dave_bass5

or got behind the wheel of a car.......

Think you will find Alec didnt record most of those 'classic' bass lines ;-) Hence my comments about him. Agree about the decline though, but that had nothing to do with AJS.

Alex Such Ex- Bon Jovi. I was amazed to see him on stage with BJ, while Hugh McDonald was also playing, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Gotta love the past eh lol.

Isn't it strange how a pedal (BDDI) that was released so long ago, based on old amps, is considered to produce a modern tone. Still, i love mine. Ive had both the second gen and the V2 with the mid. The Mid control, and the adjustable Freq points really make this pedal a lot more versatile. both as dirt box and an EQ. Back on topic, i went to my mates rehearsal space tonight, as i know they have one of these VTBass heads there. Ive never really paid it much attention before. Had a quick play through an old 4x10 cab. It seems very powerful, more so than just putting a VTBass in front of my amps. Very, very tempted to get one now. im going to take my Vanderkley 1x15 along at some point.

Actually, isnt this back to front? I thought the VTBass pedals could get old school and modern tones, whereas the BDDI is based on the SVT and just variations of it. "The BDD is based on the tone of our Bass Driver DI which has a built in mid-scoop and voiced for more modern playing styles. The VTBD is based on our Character Series VT Bass pedal which is voiced like the Ampeg SVT amp"

Yep, both sound great (i have a VTBass DI and BDDI), but they are definitely not the same thnig. The fact that the amp has a Character knob means its not going to give the same tone as BDDI (and the fact that its called a VTBass lol). Hmmm, i am quite fond of the VTBass tone these days, maybe i should try one of these heads.

Better version of the BDI? Isnt this head based on the VTBass? Not the same thing at all. Nice amp either way.

I really dont need another tuner, but the black does look nice, so i thought why not. I got it for £42 inc delivery so really not much more than the cut down one. No matter how careful i am with my tuners it seems i always have to hunt for one when im in a hurry. I like the idea of using tape to attach it to the back of the headstock. Might give that a go. I will have one for each bass now. Cheers Ped.

Not disagreeing with you at all, just saying that in my experience what sounds great in a shop hasn't always sounded great when used with a band. Id rather have the option to try out in that context and be able to send it back if it didnt work. Still, at least you can get a good idea of what something can do with real hands on testing.

Yep. I was really happy when PMT opened up just down the road, but ive been in there almost dozen times now and they never have what i want, but can get it in.

That works for some, but in my case i was really happy with it when i got it , so testing it out in a shop would have resulted in me still buying it. The crunch time for me with gear like amps/cabs and effects is when i use them in a live situation. Ive brought a lot of gear that i have loved to bits from the off, but once i use it with the band ive found it’s not quite right. Luckily we have the distance selling regulation to allow us to try these things in the relevant situation rather than just in a shop.

Because of this thread ive just brought another Polytune clip. This time in black. Love the look of these things.

Well based on the clip on tuner thread ive just brought another Polytune clip so........:-) To be honest I think my playing live days are very numbered, and that feeling is helping with the GAS, not that you would know it.

Just came across this version of the Planet Waves headstock tuner. Cool idea. The only issue i have with mine is it does fall off in the gig bag. This one is (semi)permanently attached. https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/accessories-c2/tuners-c51/clip-on-c490/planet-waves-ns-micro-tuner-clip-free-p12335

Cool but i might hold out to see if they do it black at some point. Its really only as a back up as i keep misplacing my current Polytune clip but i do like the look of the black ones.

Actually at £29.99 + £4.45 delivery that's too close to the Polytune clip at £42 to be worth bothering about.

Ah cool. Ive not used Dawsons before but i know they have a good rep. Shame its not in black though.

Where do you get these from? Ive had a look on line but cant find them on the usual websites. Amazon say its not released until May.

Cheers Bas. I know i was gushing over it a week ago, and i still would be had it not been for me still having my BDDI (which i put up for sale and couldn't get a good price so withdrew it). Everything i said about it still holds true, but at the same time i think about how many people really need a clean preamp on pedal board if they are using a bass amp. Its just taking up space doing the same job as the front end of an amp. if i had wanted just an EQ pedal i have the much better Q/strip still. If the OD had been more usable, specifically with a blend knob like the BDDI then i may have kept it, but i find the basic tone changes too much when its engaged. I prefer to buy new on line for exactly this reason. Although i dont intend to send stuff back, when you have £200+ at stake its a good safety net. In fact the Cali was the only piece of music gear ive brought in person from a shop in years, and look how that ended up lol. For now im definitely settled as far as gear goes, its out of my system. Oh, and i used my GK MB800 last night for the first time in ages, that's a keeper now as well.

I should first add that i use the BDDI with the blend very low, no more than 9 o'clock, so i dont really notice any compression from it. With the SD its hard to tell if there is a difference or not, as like you say, you cant turn the comp off, just all the way down. Saying that, i found the SD to be very clean and clear. Id say its safe to say with the comp all the way down its not going to be doing much in the way of compression. Sorry, cant really ad much to that. I loved the clan, punchy tone the SD gave me, but never really played much with the comp side. Just loaded my usual tone print and set the knob just under half way.

Ive now had 3 rehearsals with my Spectradrive, and used it a lot at home with headphones. Ive decided....to send it back lol. Nothing wrong with it at all, it really does do all it says, but ive found my BDDI creeping back in, to the point where last night it was on all the time and the SD was only used as a comp. To me, having two preamps on my board just seems pointless, so in a complete U turn im going back to how things were before. Spectracomp and BDDI. I really cant get away from loving the BDDI, and ive used one on and off for 15 years. Im just used to what it does. Now it has the Mid control its even more versatile. Over the past week's rehearsals ive been re evaluating the pre amps i have. Ive been using the VTBass DI, BDDI, Q/strip and SD in various combinations along with my AS and TCE Helix. The best tone, for me, was Spectracomp/BDDI/Aftershock. Compared to the other 3 the SD sounded the less coloured, but that seems to be something im not looking for. This is the same reason i dont use my Q/strip at the moment. The OD on the SD is ok, but it changes the overall tone too much, even when set low (there are new tone prints for this, but they are high gain). for me it worked ok as an on off effect, but not as an always on. The VTBass DI sounds great, but not quite as full and deep as the BDDI, and i just like the BDDI tone more. For home use the above applies as well. Im happier using the BDDI in the B3n as its closer to my live tone. No point hooking the BDDI up to the SD, that again defeats the object. So yeah, feel free to mock ( @Al Krow, im looking at you :-) but i had to give it a go. Nothing lost as ill get a full refund, and that means someone can get a well looked after B-stock SD from G4M.