Aliwobble

I’ve tried the mxr M80 bass DI+ but could not find a use for the drive section. Currently my live board is based around the EBS microbass3 which includes a ton of functionality in just one pedal - Di, tuner, comp, overdrive, and EQ.

“Better” sounding is always subjective, of course. While I’m not familiar with the sidecar, you already like the result so adding in a dedicated preamp will likely only give you a small upgrade in overall quality. A good preamp can usually add a little something to you sound, as well as giving you eq and overdrive options. You do not need a bass-specific one necessarily. I have a couple of different preamps that I use for recording and they are both an improvement over the preamp in my interface.

Thanks for you thoughts everyone. The sale period has passed, so I’ll have to sit tight for a bit. It would be a nice birthday present though

Hi everyone, I need the wisdom of the hive mind. I only have four basses, so I’m feeling the urge to relieve the local music shop of a Warwick Streamer CV team built which they have put on sale. The bass looks stunning (very important), plays well, and is nicely balanced. So no issues there. My question is the pick guard: it seems to be bowed. There is a obvious gap under the pick guard, big enough to see light through. Is this normal? I would ask the staff at the shop, but the staff at this particular shop are a bit useless. For the money being asked, I would not accept any flaws in workmanship. Thanks in advance for your help. A.

Small but mighty is a bit of a theme lately. Here’s my most recent effort for a small (nano+) gigworthy board with no compromises in tone. Wireless > microbass > corona (in fx loop). All powered by a strymon Zuma.

I run my basses wide open as most of then don’t have much in the way of markings on the volume knob, so this is the easiest way to get a consistent level. The exception (there had to be one, right) is my Jack Casady bass which seems to louder than all of my others. Fortunately it has numbers on the volume knob and so it lives between 7 and 8 to level match my others.

Beautiful! What is it?

Definite thumbs up for the mxr bass chorus deluxe. I can’t see mine being displaced from my main board any time soon.

For a Sunday bite-size tasty snack here is my “new” mini board. Really it is just all my spare bits put together into a compact functional unit. If I was honest with myself (which would, of course, defeat the purpose of this forum) then this about as much pedal board as I really need, most of the time. And it sounds very good, within its scope. The comp nova does a good job of adding some weight, the M5 has GREAT sounding modulations (and even some fun, semi-workable distortions), while the little Red Witch boost does exactly what it says. The M5 takes almost the entire fuel tank to run it; I have used a four way power cable to make it happen.

Thanks for your comments guys. Overall you all seem pretty happy with it. I think that one of these, a modulation pedal, and 98% of what I do would be sorted. Cheers, A.

Nice one, thanks for that.

Hi all, I’ve recently had som gas for the ebs microbass 3, so I’m consulting the hive mind here at BC so see what people’s experiences are. There is one positive review here, but would like to know more. I’m wondering if will sound as good as my current pork loin dirt and TLC compressor setup, but in a tidier package. Cheers.

I had the agro for a while, playing in a covers band which would sometimes get rowdy. In the I moved it on as I felt that it was robbing me of low end. I have a way huge pork loin now which has a blend knob. Great pedal.

I suspect that you don’t need both, as the b3 has a di output. There DI+ is a robust professional piece of kit, but the distortion sound was not to my liking so I sold mine. I’m not familiar with the B3, but I suspect it covers more territory than the DI+ but I would expect the DI+ to do what it does better.

Excellent ! This is the justification I needed for buying a headless bass. And maybe a backup for it too, just in case.

How do you find the compressor at the start of your pedal chain? My board is set up pretty much in the exact reverse order to yours. chous > distortion > compression > boost. For eq I have on my base, and on my amp so I feel like I’m covered.

Does your amp have an effects loop? If so, why not pick up a second hand rack EQ? With digital desks taking over, quality outboard gear is going cheap.

Looks like I’ve gotta man up and take what’s coming. Just so he doesn’t g hurt the wrong person, here’s a pic.

My take on this is that we are moving electricity around from the pickups to the speakers. I guess subtle differences in tube design (e.g. a slightly better quality of metal) will alter the flow of electricity, maybe add a little distortion etc. Sometimes it sounds better, sometimes worse.

I’m a little paranoid, I’ll confess, but I see a mute button as a marker of gear intended for professional use. When something goes horribly wrong in the noise department, I want to be able to shut it down before it destroys my speaker drivers, ears, expensive PA, and professional image.

Have you tried using a decent mic? That might help... Back on topic: I haven’t needed my backup amp in 10 years of gigs. I still carry at least a DI box, and often a Trace Elliot Elf which is about the size of DI box anyway. For out of town gigs I take my 1x10 frankenamp combo and a spare bass if there is room in the van.

I’m relying on my geographic isolation to keep my face intact 😊

I thought that I was paranoid carrying three extra strings that hardly get used. And then I see this! 😎

Wow!, kinda up there with how many angels fit on the head of a pin. But if I had to go down to only one, it would be my Ibanez G104: weird to look at, beautiful to play.

Maybe GHS Brite flats would work?