Musicman20

I'd just get a USA Stingray instead of wanting one, going for a cheaper model, then eventually going US anyway!

Sad news. National treasure.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1438623606' post='2835884'] I just bought my son a slightly late 21st birthday present ~ Fender Jaguar Thinline. Pics to follow. [/quote] Is this the Japanese model? I can confirm these are superb. The quality is excellent and the guitar is super easy to play.

Just picked up a few cheaper on Amazon (guitar related) and I'm impressed. Isn't it funny how guitar gear always has the good offers compared to bass!

If I didn't have so many Ray's I'd get one of these (well, I would have pre-ordered!)

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1438251801' post='2832872'] since i got the news that Jeff Genzler is back in business! [/quote] Ditto. I can't wait for Genzler's new amps and cabs.

I bought a load of Fender Custom Shop patch cables and they are excellent.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1438254418' post='2832909'] ... but Boss pedals never break... [/quote] It's almost as if I have this image in my head of what a guitar effects pedal is, and the first thought is the classic rock hard Boss design. I mean, for £39 or less, you get an SD-1 or DS-1, and used with a good amp, they are excellent pedals. Robust, easy, cool tones, and the SD-1 does a great job of pushing the front end. Sorry - getting into guitar land now!

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1438252257' post='2832877'] -an extra 60" of cabling being added to the distance between the bass and amp. A buffered pedal will negate that if placed correctly in the chain. [/quote] That is the point i'd start taking much more notice!

All that true bypass/buffer/etc doesn't really affect me. I just don't pay it any attention.

I'm jealous of that era. I grew up with Nirvana/alternative grunge and punk and the Brit pop scene. Whilst both were great, and I've not seen anything similar to a full wave of bands like that for a long time, I envy anyone who was alive and enjoyed/got involved with The Beatles. Every band I listen to has the Beatles in them, somewhere. I lived near Liverpool briefly (and I'm still only 30-40 mins away in the car) and I can honestly say I love it. The city feels alive with music and The Beatles made that place such an exciting place then and now.

Great pics as usual Dave - interested to know how you get on with it.

Oh get a pic up!

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1438164201' post='2832143'] I think it's because they stayed away from weird and wonderful (like mid-DOD (Gonkulator etc) and a lot of boutique brands now) and simply went for solid, functional sounds. No, the OD-2 or CE-2 pedals aren't exciting, but they're on more boards than any Keeley or Walrus Audio pedal, purely because they were the first to mass-develop these little boxes that we love, and they nailed the basic sounds that get you through a gig. Simply put, you go and watch a critically acclaimed noise band where you're very aware of the strange and impressive sounds, they'll probably not use much Boss.....you make an association there. With that said, even a band like Tera Melos always have 4 or 5 Boss pedals each, and they sound weeeiriirrdddd. You go and watch any massive act where all that is needed is basic and solid effects, bet there's more Boss than you'd expect Si [/quote] Yes, agree with the above. The new RV-6 shimmer mode and the new delay unit DD-500 sound/look amazing...! I've recently tried and bought the Waza pedals and the DM-2W is a fantastic bit of kit. I've barely had time with the other two but initial impressions are great (guitar related). I'm impressed the OC-3 has guitar and bass inputs...might give one a go.

Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar (the recent Lacquer Classic series versions). A decent Gibson Les Paul.

When I first started bass and had friends with awful first guitars/10W solid state practice guitar amps, Boss pedals and Zoom pedals were used a lot. They sounded, from what I remember of that time, ropey. Now, I've bought quite a lot of the guitar related Boss pedals, and you know what, they are just as good (if not build better) than some of the boutique pedals costing 3-4 times more. There isn't the same avoidance around EHX pedals, but they are equally as good value. Just lately I've been looking at Boss bass pedals, like the BB-1X, and they sound fantastic. Is it possible that our first years with crap equipment led us to believe that the poor old Boss pedals weren't that great purely due to the poor amps and guitars/basses we had? Sorry - I can't add line spaces/new paragraphs for some reason!

Watch your tweeter if you have one. Dial it way down/turn it off with dirt IMO.

Well the Boss LMB-3 and Budda Chakra both arrived, both feel very durable, both have a good quality footswitch. I've not had much time to play with them, but I'm already preferring how solid they both feel! Re: Darkglass - I imagine it will be expensive. Not that expensive is a bad thing (I've spent a hell of a lot on gear over the years) but I've found I don't really gel with the Darkglass pedals. I will probably eat my own words but the tone for their overdrive/distortion just doesn't work for me.

Not great news. I hope it gets sorted. Have they offered you anything if they can't fix it? Trips to techs and then back to shops must be mounting up costs, so it might be worth Mike Lull taking it back for a full review and sending something else?

[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1437648589' post='2827792'] I have an RH750 and an RH450 - both of which are slagged off (by some) for not being true 750 and 450 watts amps. However, I can't imagine a scenario where you could run the 750 at full volume via my Barefaced Compact and Retro Two10 combination. No uumph is lacking there I can tell you. In fact, I just picked up another class D amp ...... an Ashdown MiBass 220. It's also a class D and I also can't quite run that at full chat with the speaker combo in a four piece guitar/drums/bass/keys band in a big pub. I have uumph. [/quote] I've had both those RH amps, and I still have the 750, and I still praise it despite the 'issues' that keep getting raised.

Re: guitarists and tubes - I've become much more involved with playing guitar now, and a small Fender tube combo with those pristine cleans is a wonderful thing. I have two low-ish wattage tube amps for guitar, and they do sound great. Guitarists have it much easier though, as a good quality 1x12 22W tube amp covers a lot of ground. Buy a nice overdrive pedal (like a Klon clone) and bam, you have some very interesting tones. However, the new Roland Blues Cube has NO tubes/valves whatsoever, and it sound absolutely stunning. Get it right, and guitarists wanting a solid, reliable, cheaper to run amp will buy it. It IS tough to get it right, more than bass IMO.

At your age, change your lifestyle as soon as you can. Jobs come and go. I've mainly been in bands that write their own music, and being 'technically' superb wasn't an issue...song writing and being a tight solid unit was the aim. I've met plenty of very technical and well trained musicians, but they have no flair or willingness to be a little more creative. I'd sit on the side of being damn good at playing whatever is thrown at me, but I have no desire to be technically superb or learn everything about music theory. It depends what type of band you want to be in. I rate song writing and creativity over someone who sits and slaps out a bass solo. For the record, I've spent years training in law only to find that: A) the money is pretty awful and respect for lawyers has dropped since I began to train and B ) if I could, I would leave the career and work in something more exciting. At the end of the day, going into a 'safe' career which promises you will reap rewards (both professionally and financially) is not always what you expect.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1437513298' post='2826752'] Good review there for the Budda and at only £50 on evilbay not bad at all. [/quote] I think they are normally £90-100!

It is only that MXR pedal that I hear reports of issues. My other two MXR pedals are incredibly well made and feel higher quality compared to the Compressor. I usually just buy the best but I've learnt so much from 6 string guitar orientated pedals that even cheap pedals sound great. It doesn't have to be boutique to be good quality. I've opted for the Budda Chakra (big batch on offer on eBay and the reviews on it for bass are very very good - http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/chakra.shtml That's a 1/3 of the price of the MXR because of the offer. I've also opted to try a Boss LMB-3 because I love the Boss shape and function...again it gets decent reviews for the price. I also wanted it for more of a limiting type pedal. I've bought a few pedals from Amazon and they've always been spot on until now. This one was factory sealed so I think it's always been a dodgy one.