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Osiris

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Everything posted by Osiris

  1. Osiris
    @Chienmortbb @Pow_22 Thanks for the information. With all the talk of valve tone and the thump of class A/B power amps and the heft - there, I said it 😱 - that you get from old school amp designs like this, coupled with what I think is pretty much a give away price, I'm surprised this is still hanging around. Someone somewhere mentioned that this series of amps wasn't particularly desirable but given that they doesn't suffer from the wooly sound some folks complain of with Ashdown amps I think they're an underrated gem. But as I gig almost exclusively on IEMs these days and have a light weight amp and cab for the occasional dep gig with backline, this is sadly in the way and needs to go to a new loving home.
  2. Osiris
    Including the wooden leg and milky eye?
  3. Osiris
    I dated your nan for a while too and always made her dress up as Liberace.
  4. Osiris
    Yet another one here who succumbed to peer pressure and bought some flats despite having tried them several times over the years and never getting on with them as I had that nagging doubt that I must be missing something. A special shout out goes to La Bella flats. You've no doubt heard the cliché about how some new piece of gear 'lifts the blanket off the speaker' in terms of the wonders it does for your tone. Well, the La Bellas added that blanket to my speakers. Not a thin cotton sheet either, a full on 18 tog winter duvet. Then another. And another. Then half a dozen more. Just an indistinct dull thud with no note information. And for context, I'm not a big fan of bright bass sounds, I don't like that glassy high end tone that slappers use, but I like enough upper mid and treble to be able to distinguish pitch. And this was on an MEC equipped Warwick which I find to be pretty bright sounding pickups.
  5. Osiris
    Toobs. Since when did the word valve suddenly become pronounced toob? For example, "man I hate those shi**y little modern class D amps, gimme somethin' with toobs in" What are you talking about you gibbering idiot, you're from Wantage, not bleedin' Idaho.
  6. Osiris
    Turdburst actually refers to those finished where cruddy browns that face into slightly less cruddy browns or sometimes orange and yellow for some inexplicable reason. But let's not split hairs as they're equally appalling. Antigua burst is more like a snapshot of an engorged bubo exploding.
  7. Osiris
    Amen to that brother. The loosest of Satans' stools and about as appetising. Absolutely, as if each isn't hideous enough on its own the effect is multiplied exponentially when the 2 are combined. But hey, if someone wants to play something that looks like the inside of a nappy with a big plastic scab stuck over the top who am I to stop them? Which leads me onto... Pickguard. Since when did this become a thing? It's a bloody scratch plate, always has been and always will be so why are da yoof and kewl kidz all calling them pickguards now? See also plectrums. Why are they now called picks? Why wasn't I consulted on any of this? Stingrays. Why? It's a bit like a bass but with an insufferable overbearing nasal midrange that obliterates everything that makes our beloved instrument sound so pleasant.
  8. Osiris
    I've got the mk1 model with the Gotoh machine heads and it's an excellent bass for the money. I regularly gig it alongside the other 2 mentioned above, both of which would cost you 6-8 times as much, and to be fair to the HB it easily holds its own. It's hard to quantify the respective pickup outputs when you can't blend them - the single biggest gripe with the mk1 model - but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. On mine I've lowered the bridge pickup a touch to give an approximate 60:40 blend of neck to bridge and treat it as the fundamental sound of the bass. (I really like those Roswell pickups too, excellent full range tone for a budget pickup). Being used to single pickup basses this works perfectly for my needs. Even with the bridge pickup sunk a little you can still clearly hear it affecting the tone so on my bass at least the bridge pickup doesn't appear to have a weak output. But at the price point I wouldn't be at all surprised to find a degree of variability in terms of hardware. Maybe I was lucky and got a good one 🤷. I have been eyeing up the mk2, especially in burgundy mist, but the general consensus seems to be the newer budget machine heads and new pickups are a bit crap in comparison to the mk1. But if you're thinking of moving yours on by all means drop me a message 😀
  9. Osiris
    Yes, I had alluded to that in an earlier post although the body edge still looks quite angular but a couple of the guys above has said it's not as bad as it looks in terms of playing comfort. But with JMJ and a Sandberg shorty I fancy something with a bride pickup - even though it's something I only use sparingly - just for some tonal variation. Although the Sandberg and JMJ sound nothing alike despite both being P configuration. Oh, and I have a Harley Benton P/J Mustang too so really it's just a very tenuous excuse for another bass!
