BigRedX

Just getting some ideas together to play to the rest of the band at the next rehearsal.

Does it even matter that the emulations on a modelling multi-effects are "as good as the real thing"? Is the "real thing" really the pinnacle for that particular sound? For instance, at the moment I'm working on patches for a couple of new songs. I like a good chorus and there are 5 discrete chorus effects on the Helix as well as some Flangers that can be tamed into chorus sounds and a couple of other modules that have Chorus parameters included. The one I pick won't have anything to do with how authentic it is, but the one that produces the right effect to fit with the other sounds in the arrangement. I don't even use any amp or cab models on any of my bass patches and when I do they are normally chosen for the "drive" sound and tend to be guitar amps. Ultimately my choice of effects etc will be down to whether I like the sound coming out of the output and not about how close they are to the device they are supposed to be emulating.

The fact that when I hit the foot pedal for Patch 1A Snapshot 1 (Lucid V) on my Helix Floor and I know without needing to play a note that it will be exactly right sound for the intro and verse of the first song (Lucid) in our set, is worth far more and any supposed improvement in tone achieved by using separate pedals. TBH even with one of my band's minimalist line up (vocals, synth, Bass VI, drum machine) I doubt whether anyone would be able to spot the difference between the Bass VI being processed by the Helix against using individual pedals. I've been in bands with people using individual effects who seem to need to reinvent the wheel every time they set up their gear, and I simply don't have time for this kind of nonsense anymore. And what is more of a compromise? The fact that you can't quite get right distortion/chorus/filter effect out of your multi-effects unit, or the fact that you are stuck with the same distortion/chorus/filter sound for the whole song even if ideally it needs to change between the verse or chorus or middle section? I suppose you could have multiple instances of each pedal for each different setting that you need, but where do you stop? When you run out of room on stage for the pedal board? My next sound is only ever one button push away whether it is a slight increase in volume or drive, or turning three effects off, two others on and adjusting the 6 parameters of the effect(s) that are common to both sounds. I suppose it is easy for me since it's over 30 years since I last had individual effects, and I went from a big, heavy 12U rack case contain a mixture of rack units, half-rack units and pedals all cobbled together along with a massively complicated switching system, to a 1U rack device controlled by a MIDI floor unit. There were a few sounds the new set-up couldn't do, but I just learnt to live without them, and the advantages of programmability and recall-ability and the new sounds my multi-effects could do more than made up for it.

I had been toying with the idea of adding my Linn Adrenalinn to one of the loops of my Helix... However I have come to the conclusion that even this small addition will make things too complicated and have decided that if it can't be done by the Helix alone, I'll not bother with it. Having said that since both the bands I play in use backing from a computer, I've been able to do some lateral thinking (and with a little help on another forum) make use MIDI control of the Helix parameters to achieve the kinds of effects that I thought I needed the Adrenalinn for.

I should be working on the design of two books - I currently have cover typography to do on one (a children's story book) and maps to draw up for another (D-Day actions involving ex-members of the 151 Parachute Battalion). Failing that I would be doing drum programming for a couple of new Hurtsfall songs. Instead I'm wasting my Sunday afternoon browsing music forums on the internet.

Big Red X is the tile of the song on the B-Side of the first Underworld single. I was also in a band with the same name in the early 90s.

I've never touched the truss rod of most of the guitars and basses I've owned. In countries like the UK with a moderate climate if you need to be adjusting the truss rod often there is something wrong with the neck. The only basses where I've had to do any major truss rod changes were one I bought from Florida in the US where the climate is very different to here, and one that came fitted with some very high tension flat wound strings which I immediately replaced with my favourite round-wound set. I've also owned several basses with no truss rod. At one point I had almost 50 guitars and basses. I was using one guitar for songwriting and two basses for gigs. Apart from a few I had out on stands on the off-chance that I might pick them up and play them, the rest were packed away in their cases. Right now most of my possessions, including the instruments I don't need for either of my bands, are in storage. None of those have been played since they were packed away 4 years ago. I'm not really a guitar player or a synth player. Hasn't stopped me from owning them (or even doing gigs playing them). I'm not much of a bass player really either... I've sold several things for friends who only had a couple of things to sell and couldn't be bothered with the hassle of starting an eBay account. I did make sure I knew what I was selling though, mostly so I could describe them accurately so they would sell for their true value. When I had my big clear out a few years ago, other than to get some money for the instruments I sold, was so the ones I wasn't using and would be unlikely to use at any point in the future would go to musicians who were more likely to use then on a regular basis. Among these instruments were my very nice Sei Fretless, a limited edition Japanese Yamaha bass, and two very old Overwater Original Basses (one of which may have been the first 5-string bass ever made by Overwater and previously owned by a well-know session player). I hope all of them are getting more use than they would if I'd kept them.

