Items from HateyMcAmp

Analog, bass-specific octave pedal.

Pirastro Perpetual strings on a Shen SB88.

Plywood bass with oil varnish. Ebony fingerboard.

Magnetic “microphonic” humbucker for Double Bass.

The lowest end Thomann plywood bass. Ebony fingerboard, made in China.

This is Shen’s most basic bass. No frills, no corners cut. Made in China by real luithers, not a CCB (cheap chinese bass.) The luither’s setup stateside is key.

This is a review of Spirocore solo (4/4, S43) strings downtuned to orchestral pitch on my Shen SB80. So far, I like them a lot, way more than any other steel string I’ve tried. They remind me a lot of how Velvet Blue felt on this bass. Soft, but not floppy by any means. I know they’re thin, but they honestly don’t feel very different than any other steel gauge to me, being a gut / nylon / Velvet guy. They are way darker than the Sprio weichs / Helicore Hybrids I’ve used in the past, but...

I love Gamut strings, and while the Pistoys get a lot of (deserved) love, I'm still very fond of Lyons. I've tried a bunch of brands, but I'm currently on my 4th Lyon G (this time in medium, but I've tried light+, medium+, and heavy as well.) They are extremely well made, last a very long time, and have kind of a "new traditional" kind of sound. Compared to Chordas and the low buck gut I've tried, which are about 90% thump, the Lyons have a noticeable increase in midrange character and...