  10. Osiris
    That's great, just what I needed to know, thank you... Or not as it's back on the shopping list now
  11. Osiris
    That's great, thanks for the detailed reply. But please keep me updated on how you get on as and when you play a full gig with it.
  12. Osiris
    Thanks, I was thinking more along these lines but I see where you're coming from.
  13. Osiris
    How do you find it to play regarding the forearm against the body binding? I've been tempted to buy one a couple of times over the years but hate binding on body edges. Years ago I had an Aerodyne jass bass which was brilliant... Except that after a 2 hour gig it felt like you'd sawn through your forearm and your hand was about to fall off. OK, exaggerating a little comedic effect but my forearm and hand would be tingling with pins and needles if not actually numb. I persevered with the bass for a couple of years because I loved everything else about it but it eventually had to go. Is it the same with the U5? Does the binding have a sharp edge or is it rounded off to some degree? Does this affect your playing position? I see there's a newer (2023?) version of the mint green one that comes without the binding but the body edges still look pretty angular. I think Andertons are the only place in the UK that stocks them and I don't have time for a 200 mile round trip to try one on the off chance it's more comfortable than the Aerodyne.
  14. Osiris
    Just received another pedal from Chris, it was a good price and he kept me informed every step of the way.
  15. Osiris
    Thank you, young Francis Honestly, with an Ampeg V4 and a Sansamp, I think you probably already have more than enough compression in your signal chain without adding an additional pedal. My guess - obviously based on nothing more than an assumption based on your gear - is that it's an EQ issue rather than a compression one. The inherent Sansamp sound is a massive mid scoop which while sounding great on its own tends to make anything above the E string difficult to hear in the mix, at least that's been my experience wherever I've tried it over the years. Try dialing back the blend control to under 50% to make the mid rich tone of the Precision more prevalent. And the Ampeg tone, especially if you have the low boost button engaged, also cuts a big chunk of the low minds which usually translate as the bass frequencies you hear in the mix. So if you use that, try switching it off. It might not sound so pleasing on its own but will help you hear the bass clearer in the mix. And again, with the Ampeg and a Sansamp, I'm guessing you have enough drive for a natural drive sound, especially when trying the above suggestions to counteract the mid scoop of both.
  16. Osiris
    Just received a pedal from Paddy, great Comms (especially about his dodgy teeth 🤣) and the pedal was a bargain price in immaculate condition and expertly packed. Can't ask for more than that!
  17. Osiris
    At the risk of stating the obvious, that's definitely not behaving as it should. I've been using a Microbass II for a few years now so know the pedal well and while I tend to use mine exclusively with channels A and B combined, whenever I have run them independently I find that channel B is generally louder than A depending on where the drive/gain is set and usually end up suing a judicial amount of the Boost control on A to balance the respective levels. But fingers crossed it's a simple, or at least inexpensive, fix.
  18. Osiris
    I was able to try one out recently and this post sums it up perfectly. It's very subtle in what it does, you're not going to switch it on and dazzle anyone with an obvious effect. But it's more of a feel thing, it's still very much your tone but somehow bigger, more 3 dimensional, with a subtle compression that slots the bass into the mix a little easier. It's one of those units that, I imagine, some people won't see (or hear) the point of and others will consider essential. It's neither a drive, EQ or compressor but it has subtle attributes of all 3 that adds a pleasing something to your sound. It's one of those things you need to try for yourself to see if it works for you as there's not really anything else to directly compare it against.
  19. Osiris
    As far as I understand it (as in what I read online somewhere), the mk1 and mk2 are the same circuit, it's just the mk2 has the switch that supposedly bypasses the drive section - what they call pre-amp mode. On mine at least you can still get a pleasing very low gain drive with the gain cranked when it's in pre-amp mode so I don't think it's completely bypassed. I tried the Ge version alongside the mk2 a couple of years ago and, IMO, it wasn't a patch on the mk2, the Ge was higher gain and pretty harsh sounding and had none of the warmth and character of the mk2. Best to think of it as a Beta in name only.
