SumOne

Cheers @uk_lefty and @BigRedX About 90% of my playing is fine on 4 string with standard tuning (Reggae/Ska, Funk, some Blues and Rock) but I do like occasionally playing Doom/Stoner type metal that needs lower tunings so I suppose standard tuning with a hipshot for the occasional drop D is quite a good compromise so that E string is only made a bit slack 10% of the time when dropped to D and I don't have that extra 5th string sat there as a thumb rest for the 90% of the time when it's not needed. I have spent a few years learning how to play 5 strings properly so perhaps I'm making life hard for myself now considering learning how to play with one string just occasionally drop tuned to mess with my muscle memory of notes and chord shapes. Keeps me busy I guess!

I'm considering going from 5 string to a 4 string with a hipshot drop D tuner and wondering if others have made this move and liked it/regretted it. Does adding the hipshot make the headstock too heavy and un-balance the Bass? Does using a hipshot and changing from E to D mean that the intonation is out for that string, does it mess with the neck tension/truss rod settings etc? Do you need to get specific (e.g. higher tension) E string so it also works when moved to D? I've got very used to the patterns of standard 4 or 5 string tunings- does switching just one string occasionally from E to D take a lot of getting used to? My thinking is that while I like my 5 string I've noticed that the B and C are rarely used but when I owned 4 string Basses I found that the low E wasn't quite low enough sometimes. Benefits of going to a 4 string with hipshot for drop D would be one fewer string to mute, wider string spacing, generally lighter basses, being able to slap the open E string without the B string getting in the way (having the open E for slap is partly why I'd go for hipshot rather than just down-tuning). I would miss the efficiency that the 5th string adds (e.g. playing the low F on the 6th fret of the B string rather than 1st fret of the E string) and playing high up the B string makes some nice almost double-bass type tones but I don't think I'd miss the low B and C much. In the end I guess it's down to personal preference and this probably just an excuse to get new gear but some experienced opinions would be useful.

If this has already been posted then it deserves a reload, if it hasn't - we'll it has now:

Welcome. I'm a fan of Daft Punk too - some great basslines, I've been trying to learn this:

I got a Laney R500H Amp and it's decent (it's nothing special, but has been reliably pushing out quite a loud clean sound and has a decent EQ) so I didn't hesitate too much to get a Laney Digbeth Preamp which I'm impressed with: It has an aux in and headphone out, FX loop, XLR (pre/post and ground lift), jack output and link output, foot-switchable 2 channels (A/B/A+B) with clean channel and a decent sounding tube drive channel (reminds me of the BDDI - but it has been a few years since I owned one), good EQ, no crackly dials or hissing. Looks good and seems solid and well built. If was trying to pick faults: It is quite big, the dials look cool but are a bit tricky to read, and a specific volume control for headphone out could be handy. Considering the features and the £150 competition I'd say it's a winner.

I don't think you'll have any nasty surprises - it does everything as expected. I suppose the tone of the tube drive is a bit hard to know until you plug it in to your setup, it's been a few years since I owned one but it feels similar to the sansamp BDDI as a fairly dark/growly sort of overdrive that I just use on quite low settings.

After more playing around with both I actually think I prefer the slightly less polished more throaty/rough sounds of the MXR, but the tracking does let it down a bit. If buying new I'd probably go for the OC-5 as it's cheaper and has the +1 and poly sounds and tracks better but seeing as I already have the MXR that I was planning on selling for about £75 the new OC-5 is a £50 increase for me that I don't think I can justify that so will return it to Amazon for a refund (or if anyone wants to buy it from me at the £123 I paid rather than waiting for new stock then give me a shout).

@SloppyChops I've only had it for a couple of days so perhaps I'll notice things that annoy me over time but so far so good, it holds it's own against any other Preamp/DI I've owned and seems pretty good value at £150. (Edit: Actually minor issues are that although the dials look cool they aren't that easy to read, separate headphone volume control could be useful if monitoring while also playing out via the outputs - rather than sharing the same volume control, and it's quite big). It's well built, good EQ options, a foot switchable tube type overdrive (that I like on mild settings), good connections: headphone , aux in, link, output, XLR pre/post with ground lift, and FX loop. No hissing or crackling or other build quality issues - it feels like it'll be reliable. I suppose the things it's missing that a lot of the preamp competition now has is amp/cab sim and IR loading - I'm not too fussed about that and could put something like a Mooer Radar in the FX loop if I become fussed about it. This video gives an idea of the sounds:

Other members of my household are more into pop than me but I've always got time for Robyn

Bought a pedal from Mike and it was all good - good communication, fast postage and all as described. Thanks!

After singing it's praises the Nux annoyed me by not connecting to Laptops (Mac or Windows 10) so I've returned it and replaced with a Laney Digbeth. First impressions are it's bigger than I expected, looks good and seems well built, sounds good, lacks the IR and editing features of the Nux (which I guess is a plus point if things like Laptop connections, firmware updates etc. annoy you ) but gains an fx loop and more hardware controls.

Fight! The OC-5 wins on tracking and the solo vintage setting -1 Octave. The MXR 'growl' sounds close, but like it has a sore throat, but it also has the mid boost button and the 'girth' voice and perhaps sounds a bit better for subtle mild octave mixed in whereas the OC-5 is better for full-on stuff.

Which reminds me:

As the seasons turn gloomier my music taste seems to follow suit. Can't go far wrong with Electric Wizard to kickstart the doomy part of the year!

I found a similar sort of thing with the Vintage Microtubes (non-ultra), I assumed it was vintage as in 60s Motown and Blues kind of thump that you can add a bit of light overdriven tubey breakup to but I got the impression that it's 'vintage' in terms of metal, or perhaps in terms of vintage punk/garage rock sort of stuff - too clanky for me.

Source Audio mentioning (just by chance around the same time that the SY-200 is launched!) that there will be a C4 type thing but with a screen and controls has got me thinking I'll hold out for that - unless it's years away or an extortionate price.

£114 from Amazon, available from 9th Oct aparrently: Edit - when I clicked to buy it said 22-28 Oct for delivery.

Thanks, yes I'll persevere over the weekend as it seems a common issue so is unlikely I've got a faulty unit. There will be some annoying thing I'm not quite doing right - some setting on the laptop that needs changing or something. It'd be annoying if it doesn't work as I'm on a pedal downsize mission right now and the Nux potentially covers EQ, DI, amp&cabs/IRs, and overdrive.

Thanks @AxelF, unfortunately still no luck though. I've now also tried a different USB cable, un-instilling my existing ASIO driver and re-installing just the nux one. Also things like shutting down Chrome before plugging in, un-plugging the nux power before doing the both footswitch held down thing, launch firmware before and after the pedal turning on. And trying these things on Mac (albeit an old one) and Windows 10. There probably is a solution like re-mapping ASIO drivers/what the Laptops recognises for the USB input or just some switching on order combination that I've missed, but my patience is wearing thin and the slightly cheaper (2nd hand) ParaDriver in the classifieds is looking quite tempting!