T-Bay

I think you will be surprised how good they sound, multi fx have moved on so much in the past few years.

And I forgot to mention that there are shed loads of patches you can download from Boss and third party sites if you don’t want to make your own, but to be honest it’s so easy I haven’t bothered going down that route.

I have been seriously impressed with them. There are bass specific ones but I use a mix depending on what patch I am using. At first it seems as there are only a few but when you select a module there are then multiple sub options so I think there are 20-30 ODs/ distortion/ fuzz in total. Each one is completely adjustable as you would expect of a separate pedal. On top of that you can stack them and the switch’s are configurable giving a ridiculous number of options. For example you could stack four together and have them in individual switches, or all four on one, or a mix and match on different switches. There are also a load of amp sims, some of which give a decent amount of distortion as well. Add to that all the other effects and it’s crazy value for money. What impressed me the most is how analogue the sounds are, it has been a while since I messed with multi-effects and they always seemed a bit ‘processed’ sound wise which I didn’t like, so the GX was a revelation. It has been well thought out in so many ways, for example the switch lights up different colours based on the effect type it controls, patches can be made incredibly easy and it’s pretty intuitive on the whole but like any unit does take a bit of learning to get the best out of it. When you look at the unit it appears to only have a few switches for effects but you can stack as previously mentioned and also assign any of the switches if you wish e.g. change the tuner switch allocation to an effect. As a confirmed pedal nut I couldn’t have imagined going over to a multi fx unit but I am completely sold on this and use it for everything. Being able to control via switches, touchscreen or Bluetooth makes it easy to use and quick to adjust. There are enough patches that you could assign one per song if you so chose to. There are so many ways you can tweak it, that it would need pages to explain them all, but the usual EQ, input levels, output levels, multiple output options, Bluetooth sound in etc etc are there and more. I don’t think anything is ever perfect, you can always find something to improve but I would give it 9/10 for sound, 8/10 for ease of use and 10/10 for value. A list of effects and parameters can be found here: https://static.roland.com/manuals/gx-100_parameter/eng/25629758.html

I think that is why the one on the gx100 is quite small and there are several higher knobs around to protect it from wandering feet. But if you think about what the average phone goes through in a pocket/ handbag they are nowhere near as fragile as many people think. In addition on the GX100 all touchscreen functions can be carried out via other controls/ Bluetooth so if the touchscreen element stopped working the unit would still function.

As a confirmed pedal collector I could never imagine going to a multi FX set up. That was until I had a play with a Boss GX100. I am a total convert now and use it for everything. It is configurable to a ridiculous extent and the onboard sounds are superb. It is also controllable via Bluetooth or the onboard touchscreen as well as the usual buttons you would expect. The Bluetooth control saves your back but I have also used it live where a mate was able to tweak my sound while I was playing. They could even switch patches/ turn pedals on and off if you wanted that but I do that myself. With any of this the key for me is always how it sounds and that is what surprised me most with the GX100. I would imagine the Helix is similar but at £500 the GX100 was worth a punt for me.

Or is it that all those small improvements, whilst not immediately obvious, make a big difference over time? I indulged myself with a Fender Ultra Jazz for my 50th and it is the best sounding bass I have ever had bar none.

Blob Dylan

Place a kick drum in a small clearing and lay in wait with a dart gun?

The Edamned

Pawn

This^^^ As said above it sounds amazing when you are at home then turns to mush when you are playing with others. It seems counterintuitive to not boost the bottom end but it works.

This is my all time favourite music on tv moment. They wanted to play live but were told they couldn’t apparently so did this-

The main reason I took up playing the bass was JJB. The perfect bass tone, bass lines to die for, a healthy dose of anarchy, coupled with the rest of the band to make perfection on many many songs.

I have always been the least experienced musician in every band I have played in. It has been the driving force for me to improve throughout. I might not be the best so I made sure I made up for it by practicing harder, being more organised and generally putting more effort in than the rest of the band. If I hadn’t had that driving force to be better and better I don’t think I would have been half as dedicated. I can only begin to dream what it must have like to have been a pair as talented as those two in a band.

I saw Royal Blood a few years back in Nottingham. They were ok but the live experience was a bit lacking if I’m honest. Both in terms of sound and the experience at the gig. Amazing what they do and I love the first album but I think what they do is a limitation rather than a gift.

The big box small clone is still available new, I have one. And it is BIG

I know your history with EHX hasn’t been great, but their Small clone is brilliant on bass. For £70 you could probably get one new. Second hand they go for £30-50.

Thunderbird for many years, but now Jazz all the way. The dimensions suit me perfectly. I have a much modified Squier that owes me about £100 all in and a Fender Ultra that is perfect for me. This has killed my GAS, I look every now and again but nothing tempts me at the moment.

I have two Fazleys, An acoustic that was obscene value for money and a telecaster copy that was £55 new and again amazing apart from slightly meh pickups. Only ‘issue’ I found was the strings supplied were bloody awful. If I was looking for something cheap I would happily buy another.

I am in relapse and haven’t bought anything in a few months now (and that was guitar not bass related). I am very happy with my bass set up but recognise that article all too well. Been there, done that.

Newton lives? Newton Alive?

Unique but also not something that kills searches. There are a couple of bands I love that are hard to keep track of, The Touts from Northern Ireland being one of them. Type The touts in Google and you will understand what I mean I mean. I am in two bands. One band name was from our drummer nd it’s brilliant and suits us perfectly, the other is a bit naff but I was outvoted.

Indeed, and they never have strange fingers. Webbed feet and gills possibly, but NEVER strange fingers 😬

I can’t use my ring finger on left hand due to severe arthritis so I use my little finger instead. It works great for me. So three fingers certainly works, and as many above have mentioned, a lot don’t use the little finger anyway. It gets trickier on a 6-string ‘normal’ guitar when doing chords but even then there are get around you can do.

It looks like a very small man with an acoustic bass