  20. Osiris
    It certainly is. A lot of guys use flats on Mustangs, the JMJ comes strung with flats new but, IMO, the bass only really comes alive with a set of rounds. @Lozz196 back off some bass and low mids, not too much, just enough to keep things clear, push the mid-mids, upper mids and treble a touch, add a bit of drive, give the strings a good old tw@tting with a 2mm plectrum and you'll be a punk rock legend once again!!!
  21. Osiris
    This is an excellent condition Ashdown Touring 220 combo. It's a 1x15 setup featuring a twin valve pre-amp with a 180 watt old school power section, people more clued up than me can clarify whether it's solid state, class AB or whatever. It's definitely not a class D light weight unit! It has a 3 band passive tone stack with switchable bass and mid frequencies plus a bright switch. Tonally, it's big, warm and clear but isn't designed for full on valve distortion. It's in excellent condition with one superficial scratch in the tolex on one side and a couple of minor pulls in the grill cloth. It's lived in the bands private rehearsal room where it has never been abused. I have no real idea of the value of this so I'm asking what I think to be a reasonable £225 - or sensible offers - collected from the Wellingborough area, NN29. It's not exactly light weight so unfortunately I am unable to drag it out for posting. Potential buyers are welcome to try it out and the kettle will be on. However, I'm also happy to meet up somewhere up to an hours drive from Wellingborough. I'm ideally looking for a straight sale although I could be tempted with a trade for a Sire U5 short scale or a Trace Elliot Elf 1x10 cab with a potential cash adjustment your way for the right deal.
  22. Osiris
    Yeah, it's an odd one. I'd mentioned this on another thread somewhere that after borrowing yours I was so impressed that I picked one up for myself. I'd dialled yours in for that on the edge of breakup sound and it was exactly what I was looking for. However, the one I bought wouldn't go as low gain even with the gain/drive control backed right off, I couldn't get it clean enough so I ended up moving it on. I recently managed to grab an immaculate mk2 off the forum recently and for my tastes it does exactly what I'm looking for, it adds a real pleasing fattnes to the bass in the mix with the band, not an obviously overdriven sound, just bigger and juicer 💦. Think a B15 kinda vibe. Some people have complained about the lack of high end but to me that's part of its appeal and what helps it slot into the mix where I want the bass to be, sitting under the other instruments and supporting them, not clanking over the top of them like modern drives do.
  23. Osiris
    I've just got home from meeting Steve to collect a pedal from him, the pedal itself is flawless and was very reasonably priced. As others have said he's a thoroughly decent chap and we had a few minutes chatting about bass and bands. Cheers Steve!
  24. Osiris
    As far as I could tell, the LPF is something of a misnomer as it appeared work more on the mids rather than the highs. The user manual was a bit vague as to exactly what it's supposed to be doing. The body controls the lows but there's something about the way the mk2 fattens things up which that is more pleasing to my ears. But obviously the only way to know if the Mk5 is for you is to scratch the itch. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts compared with the MK1.
  25. Osiris
    This is purely anecdotal and probably no use to you whatsoever, but here goes anyway... A while ago, Krispn very generously loaned me his Beta mkV for a while and I liked it so much that I bought one. While I had his mkV on loan I tried it against the mk2 and found that I preferred the latter. Now, this is where things get a little convoluted, the mkV I bought was higher gain than Krispn's pedal even at minimum gain. Not hugely so but even at minimum gain it was more driven than I was looking for, it wouldn't clean up enough for my tastes whereas Krispn's did 🤷 I like a saturated tone, not obviously distorted but the fattening of the the tone from the additional harmonics and the mk2 does this brilliantly, I seem to be in the majority of users who like its inherent darkness and fat low end. Ooh err. There's no denying that the mkV is the more versatile of the two but if you're happy with your mk1 (my understanding is the mk2 is the same circuit but with the gain bypass switch) then the mkV may not really bring anything new depending on what you're looking for.
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