Al Krow

I've got a little HB Spaceship 50M which is perfect for Zoom B14 / B14X pedals, powered with an excellent value HB IsoPro5 underneath: Agree with you about the hard cases, they also have more surplus head space than most of us need, so I ended up swapping mine for the cheaper and neater soft case which has the advantage of a front pocket to store cables. @uk_lefty I'm also in need of a larger board and was super tempted to get the HB Spaceship 60 (which I think is the model you've got, or is yours the HB Spaceship 80?) and, as you say, it's just unbeatable value! But I wanted to try something a little different with a sturdier soft case so I've pulled the trigger on a Rockboard 4.2, as the Rockboards also seem to be getting a lot of positive comments from owners.

I agree and am very much in the same boat. But having just persuaded our guitarist to get a Pod Go, if the Helix new synth patches are (finally) decent I think I'm going to be sorely tempted to get back to Helix myself, too, rather than stick with my FI. Will be following with interest!

Just bought a little footswitch from Jim. All as described, very well packaged and super smooth transaction. Many thanks!

Funny you say that about guitarists...we thought we had a multi-instrumentalist / guitarist / vocalist on board but pulled out so we had auditions a couple of weeks back. First choice has joined and, fingers crossed, will be a great fit. Second choice, and it was close run, is actually a regular dep for JBC, is being lined up by this new outfit's drummer for his existing covers band. So we seem to have managed to sort two guitarists for two bands with one audition, that's gotta be some sort of record. Quite a bit of overlap with JBC covers, as part of the plan is for both bands' crews to be able to dep for each other when needed, but a few new numbers also and will have a different vibe. Be nice to do some of original material down the line too which this new lot are up for and JBC aren't.

80s thing sounds like a lot of fun - it's still the favourite musical decade for many! JBC (and Retros) still going strong, although JBC has probably has reached the level it's going to get to given the work/life commitments of a couple of band members who are in busy jobs. I've got a new 4 piece project on the go which kicked off at the start of the year - will be gigging with them at the end this month. Funny being back in regular rehearsal mode to get us all up to speed with 2 x 1 hour material - been a long while since I've done that.

Did you find it underwhelming due to lack of bass specific effects? I guess it's fair that most bass players would prefer units that were bass focussed in the way that Zoom have done with their line up but, absent that, there do seem to be plenty fx on Helix geared to us bass players, so hopefully you'll find a fair few that you like / are "usable".

Wonder how many of these new fx are going to be available on the Pod Go - all of them? Just persuaded our guitarist on a new project to replace his 12kg (!!) pedal board and case, which was taking his arm off on public transport, with a Pod Go - which we got from the FS on here. Daft fella had been thinking about getting a Kemper, which would have only cost 5 times as much, lol, but when he checked the reviews of the Pod Go and Helix Stomp found that a) that they sounded great and b) the Pod was good to Go for gigs with his amp & cab and covered 90% of what the Stomp could do, and he wasn't particularly fussed about the remaining 10%. All in, should be a very good result and am looking forward to hearing it in action over the next couple of weeks, albeit on guitar rather than bass.

Boss LS2 was clearly deemed controversial even when being used as a mixer at the end of the signal chain, rather than in its more trad use as a line selector. Decided to get a 4 channel Behringer MX400 instead - so I'm still in the game! The fact that it's 4 channel rather than 2 and very likely less noisy certainly helped in choosing. A new MX400 being 1/3 of the price of a used LS2 obviously didn't play any part in my no-brainer decision 😁

That's like millennia by Trav standards!! But for the record, how many 414s have come and gone since that 5 year lock-up 414 came into your hands?

However if the fella met me half way, I do also have a daughter up in Manchester, so this actually could be got to you...

