dave_bass5

Oh bugger. Ive just put my first ever board together using those flat patch leads. To be honest it sounds fine and i used those to get the boxes closer together. Think ill leave them on unless it becomes distracting.

Yep. Put it in a generic rough silver case with a ‘cool’ logo on it and people will hear the magic and proclaim the makers the saviour of modern music lol.

Pretty much what’s already been said, especially about the voice control. Ive just put a new pedal board together with the OJ at the end, outing my Darkglass VMT as my dirt pedal. I’m not sure about loss of low end, but i do find that using it after my BDDI gives me too much low end and ive started backing the low off the BDDI when i use both. It’s a very, very nice pedal and I’m amazed (maybe not too much) that for such little outlay it beats the pants of a much more expense boutique pedal.

Thanks for posting about the Ojai. I was in a shop on Sat getting my Cali76 CB and was shown one of these, but I instantly forgot the name and have been trying to search for this brand. Still going to get a Cioks DC-5 but I’m glad I finally tracked Ojai down. I’m sure the one in the shop was orange though.

Ive decided to get rid of my Spectracomp and get a Cli76 CB, as that one knob pedal is just too complicated lol. I know the Spectracomp is one of the most highly configurable pedal comps out there, but only if you have other equipment with you. Its useless for tweaking on the fly IME, and just not user friendly without some forethought. Ive been using mine for a few months and its doing ok, but i realised i wasn't making any adjustments other than the one knob and just living with what it was set to do when its plugged in. Im not a big fan of knob tweaking when gigging, but i do find having the ability to do it makes life easier. Ive also changed my phone to an iphone 8+, and cant get the Tone print function to work like it did/does on my old phone. Anyway, after playing the a Calif76 the other night ill be getting one before the end of the year.

Does anyone know if you can get a close emulation of a the Cali with the Spectracomp? Not so much copy it, just get that magical effect it produces. I had a quick play with a Cali CB last night, and although I’m still on the fence about using Comps i felt it was nicer than anything ive got from my Spectracomp. Addmimitaly ive not got to grips with actually programming the Spectracomp, but I’m sure someone has (Dan;-).

Stumbled across it last night. Not sure i really enjoyed it as much as i hoped. Too much of one genre for my liking, and too much focus on those with a grudge against Billy J. Where were the funk brothers/Wrecking crew etc. Ive been enjoying Phil X’s playing recently, but thought he was a bit full of himself in real life and, well I guess you have to be in that world. I guess i was just expecting a more border insight, still entertaining though. 20 feet from stardom is another good film, this one is about backing (or back up ) vocalists.

I’m getting notifications from the photo comp thread, but nothing from this thread. I am getting the daily digest emails though.

Hmm. Either its more complicated than it looks, or its not working 100%. If i understood you, i only had email alerts for PM's? If thats the case why did i get two daily digest email's over the past 48 hours, as set in the box at the top of the thread? I have find the setting you mentioned, just now, and all email alerts were turned off in the Notifications section, even though at the top of the thread its turned on. This is very confusing, especially as im now getting them without tuning anything on or off since i last posted. I have now turned the (hopefully) relevant setting on in the Home/Notifications/options page. So to sum up, its been working as i thought it should for the past 48 hours without me changing anything, but i have now changed something to make it work as i hoped it would 8-) Sorry if im missing something.

Ill take your word for that, i have no idea where that setting is, but i also have the option to send me one email a day at the top of the thread ticked fror the threads im taking part in. ive tried all those options since the new site went live. As it is i have received a digest email today so something has changed somewhere.

Shame but at least you put your mind at rest. No more amp GAS lol Its funny but i use my BDDI to liven my MB heads up, but the same pedal to tame the GK. I cant imagine ever wanting to use my F1 without another preamp in front on it. I got the GK to get away from using preamp boxes, but i find they do work just as well with that head, although not with quite the same settings.

Still no emails. Ive checked and double checked the settings, as i should be getting at least one email a day. Done the usual junk/spam filter search. Not a big deal for me, just thought id bring it up.

The bass and headphones don't connect via BT so any delay is really a non issue unless you are playing along to a video. I use a cheap BT adaptor hooked up to my digital field recorder, in to my Zoom B3n. it doesn't matter how long the delay is, once it hits the Zoom i play along tohit in perfect sync (as perfect as i can anyway). I know for a fact it has a long delay, so using it on bass is impossible (ive tried), but its not noticeable if just streaming music,

Ive got, and am currently using, a MB800 and Markbass F1. I know the F1 isnt the same as a LMII/III (had that, loved it). Id agree with whats been said about both. to my ears the MB amps are quite bland, but work well with FX. I always use something like a BDDI/VMT etc. These really bring the amp to life, without losing the thick warm tone. To my ears the MB amps do warm/vintage really well. It does seem to sit more in the mix, rather than jump out, but thats obviously down to how its set and what i do with it. Certain ly it seems to fill out the low end more. Slightly less defined than the GK, but nothing i would favour one amp over the other for. The GK800 does have more character, but i dont find the basic tone too far from the F1. I guess the cab is also having an effect on the tone.I find the GK has a more open tone on its own. Probably to do with more upper mid control. I do tend to use the F1 flat, and use the BDDI etc for shaping the tone, whereas with the GK i tend to use the knobs more, even when i am using my BDDI etc, and i do use the same FX with either. I just find the GK needs a bit less of it.

Thanks. I tried clicking on the various email notification options but none seemed to work. This was when the site first went live though, over a few days. ill try it again. The notifications are working fine on the site.

