Osiris

Cheers Frank, it was an all too brief pleasure. How'd it go with Pope Frank?

@cocco The Stomp will certainly be able to split your signal through a crossover and allow you to build the signal path you describe. I'm not too familiar with the LT, but I think I'm right in saying that it will allow you to use more blocks (blocks are what Line 6 call each individual effect in the signal chain). There is currently a limit of 6 blocks on the Stomp, but the good news is that you wouldn't need to allocate one of these to a crossover as you can drop one in between blocks at whatever point in the path you wanted, so that would effectively give you 7 blocks. For example, you could set up a signal path something like this; Crossover, then lows going through a compressor into an amp & cab model (or just an amp or just a cab). Maximum of 2 blocks. The high signal path could go into a Sansamp model (I actually prefer the Helix model to the real thing as its easier to put the mids back in) into an amp & cab model. You could even mix and match guitar amps and cabs here, but if you were to mix a bass amp with a guitar cab they would need a separate block each. Maximum of 3 blocks. Your can then either blend both signals back together or route them to separate outputs if you're running more than one rig. Like the crossover, you'll get the mixer to blend the signals back together for free so it won't use another block. The only potential issue with using the Stomp for this is that a signal path like this will only leave you a block or 2 for other effects. But that's obviously not an issue if you're not a big effects user!

Excellent work @51m0n

Badmotorfinger is the king of the hill for me, Chris Cornell was one of the greatest rock singers of all time. I still listen to and love that album, Room a thousand years wide being the highlight for me. Whereas Anthony whatshisname is arguably one of the most atrocious singers I've ever heard, he's on a par with Springsteen. Flea is is an amazing bass player but the whole slap thing leaves me cold so this is definitely the worst of the 3 in my ignorant, ill informed opinion. Nevermind was, and still is, fantastic so that comes a close second to Soundgarden.

Compression is one of those areas where you really need at least an appreciation of what's going on to get them to work for you. You have to think more like a sound engineer than a bass player because compressors, as I'm sure you know, control and compress your dynamic range - they're not an effect in the same way that something like a flanger or delay is, and I think that's where people get confused by them as they're expecting an obvious change in the sound. But think of it in terms of controlling your sound so it sits better with other instruments and you'll start getting better results. It's definitely something where it's worth doing your homework. Another idea could be something like a limiter. Set it up so the threshold only cuts the spikes that are peaking the desk. Could that work? But there's plenty of different compression models in the Stomp to play with, some simple, some more complex. Have a play, see what each one does and what ones you like best. My own experience is that not all of them give me what I want on bass, but that's not to say that they won't work for you. Once you've got to grips with the basics try playing with them in parallel signal paths with crossovers too to mess about with mixing in clean signals Likewise, I use my Stomp for the amp/cab sims and compression. I gig with in ear monitors so I have a patch set up for each bass that I gig with, each patch having an amp/cab sim and compressor that are always on, with footswitchable drive and pitch shift for drop tuned songs. For my needs it's the perfect single box to drag along on a gig.

@Salt on your Bass? I'm just a few of miles down the road from Rushden, I reckon I'll be able to hear every note of that beast when you fire it up

Definitely set your patches up through whatever you're going to be gigging with, I made that mistake, I originally set them up at home through headphones and on the first gig with the Stomp they sounded utterly 💩, way too dark. It took more than a quick EQ change to rectify the sounds I wanted when I borrowed one of our PA cabs to set the sounds up again, but I got there in the end. Save yourself the time and effort and go straight to the QSC

Yes, I think that the ACO patches are acoustic ones. Whether any are actually configured for acoustic basses is another matter!

Compression is a bit of a black art and very easy to screw up as you seem to have found out At the risk of sounding patronising, (and I'm not meaning to be) are you familiar with compressors? Do you understand what the various controls do and how they impact your sound? If not, then it's definitely worth taking the time time get an appreciation of what the various parameters do as this will enable you to dial in exactly what you want. There are different types of compression, some obvious, some more subtle, so you need to know what you're aiming for and then use the knowledge of what the different controls do to try to achieve what you want. There's a very useful guide on the Ovnilab site and @51m0n has written a sterling guide to compression basics. Both of these will be able to educate and inform you way better than I ever could @Al Krow often badgers me to share my settings with him but ultimately there are so many variables when it comes to compression that what woks for me is almost certainly not going to work for you. Different playing styles, different output basses, different tastes in compression etc. can all have a marked effect on how a compressor will react to the individual playing. For the record, I use the Stomp Multi-band compression for each of my gigging basses. Each one is set up differently to compliment the bass and the style of compression I like, but generally speaking it's a low-ish ratio, fast attack with slower release times. After that everything else is a matter of taste, the various thresholds, gains, crossover points and so on. Having re-read this I can see how unhelpful it is

Did you buy the Stomp new? If you bought used, I think there was an issue with the recent firmware updates where, if they weren't done exactly to the letter, there were issues. If I remember correctly one of these issues was that the pre-set names didn't appear - either correctly or at all. Maybe the previous owner made a mess of the firmware upgrade, perhaps? If you did buy it new, then I have no idea. Maybe try the view button (the one with a house icon on it) as @krispn suggested. Failing that, see if there's a way to reset the unit to its original factory settings. You may then need to reinstall the more recent firmware updates, but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Thanks @MoonBassAlpha it's something to investigate. Our keyboard player is an electronics engineer, I'll ask him if he wouldn't mind taking a look.

