Al Krow

How much is your Fishman DI box? There is NO WAY any manufacturer is going to include something of that quality in their pedals. Doesn't it make more sense for you to take your Fishman with you to all gigs? You're not, it seems (and fair enough), anyway going to be happy with a cheap alternative costing a few ££ built into a pedal which isn't focusing on being an excellent DI? I take PA, mixer, monitor, lighting, bass, bass amp & cab to gigs plus leads and cables for the above. (OK - I've just worked out why my bands haven't sacked me yet 😄) A small DI pedal on top, in one of the bags, is a Stomp in a tea cup for me.

Tidied up signal chain as follows: In --> Meatbox sub synth effect (via Y cable "tip") --> LS2 --> HPF (Thumpinator - underneath board)--> Limiter (Keeley) --> Out |--> clean (via Y cable "ring") --> Compression (Spectracomp) --> Octave (Valeton OC10 - OC2 style octave) --> Synth (Panda FI) --> dirt (Aftershock / Mastotron) --> filters (Manta / BEF) --> Moduation (Mosaic / MS-60B) --> LS2 --> rejoin HPF / Limiter / Out

Actually Cam it's been a kinda interesting "mental" exercise for me this evening, thinking through what is the Stomp going to replace on my board. Clearly NO question the Stomp is going to be better than the MS-60B (I'd really hope so for the extra £400!!) It should potentially eliminate the need for the Aftershock assuming it has some very good drive sims. Still a questionmark as to how good the envelope filter is on the Helix => query whether it will make the MXR BEF redundant (and that is certainly not GisserD's current view of how capable the Helix is as a filter machine i.e. his BEF and Manta filters are not going anywhere). I'd be really surprised if it came close to being as effective a Limiter as the Keeley. If I was to rank my experience of how effective limiters are, the Zoom limiter sims (on the MS-60B and B3n) would be 3/10 and Boss LMB3 6/10 on a scale where the Keeley gets a 10. That's how good I the Keeley is. It won't have a synth engine to come close to the Panda FI or a gated fuzz to match the Mastotron. And according to db its polyphonic detuned octave isn't going to match the Mosaic. Having got my signal chain order refined a bit further tonight and kinda feeling - yup I really like this little board, I'm actually asking myself a different question to the one that Bridgehouse posed. It's "not do I need all my other pedals?" Well actually tbf no one needs ANY pedals - I've spent four years gigging just bass --> amp and it's been just fine; pedals are a nice to have and creative FUN and that's good enough reason for me. But rather if the Helix Stomp is going to just replacing the MS-60B (which gets used as tuner, delay, flange) and my Aftershock, but nothing else, is there actually any point in getting a Helix?! Well that was quite a turnaround in thinking for the evening

Agreed! (Although the LS2 is to be able to feed a Y cable from the Meatbox). The point is (and I agree) the Stomp is unlikely to be making any of the rest of the cabal redundant. Multi-fx vs dedicated pedals.

What are you talking about? ^^ This is a pedal board 😂

Actually I'm kinda glad the Stomp is not coming out for a couple of months!! Just laid my pedals on my board ready to wire up. Hmmm... ...be very grateful for suggestions as to exactly where this HX Stomp is going to fit? 😂

It does seem to be a trend with multi-fx, even stuff that is bass focussed. So the older Zoom B3 had an xlr out; the newer and generally better B3n doesn't. Neither of the two smaller new model Helix (HX and Stomp) have an xlr out The Boss GT-1B doesn't have an xlr out. In fact which of the smaller most recent models of bass multi-fx do have an xlr out? Zoom, Boss, and Line 6 are market leaders in affordable bass multi-fx so I kinda feel, if anything, the tide is moving in the opposite direction away from xlr out. And, frankly any time I've been required to use a DI, the sound engineer has had his own DI box to connect my normal 1/4" guitar cable to. For that one time they don't have one, I've got a £14 Behringer xlr under my board.

