Osiris

Love me like a reptile - Motorhead

@Rich yes, all 4 of those are in the little Zoom. Whether they're any good or not will depend on your expectations. I actually gigged my MS60B a few times last year after my Stomp blew up and I have to say that it did a great job, I'm not a big fx user so it was just a Fender Bassman model with a dbx compressor after it, but it sounded fine and the bass sat nicely in the mix. I was using it straight into the desk as we were using in ears. Nobody else in the band made a comment either way so they didn't notice anything was different. They'd have said something if they had. How close the amp & cab sims are to the real thing is debatable but they each sound different enough, the B15 model sounds warmer and more mid rich than the SVT model, for example. There's several different chorus models so you ought to be able to find something you like, my favourite being an old Boss something or other. There is also an Octave effect which seems to do what you'd expect, but Octaves aren't my thing so I couldn't say how it compares to the industry standard pedals. But in my humble opinion, it's a cracking little unit. The tones maybe aren't quite as high quality as something like the Helix but that doesn't automatically mean they crap or unusable. They certainly worked for me in a live setting.

She should join, it's the best they've sounded since Master of Puppets.

Brown sugar - Rolling Stones

Jump - Van Halen

@dave_bass5 I seem think there's an option in the global settings that you need to switch for using the Stomp with headphones. I couldn't tell you what or where it is but I've got a vague recollection of reading something about it in the manual. Might be worth a quick read of the manual to check?

If that's the tale that I related on the short scale preamp thread, it happened around 18 months ago. I may well have mentioned it at the time (I don't remember either way) so it's possible that you're counting the same tale twice, based my experience at least? I'm not aware of any other failures with the Stomp, but then again I've not been looking out for them. And fair play to Line 6 who gave me a brand new unit without question. Didn't you buy that Stomp used? In which case I suspect the original owner may have broken the USB port and sold the unit on while 'forgetting' to mention it, perhaps? If that was the case, it's not really fair to pin that on Line 6 when in it's possible that it was down to a ham fisted owner. I think it highly unlikely anyone would get structural failure using the Stomp on a gig unless they're supporting Barry White and the Weather Girls.

Smash it up - The Damned

My name is mud - Primus

Drag it down - New model army

Time - Pink Floyd

Misery - Therapy? I'll follow the rules this time 😀

In the heat of the night - Diamond Head

Cheers @Teebs, that's one I've got my eye on too, so let me know what you think, please 😃

I have a little MS-60B which is a great little unit, I might take a look at the newer models (can't remember the mode number off the top of my baldy head) to see if they offer a bit more control . Yes, it's a bit of luck to try to find something that works with the inherent short scale voicing. The Fender Downtown actually gets very close, if the mids were semi parametric it's pretty much be there for me as the drive is the sound that I like and the compressor is nothing special, but it's functional. Ah well, it's fun looking round the toy shop if nothing else

That's interesting, where did you obtain that information? The one I had easily balanced between clean and drive sounds with no volume spikes.

I am the law - Anthrax

@Jus Lukin Yes, some sort of parametric EQ would do the job, of course. But I'm lazy and I like to keep things simple so ideally I'd like everything in one box so as not to have to faff about with a pedal board and all the extra odds and sods they require. Maybe another multi fx is the answer? @dannybuoy I'd ruled out the Tone Hammer after not being overly blown away by the amp which I thought was good but not great. But it does have a semi parametric mid so it's worth another look. You don't think the AO does the low gain thing well? There's a couple of folk online saying it does, but I guess that the only way to decide if it works for me is to try it.

