I have the Vox Amplug and it is pretty decent and convenient, especially for the price. Plus my family don't have to hear my noob bass playing which is a big win
I got my first bass and picked up the Bass Vox. I use it with my Audiotechnica ATH-M50x and its a dream to pracitce with. I also hook it up through a 3.5mm male to male (Aux) to my 2.1 ch sound bar in my living room from which I can use my 150W Subwoofer for my bass. I dont think im getting a big Bass Amp anytime soon with the Vox!
The Amplugs it is what I take with me when I go shopping for used instruments. It's an easy way to quickly check if the electronics are working, if you can't use an amplifier. Plus the noob playing thing :D
My mom got me a Squier PJ bass for my birthday yesterday so now I'm practicing, love her so much. I've always thought that you don't need a super expensive instrument to get started
You don't need expensive, period. But it's nice to have some decent quality in the long run. There's a lot of very good quality for little money today though
Agreed, I've been playing off and on for 16 years and I've never been able to play any Primus. This guy taught me sufficient enough slap skills this very morning in 20 minutes to learn my name is mud. Thank you and keep up the good work
Fun fact: The Amplug actually has more than 3 drum patterns, including a metronome. If I remember correctly, they’re located in the 3 default beats. Each default beat is a mode, for lack of a better term, with 2 other beats. For example, the metronome is the third beat of mode 3 (the last default beat). To get there, click the beat button until you get the third default beat. Next, hold down the beat button and press the power button twice. I hope this is helpful.
The Fret Wrap is commonly used in metal (djent especially) for heavily distorted guitar and bass tones. When placed on the headstock it stops the overtones the string ends produce from ringing out whenever you're muting while playing very staccato rhythms. And considering that is a "GET IT!" in my books. Just helps with keeping the mix clean.
Cellar Studio Productions I can only agree. I always use it behind the nut, even when I’m practicing, just because it’s so much nicer if you don’t hear the string ends ringing. #1 guitar/bass gadget for me.
The Blackstar is much improved by adding the extension cab. I've used it at open air "acoustic only" gigs and it's just enough to get my upright bass over the din of the acoustic guitars.
I love that you play a Squier bass Josh. All about skill and practice, not about the instrument necessarily. Thanks for teaching us all so much! (It is OK to have and use a great instrument, but you need to practice anyway.)
The Squier Classic Vibe Series are top notch instruments! In fact I sold my MIA Precision Bass and bought the Classic Vibe 60s Precision Bass, because I liked it so much and after my standard setup (polishing the frets, rounding the fretboard edges, adjusting the neck and lowering the strings etc.) it played just like, if not better than the MIA Bass. The only thing I wasn’t totally impressed with, was the pickup, I exchanged it for the Custom Shop 62 Precision Bass Pickup. But this is a mod I was considering for the MIA Bass to, since I wanted a more vintage tone. With the freed money I got a nice tube amp!
Squier makes some good basses. I had a Jazz by them, and although not as good as the Fender Jazz I bought (and sold :( ) later, it was a great bass and I continued playing it even while I had the Fender.
@@Fonkemman they had a big price increase recently, they used to be 330-350$, now most are 450. At the old prices buying one was borderline theft, they’re so good. I guess Fender finally realized it.
If you've got a Fender Rumble amp it's got a headphone jack and an aux jack, and if you're just practicing in an apartment it works great, just hook up your headphones and run a metronome or a drum machine through the AUX port and go to town, everything will route through the headphones, and you can change the volume of your bass and track separately. Really helpful if you've got the amp
@@NoelKunz no problem! Just make sure you've got a decent set of headphones, and when you're about to run the aux through it, make sure the volume on the device that's going to be providing the sound starts looow, cause it gets loud quick. I hook my laptop into it fairly often, and I usually leave the volume on it around 8-12. Have fun!
@@kurbstomp100 Man, imagine being in a conversation and someone brings something else up and you just go "THAT'S CRAZY BRO BUT DID I ASK"? At best you'd be told to shut the hell up and at worst you'd get in the face. Take that how you will.
I can imagine, but as Josh says, how much use is that in a band situation? I would have thought it'd be more for solo work, but if you can make it work, hats off to you.
Victor got it from his guitar player brother (they're all geniuses). It's in some rig rundown here in youtube. I have the blackstar mini amp and it's true all you say, its distortion is preposterous. But I use it with great headphones and plugging in my phone, so I can play over songs, drum loops and drum machine app. In that way, it is superior to the vox plug. I also have the polytune and it's the best thing ever.
I also have the Blackstar mini amp. And while it's not great for low end or trying to play with other musicians, it's headphone jack works fine and is superior to those Vox headphone amps just because I don't have to keep buying batteries and you can get some okay compression with it.
I have the Fly 3 bass amp and love it. I don't know why you had any issues with the tone because I got nothing but compliments. If it's dimed it is going get a shitty sound, and that can be any bass amp. For an added bonus, adding the second speaker improves the sound immensely. Then there is the added value is the headphone output and the aux input. All I need is this unit, an aux cable, my headphones, and it's perfectly suited for private practice.
I have to agree. For $75 it’s fine. It’s what I take out on my back porch so I don’t get my neighbors mad or early morning jams that don’t wake the kids up. And it fits in my gig bag!
Hopefully no one else already mentioned this, but the Vox amplug has 9 drum beats! When you click the drum machine button for the first beat, click it again but hold it, then click the on/off button to switch to the second variation of the first beat. There's even a "metronome" option on the third variation of the third beat!
Top use of FOTC 🤣 I bought the Vox headphone amp and it is one of the best purchases I ever made. It feels a bit flimsy but I've had it for years and it didn't break and I'm usually someone who breaks everything I use them with some Skullcandy earphones. It has an aux entry so is quite useful. It has drum tracks, basic ones but it's there. Eats up batteries like crazy but I always have a spare of rechargeable AAA ready for it.
used the vox aswell, mostly so i wouldnt disturb flatmates but i recently got a palmer pocket bass amp pedal, recommend it a ton. It has a lot more room to control tone
I bought my first bass a few daysago, it is also my first instrument, I decided to spend an extra 50€ on the bass and get a cheaper amp, got the Blackstar Fly 3, and I love it. Of course I can't compare it to anything else, and I also know it's very limited, but it's perfect for me to train during the lockdown...
