Skybone

Get a second hand HD500x for around £200-250, great bit of kit.

Which is why I said that the HD500x is a great option for anyone wanting to dip their toe into great modelling set ups. Loads of great amp, cab & effects sims, that sound great, and can be bought for around half the price of a HX Stomp (which has far less connectivity options). OK, it's not going to be updated anymore, but you can still get the HD amp packs (30% off until 14th June btw!), it still sounds great, and is a really hardy unit. Well, I rate it anyway.

If you want the flexibility of a great sounding Multi-FX unit, but can't really afford to get something like a Helix or Headrush or similar, but want access to both guitar & bass amp & cab sims, as well as all the effects, and want them to sound good, then consider looking at a Line6 HD500x. The standard unit only has 2 or 3 amp/cab sims that are bass focused, so the HD Bass pack is a must (even though it "only" adds 3 amp sims & 2 cab sims), but they do sound excellent IMO. If you get the "fully loaded" HD amp models, it will add a load more guitar amps & cabs as well as the bass pack. If you look on eBay or another second hand site, you can pick one up, in great condition, for about £200-250. I've been using one for about 2 years, and it sounds fantastic, both for recording and for the band. Well worth checking out.

@Graham will have to check out both of them. If Mr DiGiorgio is involved, it should guarantee a certain amount of low end interest and very interesting bass lines. @hiram.k.hackenbacker, watched the vid from that other thread, maybe track some more tracks down & give them a more in depth listen.

Too true.

Bit of a rant, sorry, but also a bit of a "recommend something new for me to check out"... Out of curiosity (and a free 90 day offer), I signed up to the Amazon Music, in the hope of discovering some new bands and some interesting music. I like my classic rock & metal, as well as some other stuff, but I have to be in the mood. Listening to a lot of Rush, Voivod, Mastodon, Killing Joke etc. so a bit proggy, a bit angry, but a lot of just well put together music. Been listening to a bit of Tool recently as well (well, Aenima & Lateralus). Tried listening to the "Progressive Metal" stream on Amazon, I think I've skipped pretty much every track that's come on so far. Either it's been way too noodly, "symphonic" (intense, beardy bloke with lots of keyboards), "Djent" (staccato, palm muted rhythms anyone?), or some "sultry" female vocalist (absolutely nothing against female vocals, but there's only so many "sultry" vocalists, singing over downtuned guitars & "symphonic" keyboards you can listen to before wanting to hold your head in your hands and weep for the state your sanity). Tried the "Rock" stream, & there's too much mainstream stuff that's been played to death. The "Progressive Rock" stream is classic Prog Rock, no new bands. The "Metal" stream is either shouty, staccato palm mutes, "sultry" female vocals, "symphonic" keyboards, noodly rowlocks, or a mix of all of the above. The "Indie" stream also conforms to all of the ideas that you might have about the genre. I know I'm getting old, no spring chicken etc., etc., but when did music start playing to it's "genre stereotype"? When did forward thinking musicians stop taking influences from all over the place, and add it into their music? Thanks for watching.

^ This

Having wraps on the thicker strings also makes it a bit of a bugger to get the ball end seated properly in the bridge. Or at least it is on some types of bridge. Must be a right pain on 5 & 6 string basses.

Axl Rose in any band

To date, I've only ever been to 1 "big" outdoor festival, and that was with my wife & kids. It was OK, but a lot of standing around (thank goodness for Go Outdoors £5 folding chairs!). Didn't see many bands through the day, but got to see Wilko (with Norman) and Madness in the evening. The main stage was in a natural amphitheatre, so you can see the stage wherever you were, and not that many folk in front of you. Thankfully, we were camped in the "Quiet Family" area, but seeing the mess that was left in the normal camping area (tents, sleeping bags, furniture, etc.) on the way out was an eye opener! I got the impression that the music was just "something that goes on in the background" and almost coincidental.

Pick up a second hand Line6 HD500x for around £200-250, add the HD Bass pack for about £20. Great preamp, loads of great effects on board, loads of connectivity on the back, ideal for stage and studio, and a fraction of the cost of a Helix.

The 2005 didn't have the Vintage Circuit, it became standard on 4003's from 2006. Nice bass @BrunoBass, enjoy!

Curious how @Stofferson is getting on with his Ric?

Asomvel

Another vote for the TC Electronic UniTune and PolyTune. The PolyTune is great for the guitar, works fine on the bass, but can drop into "six string mode", which is just annoying. The UniTune works fantastic on bass, it's very accurate, and is cheaper than the PolyTune.

You can get a roll of sticky back plastic (Blue Peter?) from places like B&Q for about £5.00. Goes on easily, and should peel off as well. Might need to clean off any glue residue, but this shouldn't take too long.

What I would do, is use the B3 as your preamp, and plug it directly into the Effects Return of your amp. You can still run a DI from the B3, and you get the advantage of having an on stage 'monitor' to hear yourself. I'm running a similar set up, using a Line6 HD500x into the effects return of an Ashdown 300 combo. Sounds great to me, and I know that the amp is easily capable of handling the low end, where I was never that sure about an active PA speaker / FRFR setup being able to. Pretty sure they are, but I didn't have a big enough budget to get a 'decent' speaker. The Ashdown was not only affordable, but is fairly uncoloured (to my ears).

I'm another satisfied Schaller straplock user, never had any issues with them in over 20 years. I've used Dunlop's, but have always found them to be fiddly to install (the circlips), as well as fiddly to use. Horses for courses of course. I do prefer the old style Schallers, which have the separate strap button & come with 2 different length screws. I was a bit sceptical about the new design, combining onto the button.

I always found that the skin on my fingertips reacted with the nickel on strings, causing dead & flaky skin as well as making the fingers a bit more sensitive, and not able to play for too long before needing a good break from playing. This changed after swapping over to stainless steel strings, no more skin reactions, can play for longer as my fingertips hardened up, and with the added bonus of the strings still sounding bright, and lasting for around 6 months.

And there was me thinking that in amongst the usual Eurovision dross, there were actually a few decent songs. Well, half decent, commercially viable pop songs, that would get some air play on various radio stations.

I remember seeing FNM with the original singer, Chuck. Great show, tiny venue.