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10 o'clock yesterday morning and I was just up and pottering around the flat when I received a phone call.. could I dep with a Rolling Stones trib band, performing that very afternoon? Load in time, 1pm!! I madly said yes. I depped with this band for a few gigs over the summer and really enjoyed it and I got to know the songs really well. However, I hadn't played any of them since the end of August and I didn't really feel 'match fit'. Still, it seems they were desperate. There had been some sort of falling out the night before, leading to the departure of both bass player and drummer. The gig was a 'Rock n Roll Circus' event, featuring a John Lennon trib, a Who trib and the Stones trib 'headlining'. I had in fact intended to go along to watch with a few friends, so I had to let them know I'd be going on ahead and actually playing!! The Who drummer agreed to be both Keith Moon and Charlie Watts for the night 🙂 It was a smashing afternoon. There was an MC all dressed up like a ring master and a very good magician doing conjouring tricks with balls (steady, discreet!) which all added to the rock on roll circus atmosphere. However, I felt very nervous as I was completely unrehearsed and was just hoping that it would all come flooding back. As we were last on, my nerves just grew throughout the afternoon. When I got up to play I decided not to do anything flashy, just concentrate on trying to remember it all, and to stay at the back and not to try to move around much. A pretty good Bill Wyman impression then, haha! 🙂 Afterwards everyone was very complimentary, especially the 'John Lennon' who I know slightly but who hadn't see me play rock n roll before. So I took that as the biggest compliment, as he made a point of coming up to speak to me. However I felt I had only just got through by the skin of my teeth and delivered quite an array of bum notes! Saw some vids of it on line today though, and I didn't sound as bad as I thought, so that was a relief. Looks like I'll be doing another one on Friday!! I'll be better prepared this time though 🙂 I love my life 🙂 🙂

Ibanez Talman or the Fender Squier Jaguar.

Well after over thirty years of should I buy or should I not I finally took the plunge and purchased a New Rickenbacker 4003. The Bass itself has a beautiful finish which was my main worry and plays great with no set up needed which I am obviously happy about. I intend to remove the talent inhibiting bridge pickup cover and install one of the Tube Ampology Cove Bezels to fill in the gaps caused by the removal of the cover. The Bridge as we all know is not the best design so I will probably change it for a Hipshot, but for the moment I am going to leave the original on and see how it goes. There was only one thing that was off with this Bass which seems to be quite common with the Bridge pickup being on a slight angle but that is easily fixed as I believe it is only glued onto the plate. Same as every other 4003 the neck pickup was around 20% lower than the bridge pickup which I rectified by raising the neck pickup to maximum and lowering the bridge pickup to suit. I changed the stock Nickel Roundwounds with Thomastik Infeld Flatwounds and the Bass sounds really good........Well it sounds like a Ric if that floats your boat. Happy Days!

is there any way the mods can block me from looking at the for sale forums? i think i have a problem

Or 'Lazarus points' as they're sometimes known.

Given the ease with which parts can be recorded remotely with todays modern technology, and that this is a forum populated by bass players, would it be worth considering asking if anyone would be interested in collaborating with you?

The guy is just wired very differently to most people, with his wife being complicit, there’s even some telling characteristics of psychopathy in there. He’ll never have a meaningful music career.....maybe a ‘viral entertainment’ career, but not much more. Si

