Al Krow

@Dood what track is the riff from you are playing at the start of your review? (It very much feels Rush, but I'm not familiar enough to pin the track down, if Rush is correct!)

Yup - go for it!

Yup that's right - there should be NO Customs duties or VAT on goods travelling from NI <--> GB in either direction. Only exception is GB --> NI --> EU i.e. goods being routed from GB to EU via NI. Steve @Steve Browning is our expert on this stuff and will correct me if I have got this wrong, I'm sure. Obviously still the issue of transport and courier costs to deal with.

Paul - I kinda get where you're coming from. I have had exactly the same debate over the years with the compressor-brigade that no typical pub audience is going to really notice pedal board compression (which, FWIW, I contrast to carefully sound engineered compression on studio recordings). But I think you're perhaps taking it too far in that, as you have acknowledged, a Rick does have its signature tone. In the same vein a classic Fender P is pretty signature and quite different to e.g. a Warwick MEC growl.

The Sire gig bags are pretty decent. I held onto mine when I sold my Sire P7 and regularly use it now for everything but Sire! 😊 PS I think Andertons sell them separately.

So my last gear purchase was exactly 9 days ago - arrived on the 2nd August. A pedal that I've only bought and sold three times before, lol! Does that I mean I am officially, finally, and forever cured of GAS and will now spend the better part of my bass playing future making the most of the gear I already have? 😆

You will get parallel routing options on the Helix, but not on the Ampero or Zoom. The plastic construction on the Zoom B1-4 is pretty robust though and you get metal on the B3N.

Well the Zoom B1-4 is just £65 and will do everything you want it to. It's also aimed at bass rather than guitar. @JohnRwhy wrong thread, buddy?

Zoom B1-4 multi-fx is a fantastic little "micro-board". I liked mine so much, I've bought two and it's all I'm currently taking with me for live performances - I personally use it to provide me with tuner, B7k dirt, chorus, tape echo and Z-synth. You can include a compressor in every patch if you want to. Includes very good headphone amp capability with aux in and has both a (basic) looper and a decent drum machine which can be useful for home practice. But you'll have so much spare cash left over if you go for that option...😁

It's audible, but actually not an issue for me at all even when playing at home and it's entirely lost the moment you start playing. My DG M900 AO is quieter, for sure, but costs a LOT more. My favourite amp is actually my Mesa M6 which is home use only for me given its weight, but has an awesome tone! The M6 fan is actually nosier than the the BV, which was a pleasant surprise for me given the fact this had been raised as an issue by others with the amp. We all have different fan-noise tolerance levels - mine is certainly above what the BV is producing. And at £200 you're not going to find a better featured amp (e.g. 3 band EQ with semi-para mids, built in comp, 750W+ at 4ohms).

Hiya mate - still on the lookout. It seems that Covid has (understandably) laid waste to a fair number of gigging bands which has resulted in supply being sparser than it used to be. I've managed to persuade the pub manager to up his rates and I've just updated my OP to reflect this. Having said that, he does have decent expectations in terms of quality of the bands he's willing to take on.

If you don't mind have additional power on tap (circa 750W to 800W), then worth also checking out the Bugera Veyron BV1001M or T. I've got the M as a back-up amp and several of us are happily using one of the two models as our main gigging amp. DV 247 currently have them on sale new for sub £200: Bugera BV1001M Veyron Mosfet Head | DV247 | en-GB

My two compact PBs, main board and 'psycho synth' smaller board. Both powered by HB IsoPro PSUs (a 5 and a 12) with a Thumpinator hpf also sitting under the larger board. Currently just using one of the Zoom B1-4s for gigging, which provides me with tuner, BK7 dirt, chorus, tape echo and Z-Synth in one very handy 'micro board' which can easily slip into my gig bag.

That's a great weight. I'm currently lacking an MM 5'er in my herd... How close does it get to the classic MM tone? I'm kinda expecting the pup and preamp at the HB price point to be pretty meh - are they better than that?

I've previously led John astray with Zoom B1-4 multi fxs. His wife is already not on talking terms with me. I don't want to be responsible for any more of John's gear nirvana moments.

Black cherry looks great John! I sense a slippery slope appearing before you ...how long before you fall prey to a Euro LX I wonder? Now that is something that Eldon could lend you to avoid you needing to lie to your wife... 😂

Or as, my daughter said, terrible for the environment 😁

Yeah, absolutely not! 😎

We're playing our second wedding gig, since restrictions lifted, tomorrow in Windsor. One of the singers is currently on holiday in Donegal so he's taking two flights back to get to the gig and will then fly back on Sunday. He's just arrived at Dublin airport and next flight is at 4 30pm this afternoon. Talk about commitment!!!

@mcnach - some of the HB models have a rep for being quite heavy which has been a bit of a deal breaker for me in the past. What's the weight on this one?

That's cool - who hasn't ever got confused about all the BB variations that we've had in the range over the past 40 years, and where they all fit into the pantheon! I mean, why was one of the earliest BBs an 800? Did they really never bother with a 100? Etc. etc! Either way, we still need a pic 😁

Interesting that you're up for curtailing freedoms when it suits - the N-word is a good example of something that can seriously hurt feelings. Just as any racist abuse can. We both know that. But with due respect, "hurt feelings" are NOT in the same league as being willing to put others' lives at risk by pedalling a dangerous anti-vax message. Vaccines save lives and are our way out of this mess; unless you prefer permanent lockdown, destroyed jobs, mental health issues for our children and millions more dead? I can't really believe any medic would be willing to condone such behaviour in the interests of avoiding "the thin of the wedge".

Ok - that's a very different kettle of fish! Thanks for clarifying.

There are lots of things we are banned from doing that infringe on personal liberties - like not wearing a seatbelt or smoking indoors in public or using the N-word (ok that last one's not strictly "banned"). Do you object to those also? Anti-vaxxers putting out dangerous propaganda are putting not just their own but others' lives at risk. If you disagree with that then, given your profession, shame on you. That's my beef. If you are not in any way supporting anti-vaxxers, then fair enough.

This makes for worrying reading...Music’s great vaccine divide: the rockers who refuse to get the jab (telegraph.co.uk) Particularly when reading about too many anti-vaxxers who are very sadly paying the ultimate price for their misplaced beliefs.