Al Krow

Come on then 'fess up - which is the one bit of bass kit out of all of the gear that you've got during 2020 that you'd choose to keep above all the rest? (I'm guessing very possibly the Sad PJ...)

That's high praise Luke 'cos Laklands are supposed to be very decent already. JE does get a LOT of love for his pre-amps on BC - and sounds to me like something definitely worth checking out further. I'm assuming it wasn't a budget Skyline model you have? Assuming not, how would you describe the key differences you've found? I had similar reaction when I started using a Tech 21 VT Bass DI pedal for the first time earlier this year - it just felt like there was a clarity and zing to the tone on a number of my basses that I'd not been aware had been missing before using it. And it's not like I had been using what most folk would categorise as a sub par rig: BF SC and DG AO900.

On the plus side it's left you older and wiser, which has value in itself, right? And, fingers crossed, if you bought it used you will likely have not lost very much on it at all. Agreed, I think this is definitely not the right thread either 😁 One thing we can say with confidence about this Panda pedal in the Future, is that it clearly has an Impact on its users.

Phew! Good we are completely on the same page then. Yes agreed - for the avoidance of doubt the SY-1 is a synth emulator as are also Helix, Zoom and EHX pedals (e.g. the EHX Synth 9) and does not have a proper internal "synth engine" i.e. a synth waveform generator in the way that the C4, FI or Mooer GE300 and Boss SY-1000 do. I've mentioned that a fair few times about the SY-1 on other threads, but certainly worth clarifying if you thought there was a risk of confusion. The SY-1 does have superb tracking and not a bad set of polyphonic synth sounds; but then you'd hope that to be the case if you're forking out £175 for a dedicated pedal! Hence my mentioning it as one of the alternatives to Helix that folk (including me!) have gone for who are not satisfied with what Helix can deliver on the synth front. Yes, thanks, Patrick - that's the one! Hopefully will give you a few ideas for half decent filter patch creation.

Are you saying it generates sine, square, saw tooth waves in the way that an FI or C4 does and is not merely a synth emulator? If so, that's definitely news to me!

That will very much depend on who you're asking! Sire make phenomenally well featured basses for the money. But the same could be said for HB who have a dedicated following too on BC.

I seem to recall that there was mention of the "A filter" being half decent on Helix, but I've not managed to find where this was discussed on this thread (I should really have a go at doing an index for the thread to make it more user friendly...) Helix and Synth As I touched a few posts back, unfortunately Helix doesn't have a synth engine under its bonnet (unlike the Mooer GE300 multi-fx or Boss SY-1000) and I personally didn't find the Dr Tonelab synth patches that good. The synth fanboys on this forum tend, from what I've seen, to go for a quality dedicated synth pedal e.g. Panda FI, Source Audio C4 or if you don't want to PC edit another pedal in addition to your Helix, then the Boss SY-1. Old fashioned approach to getting a synth effect = octave + dirt + filter in a chain. Worth trying that as a starting point and having a go at creating a patch (I suspect other folk have maybe already gone down this route and can share). Here was my stab at that, which seemed to be well received by a few BC'ers who gave it a spin: Synth Patch.pdf

Excellent! Always good to bring a smile a fellow BC'er's face particularly on such a wet and dreary lockdown Saturday 😊

That looks like a stunning bass Cam. You were so loving your Dingwalls last year, in fact this Super PJ5 was your "best purchase" last year but I see you're selling them all now! What is it about the Xotic that has blown you away?

Yup discussed in some depth on the thread below earlier this year, which was perhaps the best / most balanced discussion I've seen on the subject on BC.

I agree always disheartening to lose a ton of money on a purchase, and new basses oftern tend to be the worst for that - probably 'cos they are often the most expensive single piece of bass gear that we buy. If it makes you feel any better my biggest single "loss" was also on a lovely Sandberg - a TM4, although I did get 4 decent years use out of it first. A great thing about being on BC is having a such a trustworthy market place - when you see sellers have been on here for years and have dealt with some of the folk you know well it really does boost confidence; means I'm much much more likely to buy used gear these days with confidence and, touch wood, have managed to break even, in the round, on used gear that I've subsequently moved on.

You'd be better off asking Mrs Santa in my experience 😁 Be warned it's a whole new rabbit hole of PC editing - haha! - and you should really budget another £100 for a midi controller with usb port to scroll through your patches. The BC guru on everything C4 is @Quatschmacher and he's actually well known to / recognised by the SA audio team for his expertise.

+1 ^^ But tbf you're looking at a Mooer GE300 (full fat not Lite) or Boss SY-1000 if you want a multi fx that can deliver filter and synth. And for the difference in price you could get a Boss SY-1, SA C4, or Panda FI to fill the gap. Although it would obviously be great to have everything under one bonnet!

Just wow! That's a beaut!

Now you know the rules Lozz, pics please or they didn't happen! (Ok I appreciate you'll likely have posted on a NBD thread already...😊) Interesting on neck depth - given your love of P basses, was the depth too shallow for you on the Standard?

