Al Krow

@AllYourBassAreBelongToUs spotted a second use for twin headphone outs which is to provide a second FoH option for venues where the main XLR are going to the house PA but you still want to make use of your own PA at the gig. I can think of a couple of venues where that might come in handy!

Aha, ok, thanks! As it happens, I picked up one of those a little while back. I'd best give it a proper try out in a live mix then, if it's the one that has got your vote!

One thing I've struggled with in using dirt/fuzz in a live band context is, despite how good it can sound on its own, the bass seems to get lost in the mix, even when blended with a decent amount of clean. I'm guessing that's not something you're finding but I wonder if it's something others have found and what they've done to solve. In my case I've ended not really making much use of my fuzz in a live band context.

I've always really liked the Nordstrand big singles on the SR Premiums I've had. They have a punchy growl which works really well in a covers band mix.

Released last year with a £700+ price tag. Not seen too much on this, and doesn't seem to have made much of a splash with existing bass multi-fx users on this side of the Pond? I guess that boils down to feature set vs cost, and established competition from the Helix Stomp and GT1000 Core which are arguably bothe better featured and less expensive.

Starting to sound like economists here - to ride or not to ride eh? 😂

Thanks MacD. I've actually just spent a fun hour or so creating a couple of patches on my trusty Zoom B1-4: i) Slap back delay There's an fx sim based on the Eventide Time Factor delay which allows me to set two simultaneous delays. I've got it set to on short slap back delays at 90ms and 150ms with limited feedback and added in a smidgen of an oct up fx into the mix, which I think will both cut through and fill out the sound. ii) Powerchord Added a 5th (actually below the root) and an octave above - touches of both so as not to be too "in your face" I'm bit surprised on this one, that it sounds pretty much as good as I remember my old Fishman Fission Powerchord pedal being! I'll give these both a go on something like Hotel California next time we've got it on our set list, before splashing out on a new toy!

I'll try to sing like Aretha Franklin while I'm at it 😅 Coming back to the EHX Pog 3, seems to me that it's verging on being a one-stop-shop Royal Blood pedal? Balking at the £500 price tag though!

RCF have launched the NXL 14A speaker. Looks innovative!

A few of you have mentioned the Fishman Fission Powerchord pedal which I owned a few years back, but was never too enamoured with it. I've just come across the EHX Pog 3, which came out in Aug last year and blows the Fishman (and, as far as I can tell, pretty much all the competition in the octave up space) out of the water. It's a seriously expensive pedal, but I can't find another polyphonic pitch shifter that comes close to it in terms of capability and tight tracking, and I suspect only a high-end multifx would get near it for pitch shift and tracking? Will also be cheaper and easier to master than an 8 string bass - take my word for it! 😅

That is a really useful angle to explore with our drummer! Any live clips of this in action from you guys gratefully received!

Electro-Harmonix POG3 Bass Showcase with Nate Navarro In the meantime, I'll leave this on here from Nate. It seems to me this is in a league above any/all the competition in octave-up tracking? Is that fair? @Quatschmacher can the Panda FIv4 get something close to this on pitch shift capability and tight tracking? If so, I guess that gives another option.

Oh wow! That sounds like an amazing project! Ok best leave you be for a couple of months!

Hey how are you finding this? Any sound clips of it being used live?

That is high praise - sounds like you and Chris both had a real treat when you heard him!

Loved that Roscoe Beck clip, thanks @peteb!

Thanks - will check that track out!

For sure agree with many of the examples you've given @peteb, and Led Zepp were the ultimate power trio of instruments plus vox! But, as others have rightly said earlier in the thread, the point here is with bands and tunes where they themselves had more than one guitarist or a keys player and filled out the sound during guitar solos and didn't leave it to the bassplayer doing what he or she was previously doing. In those circumstances, I think we can potentially tastefully add something 'more', or at least give it some thought rather than dismiss the point as being always wrong?

Nah, disagree Chris. You can sound decently full as a line up during the verse/chorus quite easily. On the Hotel California example, which I think is a good one, you have rhythm guitar filling the sonic space plus vox in the verse/chorus. On the solo the only thing you have underneath the guitar with a three instrument set up is the bass, as the vox also drops out. The Eagles had two rhythm guitars filling the space during the solo. If you don't change things up, it's going to sound thin?

Coming to think about it, a really good example of when a song can sound really thin when the guitarist switches from rhythm to solo with a three piece instrument outfit (guitar, bass and drums) is Eagles - Hotel California. Obviously the Eagles had a BIG line up in terms of guitars. How fill the gap on the iconic guitar solo at the end?

The devil or refrigerator cabs? Are the terms interchangeable?

Read the thread from start to finish and some excellent posts, thanks guys! Picking up on 2 to 3 octave gap point. Thinking that would be an ideal time to kick in a pedal that can add an octave and possibly also a 5th above for some of the songs to fill out the space? Maybe an interesting one to create a patch on a decent multifx or check out some dedicated pedals that can do this well, if folk have recommendations for low glitch / low latency / tight tracking options? And I guess, there's always the option to add "power" chords (root, 5th, octave) ourselves without a pedal.