Jack

If you want proper headphones rather than IEMs then I'm very, very happy with my PJB ones.

Indeed, knowing they would be a bass amp 95% of the time is why I chose thethe FR800 too, I think I may push the band towards rcf. Thanks for taking the time.

What are your thoughts on the FR800 vs the 745? My main band is looking for an upgrade and I (as a bass rig) have FR800s, so we could do two of those for the PA but I have a feeling that the RCFs are likely better PA cabs.

+1 for the Orange Juice.

And if you attach it to one of the outputs on your B3n then that's a whole, ampless rig. Sorted!

I had a plex for about a year, it was on a board with a wireless and a B3. The board was wireless>B3>plex and then it went into one or two Barefaced FR800 cabs. I had an 'A03' unit, which was one of the ones that didn't need the recalls but A01 and A02 units had to go back to GK for something. I found the output too low. I had a balanced cable that went from the TRS out into and XLR for the cabs made by our own OBBM but I had to really crank the volume to get anything decent out of it. Part of the problem was that the input was very easy to clip (yes, even without anything in front of it, coming straight from a passive bass) and so that I had to run the input trim very low, which kind of made the in-built comp, drive and eq a little ineffectual. The only way I could run it was to have the compressor (set to a light compressor) with the volume set to nearly full, that way there was enough make up gain to be able to run the output volume properly. It worked ok, but I meant I couldn't turn the compressor off ever.... As a separate issue, the thing required it's own wall wart as it won't play nice with lots of power supplies including my Strymon Ojai. I have to say, the pedal sounds GREAT. And the feature set is perfect. It's such a shame, I'm a huge GK fan and the thought of a GK rig in a box was so tempting but the gain staging just didn't work. If you look online actually a lot of people find the same thing: it's a great effects pedal into a proper amp but a lot of people are unhappy with it as a preamp and amp replacement. I replaced the board with a Helix as my main rig. FWIW, I still use the board (kind of) as a backup/small board. The B3 does a good GK impression (although sadly not as good as the plex) and a superb Behringer mic pre drives the cabinets and then some. I did think about adding the Behringer as a gain stage after the Plex, but it needs AC power and it was getting a little silly under the board with a power strip, a Strymon that was only powering two things and two massive wall warts.

See that's the point I made about blurring the lines though isn't it? The B3 clearly is the kind of thing that you're looking for and the Helix clearly isn't. But what's the difference between them really? It's just the size and price as far as I'm concerned, they do the same thing. The M81 you mentioned is more of an effects pedal, the B3 and similar is more of a multi effects unit, something like a Sansamp is more of a preamp... I think by looking for everything in one pedal you're limiting yourself too much. Much better to get one small pedal to rescue you at gigs and another that's a headphone amp with an aux in. The likelihood of you needing both at once seems slim and you won't be compromising as much. Honestly, if my amp died at a gig I would be satisfied with a (my) Behringer BDI21.

Am I missing something, or did you quote me from another thread? I had no idea you could do that! Oh man, tough question. I use a lot of the little DI boxes and preamps, to the point where some of them blur the lines. Like, does the Helix count? 🤷‍♂️ Normally, given the fact that you also have an EUB and you asked for flexibility I'd have suggested the Studiospares one but your criteria state headphone output and it doesn't do that. Really, the one that I use most often is my B3 (headphone amp and versatility sorted down to a tee!) but you've already sort of discounted that one and it doesn't have an aux in. I don't really own anything with a headphone amp that isn't a digital multi effects I don't think. Well, Soundcraft Compact 8 mixer? I suppose that has digital effects too! Did I see that you own a B3n? I'd pair it with a good DI and call it a day. It's not as small as something like the EBS or PJB units but you already own most of it and you'll never be short of options or funtionality!

I'm perhaps not the person to ask. I think if you put studio headphones on, sit in an anechoic chamber and A/B something you'll nearly always find a fault. I'm a firm believer that if I don't notice something in it's natural environment then it doesn't matter. So on that basis I'd say it has an infinitely low noise floor and is the quietest and best pedal on tthe planet... 😁 Ooooh, I forgot about it, but I loved my Xotic RC Boost. That one really was quiet and unobtrusive.

It's cheaper than an SVT head. It can sound like an SVT head. It's lighter than an SVT head. It must do a decent impression of, what, £250,000 of gear if you added up all of the models. Any of it in infinitely variable in any order. To answer your original question, I've used a Peterson Rack Tuner and a Presonus Studio Pre before (which has a great compressor built in), both of which I would highly recommend.

The MXR Micro Amp is the standard. Personally I always used my trusty old GEB-7, leave the eq flat and just use the volume. But that's just because I already had one.

Certainly solves the tracking issue with pedals down low.

Dibs on anything 2TSB and maple...

You saw those for £200 around 10 years ago. They do seem to £400+ these days. Wish I'd bought some way back when!

If it's anything like their PB-50 it'll be very, very far from sh*te.

We just left Sveti Vlas in June and I'd been before 2 years ago, you have a beautiful country. I've been fortunate enough to have travelled all over and Bulgaria is one of the very few places that I could see myself living other than Northumberland. It's up there with Kissimmee and Amsterdam.

Looks like an OLP or possibly an aliexpress special. Where are you? You're welcome to borrow one.

Is the google archive still up?? The link looks broken.

Dont let your bass playing plateau during uni and your early twenties. You'll regret it when you hit 30, you've been playing for 20 years and you're still rubbish. You really should keep that Ibanez, it's worth more than the money. New Years Eve 2012/2013 will change your life, enjoy it while you can. That science job is not your dream job, don't take it. Every time you don't buy a MM SUB for ~£200 because the paint finish is weird is a time you were an idiot.

Interesting. I didn't know they'd changed their power amps like that but I was going to chip in with the fact that every time I hear another bassist use an MB amp or there's one in a shop that I try a bass through or whatever I'm always left with the feeling that the old amps sound better than the new amps, I wonder if this is something to with it? I fully believe that a class D amp can be as good as a class A/B, I've used class D for years now. But just because they can doesnt mean that all of them are.

There's always a TC Combo for sale somewhere. I loved my 208, which may not be loud enough, but there were 12s and 15s too.

I have two of the Alto TX10s, I use one of them for home practice sometimes and I have very occasionally used one on a gig but that's purely to point right at my face for personal monitoring only. You'd have to have a really nice 8" or 10" frfr cab to hang with a band, the cheaper ones won't do it IME.

It looks as though there's a consensus forming here. Thanks all.

I ran a QSC PLX1602 for years and there are many times I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it. Actually that's every time I do a backline provided gig and I have to use an amp! Look for something with a low input sensitivity (around 0.7V would be ideal) so that you can drive it properly. Thomann have some good deals on at the moment if you're buying new. There are also loads on ebay for a steal. I think for the same reasons: everyone in the PA world is moving to powered cabs and so fewer and fewer people want the amps. Good for bassists!