Al Krow

Yeah I guess you need to watch out for that, but as I pretty much only ever tune up before we start playing live and then a quick check during a set break, it's not something I've ever had to worry about. The led metering is really helpful though for dark stages!

Nope - I'm saying the BB NE1 and NE2 bore his name. On the onboard preamp you don't get a choice of "shallow", "deep" "flat" options so if Nathan had to pick one EQ curve for his NE model bass you'd guess his favourite? I'm not really saying anything about the 604/605, other than if the 604 recently sold was a "604 NE1" (as described) then it may well have the same pre-amp NE circuit as on the BB NE1 / NE2.

The BB NE1 and NE2 onboard preamps don't have the Q control allowing different EQ curve patterns i.e. they have a fixed Q. Our previous thinking on this was that the basses that bore his name would very likely have hardwired the "Deep-4" setting given that this was his favourite. You ask why would Yamaha put the same EQ into the 604/5 as their other high-end basses? Good question. But no different as to why is a BB1025 almost identical to a BB2025, but costs a fraction of the price, I guess!

I guess I got lucky this time then! I'd best make sure to put it to good use! 😊👍

I'm thinking maybe some of the really fancy stuff onboard pre's by Status and John East gives you a Q adjustment, but there are not too many other onboard preamps that allow you to adjust the Q. The flagship BB NE2 has a mid-cut frequency selector but no Q. But with that addition combined with its 3 band EQ it becomes a more versatile preamp than you'll get on most basses.

Completely with your thinking on this!! Out of interest, you considered going even more budget with something like a Korg Volca unit? They do seem to punch (literally) well above their weight and also above their price point. What is the best Korg Volca? Every drum machine and synth ranked | MusicRadar I've recently got a Korg Volca Fm (which is compatible with the Yamaha DX7). It will likely go toe to toe with any bass synth pedal that's currently on the market and frankly something that size is not going to be a faff to take along to a gig, particularly if it's on a little pedal board and connected to a DI out via an XY pedal. Hah! You should have jumped in when Chris moved his on, although tbf I didn't hang about when I saw that he was effectively letting me have it at B-stock price and condition! Soz, you could be waiting a while now for mine - however, if you (or anyone) fancies a Behringer RD-8 then there's one in the FS...

They really are great bits of kit. Does that mean I've finally gone FRFR, albeit in a small way? 😁

Portable micro rig UE Megaboom 65Hz to 20KHz 36W RMS Wireless: Boss WL-20 Multifx: Zoom B1-4 Fun? Guaranteed! 😊

Ok cool, I've been using Anker, which seems fine also. City foxes in the back sometimes, but no dog.

Paul - what make / brand would you recommend for a high quality full data lead,?

FWIW - I find the Zoom noise gate (ZNR) circuit is really excellent (I recommend detection set to GTRIN) and I use that as a standard final fx slot, going from guitar to speaker in the chain, on most of my B1-4 patches.

I think Teebs has finally come up with answer we've all been waiting for! OP said don't get something cheap (tick) I've been banging on about getting something that someone, anyone will actually notice (tick) Well here it is, and it's also Japanese designed like so many of the best pedals (tick): I hope no one can say that compression is just hot air after this?

That's very weird Woody - does sound like something peculiar to your unit. Dunno - could it possibly be a build up of some static that has now been discharged? If you listen very very carefully there is an "electronic noise sitting below the effect" which is just about discernible with some patches, which @ped pointed out a couple of years back but it's pretty subtle and nothing like the noise you're describing. Fingers crossed, it's hopefully now sorted.

My mini-pedal board has been pretty much unchanged for the past 10 months and I've enjoyed getting to grips with the fewer that were on it (four of which still feature below). With the recent addition of a couple of Boss pedals i.e. the OC-5 and RC-5 (still not caught up with @PatrickJ' Boss collection above after his new arrivals!), I've reverted to my larger Metro 24 powered by a HB Iso12 Pro underneath. To answer PJ's tongue-in-cheek Q in the above post, having reached the limit of my compression ability, I thought I'd give this line up a go without a dedicated comp. That's allowed me space to put the excellent Mosaic octave-up back on; the Thumpinator is also back in at the start of the signal chain to hpf out any low end "crud" and the Mastotron is there in place of my Red Ripper, partly because it sounds equally good and partly 'cos it takes less space! Tbf there are several comps and a limiter in the fx patches provided by versatile Zoom B1-4 multi fx sitting proudly at the heart of the board.