Same! I got a bass ukulele and the blackstar fly and i love it too! Yea its not really blasting a bass that shakes the house but it can do good and if anybody needs a better bass you can plug the fly into a bigger speaker
The guitar triller is similiar to Funk Fingers (see Tony Levin). For a lesson in the XTender Drop Tuner see Micheal Manring, specifically his song The Enormous Room with 14 different tunings. My son bought me a Vox AC 30 amPlug by mistake & it sounds great on bass. It has an awsome overdrive tone with my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow.
The Vox is a must have item. It allows quiet practice, not just for others, but eliminated outside distractions for you. The built in drum tracks are a huge plus when practicing. Everyone should use it. It should be issued with each bass purchase
I personally use the Vox Amplug. I combined it with a bluetooth to aux receiver to have backing tracks play through the headphones and still be able to walk around as I play. Also those Calyton picks are life!
Just a couple of notes on 2 of the gadgets. The first being the sustainer. It's definitely not something used that often, though in some cases I have heard them sound quite a bit like a bowed bass or cello (fretless bass with tapewound strings.) But it's really not for "traditional" bass parts. On the other hand, for an example of a non-traditional bass player, there's Michael Manring, and his song "Adhan," in which he uses 2 ebows on his Zon Hyperbass, which has both detunable tuners AND bridge - in another song, "The Enormous Room," he switches the detuners more than 60 times. The second item is the striker. Years ago when Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta were playing in Peter Gabriel's band, Peter asked Jerry to strike the strings with his drum sticks while Tony fingered the notes for a really percussive sound. Shortly after, Tony and his tech came up with "Funk Fingers," which Tony eventually sold on his web site, and I actually bought a set of the originals. I was never able to get a good sound from them, but they're interesting, and Tony is great with them. They were also a big help to him in getting a "Chris Squire-like" sound when he played and toured with ABWH when they played Yes songs, since he said he wasn't comfortable playing with a pick.
I bought it two years ago and I swear by it. One of my best purchases. I use it for practice a lot. I even used it to try a bass I bought from a guy and we met at a park so had no chance to try it on an actual amp (yes I bought the bass)
My results with the Vox were much different. It had a terrible background hiss. It was okay when I was playing, but if I was reading music, flipping pages, looking for the next UA-cam video, or doing anything other than playing, the hiss was too annoying. I returned it.
Walking into a GC... asked about a Fretwrap.... "...and that's when the fight started...". I am new to bass and I was amazed at the hardened views people have about them. It a love or hate item with bassists, performance purists, and hacks in GC's... I bought 2... off of Amazon.
I picked up one of those Vox headphone amps and it's made playing bass around the house so much easier. I can literally play all night long while my partner is asleep hahaha
A pick I've fallen in love with is one made by the company Purple Plectrums. They are fairly expensive, but feel awesome in your hand(no more slippery/dropped picks due to sweat!) They are kind of unusual, because they are absolutely massive (the grip part is almost as wide as my thumb, and the entire pick is about a third of my palm), but this means they don't really flex as much, so you don't get as much of that "twang" noise that can sound kind of gross on bass. It sounds like a "smoother" pick noise, sort of like a blend between finger noise and pick noise. It's also way easier to play, since you have more leverage and better control over the point. I've even messed around with using the sides or even the back of the pick, they produce a sound almost identical to finger noise, and sound absolutely awesome as a striker for slap bass, though I haven't actually tried to use it that way in any songs (hard to slap and pluck if you are using a pick for it). They make some special ones that have jewels inlaid into them, or other fancy stuff, I just got their regular version (best as I can tell the various versions are practically identical sound-wise, just different shapes/decorations). Check them out, I've fallen in love with mine! Plus it's always funny when a guitar player does a double-take staring at a pick large enough to be dangerous when thrown!
Hey, a few years ago I subscribed to your channel when I had no electric bass guitar but wanted to learn. I'm a broken down old (53!) year old drum set player who doesn't own a drum set either! I have some excellent vintage Zildjian cymbals a jazz drummer friend of mine gave me...they're sitting in a box under my bed! ANYway...long story short, I am re-subscribing to your channel because I think you're freaking hilarious AND you explained the bass guitar fretboard in a way that FINALLY made sense to me. I have some learning difficulties and always felt stupid my entire life when it came to learning musical notes. Longer story short...due to Covid-19, no one can be certain of a long life anymore. I am saving up to buy an electric bass guitar and will most likely seek out your lessons. Learning bass guitar can only help my hands and fingers technique when playing my four piece kit I will be buying used from Guitar Center sometime before 2021. So! There you are. An old lady who is finally gonna shut up now and watch more of your excellent videos.
You forgot mentioning the aux input feature on amplug... I plug my phone into it and use it with multitracks minus bass... Super useful for rehearsal!!
Aww I just ordered this Vox Amplug 2 today, I am relieved to see that you liked it. I am even more pumped to try it out now. Thank you for the helpful info!
Living in a college dorm, I find that AmPlug headphone bass amp extremely useful! I can plug it into my headphones, but I also found that it works with the AUX input on the back of my older JBL Charge4 Bluetooth speaker, which their current Bluetooth speakers unfortunately lack! Not nearly as loud as my Rumble 40 back home and there’s a slight signal delay, but surprisingly, the tone is extremely solid!
Josh, love your BassBuzz vids!!! There are actually 9 rhythms in the Amplug, 3 different rhythms for each genre, but to get them you must hold down the RHYTHM button as you press the ON button, the instructions are clearer on the owner's manual, keep up your great tutorials, I am very inspired by them😊
No worries, when I first read it on the manual my mind was blown, it is pretty easy to miss it, actually I did the first days🤣 Yeah, our bass players minds, well that's because we are too busy grooving. And also thank you for your lessons, you may have missed that little detail but I wish I had half of your bass powers and skills to teach, see ya on your next lesson😎
Thank you so much for the VOX thingy, I was on a $250 budget but I didn’t wanna buy an amp yet, it really came in handy, thanks dude your awesome😎 +1 follower🤙🏿
The Vox amp also works with guitar - it's been great for late-night apartment practice. You can also run the headphone out to a Bluetooth speaker or the aux input of a full-size amp.
