megazap63

[quote name='waldemar' post='955411' date='Sep 13 2010, 09:24 PM']Hi all. Gas-ing for a new smallish combo. Around the 100W mark. Anything up to £300. I can't ever see me using it in anything other than a practice room or pub, and the last large combo I had (Laney DP15010) was plenty enough for what I was using it for. Of course, I'll try before I buy, but in your expert (or otherwise ) opinions, which stands out from the following 3 options? What's going to please/annoy me? For example - I really like the Ampeg for it's looks and brand reputation, but I've read that it's hissy... Ampeg BA115 [url="http://www.ampeg.com/products/bassamp/ba115/index.html"]http://www.ampeg.com/products/bassamp/ba115/index.html[/url] Hartke A100 [url="http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1672&brandID=3"]http://www.samsontech.com/products/product...2&brandID=3[/url] Ashdown EB 12-180 EVO II [url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?section=eb&ID=102"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.as...n=eb&ID=102[/url] I'm after a clean round (warm?) sound in general, but occasionally push the treble up a bit. My bass is an '83 Japanese re-issue of a '57 P-bass, fitted with Lollar pups. Musical genre is mainly blues/alt-folk/rock. Thanks for any advice you can give me! Cheers![/quote] Hi Check this out if you're in the market for an excellent, light combo: [url="http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products_mbCombos.html"]http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products_mbCombos.html[/url] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666042"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666042[/url] GK make fantastic sounding amps and these sound like they'd kick for even large(ish) pubs/clubs. I personally favour the MB112 (I mostly do jazz gigs but in noisy venues) and am in the market for one....once they make it to the UK. I checked one out while OS a few weeks ago....very impressed! At the moment, I believe the Bass Gallery in London may be able to do these as a special order. Ampeg - killer amps but a tad on the heavy side for a combo. Ashdown - ditto, but even heavier. Hartke - can't really comment from experience but a few (knowledgeable) dudes I know who've owned them have not been that impressed with their combos, compared to Ampeg, Ashdown, EBS etc. Best thing about the GK is the price - around £200 for a 200W combo - bargain!! Hope this is of some help.... Cheers, Chris

Hi all, Looking around for a phaser at the moment to add to my board. I've been considering the following and would be grateful for any advice, particularly from current users: EBS DPhaser - new release and this is on the list mainly because its a dedicated bass pedal (also, I love EBS pedals and currently have five, a Multicomp, Octabass, Dynaverb, Bass IQ and Unichorus); Subdecay Baby Quasar - great samples on the website, looks cool and if the Subdecay Prometheus is anything to go by its probably worth a look; Retro-Sonic Phaser - great sounding samples, cool looks, nice and compact; Red Witch Moon Phaser - again, great sounding samples and supposedly different from most phasers since it can be blended with a tremolo effect. So, any views?? Also, I know I've not mentioned one that a lot of people rave about - MXR Phase 90 - so any advice on MXR Phasers and alternative suggestions would be welcome. Cheers and looking forward to your sagely views!! Chris

Hey all, Has anybody out there ever run a Sadowsky preamp directly into a powered cabinet, such as a Bergantino 1x12 + tweeter? If so, how did you get on? Was the output from the preamp powerful enough to drive the cabinet at loud (ish) stage volumes? Cheers

[quote name='Marcus' post='533322' date='Jul 5 2009, 09:09 PM']Ever noticed you don't get many up for sale ? Great to add some modern active sounds to a passive Fender for example....... but for me it's the quality of the DI that really shines[/quote] My old & new passive J-basses sound awesome through this preamp....would never sell it! Also, IMHO, it leaves the Sansamp for dead tonewise. The only other preamp that is comparable in terms of sound quality and simplicity (at least out of those I've tested) is the Aguilar Tone Hammer - also quite expensive but probably worth the ££. Cheers

[quote name='1976fenderhead' post='524815' date='Jun 26 2009, 01:19 PM']Thanks for the info! You may have just swayed me to the Diago :-)[/quote] Hey FH, A couple of quick clarifiers to help you make your decision: Before trying out either the Diago adaptor or GigRig VB, I was powering up the Mutron pedal with an 18V Jim Dunlop pedal rated at 150 mA output. This did a great job. After discussion with the people at GigRig, I ordered a modified VB (modded to 18V isolated) on the understanding that it was supposed to provide up to 150 mA of power. However, the VB has shown that it doesn't provide sufficient power to the Mutron, resulting in a poor signal, thin tone etc. I also ordered an 18V adaptor from Diago from their online store, similar to the one you've mentioned. This does an excellent job in providing power to the Mutron, letting it pump out the fat, greasy sound its supposed to. Also, at the time I bought it, I was advised by James at Diago (a friendly and helpful guy) that while the adaptor would provide up to 30 mA of power, this should be enough to power up the pedal. I guess he was right, which also makes me believe the VB could be seriously underpowered for its rating. Hope this helps. Cheers

[quote name='1976fenderhead' post='524063' date='Jun 25 2009, 07:44 PM']Just thought I'd give a heads-up about this new [url="http://www.diago.co.uk/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,66/category_id,3/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,206/"]cable[/url] from Diago I've recently noticed on their website. I asked if it does the same as the GigRig Virtual Battery and that was confirmed to me. Might be worth it to some people as it is a little cheaper (add postage) and takes less space (I'm a bit divided though and think I'd still prefer the Virtual Battery as it looks sturdier so probably worth the extra £££). Be aware though, it will look nothing like that image. But if it works as well as the 18v adaptor I have, that shouldn't matter.[/quote] I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago, together with a modified Gig Rig Virtual Battery (modified to an isolated 18V source). Both can be used to power the Mutron III reissue on my current board. Interestingly, when using the GigRig VB the Mutron's power light remains lit indicating insufficient power, and the sound of the Mutron is kind of thin. This doesn't happen with the Diago - full clean power to the Mutron and a nice big, fat sound!! So, the GigRig VB remains a backup to the Diago.....also, the Diago is quite a sturdy unit so doesn't look like it will present any problems.