I do and I'd want to meet half-way in any event - otherwise a 3 hour round trip for me! SW London is both one of the poshest and also one of the most PITA places in the capital to get to. Hate the amount of travel time when gigging there, somehow feels massively more painful then heading up to Colchester and back (same time but way further!). Besides we all know Andy will have sold it within 6 months... And you're right Travis, I do have lust in my eyes. But not 4 a 414 😉

I didn't hang around at all when it came up for sale on here! And if another came up in a different finish I'd be very tempted to snap that one up too! I've not come across another bass that balances and 'sits' so well. Literally zero neck dive. I may well get around to upgrading the electronics to a 3 band EQ with an active / passive switch at some point soon, as the Nathan East mid-scoop is just not something I'm making use of. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm actually more smitten with this BB 2005 than I was ever was with my NE2. If I was still playing 4 strings, I absolutely would try to get hold of a BB 2004. That reverse PJ config on that body is just the ticket!

Yup that very much looks like mine! A bit cheeky for them to still have it up for sale!

Well you gents have certainly piqued my interest. Which BB2005 you referring to? This is mine - totally blown away by it!

I like the sound of your friend - does he have any more free evenings coming up? 😄

Yup, me neither! Thanks - it's gone to an appreciative home and hopefully for a fair price to both of us. All good, thank you matey! I know you and I are both big fans of the "which bass do I reach for?" test. I guess the bassist's equivalent of "mirror, mirror on the wall..." 😄 Well for the first time, since getting it new end-of-line in early 2018, this lovely bass was no longer being automatically reached for and a couple of others were, and my sense was that was not going to change. So it was time.

Met up with Jason to pass on my much loved Yamaha BB 1025. Lovely fella, super smooth transaction and no hesitation in recommending him to fellow BC'ers. Enjoy the bass!

This one: Except I just did, today! @Raymanwhat were you just saying about "never say never?"

A used BB 2004 - now that's a find!!

Thanks John. Hmmm...definitely food for thought on the quality of sound upgrade. Now you come to mention it, I did used to have an Alesis SR18 - but found it a complete PITA to programme! I have actually very recently picked up a used Beat Buddy having spotted that they've released a new improved software manager in Nov last year which dealt with a number of previous limitations such as the note cap. I'll pass on the suggestion to sack our drummer 😁

Agreed. But there's definitely a law of diminishing returns as you head up the price scale. Playability is something that I've not paid enough attention to vs focusing on tone - but I've realised that drives how much I want to pick up and play a bass and it won't simply boil down to price. Getting a bass properly set up is obviously key, but how comfortable the bass is to wear, which will vary for each of us with our non-identikit frames, it's weight and how well it's balanced, the string spacing and neck profile are things inherent to a particular bass. I love my sub-£500 used Yamaha BB 2005, I also love my Ken Smith: both really great basses.

That is a particularly unhelpful GAS inducing statement Mr DaBass! 😁 Does sound like the greater 88 kHz sample rate really is making a noticeable difference. Funny you should mention that. I've often used my B1-4 drum/rhythm for home practice - which is a really nice little extra not available on Helix. Had a band practice with a new covers outfit yesterday and unfortunately the drummer couldn't make it as he had tested positive for Covid. So I ended up sorting out a set's worth of, albeit basic, drum tracks for 15 songs just matching the original track tempos and using half a dozen of the available drum styles to cover these off. Ok no fills and manual adjustment of volumes etc. but it enabled us to have a very productive rehearsal, with the benefit of having everything at a reasonable non-ear-plug-volume! @JohnDaBass - be interested to know whether you can hear any difference in the quality of the drum tracks too?

This just in from a TB'er: The Zoom B6 has stereo capabilities! It works on the [AMP/PHONES] output. Effect makes stereo: - Corona Tri Chorus - Bass Stereo Chorus - Dual Delay (in ST mode) - Hold Delay (in PP mode) - all Reverbs (sound better in stereo) Effect stays stereo: - ZNR - Stereo Bass GEQ - Exiter - Bass Vintage Flanger - PDL Volume - Output VP Dry mix stereo: - Pitch Shift - HPS (Harmony Pitch Shift) - Bass Analog Octaver - Bass Poly Shift - Bomber - all Delays - all FX loop It's nice, not earth shattering, but definitely noticeable, especially on headphones.

Paul, really interested in how this pans out for you. Are you putting your bass through this or using separate backline?