I can see that it would be more convenient if you're planning on using as a stand alone in the way you might some of the larger Helix. Interestingly the Helix HX which takes up double the floor area of the Stomp also does not have an XLR out. If, like me, this is going on your board with other pedals, because unlike the full fat versions, that is actually now an option! (e.g. filter and synth pedals which the Helix is not yet on a par with) and it's not going to be at the very end of your chain, the lack of an xlr out is neither here nor there for me: I'll have one tucked under my board should it ever be needed.

BIG shout out to Tom (manager) at Wunjos! I bought my current Ibanez SR1800 new off him 14 months back (and he chipped the price to reflect it being a tiny bit shop soiled). The new prices for the SR1800s have since fallen since they first came out and are around £899 new. He agreed with me that he'd taken a mark-up on the original sale and would also get a mark-up on a new replacement 5er, and so he's just agreed to match the best online price available for a new SR1825E and offered me £750 for my old SR1800 in part-ex, which means that he will at best break even when he sells my old Ibby on. Dunno what anyone else thinks but that sounds like a bloo*dy good deal to me!! Tom really is a guy who has his customers' interests in mind as well as his own. I couldn't ask for anything more from any retailer frankly. They've just moved out of the basement btw and into a new store across the road in Denmark St. ....oh and that's gonna mark the end of an era for me. Apart from my EUB, that's the last of my 4 strings out the door.

Mesa M6 Carbine Combo in mint condition (has had "civilised" home use only and never been gigged) . 12Ax7 tube preamp plus 600W MOSFET power amp delivers a fantastic creamy-rich mesa tone. The Mesa EQ includes a bass boost setting and one-stop "voicing" to allow rapid change from mid-scoop through neutral to mid boost; active / passive switch and ability to switch load settings from 8ohms or 4ohms with built in effects loop and balanced xlr DI out. The cab combines with the head to provide a rich full tone and easily stands up in quality to my existing VK and BF cabs; but it's time for me to rationalise my stock of gear! Will sell either as a combo for £1,295 or the PH 212 cab alone for £550. (But please note that the amp head is not for sale by itself, except with the cab). The cab would be ideal to provide protective housing for your existing Mesa M3, M6 or M9 heads (particularly if these are rack mounted) or indeed provides a convenient slot for most other heads within it's protective housing and room on top for pedal board or other gear. Weight (approx): amp 25 lbs; cab 54 lbs Ideally for collection from East London / meet half way or can arrange delivery in which case P&P will be in addition. Stock photo (actual pics to follow):

Three out of the four bits of kit ordered and on their way (just leaving a Helix Stomp sized hole on my pedal board to be filled when the thing lands in the UK) - pictures later when they've all safely arrived I even phoned Tom at Wunjos this morning about trading in my beloved Ibby SR1800 which I bought off him 14 months ago for a new Ibby SR1825E this morning, rather than risking straying into the UN monitored 2019 "no-buy zone" waiting for someone looking to do this unlikely trade, but which would make more financial sense... The prospect of getting on @Sibob's 2019 gear abstinence wagon is proving BLOODY expensive in 2018 is all I can say 😂

Interesting thread. I've been reliably informed by our Helix experts, including @fretmeister, that it's not nailed the synth and envelope filter effects (which is actually fair enough, they're pretty darned tricky to nail really well even for dedicated pedals). So when the HX Stomp eventually lands (hopefully before year end), like GisserD I was planning on holding on to my Panda FI (for synth) and MXR BEF and SA Manta. Be very interested to hear @HazBeen and @Dood's thoughts on this topic, too.

Ah, that excellent word again. Definitely not otiose here although it may have a tendency to discombobulate If Andy is looking to get a Yammy BB, he's clearly changed his mind about quitting, has rediscovered excellent value for money bass-taste and is back in the game! Although I AM going to remind him of this thread next time he posts he's thinking about calling it a day 😂

Great bass! Loving my BB1025 (without the "x" = pick guard, in case anyone is wondering what the difference is). But I think it's already been snapped up within a few hours of being listed (unless that was you?)... not surprised, it's a LOT of quality bass for the money. You could easily pay twice as much for a Fender P that you might find you like a lot less.

Face it; it's in the blood. You love it. I love it. We love it. We're bass players. Sounds like the very thought of having a break from being in the groove was sufficiently cathartic. Which is a good word (although clearly not as good as otiose or discombobulate).