction I'd never make issue of it and just sort it out myself or make a judgement call about if it was feasible to join in longevity. No problem. They were being unreasonable. I accept that cover bands carry pa's and whatnot, but originals are a totally different kettle of fish for the most part.

Okay. I haven't driven in 15 years due to having had a really bad accident. Nobody was hurt and even though it wasn't my fault, I'm never going to drive again because of that. About a year ago I auditioned for a band that had a tour booked and festivals etc. I learned the songs and the audition went well. Or at least until they asked how I got to the studio (I hasten to add, having a car wasn't in the ad). I said I'd got the train and then walked. What then followed was the most excruciating 30 minutes of asking me why I don't have a car and every single other hypothetical situation you could imagine. So, here we go. They tended to meet in Dartford if they were playing out of London. How do I get there with my stuff? A taxi. It's 5 miles. What about playing up London? They were based in Kent. Well, I live about 600 yards from the A2 so you're driving past my house anyway. I'll give you whatever you want for petrol. If you don't want to do that, I'll take the pod and make my own way there. Old school. Despite that and the fact that I was happy to have them rehearse and record at my studio for nothing the fact that I didn't have a car was more important than any of these things. None of what I said is taking the fosters. They however felt that was unacceptable and although didn't say why, didn't give me the slot. How I laughed when they didn't get anyone else for almost a year and had to cancel all their dates. Incidentally, I don't drink anymore so nobody would be ferrying me hither and yon whilst I was thrashed.

Nice.

I've sadly not played a Schecter. Looks good though.

I've sadly not played a Schecter. Looks good though.

Depends on what criteria you use to define "better." If I did it again, I'd go full custom neck through but that's just me. In terms of what is available, I'd get the Frank Bello ESP. After that it's take your pick. The old Ibanez ones are good but weigh a ton. In terms of current availability, probably the spector or Dean Edge. But I'd be modding them. Probably the Spector is better in terms of wood choices, but that depends if you care.