BigBassBob

I notice some guys on Talkbass do that, but I don't have the right tools for the job and I'm not really keen on the thought of cutting chunks out of my pedaltrain. Part of the reason I got it was because I liked how solid it was. Anyways, here's the final photos: Pretty chuffed with it at the moment Can't wait to bring it to a band situation and see how it fares. Also, I was playing around with the Noisebox (as usual) and found a nice synth tone with a low volume setting (enough to trigger the filter if played hard, but played soft it was very tame). I was rather impressed with it until I turned on the Xblender with the Voodoobass on (mix 50/50). Suddenly, there was this thick, PHAT, usable synth sound... the harshness of the Noisebox was subdued and the overall sound was full, rich and shockingly authentic (had a Deep Impact that I sold to Higgie ages ago because I thought it sounded too digital and basically gave up on bass synth pedals). And it tracked fast enough to play Hysteria with it Just hope I can get that sound again and upload a recording of it.

[quote]Thats a nice neat board there. How do you use your noise box? Ive had one for a little while but havnt really had the time to experiment with it much yet. I cant decide whether to keep it or not.[/quote] The other pedals are the "serious" ones. I was going to put my Bottomfeeder there, but I'm not 100% with its sound so I put my Noisebox there instead. When I first got it I didn't give it all the time it deserved and nearly sold it after a week. Tried using it in a band context before getting to grips and it was terrible. However, I personally think the trick to taming it is to roll the volume back on whatever instrument you're running into it. I tend to use it for glitchy, broken Nintendo sounds by running the volume knob to the point where only a minute bit of signal is coming through and set the filter sensitivity to maximum... that way I can control the envelop filter side with my volume knob as appropriate Seriously, it took me months to really appreciate all the different sounds I could squeeze out of it with experimentation. Only thing I wish I could do (if I had the room) would be to run it in the blend loop of the Xblender and put a volume pedal before it. That way I could get controlled, lo-fi synth sounds alongside my clean bass. Well... maybe one day [quote]One man's "neat board" is another man's "room for more pedals"! wink.gif[/quote] Very valid argument, and believe me, it's hard to tell myself that this board is complete. I kind of got sick of constantly moving pedals around and pedal collecting is a very expensive hobby... plus most music I play doesn't demand the use of effects as such, I just use a touch here and there sparingly to enhance certain songs, or if the song actually NEEDS a certain sound. Plus I had a George L patch lead break on me mid-gig before and It was impossible to tell which one because I had loads of pedals and wires about. This way all my wiring is neat (albeit vulnerable), visible and easy to get to. Also just tried to mount the Fuel Tank underneith the board. It fits, but it sits in too deep between the railings so there's not enough room to fit the power plugs in... although it would work if I just put a bit of foam or something to lift it away from the board a bit... that way I could fit more on the board [quote]What's the Abunai 2 like on bass?[/quote] Not that great due to a lack of low end. Very typical tubescreamer clone with a 3 way clipping switch (symetrical, asymetrical and no clipping). I really like the grind it gives on the higher frequencies though and playing my Rickenbacker through it with a pick sounds really sweet on a low gain setting. But the low-end problem is pretty much sorted thanks to the Xblender, although I may get a better TS clone in the future like a Xotic BB preamp. [quote]You know those Abunai 2's are worth about 3x what you paid in Japan, right? smile.gif[/quote] O rly? I think I paid about £90 when I bought it from Tonefactor a few years ago (mostly been using it for guitar until I got the blender). Noticed on guitarguitar's site it's listed at £150. As usual, Toasted, you never cease to impress me with your plethora of fx-orientated knowledge called your brain Very nice board btw, Alex

Just got the tuner in the post. Here it is atm: Just need to make some new George L patch leads and plug it all up Signal chain will be: Bass> Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200> Subdecay Noisebox> EBS Multicomp> Xotic X-Blender (in loop > Tone Freak Abunai 2> Roger Mayer Voodoobass)> Analogman Clone Chorus> Amp

Very interesting stuff, Al I'm using an Abunai 2 (BYOC TS 808 with some mods) in a blended loop which does the trick, but I've been contemplating having a go at changing the caps in it to get a bit more bass. It's a nice pedal for w***ing up in the higher registers and I tend to favour my Roger Mayer Voodoobass for most applications anyway.

