NancyJohnson

On the OP, if you want to split your signal and recombine, you could do this with a pair of ABY boxes (they work both ways).

The Great Eastern XO will allow you to split, loop effects and recombine in one box.

Had a Bongo 5HH...while it played like a dream, the preamp was ridiculously hot and overwhelming.  You'd start a rehearsal with everything at noon and just tweak continually; by the end of the session tonally things would just be mush.

Never actually went under the hood to see whether there was any way to roll things off, in hindsight, perhaps I should have.

I've got a pair of M-Audio speakers that run off a Focusrite Scarlet.  They're delightfully loud.  You could easily find a pair close to your budget.

Going back in time somewhat, about 20 years ago, I bought a Dell PC from the Dell Outlet store.  Back then, Dell would make hundreds of PCs for deals in computing magazines; once the promotion was over, they'd discount the remainder and allow you to customise things when shipping.

The PC came with a frankly fantastic 2.1 set up...powered sub and two satellite speakers.  It sounded awesome, loud, totally great.  Stupidly dumped the whole setup when I bought our current computer as the connections were incompatible.  In hindsight, I'm certain I could have hotwired it somehow to work with our TV in the extension.

£650.

Come on!

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

Sell everything else. You won't need it once you have the Helix and FRFR cab.

 

I bought an RCF745 FRFR which is relative large in the FRFR and TBH it's complete overkill for my usage, although I didn't know this at the time. However it was still smaller and lighter than 2x10 cab that was part of the bass rig it replaced. If I ever need to buy a replacement FRFR I will get something even smaller and lighter.

 

Also the combined cost of the Helix and FRFR was just over £2k new. When I sold all my other amps, cabs and effects units (one huge bass rig, two cabs for my smaller bass rig and some guitar effects) I actually came away with an overall profit.

While I can understand the appeal of one of these (powered) cabinets, the overriding things would be chucking money at something I neither want or feel I need and the hassle of actually freeing up funds to purchase, so read that as flogging all my gear! 

In truth, I don't like the look of stuff like the Headrush/Alto style of cabinet; frankly would prefer to simply stick with what I have enclosure-wise, unload my Darkglass and purchase something that better suits from an amp perspective.

33 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

I 'think' you and I @NancyJohnson are possibly trying to achieve the same sonic goal/tone re a sound and I'm following this as I'm struggling to achieve it as well, hence I've read and I'm following this thread.  I'm going to use such vague terms that I'll be laughed at but here goes... I want a sound that is slightly aggressive, a bit of grit/drive but not overdrive; almost a good valve amp just starting to break up that is also maybe fattening up as you get speaker compression.  Like you I have good amps (Thunderfunk, Tech Soundsystems Blackcat, EBS HD350) and some decent cabs (TC RS210 x2 and a TKS 115) and I have a few preamp pedals (Fishman Plat Pro, Sansamp, BBE Acoustimax, Radial Bassbone) but I can't quite achieve that tone in a package that can (easily) go with me to a range of gigs.  I also have an MXR OD (too much drive even when dialled to minimum) and a TC booster (adds a nicer break up but it is still really 'distortion').  The Sansamp drive is an easy fix but it is too global on it's application; I almost want drive but just on the top end.

 

I know some folks achieve their goals through modelling but I just can't, I've honestly tried and I end up spending 5 times as long messing about to achieve the same result as I'd get from my Sansamp or Radial pedals.  I have tried Helix, I owned a Kemper (Toaster) and the Nux MLD through FRFR and through IEM; as a result I'm actually more comfortable using IEM and going through the PA with no backline but I can't find the pedal(s) that will get me the tone I want.  

 

Any way, I'll see if you manage to find something and I'll see if it works for me!    

As I've posted elsewhere, after years of playing clean, my first bit of outboard (and tone heaven) was a BassPOD, shortly after it was a BDDI (and all the other Tech21 stuff). 

I honestly thought the AO900 was going to be an ideal solution; I'd used a Alpha pedal and didn't really have an issue, but the head itself is pretty gnarly.  By way of observation (with this head), if you want consistency you need to concentrate on just using a single bass, or set up your basses so they all produce identical tonal characteristics to each other.  The amp is undeniably a great bit of kit, but it's stopping me from using anything aside from my Spector, which it's set up to use.

Emulation of valve overdrive/distortion is an odd one.  I used an Ashdown ABM for a while and the valve gain stage just added this nasty crackle (like a loose connection) rather than a bit of creamy/cranky, so I just stuck a BDDI into the effects return.

At present, I just need to move the AO900 and I'll throw the swag from that towards something else.  Like I said, it's difficult to go somewhere and just try out a load of stuff...Bass Direct, maybe, but not before the head is sold.

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

In that case Helix and a lightweight FRFR powered cab.

