Greg Edwards69

On 10/01/2021 at 20:24, javi_bassist said:

Hello guys

I am kinda new in the HX Stomp. So far, I have some virtual boards and patches for different songs for my band. I have also a couple of simple virtual pedalboards for my projects that do not require any effects.

I've been trying different settings for compressors and nothing beats my JHS compressor. There are a couple of compressors in the HX that could replace it (when I only want to use the HX stomp instead of my pedalboard). 

I've been also experimenting with different amp modelers. So far, I really like the Ampeg SVT4. However, nothing beats the tone of my Ashdown ABM and I wish Line 6 would try to model it in the future (which I doubt actually). So, for now, when using the HX alone, I'll use the SVT4, but I plan to have my OriginAL preamp. 

And how do you like the cab simulation? I hated it at first. Now I kinda like the 215 Brute. But it's the only one. I want to look for some Mesa PH cab IR. 

The new Rochester comp is particularly good, even straight 'out of the box' but it can take a bit of work to dial in to your preference. A few other people have commented that compressors have been one of the weaker effect in the Helix, some being nothing more than gain stages. That said, I quite like the Deluxe Comp too - tweak the threshold to suit and it's pretty much good to go.

I haven't tried it, and I don't have a real amp any more, but I wonder if you used the 4 cable method if you could use your Ashdown's preamp as a switchable block. Then you could have the best of both - Ashdown and SVT at the press of a button. (FWIW, I love the SVT model. It's pretty much perfect even with all the eq set to neutral.)

I don't use cab blocks at all. Remember, cab blocks and IR;s are the sound of a mic'd up speaker in another room. They are nt representative of a cab sitting a few feet away from you. Unless you regularly mic up a traditional bass cab when you gig I'd urge you to try a simple eq block instead. Most recorded and live bass tones are a simple DI from an amp head, straight to the desk, an eq block simulates this rather well. A cut around 5khz on top and around 50hz on the bottom brings it into typical bass cab range and still sounds lively and almost like a real bass cab behind you (if you're going into an FRFR). Not to mention it would make a sound engineer quite happy with that signal going into their desk.

When bass cab's are mic'd up, they are generally mixed with a DI signal too, so if this is your preference, you may want to dive into the cab block and adjust the wet/dry balance, or create a separate path for the cab.

If you're going into a real bass amp and cab, then the choices get even more complex. I'd advise bypassing the cab block to your onstage amp and any of the above going to FOH, if you're using it.

7 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

But we don't have one natural scale, we have several depending on the instrument. The scale on a piano is different from the scale on a guitar, even if only slightly.

That’s kind of what I was trying to get at. I think the nature of stringed instruments makes the player more aware of the limitations of the western music system more than fixed pitch instruments such as woodwind and piano.

As others have said, it's more to do with exposure than being hardwired.

I feel it's the same when it comes to having perfect pitch. As string instrument players we probably all recognise that western music uses an imperfect scale that's had its mathematics mangled in order fit into an octave, which therefore isn't quite as natural as it may appear. So I find it difficult to understand when someone says they are 'born' with perfect pitch and the ability to recognise imperfect notes. I fully understand that some people have a brain that's wired to make this process easier for them, just as some people recognise logic patterns easier than other people, but they still have to be 'conditioned' to the western music scale. 

I wonder if people who claim to be born with perfect pitch find it easy recognising pitches in other musical cultures?

12 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m really baffled why that chap needed to ask in the first place. It’s not like it’s a hidden mode. 

I'm constantly amazed at the number of comment on various facebook groups by people who messed up the upgrade, each and eveytime Line 6 release an update, because they didn't read the instructions properly.

I must seem like a right geek as I download pdf manuals to read up on before I buy certain devices.

3 hours ago, jmccabe said:

Also, the Overwater Scott Devine J-Series just look wrong to me. I saw one in a pawn shop recently, and it just looked wrong; the neck and bridge are just too skinny. Then again, if you've got tiny hands and still want to play bass, good on you!

To be fait, he does play with gloves on

Just thinking, the other alternative could be upright bass, maybe an EUB.  Completely different ergonomics that may not aggravate your injury so much.

