I Think My Gas Is Squelshed
March 12th, 2009
So, after months of searching craigslist and basstalk.com I have finally finished acquiring bass gear. Or at least I have for now. I’ve got enough basses (3 of them) and I have my amplification and effects all in hand. If you’re interested, read on under the cut:
- Fender Bassman 300 BXR-C – This is my gigging amp. (For now) It’s a 300 watt combo amp I picked up for 200 bucks off of craigslist, and so far, it’s good enough to be heard while practicing with the band I’m playing with. I’ve been told one or two times to turn it down a bit, so it’s at least adequate for my needs at this moment. It’s a little older, but really, that’s not a big deal. About the only downside is that it’s as heavy as sin. Thankfully, it stay’s at John and Maggie’s place, so I don’t have to lug it to and from rehearsal and such.
- Line 6 LowDown 150 – This is my practice amp and I really like it. It’s not too heavy, nor is it too big. Yet it still has all the low end OOMPH I need when I’m practicing. It’s a pretty nice little amp. I’m not much about the modeling aspect of it, but it’s occasionally nice to hear the different sounds.
- Line 6 M13 Stompbox Modeler – This is what does the majority of my effects processing. It’s got a ridiculous array of stomp boxes in it. Every time I futz with it, I end up finding another pedal tweak or combination that I really get into. It’s the second multi-effects box I’ve owned, and so far, it’s so much better than my old Boss ME-30. It can be pricey, but if you’re into lots of effects and aren’t dead set on an exact sound, it’s a pretty righteous deal.
- DigiTech X-Series Bass Synth Wah – When I was researching the M13, I noticed it didn’t have an auto-wah on it. Since I find auto-wah and regular wah to be key effects I was a little miffed. But, I figured, no biggie, I’ll pick up an auto-wah/envelope filter. Well, this sucker came up for a good price on craigslist and I jumped on it. Now that I have it, it’s not a bad little pedal, but I don’t use it’s “auto-wah.” Of the seven effects types, the only one that I’m not impressed with is the Envelope portion. Thankfully, the M13 has a filter based on the Mutron 3, which once I got it dialed in, serves as a pretty good auto-wah. I may lose a little bass, but, well, I’m willing to accept that for how much better it is. Of the pedals I’d ditch, I’m most inclined to ditch this, either for a better auto-wah, or something else entirely. At the same time, I like the synth sounds, so it’s really hard to say.
- Dunlop Bass Crybaby 105q – This is my standard wah. And honestly, I made this search harder than it should have been. Because I didn’t want to just go with this pedal; which is pretty much the standard for all bassists, I went with an earlier version which I got off craigslist. Yeah, didn’t like that. Then I tried a multi-wah with a “bass” setting. Once again, it didn’t cut it. So, I began searching, and finally found of these at a place called Trading Musician. I paid a little more than I would have liked, but well, I was tired of not having a decent bass wah. Yeah, had I just looked for this exact thing, I could have saved myself a lot of headache.
- Boss LS-2 Line Selector – Since the M13 (which my synth wah is looped through) does not contain an instant bypass switch, I needed a way to go from effects loop to clean very quickly. This is my solution and I’m pretty happy with it. This is one of those pedals people forget about, and because I was talking about it, I actually got a friend to look at getting one for the same reason. It’s a pretty nice little box.
- Furman SPB-8 Pedal Board – This was a surprising craigslist find that I jumped on pretty hard. I wanted a common power source, and I knew I’d need to build a pedal board. Well, one day, this thing appeared for 125 bucks. Yeah, I jumped all over it. I’m SOOOO glad I did. Besides the fact that pedals eat through 9 volt batteries, having a dedicated board with carrying case that I can leave hooked up is so nice.
So yeah, I’ve got my gear together. I’m really happy with it. For the foreseeable future, I’m done with having to get gear. I’ve actually gotten to the point where I’m not trolling craigslist anymore. I just don’t want anything at the moment. This will change, but for now, I’m good.
