dannybuoy

An external mic will bypass the internal 'sound card' if it presents itself to the phone as an audio interface rather than just an analog headset mic. Same way that plugging in a USB mic into a laptop will not use the laptop's internal sound card. I assume most of the decent ones will fall into this category, but it's not something I've looked into!

So I guess the important questions are - are there any features you need above and beyond a basic expression pedal, and do you want a mini one or happy to go full size? I wanted a basic mini one so went with the DVP4. But if you're happy with full size, might want to control more than one pedal with it, or link it to any Source Audio pedals, the SA would be the way to go.

I haven't had many, just the Moog EP-2 and Hotone. The Moog felt cheap and creaky, and the Hotone too small with limited travel. I like the build quality on the Dunlop - it's solid as a rock, with a great thick tread rubber on top, and it does not flex or creak at all. It does not use any pots or bits of string (like the Ernie Ball pedals), just a solid mechanism that'll seems like it'll never wear out or need recalibrating. Even though it's a mini pedal, it has a very wide range of motion (more than a traditional wah enclosure) and doesn't feel small under the foot, although they so make full size versions too of course! The jacks are all up top to save space, plus it can be used as a volume pedal.

The Dunlop DVP4 is the best I've used - fits nice next to the Helix HX Stomp as well:

I'd either get a Zoom Q2n / Q2n 4K, or a Zoom audio recorder such as the H2n plus a smartphone and sync up the audio later. In fact, you should be able to hook up the Zoom H2n to an Apple or Android phone with the correct dongle and use it as an external mic, so no need to sync the audio track up separately. I've seen a few demos on YouTube for this, and intend to try the same with my H2 and Galaxy S8 very soon!

Not for me, thought you might be tempted though!

A rare BB5000A for sale in Italy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/219406111488370/permalink/2417746774987615/

Option B!

Lemmy setting!

They're both quite different, the MXR being super clean and the Markbass imparting a bit of old school tube tone. Judging by your avatar, Funk Stax Lightning Band sounds like the Markbass might be a better fit! They're reassuringly expensive, but the Origin Effects compressors are considered some of the best available. Their compact version has an adjustable filter on the side chain so that it doesn't react to the low end as much, which is a great feature. Their bigger boxes have great visual metering and some have transformers in to add a bit of vintage flavour. I've had a few and settled on what happened to be the cheapest, the TC Spectracomp. It only has one knob, but a ton of downloadable presets and an editor app with tons of settings to tweak. Main reason I like it, is multiband compression, which is surprisingly not that common amongst bass compressors. Once my ears became accustomed to it, I found it hard to go back to single band compression. Particularly if you have an aggressive playing style, as the comp can be set to be faster reacting and more limiting to the high end, but with a totally different response on the lows to make them pop. I also have an Effectrode PC-2A, which is a tube-equipped comp rather like the Markbass. I actually prefer this for playing fretless or vintage P-Bass & flats type stuff.

The bass amp it's modelled upon doesn't have a clean blend either. But yes, I'd always prefer one! There's an Alembic model too: https://amt-sales.com/preamps/bricks-preamps/a-bass/

It is a bass preamp - clue is in the name! "AMT Bricks O-Bass - the basis of this bass preamp included the nature of sound is such a legendary bass amp as Orange AD200 mark3." They could do with a copy of Grammarly though!

! https://amt-sales.com/preamps/bricks-preamps/o-bass/

No, someone on Talkbass found it lurking in an secured folder on Orange’s website! The square wave is simply the dirty channel. Volume, treble, mid, bass, and gain. The sine represents the clean channel. Volume, treble, bass, and compression.

Also if going FRFR, you'll want something with a LPF or speaker sim, I think an M80 would sound a bit fizzy direct? You might have to compromise somewhere if you want it all in one unit. Fender Downtown - has all the FX you want, but I've not heard what the drive sounds like going direct. Tech21 Bass Fly Rig - great amp sim based on the VT Bass, the boost can be configured before the Sansamp section so can act like a 2nd level of dirt, and the comp is switchable, but noisy and not that great. Tech21 DP-3X - Comp is always on and the sound is a bit marmite (although I love it!) Zoom B3n - all the FX you want and then some, a good choice of bass amp models. Yes it's a multi FX with all the fiddly menus and whatnot, but it has 3 big stomps each with 4 knobs, so you get a good amount of hands-on control. I'd still opt to go separates on a custom sized mini board - pair a preamp DI with a Spectracomp, but that's just me!

The blend, I would guess. I also would guess that clean and dirty are XLR outputs. Not based on anything other than common sense, and the assumption that the guys at Orange are blessed with enough of it!

Two parallel channels with compression on the clean side by the looks of things...

Personally I’d want the amps, to use them as distortion effects. Being able to split with a crossover means you can use all the guitar amps that you might have previously ignored!

Yup, I heard they'd run out of dough.

€59.90 for that adapter: https://beatbars.com/en/expression-to-midi.html The iRig Blueboard will do it too, and wirelessly, but it's MacOS / iOS only, so you're out of luck if using Windows.

A lot of places devalue the parcel to like $15 so you won't get charged anything anyway. I've bought a lot of pedals from the US and most stores do this as they realise it's good for business!

I had a VM Precision that I sold and upgraded to a US Standard, then instantly regretted it. The Squier sounded better! After buying many basses blind online that I haven't gelled with, I'm a firm believer that the best way is to just get to a shop and try as many as you can!

The Yamaha BB range is well worth a look. Last time I spent a couple of days going round bass shops to try and find a bass I liked better with no set budget, I couldn't!

A quick Google for MIDI expression pedals turned this up:

P Bass vs Jazz Bass though, it's not a fair fight! It's too early to make comparisons at this stage, we need some demos that compare both side by side.