There's also the new Vox Starstream basses, if you don't mind the look. Certainly leagues away from Hofner designs.  30.32" scale and 3.00kg (lighter than a strat, apparently).

You might also want to look into a different strap system to take the weight of your shoulder. Or even eschew the strap and sit on a stool - certainly looks cooler than those braces style straps.

I agree with the above sentiments though, deal with the cause, not work around the symptoms and try some physiotherapy.

FWIW, I find that weight isn't necessarily the issue, sometimes it's just bad ergonomic design.  I gave up playing my old Warwick Thumb bass because it would leave me in pain for a couple of days after a gig. Used to be fine, but my body started changing when I reached 30. The body was so small paired with a massive neck that the nut seemed to be a mile away, not to mention being neck heavy. It really took its toll.  I now play basses that balance properly, not necessarily lighter and the difference is remarkable.  My latest acquisition, a Squier 50s P bass is fantastic in this regard. Quite light but it balances perfectly. It seems that Leo Fender got it right first time all those years ago.

14 hours ago, molan said:

The RH450 has a 226w power amp in it. 

TC use permanent compression that’s hard-baked into the board to boost the perceived volume so it sounds like a 450w head. 

This means every signal it sends out is compressed (even more so if you use the additional onboard compressor). 

There’s nothing wrong with this if you like a compressed sound. Personally I find it sucks the life out of my tone but we all like different things 😉

I remember TC coming under fire a number of years ago for "lying" to customers about their power rating and handling.  TC bass amp owners who were perfectly happy with their tone, volume and headroom were suddenly outraged that they had paid for a 450w amp that was only 225w. And many more who vowed to boycott them.

Trouble is, too many people get caught up in specs and numbers and forget to use those fleshy extremities on the side of the head.

On the subject of synths, has anyone had much luck with the 3 Osc Synth effect found in the Stereo Pitch/synth section? It seems to be the closest thing to a proper synth “engine”.

TBH I’m not great at dialling in synths, so I’m tweaking knobs more randomly than with real intent. I wish line 6 would introduce effect level presets for this type of effect  

10 hours ago, PatrickJ said:

Checked out Dr Tone this evening but didn't really rate his Synth sounds...

This guy however - much more the sort of thing I am after

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lz02CvQ42U&ab_channel=ChadCarouthers

Chad’s synth presets are the only presets I’ve ever paid for. They sound great but I’ve yet to find a use for them! The only other synth sounds I use are simple ones I made myself for Time is Running Out and Cars..

I was really hoping 3.0 would beef up the synth department but is wasn’t to be. But now they’ve built the polyphonic engine, we can hope they apply this technology into building a better synth engine in the future. I’d love a deep impact / future impact model. 
 

FWIW Dr Tone aka Jon Willis knows his stuff when it comes to bass tone, particularly driven rock tones,  up synth really isn’t his thing. I have to admit though, most of his presets seem to work great for him, but they just sound awful in my hands. 

On 22/11/2020 at 12:27, dave_bass5 said:

For years i would gig without rehearsals, as we were gigging every weekend, so anything i brought was taken from home to gigs and played. At home most always sounded great. I kept getting disappointed at how the pedals sounded at gigs though, but never really had the opportunity to get them right (no sound check’s  etc). It was only when the new line up started to rehearse more then gig that I’d  have a proper opportunity to play with effects (and rigs). I found that what worked at home (or mostly at work where I could set a small rig up at the weekends) wasn't ideal for band use. Sometimes it was just the settings, but a few times it was perfect until i played with the band, then I just couldn't get them to work. Things like phasers/chorus/Filter etc sound great in isolation, but ive found them to need quite a bit of tweaking to sound right with a loud band and at volume. They just seem to get lost sometimes. Maybe its just me though. I can never play loud at home.

These days, while i appreciate others giving reviews of what soemthing cant do, i reserve judgment on how well it works for me until ive used it with the band (unless it’s just for home use). YouTube etc is good for the technical reviews and overviews, but ive never found something coming out of a pair of hifi speakers will match what comes out of my rig anyway.