 

If you are playing anywhere with a decent PA you won't even need the FRFR as you'll straight into the PA and use the foldback. If you do need a personal monitor you'll find that a typical wedge-shaped FRFR will fit in all sorts of places on stage where you wouldn't even begin to get a traditional bass rig.

 

This has been my set up for the last 6 years now. Most of the time when I do use the FRFR for gigs it's pointed across the stage so that the rest of the band can hear me without needing to have bass in their wedges. I've only done two gigs where it wasn't possible to put the bass through the PA and the FRFR coped far better than my previous very big, heavy and expensive bass rig. Because of the far superior dispersal characteristics of the FRFR I find that I can a lot quieter on stage for the same FoH presence rather than so loud I can barely hear the rest of the band.

 

Image hasn't been a problem. For support gigs I set up in front of the headliner's bass rig and no-one in the audience is any the wiser. If i really needed to have "backline", I'd probably have something fake and lightweight that could be folded flat for transit.

I've got a Barefaced Big One, a pair of Darkglass 1x12s, and currently, an intact pair of testicles. 

Give my wife's propensity of asking when I'm going 'to get rid of some of the speaker cabinets' I don't need/want a powered cabinet I'm afraid.  And I'd prefer not to be wearing my balls as earrings as well! 🤣 

5 hours ago, Tech21NYC said:

 

We used to make the Landmark 300-600 heads which were the RBI/RPM in a single 300-600 watt head. You could alternate between the two channels or combine them. For some reason the bass community is all about feather weight class D heads now but to me a 23lb/10.4kg 300 watt head that is as loud as an Ampeg SVT was a no brainer. 

I owned a Landmark head - the 300.  I'll admit I liked it a lot (here's the but), but when you're playing these little venues where you have to park miles away or even go up on the train, carrying a 4U/5U rack and a bass is nutso; this is where the appeal of a lightweight head is; sometimes it's necessity over choice.  A lot of UK venues offer tired/worn out backline - I'm sure this is the same in the US - or you have headliners that won't let you anywhere near their stuff, so at least with a small head (that you're happy with) you're kind of assured that at least a decent tone off an XLR will go to FoH.

@Tech21NYC You do make some outstanding kit and I've haemorrhaged enough £££ on it over the years.   I've gigged with enough bassists over the years that love the BDDI (I recorded this afternoon - engineer insisted on me using one!); many have expressed pity that there's not a class-D amp with one in the pre-amp.

Drive over to Julian Mullen in Reading.

3 hours ago, Skybone said:

 

3 hours ago, Skybone said:

 

 

 

 

I had a VTBass rack unit AND a VTBASS DI.

Didn't mind them, but the BDDI/RBI was superior, or more to the point, it suited me better.  If @Tech21NYC had made a head with the RBI then it would be my #1 choice.

Darkglass AO900 head and foot switch (not pictured).  Minty.  Generally lives in a Gator bag.  Owned from new.  It's had what's best described as an easy life; stored most of the time, low output hone use, a few rehearsals and a handful of gigs.

I'm open to trades, collection welcome, happy to ship.  No original box, but will be extremely well packaged.  Cash, PP (friends), bank transfer.

Open to trade requests...looking for something similar with a different drive/gain circuit, Bergantino, GK, whatever... 

Cheers for reading.

Yummy.

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

The AO drive sound is very different from the B7K / B3K Darkglass sound.

 

If I was the OP, I'd swap the amp for the MT900 v2 instead to get that B3K and Vintage Microtube tone options.

I'm not so familiar with the DG pedals; the backbone of my tone was Sansamp BDDI for years.  When the AO was announced I ordered thinking it was going to be a one box solution to satisfy my needs.  I remember @Wolverinebass saying that the Alpha suited me more than the Omega, which is largely correct.

Anyhow, I've decided to relist the AO900 and will do so this weekend.  Replacement, well, I just don't know.  

3 minutes ago, Beedster said:

This is why basschat exists, our brains are wired this way. We’re searching but we will never find…. 🤔

I posted a while back about simply going the stomp/small (class D) Poweramp route.  I could live with that.  I saw a review of the Boss Katana bass head a few hours ago, but a peak rate of 500w isn't going to be enough.

Suppose the thing is - and while I live a few miles from Andertons - actually trying stuff out is nightmarishly difficult.

7 hours ago, Beedster said:

You want JJB tone but your current head is too aggressive/gnarly.....?

It's an odd one, but a case of wrong type of distortion.  The AO is somewhat middy; the videos where you see these metal guys going nuts with Dingwalls, not once have I ever been able to emulate anything close to that.

I was never happier than when I got my first Sansamp BDDI and then migrated to an RBI/Poweramp setup.  I've gone through a lot of kit since then, chasing tone.

There has to be something.

I have a few basses (all good), several cabs (all good), some Sansamps (all good) and a Darkglass AO900 head.

