Al Krow

Hah! I didn't even know that was possible on YT (something I've hitherto done using Song Surgeon software). And it slows down tempo without changing pitch, which is key (excuse the pun). That's the most helpful tip I've had on BC in 2020, alongside @dave_bass5 recommending me getting a VT Bass DI, but this one's completely free! Thanks Chris!

Yeah that does make it a no brainer to all be on just one platform. Agreed that Reaper is a very popular DAW with BCers, I suspect partly 'cos it's such good value for money and has had widespread 'community validation'. Mixcraft is, from what I can tell, only recently starting to compete with the some of the better known brands and a couple of BC'ers I've asked had never come across it. Like Reaper, it's also at the budget end and has a very decent feature set including video editing and, on the surface, seems to have intuitive and easy to use work flow which for a beginner is going to be key. How did you come across it and what persuaded you to jump in and not swim with the prevailing Reaper tide?

Oooh that's very nice. Hmmm, I think I'm getting early onset Wal GAS 😂

I've found a nice Sadowsky decal and my Sire has promised not to tell if I don't when we start gigging again. Besides Andy will shortly be onto Wals, no doubt one he accidentally gets in a trade for a couple of Sads...

Better late than never (btw - that applies to me more than anyone else) 😁 Are you still a fan? - I think Mixcraft has evolved (now on ver 9 from ver 6(?) back then) and become ever more popular since your post a couple of years back. Quite a few positive comments about Cakewalk Sonar on this thread. From what I've gleaned it seems that Cakewalk Sonar is an easy to use more intuitive version of Cubase, which is popular with pros, and Mixcraft seems to follow in Cakewalk's footsteps, but also adds in decent video editing capability so you're not needing to use two separate bits of software for video and audio (a little annoying given a recent investment in Adobe Premiere Elements!). This would be just the ticket for beginners who are also wanting to do YouTube videos. http://forum.cakewalk.com/MixCraft-may-as-well-be-Sonar-m3694340.aspx

One point to about the VLE is that it's a shelf EQ. This cuts a more dispersed range of high frequencies as you turn it up: But there’s no real way to boost the treble in the 3kHz to 5kHz range on the amp itself to address the high-end roll off from the MB cabs, hence my two earlier suggestions.

The MB rig you've got will have a lot of similarities to the AC 121 Lite combo which I gigged for several years (I've moved onto to DG AO900 & BF BB2 / SC for a lightweight gigging rig and Mesa M6 & Fearless112 for home 'studio' use). In addition to the treble roll off that Lozz mentioned, there's quite a gaping hole in the older LM2/3 EQ between the high mids at 800Hz and the high at 10kHz which compounds the treble roll off issue i.e. there's a gap in that 3kHz to 5kHz 'usable treble' range. So I would make two suggestions before you swap out what is otherwise an excellent rig: - a decent EQ pedal to give the 'usable treble' a boost at around 3.5kHz - perhaps even better, a preamp pedal to brighten up the tone. I'm really enjoying my VT Bass DI - its 'bite' button seems to be a key ingredient. This provides a boost to the upper mids and treble so that the tone becomes more pronounced and 'present' especially in a mix. It also has a subsonic filter (i.e. HPF) to tighten up the sound. I wonder if I had discovered this earlier (I kinda got way-laid by its predecessor, the BDDI, which didn't do much for me at all) whether I might have stuck with my MB rig in the first place!

😂

Bringing things much more up to date and apologies if you've heard me be a bit of stuck record on these two: the 'synth' P bass tone of Charlie Puth's - Attention, which is not dissimilar to Dua Lipa's - Don't Start Now, is a tone I'd happily use widely!

@Jonesy would I be miles out in hearing quite a distinctive Geddy Lee "clank" in Bob Weston's live sound?

Haha @krispn - believe there have been plenty of "new and different" sounds I haven't taken a shine to, so I suspect that it's a little more than that 😁 @White Cloud - yeah John Entwistle and Geddy are both bass heroes for me. Do you know what rig John was using for his live performances of My Generation?

Speaking of Ampeg, I've always really liked Krist Novoselic's tone on Teen Spirit – I’m pretty sure he was going through an Ampeg SVT400. Maybe why I've taken an instant shine to my VT Bass DI pedal - that tone was clearly already there in my subconscious!

This one, right?

Cheers @Lozz196 - some great tracks to kick things off. I can see this thread quickly turning into a must listen Spotify playlist, certainly for me!

We BC'ers spend a lot of time pursuing that elusive tone quest! What song tracks have you come across on your travels, either studio recorded or particularly live, where you were blown away by the bass tone? If you have audio or video clips then please feel free to share and if you know the details of the rig, even better!

Are you sure you want to pull your punches here? 😁 FWIW - I'm going to keep the Zoom software installed just for ease of being able to provide y'all with single rather than multiple screenshot for any future patch shares, should the opportunity present itself. So it sounds like there's been a bit of positive cross pollination here!

Right, you've had this thing for well over 24 hours now. Isn't it 'bout time you started you're next thread of "Help me choose my first 5 string"? 😁

Yup my patch is as per my April 5th post. I'm going to guess from that you have the B1-4 and not the B1X-4 model? If that's correct then what we seem to have spotted between us this past week is that file sharing can be done with the ToneLib software for exactly the same model Zoom pedal i.e. you and Stew can download each others patches with your B1-4s but me with a B1X-4 or anyone with the B3N won't be able to i.e. we will only be able to from other B1X-4 or B3N owners separately. Bit annoying but, the fact that a) ToneLib is completely free and b) allows file-sharing in this manner at all (which the Zoom software doesn't seem to allow unless you want to upload to their website) I guess means we shouldn't complain too much! You're the only person I know who's so far worked with both software editors - what is it about ToneLib's that you prefer over Zoom's? That's something worth sharing with other folk who are thinking of going down one or other route, and I guess adds to the usefulness of us being able to file share which ToneLib provides.

Hey @stewblack agreed laborious (but thanks for sharing). You and I seem to both prefer ToneLib, partly as it allows us to back up patches. The Zoom editor AFAIK doesn't allow us to back-up patches except on Zoom’s own website (cheeky monkeys, if that is indeed the case!) But when I uploaded it last week I found it does two useful things: 1) recognises all the patches you've created and uploaded onto your pedal already, and 2) provides a summary screenshot of all the individual effects, so instead of 4 screenshots for 4 effects you get everything in one (see my post from last week). Much less laborious!!

You sober yet? 😂

Only just seen this - love it!

Aha! What @ped referred to as 'digital noise behind the effect' which is also there on the current generation Zoom pedals (e.g. my Zoom B1X-4) and more pronounced with some of the patches (and particularly noticeable if there are high treble settings). I've concluded that this is a function of the cheaper / lower processing power on older multifx or their budget modern day counterparts, as is the quality of the sims.; the higher-end models with their more powerful chipset can be in a different league e.g. the Zoom struggles with pitch shifting, Helix handles it with aplomb.

And the basses aren't too shabby either!

Now that's something you won't get if you buy a Sire! They don't sell spare PGs at all.

Nice! Thanks for sharing that. @uk_lefty that gives you a feel of what the current batch of Zoom pedals is like with amp sims, which was your specific query. FWIW - I preferred the TE tone over the Ampeg 😊