Depending on which effects, actually yes an audience, your band and you would notice. DSP on Helix >> Zoom and this is key to better quality emulations. It's why the high end multi-fx (Fractal etc.) have seriously impressive chips at the their core. Try a pitch shift on Zoom and you'll get an unusable latency riddled sound. Helix handles effortlessly. Similarly if you ever fancy emulating a Royal Blood layered sound - well good luck on Zoom (no chance in my experience). Helix just about manages, particularly if you make use of parallel routing (series only in Zoom). But if you're just going for simple dirt and EQ, well I agree Zoom will likely get you there and no particular need to shell out for the better quality Helix.

Just had the pleasure of dealing with Phil - sold me a mint condition pedal, for a very reasonable price, which I'm looking forward to getting to grips with over the coming months, ahead of gigs restarting (fingers crossed!) next Spring. He may have twisted my arm to purchase one of his books too 😊

Helix HX Effects would allow you to create upto128 "boards" of 6 individual "pedals" and each of these "pedals" can be switched on or left off as desired with 6 individual stomp switches. Or alternatively you could have 128 tailored patches for particular songs that you could then put in the running order of your gigs and just scroll through 32 banks of effects in blocks of 4. Or any combination in between! Parallel or series / cross over options. It also has two external parallel loops for incorporating your existing pedals as well as midi connectivity. Should keep even you out of mischief, for a while, Stew! And all that for less than £300 used. @PaulWarning how am I doing on the GAS induction front? I'm a massive fan of the Zoom pedals, as you probably already know. But Helix does take things to the next level.

And you’ve ended up with a MIJ OC2 pedal worth the best part of £100! That’s gotta be a “best buy” on a whole ‘nother level and a rate of return that would make a hedge fund manager blush 😁

That is one lovely bass! Always been tempted by NT5 Warwick Thumbs and fantastic that you managed to get one for a great price and in such good condition! If I could find one which weighed in at around 10 lbs or less I'd be champing at the bit to join you. I totally love that Warwick MEC growl - it's what led me to seeking a lighter weight substitute which I've kinda managed to get with my Ibby SR Premium basses with their Nordstrand big singles. I got mine, used, within 4 weeks of yours but complete with a cover! Frustratingly, and I suspect true for both of us, I've certainly had precious little opportunity to use it "in anger" outside of the house since then...

Aha - another potential candidate for the neo-luddite BC club! How on earth did you wangle that?! 😁

Following on from the same topic we've successfully run for the last couple of years - a chance for some useful hints and tips with Black Friday and Xmas goodies still ahead, and, of course, nothing to stop us changing our minds between now and year end. And, yes please, pics of the offending items very welcome to add unhelpful GAS for the rest of us! As with the last two years, the only "house rules" are that it's bass gear and something you bought (or at least arrived) in 2020. We can all then sign up to @bassfan's / @Sibob's Gear Abstinence Thread for 2021 with good conscience and in the knowledge we don't have a cat in hell's chance of succeeding! 😁

Just had a hugely positive experience with UPS sending a BF cab to Norway. Collected from my place within the agreed 2 hour slot on Monday afternoon and arrived safely in Norway today (Thursday) first thing. £35 courier + £20 extra for £500 insurance cover. Dunno how that compares on price, but me and the buyer were both very happy with the service.

To get the ball rolling, here's some thoughts I recently posted on another thread: There does seem to be a nice hierarchy of price and capability evolving in the current 'compact' and 'super compact' multi-fx space and you can slot in at the right level for your individual requirements: Compact DG / Neural DSP (not yet released) Fractal FM3 Boss SY 1000 Super Compact Boss GT 1000 Core Headrush Helix Stomp / HF Effects Zoom B1-4 Obviously plenty I've missed off that list (e.g. the larger Helix LT and Floor which are perhaps too big to be described as "compact", Mooer GE Series, Hotone Ampero, the older Zooms and Line 6 pedals + others) Cost / value / capability obviously won't be linear though i.e. you can pay a fair bit more for a marginal improvement, for the same reason why a £2,000 bass is never going to be 400% better than a decent £500 bass! The entry point here is a Zoom B1-4 which is around £65 to your door and, having had both, I can say that the Stomp / Helix HX Effects is definitely a big step up but certainly not a 6x better product than the Zoom. For me capability is a function of a number of factors including: DSP (which often dictates the quality of the simulated effects); the availability and quality of individual effect sims; quality and easy to use PC editing software; ease and flexibility in being able to use live - decent display, access to individual effects pedals, more rather fewer stomp switches; built in synth engine.

My least favourite thing is packing up big bass items for sale, and then the thought of sending them overseas fills me with further dread! So I had only just decided that this sale would be collection only when Stephen gets in touch and asks if I'd be preapred to get it couriered to...Norway. Ugh! However this particular experience has gone some way to exorcising a few demons on that score! Stephen organised the courier & insurance and UPS arrived within 30 mins of the start of their designated 2 hour window on Monday afternoon and the cab arrived safe and sound in Norway just 3 days later. If Carlsberg did bass cab transfers...😁 As for Stephen - he's a gent and I'd have absolutely no hesitation in dealing with him again. Fast payment, excellent coms and just a pleasure to deal with. Enjoy the cab mate - I see you'll be pairing it with a Mesa head from your previous purchase on here: you could be doing far worse!