EDIT 22/10/2019 As the new v3 firmware launched yesterday I will move the discussion to a new thread and lock this one as much of the information here has been superseded and/or incorporated into the new v3 manual. Thank you to everybody who contributed to discussion here as it helped get me involved in working with Panda and helped shape the manual for the new firmware. __________________________________________ Original post: At the behest of @Al Krow I’m going to start a page which should hopefully serve as a helpful resource for understanding and using the FI and for sharing patches. For the moment, I’ll include an explanation of some of the features in the editor, which I wrote as a PM to @GisserD, I’ll add to this in due course. There is a new editor due out after April so I’ll amend once I’ve had chance to familiarise myself with its enhanced features. If anyone would like me to explain a particular feature then please comment and I’ll do my best to add it below as quickly as possible. I’ll also include a link to patches I’ve created and will add to this as I create new ones. Likewise, if you have useful tips or patches to share then please do! Please give me a “like” or comment if you’ve found this useful. It’ll encourage me to do more! Thanks. __________________________________________ Editor tips: In the VCF/MODULATION section, “Freq Vintage” is the cutoff of the original Deep Impact filter (with its imperfect scaling). “Freq New” is the cutoff of the new, perfectly-scaled FI filter. You can only engage either one or the other. Switching has to be done by the Vintage one though. Set its slider to “off” and it will engage the New one; turn it up and it disables the new one. After reading the manual again, it appears that the number that “freq new” is set to corresponds to the MIDI note number of the same value. That is to say, each increase of 1 corresponds to a semitone. Note 36 (min) is C (65.4Hz), note 122 (max) is D (9397.27Hz). ”Freq 2nd” is the cutoff off a second (bandpass) filter running in parallel. Turning its slider up engages it. You can then space the two filters to create dual-peak, vocal formant- type sounds. An increment increase of 1 provides a one-semitone offset from the main filter. Oddly, this second filter still reacts to envelopes and LFO even if you turn off the main filter with the dial in the top right of the screen. This can yield some interesting results.  In the VCF/ENVELOPE section, “attack” sets how quickly the filter(s) open(s) from cutoff to maximum. “Decay” sets how quickly the filter(s) close(s) from maximum back to the cutoff point. Back to the VCF/MODULATION section, “AD” sets how much the VCF AD envelope will affect the filter cutoff - higher values will open the filter further. “Env. Follower” sets how much your plucking dynamics (bass’s volume envelope) will affect the filter cutoff - again higher values cause the filter to open further. You need to be judicious in balancing the “AD” and “Env. follower” sliders in the above section. If you want a regular, always-the-same-shape, keyboard-style envelope then only use the AD slider. Adding too much of the envelope follower can override the shape of the AD envelope you’ve chosen. A bass’s volume envelope has a reasonably quick rise to maximum and then a longish decay as the note dies out. If you’re trying to program a slow upward filter sweep on the AD, the envelope follower will swamp that. Likewise, if you’re trying to program a very snappy decay on the AD (like acid-type bass sounds), the long decay of the bass’s volume envelope will ruin that if you apply too much envelope follower. “Resonance” controls how much a portion of the signal is fed back into the filter. This boosts the frequencies around the selected cutoff point, thus creating a resonant peak. Turning the resonance to maximum on 24dB mode will cause the filter to self-oscillate, yielding a pure sine wave oscillator. When using a bass guitar, you’ll need to have “bass” turned up in the VCF INPUT section (it needs a trigger and pitch reference). It probably works better when plugging in a keyboard instead as you’ll probably be able to hear just the sine wave. It doesn’t seem to behave at all like it does on analogue synths - changing the cutoff didn’t really enable me to tune it very well. Weirdly it seems to be best in tune when the “freq. vintage” was set to 0. After reading the manual it looks like the new filter will behave correctly (see above under explanation of “freq new”). I’ll have another go and update this page accordingly. The “Slope” knob switches between a 2-pole (12dB per octave) slope and 4-pole (24dB per octave) slope. The latter cuts off the higher frequencies above the cutoff point more rapidly than the former. LFO can be used to control the filter, either on its own or in conjunction with the envelope(s). (LFO can also be used to modulate the oscillators’ pitch.) I like that it has a delay slider too so that the LFO fades in over time. I’ve used that on one of the patches I shared. The LFO can be controlled by MIDI CC #1 and so a foot pedal can be used to bring modulation in and out as desired. What is really cool is that the noise has its own AD envelope (next to the VCF AD envelope sliders). This means you can program a short burst of noise to create a percussive attack even when you’ve programmed a long decaying filter sweep. (Normally noise just goes through the same filter as the other sources so that if you program a long decaying filter sweep, you can hear the noise all the way through. On the FI, you can get the noise to just be present right at the moment of attack and quickly disappear, or conversely, have it silent at the start and then slowly fade in.) I’ve finally figured out how the harmoniser section works! It’s part of the distortion circuit. You need to turn up the “distortion” slider in the INPUT section and (at least one of) the voices in the MIXER section (next to HARMONIZER) in order to hear it. One oddity I’ve found with the FI is as follows: if you’ve edited and saved any of your patch parameters on the actual pedal and you subsequently load new patches into those slots, then the new patches will take on those tweaked values. If that’s not clear what I mean: on the pedal a parameter setting of 5 is the default, i.e. if all parameters are set to 5, the patch will sound exactly like it did when you created it in the editor. Say you make an edit to a patch on the pedal and set its resonance to 9 and save the change by clicking the edit knob; when you load a new patch into that slot, its resonance will be set to 9 also. I realised this quirk when my first patch sounded nothing like it should have sounded. Luckily, setting each parameter back to 5 sorts it out. You can do this for all patches at once from one of the power-on menu settings. EDIT - this was a bug and has been addressed. __________________________________________ Patch transferring Here’s a little pointer that is an answer to a query about how to actually load patches on to the pedal. I know a few people have struggled with this. This is a cut and paste of a reply I wrote on TB: You need to find out which patches you want to load onto the pedal and which slot number in the pedal you want to have it. If you just want to replace one individual patch with another then first find a patch on the pedal that you want to overwrite. Then find the file on your PC of the patch you wish to write to the pedal. Rename this file so that it starts with the two-digit prefix of the slot into which you wish to load it. Open the renamed file again via the editor then click “write single file to pedal” and it will get loaded into that slot. If you want to load multiple files at once onto the pedal then it’s best to create a folder, copy in the PC files you want to load onto the pedal. Then rename each file with the slot numbers you want them to go, choose that folder via the editor then click “write all”. Any blanks will be skipped over and left untouched in the pedal. I’ve gone a step further and have all patches I like in one folder (unnumbered). I then have a different folder into which I placed the 99 patches I want on my pedal at any given time and I number these with the two-digit prefix and write these all at once. If ever I swap any out, I delete the old file from this folder, add the new file and number it and then write all again. Or you could simply have one big folder with all patches you like and then just number the 99 that you want and click write all. Any unnumbered patches will be ignored in the write process. ______________________________________ Patch sharing: (I’ll see if I can create a shared drive like the one on Talkbass) My patches: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1C7ZYqsyXkyNuasuuwLrQlICboSsGfXMp TB shared patches (including mine): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zto20lpne0dnent/AAC6W_8BHeYLrBTjkcoJBzCza?dl=0 __________________________________________ Latest firmware: http://pandamidi.com/support __________________________________________ My v3 sound clips: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u2-dJaWdaAbPDnDdWkipu-P7IH_GHLQ2

