mikeskull's Reviews
5 reviews Back to mikeskull's Equipboard
111
Great Green Room Amp!
Blackstar* really did a great job on this combo; although only 3 watts and a 3" speaker, it has plenty of volume for the recommended application of a tabletop amp. It's very loud compared to other 3w micros.
Lots of neat features like a one-knob EQ and compressor and a simulated bass boost, as well as a decent distortion.
I wish there was a bit more control out of the EQ and compressor, but for what it's used for it's more than generous of Blackstar to facilitate these features on a dressing room jammer.
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Best Aftermarket Bridge
The Babicz FCH-4 Full contact Hardware bass bridge has to be one of the most innovative I've come across; the saddles have have a locking internal cam that rotates to raise and lower the string while maintaining 100% contact with the bridge. I also like that everything locks in place with screws, from the intonation to the saddles.
I get massive sustain and a focused midrange with this bridge.
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Great Backup/Intermediate Bass!
This bass right out of the box is fun to play.
It has a pretty rounded tone, with solid lows, mids and highs, and also has an active EQ bass boost pot with the passive pickup. The P/J configuration helps add to the tone, with a punchy precision pickup and a jazzy growl of the bridge jazz pickup complimenting each other really well.
The satin finished neck is fast and playable, and the tuning machines are precise.
This is a good backup bass to have, especially for the price. I reworked mine a bit as a project and to make it more stage-ready as my Eb bass:
-swapped out the stock pickups for Seymour-Duncan™ Quarter Pound Precision/Jazz pickups
-replaced the stock pots with Fender™ 250k split shaft potentiometers with .022 capacitors in a Pv/Pt/Jv/Jt configuration (had to drill the plate out a bit with a 3/8" bit)
-rewired with Stew-Mac™ .22 gauge cloth back wiring
-installed a Switchcraft™ mono flush mount jack (Active pots and pickups require a stereo jack)
-future replacement of neck with a Fender™ maple neck (for tonal purpose)
12239
I can't find one of these in person to test it out.
How loud is it? What would you compare it to?
Because of the lower wattage, does it growl at low volumes or does ti stay clean?
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It's incredibly loud; 95dB to be exact. I really don't know what to compare it to, but there's a 350, 500 and 800 watt version. I have the PF-500. I'd put it against an SVT, although it's a solid state.
i'm not sure what you consider "lower-wattage" since the Portaflex head comes in 3 wattages, but the PF-500 and PF-800 models have both a compression and gain knob, and i've never experienced distortion at higher volumes. Solid state bass amps in my experience don't seem to distort unless you push the gain over the volume threshold.
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72dB* 95dB typo
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Best Shot In The Dark I've Ever Taken
This bass is truly remarkable.
I bought it based on youtube videos and fender's videos, and I was blown away with how well crafted this piece is. It's been my main stage bass for three years running.
the tone is very focused; razor-sharp highs, super punchy mids and very controlled and focused lows. I love it.
I replaced the bridge (like we all do on Fenders) with a Babicz FCH4 bridge. Drove the mids home. Loads of sustain.