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!

19 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

I've read the manual, I've watched the videos, so I'm assuming it isn't me using it wrong but I need to check...

 

Plugged into input A, nothing plugged into input B, volume at 90%, Boost down and all buttons out/EQ centred.  The preamp has a nice healthy output and tone.

 

Hit channel B button and there is a massive volume drop (huge, almost inaudible).   Back to channel A, engage the A+B button and switch to B (the 2 channels should combine), massive volume drop.  I can increase the Drive setting but channel B is then full on Drive and not much volume, flick back to A and it is back to a healthy setting.

 

In summary, whenever channel B is engaged there is a huge drop in output.

 

I've tried engaging various buttons etc but nothing changes that basic issue; neither does increasing the Boost, that simply makes A even louder.  

 

Is this unit defective or am I missing something? 

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. 

49 minutes ago, krispn said:

I had one and recently sold it but not because of any issues or complaints. 
 

As a low gain ‘fattener’ adding in harmonic content it will do what it says on the tin (box)!

 

It won’t offer tonnes of gain and drive but it will ‘saturate’ and those descriptions should be considered as two separate sonic characteristics. I liked it but as my signal chain already has output TX’ers and tubes it wasn’t doing more or giving me a ‘better’ version of what I had. What it does do is add in that tube saturation/character which is very pleasing sonically and warms up the signal chain and can do that “sonic stock cube” thing where it just makes the tone sit well within the full band mix. Pedals like this and some lower gain/ drive units really need to be heard in that context sometimes to judge their true value IMO be that via IEM or in the room. The bass soul food springs to mind!
 

I realise this all reads like marketing but you might find a lower gain unit like a Solid Gold FX Beta does more of what you like in a more pronounced way with more gain on tap should you need it. I know @tayste_2000 is shifting a Beta MkV which can do lovely low gain tones. 

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. 

43 minutes ago, tayste_2000 said:

Well I bought the Diamond Compressor 😅 

 

The mk1 is totally a keeper but I’d love to try the mk2 and the ge version.

 

Also got a DCX incoming so something sooner or later will emerge as a clear winner.

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. 

@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.

8 hours ago, ezbass said:

My JMJ is just as aggressive as any P bass, with the right amp/preamp settings, you’ll be fine with that weapon of choice. Have fun.

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!!!

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 Genzler Magellan preamp/DI pedal or maybe a Sire U5 short scale. 

16 minutes ago, krispn said:

I think you may have my old MkV @tayste_2000 think I recognise the serial no. 
 

What @Osirissaid about the gain might be something you notice that it goes to a lower of setting than some later versions or it’s just got a quirk in it. 

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. 

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!

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.

2 hours ago, tayste_2000 said:

This has recently piqued my interest if anyone wants to sell or lend me one 😅😇

 

I got a mk1 Beta and love it, even or maybe be because of the baked in lows. 

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.

6 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Where can these be had?  Asking for a guitarist....

Here's where I bought mine from. 

2 hours ago, Iheartreverb said:

Nah, not at all, I just don’t like the look of them. Ideally would want something that looks as close to a 2” cotton guitar strap as possible, which the EB strap I’ve got kind of does 

You can get a strap that splits into 2 parts, one for each shoulder to help distribute the weight, although I have no idea what they're called. But if you're not keen on wide straps I'm guessing you're not going to be tempted by something that makes you look like you're wearing a bra...

Just recievied a pedal from John in a very quick and straightforward transaction. The pedal is immaculate, arrived the next day and came in bombproof packaging. John also kept me informed every step of the way too with tracking details and delivery updates. First class service!

Just received a tuner pedal from Chris, it was a good price and he kept me informed every step of the way. Deal in confidence.

Peter bought pedal from me, he paid promptly and let kept me informed that it had arrived safe and sound. Deal in confidence! 

Just received a pedal from John, the pedal was immaculate, very well packaged and posted with next day delivery. Deal with him in confidence. 

3 minutes ago, SumOne said:

Yeah, I wasn't sure if it did that (or perhaps I was remembering the B1 Four? I've owned both). But it does that thing where you can footswitch scroll through a few presets, the new one doesn't.

It'd definitely be a handy option to have although with the limited screen space available it'd probably make editing more difficult so I understand why it is how it is. As for the patch scrolling, you never know, that may perhaps come in a future firmware update. Although I don't use that feature myself as I'm only really interested in the 'boring' utilitarian stuff I can see how it'd useful for people with more demanding needs. 

On 06/01/2025 at 10:32, SumOne said:

Also, the old MS-60B seems better for use with presets as on the MS-60B+ you can't permanently display the patch (preset), that seems a big oversight and surely is just a simple software thing.  

I'll need to double check as I've not used my 60B for a while but I don't think it has the option to permanently display the patch name either, it flashes up for a couple of seconds when you change patches but then disappears to display whichever effect block you have selected within the patch. I've had a quick flick through the 60B user manual online and can't see anything obvious to suggest it can be done. But if anyone knows a way to do it on the old unit please post the details.

24 minutes ago, dmckee said:

Apologies if this basic question is somewhere else, but I can’t find it. 

