Skybone

The Duchess used to be a fantastic venue, saw many ace gigs there.

I compared my old Pod XT Live with the HD500X, no contest at all. I'd imagine that comparing an XT against a Helix would be like chalk & cheese.

Nearly bought one a few months back, talked myself out of it.

Caveat alert: IME, I never managed to get a decent sound out of the BOSS pedals & multi's I've owned (but that is going back some time!), where I have managed to get some great sounds from Line6 products. If you don't want to go the expense of buying a Helix, then have a look for a good second hand POD HD500X. Make sure you then buy yourself the HD Bass pack. It's a thoroughly underrated device, great sounds, etc. The downside is, it's no longer being developed (in favour of Helix), and the bass amp/cab sims are limited, however, at around £200-250 for a second hand model, it's well worth a punt. I've been using mine for 2-3 years now, love it. Use it for everything, put it into the FX Return of my amp (bypass the amps pre-amp), and bypassed the amp for recording. Saying that, I would consider getting the Helix LT (there's one in the Effects For Sale), but I can't afford one, and am really happy with the sounds I get from the HD500X.

I had a 4003, built in 2005, and that didn't have the "full width" inlays either. They started doing the full width inlays again around 2006 when they started adding the "Vintage Circuit" as standard as well. And Paul Boyer's book is a good resource too. Geddy's Big Beautiful Book of Bass is good for doing rabbit hole research.

I've owned a few D*A*M Tone Bender's, as well as a couple of Colorsound Wah pedals. IMO, they're superb. The D*A*M one's were simply excellent, they went from subtle drive to outright fuzzy fuzz.

Still do. My personal favourite is "Lord of Light". Superb song, superb bass line.

Just wondering what's happening with the delivery services, Post Office, couriers, etc.? Are they classed as 'Key Workers'? If you buy stuff online, you may well be waiting an age for them to come to your door. And yes, I do have something on order...

I always assumed it was something to do with the gauges of the wire they used.

Define 'cheap'. One of the best value and underrated multi-fx, is the Good old Line6 HD500x with the HD Bass pack. £200-250 will get you a well looked after second hand one on eBay.

I never had a problem when I had an XT Live, however, if you can afford one, buy a HD500x instead (and then get the HD Bass pack for it), well worth it. I had an XT bean since they came out, and got the Live to replace a Zoom B3, but found it to be not that great for the effects. The Amp/Cab sims I felt were better than the B3's, but the effects didn't really shine through from my perspective. Hunted around for an appropriate (and affordable) alternative, and ended up getting the HD500x. Been using that for over 3 years now, and very happy with the results. Second hand versions are a great buy, as they do tend to have been looked after. Another alternative would be the HX Stomp, but that's significantly more than a second hand HD500X.

One of those Marshall Mini Stack amps, MS4? Just cause it looks cool. 😁

I've got the DP-03 recorder, dead handy for rehearsals when you're trying to work out / remember new songs. They also help with the overall sound of the band (IMO).

No, it's because Napalm Death weren't available, but as Bill was a member of Napalm at the time, they went with Carcass. That's what Jeff told me anyway.

It all depends on what you're going to use it for. If it sounds good to you, then who cares?

"Om" from Red Dwarf (who were actually the real band Carcass)

A Fishman Neo-D Acoustic soundhole pickup. Might come in handy one day...

Absolutely superb.

I had a late-80's model ('89 IIRC) that was the 2 screw plate, then I later had a mod-90's model that had the quick access battery cover. I'd assume that they changed the battery access sometime in the early 90's?