Leaderboard

A friend and band mate made this for me for a bit of fun, I just said build me a steam punk bass. I like it muchly and it plays great.

I realise that they're not to everyone's taste, but I'd rather he spend his time on making yet more custom instruments than another U2 album.

I started in 2004 after a post on Bassworld from someone asking how to connect two bits of kit together. It's never really been more than a hobby and certainly not a full-time business. I've just taken delivery of 400m of instrument cable and 100 Speakons so I won't stop yet. As long as folk still want cables I'll carry on doing it.

Wireless is ok but you need good clean air or the heft and smothness gets blocked, Ace of Spades with a room full of smoke from grilling bacon sounds brilliant though!

Whilst I can't claim the same electrical knowledge as some of the sparkies in this thread I do know my science. Specifically, my job is to run workshops based on politics, science and skepticism. Id wager that one of two things is happening here. 1. You said normal cables are harsh and yours are smooth. There is a possibility that (since cables are passive and can only take away from a signal) that the normal ones are full range and the silver ones have an in built or designed in imperfection that takes away some high end. 2. It's some combination of observer bias and confirmation bias. There wouldn't be a difference on a scope and you couldn't tell the difference in a double blind test.

Sometimes I wonder if the more we spend on playback equipment, the less we actually enjoy listening to the MUSIC? I certainly appreciated the music a lot more when all I had to play it on was a second-hand Dansette which cost me the grand sum of £8 back in 1974. I wasn't particularly brilliant (the right channel was considerably quieter than the left which turn some stereo mixes from the 60s in instrumentals and wouldn't even entertain the possibility of playing anything with serious bass), but it did allow me to play my records in my own room, and not have to seek my parents' permission to use the record player in the lounge.

I was researching making my own, and then came across a guy who makes them which made my decision as the special water slide paper was as dear as the decal itself.

I love the old heads and combos - they produce the tones I want and do everything that I want them to, except maybe carrying themselves up and down stairs. The endorsees list from the 80s and 90s reads like a who's who of the greatest players from that era...Trace Elliot must have been doing something right. I'm sure the original tones can be replicated but it would certainly cost more than the price of a second hand rig.

I was convinced the compressor wasn't working on my SMX, so I recorded it and looked at the wav file and it's definitely doing something, subtle in the extreme

But the good news is he does actually play guitar.

That's a gigging amp. But only if it's all-valve, of course...

? I'm practically up to a practice combo!

have a Watt on me

It's just when someone likes a post It used to be called reputation but I thought it should be something a bit more... Bassy

So, just another FAD then? ? Coat got....

Oooh. Wouldn't that be a thing?

I've used some Sapele for the bodies on the last couple of basses that I've made. Bought it from a local DIY store and it's absolutely fine. You have to be a bit careful to know it's suitably dry - I'm just lucky with the place near me. They also thickness the stuff for me which is a bonus. Was less than £30 for a body. Whereabouts are you located? Is this for you planned headless build? The usual suppliers are David Dyke, Tonetech and Exotic Hardwoods. You will get more character woods from these if you want but they will also have stuff that can be painted. And there's always eBay. Or the local tip for old furniture....

Take a look at the TC Electronics BG250 208, its pretty small but can still hold its own in a rehearsal or quiet band situation. I've upgraded the 8" speakers in mine to give a total load of 4 ohms meaning I get the full 250W output without an extension cab. Personally, I prefer this combo to the PJB Briefcase it replaced. It 'breathes' a little easier and is warmer and more natural sounding to my old ears.

I Like This!

This is getting weird pretty damn fast!

Loving the industrial look.

Just a quick note to say that not all TE SMX compressor pedals sound the same. I had two at one point and noticed a difference. Looking inside the PCB issue number was different. I haven't found anything documented on it - might just be a level difference...or something. One definitely sounded 'better' somehow so obvs I kept that one.

Nice!

That's true!! Speaking of my 7, I've done dep gigs in the past where I'd stayed pretty much in the same position all night ha ha!! That was a waste of the other 19 frets!

This Saturday we are playing at the White Lion in Baldock, 9pm til the last person drops... Come along for songs you will sing and dance to, or just for the freakshow of a lefty bass player!

cool!

Tell me about it. You never know I might retire soon.

That's brilliant!