It's coming!

I fear I have more chance of sorting out the woes of Westminster than I have of abstaining from bass related purchases for a whole year. 😟

Fender bass, had such an easy neck to play I guess I'll play the rick some more today Oh I believe in Fender bass.

I don't know - it wouldn't play. I did something wrong now its gone to lu-thi-aye-aye-aye-aye Yesterday. This assumes the French pronunciation to rhyme, of course.

Which assumes that your bandmates have the slightest idea of what a fretless bass normally sounds like

There’s that hofner taunting me...

Everyone posts positive reviews, goes out and buys the shiny new thing, post even more positive reviews - then there’s a lull and their for sale post has even more positive reviews “best amp I’ve ever played , but....”

I have pulled the triggered and order the black one. I'll keep note of the strings you mentioned and order some of those at some point. Thanks for the help. 👍

It's not half the bass it used to be...

I think I know the post you mention. A particular sub-species of human I despair of are internet conspiracy theorists, the sort who infer that thousands of scientists around the world have colluded to play a huge hoax on the world's population viz climate change. Often i find myself wishing for an asteroid to come crashing into Earth so a few thousand years into the future, life can start again. You Tube is possibly the worst outlet for the many pathetic trolls who feel the need to disparage anyone who tries to do anything with their lives. I certainly wouldn't post vids of myself playing bass etc.

I use Phosphor Bronze on my acoustic - I like the challenge of trying to play cleanly with them, it's good for the technique.

Bootsie played acoustic bass..? Who knew..?

Reading the articale it would be easy to come to the conclusion that the guy is some sort of genius, in the way he has manipulated everything in order to get publicity (and presumably he’s now made a pretty penny from YouTube). However, just remember that the musicians he hired for this have come out of it with nothing, and are probably considerably out of pocket. Personally I feel the idiot has had plenty of time now to weave a story that makes him look less like an loser, and more like some evil genius. I think his brother probably calls it right- trust nothing he says. Robbie

A 10 string bass.

Ever since I first saw the nature of a typical YouTube comment I have ensured that any videos I post have Comments disabled. YouTube truly is the natural habitat of the Internet Troll. Now I see this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-46559772 They claim to be removing nearly one billion comments a year. Really? If that really is the case, then I guess they need to target 5bn removals a year in future ...

Very NSFW!

I've seen the light!