It's for this reason my band sometimes has the odd 'Technical rehearsal" when we need to try new gear or new sounds and ideas. It does help trying these things at gig level, with our gig rigs in a band context. If everyone is in the same mindset of being listening to the actual sound and being aware of what everyone else is going you can be more critical on the actual tones everyone is producing rather than concentrating on the the song and playing the right notes.

I don't play loud at home either, but I've gotten better at dealing in usable sounds at home lately since going fully frfr. I initially bought a Headrush 112 for gigging with rather than plugging my helix into my old bass amp and cab, and I used headphones or my little Blackstar Core ID Beam set to 'flat' mode for home use. I was getting closer than with my old rig, but it still wasn't quite there.  What made the difference was getting the smaller Headrush 108 for home use and rehearsals (seriously, this little things kicks serious derrière at full band rehearsals). Tonally, the two frfr speakers are very, very similar and my results are far more consistent.  I also engage the contour switch on them at home which boosts the bass and treble and helps factor in fletcher munson loudness effect. And, playing along to tracks in via the spare speaker input also help gauge my tonal mix.

Reminds me of my fuzz quest too. I was so disappointed in the big muff PI and it's quirks that I replaced it with an MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe which had proper dry and wet controls.  What a waste of money.  It simply didn't have enough volume in the fuzz part - you turn up the dry to maintain unity volume and the fuzz disappeared in a band mix. Ended up getting a cheap Mooer Fog fuzz which worked really well.

This is what I love about the Helix thought. If any effect doesn't sit quite right in the mix, you can add eq etc to it and mangle it into shape without having to buy extra pedals and rewire a pedalboard every gig.  Even better is the ability to tweak effect settings on the fly, with your feet, whilst you're playing! The future is now.

7 hours ago, ukulelelab said:

9v battery compartments

I hate 9v battery clips with a passion. Why do so many bass builders and stomp box manufacturers insist on using cheap, flimsy battery clips? I'm not heavy handed at all, but I've broken a number of clips over the years, where one of the studs comes away with the dead battery. It scares me everytime I need to change a battery and I have to carefully ease it off with a thin tool.

2 hours ago, prowla said:

"Squire not Fender" on something with a Fender logo applied.

Or when people mis-spell Squier.  

Only joking, I've done it more times than I care to mention.

21 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

this really annoys me. "I'm too lazy to actually make you a lower offer - but I want you to lower your asking price"  
I've no problem about lower offers, I can just say no, or make a counter offer - but "what's your best price" is just lazy and grrrr

I just reply and ask them to make an offer. 
 

What annoys me more is when they ask for a discount because they have to travel to pick the item up. Sorry,  I’m happy to negotiate, but I’m not compensating for your travel fares. 

14 hours ago, Misdee said:

If the O.P  wants to specifically know why short scale basses are in vogue at the moment , it is mostly  because this trend is the latest expression of bass players gravitating towards the retrospective and "vintage" . 

For the last twenty-or-so years if you are a hip and happening bass player( or like to think you are..) you have to eschew all that is modern and "hifi" in terms of equipment in favour of vintage-inspired choices that mark the owner out as  one of the cognoscenti. Short scale is irrevocably  associated with ancient times, when bass players sounded mellow and, above all, tasteful. 

Yes, there were twangy short scale players back in the day -Stanley Clarke and Jack Bruce, for example, but for the most part, a dull, thumpy tone with or without a bit of click thrown in was standard fare. And as a bass player , nowadays it is sinful to draw attention to yourself with a bright  strident tone  , apparently. 

The fact that playing a short scale bass after years and years of struggling with  34 inch scale is just about the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off does help too, I must admit. Especially strung  with flats or tapewounds . It is an undeniably great sound. 

Great answer which pretty much aligns with my thinking. Although I hadn’t thought of the retrospective angle. Regardless of the ergonomic, comfort and playability benefits which I’m intrigued by, it definitely seems to be en vogue or “fashionable” hence the likes of sire, Warwick, and musicman offering shortscale models. I just wonder if it’s a trend that’s here to stay or a passing fad. 

17 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

I spent decades wondering why my bass playing improved so slowly until I picked up my first short scale and realised I should have been playing them all along. I think people are coming round to the fact that full scale basses have precisely no advantages over smaller, lighter, easier to play short scales.

