SumOne

The only one of those I've used is the vintage microtubes, I don't remember it going up into Fuzz levels of distortion though - was milder. Buying and selling second hand via Basschat is a good way of trying a lot of pedals with not necessarily much cost. I find you need to try them as it is all quite subjective and depends on your other equipment.

I recently got a UA Volt 2 and it has been great on a Windows Laptop. Or for simple headphone practice, the Nux mighty plug is good.

I've owned a Dingwall Combustion, Ibanez EHB 1005 MS & Ibanez SRMS 805, so I guess I am a fan of the fans! ......but I think it is a bit like the 4 vs 5 thing, fan frets aren't better in every way (I currently just use a standard 4 string). I think two main drawbacks are: Lack of choice in Basses, lack of choice in strings (for the Dingwall), but I expect each of those might gradually be less of an issue. I've had 4 string Basses with tension/tone across the strings sounding just as good as the Dingwall, but I've never had a standard 5 string sound as good on the B. So I'd probably recommend fanned frets for people that play a 4 BEAD, or play 5 strings. But then again, a good standard 5 isn't that different with a good setup/strings and playing through Amp/Cab and in the end it was the size and weight of the Combustion that put me off it, and the fact it just doesn't sound like a Passive Jazz. But as far as the technical playing of fanned frets - that wasn't an issue at all.

I've been using 'Gig Performer 5' (free 14 day trial) and I'm impressed. It is simple if you want it to be, I'd managed to MIDI map things straight away that I couldn't figure out on Reaper, it has a good clear interface, and it looks like it can do very complex stuff if needed. I have the total latency down to 6ms* (the equivalent time of of being about 6 foot away from a speaker, similar time to most wireless systems) with minimum processing strain (CPU hasn't gone over 20%, RAM use is staying below 50%). And a key thing is Gig Performer seems reliable, or at least it is marketed as being specifically designed for Live Performances with Guitar/Bass in mind (as well as some other things) with reliability being a key selling point. *Gig Performer has a tool to measure the actual latency from Interface input to Interface output, and gives times for each Plugin. You can switch between rackspaces (basically Presets on a multi-fx) with no gap, and can have trails. Or within each rackspace you can have 'variations' (like 'snapshots on helix stuff). I like the wiring view that has live colour coding to show the signal path and volumes e.g. here it shows the Drive adding a lot of volume but the delay then taking some of that volume away. I reckon I'll buy it after the trial, but it is a bit pricey at $169.

Nux mighty plug is a good option for practice with headphones.

Punters having a fight before we start was a bit disconcerting, but the gig all worked out well. In fact, the more rough and boozy pubs often have the most lively and up for it crowds. Monitoring was an issue though. In ears not working properly for some people, and feedback in the mics - the drums were mic'd up and half the band have stage monitors. It is too complex, I think we need to all go one way or the other.

Well, a BC Rich is quite pointy.

If more strings = better, I think the 'why not play 6?' is the best answer (and was the first response). Or, if fewer strings = better, for people that insist on 4, 'why not 3'? Clearly there are advantages and disadvantages to each one, and personal preference. I think it's a bit of a misconception that it takes more skill to play a 5. One of the advantages to 5 is to keep the same patterns and not have to figure out open strings and drop tuning. For me, intermittently dropping E to D on a 4 is more tricky than playing it on a 5. And multi scale is the same argument, it is better for some things (tone, tension), not so good for others (chords, choice of string sets).

I've just got a Paint Audio midi captain, seems a great piece of hardware - especially for the price (£103 from Amazon). It is quite tricky and technical on the software side though so I've been watching Wilson's videos. Yeah, he seems a good guy. So far I've just got it doing simple 'toggle effect on/off' message stuff, seems lots more potential though, I've got some MIDI learning to do though.

Ah yeah, how could I forget them! Could also throw in: Headless vs Head (!?) Rickenbacker vs common sense

The Lekato WS90 didn't last me long, I dropped the transmitter and some fault has developed where it is working intermittently (and this is at close range, fully charged), seems like a loose connection. It's a shame as it had been working very well - and at distance and even through walls. Just not very tough though (whereas I feel the Boss would've taken that 4ft drop to the floor and been fine).