I think one odd thing is that people will waxlyrical about a bit of gear, but saying what they use it for is less mentioned - a once a month metal band is different to a cruise ship jazz band is different to a indie rock touring band is different to a ... and so on. If you were in a band where it was not that frequent but it was a very much enjoyed hobby to pull on the tight Lycra a play some great 80s rock classics you might justify the SVT and 810... whereas the wedding reception band probably want something quicker to load in and out

Best just squeezes in to 2018, bought in January - Barefaced Big Baby II. Replaced a pair of Berg AE112s which were great cabs, but I was looking for even lighter weight. I now have that and a One10, I'm happy with Barefaced. I suppose I have to put a Mobius Megatar as my worst purchase, simply because I haven't actually managed to apply myself to start learning how to play it. It's bad enough trying to work out which of the three million tuning schemes will suit me. Looks like it'll be a New Year's resolution.

I love the idea, but hate the reality. I’m all over the concept, which is why I’ve persevered. I’ve had 4 of them now, fretted and fretless. I’ve experimented with flatwounds and tapewounds, and with lots of emphasis on technique ... yet I’ve been consistently underwhelmed and disappointed. The basic physics of sound lays massive limitations on these things. I reckon they’re all pigs to play, and I’ve yet to hear one that sounded good acoustically. I’ve since given up on the idea.

Yep. That's why we need to see the "second wave" reviews. The guys who are after a good amp rather than the latest amp.

I bought a Warwick StarBass a little while ago, and it works for me with TI flats. Not expensive (a Chinese one) and no quality issues that I can find. I use it when we do the acoustic guitar/Cahon thing . And I do have a Tanglewood acoustic bass but I find the body to awkward unless I'm sitting down so I only use it for noodling at home.

an acoustic bass needs an amp to be heard with two acoustic guitars and a cajon. Defeats the whole purpose, so if I need my amp, I take my P bass too.

Aye. Props to the guy for successfully gaming the system - except that he's just made it a wee bit harder for everyone else and the band he hired are all out of pocket. Manipulative wee shite.

Gibson SB-300. Short-scale SG body design bass. Fewer than 1000 made and only shipped from mid-1971 to early 1973. Interesting in that it was Gibson’s first bass model to have a maple rather than mahogany neck and single coil pickups. More details on this and other Gibson basses can be found here.

Yeah but I reckon he can work it out.

Let it P

I often start to read the comments because some of them are helpful and give more insight and sometimes more information about whatever the specific subject of the video is. However, almost inevitably I have to stop after the first few because I find my faith in humanity being utterly destroyed. I don't post many videos, but occasionally I'll post something for a specific purpose, which is usually aimed at a specific target, and nothing really for general public consumption. One example was a video of a van I was selling. To which some modern day poet wrote "stinky poo van", and another was a video of band practice which I uploaded from my phone purely so I could watch it, and hear it on the big screen. To which someone wrote "That's just noise". Now granted, the second comment was debatable, but that aside, have these people really got nothing better to do? I couldn't even work out how or why anyone would be able to find, or be interested in watching my videos in the first place. Utter pond life.

Doesn't that apply to pretty much all Jazz? 😂

If it's easily modded then it should work alright - I could be mistaken, but I think the key thing with guitar vs bass wah pedals is just the frequency band they work across. That said, you could always get a pedal that does both. I don't know how well it sits with your budget, but I'd recommend having a gander at the Ibanez Weeping Daemon - among other bells and whistles, it has a control which moves this frequency band so you make it more "guitar-friendly" or "bass-friendly" as you see fit.

All Iron Maiden songs sound good. With the possible exception of the Blaze Bayley years.

I would definitely have shown them what a real imposter sounded like I find it more successful if I just stay in and entertain the dog with random noodling over the adverts.

I think that we make it hard for ourselves - we study great bass players on TV, YouTube, Spotify etc, we chat with other great bass players on this here site, and so as a result we can have a tendency to take a harsh view of our own abilities, because we set ourselves such difficult standards to meet up to. But then once you're up on stage, you have to remember that you're probably the best bass player in the room, and you're doing things that, to the majority of the crowd, is like witchcraft. I don't think that we should get too complacent though. I like being well prepared, I like knowing that I've done the best that I can do. But I also agree that some of my most memorable gigs were the ones where things went wrong, but the band held it together by sheer musical intuition. S.P.

And just for clarity - DI (direct injection/interface) comes from replacing a microphone in the signal chain (mic’ing an amp or instrument) with a direct connection