dannybuoy

In a nutshell, using PA gear instead of traditional bass amps. More power and higher fidelity for less money and less weight (well, sometimes), then use an amp modeller or preamp in front if you need it to sound like an Ampeg SVT for example. Your amp modeller will sound like it's supposed to and you'll get the same sound on stage as through the PA.

I've got them, PM me your details and you can have them for nowt, for 'tis the season and all that!

I'll have to check but I think I just might! Sold my BB415 with chrome knobs on if I recall correctly...

Malekko Diabolik is the closest I've come with a simple compact pedal.

Hardly any small mixers are designed with a high impedance input suitable for directly plugging in a passive bass, plus the PJB has a built in rechargable battery. But if you're using a preamp pedal anyway and don't need to be mobile, a small mixer would perhaps make more sense. Sound quality may well be better on the PJB though compared to the lower end of mixers such as Behringer. There is zero hiss/noise coming from mine even at high volume. But I got my Bighead used for about £70, it's well worth that amount to me!

You can pick up a used Weeping Demon or 105Q around the £50 mark. If you're up for modding though, pretty much any guitar wah could be modded for bass in theory. I would expect there to be some mod guides out there for more than that one particular model. I saw you were looking at Multi FX units as well though, and plenty of them have wahs on board!

Mainly an Octabvre Mini, I also have an Octamizer, and had an EBS Octabass and a COG T16. Tracking was good on all of them, most fretted notes below the 5th fret are quite stable in the low E and B strings, just not on the open notes!

I place mine after my Octabvre because: a) the tone changes when I run another pedal in front of it Vs going straight in b) it can track a low C on my 5 string, producing an audible flap-flap-flapping that sounds like it's well under 30 Hz

Another DT770 Pro fan here. The 80 ohm version I have is a tad quiet with some headphone amps however. Compared them to the PJB cans and these one by a country mile, so much more depth, more then enough low end to keep us bass heads happy!

My TIs probably cost me around £40 but they’ve been on the bass for 10 years so I think I’ve got my money’s worth!

Not sure what exactly is improved apart from a nicer case and higher sample rates nobody would need. But my Bighead is a keeper, I can only get enough volume out of the B3n by cranking the master volume, which introduces unwanted distortion. So I set the output level to unity gain then feed into this.

I've found with muffs, the trick is to keep the tone low. Turning it up high gives you more top end at the expense of low end, and you just disappear in the mix. Keeping it low, you can still be heard because you end up dominating the lows and low mids. In the mix though, it just sounds like a massive sustaining bass boost rather then a raspy fuzz. If you want the fuzz effect to be heard more, then a mid boost is in order. I'd recommend the new deluxe Russian model that has both a blend and a mid control.

How do you like that Mikey Way bass? I'd be tempted if I saw a used one pop up, sounds pretty beefy in the demos.

Are either of the pedals digital? If so you might get noise issues. Not with all brands though, in my experience EHX and Zoom are among the worst culprits.

Delano make hybrid pickups that sound like a Jazz when splitting the coils:

I don't think it really matters, either way has benefits, get 2 if you want the best of both! First in line stops any sub frequencies that could make your compressor overreact to thumpy low notes. Last in line would catch any unruly sub freqs from octavers or filters. I put mine last. Or first, I can't remember.

A Helix Stomp is worth a look too. If you want a crossover split, lows to a compressor, highs to a Darkglass B7K or a guitar amp, then either mix into a single output or keep the channels separate, it can do it all in one box.

Try some preamp pedals out. The VT Bass is a good place to start, especially if you're into more vintage rock or R&B tones, it can make any amp sound like a growly Ampeg tube head.

I bought a B3n thinking it would have different sounds. It did. So it stayed! 😁

If anyone wants a free FireWire Mackie Onyx Satellite, let me know. The dock died but the main unit still works and has 2 ins and 2 outs. Probably doesn't work on Windows 10 though!

Also, I'm not only interested in the amps to use as amps, but rather to use them as effects. I managed to get very close to my Darkglass Alpha Omega by blending a Fuzz Face in parallel with a Hiwatt tube amp for example, or getting close to the sound of the DuG pedal by sending my highs to a guitar amp.

The point is many people wanted a mini box with Helix technology, wishing the HX was perhaps smaller and had the amp models, but buying it anyway because it was the only option available. Then Line6 come out and release what they actually wanted in the first place!

I was on the fence about the HX, I wanted the amp sims but the other units were too big and expensive. If I had decided to forfeit the amp sims and get one anyway, I would have felt shafted for sure when the Stomp came out with amp sims, a smaller form factor and a USB audio interface.