Ah, my bad I stand corrected. I was basing that on how it responded to different instruments. Other than the way notes decayed it seemed to completely project its own sound on any input I tried (bass, guitar, keys). Of course there were differences in the sounds, but they all had THAT sound the pedal does. I also assumed that it produced its own signal because its labeled as a "Harmonic Frequency Generator".

[quote name='Finbar' post='713227' date='Jan 14 2010, 11:20 PM']I was lusting after the noisebox for a while actually, and while it looks like fun, it definitely seems like it will effect your signal and make what you play sound a little odd, rather than actually generate weird noise itself. That's really what I'm looking for.[/quote] Actually, the Noisebox does produce the noise itself... whatever you run into it, it will take the notes it can and reproduce what you play with its own sound, however, the overall sound it produces varies greatly depending on your input signal and how the controls are set. For example, I find that it reproduces your notes cleaner if you roll off the volume on your bass. Even though I often play through it with the volume on my bass set to practically inaudible if I was running clean, the Noisebox plays every note you play like an actual synth and then cuts dead as soon as the note dies away and it stays the same volume you set the output to no matter what signal it recieves. As I said, very fun. In fact, I dismissed it after I first got it as I found it really hard to coax usable sounds out of it... after a while I went back and spent a few days trying different ways to control it. Glad I kept it now

I don't know too much about noisy, lo-fi, glitchy pedals, but if you haven't heard it (or have one) I'd suggest checking out the Subdecay Noisebox. I actually keep one on my board because there's nothing in particular that would be there anyway and it's just pure fun to fiddle with it and get crazy glitch-synth sounds.

Well, I'm definitely interested. I'm in Pembrokeshire at the moment, but I'm hoping to get back to Cardiff by the weekend (just come out of hospital and the weather really doesn't help with travelling). Would you be able to send some recordings over if I pm you my email please? Cheers, Bob.

Sup dude, I'm intrigued by this... would it be possible to know more details please? Where are you based in Cardiff? Would it be possible to hear some of your stuff, or get a more thorough list of influences? What's the average age of everyone in the band? Do you want it to be a full-time commitment, or just get something together and see where it goes? Cheers, Bob.

Cheers for the feedback guys. Depending on how well it punches through in a band/gig setting I may unload my 4x10 and try another. And yes... it is in CHOCOLATE THUNDER

Hi guys, I haven't posted here for over a year (or so... not quite sure, tend to lurk though). Anywho, I just wanted to share my thoughts with you on a recent purchase. I've been looking at getting a smaller cab for my Ashdown ABM500evoII to take to rehearsals, auditions, etc, etc. After looking at numerous reviews and comments on the Aguilar DB 112, I decided to fork out for one. It arrived this morning in the post. So, naturally I clean up my dusty amp head, grab a bass, hook it all up and give it a quick test. WOW. After playing around for about five minutes I'm left speechless. I'm not sure if Ashdown cabs are a bit on the muddy side, but for a moment I thought that I was playing through a completely different amp. Compared to my ABM410 this cabinet sounds clean and crisp, with just the right amount of rumbly-bumbly bass while still remaining tight. To put it bluntly, it's as if someone has come along and taken large wedges of foam from my ears. So, I carry on fiddling with my amp and I grow more and more perturbed by the fact that the Aguilar cab sounds so much better than my Ashdown cab. All of the little nuances of my playing come through... I only need to make subtle EQ changes on the ABM500 to hear a difference, whereas I used to have to make drastic alterations to get the sound I was after. Really, I'm amazed at the difference between these two cabinets, and right now I'm itching to take it out and test it in a band situation to see how it fares. What are your thoughts on Aguilar cabs, guys? Has anyone else had an experience like this with an Ashdown cabinet? Cheers, Bob.

Hot diggidy that thing the sex! Shame about the plastic control cavity cover

[quote name='Toasted' post='306848' date='Oct 15 2008, 09:05 AM']Tone is in the fingers. You idiots. *ducks*[/quote] Hey, I can dig it Seriously though, this thread deviated quite a bit, peace out guys Loving that bass, definately Thompson-esque. About the whole non-intonated bridge and fretlines I'll give my 0.5 of a penny (i guess it's not the best advice, but hey, we're here to share experiences and info right?) I've got a fretless p-bass and the intonation was set using a credit card at the 12th fret. Even though the base intonation is pretty close, I find that I need to ever so slightly sharpen some positions (as in rather than playing with a solid vibrato over a fretline, playing a vibrato over a fretline and leaning over to the sharp side ever so slightly). Long story short, I use the fretlines as a guide and my ears/hands do the rest, so while I used to be quite skeptical of non-intonated bridges, I can see how they could work with fretless. For that reason, I've got an order a 36inch scale fretless with a single piece bridge (if you didn't like the bass in this thread, you're probably gonna HATE this xD). Attached is an example of the luthiers previous work and a rough mock-up a guy I know drew for me. More info @ www.brownebasses.com

