gazhowe

Sound and playability over aesthetics every time. I play a Status Series 2 Classic in my rock covers band. 😎

I've just bought a Musicman Stingray Classic from Jamie. As was the case when I bought a MoMark amp from him a couple of years ago, the deal was straightforward with good communications throughout. The bass arrived promptly, was well packaged and exactly as described. Jamie is a great guy to deal with, as my experiences and previous posts in this thread show. Highly recommended!

Stingray Classic (but likely needing to let something go to fund it).

I've learned that I like using overdrive after finally finding one I really like (Darkglass VMT) following years of playing with a clean sound.

I've used both and prefer smoke as (IME) it provides a slightly different effect as you can see the smoke swirling in the lighting beams, whereas the haze helps define the lighting beams without this effect. What type of effect are you looking for? The other important point to consider are the control options. I've found programmed settings that work in one venue can result in too much effect in a smaller venue with less ventilation. I'm currently using a Martin Magnum 1200 smoke machine which has the option of dmx, programmed or semi-manual control. The latter setting works best for me. As for alarms, I've set them off occasionally with both smoke and haze and there are various contributing factors that cause this, e.g. Output level/frequency, density of fluid, venue conditions. I always think it's worth spending as much as you can afford to get something that is well built and easy to operate and the MVR looks like it would do the job if you decide haze is what you want. I bought a relatively cheap hazer (less than £200) and had lots of problems with it. IME the cheaper kit (smoke and haze) often doesn't have the control features that make it easy to operate in real world gig situations. Gaz

I always take two basses as I would hate to not be able to continue a gig if something unexpected happened to my main bass. This is more about risk of accidental damage caused by me or drunken punters than risk of string or battery issues. It also gives me the opportunity to use the 2nd bass for a song or two to make me feel less guilty for having a such a good quality backup but not using it much outside of my house.

I always take two basses to gigs. For some time now it's been the top two listed below but my Stingray was my main gigging bass before that. It's now my go-to bass at home but will be getting a run out in the next few weeks. 1. Status S2 Classic [url="http://s592.photobucket.com/user/gazhowe/media/status%20s2/PICT0006.jpg.html"][/url] 2. Status Streamline [url="http://s592.photobucket.com/user/gazhowe/media/Status%20Streamline/IMG_4685.jpg.html"][/url] 3. MM Stingray (3EQ Black & Maple)

Cheers for the responses guys. I suspect that I'm just being dopey and not set the levels correctly so I'll re-check everything this weekend.

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1479338960' post='3175864'] Right idea, but you need to set the level control to whatever setting actually does give you the same volume. Noon position might not be it! Set the gain, blend and era to the sound you want, then adjust the level knob to give the same input to the amp with the effect on as with it off (assuming you do want the same level) That could be 2 o clock or 4 o clock even. The noon position doesn't have any relevance. [/quote] I did a quick on/off volume test when I added the pedal to my board and the noon setting sounded like the volume was the same with the pedal on or off. I've tweaked the other settings since then so that may be a factor. I'll re-check when I have access to my pedal board again at the weekend.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1479338685' post='3175862'] First of all, how old is your Vintage Microtubes? USA or Finland built? To be clear, you are saying that your bypassed tone is quieter with the pedal in line, than going direct into the amp? Presume you have tried different cables/power supplies etc? [/quote] I've just bought it. I don't know whether it's USA or Finland built (I don't have the pedal at home with me to check and there's nothing to indicate either way in the documentation). It appears that way. My signal chain is [i]bass>Line6 G30>mxr analog chorus>darkglass vmt>bass big muff>amp input[/i]. It's powered at 9v via Cioks Adam power supply and there was no issue with the previous pedal on my board that used the same supply output. I haven't tried different cables or power supply yet as I suspect it's just me being dopey regarding the level setting so thought I'd check that out first!

Hi all I've recently bought a Darkglass Vintage Microbes to experiment with a bit of mild-medium overdrive. I've used it for three gigs now and it has added extra definition and bite that I really like - so much so that I've been using it as an 'always on' effect. I've noticed since using the pedal that my overall backline volume has decreased (with my usual amp settings) regardless of whether the effect is switched on or not. The pedal is in line before my amp input and the Level control on the VMT is set at noon to keep my overall volume the same whether the effect is on or off. It appears that the pedal is reducing the signal level going into my amp as I've been able to increase the amp input Gain past the previous point where it would begin to clip without it clipping at the higher level. This isn't an issue as I can compensate for the apparent lower signal level with an increase to the amp input gain or output volume, or by increasing the Level control on the pedal as it's always on. I'm just curious, has anyone else used the same pedal and noticed the same thing, or am I'm using the VMT Level control the wrong way?