Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2025?

[Barabass]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I have a cheap 'Cube Baby'. 

 

The improvement in the sound through an (allegedly) FRFR speaker when I switch in any IR into the signal chain is very noticeable.

 

This suggests speaker colouration of the sound IS important, so what is going on?

What I meant is that “strange” might not be the right word and may cause confusion. What I wanted to say is that a cab can be FRFR, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will sound cold or sterile. With the Monza that’s definitely not the case, and I find that remarkable and very pleasant.

 

EDIT: 

I think I now understand what you mean @Stub Mandrel If you use an effect like the Bassrig and amplify it through an FRFR system, you still end up with a coloured sound. So why would you choose an FRFR in the first place? I can follow that question.

My experience is that the Monza reproduces the sound of the P‑bass, the Bassrig, and ultimately the Quilter BB800 in a really pleasing way. The cabinet reproduces the colouring created by the Bassrig exactly as intended. And if I want a different sound for another music style, that’s possible too. That makes the entire rig more versatile.

Edited 2 hours ago by Barabass

[rwillett]

54 minutes ago, Barabass said:

Quilter Bass Block 800

Nice....

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Barabass said:

 

I think I now understand what you mean @Stub Mandrel If you use an effect like the Bassrig and amplify it through an FRFR system, you still end up with a coloured sound. So why would you choose an FRFR in the first place? I can follow that question.

My experience is that the Monza reproduces the sound of the P‑bass, the Bassrig, and ultimately the Quilter BB800 in a really pleasing way. The cabinet reproduces the colouring created by the Bassrig exactly as intended. And if I want a different sound for another music style, that’s possible too. That makes the entire rig more versatile.

 

It does mean that you're not stuck with a single baked-in amp and cab sound, you can use different ones by using NAM/IR or other modelling.