Al Krow

Good shout. You'll need to talk me through that, please, and in particular whether the HX Effects can do IR's both well and relatively easily with the gear a typical bass player is going to have at their disposal? Anyone uploaded IRs onto the HX Effects and been pleased with the results?

Sounds like mooer radar + preamp pedal pretty much has it covered for you. And the point for bringing the discussion to this thread, is that I think a similar combination of HX Effects + Mooer Radar should also work pretty well. I'm just trying to get my head around what a pre-amp pedal can actually provide that the HX Effects can't (and assuming that the venue has a DI) i.e. what are you still missing if you "only" have the Mooer's cab sims? I would have thought that judicious use of EQ plus a couple of the multiplicity of fx available on the HX Effects should be able to deliver a pretty darned good pre-amp patch? Guessing there will be a few HX Effects users on here ahead of me on this one!

Oh that's easy: you just empty the basket. You see, it doubles up as a protective carry case. It really has been carefully thought through.

That really is a basket case, isn't it?

Haha it's not getting much use live currently, although I'm not guaranteeing that will always be the case! Nor are several of my basses nor my 25 lbs Mesa M6 amp. In my case the HX Effects is being pipped to the post by the simpler and easier to use Zoom B14 which, as it happens, does have amp and cab sims. But you know that I don't share the utilitarian (aka "practical") philosophy to gear that you have (and tbf many share with you) dear chap, and I also value my back when it comes to heavier gear with otherwise great tonal ability (obviously referring to the M6 rather than the HX Effects in relation to this!). I'm a firm believer that if my gear gives me pleasure even if that be "only" at home, it's repaying my investment. It doesn't have to be gigged / taken out on the road or earn me money to be something I enjoy having. I'm also a believer that I hear and enjoy nuances of bass tone a LOT better at home without a rock band alongside and ear plugs in! And that's also partly because I'm fortunate with family and neighbours in being able to play at volume in my 'bass-ment'. But hey - that's where I've landed in my thinking and circs and it works for me. IMO it's certainly possible to have a very valid opinion about gear without gigging it - or are you seeking to censor comments from anyone about their own gear unless they're in a band? Banter aside - if you're going straight to DI (with no amp or cab) conceptually will a cab sim suffice or is there still going to be 'gap' left by not having an amp sim? I'm kinda thinking that a cab sim should largely get you there, because unless you're playing a tube amp most D class power modules aren't particularly coloured and the tone you're getting from the preamp section you could potentially get from your pedalboard. So that just really leaves the tone shaping provided by your cab.

One of the key joys of playing live is connecting with your audience. Great originals bands will fill out a stadium. A half decent originals band can regularly play to an empty venue, often for no money. Must be soul destroying if it never goes anywhere? A half decent covers band will bring in custom and fill out a pub, or help a wedding couple celebrate (hopefully!) one of happiest days of their lives and get paid handsomely for the privelege. Writing a song is a wonderful creative process. A lot of original material by your average originals band is at best meh, which is why they play to empty venues. If you write a great song, you'll touch people's souls. Audiences will want to hear it time again and other musicians will pay you the ultimate tribute by covering it. There's room for both. A harder road awaits the one with the prospect of amazing uplands, but few manage to scale those dizzy heights. For the rest of us, there is a lot of fun to be had making great music to appreciative audiences for a decent pay day. That works for me.

I'll ask my people to get in touch with your people. I'm sure some arrangement can be reached.

If you prefer the form factor of the HX Effects for live use but are missing the amp & cab sims of the Stomp, then it seems like the Mooer Radar will, to coin a Bon Jovi phrase, get you half way there in a very compact package.

Must depend on the band and the individuals involved. We've got a 23 y/o and a 60 y/o in the same band, but it works cos there's a whole range in between. If there were four 20 year olds I'm guessing the 60 y/o would feel much more out of place and vice versa.

Great review by our very own Dood. Comes with some useful effects: octave down gets down to an open E (24.30) without glitching, that easily matches the tracking of the best analogue octave pedals. 5th up plus reverb or chorus are also really neat. Tilt control to weight things to the treble (useful for boomy venues) or bass. Preset EQ in the form of the shape control in tribute to the Mesa M6. Fully sweepable mids although not sure where the bass and treble EQs are centred. A LOT of amp and given its versatility not outrageous in price.