Are you telling porkies about your tech savviness Stew - I've heard rumours you've been casually messing with the 35 parameters underneath the Spectracomp's hood....😁 I've got the same looper on the Zoom B1-4 (and no secret I'm a huge fan of that multifx). The three key restrictions for me (as with the Helix loopers) are: just having one loop patch available, so I need to download to PC / over-write every time I want to record something fresh; limited overdubs; and 30s stereo / 60s mono recording time Obviously, if those limitations aren't an issue and you can do what you're wanting, then no point paying extra for a dedicated looper pedal!

Boss expands its Loop Station family with new RC-5 and RC-500 flagships | Guitar World I think these came out very shortly after you got your Ditto X2, which hopefully is doing everything you need from it? My little Lekato has done me proud - fantastic value, and very happy to recommend but as I mentioned in the post above I've been tempted by these two recent Boss offerings, which seem to be very well featured at their price points and the RC-5 seemed to be worth the £extra over e.g. the Nux Core Deluxe which was also on my shortlist e.g. the RC-5 gives 13 hours stereo at 32 bit recording and 99 loops vs Nux Core Delux 9 hrs / 24 bit / 99 loops and the drum options on the RC-5 also seem to be best in class for a loop pedal this size. I was initially leaning to the RC-500, but in the end went for the more compact RC-5 which is missing a few of the bells and whistles of the RC-500, but I suspect I probably wouldn't be putting these additional features (e.g. multiple drum kits) to a lot of use. The key thing that I did want from the RC-500 was the extra stomp switches - a single press to stop recording rather than double press is just something that feels more precise and comfortable for me, but I wasn't keen on the additional PB real estate that it would take up! The workaround has been to use a budget Mosky (momentary not latching) switch and connect via a TRS patch cable to the RC-5. Then the RC-5 switch and two additional stomps can each be very easily configured to do any one of multiple menu options. Just as a fyi, I've got mine set for (i) Record/Overdub/Play (ii) Stop Rec and (iii) Drums Start/Stop. All-in the cost was pretty close to the initial £150 budget in your OP for the RC-5, Mosky and TRS patch cable and I think it gets all your bonus points, too, in terms of battery power option, built in beats and true bypass 😊 Seems like you've had good experience with Boss loopers before, and the RC-5 is a refresh of their older RC-1 and RC-3 models.

You mean all the hours we've spent discussing the current NE2, PH, P35, 735A, 435, 235 and former 2025, 1025, 425, 615, 415, 2005, (and all their 4 string versions) plus some sexy MAs and you want a 605 NE1?! 😁

Fake news!

Fact: bass six string players typically have 6 fingers per hand

Does your 605 have the NE1 circuit also? Dunno if you have come across a 2005 also in your travels and been able to compare them? And I have no idea how they sound / play compared to the current line up, but I'm guessing more similarities than differences ie you know you're playing a Yammy BB!

Wonder who picked up that very tasty BB 604 NE1 that sold within 5 hours?!

Oh wise Underworld Jedi of the Dead. If we take the above two "concluding statement" posts together, dear chap, I think you've finally achieved your objective and brought balance back to The Compression Force. YF Dark(ish) Lord.

Absolutely brilliant concluding statement! But no disagreement from me: if the gear we play gives us joy, then what better reason is there to have it?

I've really liked your tone on the various clips you've posted over the years on BC and I'm also aware you've played to some very large audiences, certainly by most BC'ers standards. Do you not use a pedal board comp at all even for larger (non pub) gigs? Out of interest, are you using any other pedals or going straight into your amp / DI'ing straight into the PA? I know the OP had a bit of bee in his bonnet about us not using cheaper compressors, but the Spectracomp seems to be a big fav on BC and would certainly fall into the "budget" category; as with all things bass, it's not necessarily about paying top dollar but as @Baloney Balderdash rightly said it's about getting the most out of what we already have (and I'm certainly not excusing myself from that). I have to agree with you, though, some form of metering can be very useful.

#Me too 😁 And hats off to Andy for being a bit of a BC hero on this.