Hey Josh, this was a honest and useful review, I also dig Amplug, and your channel! I was wondering, what could have gone wrong with your Fly 3 bass. Either the unit is defect or you were having too high expectations (which I doubt) If my settings still sound weird on your gear, it may need a repair. Try using gain at tops 50% both clean and drive channels, the volume knob will be more forgiving (you most likely will not need more than that). For me, compression did not work well (it took the effect too long to enter) so I dropped it. I had no issue with sub octave at max (passive jazz pickups, active EQ, it endured a slight bass lift). Practicing in a room with a guitarist would sound audible if your friend doesn't crank it all up, but along a drummer it obviously would not deliver. Buzzing can be caused by some unstable components, not necessarily the electronics: try to remove rear cover if you don't use any batteries and check if the plastic feet are intact, it happened to me that because of these slight instabilities the thing went buzzing and I thought the speaker was damaged, nope :) the guys at the local guitar store laughed their asses off when I returned it for repairs like "help me please I fried the thing" , so did I after one drop of superglue solved the issue. I am not a smart man. But am I a good bassist? Also no. Cheers anyways!
Seconded. I bought mine after trying a couple of other small amps and I'm amazed at how good something so small can be. Yeah, you aren't going to get the thump in the chest, but that's the low volume. BUT I have heard of other people getting results like Josh's, and it seems there have been some quality issues.
I can't speak to the bass unit (yet) but the guitar Fly 3 is an awesome little thing, and I think it's great it's a bluetooth speaker so I can run backing tracks through it while I practice. I was going to grab one for my bassist so we could busk together without him needing to invest in an acoustic bass. It's also good for picnics!
I like your videos. It teaches me new things. I'm new to bass and i'm originally a guitar player, but having you in YT doing these kinds of videos helped many people a lot. Thanks!
I have the Vox and its awesome. You get a BT reciever and connect it to the Vox and you play along with all your favorite songs, or drum beats. No one hears you but the think you are crazy running around with your bass. I also have a Blackstar BEAM ID 20. Its not the loudest but it has a great sound and you can feel the bass. ( 2 - 3in speakers). Plus its a guitar amp and BT speaker. All around I think its the best for a bedroom practice amp.
After learning guitar with a thumb pick, I transferred it to the bass, “dobro” and banjo. I usually use my first 3 fingers and thumb to play. I seldom play bass with 2 fingers like you do. It took practice to get each finger to sound the same but I feel I also take it off to slap, which for me is infrequent.
The Vox Amplug is necessary if you need to practice somewhere and remain silent. I use mine a lot. Josh forgot to add that you can hook it up to a source of music, smartphone or whatever, with a mini jack. So that one is my favorite. Just make sur you buy the one for Bass, there are several others for guitar that won't sound right with a Bass. I'm thinking of getting a frettwrap, that I would not use for practice, only for on stage.
I'm gonna differ on one count...I just picked u a Blackstar Fly Stereo Pack used and it rocks! While I get the whole "gotta feel the bass" sentiment, sometimes other people disagree, say at acoustic jams where an acoustic bass doesn't cut it and a bigger rig would be too overpowering. Smaller rigs from the affordable Fender Rumble 25 to the expensive AER Amp One generate a lot of sound for portable systems and though they can be turned down, it is still gonna be a lot of hauling around and people might just tell you to turn down anyway and then you are not going to feel the bass like you want to. So, that is where the Blackstar Fly fits in. You can hear it. It does not distort at mid volume which is enough to jam with a room full of guitars, even electrics..a good and I stress GOOD drummer who knows how to play a room could work with this at a rehearsal. It has workable compression and overdrive, passible EQ and aural enhancement. and even at full volume you can still get a clear fundamental note...just don't engage the overdrive button as was done in this demo. I stretched my 15 foot cable all the way and could still hear what I was playing, no problem. You can busk with it, you can go camping, etc. It is a wonderful tool, useful in its place and I can't see any bassist really regretting this purchase, even at full price. It's a cool little device. It can fit into a tiny corner and also into a tight pocket.
Do you mean on the C string of a 6 string bass? I would say yes. However be careful. If you have them on multiple strings and use them simultaneously, that will loosen up the neck and you'll start getting string buzz. Having said that, Michael Manring has a custom Zon fretless that allows him to drop each string, at the bridge AND the headstock, all at the same time. I have no idea how he pulls that off, other than he's God.
the trick with Unitune is to check the first and second harmonic as well because it works mechanically... you'll notice that when the open string is "in tune", you still have some correction space on the first two harmonics! Checked it with the Peterson as well - works bang-on!
i have the backstar fly 3 and with the extra speaker i sounds really good and is more than enough to fill my room with sound and if you want to feel the bass you shouldn't have bought a practise amp to begin with. the whole point is that its small and doesn't rumble so it's suitable for apartments
The Vox is great. I run an aux cord from my pc to it and I put on a youtube video of a song I want to learn/play along to and I can jam along and no one has to hear me play. Love it!
Actually i had better luck using it from the G string up. The thicker B and E strings stayed better, more evenly muted along with thinner A,D,G. But still not perfect. And i mostly keep thick, nylon tapes on a few basses, so that helps too.
The vox amplug is great! Josh mentioned three beats, but there are actually 9 (or 12). Getting there involves simultaneously pressing two buttons. Whole thing is quite noisy though, and runs on AAA batteries. Would be nice if they had a usb charging option.
Love the VOX Bass AmpPlug (AP2-BS) with built in drum machine. I highly recommend it for practicing. I usually play it with my iPhone or iPad plugged into the aux. I did buy the mini AP2-CAB but I almost never use it for same reason as your review on the mini amp. It just sounds way better just using a good pair of headphones. There are also settings to compensate for active and passive basses.👍
regarding the fretwrap; if you have to use a hairband and you have a nice tight one, an alternative is to get a screwdriver and remove the bigass tuning keys, slip it on and reinstall the keys then your hairband isn't all stretched out. But my favorite macgyver fretwrap is a strip of velcro cable wrap
I have always been a fan of the felt picks, not that I use them often, but I think they give a better tone over a normal pick, but give all the advantages of a pick.
fretwrap is very helpful in studio and recordings. if you playing 5string bass or playing some speed solos, no need to worry about muting. for me is must in studio/recordings :) nice video !
I have the Blackstar mini amp and it's quite decent actually. I always use it with headphones. With compression turned on it yields very deep bass. The built-in speaker isn't really designed for bass feel, but you always can plug it to a bigger speaker.