And if hadn't been for a factory accident to Tony, aged 17, those 3 notes might have been very different...

Music may be ageless. But fashion and tastes change. If it didn't we would still all be listening to Frank Sinatra or the Beatles. I think a band wrote a song once, something about "My Generation". Can't remember Who...

Spent 45 mins getting to grips with the RD-8 aided by a couple of YouTube tutorials which seem to be a heap more easy instruction than the manual! Only got as far as single patterns rather than chaining those into songs tonight, but certainly editing patterns is very intuitive and easy to use and I've managed to lay down / save a couple of rhythms and frankly have got further in such a short space of time than with any drum machine. This is in a totally different league to the Alesis SR18 I previously had, in terms of being able to create and monitor, in real time, the drum patterns I'm working on. In this particular aspect it's like transitioning from an abacus to a modern pocket calculator! And feels a bit like cheating but I picked up a copy of 260 Drum Machine Patterns (Hal Leonard) for under £7 off Amazon, which should provide a bunch of easy to plug in ideas as a starting point. It's now taking me seconds to do what it would take several minutes on the SR18, which frankly was sufficiently off-putting to mean that the SR18 was not put to creative use.

Slight apology for gratuitously dishing out some victim's blood to resurrect this mummified thread (speaking of which @Dad3353, would you mind very kindly doing your refresh thing please?). It would interesting to in seeing if any of the posters on this thread ended up going down / staying with the hybrid route themselves. But I've just come across this clip of the all British Laney SL and it's such a versatile and great sounding all-in-one amp loaded with some excellent very gig-able features. At 12 lbs it's also a very manageable weight and can deliver a ridiculous 1000W through a pair of 4 ohm cabs. My only 'gripe' is that I'm not sure that power can be bridged to deliver 500W to 600W through a single 8 cab, which would have been a really 'nice to have'. Hmmm...tempted to get in touch with them to see if this is something they might upgrade their amp to deliver. I just love the touches such as a stand-by switch which leaves the tube section on and warmed up ready to use.

Nope. And not sure how many of us would want to join them tbf! Lol! But my point is that you can substitute pretty much anyone several decades apart in age from the rest of the band, where they are targeting a certain audience or market, and know that it ain't going to work from a marketing point of view for a pro band. That was Lozz's point and I agree. For covers and originals bands which 99% of BC'ers are involved in, age most likely ain't gonna matter musically or presentation-ally, although it may well impact on other issues relating to "fit", socialising etc. and that's gonna vary in importance from person to person.

^^ this Not really an issue, unless you're trying to convey a specific image, but even then...for originals and covers bands - it's not as though there are only 20 somethings in a pub or at a wedding, is it? But I'm not sure this chap could really have considered... ...applying to join them:

Well yes. But Prince Harry and his dad still bang on about green issues whilst taking plenty of flights including private jets...

Could we formally invite you to join as a belated "honorary member" of GAC 2020? A patron of your calibre would add mythical heft to the proceedings.

More of a tricky customer if you ask me.

There's a certain irony in the Trickfish pedal calling itself a "minnow" on that board 😄

Just a light hearted quip - that if you're a fan of the roadworn aesthetic then a wood that dings easily e.g. paulownia shouldn't be problematic for you. And you would get a light eco friendly wood for your bass into the bargain!

But you've just fessed on another thread to liking a battered bass, so it shouldn't be an issue for you anyway 😉

Couldn't possibly say 😁 But think of a not-rocky beach adjacent to an ice berg (with very civilised seal pups).

Interesting. The body is made out of paulownia, a softer wood, and as you said dented just by looking at it! I had a similar view of a budget Warwick Rockbass I had, also made from paulownia. A high-end bass maker has recently taken to using the same wood to provide lighter basses whilst charging circa £1k+ for the privilege, but some of the fanboys were advising not to worry. I'll leave folk to make their own minds up.

Ownership of kit comes with an "opportunity cost" ie as a minimum it takes up both space and ties up funds that could potentially be spent on something better, whether it be bass related or not. So simple test for me is does the bass give you enjoyment: - from playing it (at home or at gigs)? - having it around as something that you take aesthetic pleasure in, and will noodle from time to time; bearing in mind that they may not come up that often? If the answer to the above is no, then my approach FWIW would be to move it on. Very few basses increase in value, so as investments go, there's usually a whole bunch of better and more liquid places to put spare cash!