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='516999' date='Jun 17 2009, 10:51 PM']I never ever got a response to my email to GB, nor did they answer their phone or respond to my answering machine message, so they can bugger off as far as I'm concerned. I think the best place to get them is that effects power supplies and I will be ordering some in the morning when I can be arsed to go downstairs and pick up my wallet off the top of the fridge I have a couple of the longer type installed at the moment to see if I get a more reliable connection that the George L's I have been using, but the longer type mean the set up takes up ever so slightly more room than would allow for an extra pedal on my board, so will be switching them and adding a delay.[/quote] If you haven't bought the ones from EPS yet, you could also check out the gold-plated ones that EBS make. Same size and a nice tight connection, available through the Bass Gallery in Camden. However, they're around £10 each.....

Hi y'all I recently sold an OC-2 to a guy here on the forum, which I'd been using for the past 20 years. It sounded great on a fretted bass but only so-so on fretless, even with a lot of tweaking on the bass, pedal and amp and playing in a higher register. I also know a couple of other BPs who had a similar experience. I recently bought an EBS Octabass and the difference is, to say the very least, huge. Clear and clean, tracks well in every position on the neck. While it sounds different to the OC-2 (ie not particularly synthy, more like a bass), that rich 'mwaar' sound that you want from a fretless couldn't sound richer (to my ears, anyway). In fact, with just a small amount of octave dialled up and a bit of reverb/chorus my fretless really sings. Cheers and good luck

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='494317' date='May 21 2009, 02:58 PM']£130 seems like a great price. Bass Direct are £139 + £7 p&p PS - the EBS Chorus is pretty amazing also - especially in stereo... but who runs a stereo rig? Actually, you could through the PA (hard pan the two channels you are going into left and right). That would be pretty immense.[/quote] Also check out the EBS Dynaverb - great sound overall but particularly sweet for fretless. cheers

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='494193' date='May 21 2009, 01:14 PM']I use the Warwick ones like this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WARWICK-30CM-PATCH-CABLE-GOLD-TIPPED-PRO-QUALITY_W0QQitemZ200344273891QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item200344273891&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WARWICK-30CM-PATCH-C...93%3A1|294%3A50[/url] They're very good and really cheap. The seller i got them off did me a postage discount so i ended up getting 5 for £15. Nice thick cable and decent, solid Neutrik-style jacks. You can order them in different lengths too[/quote] Good choice, they're the ones I've gone for as well. They're also available through GAK and Stallion Music online at a slightly cheaper price - and the postage discount also applies!!

[quote name='burno70' post='494161' date='May 21 2009, 12:45 PM']From what I've read I don't think the Diago 18v adaptor would run an original Mutron - different type of adaptor, not sure about the Hazlabs version. You could PM Higgie for a more technical answer, he has one and uses a double battery adaptor thang.[/quote] Cheers Burno. It is actually a HAZ Labs reissue that I need to power up, so will probably PM Higgie and Diago to check. You're right about the old Musitronics Mutrons, I've got one of those and when running it I use a similar set up Higgie or just burn through standard batteries....wouldn't risk running it any other way...

[quote name='pete.young' post='492788' date='May 19 2009, 10:35 PM']Maplins to the rescue - Yay! These are good for making up pedal board cables: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=usb&ModuleNo=1249&C=SO&U=Strat15"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=...O&U=Strat15[/url][/quote] Yet another alternative to George L's - again, courtesy of Maplins: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=224851"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=224851[/url]

[quote name='megazap63' post='493913' date='May 21 2009, 07:34 AM']Hey all, I'm about to upgrade the power supply for my pedalboard and have almost decided on a T-Rex fuel tank junior, mainly because they have isolated outputs and are supposed to be as close to dead quiet/hum-free as possible. However, I've heard the same thing about the Diago supply. Also, its very compact - a big plus. My only concern is that the Diago seems to operate on a daisy chain configuration and my previous experience is that any such setup will almost always generate ground loops and hum. Any thoughts or experiences to share on either the Diago or T-Rex? Grateful for your sagely views!! Cheers, Chris [/quote] Hi guys, Many thanks for all your responses. After a bit more research I'm being swayed towards getting a Diago system. Burno - does the Diago 18V adaptor work well on the pedal its powering? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at powering up a Mu-tron pedal (18V) and these pedals, while being great-sounding filters, are notoriously 'finnicky' and can be prone to failure/burnout if the power supply is inconsistent. John - thanks for the extra advice re Line 6 pedals. I was thinking of adding one at some point, so will definitely keep this in mind. Cheers, Chris

Hey all, I'm about to upgrade the power supply for my pedalboard and have almost decided on a T-Rex fuel tank junior, mainly because they have isolated outputs and are supposed to be as close to dead quiet/hum-free as possible. However, I've heard the same thing about the Diago supply. Also, its very compact - a big plus. My only concern is that the Diago seems to operate on a daisy chain configuration and my previous experience is that any such setup will almost always generate ground loops and hum. Any thoughts or experiences to share on either the Diago or T-Rex? Grateful for your sagely views!! Cheers, Chris