Agree, works fine as a headphone amp, but the speaker sucked! Might as well just get a Vox amPlug at that point, unless of course you already have a Blackstar!
Glad to see the only three I have are recommended. Vox is sweet! Hip shot is extra sweet for flopping to drop D in a blink. And you just can’t play Tool covers without a pic
I’ve got the vox bass practice plug in thing. It’s also got an aux port to pipe in music to play too. It’s helped me greatly since I got my bass and started learning a 2 months ago
I use a Korg GA Custom for a tuner for guitar and bass. I have never gone below its range and have found it to be very accurate. It also has a very cool display
Regarding the Vox Amplug, you forgot a very important feature, the aux input! You can connect the amplug to your ipod, phone or computer headphone output and mix it with your bass and hear it all through your headphones. I use mine all the time to practice late at night so I don't bother anyone in the house. It also has 3 different gain/amp settings as well.
One of the greatest things I've bought for my bass was the Vox amplug headphone amp, not only does it have a great sound, you can take it anywhere and you can play your bass silently, you can also use an aux cable to plug it into any speaker so it essentially doubles as a mini amp. Later in the video you say you hate travel amps because they lack bottom end, but if you just plug the Vox amplug into a decent bassy portable speaker, you have a pretty sweet setup that's better than any crappy little travel amp..
I'd RECOMMEND using the fret wrap/foam/whatever you have BEHIND the nut too, tames a lot of overtones, super useful with thicker string gauges, especially in a recording situation. Cheers!
Just bought and started playing my first bass a month ago (a 60s Mustang Fender-Squier in surf green), and I'm loving your tutorials! Thanks so much for uploading, I'll be watching them all, already getting used to the pinky on the strings, which I never thought would happen :) Now subscribed
I actually love the roland bass micro cube. Its incredibly diverse and I see what you mean about lacking bottom end but for what it is I think its the best gadget for what it does
"Bass channel" "Starts reviewing obviously guitar gear" Off to a great start, but again, this is still much more entertaining than viewing a guy talk about boring stuff thst we don't wanna hear.
Instead of the vox, I use a Fender Mustang Micro. Yes it’s a guitar headphone amp, but works well enough on bass. The plus with this one is it’s Bluetooth, so you can play music from your phone through it and play along.
What’s your favorite bass gadget or accessory? 🎸
mine is the bass guitar or tuner
The bass
It says this comment was made 3 weeks ago
Dude advertise your channel, dude this content and quality needs more recognition and subs
i couldnt live without the tuner or bass
my top bass gadget that makes me a better bassist: nail clipper.
Touché
..makes sense...as a bass/classical guitar player,..I use my nails...hey, it works for mE..
unless you're Steve Harris
Noice
XDD
The bass community needed and deserved a channel like this. Helpful, simple, nice, funny. Thank you dude, you deserve all the success you achieved.
Thanks Francesco!
That Vox plug actually has 9 drum tracks if you hold the power button when changing beats. That tool is amazing
Was looking to buy one and wasn't aware of that, thanks for commenting this!
Yeah I noticed that too
I have that vox plug and it really helps when you live in an apartment
I have one and use it when I feel like playing at 2 in the morning
Yeah it’s nice but it’s very flimsy and breaks quickly if you are not very careful
me: doesn't own a bass
also me: *_binges every single BassBuzz video_*
Sounds like you need to buy a bass Maria :)
Time to buy!
Easiest way is get a box, a circle hole in the center, and 4 rubber bands
some more positive peer pressure: get a bass! gET A BASS!! GET A BASS!!!!!!! 🥳
Get a bass!! Squier affinity basses are amazing starters, up to you which one you go for. Personally I'd go 4 string jazz
I have the Vox Amplug and it is pretty decent and convenient, especially for the price. Plus my family don't have to hear my noob bass playing which is a big win
You should get one
I got my first bass and picked up the Bass Vox. I use it with my Audiotechnica ATH-M50x and its a dream to pracitce with.
I also hook it up through a 3.5mm male to male (Aux) to my 2.1 ch sound bar in my living room from which I can use my 150W Subwoofer for my bass.
I dont think im getting a big Bass Amp anytime soon with the Vox!
Edgar Fernando it is really great. Only thing is the amount of batteries you go through, but using rechargeable ones helps
The Amplugs it is what I take with me when I go shopping for used instruments. It's an easy way to quickly check if the electronics are working, if you can't use an amplifier. Plus the noob playing thing :D
its honestly one of my best purchases ever
My mom got me a Squier PJ bass for my birthday yesterday so now I'm practicing, love her so much. I've always thought that you don't need a super expensive instrument to get started
How are you doing now 3 months after?😀😀
@@Xellx3 Mostly just playing simple stuff like Blink-182
@@jameshowen2445 Love that! That's cool man!
You don't need expensive, period.
But it's nice to have some decent quality in the long run.
There's a lot of very good quality for little money today though
Yeah, the quality kind of peaks at $1000. Stuff above that is more speciality or self indulgence.
dude you're killing it in the bass teaching game!
Thanks Dan!
Agreed, I've been playing off and on for 16 years and I've never been able to play any Primus. This guy taught me sufficient enough slap skills this very morning in 20 minutes to learn my name is mud. Thank you and keep up the good work
Fun fact:
The Amplug actually has more than 3 drum patterns, including a metronome. If I remember correctly, they’re located in the 3 default beats. Each default beat is a mode, for lack of a better term, with 2 other beats. For example, the metronome is the third beat of mode 3 (the last default beat). To get there, click the beat button until you get the third default beat. Next, hold down the beat button and press the power button twice. I hope this is helpful.
The Fret Wrap is commonly used in metal (djent especially) for heavily distorted guitar and bass tones. When placed on the headstock it stops the overtones the string ends produce from ringing out whenever you're muting while playing very staccato rhythms. And considering that is a "GET IT!" in my books. Just helps with keeping the mix clean.
Cellar Studio Productions I can only agree. I always use it behind the nut, even when I’m practicing, just because it’s so much nicer if you don’t hear the string ends ringing. #1 guitar/bass gadget for me.
The Blackstar is much improved by adding the extension cab. I've used it at open air "acoustic only" gigs and it's just enough to get my upright bass over the din of the acoustic guitars.
I shouldve never pawned mine.....but I caught covid, and I'm still paying on my Stingray just to keep it mine...