[quote]1) Always take a backup when gigging. 2) If something breaks, you still need to gig with backup. 3) ...is therefore the minimum stable for a gigging bassist. And a great excuse to get more if you've less than 3![/quote] +1 for this. I've had jack sockets go on me at gigs before out of the blue and I've been greatful to have a backup. First time it happened was when I was in 6th form and fortunately this my mate let me use his bass for the set. I'm inclined to bring a backup unless the place I'm playing is a total s***hole. I've currently got three basses too; Fender US Dlx Pbass V, Rickenbacker 4003 and a fretless pbass. They're all very different breeds but I like variety Got a six string fretless on order too which will be with me next August

Hi all, I moved to Cardiff last year. Right now I am bandless and I am seeking other musicians. I have all of my own gear and transportation. Looking for anything along the following lines: rock (pretty much any variation), funk, progressive etc etc. Don't mind whether it's playing covers or originals... or both lol. Main influences: Rush, Primus and too many others to name. I wouldn't mind playing in a bigband ensemble or anything else like that, but I will say that while my technique is (from what others have said) very good and I can read sheet music, I'm still working on getting my sight-reading up. Cheers, Bob

[quote]i guess what i'm trying to get across is, if you feel you want to stop using effects and get back to BASSics then go for it. but i wouldn't rush to sell on what you got. as months or years down the line they may prove their worth again.[/quote] +100000! I've gone in and out of effects phases since I began playing bass. I've sold all of my pedals after I decided to go back to basics but then I ended up regretting a few of those sales (namely my compressor and wah). Right now, I'm recovering from another round of effects GAS (include a fair amount of new pedals and a Deep Impact which I ended up selling in the past year). At the moment, I'm making a micro board with a tuner, compressor and a blender with an overdrive in the loop. Simple, breadandbutter setup

Good sir, your gear is made of win and sex... greasy, wild sex Seriously, if that fretless was in a sunburst, I'd be forced to hunt you down

I use GHS Boomers on my Fender US Dlx 5 string. I'm sure that there are better strings out there, but I'm happy with the price, tone and feel of them that I haven't felt the need to look elseware. On my Rickenbacker 4003, I use a set of medium Elites Stadiums. What I find so bizarre, is that Elites felt horrid on my Fenders, but they feel right at home on the Ricky EDIT: I would use DR's but the price really puts me off. I tried a set of Sunbeams before and they were really nice, but I find it awfully difficult spend that much on them.

For tubey warmth or grind, you could go down the tube route and get an EHX English Muffin or one of Dave Hall's pedals. My Voodoobass doesn't sound as nice as a driven tube amp, but with lower settings i get some nice tube-esque warmth. "Boosted line that cuts through" - I'd say either a boost pedal such as MXR Microamp, Catalinbread Serrano Picoso. Or if you want something with more bite, possibly an EQ pedal. It's all very subjective... the other effect you asked for is pretty much synth (octave into fuzz into an envelope filter)... you could get all 3 in one package with something like the discontinued Akai Deep Impact or the EHX Bass Micro Synth. Then again you could buy all three separately, and if you were to get the right mix of pedals, get a far better tone than a single "synth" unit. Funky effects aren't my speciality, so I'm gonna stop giving advice and wait for someone who's more suited to chip in

+ my 12 = 439 7 of which are on my board, the rest are for messing around and a few for guitar.

Thanks mate The pedal on the top right is an A/B mute switch so it sends my signal to my tuner. I've had the Voodoobass for *thinking* just over 4 years now. It's my favourite bass overdrive/distortion. It does suck a bit of the low end out but I just love the sound of it There are better pedals out there for the job but there's just something about the Voodoobass I love. I mostly got the X-blender out of curiosity (and for tonal variation) and it has added another dimension to the Voodoobass' sound. If you want an idea of what it sounds like, listen to "Spread your Love" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.