Top 5 Bass arguments: 4 vs 5 Plectrum vs Fingers Tonewood Compressors Solid foundation vs technical noodling

John Lennon claimed the 'Flange' word for the effect though. https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-whole-beatles-and-george-martin-discovering-flanging-debate-has-just-taken-a-weird-turn ...so it needs a Scouse accent.

Does that mean Moogerfooger should be pronounced a 'Mogue a Faguer' ? .....they are deliberately trying to confuse!

Everyone knows that's pronounced Faowgear.

But....Moogerfooger?! What are they playing at! Surely that's supposed to rhyme?

While we're at it: Moog? Moo like a cow, or Mogue? I've heard it should be pronounced Mogue, but then they go and bring out a Moogerfooger! ...surely that's designed to be said 'Moo' and 'Foo'?

I figure if that happens then it'd only take me a second to press a button on the interface to bypass the Laptop. Or if it's a problem with the interface, about 5 seconds to unplug from that and plug direct into the Amp (I still plan on using a physical Amp/Cab, the PA is too weedy)......it would mean ditching the effects for a while - which would probably please bandmates and punters!

Yes, pushing my luck using that! I'd tried laptop with midi keyboard not long ago and gave up due to latency and glitches. With this current setup and even with the additional analogue to audio conversion it seems stable with about 5ms latency, so seems to not be an issue. (Although I would use a cable live to not add more latency). I'm not sure if it's down to having a better Laptop or the Volt interface or the DAW and Plugins I'm using (probably a combination of all), but it is working well with no noticeable latency or glitches.

Currently, I am just mucking about and switching between presets on individual effects (so pretty much instant). The sales pitch for 'Gig Performer 5' includes instant switching between presets, trails between them, and a lot of MIDI and switching stuff, I'm holding back on that just now as it is $169 though. https://gigperformer.com/features-and-benefits

Heading towards a gigable setup: Need some MIDI footswitches to go on the floor along with the tuner....and then into the potential headaches of MIDI mapping and what to do about parameter control.

Future, or Folly?! Remains to be seen if this will ever become my gigging setup, works well at home though. The main issue with this sort of thing has always been latency and reliability, but this seems very reliable at about 6ms latency (which is better than most wireless systems). My shopping list is: Paint Audio midi footswitches to go with the tuner that'll go on the floor at gigs, and perhaps I'll get 'Gig Performer 5' to help with switching between presets if I can't figure a seamless way of doing that in Reaper. At a gig, the Laptop (setup for it to run with its lid closed) and interface would be put out of harms way on the Cab or on the table where we keep the mixer. If you don't count the cost of the Laptop and Interface and flight case (I already had them for other stuff so I'm not - so haven't spent anything using that maths!) then it'll be about £300 for footswitches and software including a few paid for Plugins...similar to the amount I'll get for selling a couple of analogue pedals. I guess the obvious thing is even with that mental gymnastics is that £300 could buy a decent multi-fx that is more convenient and reliable. But the Laptop setup adds almost unlimited options - often with free Plugins, and means that the sounds I work on for home/recording can be used live, one setup to rule them all! And Laptops/software are only getting more powerful and reliable, I think this might be the future - or at least something you see a lot more of in future. Edit: A re-shuffle to see how it'd work live. Seems to fit and work well and all the power adaptors are in a space below - just one power cable out. A quick move around and the flight case lid goes on. Sounding good just using the Laptop for 'always on' things, next step will be MIDI footswitches to join the tuner on the floor.

If you are going to be doing home recording then I presume you already have a Laptop and DAW and some sort of interface. In which case, you can get great sounds basically for free. I've recently discovered that my Laptop with a UA Volt interface (comes with lots of high quality plugins), Reaper DAW (can use for free), and free/cheap plugins is superior and cheaper than using hardware pedals for home practice and recording.