I hate my life 🙃
I love that you play a Squier bass Josh. All about skill and practice, not about the instrument necessarily. Thanks for teaching us all so much! (It is OK to have and use a great instrument, but you need to practice anyway.)
PureJadeKid
Also it’s a classic vibe series which is one of the best squires ever made
The Squier Classic Vibe Series are top notch instruments!
In fact I sold my MIA Precision Bass and bought the Classic Vibe 60s Precision Bass, because I liked it so much and after my standard setup (polishing the frets, rounding the fretboard edges, adjusting the neck and lowering the strings etc.) it played just like, if not better than the MIA Bass.
The only thing I wasn’t totally impressed with, was the pickup, I exchanged it for the Custom Shop 62 Precision Bass Pickup.
But this is a mod I was considering for the MIA Bass to, since I wanted a more vintage tone.
With the freed money I got a nice tube amp!
Lol, for most people the vintage modified or classic vibe squires are already expensive and very well made.
Squier makes some good basses. I had a Jazz by them, and although not as good as the Fender Jazz I bought (and sold :( ) later, it was a great bass and I continued playing it even while I had the Fender.
@@Fonkemman they had a big price increase recently, they used to be 330-350$, now most are 450. At the old prices buying one was borderline theft, they’re so good. I guess Fender finally realized it.
3:45 drone metal bassists : Ill take your entire stock
Right? That sound is radddddd.
It literally sounds like Damage Inc and a lil bit like Orion
@@alfredoeguren316 exactly, it's the start of Damage inc
If you've got a Fender Rumble amp it's got a headphone jack and an aux jack, and if you're just practicing in an apartment it works great, just hook up your headphones and run a metronome or a drum machine through the AUX port and go to town, everything will route through the headphones, and you can change the volume of your bass and track separately. Really helpful if you've got the amp
I am going to try this with my Rumble thanks for the tip!
@@NoelKunz no problem! Just make sure you've got a decent set of headphones, and when you're about to run the aux through it, make sure the volume on the device that's going to be providing the sound starts looow, cause it gets loud quick. I hook my laptop into it fairly often, and I usually leave the volume on it around 8-12.
Have fun!
This is how I practice at home but the amp is heavy, and the vox plug would be better.
There's a fingerprint mark on my monitor that lines up perfectly with your forehead
That's funny bro, but who asked?
@@kurbstomp100 you did
@@kurbstomp100 Man, imagine being in a conversation and someone brings something else up and you just go "THAT'S CRAZY BRO BUT DID I ASK"? At best you'd be told to shut the hell up and at worst you'd get in the face. Take that how you will.
@@kurbstomp100 haha lol but who asked you
@@kurbstomp100 your mom
josh is like the bass equavalent of a box of chocolate you'll never know what you're gonna get
Unless you look at the insert that tells you what each chocolate is....
Or watch this video?
Gunna get quality.
Kong Guan jars. If you know you know.
The String Sustainer generates some very interesting sounds when used with a fretless bass
I can imagine, but as Josh says, how much use is that in a band situation? I would have thought it'd be more for solo work, but if you can make it work, hats off to you.
@@SaintNine it would be cool for drummer + bassist duo.
Victor got it from his guitar player brother (they're all geniuses). It's in some rig rundown here in youtube.
I have the blackstar mini amp and it's true all you say, its distortion is preposterous. But I use it with great headphones and plugging in my phone, so I can play over songs, drum loops and drum machine app. In that way, it is superior to the vox plug.
I also have the polytune and it's the best thing ever.
..geniuses who've taken over Nashville...is a good time for Music.
I also have the Blackstar mini amp. And while it's not great for low end or trying to play with other musicians, it's headphone jack works fine and is superior to those Vox headphone amps just because I don't have to keep buying batteries and you can get some okay compression with it.
I have the Fly 3 bass amp and love it. I don't know why you had any issues with the tone because I got nothing but compliments. If it's dimed it is going get a shitty sound, and that can be any bass amp. For an added bonus, adding the second speaker improves the sound immensely. Then there is the added value is the headphone output and the aux input. All I need is this unit, an aux cable, my headphones, and it's perfectly suited for private practice.
I have to agree. For $75 it’s fine. It’s what I take out on my back porch so I don’t get my neighbors mad or early morning jams that don’t wake the kids up. And it fits in my gig bag!
@@theerectus2004 mine was $59. I got the second speaker a year later for $39.
@@myflyisopen.8732 nice! I ordered from the wrong website.
@@theerectus2004 Sam Ash had them.
IF you haven't made the video already, you need a effects pedal version of this video.
Hopefully no one else already mentioned this, but the Vox amplug has 9 drum beats! When you click the drum machine button for the first beat, click it again but hold it, then click the on/off button to switch to the second variation of the first beat. There's even a "metronome" option on the third variation of the third beat!
Top use of FOTC 🤣
I bought the Vox headphone amp and it is one of the best purchases I ever made. It feels a bit flimsy but I've had it for years and it didn't break and I'm usually someone who breaks everything
I use them with some Skullcandy earphones. It has an aux entry so is quite useful. It has drum tracks, basic ones but it's there.
Eats up batteries like crazy but I always have a spare of rechargeable AAA ready for it.
Same here, had it for years and no breaks. Works great with Skullcandy for me too!
used the vox aswell, mostly so i wouldnt disturb flatmates but i recently got a palmer pocket bass amp pedal, recommend it a ton. It has a lot more room to control tone
I bought my first bass a few daysago, it is also my first instrument, I decided to spend an extra 50€ on the bass and get a cheaper amp, got the Blackstar Fly 3, and I love it. Of course I can't compare it to anything else, and I also know it's very limited, but it's perfect for me to train during the lockdown...
Same! I got a bass ukulele and the blackstar fly and i love it too! Yea its not really blasting a bass that shakes the house but it can do good and if anybody needs a better bass you can plug the fly into a bigger speaker
The guitar triller is similiar to Funk Fingers (see Tony Levin). For a lesson in the XTender Drop Tuner see Micheal Manring, specifically his song The Enormous Room with 14 different tunings. My son bought me a Vox AC 30 amPlug by mistake & it sounds great on bass. It has an awsome overdrive tone with my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow.
Yes, Manring is the king of changing tunings in a song! Amazing.
