What gear have you bought or acquired, simply because you thought you ought to..?

[dave_bass5]

A few more. 

Sadowsky DI. Does it actually do anything? Had it and quickly sold it after finding out it was pants. I read so much about how among it is, maybe mine was broken 🤔

 

KZ IEM's. Didnt like the sound, didnt like the fit. More drivers the better also seems to be a myth.

[fretmeister]

As it happens I really like old flats for rock and metal too.

 

As the guitar sounds have become higher gain, seemingly year on year, adding the now so ubiquitous Darkglass type bass tone just seems to make everything thinner and fizzier.

 

I've been writing and recording with a mate and the guitars sound ace and he wanted a DG bass tone. So we spent a solid day trying all the presets available in the Neural Parallax plugin and then tweaking them and it was getting worse by the minute. Completely lacked any balls. It got a bit better when I swapped to a flats bass as the fizz from the top disappeared but it was still bad.

 

So I went for my Helix instead with a slightly dirtier than expected Motown sort of thing. Like Jamerson / Dunn but with the Jive preamp on it and played with a plectrum.

 

It worked so much better. Rhythm section sounded like a unit, clear separation between guitar and bass, and the narrower frequency range of flatwounds allowed the bass to be a little louder but still not get in the way of anything else. 

 

This is the way!

 

 

[Terry M.]

8 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

A few more. 

Sadowsky DI. Does it actually do anything? Had it and quickly sold it after finding out it was pants. I read so much about how among it is, maybe mine was broken 🤔

 

KZ IEM's. Didnt like the sound, didnt like the fit. More drivers the better also seems to be a myth.

Curious what Sadowsky model you tried?

[uk_lefty]

49 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

For those who find flats too dull and unpleasant to handle, I have a jazz with the old 1960s style mutes.

Personally I love flats on a jazz bass. I've got a second jazz bass just for playing with flats... It has La Bella flats and I love them!

 

Now TI Flats... I loathe them! Lots of people on here love them but I just couldn't get on with them at all: sticky, expensive, thin and just did not sound good (for me) at all. I'm sure in the hands of others they do sound just as good as everyone says but for me they are just lifeless, sadly. 

[HeadlessBassist]

3 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

It worked so much better. Rhythm section sounded like a unit, clear separation between guitar and bass, and the narrower frequency range of flatwounds allowed the bass to be a little louder but still not get in the way of anything else. 

 

This is the way!

 

 

See what I did there..?

 

 

[chris_b]

I've bought stuff over the years that I thought would be a good move. Sometimes I was right and sometimes I was wrong, but I've never bought anything because of peer pressure or because "I felt I ought to".

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, chris_b said:

I've bought stuff over the years that I thought would be a good move. Sometimes I was right and sometimes I was wrong, but I've never bought anything because of peer pressure or because "I felt I ought to".

Ive never felt that either, but I do get caught up in the hype sometimes, especialy if it's something I feel could benefit me. HPF's definitely one of them.

There have been times where im just reading posts and see a throw away comment of something and it just clicks, I have to get one. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.

[chris_b]

I'm a fan of the Sadowsky preamp pedal. With my eyes shut I could almost mistake my Cort for a Sadowsky.

 

Flats beef up the tone of a bass. If that's not the sound you're after then they won't be any use to you, but if you want a full blooded thump, to strengthen and reinforce your tone, then flats will be perfect.

[chris_b]

4 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Ive never felt that either, but I do get caught up in the hype sometimes, especialy if it's something I feel could benefit me. HPF's definitely one of them.

 

 

OK. . . .  a few years back, I did buy a Thumpinator, but either it was broken or I didn't have a problem in the first place, because I didn't see or hear any difference.

[Stub Mandrel]

42 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 

OK. . . .  a few years back, I did buy a Thumpinator, but either it was broken or I didn't have a problem in the first place, because I didn't see or hear any difference.

 

That means it was working.

A good hpf gets rid of handling noise and thumps but doesn't touch your actual bass tone at all.

[Boodang]

I've just bought an MXR Band of Gypsies '69 Psych series fuzz because it looked good..... and I don't even play guitar!

[Muzz]

23 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Jazz Basses  - I`ve learned to love them, but it took me a while (and a good few)

 

Stingray Basses - The third member of the holy trinity, I love how they play, love how they sound when others play them, just not when I play them

 

The Stingray thing? A brother from another mother there, Lozz, I bought three over the years just to be doubly, trebly sure...and I was right. Still don't like Jazzes, tho, but every bass I have has a Jazz width neck, so there's that.

 

I bought an Alembic, an Overwater and a Sei (not all at once, I'm not made of money, it was over a couple of years) just to see what the fuss was about, and I didn't like them much...at least they're the sort of thing that if you buy carefully secondhand you can move on without losing much money for the experience...

[Russ]

Also not a fan of flatwounds. They just feel wrong under my fingers and I'm not a fan of the tone in the slightest. If you like them, more power to you, but they're most certainly not for me. 

 

Precisions - love the tone. P-bass+rounds+pick = legendary sound. But not a fan of the look, dislike the feel, and I've never played one that balanced in a way that I'm comfortable with. 

 

Markbass heads - they were flavour of the month for a while and I dabbled with a Little Mark II back in the day. Found it a bit anaemic and underpowered, and kinda woolly-sounding (and that's with the VLE control turned all the way off). They also seem to break down a lot, and they don't fit them with universal voltage PSUs. Plus I'm not a fan of the gaudy yellow and green graphics. On the other hand, I like their cabs. 

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

That means it was working.

A good hpf gets rid of handling noise and thumps but doesn't touch your actual bass tone at all.

Assuming you had an audible issue with handling noise and thump in the first place. 