I did look at the Nux but wasn't sure about the EQ center points on paper, for example, the treble is centred at 8KHz, whereas I pretty much cut most frequencies above 4KHz so I wasn't sure how effective it would be especially on something vintage sounding like the JMJ. But based on your recommendation I'll do some more homework 😊

The VT bass lasted one gig, actually not even one song! And it's reasonable to assume that the VT Bass DI is the same sound and circuit board but with a few bells and whistles attached but it doesn't work for me. I dialled in a great tone with it, but when I switched it on mid gig the bass simply vanished from the mix! I don't do mid scoops, indeed, the tone on the pedal was pretty mid forward but once engaged my bass became inaudible. The pedal volume was correctly set so it wasn't a volume issue either. All weight to the sound was lost, so much so that a couple of guys in the band looked over to see what was happening. It was as though someone had swapped out my rig - which you have heard in action and you know is very capable - had been swapped out for a cheap transistor radio. I switched the VT off again and the bass was back. I double checked settings and the volume and tried again but it was the same story. It sounded great on its own but was incapable of cutting through the mix of guitar and keys playing rock and pop stuff. Maybe it was a duff one but it sounded just like the YouTube clips I'd seen. The DP3X on the other hand worked brilliantly in the mix. As for the short scale darkness, it's something to do with physics, apparently.

@Al Krow you have a DarkGlass AO amp, don't you? How do you find the graphic for tone shaping? How do the various cab sims sound, which is your favourite? Does it do a smooth, amp like low gain sound? If so, what settings are you using to get that? How does the AO work in the mix, both clean and driven? Does the clean section have an inherent voice of its own or add anything to the core bass sound? The thoughts and experiences of an AO user will be very useful in helping me decide if it's the one to go for.

The Stomp is amazing and gives me everything I need and way more. I don't find it lacking in anyway, but having had one die on me I want a backup DI/tone shaper. My current Fender Downtown is actually very close to what I want, it just needs a bit more mid control to be perfect.

It's probably useful to list the pre's that I've tried over the years but didn't get on with for one reason or another, in no particular order; EHX Battalion, Tech 21 BDDI, VT Bass & DP3X, Trace Elliot Transit, 2 Notes Le Bass, DarkGlass B7K & Vintage. There's probably a few more but these are all I can remember for now. From these, the Tech 21 DP3X was very good, certainly my favourite Tech 21 offering, but the EQ section was a bit limited in getting the best out of a short scale, IME. The Trace Transit was a mixed bag, a great EQ section and superb dual band compression, but a weird sounding drive and the pre-shape added so much sub bass that it was actually funny. But for the wrong reasons.

Motorway city - Hawkwind

I play short scale basses exclusively these days and I'm on the lookout for a new preamp pedal, one that will help me shape the inherent darker sound of short scales. I currently have a Fender Downtown which is cracking unit but I could do with a bit more control particularly over the mid range. I'm not too fussed about onboard compression as I already have that covered by a TC Electronic HyperGravity with my own TonePrint. Some sort of drive would be useful but not essential, but if it does I'm looking for a smooth low gain, natural type sound, not some nasty fizzy distortion. So what I'm essentially after is a flexible but not overly complicated EQ, a DI out and an optional touch of drive. Some sort of cab sim could be handy too but again not essential. I've watched shedloads of Youtube demos and have ruled out a lot of the obvious contenders - the TC Spectradrive would be perfect but unfortunately you cannot edit the tone prints, as far as I can tell. I love Steve Harris's tone but his Tech 21 signature pedal hasn't got the sound in my head in the demos I've seen. I briefly had an EHX Battalion and soon sold it on, enough said there! A mate of mine has recommended the Lehle Basswitch which looks and sounds great but is perhaps over spec'd for my relatively simple needs. But I keep coming back to the DarkGlass Alpha/Omega Ultra simply because of the 6 band EQ which should give more control over the short scale sound. I know the DG X Ultra also has the 6 band EQ but I don't like the drive tone on the YouTube clips I've seen, if I can I'll get my hands on one I'll give it a go if only to rule it out. There are several comments online that the AO Ultra does a good (however you quantify what that means) low gain sound, but I've not been able to find any sound samples online. Has anyone done low gain sounds with the AO Ultra? What did you think Any other suitable recommendations that meet my needs above, guys?