The Vox is a must have item. It allows quiet practice, not just for others, but eliminated outside distractions for you. The built in drum tracks are a huge plus when practicing.
Everyone should use it. It should be issued with each bass purchase
I personally use the Vox Amplug. I combined it with a bluetooth to aux receiver to have backing tracks play through the headphones and still be able to walk around as I play.
Also those Calyton picks are life!
Hey, can you explain this more? Sounds great... :)
Just a couple of notes on 2 of the gadgets. The first being the sustainer. It's definitely not something used that often, though in some cases I have heard them sound quite a bit like a bowed bass or cello (fretless bass with tapewound strings.) But it's really not for "traditional" bass parts. On the other hand, for an example of a non-traditional bass player, there's Michael Manring, and his song "Adhan," in which he uses 2 ebows on his Zon Hyperbass, which has both detunable tuners AND bridge - in another song, "The Enormous Room," he switches the detuners more than 60 times. The second item is the striker. Years ago when Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta were playing in Peter Gabriel's band, Peter asked Jerry to strike the strings with his drum sticks while Tony fingered the notes for a really percussive sound. Shortly after, Tony and his tech came up with "Funk Fingers," which Tony eventually sold on his web site, and I actually bought a set of the originals. I was never able to get a good sound from them, but they're interesting, and Tony is great with them. They were also a big help to him in getting a "Chris Squire-like" sound when he played and toured with ABWH when they played Yes songs, since he said he wasn't comfortable playing with a pick.
The vox sounds like a useful product that I would actually use 😂
And it's a lifesaver when you are stuck in a different country with a bass but no amp due to a pandemic.
I have the Vox and would recommend it, brilliant bit of kit. Hard on batteries so just be aware, otherwise, no complaints.
Same, I was going to get one but I read that it isn’t very durable and I’m a very clumsy person so I won’t for now...
I bought it two years ago and I swear by it. One of my best purchases. I use it for practice a lot. I even used it to try a bass I bought from a guy and we met at a park so had no chance to try it on an actual amp (yes I bought the bass)
My results with the Vox were much different. It had a terrible background hiss. It was okay when I was playing, but if I was reading music, flipping pages, looking for the next UA-cam video, or doing anything other than playing, the hiss was too annoying. I returned it.
Walking into a GC... asked about a Fretwrap.... "...and that's when the fight started...". I am new to bass and I was amazed at the hardened views people have about them. It a love or hate item with bassists, performance purists, and hacks in GC's... I bought 2... off of Amazon.
I picked up one of those Vox headphone amps and it's made playing bass around the house so much easier. I can literally play all night long while my partner is asleep hahaha
A pick I've fallen in love with is one made by the company Purple Plectrums. They are fairly expensive, but feel awesome in your hand(no more slippery/dropped picks due to sweat!) They are kind of unusual, because they are absolutely massive (the grip part is almost as wide as my thumb, and the entire pick is about a third of my palm), but this means they don't really flex as much, so you don't get as much of that "twang" noise that can sound kind of gross on bass. It sounds like a "smoother" pick noise, sort of like a blend between finger noise and pick noise.
It's also way easier to play, since you have more leverage and better control over the point. I've even messed around with using the sides or even the back of the pick, they produce a sound almost identical to finger noise, and sound absolutely awesome as a striker for slap bass, though I haven't actually tried to use it that way in any songs (hard to slap and pluck if you are using a pick for it).
They make some special ones that have jewels inlaid into them, or other fancy stuff, I just got their regular version (best as I can tell the various versions are practically identical sound-wise, just different shapes/decorations). Check them out, I've fallen in love with mine! Plus it's always funny when a guitar player does a double-take staring at a pick large enough to be dangerous when thrown!
I just now started using a sock I tied around the neck as a muter, also works.
the poorter is the classic yet loyal best friend for muting
I use a bandanna which works pretty great and looks cool too lol 😁
Cool!
Sweat bands that go on your wrist are very efficent.
I’ve watched so many of these videos and never realized that his tattoo is a damn banana
Surprise! 🍌
Surprised me too u duh
It's a bassnana.
Velvet Underground fan, or do you just need something to show scale at all times?
Extra points for the Flight of the Concords snippet at the beginning 🤣
Think about it!
Children in the street using guns and knives
Liking BassBuzz even more after that treat!
@@cape3015 ...and forks
Hey, a few years ago I subscribed to your channel when I had no electric bass guitar but wanted to learn. I'm a broken down old (53!) year old drum set player who doesn't own a drum set either! I have some excellent vintage Zildjian cymbals a jazz drummer friend of mine gave me...they're sitting in a box under my bed! ANYway...long story short, I am re-subscribing to your channel because I think you're freaking hilarious AND you explained the bass guitar fretboard in a way that FINALLY made sense to me. I have some learning difficulties and always felt stupid my entire life when it came to learning musical notes. Longer story short...due to Covid-19, no one can be certain of a long life anymore. I am saving up to buy an electric bass guitar and will most likely seek out your lessons. Learning bass guitar can only help my hands and fingers technique when playing my four piece kit I will be buying used from Guitar Center sometime before 2021. So! There you are. An old lady who is finally gonna shut up now and watch more of your excellent videos.
I have the vox amplug and I find it really convenient when I want to practice at night 😁
The string sustainer made your open E sound exactly like the opening note of Rosetta Stoned from TooL's 10,000 days album.
How do you not have more subscribers?!!?!????!?!!!
You forgot mentioning the aux input feature on amplug... I plug my phone into it and use it with multitracks minus bass... Super useful for rehearsal!!
Aww I just ordered this Vox Amplug 2 today, I am relieved to see that you liked it. I am even more pumped to try it out now. Thank you for the helpful info!
Living in a college dorm, I find that AmPlug headphone bass amp extremely useful! I can plug it into my headphones, but I also found that it works with the AUX input on the back of my older JBL Charge4 Bluetooth speaker, which their current Bluetooth speakers unfortunately lack! Not nearly as loud as my Rumble 40 back home and there’s a slight signal delay, but surprisingly, the tone is extremely solid!
Nice to see all those quirks and features. And the Doug scores at the end really help us.
