Musicman20

That paint job is lovely. Leave the red!

I had the same issue with my GP12400SMX. That was the only issue I had with it for years!

I think you'll see the same for a lot of tech, including manufacturers like Apple.

This is why I need a Helix again.

Unfortunately, despite how interesting it is to see demos, most of the professional demos are paid for. Otherwise, why would they do it, unless they are musicians with financial stability and they just enjoy it... I've seen Darkglass products jump to higher and higher prices. £400 for a distortion pedal is absolutely INSANE. They have become 'the' distortion tone for more metal/heavier tones....and personally I think it just makes all basses sound very very similar. It sounds almost metallic and processed. The craze is: fanned fret bass, shed loads of Darkglass distortion, normally some sort of dual pickup bass....then the bass riff almost sounds like a djent style guitar riff. I still prefer Tech 21, if I'm honest. Also, you can get a Helix Stomp and probably get exactly these tones or close and thousands more.

Black? Hmmm....not very interesting....should have done something like shell pink.

Maybe for now, but as the current prices rest in place for a while, people might want a second hand one and thus demand will rise, which will mean the value could be a little better 2nd hand compared to what it used to be. Same with Rays. You can't buy one for less than 2k ish now.

P basses are great for digging in!

I was, I guess, lucky to invest in most the high end Musicman and Fender stuff I wanted before significant price hikes hit about 3 years back....with the problems with the £ etc. A new 5 HH Bongo (albeit not a cool limited run like the above) was less than half that new. Still doesn't detract from the fact the linked bass is stunning.

Very clean, precise and clear. I often think there is a touch of the Trace sound to some of the cleaner Genz sounds.

I remember the LM2 and LM3 being excellent pedal platforms...a bit like a clean Fender amp is for guitarists. I think it looks pretty cool. It stands out. Then again I like Bongo basses.

I think it keeps dropping then levelling out...sorry I can't remember! Keep an eye on google!

I'm back in decision mode with this. Seen the HX Stomp drop to £390....seen the LT for around £720-740. However the main Helix floor has risen to £1150-1200+ from around £900-950 when I first tried one.

HAHAHAHHA! I thought the same with that insane EVH guitar. They talk about case candy like it makes up for about £5k of the price. You get special plectrums. Thanks.

Personally, if you have no amp on stage, I would go all out on a full on Helix and enjoy it!

It really doesn't look like a difficult thing to recreate. Daft.

Oh, and their current roster is rubbish for basses IMO. Make a few decent period correct Thunderbirds, and maybe a modern version with improvements (like they do with the modern take on Les Pauls). £1600 or less.

I have two Gibson guitars, one is a 2017 LP Tribute, and strangely, this guitar has excellent QC and sounds/feels brilliant considering the prices back then. It could do with a new pickup selector as it's a bit finicky but it works. The other is an Amazon exclusive SG Standard 2017 ish in Sunburst. Nicely built. The odd tiny flaw....but other than that, it is a proper Gibson and it does look lovely. I think I was VERY lucky to get two decent Gibson at decent prices. I recently bought an R8 Les Paul in the huge sale they had, and to be honest, it felt cheap, the finish wasn't great and overall it felt rushed. That guitar normally is around £3.5-4k I think....this was £2.5k in a huge batch sale. Gibson have a lot of things they NEED to get right. I still don't trust buying new without a complete thorough check. Instead of suing and collaborating to make sure they have their name in the right places, they need to make customers confident the guitars are perfect, especially at the price they are.

Not to be too harsh, but that new lower redesign is definitely NOT for me.

What happened with the new shape? Did Gibson kick up a fuss?

I will, when time and funds allow, pickup a 4HH Stingray Special I think. In an OUTRAGEOUS colour.

http://w.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Bongo_5HH_Wild_Cherryburst.html I can't buy anymore basses as I've just bought a house, but oh my that is a lovely high end Bongo!

I've heard a rumour that Line 6 may have something up their sleeves for Summer NAMM. However, I doubt it's another Helix product. Maybe an update for the Stomp for more blocks?

The result above is much better...but still, it might be worth the team at BF speaking to someone like Marshall or another UK manufacturer for some tolex advice. The guitar cabs do seem like a massive step up.

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere...