AJ567

Tidy solution!

Might be useful to take a look at this thread I made a while ago:

Using a vocal track as the basis for the tutorial is a great idea because it makes the examples and differences more tangible and easy to talk about (e.g. "notice how you can hear the 't' at the end of the word", etc). Also our ears are naturally more sensitive to small details when it comes to vocals.

Great video! Thanks for that

My main player is a Mayones Jabba 5, before that it was a Warwick Thumb NT4. They're both excellent. Also very different. Both manufacturers are of sufficient quality that you really don't have to worrry about which brand you choose. In your position I would try to make your decision based on the differences between specific instruments. In terms of sound, pickup config and preamp (if applicable) will largely determine the character of the bass. Do you want a J-type, P-type, PJ, MM, or something more unique like the warwick thumb? I'd try to understand that first. Also bear in mind that most warwick models use active MEC pickups which are very hi-fi; mayones is a mixed bag. Other things to bear in mind - Warwicks have narrow 16.5mm spacing on their standard 5 strings. In terms of neck feel, warwicks are known to be a bit rounder and fill the hand more, I think. Again I think Mayones is a mixed bag but possibly someone else can give more detail. In terms of neck-through vs bolt-on, consensus seems to be that it doesn't make as much difference as you might think, but it's a can of worms to say the least...

Thanks, that could work. The 9V AC power requirement is a bit of a pain for pedalboard usage though. Funny how a simple version of that without the tube magic doesn't seem to exist! Maybe this "use case" is more niche than I'd realised...

Another wild card option. Could get a cheap passive monitor and use one of those pedalboard power amps. I had no idea such things existed until now! Mental that you can get 100W out of a 1590b enclosure (it's cheap as well): https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_thunder_99.htm NB this is actually for electric violin, not bass, so power headroom isn't really a concern.

Food for thought!

My monitor actually doesn't have a level control! Even if it did I'd prefer to have it on the board. @Al Krow the end of the chain will be eventide h9 > stereo DI > mono sum > [the thing we are talking about] > personal monitor I'd generally be running the monitor on the low side so it would be best to have the level attenuated at the very end of the chain for the monitor only, so that SNR is preserved for FOH/recording

Very tasty! I assume that was a custom order? SFX is very much on my radar if I end up going the custom route.

Looks like a booster followed by the neutrik gadget you mentioned earlier might be the way to go - many thanks. So... Now taking suggestions for a quality clean boost with 20db of gain and a master level control (i.e. signal is muted when knob is fully CCW). Looks like the keeley katana is an option... any others? @MartinB a custom build could be an option, thanks. Might even be simple enough to DIY... @alkrow fair question but I do need volume control for my purposes. The signal will need to be full strength for effects earlier in the chain (as @jrixn1points out) and a separate stereo DI for FOH

Many thanks for the responses all! That Mooer active DI is almost perfect but lacking a volume knob. For the TC Spark and MXR line driver - does anyone know first hand whether the level knobs on these pedals control "boost level" or "master level"? I.e. is all the way "off" muted or unity?

I'm looking for a device that will take an unbalanced instrument signal, boost it to line level with balanced output, with a master level control. Ideally a simple box with just the two jacks and a volume knob. The purpose of this is driving a power amp or powered monitor right off the pedal board. I don't need any eq or tone enhancing fairy dust. Just 20db of gain (or thereabouts) and line balancing. Seems straightforward and useful for many applications but I cant can't seem to find anything like this on the market! Any ideas?

Oh wow. Just when I thought I was done, this is seriously making me reconsider things... could replace my Xerograph with the Dusk and then have the whole board tempo synced via midi clock...

Cheers! Hard to say if it worth the money. It sounds fantastic. The way I see it, the preamp is the heart of this kind of set up, so I took a deep breath and bought the best one I can. I sometimes think about how expensive it was and wince a bit. But I know myself well enough to know that if I'd got something else I would always be wondering if the Noble is better, then end up upgrading and spending more in the long run. On balance I'm comfortable that it is "worth it for me".

Thanks very much! Yeah I think having the whole board in a bypass looper makes a lot of sense. Especially because I quite often jump in and out of sounds for just a few notes at a time.

Ah right, yes that is home brew. It's a patch bay, bypass looper, and an on/off switch for the battery pack. If a one spot is connected then it toggles between one spot and battery power.

No it's a Tasty Blender by rockon audio. It's a small outfit and the website looks sketchy but I ordered one and it's a nice bit of kit, no complaints.

Well, it's taken a while but I think I'm done. Famous last words... Modular set up built around wired IEM. Small board is in always on, in use 100% of the time. I bring the larger effects board to maybe 50% of gigs. Small board is a piece of plywood painted black. Sized so that it fits in a Mono tick bag (attached to bass case). On the right hand side there is an IEM amp sitting on top of a lehle P-split clone with mute switch (which I made). Also the Cali compressor is on a DIY riser which hides a 18v adapter running out of the Noble. The main effects board has some unusual features. The blue thing in the top right is a home made patchbay (with IEM pass-through), master power switch, and relay bypass looper with the whole board in the loop. This way I can set up a patch and click it on/off with one tap. It's also a fail safe - if any pedal gremlins appear I can kick the "missile" switch cover to kill the power and and the whole board is automatically bypassed. Sitting on the wah pad is an expression pedal for the Xerograph. The Xerograph is in the loop. It's touch sensetive so I can do a filter sweep just by putting my foot on the expression pedal. The thing in the bottom right is a tap switch for the LFO in the spectrum filter. The button itself is aligned with the tap switch on the tape echo delay so I can set the tempo for both at the same time. the little white light above the spectrum is a bluetooth adapter so I can switch to any preset using my phone instantly (and wirelessly). The board itself is powered using a re-purposed Anker battery pack. Battery life is about 6 hours. In a pinch, the aforementioned missile switch unit has an input for a one spot, which is activated when the switch is in the 'down' position. All pedals are on isolated supplies, whether powered by battery or one spot, thanks to a variety of gigrig/joyo adapters. When IEMs aren't called for i just plug into my barefaced FR800 or whatever powered monitor is nearest.

I used to use a markbass compressore for exactly this purpose. Had it on top of the amp, always on, never changed the settings. It's fantastic for low ratio, "tone enhancing" compression. Nice and thick with a hint of tube warmth. Zero added noise. Check out the ovnilab review, he rates it very highly!

Ah ok. You could use a daisy chain and put a Joyo ZGP adapter on the beat buddy end. Neat little problem solver! It's cheap too and I think someone posted a joyo discount code on here recently.

You are ok. A pedal will only draw as much current as it needs. You can't damage a pedal by plugging into an outlet that supplies "too much" current. NB a strymon power supply might be overkill for your needs. Compressors and tuners will generally be fine on a daisy chain, I'm not sure about the beat buddy though. You may want to try it and see if you have any noise issues

Can't reccomend the Spectrum highly enough. I was hesitant to get one at first, having been an analog purist until recently. But it sure delivers... See my gushing 'first impressions' post here:

@Noisyjon HoF2 needs more than 300ma so would only work on one of the switchable outs. Was that your issue by any chance?