Josh, love your BassBuzz vids!!! There are actually 9 rhythms in the Amplug, 3 different rhythms for each genre, but to get them you must hold down the RHYTHM button as you press the ON button, the instructions are clearer on the owner's manual, keep up your great tutorials, I am very inspired by them😊
Thanks Musashi! Yes, I blew it on the Vox, apparently reading the manual is too complicated for this bass player. :)
No worries, when I first read it on the manual my mind was blown, it is pretty easy to miss it, actually I did the first days🤣 Yeah, our bass players minds, well that's because we are too busy grooving. And also thank you for your lessons, you may have missed that little detail but I wish I had half of your bass powers and skills to teach, see ya on your next lesson😎
Thank you so much for the VOX thingy, I was on a $250 budget but I didn’t wanna buy an amp yet, it really came in handy, thanks dude your awesome😎 +1 follower🤙🏿
The Vox amp also works with guitar - it's been great for late-night apartment practice. You can also run the headphone out to a Bluetooth speaker or the aux input of a full-size amp.
Hey Josh, this was a honest and useful review, I also dig Amplug, and your channel! I was wondering, what could have gone wrong with your Fly 3 bass. Either the unit is defect or you were having too high expectations (which I doubt) If my settings still sound weird on your gear, it may need a repair. Try using gain at tops 50% both clean and drive channels, the volume knob will be more forgiving (you most likely will not need more than that). For me, compression did not work well (it took the effect too long to enter) so I dropped it. I had no issue with sub octave at max (passive jazz pickups, active EQ, it endured a slight bass lift). Practicing in a room with a guitarist would sound audible if your friend doesn't crank it all up, but along a drummer it obviously would not deliver. Buzzing can be caused by some unstable components, not necessarily the electronics: try to remove rear cover if you don't use any batteries and check if the plastic feet are intact, it happened to me that because of these slight instabilities the thing went buzzing and I thought the speaker was damaged, nope :) the guys at the local guitar store laughed their asses off when I returned it for repairs like "help me please I fried the thing" , so did I after one drop of superglue solved the issue. I am not a smart man. But am I a good bassist? Also no. Cheers anyways!
Seconded. I bought mine after trying a couple of other small amps and I'm amazed at how good something so small can be. Yeah, you aren't going to get the thump in the chest, but that's the low volume. BUT I have heard of other people getting results like Josh's, and it seems there have been some quality issues.
I can't speak to the bass unit (yet) but the guitar Fly 3 is an awesome little thing, and I think it's great it's a bluetooth speaker so I can run backing tracks through it while I practice. I was going to grab one for my bassist so we could busk together without him needing to invest in an acoustic bass.
It's also good for picnics!
I like your videos. It teaches me new things. I'm new to bass and i'm originally a guitar player, but having you in YT doing these kinds of videos helped many people a lot. Thanks!
Mine is the “Amp and Bass” its a great tool for any bass
I have the Vox and its awesome. You get a BT reciever and connect it to the Vox and you play along with all your favorite songs, or drum beats. No one hears you but the think you are crazy running around with your bass. I also have a Blackstar BEAM ID 20. Its not the loudest but it has a great sound and you can feel the bass. ( 2 - 3in speakers). Plus its a guitar amp and BT speaker. All around I think its the best for a bedroom practice amp.
Bob Babbitt foam muting tip:
Two separate pieces of foam/sponge. Stuff one between E and A string and the other between D and G ;)
Ooh, cool idea! Thanks for sharing Martin.
After learning guitar with a thumb pick, I transferred it to the bass, “dobro” and banjo. I usually use my first 3 fingers and thumb to play. I seldom play bass with 2 fingers like you do. It took practice to get each finger to sound the same but I feel I also take it off to slap, which for me is infrequent.
Silent practice solution, ha! My family just has to deal with my bass playing, for I am Lord of the castle.
The Vox Amplug is necessary if you need to practice somewhere and remain silent. I use mine a lot. Josh forgot to add that you can hook it up to a source of music, smartphone or whatever, with a mini jack. So that one is my favorite. Just make sur you buy the one for Bass, there are several others for guitar that won't sound right with a Bass. I'm thinking of getting a frettwrap, that I would not use for practice, only for on stage.
I've got one free gadget that will drastically improve your playing, it's called practice!
I didn't see that on Amazon, where did you buy that?
@@dylanfarley8136 it's actually free on bassbuz :)
Lol
I've tried that before, it's guaranteed to work!
I'm gonna differ on one count...I just picked u a Blackstar Fly Stereo Pack used and it rocks! While I get the whole "gotta feel the bass" sentiment, sometimes other people disagree, say at acoustic jams where an acoustic bass doesn't cut it and a bigger rig would be too overpowering. Smaller rigs from the affordable Fender Rumble 25 to the expensive AER Amp One generate a lot of sound for portable systems and though they can be turned down, it is still gonna be a lot of hauling around and people might just tell you to turn down anyway and then you are not going to feel the bass like you want to. So, that is where the Blackstar Fly fits in. You can hear it. It does not distort at mid volume which is enough to jam with a room full of guitars, even electrics..a good and I stress GOOD drummer who knows how to play a room could work with this at a rehearsal. It has workable compression and overdrive, passible EQ and aural enhancement. and even at full volume you can still get a clear fundamental note...just don't engage the overdrive button as was done in this demo. I stretched my 15 foot cable all the way and could still hear what I was playing, no problem. You can busk with it, you can go camping, etc. It is a wonderful tool, useful in its place and I can't see any bassist really regretting this purchase, even at full price. It's a cool little device. It can fit into a tiny corner and also into a tight pocket.
Hipshot Bass Extenders are must-haves. Been using 'em since '97.
Would they work C to Bb A# drop
Do you mean on the C string of a 6 string bass? I would say yes. However be careful. If you have them on multiple strings and use them simultaneously, that will loosen up the neck and you'll start getting string buzz. Having said that, Michael Manring has a custom Zon fretless that allows him to drop each string, at the bridge AND the headstock, all at the same time. I have no idea how he pulls that off, other than he's God.
the trick with Unitune is to check the first and second harmonic as well because it works mechanically... you'll notice that when the open string is "in tune", you still have some correction space on the first two harmonics! Checked it with the Peterson as well - works bang-on!
My favorite base gadget is a dvd I found at a yard sale called. Scott pilgrim being bad at bass. It really improves your bass playing self esteem
i have the backstar fly 3 and with the extra speaker i sounds really good and is more than enough to fill my room with sound and if you want to feel the bass you shouldn't have bought a practise amp to begin with. the whole point is that its small and doesn't rumble so it's suitable for apartments
The Vox is great. I run an aux cord from my pc to it and I put on a youtube video of a song I want to learn/play along to and I can jam along and no one has to hear me play. Love it!