 

I’ve recently put some DR Legends on my Mustang. I really like them, but I know they’re long (34” ball to taper), which is fine on the Mustang with through body stringing, but can I put them on my Fallout? Ie will a flatwound be ok if I wind past the end of the taper onto the tuner (as I think I’d need to do with the E string at least).  I assume not and don’t want to trash a string unnecessarily. 

 

A bit annoying that DRs short scale isn’t actually short scale…. 

I've not tried stringing a Fallout with long scale strings but I have fitted long scale strings to several other short scale basses and never had any issues. Yes, you'll get some extra string wraps around the machine heads but I've never had any strings snap, slip their tuning or any other issues. I'd say go for it! 

I was out and about earlier and was able to try one of these out to see what I thought, and in short it wasn't bad. Not astounding but not terrible either, and certainly way better than that guy from PMT makes it sound - but having seen a few of his videos and while he's a decent player he does that guitarist playing bass thing of trying to make the bass sound like a big guitar rather than a bass...

For context, I have never played the original Hyperdrive so my thoughts are based on this pedal on its own merits.

Anyway. The set up was short scale P/J into the pedal into an Ashdown combo with the mid-scoop muppet button off and the EQ flat-ish. The bass was on the P pickup only. It's definitely more of a drive than a distortion, it didn't appear to do crazy amounts of distortion, at least none that I could coax from it, but that's not what I was looking for anyway. The drive character is kind of smooth like it's a soft clipping circuit but with a subtle hard clipping gritty edge. I was trying to dial in a warm pushed valve amp type saturation and it actually did a decent job of copping that sort of tone. If you want Darkglass scooped clank or Sansamp style homeopathic levels of midrange then this is definitely not the pedal for you, it's more warm and vintage than modern sounding. 

But there were a couple of issues that prevented me from buying it. First up, I struggled to get unity gain with it engaged, the input was up to around 3 o'clock and the gain around noon but even with judicious amounts of clean blended in it was still quieter than when bypassed. But the main issue I had with it was what it did with the clean signal, it applies a weird EQ curve that I found detrimental to the overall sound. The clean signal loses some low end, not by large amounts but noticeable when compared to the bypassed tone. There's also a small cut in the low mids, again not excessively so but enough to stop things getting mushy, not bad in itself but worth mentioning. The mid-mids were still present and there was no fatiguing spike in the upper mids like you get with a lot of modern drives, and the highs seemed to be rolled off adding to the darker, vintage feel. If it left your clean tone alone I think it would have been a more useful pedal, at least for what I am looking for in a drive. For my tastes it sounded better fully wet with no clean blended in. And while it's chunky for what it is, it wasn't as massive as I expected it to be. I'd actually like to try it with the rest of my gear to see how it plays with what I'm familiar with, for example I think it would sound better, at least for what I'm looking for, with some compression before it. But whether I can be arsed to drag all my gear over to the shop for a pedal that I'm ambivalent about...

36 minutes ago, Skinnyman said:

Thanks for that - I really don’t want to have to add external pedals if I can avoid it.   I’m not too bothered about drive so long as a very small amount can be dialled in now and then and be acceptable. 

From what @Osiris has said, the MkII might be the better fit - but if the MkIII can do an acceptable low level drive then it will do for my purposes. 

It does that - pushed valve amp, just fattening up the sound without obviously distorting it - sound brilliantly. From what I've heard of the MK3 it's more of a modern distortion sound, but the MK2 is definitely more on the vintage side.

Mildred, my love... Oops sorry, just having a flash back 😲

I can't speak for the EBS Microbass 3 but I've been using its predecessor, the Microbass 2 for some time now and it fills your requirements perfectly. It's not obvious from looking at it but you can link the 2 channels to give you a very flexible EQ section with parametric mids, a mid cut/treble boost sweep on the treble control using the filter button, and a broad bell shaped treble boost (preferable to shelving types, IMO) using the Edge control. The gain control on the drive channel goes from clean through some authentic sounding edge of breakup type sounds and beyond. There's also a little valve (or toob* as the cool kids call it these days) simulation button that adds a fatness to the signal without overdriving it. I've not tried it myself but I'm assuming you could use the fx loop return as an aux input too. I don't think it's in production now that the mk3 is out but you can pick up used ones fairly cheaply. 

*Not to be confused with a certain Manc halfwit. 

There's a very favourable review of it linked below. It also has transformer driven outputs which I suspect may make @krispn uncomfortably moist 😀

https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/post/warm-audio-pedal76-compressor-review

I also replaced the pickup in my Lionel, not that there was anything wrong with the stock pickup and I really like the staggered pole piece arrangement of it too. But as has been said, it's a very modern and clean sounding pickup, not bad characteristics in themselves but it lacks that warmth and low mid thump of the classic Precision sound which is what I was expecting from a bass with a pickup like this. So it might look like a P but it doesn't sound like one. Like the lovely @Adee I swapped mine out for an EMG Geezer Butler and it now sounds more like I want it to, although compared to my JMJ Mustang the pickup in the Lionel is around 10-15mm closer to the bridge so it has a slightly different inherent tone due to its position. The JMJ sounds much more Precision-like whereas the Lionel has its own voice, a bit of the P flavour but not full fat.