This was the issue I didnt have, but was convinced I did. 

Edited 7 hours ago by dave_bass5

[Russ]

1 hour ago, Muzz said:

The Stingray thing? A brother from another mother there, Lozz, I bought three over the years just to be doubly, trebly sure...and I was right. Still don't like Jazzes, tho, but every bass I have has a Jazz width neck, so there's that.

When people get their first Stingray, they always do the same thing, especially if it's a 2EQ - dial the bass and treble all the way up. Then they wonder why all they can hear in a band context is woof and click, with no midrange. So they sell it. 

 

Eventually, they discover that the EQ controls are kinda interactive, as you dial up the bass and treble, it actually sucks the mids out. So you end up only adding a tiny bit of boost to each, and, all of a sudden, you can actually hear yourself in the mix! 

[HeadlessBassist]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

When people get their first Stingray, they always do the same thing, especially if it's a 2EQ - dial the bass and treble all the way up. Then they wonder why all they can hear in a band context is woof and click, with no midrange. So they sell it. 

 

Eventually, they discover that the EQ controls are kinda interactive, as you dial up the bass and treble, it actually sucks the mids out. So you end up only adding a tiny bit of boost to each, and, all of a sudden, you can actually hear yourself in the mix! 

 

Very true. Yes, on a few preamps (depending on the frequency ranges chosen by the circuit designer) you can run them flat out, but most sound awful at ten tenths. Agreed re the 2eq Stingray preamp (I've got the OBP2). If you turn the treble control back down a little from your 'sizzle' point, the bass frequency richens and increases automatically as if it's filling the gap while the treble drops. It also reveals that massive 70's style Stingray punch.

[Lozz196]

That’s apparently how Cliff Williams of AC/DC uses his. I tried it, couldn’t get on with it. Wish I’d been able to use it in the band tho (was bought & sold during COVID), who knows, might have loved it.
 

Did try my 3-band eq ‘Ray with the band, just couldn’t get it to work - which in Lozz Speak means I tried to make it sound like a Precision and failed. 

[Jack]

Oooooh I like this game. 

 

The good: 

 

Sansamp. I wanted a more old school sound and the internet peer pressured me into buying a sansamp. I went for the paradriver, fearing the mid scoop of the bddi, and I absolutely love it. It's the only thing I've profiled on my QC.

 

Countryman Type 85. In the early days TB told me I'd need a di box. They also told me that the countryman was the best. They were kind of right. It's been 20 years and it's the longest serving piece of gear I own.

 

 

The bad:

 

B string. Fives have extended range, they're more versatile, everything you can do on a four you can do on a five. Humbug. My first Stingray, a realisation of my dream bass, my crowning achievement as a bassist, custom made for me by ebmm, all wasted by ticking the five string box on the form. If that bass had been a four I'd still have it for sure. 

 

Quad cortex. I like modellers, that's the best modeller. Right? Still not convinced it's as good as my helix was.

[Agent 00Soul]

I used to always mod my instruments in my teens and 20s - putting a Precision pickup on a Jazz Bass, EMGs on a Rickenbacker 4003, Seymour Duncans in my Jazzmaster (although that was a swap, no mods needed), installing a pickup selector switch on the same Jazz and then changing it to a blend knob.  It was a popular thing to do in the 70s and 80s,  I stopped all that in the early 1990s.  It just dawned on me: "Do you really think you know better than Leo Fender or <fill in the blank pro designer>?"  I'm now kind of mortified I ever did those things....especially to that Rickenbacker.  Presumably it's still out there somewhere.

 

Although I did swap out that old Precision pickup in the Jazz for a Bruce Thomas from Bass Centre a few years ago, so I guess I can still be persuaded.

[Stub Mandrel]

6 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Assuming you had an audible issue with handling noise and thump in the first place. 

This was the issue I didnt have, but was convinced I did. 

 

If you can hear it, it's not an hpf solvable issue. It's when you see the cone making big movements without much sound.

 

 I've seen big cone  excursions from surprisingly gentle handling. Also, I want to be able to play an open E or even a low B without worrying when I have an octaver in circuit.

 

So I just have an hpf on my pedal board and am reasonably sensible when playing without effects. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Stub Mandrel

[dave_bass5]

Just now, Stub Mandrel said:

 

 I've seen big cone  excursions from surprisingly gentle handling. Also, I want to be able to play an open E or even a low B without worrying when I have an octaver in circuit.

 

So I just have an hpf on my pedal board and am reasonably sensible when playing without effects. 

No question they have their uses, but a few years ago we were all convinced we HAD to get one to hear a big improvement. Many found they had no need for one. 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

3 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

No question they have their uses, but a few years ago we were all convinced we HAD to get one to hear a big improvement. Many found they had no need for one. 

 

 

I feel it makes a difference, I made my own hpf so it wasn't expensive and has no impact on anything above a low B so it's worth it as an insurance policy. It does reduce cone flap when I put the bass down or put my had across the strings. 

 

I don't know if I get the promised extra headroom as my kit is usually just ticking over anyway.

[Russ]

11 minutes ago, Jack said:

B string. Fives have extended range, they're more versatile, everything you can do on a four you can do on a five. Humbug. My first Stingray, a realisation of my dream bass, my crowning achievement as a bassist, custom made for me by ebmm, all wasted by ticking the five string box on the form. If that bass had been a four I'd still have it for sure. 

I'd always encourage anyone who's not convinced by the 5-string experience to restring it with a high C and try it again. It becomes an entirely different beast. 

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, Jack said:

B string. Fives have extended range, they're more versatile, everything you can do on a four you can do on a five. Humbug.

Shame it didn't work out for you as the above is all true.