ern500evo

The ABM600 is a cracking amp, I’m loving mine so far, but, if you’re using one of the programmable Darkglass pedals like the ADAM/Photon/Infinity, do you need an amp? If the pedal is going to be always on and taking care of all your tone shaping, you could just use a small power amp.

Sounds fantastic, even though I don’t really use it all the time. To be honest the X Ultra is way overkill for what I need, I only really crank the distortion on a couple of songs. For a low gain drive I tend to use the EBS pedal more. For me though, the XU is the best pedal they do. You can really fine tune the drive to suit your needs.

This was the set up for tonight’s gig. I actually used the Sire V7 for a fair bit of the set, but have to say, the Warwick sounds so good through the ABM and Barefaced

If they produce a hyperdrive in a much smaller enclosure, I’d buy one in an instant. I love mine, but it’s just too bloody big!

Picked up a dual gig bag from Simon today. Absolute pleasure to deal with. Was worth going to his house to collect, just to see some beautiful parts of the Cotswolds! Would highly recommend Dealing with Simon

The Evo4 was bought to replace my EBS TD650, but this happened before I’d bought it

I showed the pic to Mark Goodhay, he said to email the pic to Dave Green and see what he says. I’ll see what Dave comes back with, and see if it’s economically worth repairing

I have a Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra on my board, which I can use as a Di in emergencies. Had to do it recently and with the cab sim on, it was fine through the PA. If I wanted something solely as a back up, I’d be tempted to get a used GK MB500 to keep in a gig bag

Think I may have found the cause of my ABM500 going pop!

I’ve always used steels, but I put a set of Dunlop super bright nickels on my Dingwall just before I sold it. They actually felt quite nice

It just sounds more alive. My 500 is a very early model, so I’m not surprised the 600 sounds better. To me it sounds much clearer, with a great clean tone. The 9 band eq makes it easy to fine tune your tone.

Used the ABM600 for its first proper gig last night. It sounded fantastic. I can’t believe how much different this thing sounds to my old ABM500. Definitely pleased with this one so far

Might have to give them another whirl. Like I said, I’m sure it was maybe just a duff batch. I do like the brightness of Pro Steels, they sound a little bit scooped but that can always be overcome with a little eq tweak. I’ll see how these EB hybrids go and maybe give the Pro’s another try

I’ll give them a try. Just put a set of EB hybrid slinky stainless steels on, but I’ll add the red labels to my list of strings to try

Funny you should mention Dunlop Super Brights, I’ve just taken a set off my Sire bass as they were completely dead. Checked my emails to see when I bought them, beginning of September. I’ve used my Yamaha on a couple of gigs since then, so by my reckoning the Dunlops have done 3 gigs and 3 short rehearsals and they are completely shot already.

One of the reasons I stopped using Rotosound steels, they seem to be very harsh on frets!

What are the red labels like for longevity?

Are all of those strings nickel? What is it you prefer about nickel over steels?

I like Prosteels too, they have a really nice top end to them. I used them for quite a while, until I found the E string dying really quickly in a couple of sets. Maybe a different batch or two, but it did really put me off.

Was chatting to a fellow player recently, and the subject of strings came up. He was puzzled to learn that I use different brands of string on different basses. He uses Elites on all his basses, except for one P bass which has flats on it. It got me wondering, how did you guys settle on a particular strings, did you find a set you liked and stuck with that brand/type, or did you go on a bit of a string trying journey and then decide which ones you like best? I’ve currently got my Yamaha Attitude Ltd strung with Elixirs, my Warwick SS1 strung with DR hi beams, and my Sire V7 jazz is about to get a set of Ernie Ball hybrid slinky stainless steels. I’ve tried a multitude of strings over the years, and with my Sire in particular, I’m still experimenting. What criteria is key for you, is it tone, price, feel, longevity, or a compromise of all the above. I think for me it’s tone and longevity. I like the zing of fresh steel roundwounds, and once they start to lose that, i start to think about replacing them. I think of all the ones I’ve tried, the DR’s and Elixirs seem to tick the boxes. Just to add, I always use 45-105 steel roundwounds. Just curious as to what led you guys to your favourite brands/types of string.

Get well soon! That was a pretty speedy turnaround from Ashdown, did you just get it serviced or was it in for repair?