Im sure this has been mentioned already but ive not had any email notifications since the new site went live. Could well be im doing something wrong but it seems strange. I get the little orange notification at the top of the page, but obviously i only see it when i come on here.

For me it has to be Maggie Bell signing the theme from Hazel. Loved this so much i brought the single....twice.

Exclusively 4. I cant fit a 5th on my bass :-) I do have a 5 string Sire, and love playin it at home, but Ive never come across a need to use it live.

No ones mentioned JV's yet. The ad's for those are sometimes like reading a fantasy novel. The only reason these basses have risen so much in price is because mugs are prepared to pay for them. I get that when they came out they were amazing for the money. I had one, but you can easily beat the quality these days for a lot less.

"Pro set up" always gets me.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1510337429' post='3405785'] A further suggestion re. band PA systems. Don't buy everything jointly. It can get complicated when people leave or the band splits and you have to sell it all (you rarely/never get what it's worth from a utility point of view) or get replacement members to buy into it. Best for individual members to own individual pieces of equipment - one owns the mixing desk, one the speakers (or one each), etc. That way, if you part company, you each take your own stuff with you and if someone leaves, they take what's theirs and the replacement member just has to provide similar. [/quote] Sounds complicated, plus i cant imagine an ad like “drummer wanted, must also own a PA speaker that matches the one we already have” :-) What you are suggesting is almost like saying any new member has to buy in to a band.

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1510324820' post='3405626'] If you can't hear the difference you probably just don't need one, save your money. Drive pedals compress signals anyway, and if you play with a pick and have good technique you may not have peaks and dips in volume, or attack / sustain issues to worry about. Compressors are not a necessity at all, and they tend to be more important in a studio than in a live situation. [/quote] After last nights rehearsal with my Spectra, both on and off, im going to agree and say i just dont need it. My BDDI has a bit of compression anyway. Im not sure if its worth keeping, as i have a Zoom B3n, but for now ill just put it ot one side. Im sure ill find a use for it.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1510321249' post='3405577'] [color=#000000]I’ve thought about going down this route, and I suppose if I went second-hand, then at least if I was to sell it on, the chances are I would get most of my money back.[/color][/size] [/quote] Getting those active speakers off our own back was a good move for a few reasons. As ive said, i can use one as a combo if needed, the singer can use one or both as active monitors if we are using another PA, so it worked out well for both of us (we are a couple). We have also hired them out a few times to friends so again, having independence from others interfering has been nice. We have them set up in our living room as part of our home cinema set up, so they are getting used quite a bit. If/when i give up playing live ill sell off my bass rig but still keep the speakers. I also feel safer having two power amps with me, without having to actually bring a spare. As each speaker has more than enough power on its own we can, in theory, use just one with the other slaved to in passive mode if one goes down. This was always a worry with just one power amp in the past.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1510319001' post='3405547'] [size=4]OP here, thanks for all the tips and advice so far, but s[/size]ince I started this thread, a couple of the band members are now saying that they don't think it is worthwhile upgrading our rubbish PA system to something half-decent, their reasoning is because they don't think we get enough gigs to warrant the expense. [size=4]Now this has really wound me up, and if you take a look at my thread, [/size][color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][size=4][color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][b]How does your band go about getting gigs?[/b] you will probably understand why I'm so cheesed off. [/font][/color][/size] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/314932-how-does-your-band-go-about-getting-gigs/"]http://basschat.co.u...t-getting-gigs/[/url] [/quote] Over the years ive ended up buying quite a few bits and pieces for my band. Two of them had a 'lets make do if its working' attitude. While this was true me and the drummer could see where things needed to be improved (mic leads, stands etc) and would occasionally just buy them ourselves for the band. It was my hobby after all and i wanted to enjoy it, so didnt mind the few £ every now and then. Same thing when the band split and we got new members in. Me and the singer brought the new active speakers. My reasoning was that if the band didnt work out i would still have a nice combo to use if i needed it, and secondly if we got rid of anyone or someone left it was less messy. In fact i use one of the speakers all the time at home now. Im not saying this is ideal for everyone, but i could afford it, so i didnt mind, and in return we sound much better.

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1510242458' post='3404948'] I agree that when a compressor is set up right that it makes things sound great. But to say it's just a volume boost, although it can be, is to miss out on what a good compressor can deliver when it is set up right When set up right it will make the bass more prominent in the mix so if you're getting lost it sounds like your signal is too squashed. Try lowering the threshold and ratio until the bass begins to punch through. I'm another Spectracomp user and I absolutely love it! Next time you're gigging or rehearsing, try using the MuscleComp tone print. That's the one I love as it adds masses of punch to the bass in the mix. It does add some top end to the signal, you might like this but I prefer to eq it back out. For me, setting the control knob on the pedal to about 10 o'clock makes the bass punch like Tyson [/quote] Yep the Muscle comp is the one i use already and i too keep the knob under 11 o'clock. I do liek the top end boost, although it can be a bit harsh when i kick in a dirty tone. Just have ot back the top off on the amp though. Don't get me wrong, im not saying comps aren't good to have, but i really feel in my case that i actually dont need one. If i dont need one then having one wont make much difference IMO. My pick playing is pretty even, so maybe my dynamics are already compressed by my playing style. Saying that, i can certainly hear the extra punch i get from the comp but ive also had it turned off and just rasied my volume a bit, and i really cant tell much difference. I think it definitely works better in front of a dirt box rather than in to an amp. I guess for me its more a case of do i really need the extra temptation to fiddle with yet another knob without it making much difference. I go through phases though, and ive had the same feeling about all 5 comps that ive owned for live use.