Would the Fump work better if fitted from the G string up, might get more even pressure.
I wondered the exact same thing
matthew payne
Not really, still comes out uneven.
Actually i had better luck using it from the G string up. The thicker B and E strings stayed better, more evenly muted along with thinner A,D,G. But still not perfect. And i mostly keep thick, nylon tapes on a few basses, so that helps too.
The vox amplug is great! Josh mentioned three beats, but there are actually 9 (or 12). Getting there involves simultaneously pressing two buttons. Whole thing is quite noisy though, and runs on AAA batteries. Would be nice if they had a usb charging option.
3:45 every cliff burton live bass solo
Love the VOX Bass AmpPlug (AP2-BS) with built in drum machine. I highly recommend it for practicing. I usually play it with my iPhone or iPad plugged into the aux. I did buy the mini AP2-CAB but I almost never use it for same reason as your review on the mini amp. It just sounds way better just using a good pair of headphones. There are also settings to compensate for active and passive basses.👍
Could you leave a link to all of the products
I love the vox amplug, however be sure to attach headphones on it you don’t have to unplug often. The jack in is kind of fragile
If you're wanting to check out some really great use of the Hipshot, check out Michael Manring!
regarding the fretwrap; if you have to use a hairband and you have a nice tight one, an alternative is to get a screwdriver and remove the bigass tuning keys, slip it on and reinstall the keys then your hairband isn't all stretched out. But my favorite macgyver fretwrap is a strip of velcro cable wrap
Loved the vid. Also the vox
I have always been a fan of the felt picks, not that I use them often, but I think they give a better tone over a normal pick, but give all the advantages of a pick.
I don't see anything wrong with the blackstar fly 3 bass, try plugging it in to the B1on and plug in speaker to your mini amp.👍😉
Thanks for the recommending the Vox amplug.
As someone who lives in an apartment, I can finally slap bass without concerns.
SLAPPADABASS
7:02 That smile, that damned smile.
fretwrap is very helpful in studio and recordings. if you playing 5string bass or playing some speed solos, no need to worry about muting. for me is must in studio/recordings :) nice video !
Tony Levin has been making and selling "Funk Fingers" for years...waaaaaay better than the Guitar Triller.
Get the NordyMute for the best string mute.
I wear a ring on the tip of my thumb for trilling
I have the Blackstar mini amp and it's quite decent actually. I always use it with headphones. With compression turned on it yields very deep bass. The built-in speaker isn't really designed for bass feel, but you always can plug it to a bigger speaker.
Agree, works fine as a headphone amp, but the speaker sucked! Might as well just get a Vox amPlug at that point, unless of course you already have a Blackstar!
*9:00*
M E S H U G G A H
Y E S !
Glad to see the only three I have are recommended. Vox is sweet! Hip shot is extra sweet for flopping to drop D in a blink. And you just can’t play Tool covers without a pic
Love the fact that you're rocking a Squier Bass.
flight of the conchords references every where!!
I’ve got the vox bass practice plug in thing. It’s also got an aux port to pipe in music to play too. It’s helped me greatly since I got my bass and started learning a 2 months ago
Is it just me or he mixed up the faces of « Think About It » and « Shortlist It » ?
I use a Korg GA Custom for a tuner for guitar and bass. I have never gone below its range and have found it to be very accurate.
It also has a very cool display
I have the fender rumble 25 and it is loud, I even have played small gigs with it you wont regret!
Regarding the Vox Amplug, you forgot a very important feature, the aux input! You can connect the amplug to your ipod, phone or computer headphone output and mix it with your bass and hear it all through your headphones. I use mine all the time to practice late at night so I don't bother anyone in the house. It also has 3 different gain/amp settings as well.
Is it bad that I kind of want the trill thing? Sounds like it could simulate a Marxophone is used on an acoustic guitar
Ouh yeah that's pretty bad.
Awesome review! I’m just getting back into playing after 30+ years away and your reviews have been key to helping select my kit.
0:49-0:50 if anyone wondered what that one second of prog death was it's New millenium cyanide christ by Meshuggah (4:27)
MESHUGGAHHHHHH
One of the greatest things I've bought for my bass was the Vox amplug headphone amp, not only does it have a great sound, you can take it anywhere and you can play your bass silently, you can also use an aux cable to plug it into any speaker so it essentially doubles as a mini amp.
Later in the video you say you hate travel amps because they lack bottom end, but if you just plug the Vox amplug into a decent bassy portable speaker, you have a pretty sweet setup that's better than any crappy little travel amp..
The Guitar Triller looks like a poor man's Funk Fingers. (a more clever person would be Tony Levin)
I'd RECOMMEND using the fret wrap/foam/whatever you have BEHIND the nut too, tames a lot of overtones, super useful with thicker string gauges, especially in a recording situation. Cheers!
3:46 when I heard that my brain went:
There'saninfestationinmymind'simagination
Ihopethattheychokeonsmokecause Imsmokinthemoutthebasement
Just bought and started playing my first bass a month ago (a 60s Mustang Fender-Squier in surf green), and I'm loving your tutorials! Thanks so much for uploading, I'll be watching them all, already getting used to the pinky on the strings, which I never thought would happen :) Now subscribed
Thanks Rachel!
"a pick"
wait, that's illegal
Call the police!
I'M CALLING 911.
PICK ALERT....PICK ALERT...CITIZEN, STAND DOWN...
Not Epic!
Tell that to Chris squire lol
I felt that grow when you switched the tuning to B, damn i loved that growl
Josh is the bass version of Doug DeMuro
I actually love the roland bass micro cube. Its incredibly diverse and I see what you mean about lacking bottom end but for what it is I think its the best gadget for what it does
"Bass channel"
"Starts reviewing obviously guitar gear"
Off to a great start, but again, this is still much more entertaining than viewing a guy talk about boring stuff thst we don't wanna hear.
Instead of the vox, I use a Fender Mustang Micro. Yes it’s a guitar headphone amp, but works well enough on bass. The plus with this one is it’s Bluetooth, so you can play music from your phone through it and play along.
Picks? What are these "picks" you speak of?