I've posted previously about how I haven't really bonded with the AO900; it's a tad too aggressive/gnarly for my liking.  I adore the power and that I can jack a stomp into the effects return, but ideally I'd like to be able to have a small/loud one box solution to give me a bit of Geddy Lee style clank and Jean Jacques dirt, so I'm looking for recommendations.  I guess the amp will return £650/700 which I can throw at something else.

Help!

After an abortive three days trying to install this, it went off to Julian Mullen to do the work.  It went in as a replacement for a John East Uni-3 that just stopped working.

Got the bass back home about an hour ago.  I'm of the mindset that if you invest in a suite of products, they should all kind of work with each other; so the Tone Capsule into an AO900 should be peachy, eh?

Well, happy to report the bass sounds fantastic in isolation.  The cap has three boost/cut options bass, low-mid and hi-mid.  There's no real sweepable mid thing going on but there does appear to be an element of treble passthrough, but man alive, it's just glorious to my ears.

I've got a list of what I own on a spreadsheet.  Serial numbers/anticipated values etc.

Said spreadsheet also includes contact details for @cetera.  

I've been to a handful of open nights and on one occasion was unfortunately asked up to play bass on a couple of songs that I didn't actually know.

"Is Paul out there?  Where is he?  Oh, there he is.  Come on up!"

['Oh, sh*t, oh, sh*t, oh, sh*t.']

"Nope, you're OK."

Wife interjects, "Go on, it'll be fun."

Sigh.

Well, it wasn't fun.

The evening was full of these dead behind the eyes bedroom-warriors; blokes who'd taken up guitar because they had a bit of money pre-retirement.  All the gear.  Gibson and Fender.  Guys with an arthritic claw like grip on their necks, struggling to extend beyond three chords whilst reading off music stands.  One of the blokes had the fecking audacity to later stroll up to the bar and tell me I wasn't following the right bassline despite never having heard Wonderful Tonight or whatever wretched Clapton/Eagles thing it was that they were playing; this despite him being one of the most inept guitarists I've ever witnessed.

Sure, each to their own but, with all respect to the OP, I'd sooner cut my arm off than play the selection of songs listed there.

On 08/09/2024 at 13:12, LeftyJ said:

This is nice, and the headstock looks quite a bit better than the tiny paddle on the 4-string! 

Christ on a bike, yes.  

It doesn't matter how great the bass looks, if the headstock doesn't work from a design perspective it's a non-starter.  The five string looks way better.

19 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

Of all the photos on the thread, this was furthest from what I imagined a basschatter would look like. 

 

Initially, I thought that you _were_ Nancy Johnson. Latterly, I concluded that you would be a geriatric punk rocker.

 

But it turns out that I was very wrong.  It must be the face cream that keeps you looking young!

Aah, the Blue Lagoon, Iceland.

Years ago my mother stoically gave me several bits of sage advice.  'Don't smoke, stay out of the sun where possible, drink in moderation and find yourself a decent moisturiser.'

My dad had skin that resembled dry leather; much as I loved him I didn't want that, so I've followed all three for 40+ years.

Here's a recent one.

On 07/09/2024 at 13:45, diskwave said:

Agree with the Doc. The shape and look have nout to do with the Wal mystique. The leccys are the secret sauce which no one sems to be able to replicate. 

Isn't this the same with every copy bass?  Lost count of the posts I've read here and elsewhere (for instance) extolling how a £125 Harley Benton Stingray clone growls as much as the real thing or how Rockingbetter clones clank like the real thing etc.

I think usage of 'special sauce' wins Basschat for today.  "Oh, your Epiphone is fundamentally all round better than the '60s Thunderbird it's copied from, y'say?  Does it have the special sauce?"

Whether this is right or wrong, I don't know, but years ago one of the guys doing our live sound said if you want to use mids do it from the bass as you simply 'can't produce modulation for a frequency that doesn't exist'.

This stayed with me since; if you squirt your desired tone to an amp from say a Jazz bass, your tone control is simply open (pickups open, unaffected) or the high frequency is being cut (thus rolling off the highs).  In theory any mids produced away from the source are simply emulations as they don't exist in the original signal source.

I guess this leads on to the active circuit argument; there's John East units installed on several of my basses, all have a midsweep frequency/boost control.  Used sparingly, this'll allow your tone to cut through the mix.  It works significantly better than any outboard tweaking.

Personally, the better perspective would be to have a mid/mid frequency-sweep stack on the bass; this way you're in control over what hits your amp/board.

14 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 

You're not wrong....didn't have to say it like it is though! I mean, life is futile, and Basschat more so, passes the time though! 

Sometimes you just have to take a direct route and be the voice of reason; the thread has been viewed 350 times, I'm sure there's many who probably went, 'Really?' when they read it.

Perhaps it's just the way I'm wired, but there's little point in skirting around things, always be as direct as possible.