@tinyd Thanks for this link and the link to the wider library. This Fundamental Patterns one's a great little summary - I'm gonna be working through these approaches this weekend. I've also got Walking Jazz Lines for Bass by Jay Hungerford, which has some great walking patterns for popular standards such as So What.

Excellent and inspiring. Being pretty eco minded anyway I like that it's made from scrap. 'Nice one 'to your mate

So... If you go wireless, is sound reproduction more faithful when you wear a tin foil hat to contain your stray energetic thoughts about what to spend your next tax rebate on? GASsing like a good 'un.

As I've said before the cables can't 'add' anything, there's no debate/discussion to be had, if the silver cables make it sound smoother then they are removing something.

Can't help with the PA i'm afraid but what a fantastic guy. His commitment to helping others is inspirational to say the least. Dave

You're right, there's no fx loop on the 350, only an aux in. I don't use fx loops so I hadn't even noticed! As to whether it is controlled by the master volume I don't know, I'll try and have a look over the weekend if I get a chance.

Has the date format of quotes been mentioned yet? I noticed that we have month/day/year instead of the more intuitive and British day/month/year. Have we got to have it like that?

We're taking sides now? Where can I get a Bovril and a pie?

Saw them in Manchester earlier this year, absolutely amazing!

Sometime in 2006, my very first Shuker!

Ha!! So cool!! I love steam punk stuff

Nobody has ever said my bass playing is smokin'

I know people who think the BBC is full of lefties and others who think they're a channel for Tory propaganda, so I'm guessing they're actually quite impartial.

Will do. I’m not touting for work, but I’m more than happy to offer some advice and all that on branding and video stuff. I’m sure it’s not just me either with these skills, perhaps we could do a little guide?

@tinyd - Yes agreed mate, I use the appeggio as the starting point and then try to link smoothly and satisfyingly from one to the other. I work by ear during this process, as I don't know the underlying jazz theory about why a particular dominant third is best to link to a V chord when in a II-VII-V progression and that type of thing, but I'm slowly learning more about this. So if it sounds right, it is right, at least to me ;-) Recently I have done more site reading of bass scores, which feels a bit like reading a book, and I enjoy concentrating on the reading rather than trying to remember what comes up next. But I also enjoy playing my own lines from memory, and it also means that I don't have to use a music stand and use my reading glasses LOL. Of course you can always do away with theory go free-improv, like the double bass solo at 2.15 here, that was in the Grauniad recently - gives me a headache I'm afraid so I'll stick with my amateur jazz method...

This. You can never have too many DFA switches.

It could be blue, blue, electric blue - that's the colour of my room, where I will live. Blue, blue.

I’m not sure that his name sells that many basses. It’s his design choices that people buy into. He takes maybe 15-20 basses on the road when he goes on tour and genuinely uses a lot of them at each gig / TV appearance. Of course he doesn’t really need to use so many but, given that he can easily afford them (and the techs to get them ready at a moment’s notice) then I can’t see it does any harm to anyone. Because his band is such a ‘showcase’ he often chooses bright colours and bold designs to stand out on stage. Manufacturers like this because it gives them a chance to show off some flashier designs. The number of Clayton ‘haters’ are limited to a few players who hang out on forums. Not many of them and with little influence on the general bass buying public. By making some of the signature models as limited editions this increases immediate demand at launch which, in turn, generates much-needed publicity, and subsequent revenue, for what is an increasingly beleaguered industry. I’d think this particular run ought to sell out relatively quickly. It’ll be interesting to see how well they are made and what UK price comes in at. Looks like they’ll be around the same build spec and quality as the current American Vintage models so may be the same price - possibly a bit more because of the higher grade blocks. Of course, the real test is how they sound but even this is going to be pretty subjective. At most ‘everday’ gigs that they are likely to be used at, I doubt any audience member will be able to hear the difference between one of these and a pre CBS vintage model. They might get noticed as looking a bit different from run of the mill sunburst/Black/white/natural though. If the player feels good about him/herself whilst playing and has a good time then that feels like the most important thing I very much doubt anyone is going to see someone with one of these and go “ooh look it’s an Adam Clayton wannabe, bet he can’t play”. . .

It would appear that Adam Clayton takes a similar approach to designing his signature basses as Homer Simpson did to designing a Car.

Give him time, mate, give him time ...

You could soak your sorrows in a couple of bottles of Grolsch and use the rubber washers off the top as strap locks. Two birds killed...