Musicman20

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.

I've just tried an MXR Bass Compressor. Whilst my MXR guitar pedals have arrived flawless and felt very high quality, I am a little perplexed with how this one feels a little bit 'cheap'. It probably isn't, but it just seems quite fiddly to work with. I tried it through headphones and used guidance to see how it worked, and to be honest it added hiss and some noticeable clipping/distortion and an almost 'digital' like texture to the tone. It was from Amazon (brand new and cheapest price) but it is going back today due to the noise and the fact the paint job looked like a Friday afternoon rush. Any recommendations? For the price I could try a Boss LMB-3 and a Budda Chakra and still have change and still have two flavours over the MXR.

I've just tried an MXR Bass Compressor. Whilst my MXR guitar pedals have arrived flawless and felt very high quality, I am a little perplexed with how this one feels a little bit 'cheap'. It probably isn't, but it just seems quite fiddly to work with. I tried it through headphones and used guidance to see how it worked, and to be honest it added hiss and some noticeable clipping/distortion and an almost 'digital' like texture to the tone. It was from Amazon (brand new and cheapest price) but it is going back today due to the noise and the fact the paint job looked like a Friday afternoon rush.

Whatever the thoughts on Noel, his band(s), in particular Oasis, have influenced a generation and will continue to. I remember growing up listening to Nirvana and more punk orientated music, but I have always thought Oasis are/were brilliant.

Some all valve amps lack punch and 'uumph', and the same applies to all classes of amp. It depends on the design. I have one all valve amp and a few modern class D amps. They are all incredibly loud.

[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1437179547' post='2824339'] To anyone curious, I emailed Bugera asking what the rms for this head was. They said it's 500w at 4 ohms. [/quote] So way off what they advertise...

This pedal is based on their VERY popular Klon Centaur clone for guitar. The guitar version really is transparent. I love it. For the price compared to the Klon, it is a no-brainer. It is not, on the guitar side, about high gain, it is more about a transparent clean boost that can lead to superb overdrive. When it starts to breakup it sounds great. I would now like to try the bass version!

Jazz necks can make my hand 'cramp', but I'm sure it probably goes away. Give it a few weeks and it'll fade

I've had some great bargains, but a lot of them are to do with haggling that anything else. The main proper bargains include the Genz NX2 212T from GAK when they had a blowout sale, the Tecamp sale at GuitarGuitar (should have NEVER sold it) and my current lovely MIA Fender P when PMT (think it was them) had a huge Fender sale. It was pot luck but the bass arrived and is still one of the best P basses I've played. I don't see many bass sales at all now, but the prices of Sandbergs is due to drop due to the euro, or so I've heard! Guitarists always get the better bargains, and luckily I play some guitar and I've picked up some amazing guitars half price!

That surf green colour is perfect.

I had a similar 'oh I LOVE the Stringray' for a long time, back in the early/mid 90s. I managed to get a bad copy, then the real deal 4 string, but I'd always wanted to try their 5 string model. In 2010 I finally got one and I haven't looked back...I love their 5 string models. Enjoy.

I sold one on here in A1 condition, barely used, and the poor chap had issues with the screen within about 4 weeks. Totally random. Turned off and never came back on. I have the guitar version still but it's just for fun; as much as I like these pedals I prefer having separates.

Great news. Some of my favourite amps are GB amps, and I love their cab designs. I hope someone like Bass Gear or Bass Direct (or both!) are onto this and set up direct distribution. I always wanted a Shuttle 3.0 10T combo and never picked one up in time. I hope something similar comes out!

Apparently Sandberg prices are due to drop! Due to the Euro...must be a first in a long time to see a price drop on new instruments.

I've got a Halifax Credit Card arranged as needed one for a holiday anyway! Cheers

It's been covered before somewhere on here, but what is the most efficient/cheapest way to buy from Thomann? They have some Fender guitars for almost £100-150 less than the UK now. Is there an option to buy through an Amazon account or did I imagine that? Basically, cheapest way without charges!