Definitely try one, if we weren’t mid-global health crisis you could probably walk to my house and try mine out!

I'd likely take you up on that offer too.  It would be good to meet a fellow bass nerd in the local area. I am quite intrigued to try one.  As much as I love my current clutch of basses, there are times it get challenging, more so physically than technically.  I had to part ways with my old Warwick Thumb for ergonomic reasons.  A 2-3 hour gig would leave me in pain for days - as great a bass as it was, it wasn't worth the agony it left my back and shoulder in.

9 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

I'm surprised we haven't had a fanned-fret multi-scale SS bass. Something like 26-32", or whatever the maths dictates. 

Or maybe someone already did and I missed it..

Now that I like the sound of. Could be best of both worlds. Short to medium scale in one instrument. Ibanez make both short scale and fanfret designs - maybe they need a nudge to combine the two.

8 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Maybe it was for years everyone was making copies of fender Ps and Js, which is why everything was 34", while a lot of the rest of the brands continued with their short and medium scale.

I always wondered, if you have short, medium and long, why is the long most common rather than the medium?

I think you might be onto something.  Fender designs are the most ubiquitous to the point of becoming standard. A bit like MS Word - I'm a graphic designer by trade and you wouldn't believe the number of times customers have asked for the finished design in word format!

It's probably this ubiquitousness (is that a word?) that made long scale the industry standard.

As the title really. I’m neither for or against short scale - indeed,  my first bass was a no name beaten up short scale jazz-ish copy I bought of a mate for £35 so I’m not adverse to them.

I know they've been around since the 60s, but I’m seeing more and more of them lately and even big brands not associated with short scale are getting in the act, such as Sire, musicman, Ibanez and even Jackson. 

Is it the royal blood or Justin mendelson effect, is it just a passing fad, should I join in?

"Look But You Can't Touch" - Poison

"Keep Your Hands To Yourself" - The Georgia Satellites

"Don't Come around here no more" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

"Reach" - S Club 7

"Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond (Hands, not touching hands, not reaching out, not touching me, not touching you).

"Everybody Hurts" or "It's the end of the world as we know it" - REM

I think Davie504 might win this.

39 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I have the SC01, so no idea about the XLR (although it seems like it should, the manual is downloadable).

The batteries last for ages. I use rechargeables as I have loads of them around.

you can plug an iPhone in the aux in (or the link) but obviously if you wanted to 'use it as an effector' you would have to take the output from the iPhone, so the bass would have to go into the iPhone rather than the input. So I am not sure what they are getting at there.

I looked at the pdf manual earlier, but it's rather simplified and doesn't give the information I was after

Good to know about the battery life.

Yamaha's session cake webpage says that if you use the 4 pole cable supplied (TRRS) you can use an ios device to record and use effects apps to process the input signal. Have you tried this at all?

These devices have just been brought to my attention, and I'm very intrigued! Could be very useful for a silent rehearsal. I have a couple of questions though.

• Does the SC-02 let you use XLR for vocals and the guitar input at the same time? I'd assume yes, and you simply balance the volume with the guitar volume?
• Battery life. How long does a good set of AA's last?
• How does the "iOS device an an effector" work via the aux in jack? Can you use amplitube or Bias to get an amp sound?

I went to my local for a cheap dinner last night and got quite annoyed.

Two of the main reasons in the guidelines for not having live music in pubs are social distancing and mitigating the risk of droplet spread caused by raised voices of people singing along.

It appears however, that it's perfectly find for pubs to show big screen football matches and for viewers to huddle up, shout, cheer and jeer without intervention.

5 hours ago, Henrythe8 said:

I feel an urge to buy this and ad an EB0 or DiMarzio Model One at the neck.

 

 

Do it, do it, do it! 😎

On 13/09/2020 at 08:49, Happy Jack said:

Mind you, if they WERE to ban all streaming and posting of videos, then more people would go to gigs. 

I'm not sure about that. I highly doubt people are purposely not going to gigs so that can stay at home watch a live stream from someone's iphone instead.

Just goes to show, it’s horses for courses. The neck profile is one reason why I’m selling it. I just can’t gel with the wide thin profile. I prefer something chunky.