Al Krow

This comes close at 18mm rather than the usual 16.5mm if you're after a 5 string: (The 4 string Ibbys are already 19mm spacing).

After a LOT of churning over the past couple of years (12 basses in and 9 out), I've got a set of basses that I'm now really very happy with. Which is a relief! However, the brand that I have the most basses of is...Ibanez. Which Ibby have you got your eye on?

Agreed in terms of telling them apart. My thinking on using an octave-up pedal I guess boils down to just a couple of points: You're not going to want to play an 8 string on every song, so potentially means taking a couple of basses to rehearsals / gigs. A pedal is just handy when you have one as capable as the Mosaic which does seem 'good enough' particularly in a band mix, and you can kick on and off mid song or between songs. To get an octave-up equivalent to what I was doing with a 5 string, you'd need to restring the bass B, E, A, D (plus their 4 octave strings), which is definitely possible I'm sure, although I wonder how many folk have done that in practice?

Wow! That sounds like an amazing 8 string!! (As does a custom Alembic btw!) Do you have any pics of your s8 - and did you manage to use it in anger live?

Apologies for reviving a zombie thread, but just as a nice little coda... I'm usually pretty "@FinnDave" in my approach to pedals i.e. I don't take any pedals to rehearsals or gigs other than a tuner, although I love messing about with them at home. Simply bass --> amp & cab. The sax player in one of the covers bands I'm in has recently left the UK to head down under with work; so instrumentally we're down to bass + guitar (and drums). Thought I'd give the Mosaic a spin tonight and it worked an absolute treat in filling out the sound in combination with me hitting the lows on a 5 string, with virtually no latency. Great little pedal - highly recommend for exactly this job.

Actually makes sense it's 1 lb heavier than mine, likely to be a mixture of 'posher' woods plus (I'm guessing) a slightly wider neck to accommodate the greater string spacing.

All true and unlike young master dB you won't be evading UK taxes either! 😂

It seems to be a SR Premium, with Ibby's standard 3 band EQ, active / passive switch, and semi para mids, which are just fantastic basses, but with two differences: - 18mm string spacing - Aguilar pups instead of Nordstrand Big singles Personally I really like the 16.5mm and Nords on mine, but I can see that this 'W' version will appeal to a different audience of bass players. I can't imagine it will be that heavy - my SR Premium is a shade over 8 lbs.

Yeah if you're paying VAT and Customs on top plus £12 handling charge, you're back up to £299 or thereabouts!

@dave_bass5true. But, if it's faulty you're covered on PayPal and if it's not you can get most of your costs back by selling it on used for 75% of UK list prices ie £225.

Or you could buy direct from the US for even less...

Haha - probably best not to argue with you, eh? 😂 More importantly, what does that Spector sound like in your band mix?!

@WHUFC BASS you do realise that your Euro 5LX in your OP is one of the most 'liked' purchases ever! I'm not surprised, with its PJ config and general superb design it's an almost perfect bass!

@pacman84 sorry you missed out on my Spector Legend Custom 5 which literally sold just a few days back. I think there are a few decent Spectors in the FS section and hopefully some of the various followers of this thread will also put the word out and / or see if they have one going spare "under the bed" which they might be looking to move on.

I'm kinda thinking you can't use a footswitch to cycle through the voices on the M9 though?

Handsome bass! But 5 strings and 24 frets is defo more my cup of tea these days, which I'm fortunate that my herd largely offer. In fact, my Ibby Portamento offers 5 strings and a very accessible THIRTY fret range, which is ridiculous right? Just reminded myself why I'm still lacking a Ric 😉

Interesting to get your thoughts on that. On an Ibby it's pretty easy to boost the lows (just a touch in my case) and mids using the on board 3 band EQ and mid-point-centre selector switch. The Ibby, tbf, is IMO soooo much more comfortable to play than a Ric with its fast neck and lightweight body, but obviously less iconic!

+1^^ can't argue with that! You almost persuaded me to get a replacement one! Fortunately I don't have any space left on my board 😁 @Bass-Face yup that is the normal sized FI. Mr Gisser gets them into even more compact housing (e.g. in case you need to fit on an LS2 😊)

I actually quite like that finish. I'm sure the audience will hear the difference 😁

I do love a growl on my basses! Be interested to know whether you've ever compared a Ric growl to a Warwick MEC growl or an Ibby Nordstrand Big Single growl?

Check these vids out and it will give you a pretty good idea whether an LS-2 will add something for you: Using for parallel loops: Probably best to start with everything simple and in series and then once you're familiar with your pedals and how they blend together you can then have a think about going parallel with an LS2. And there will always be plenty of buyers for your LS2, if you get one and decide it's not for you. My suggestion was "in brackets" as just something to think about. I'm managing fine with parallel looping on my Boss SY1 and don't have an LS2 myself.

Great - thanks so much @agedhorse for jumping in. Am I correct that the ability to footswitch voicing is unique to the M6 as the M3 doesn't have separate voicing and the M9 from what I can see from the rear doesn't have separate voicing footswitch options, but just a single footswitch port which controls the EQ but not the voicing? M9:

A mere handful compared to some on the post your pedal boards thread! Which btw is worth checking out, there are several on there that are amazingly well put together. Thanks, me too! 😎

Yeah soz 😁. Welcome to the rabbit hole world of pedals. I scaled up my Classic Jr to a PT2 and it's surprising how much you can fit on that, especially if you put a couple of items underboard (in my case the MXR IsoBrick PSU and Source Audio Neurohub). Here's a recent iteration prior to the sudden sad demise of my Tech 21 Red Ripper which seems to have given up the good fight and I need to see if I can find a decent (and not to expensive) local Tech to repair. I've avoided the need for an LS2 as the Boss SY1 has parallel loop capability and I've made use of that to put three pedals in its loop: