Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[Novarocker]

Yeah I'm a mids guy for sure too. Always like Orange and Matamp bark, later being more my preference. My aashdown let me get bark, but also the ability to sculpt more so than the Orange I spent some time with. Wish I could get my hands on a Matamp one day, that grind and bark are awesome.

That sucks I didn't even think of that. They sound just as good in person as they do in the clips if not better.


^^^^
Go for it what you got! I have the Landphil and the Deathmaster and they both sound amazing. Using them both for a doom/sludge thing I'm working on solo bass Royal Blood style with backing tracks. Turning out really cool sounds immense.

I have way too many distortions but I love each and every one of them.

Same, I wish I could keep em all. It's nice to try so many different ones, there's definitely a large short list of ones I'd like to have in the stable once the collection can really grow.

Love Matt's stuff, I need to just pull the trigger on the Redrum.

I was interested in the Hoof, but went elsewhere with my Muff needs. Can you compare to any other muffs/fuzzes? For reference, thus far, my favorite Muffs are the Swollen Pickle and Pharaoh Supreme. My other favorite fuzz is the Carcosa, which I may pick up again in the future.

The hoof is one I've always wanted to try but have been holding off on for some reason. Maybe availability is so high, I've been prioritizing others. I'm pumped to try the Hizumitas though, sounds like it's almost a cross between triangle and Russian with how much low end it has. I know its supposed to be based off a triangle muff type though.

 

[kleinenenten]

I personally played the Pickle part of the P&P, a few EHX Muffs, and a dialed-up MBD2 (with the +20 dB switch in the up position). Of those, I think the Hoof sounds the closest to an EHX Green Russian, but still different. That Shift dial changes the character of the Fuzz effect considerably. There are a few bass samples with the settings listed on the EQ site:

https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/hoof (Towards the bottom of the page)

All other Fuzzes I played had more bass, but not in a for me usable way. With the MBD2 for example i turned the clean blend all the way down to get a Fuzz sound I liked. (Or rather, a Fuzz-like sound, I know it's not a real Fuzz pedal.) Same with all EHX pedals, which made them sound tamer, less in-your-face for me. With the Hoof I find I don't need to do anything, EQ-wise, and it still punches a lot, while providing a strong fundament.

Addendum: As always, it's a question of preferences. For example, I don't like Ampegs with the Ultra Low switch engaged. And I vastly prefer Orange's amp voicings to both Ampeg and Fender. I really love that lower mids bark when playing rock, and can't stand it if the bass sounds like I'm at a techno party.

Never played an EHX Green Russian, but I did have the Russian Pickle. I enjoyed it, and found that I could get a usable tone out of it, but preferred the Swollen Pickle and Pharaoh Supreme. The Green Russian was more distortion-y, which isn't necessarily bad, but I wanted fuzz. It also seemed looser in the lows, and a bit less articulate. How do you find the Hoof different than the Russian take?

 

[scabpicker]

And in this talk of amp and distortion sounds, I have to insert my ideal "clean" tone. Rob Wright with NOMEANSNO is that thing I kind of chase. The joke on me is that it's pretty much any Marshall-ish solid state amp with the latest P-Bass (or copy, he didn't seem picky) that his sweat hasn't trashed already. The right EQ pedal, distortion pedal and any solid state amp will give you something very like this. But, you and I don't pick or fret exactly like Rob Wright, so it will always sound like you, and not him. If you really wanted to frustrate yourself, you could get it exactly right, but why would you?



I mean, I am still kinda chasing his tone a bit, even his style when I can get away with it. But really, I just realized I just needed to sell what I could of it for the song/band I was currently working with. There are some things I'm kind of intransigent on (I want a lot of gain), but I do try to adjust my eq to not cover up the guitars. My tone is not nearly as crunchy on the high or even high mids as his is. I've got two guitars to contend with, and they've both got their own tonal peculiarities (and when we're playing in unison, I'm just augmenting those frequencies, anyway in most cases). Mid controls with a sweepable center make this easier in my experience, but try to adjust one parameter (frequency, level) at a time.

But, when I step on whatever fuzz I have for the evening, you guitars are on your own for at least a little while. You better scream in the upper registers for a bit, because me and the drummer are going to be gettin' down and/or gettin' it on for a few minutes. If I used the fuzz on every song, it'd be a different matter, but since it's probably max three songs out of a nine song set (and probably only on for one full song), you guys can work around me for a bit.

 

[lucas303]

And in this talk of amp and distortion sounds, I have to insert my ideal "clean" tone. Rob Wright with NOMEANSNO is that thing I kind of chase. The joke on me is that it's pretty much any Marshall-ish solid state amp with the latest P-Bass (or copy, he didn't seem picky) that his sweat hasn't trashed already. The right EQ pedal, distortion pedal and any solid state amp will give you something very like this. But, you and I don't pick or fret exactly like Rob Wright, so it will always sound like you, and not him. If you really wanted to frustrate yourself, you could get it exactly right, but why would you?



I mean, I am still kinda chasing his tone a bit, even his style when I can get away with it. But really, I just realized I just needed to sell what I could of it for the song/band I was currently working with. There are some things I'm kind of intransigent on (I want a lot of gain), but I do try to adjust my eq to not cover up the guitars. My tone is not nearly as crunchy on the high or even high mids as his is. I've got two guitars to contend with, and they've both got their own tonal peculiarities (and when we're playing in unison, I'm just augmenting those frequencies, anyway in most cases). Mid controls with a sweepable center make this easier in my experience, but try to adjust one parameter (frequency, level) at a time.

But, when I step on whatever fuzz I have for the evening, you guitars are on your own for at least a little while. You better scream in the upper registers for a bit, because me and the drummer are going to be gettin' down and/or gettin' it on for a few minutes. If I used the fuzz on every song, it'd be a different matter, but since it's probably max three songs out of a nine song set (and probably only on for one full song), you guys can work around me for a bit.

Great tone! It's times like this I realize how far out of touch I am though, because I wouldn't call that tone clean at all (which is not knocking it...it's more a criticism of how much of a noob I am). There have been many times I've watched a bass pedal/amp demo and thought "oh this is a nice mild distortion" only to realize that they hadn't even turned the pedal/amp on yet. But I digress.

I hope that the guitar player(s) you jam with give as much sonic consideration to you as you're giving them!

 

[kleinenenten]

And in this talk of amp and distortion sounds, I have to insert my ideal "clean" tone. Rob Wright with NOMEANSNO is that thing I kind of chase. The joke on me is that it's pretty much any Marshall-ish solid state amp with the latest P-Bass (or copy, he didn't seem picky) that his sweat hasn't trashed already. The right EQ pedal, distortion pedal and any solid state amp will give you something very like this. But, you and I don't pick or fret exactly like Rob Wright, so it will always sound like you, and not him. If you really wanted to frustrate yourself, you could get it exactly right, but why would you?



I mean, I am still kinda chasing his tone a bit, even his style when I can get away with it. But really, I just realized I just needed to sell what I could of it for the song/band I was currently working with. There are some things I'm kind of intransigent on (I want a lot of gain), but I do try to adjust my eq to not cover up the guitars. My tone is not nearly as crunchy on the high or even high mids as his is. I've got two guitars to contend with, and they've both got their own tonal peculiarities (and when we're playing in unison, I'm just augmenting those frequencies, anyway in most cases). Mid controls with a sweepable center make this easier in my experience, but try to adjust one parameter (frequency, level) at a time.

But, when I step on whatever fuzz I have for the evening, you guitars are on your own for at least a little while. You better scream in the upper registers for a bit, because me and the drummer are going to be gettin' down and/or gettin' it on for a few minutes. If I used the fuzz on every song, it'd be a different matter, but since it's probably max three songs out of a nine song set (and probably only on for one full song), you guys can work around me for a bit.

While I enjoy this song, I'd say you nailed it. The tone itself isn't that hard to get. But it's a good tune, and played convincingly, which goes a long way!

 

[El_Charro]

Hi Everybody,

Pardon the rant, but I feel like I need to tell someone who’s sympathetic to my plight and curious to know if I’m over-reacting and how much this would have irritated you personally…

I posted this over the weekend: Tone Pot Hiss/Static “Normal” w/ A Passive EMG P Bass???

Long story short (and if you don’t wanna read that thread)-I dropped my bass off at the guitar store the last weekend of October…I asked them to put in EMG passive Ps into my new P bass…

I was told it would take about a week…It took two weeks…

This was a minor quibble bc they are busy, but they seem like they have a good reputation so I didn’t think that was really that big of a deal…

I got my new P back on Saturday and plugged it in and heard a bunch of scratching/static while playing especially with the tone knob open…Double checked my amp cord and determine it isn’t the amp or the cord…

Called the shop and they said to bring it back (which I plan to), but I can’t really make it over there til Saturday…

I’m guessing that they will probably take another week to fix it (or more since it’s Thanksgiving that week)…

So..I ordered that guitar like a month ago and have played my new P a grand total of 3x…

Tried to play it tonight bc w the tone knob off the scratching/static sound is less pronounced, but the bass kept cutting out (no sound) when I’d hit the E string (so completely unplayable)…

Really wanted to throw the bass across the room at that point (didn’t-I had restraint as I put it back in the case)…

Picked up my ESP and practiced and tried to forget that I have a guitar that’s almost $1,000 that doesn’t work right …

My question (that I’m kind of afraid to ask)-Am I screwed that they did the pickups or the pots or something incorrect???

I’m gonna take it back and make them fix it, but now I’m skeptical-Both of the bass and of their work…

Guitar shop has a good local reputation from what I can tell so I’m really hoping they will make it right and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but honestly- How hard is it to swap out on passive P pickup for another???…

I didn’t think this was a “hard” ask, but now I’m worried my new bass isn’t gonna work right (ever)… <——That is probably a gross over-reaction, but am I just stupid for wanting EMG pickups in a Fender???-I didn’t think changing pickups was THAT big of a deal, but kinda worried I’ve opened up Pandora’s box…

Bass worked just fine before I gave it to them…I think I would’ve had better luck going to Guitar Center…

So…Sorry to complain-Maybe this is all first world problems, but I thought (???) P basses weren’t complicated instruments which is why I wanted one…

They did say it might be a grounding wire issue inside the bass-Is THAT hard fix??? (Pardon my GROSS ignorance but I don’t really know much about electronics)

And to the guitar shop-How the f- do you NOT check to make sure the pickups work before you give it back to me???

Just…SO frustrated right now…Any thoughts???…Mostly I’m wondering about the questions about swapping pickups and how reliable my bass is gonna be if I ever get to play it…

(Thanks for reading)

Thanks! \m/

 

[scabpicker]

Great tone! It's times like this I realize how far out of touch I am though, because I wouldn't call that tone clean at all (which is not knocking it...it's more a criticism of how much of a noob I am). There have been many times I've watched a bass pedal/amp demo and thought "oh this is a nice mild distortion" only to realize that they hadn't even turned the pedal/amp on yet. But I digress.

I hope that the guitar player(s) you jam with give as much sonic consideration to you as you're giving them!

Heheh, calling that tone "clean" and being me is just an example of how much of a pervert I am. My guitarists do give me consideration, and we all do think about the sound, but my use of gain and fuzz has been commented on a few times. It's been said that "fuzz has no place on bass guitar", but those people are objectively wrong, even if they are one of my guitarists. Hey, I've been objectively wrong, and probably will be in the near future. We'll work it out.

While I enjoy this song, I'd say you nailed it. The tone itself isn't that hard to get. But it's a good tune, and played convincingly, which goes a long way!

Yeah, even songs I didn't feel inspired by, if I just figured out how to play them like I meant it, it was instantly better for me and all involved.

 

[lucas303]

Hi Everybody,

Pardon the rant, but I feel like I need to tell someone who’s sympathetic to my plight and curious to know if I’m over-reacting and how much this would have irritated you personally…

I posted this over the weekend: Tone Pot Hiss/Static “Normal” w/ A Passive EMG P Bass???

Long story short (and if you don’t wanna read that thread)-I dropped my bass off at the guitar store the last weekend of October…I asked them to put in EMG passive Ps into my new P bass…

I was told it would take about a week…It took two weeks…

This was a minor quibble bc they are busy, but they seem like they have a good reputation, but I got my new P back on Saturday and plugged it in and heard a bunch of scratching/static while playing especially with the tone knob open…Double checked my amp cord and determine it isn’t the amp or the cord…

Called the shop and they said to bring it back (which I plan to), but I can’t really make it over there til Saturday…

I’m guessing that they will probably take another week to fix it (or more since it’s Thanksgiving that week)…

So..I ordered that guitar like a month ago and have played my new P a grand total of 3x…

Tried to play it tonight bc w the tone knob off the scratching/static sound is less pronounced, but the bass kept cutting out (no sound) when I’d hit the E string (so completely unplayable)…

Really wanted to throw the bass across the room at that point (didn’t-I had restraint as I put it back in the case)…

Picked up my ESP and practiced …

My question (that I’m kind of afraid to ask)-Am I screwed that they did the pickups or the pots or something incorrect???

I’m gonna take it back and make them fix it, but now I’m skeptical-Both of the bass and of their work…

Guitar shop has a good local reputation from what I can tell so I’m really hoping they will make it right and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but honestly- How hard is it to swap out on passive P pickup for another???…

I didn’t think this was a “hard” ask, but now I’m worried my new bass isn’t gonna work right (ever)… <——That is probably a gross over-reaction, but am I just stupid for wanting EMG pickups in a Fender???

Bass worked just fine before I gave it to them…I think I would’ve had better luck going to Guitar Center…

So…Sorry to complain-Maybe this is all first world problems, but I thought (???) P basses weren’t complicated instruments…They did i]day it might be a grounding wire issue inside the bass-Is THAT hard fix???

And to the guitar shop-How the f- do you NOT check to make sure the pickups work before you give it back to me???

Just…SO frustrated right now…

(Thanks for reading)

Thanks! \m/

I have zero experience with FSOs, but tons of people put EMGs in Fenders. I'd say this is a good opportunity to learn how to do this yourself. As long as nothing came out of the box faulty, you can likely get this up and running with some internet research. That said, again assuming nothing came out of the box faulty, any competent shop should've done the job right the first time. And if they did something wrong they damn well should get you fixed up pronto. At the end of the day no amount of getting frustrated will change the situation, so you're best off either using it as an opportunity to learn how to do some basic electronics yourself (people on TB can likely hold your hand) or using it as an opportunity to learn some patience (I type this as I'm sitting here so frustrated with myself and my lack of even the most basic musical abilities that I could just quit altogether, so this is a good reminder for me too!). Either way, though, the shop needs to do right by you.

 

[scabpicker]

Hi Everybody,

Pardon the rant, but I feel like I need to tell someone who’s sympathetic to my plight and curious to know if I’m over-reacting and how much this would have irritated you personally…

I posted this over the weekend: Tone Pot Hiss/Static “Normal” w/ A Passive EMG P Bass???

Long story short (and if you don’t wanna read that thread)-I dropped my bass off at the guitar store the last weekend of October…I asked them to put in EMG passive Ps into my new P bass…

I was told it would take about a week…It took two weeks…

This was a minor quibble bc they are busy, but they seem like they have a good reputation, but I got my new P back on Saturday and plugged it in and heard a bunch of scratching/static while playing especially with the tone knob open…Double checked my amp cord and determine it isn’t the amp or the cord…

Called the shop and they said to bring it back (which I plan to), but I can’t really make it over there til Saturday…

I’m guessing that they will probably take another week to fix it (or more since it’s Thanksgiving that week)…

So..I ordered that guitar like a month ago and have played my new P a grand total of 3x…

Tried to play it tonight bc w the tone knob off the scratching/static sound is less pronounced, but the bass kept cutting out (no sound) when I’d hit the E string (so completely unplayable)…

Really wanted to throw the bass across the room at that point (didn’t-I had restraint as I put it back in the case)…

Picked up my ESP and practiced …

My question (that I’m kind of afraid to ask)-Am I screwed that they did the pickups or the pots or something incorrect???

I’m gonna take it back and make them fix it, but now I’m skeptical-Both of the bass and of their work…

Guitar shop has a good local reputation from what I can tell so I’m really hoping they will make it right and trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but honestly- How hard is it to swap out on passive P pickup for another???…

I didn’t think this was a “hard” ask, but now I’m worried my new bass isn’t gonna work right (ever)… <——That is probably a gross over-reaction, but am I just stupid for wanting EMG pickups in a Fender???

Bass worked just fine before I gave it to them…I think I would’ve had better luck going to Guitar Center…

So…Sorry to complain-Maybe this is all first world problems, but I thought (???) P basses weren’t complicated instruments…They did i]day it might be a grounding wire issue inside the bass-Is THAT hard fix???

And to the guitar shop-How the f- do you NOT check to make sure the pickups work before you give it back to me???

Just…SO frustrated right now…

(Thanks for reading)

Thanks! \m/

Well, a P-Bass is pretty simple, being a single pickup/volume/tone affair. But, soldering, especially in a hurried manner can result in all sorts of dumb problems. I'd give them a chance to fix it, because they might actually be honest and find something they didn't double check. I've done more than one solder joint that I had to re-do (but no-one was ever paying me). Sometimes getting all of the grounds to solder right can be the worst part of wiring a guitar. I've still got to chase down a grounding problem with that SX bass I inherited, and the room I do most of my stuff in is pretty noisy, to boot. If I'm running high gain with somewhat microphonic pickups (which is a favorite combo of mine), I want to be standing pretty much facing north or south. Anything else leaves me with a hum that I'm going to chase with a graphic EQ when I'm fooling with it.

 

[Sascha Erni]

How do you find the Hoof different than the Russian take?

Hard to describe. I found the Green Russian to be more “wooly sounding”, the Hoof “more articulate”, if that makes any sense. The Hoof also was a lot quieter, noise-wise, than any Fuzz I've given a whirl in the past. Those weren't direct comparisons though, but with months in-between.

And recounting sound nuances from memory is a lost cause. After even a short while, psychoacoustics start to skew the results of comparisons, one of the reasons why double-blind tests (ABX) are so popular *) when testing equipment, both for music production and consumption, and AB comparison doesn't always work. Even a slightly hotter output might make one thing sound “better” than the other, while differences might disappear if you make sure they're both just as loud. Then, there’s other things playing in, like expectations – say, boutique pedal vs/ very common pedal, or different price points, or looks. Anecdote: I remember an experiment friends of mine did back at University in the late 1990s; getting two identical CD players, painting one blue and the other red. People claimed the red one sounded overall “warmer”, the blue one “more clinical” – but we didn't even switch players, we just told them we had.



*) I actually don't know whether ABX is still used widely nowadays. Might be that with modern simulation and modeling software, you can ditch that step and just do normal comparisons to find out what people overall prefer, on a subjective and quantitative level (“more people individually preferred this box”) rather than a more objective level (“everything being equal and measured to within 1 dB of differences, people said box A was more pleasant than box B”).

 

[lucas303]

*) I actually don't know whether ABX is still used widely nowadays. Might be that with modern simulation and modeling software, you can ditch that step and just do normal comparisons to find out what people overall prefer, on a subjective and quantitative level (“more people individually preferred this box”) rather than a more objective level (“everything being equal and measured to within 1 dB of differences, people said box A was more pleasant than box B”).

Harman has a very elaborate setup for blind testing speakers. They use a screen of acoustically transparent fabric so the listener can't see the speaker they're hearing (or even if a speaker has in fact been switched out at all). It's pretty neat: Invalid Link Removed

 

[El_Charro]

I have zero experience with FSOs, but tons of people put EMGs in Fenders. I'd say this is a good opportunity to learn how to do this yourself. As long as nothing came out of the box faulty, you can likely get this up and running with some internet research. That said, again assuming nothing came out of the box faulty, any competent shop should've done the job right the first time. And if they did something wrong they damn well should get you fixed up pronto. At the end of the day no amount of getting frustrated will change the situation, so you're best off either using it as an opportunity to learn how to do some basic electronics yourself (people on TB can likely hold your hand) or using it as an opportunity to learn some patience (I type this as I'm sitting here so frustrated with myself and my lack of even the most basic musical abilities that I could just quit altogether, so this is a good reminder for me too!). Either way, though, the shop needs to do right by you.

————————————————-
Thanks…I am a bit despondent over it, but I will give them a chance to make it right this weekend…

What’s sad is that they have kind of lost my trust so I wanna give them a chance to fix it and stand by their work, but after that experience I’m not sure I trust them to do it right a second time when they f-ed it up the first time…My Wife was like “Chill out people make mistakes” and while she’s right I’m also kinda like “You’re a GUITAR shop-You had ONE job and it’s not like it’s a multiple pickup bass)…

I don’t own soldering equipment and I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m pretty electronically stupid, so I suppose I should cut them some slack bc I don’t think I could’ve done it myself, but at the same time I think Guitar Center might have done a better job (I get that GC gets a lot of $- on this Web site, but I have had decent luck with them overall)…

Appreciate the reassurance that putting EMGs into a P shouldn’t be “that” hard…

It probably doesn’t help that I’m a bit angry at myself for trying to mod a bass to what I wanted…

I bought my ESP/LTD last year bc it was an active bass that already had EMGs in it and ended up avoiding Fender bc I wanted something a bit more “Metal” than that…

So…I’m also a bit angry at myself for buying a new bass and trying to make it into what I wanted…What’s even more frustrating is that I wanted a P bc it’s a “simpler” bass and ergo “should” have fewer problems…

Just…All around not a good experience, but thank you for responding…

Also-Keep at it with practicing…

I seriously doubt you are anywhere near as musically challenged as you claim at the end of that post and playing is supposed to be fun…

Try to focus on playing for enjoyment-I get wanting to be great at playing bc I have the same ultimate goal, but I constantly try to remind myself that perfection isn’t the goal-improvement and fun are supposed to br the reason I play…

I still can’t play even half as good as I want, but it’s still good stress relief to play music…

Thanks! \m/

 

[cornfarmer]

A few pages back we were talking about env. filters, auto wahs etc. I whipped out my DOD Performer 545 wah filter after basically forgetting about for a year and wasn't feeling it. I think it's better than the FX25 but still seems a little limited.

I watched a lot of YouTube demos and listened to a lot of guys who can play circles around me and a few who couldn't play themselves out of a closet.....lots of quack quack quack quack quack. Getting a Broughton Josh Wah. It seems to have all the knobs I want and kind of doubles as a OD/dirt pedal by just cranking the gain alone.

 

[lucas303]

For those of you that use compression pedals, where do you like to put it in your effects chain? And why?

 

[Sascha Erni]

Getting a Broughton Josh Wah. It seems to have all the knobs I want and kind of doubles as a OD/dirt pedal by just cranking the gain alone.

The envelope filter I talked about above is a Joshwah, and as mentioned, it does the job admirably well. It goes from synth sounding to metal to vintage to modern easily and also works very well if you add a fuzz after it – or before it, as was suggested to me in the Broughton thread a week ago or so, and which has turned out to be one of my favourite sounds ever.

So, the reason I am considering a Wah pedal instead isn't for tone, quality, possibilities, workmanship, or the like. But because I find I prefer the “haptics” of using a normal Wah pedal. I have the Joshwah on my small board now, mind – because sometimes (often), small and compact beats haptics.

For those of you that use compression pedals, where do you like to put it in your effects chain? And why?

I have it towards the end of my chain, after (auto-)wah, dirt, preamp, but before L+HPF and DI box. Reason being, I like how my dirt pedals react to dynamics, so I don’t want to feed them a compressed signal. Also, everything in my chain up to the compressor introduces some sort of overdrive or distortion, even the preamp, so I have a pretty even signal most of the time anyway, even if I switch from fingerstyle to slapping. Hence I don't need a comp for that.

What I DO need it for, though, is both having a steady output no matter how many or little effects are on going to FOH. And, in combination with the L+HPF, it serves sort-of as a cabinet simulation. My main band plays ampless. And said combination of Broughton L+HPF and Diamond Bass Comp, together with the dirty preamp etc., makes my board sound like a tube amp close to break-up through a couple of 12" speakers, so exactly what I want.

 

[lucas303]

Reason being, I like how my dirt pedals react to dynamics, so I don’t want to feed them a compressed signal.

That was my thinking too, but with the way fuzz/distortion can compress the signal on their own I wasn't sure if it would be redundant to put compression after those. I'll probably experiment each way, but it's good to get some insight.

 

[Novarocker]

That was my thinking too, but with the way fuzz/distortion can compress the signal on their own I wasn't sure if it would be redundant to put compression after those. I'll probably experiment each way, but it's good to get some insight.

That's always been a bit of my thought too, I rarely actually use a compressor except for extreme squish effects. I probably should use one though to help even out unity gain and spikes from any pedals.

 

[Flamingo21]

My compressor is a Seymour Duncan Studio Bass. I've put it at the beginning, immediately after the tuner. Reason is I'm a sucker for octavers, I have currently three of them on my board, and the octave signals are subtle things that (in my ears) become lifeless if you compress them.

 

[br1qbat]

 

[thombo]

Doomers, I come at you with an old man rant. I'm not quite at the point of getting a fedora and tortoise shell pick guard for my precision, but it's close.

I've fallen hard for Darkglass heads. I can't imagine a live situation where I would reach for a tube heads over a 7 lbs, is 900 watt tone monster. I'm sick of paying for tube head upkeep, they weight too much, and while they sound amazing, I'm can't justify it for myself anymore.

Am I crazy or just old?