Reverend have form for obscure signature bassists - Brad Houser anyone?

If you like what you are hearing from your HX Stomp you might not want a traditional bass amp and cabs adding additional colouration to your sound. Therefore you should also consider an FRFR (powered PA cab) from the likes of QSC or RCF. Have a look at the many FRFR threads for more ideas.

Great singles band up to an including "Trash" after that they are pretty boring. The albums from that era normally include one decent track that wasn't also a single. But there' s a lot of filler on there too. All IMO.

Isn't this related to the idea that cats purr to promote bone and tissue health/growth because they spend most of their time asleep rather than being active?

I think it's more to do with the songs rather than the bass sound itself. Yes, the bass works with the arrangements and the production of those songs, but only really in that context. So by all means if you're playing that kind of music then it's a bass sound to emulate. If you are playing something else don't be surprised if it doesn't work as well. That's why I've always found the idea of chasing someone else's sound baffling. Unless you are playing covers or in a tribute band it's much better to listen to what the other musicians are doing and find something of your own that works in that context. We're musicians we should be listening not blindly (deafly?) following.

I've owned several basses with this type of intonation adjustment where the saddle is unlocked moved into position manually and then relocked, and all of them were a pain to adjust compared with the humble BBOT. All of them require the strings to be significantly slackened off before any adjustments could be made, and if you were changing to a very different gauge/type of string, that meant of a lot of tuning and detuning of the strings, to the point where the advantages of having new strings were almost completely lost by the time the intonation was correct. On some the act of locking the saddle would cause it to move again making the adjustment process even more complicated. I suppose if you rarely venture above the 7th fret and stick to a single type and gauge of string it's not too bad. That's not really me though. I'm assuming with a multi-scale bass there are fewer options regarding string types and for most people once the intonation has been set for their preferred string it should never need to be adjusted again. I'm still not a fan.

In that case it's probably worth buying them from Amazon, as they will give you a refund with no quibbles should something go wrong.

Also, which I forgot to mention in my previous post, since I am now controlling most of my Helix patch, snapshot, synchronisation and parameter changes via MIDI from the backing it has the added advantage that the red flashing LED on the Helix tap tempo switch turns blue when MIDI clock is being received, which means that that it acts as an indicator that the backing is running.

So it's question of unlocking the saddle and moving it manually? In that case IMO it's a terrible design.

How do you adjust the intonation on this?

But the slide is only part of it. The pedals and knee levers are a big part of the sound, because they only affect some strings and not always by the same amount. That's why knowledge of the instrument is fairly important for getting a realistic sound out of a VST or samples.

A USB hub is OK so long as it is powered externally and not via the USB bus from the computer. I had an issue with the Novation LaunchKeys 37 controller keyboard, where it would not work properly form the convenient USB socket on the front of the computer. Attached to one of the USB sockets on the back of one of my monitors (which is essentially a powered hub) it has been fine.

True custom shop would let you have anything you wanted, so long as it was recognisably based on something Fender had already made.

5-string, 34" scale Starcaster Bass. All black including the neck with an ebony fingerboard. Blocks and binding on the fingerboard. Reduced sized tuner keys to allow 5-in-line without needing to enlarge the headstock.

Looking at some people's pedal boards functionality is definitely a side issue ;-))

My experience of trying to emulate real instruments is that getting the playing technique/style right is probably more important than the actual sound. Therefore what you need to think about is how the slide and pedals/knee levers are used and hopefully you'll be able to emulate that on a guitar patch. You might need to treat each string as a separate track to achieve the correct string bending and note sliding effects.

I'd get them to make me a Bass VI, but with a Shergold Marathon 6-string bass width and profile neck, 13.5mm string spacing at the bridge with a Graphic Ghost saddle system fitted. Then the pickups and vibrato system adjusted to match the wider string spacing. Standard Bass VI controls for the magnetic pickups terminating in a jack socket, and Roland standard multiway socket for the Ghost system to drive a Roland V-system. Gotoh machine heads that look like the Fender ones but have better enclosed gearing. Colour would be a metallic flake white including the neck, ebony finger board with block inlays and binding. Chrome scratch plate and hardware.