OK, understood. In that case it's sounds like it's a case of using the tried and tested method of playing it slowly at first until you get the feel and the timing right and then gradually increase he speed until you can play it at the correct tempo. Use a drum machine or metronome to keep things steady. And if you can play it smoothly even quicker than you need to you'll have no trouble with it.

I'm not totally sure I understand what you mean by this, is it that the octave note isn't loud enough? If that is the case, there are a couple of non-technique related things you could try that may (or may not) help; First, how are you EQ'ing your sound? Try adding some upper mids to help give some extra definition to the octaves to help them stand out. Are you using a compressor? If not, they are an invaluable tool to help even out all notes from across the fret board. Are you popping the note as in the slap sense? Maybe try plucking it instead? The octave pull/pop thing will give you a bright snap but plucking the note will give it more body. Other than that, as you say it's just a case of keep working away at it until you get it right.

How about a graphic EQ pedal? Assuming that you like the fundamental sound of the Fishman on both basses and it's just a tonal change you're looking for it could potentially work out as a cheaper option than those you had proposed in your original post. For example, set up the Fishman for the fretted bass and have the EQ pedal set up with a sad face (boosting the mids while rolling off the highs and lows) for the fretless). Could that work?

That looks great. Do the pickups work well together? I'm guessing that the bridge will help add some clarity to the meaty humbucker?

No, I've only tried this with passive basses, neither of which have hot outputs. There is also an input trim pot on the Smashup, the optimum position for this so that it doesn't clip is around 80% open, but even with the trim set at minimum the whistling is still audible. I even tried it with no bass plugged in and the cable removed and it was still doing it!

OK, thank you. Good job I didn't rush in to ordering one in that case! I was trying a few things earlier, I even moved the pedal to the next room and ran it into the amp with a 6 meter cable, but it's still whistling. Also tried swapping cables and even a different bass but I still couldn't get rid of the noise. Looks like it might be time to get something to replace it. Unfortunately, the Smashup is no longer made, which is a shame as it has some great sounds in it. Ah well.

Cheers @Woodinblack, I'll order one and see what happens.

Cheers, I guess that rules the Joyo out? It also looks like it's for a DC voltage, would that even work with AC? This isn't something that I understand! Thanks again @paulbuzz. I read the relevant sections of manual and tried moving and swapping cables but it's still whistling, unfortunately. Does anyone know if something like this would work? The blurb mentions eliminating AC hums and hisses, although my issue is not what I'd call a hum or hiss but a whistle with an underlying tapping or drumming sound. https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/SubZero-Hum-Destroyer/27BH?origin=product-ads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItufu4_Cv5AIVBrDtCh0L0A9kEAQYByABEgJqb_D_BwE Could it be worth a punt for the money? If not, I guess my options are; Live with it, it's only my little practice rig, and you don't really notice when playing, only when there's a gap. Buy another suitable AC power supply. But I guess that this won't necessarily solve the issue? Play without the Alesis. But the dbx model sounds so big and punchy that I'd miss it too much! Get another compressor pedal. Play without a compressor. No. Not an option

Cheers folks, @dannybuoy does the Joyo filter have standard Boss sized connections (I can't remember the actual size but the industry standard size for pedal power connections)? If it does it won't fit due to the different sized connector, which could be because it's AC as @itu says. Thanks @paulbuzz Yes, it sounds like the same issue described on the Ovnilabs review. I must have had this for around 15 years, and although I haven't used it for years because I'd forgotten I had it, it had never made the whistling before.

Digging around in my odds and sods box earlier I found my old Alesis Smashup digital compressor and thought I'd have a play with it having not touched it for years. When plugging it in everything appears to be working fine but there there is a persistent high pitched whistle while using it and what sounds like a sort of Morse code tapping underneath it too, which from what I can gather online is digital clock noise (although I have no idea what that actually means!). Further looking online suggests that the issue is the power supply not being isolated, but I'm using the original Alesis power supply that came with the pedal, I'm not using it with any other pedals, it's just bass into the Smashup into my amp. It's worth noting that the pedal is sat on top of the amp in case this makes a difference. The amp and the pedal are plugged into the same multi gang socket. I've tried to power it using a different power supply but it appears to have an odd sized connector, my 9V Boss adaptor being too big to fit. I've also tried other cables but to no avail. Anyone have any thoughts as to what I can do to resolve this? Or is the pedal had it? Be shame if it has as it's a great sounding unit.

That's cool, no harm done here either 😀 The output on the Bass Block fascia is marked in wattage values, I've no idea how accurate these are so there could have been some variation either way but at the mark for 40 watts, around 10 o'clock ish on the volume control, through a pair of Barefaced One10's, it was really loud, perhaps too loud for in house use. The Bass Block also appears to have a linear output too, it wasn't running out of stream beyond the midday setting. Assuming the 45 watt power section of the new amp is comparable then I think we may be pleasantly surprised. Of course, we may also not be, but my head isn't so far up my own exhaust that I can't happily admit to being wrong. 😀