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Nice OP, I use Rotosound Swing bass on my MexiJazz (Baddass V bridge, Bartolini P/U) and I love the dark sound of them. They sing on my bass, especially the G. Love that dark Roger Waters sound and I am ready to string up Roto flats on an Ibanez 485 bass I am defretting.
On my active Ibanez 405 I go with the Ernie Ballz for their distinct, aggressive tone, same with guitar strings. My buddy who I really respect as a bass player always used Ernies and just tried the Blue Steels on his Peavey Cirrus and he really likes them. I haven't heard them on his bass, or their tone, but I trust his opinion.
The thing with the Line 6 is you can't get everything in one box and expect it all to be good. I took care of 2 Vettas, all MIDI'd to a massive Rocktron, and had the Dual Rectifier also on a MIDI switch. I have been through every effect and function on the Vettas, and being an audio engineer I know exactly what every thing is supposed to do and how it is supposed to sound, especially compared to higher end studio equivalents.
Some stuff is good, some is great like phasing and flanging, but the compression can't touch a quality rack compressor like a dbx or Drawmer, and the overdrives sound thin and weak next to a tube amp.
It is pretty cool to have alot of those effects built in, but I am a purist and if I want that special cab sound, I will try to use that cab, rather than a cab modeler. Anyway it is possible and easy to dial in some great sounds, leads, special effects, etc but if you are looking for the crunch of doom or some thick and warm blues overdrive, my choice is real tubes any day.
There's lots of pros and cons but at the end of the day they are just tools and it is up to the craftsman to use them properly.
With brands like Eventide, TC and Lexicon, I can tell you use quality tools
On my active Ibanez 405 I go with the Ernie Ballz for their distinct, aggressive tone, same with guitar strings. My buddy who I really respect as a bass player always used Ernies and just tried the Blue Steels on his Peavey Cirrus and he really likes them. I haven't heard them on his bass, or their tone, but I trust his opinion.
The thing with the Line 6 is you can't get everything in one box and expect it all to be good. I took care of 2 Vettas, all MIDI'd to a massive Rocktron, and had the Dual Rectifier also on a MIDI switch. I have been through every effect and function on the Vettas, and being an audio engineer I know exactly what every thing is supposed to do and how it is supposed to sound, especially compared to higher end studio equivalents.
Some stuff is good, some is great like phasing and flanging, but the compression can't touch a quality rack compressor like a dbx or Drawmer, and the overdrives sound thin and weak next to a tube amp.
It is pretty cool to have alot of those effects built in, but I am a purist and if I want that special cab sound, I will try to use that cab, rather than a cab modeler. Anyway it is possible and easy to dial in some great sounds, leads, special effects, etc but if you are looking for the crunch of doom or some thick and warm blues overdrive, my choice is real tubes any day.
There's lots of pros and cons but at the end of the day they are just tools and it is up to the craftsman to use them properly.
With brands like Eventide, TC and Lexicon, I can tell you use quality tools
bingobongo
Member
My backline consists of: Two Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 Watt Heads with two Mesa 4X12 cabinets loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's - like that midrange honk.
On the floor: Buddha Wah (true by-pass), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (reverse settings), MXR Stereo Chorus, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay (FX Loop), A/B/Y Switch Box and Monster cables throughout.
Strappin' it on: Gibson LP 59' Reissue, LP Standard, LP Custom, 335, LP Jr., Old ESP Strat (think Jakie Lee of Ozzy) and my last choice is a Hendrix Voodoo Strat. All strung with Elixir Nanoweb 10-46.
I have another half stack with a Mesa Heartbreaker head and a Marshall 4X12 loaded with G12M Greenback speakers. Great for the studio, but the Greenbacks have too much breakup on stage.
The "Misses" bought me a Line 6 POD XT Live a few years back. Great for plugging in the headphones and I dig the AUX Imput for CD/MP3 players. It helps keeping the chops up to snuff when playing at a whisper is necessary. Frampton Comes Alive is a clinic... okay rambling. Asking Santa to look at various PA systems for this tweak box.
The coolest thing about all of this is that tone is a subjective issue. No right and no wrong. It's all good.
Stay Safe,
BB
On the floor: Buddha Wah (true by-pass), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (reverse settings), MXR Stereo Chorus, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay (FX Loop), A/B/Y Switch Box and Monster cables throughout.
Strappin' it on: Gibson LP 59' Reissue, LP Standard, LP Custom, 335, LP Jr., Old ESP Strat (think Jakie Lee of Ozzy) and my last choice is a Hendrix Voodoo Strat. All strung with Elixir Nanoweb 10-46.
I have another half stack with a Mesa Heartbreaker head and a Marshall 4X12 loaded with G12M Greenback speakers. Great for the studio, but the Greenbacks have too much breakup on stage.
The "Misses" bought me a Line 6 POD XT Live a few years back. Great for plugging in the headphones and I dig the AUX Imput for CD/MP3 players. It helps keeping the chops up to snuff when playing at a whisper is necessary. Frampton Comes Alive is a clinic... okay rambling. Asking Santa to look at various PA systems for this tweak box.
The coolest thing about all of this is that tone is a subjective issue. No right and no wrong. It's all good.
Stay Safe,
BB
