Leaderboard

Wicked little gig at Pizza Express Live (Holborn) for the first “Nashville Meets London” gig of 2023. A packed house, Katy’s fan base right at the front singing along to every word, great sound onstage, brilliant fun. Used the house Markbass CMD102P (I think?) and was pleasantly surprised. A few vocal bits for me to brush up on, plus my stage presence game was sorely lacking for some reason yesterday, but all in all a great fun evening 😎 https://www.katyhurt.com

my first board! So for years - no pedals, or a few and then sell… nicest sound I ever had was a hellborg preamp which was a bit big to take as a pedal… I loved the sound though Then a Zoom B3 which was nice, but got sold Then a Zoom B3n which stayed for a while - mainly playing at church will all in ears setup … so amp modelling is good Then a HX stomp for years but the more I played the more I refined “my sound” down to comp> amp model> HPF/LPF acting as a cab sim and then di out one footswitch for a drive the other for chorus sometimes synth patch ”I could simplify this down and avoid screens and swearing trying to set my gain staging in this box” I thought “it might be cheaper” I thought it wasn’t. But @krispnpointed me in the direction of a colourbox for the transformer channel strip thing I like … and then two big pedals and two power supplies was a bit of a pain wasn’t it… so a change was afoot, @jimbobothy helped convince me of the best approach … the soldering iron came out and much time and more £££ than I want to think about it all works! pedal chain for the one person who reads on after the photo… tuner Source audio C4 synth (plus the Adafruit based preset switcher - ain’t pretty but was cheap) Broughton Omnicomp (optical compressor, sounds nice) “Irn bru” barbershop clone (I don’t like many overdrives on bass - love this) John K mini XO ( crossover drive pedal set up fuzzy and aggressive - thanks to @binky_basswho picked it up from the recycling forum on here broken and kindly passed it on) Frog FX1 preamp - (alembic/fender showman preamp in a box, using a early 50’s telefunken ECC82 running at a scary 180v) tech21 bass boost chorus (very lush) shallow water clone (tape effect random chorus envelope filter thing, sounds great, very sensitive to input gain) Vong filtrung - set up so the HPF on, LPF is footswitchable, and volume knob is to set the input into… JHS colourbox v2 - which to be honest is the pedal despite all the rubbish before it! All a bit over the top for a basic tone needs but it does sound good - esp with the valve preamp, it just sounds warmer and punchier at the same time edit: voodoo labs small ex board and Cioks dc7 underneath

Hey all, just a polite update, Spector have got in touch and are working with their distributors to help me out. Euro Spectors have a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects and they are "committed to making this right".. I am so happy to hear there is help out there : ) I will update again with the outcome and possibly a new photo of a replacement bass.

I actually received this bass at the beginning of the year but I had some plans for it, so it has taken a while to get around to photographing it. Please keep in mind that I bought this for a Hair Metal (mostly Motley Crue if the drummer has his way) style covers band... When I play, you can see on my picking forearm tattoos of a Mudflap Girl, playing cards and flaming dice. I have represented these on the bass. I have also made a truss rod cover in the shape of tribal style flames (the photo of it didn't come out very well). Also, my lair and PC are themed in black with red accents. I am thinking of making a t-shirt (probably a vest) with "I Ate Vince Neil" on it, because I ain't no Nikki Sixx!

Finally back out there again. Acoustic gig with "She's Right I'm Left" Saturday 4/25 Reveres Restaurant Delafield WI *8:00 - 11:00 * This a late night for me. I won't get home until 1:30.

https://on.soundcloud.com/9xDVFKR5s9fBv9he9 I’ve put up what I deserted…doesn’t seem to want to do the fancy link thing either… I need lessons in most aspects of life 😂 erm…rough idea tension between rhythms, like tension between how much technology takes over, a constant push and pull… in my head it worked - listening back I’m not totally sure. just guitar and bass, both Yamaha. Programmed drums/samples. anyhow…

While i wait for the bodys return journey, sounds like a repatriation!.. I thought i'd share this bit of an email i sent to Andy... This is my 'Mental Health' Bass... I've gone on (and on!) about my love of the Ibby Worn Pebble Body and Great Neck... and my wish for a Simple Passive P in the thread back in June '20 when you did a job for @donslow SR Body. This is about the same time Lockdown was in Full Swing, and I started to get to grips with my Mental Health. Went to the Doc, got signed off from work, and started on the meds... Getting the bits together to complete this project, has been great... spending and occupying my time, researching and reaching out to those for the Pickup, Tone Switch, Knobs and Strings, as well as you (Andy) for the Body Mod, is much more than blagging a discount or freebie... time taken to write the email, and joy in recieving a response, and willingness of those to support my build has had such a positive effect on my mood... and admittedly saved a few quid. I've been thinking about the finish, and your kind offer of a veneer for the front, but... If OK I'd be happy with the existing cavities filled and a route for the P with the extra control holes filled. Your veneer finishes are amazing, but the above will show the outline of the old pickups and controls... All 'PowerSpan, Power Tap, Active 3 Band EQ, Blah Blah Blah'... But then taken back to simpler times with a single P pickup, Vol and Tone... Just how my mind feels with all the stress and anxiety of complication causing my depression, and not something to be covered up, out of sight, but celebrated with trying to live more in the moment. Apologies for going on... I just thought i'd give a little insight as to the 'what and why's' this bass is about to me... Cheers, Paul

Got to be worth an arty farty or two Ready for packing up and sending back:

I'm in two bands, one an Instrumental Prog Rock/Synthwave fusion band, that's uses the big board thst you've all seen. I'm also in a Rock/Soul covers band. That just needs some basics, PITA to keep moving pedals, but I can't afford to double them up. But looking to start a dedicated little board. In tge meantime here's the little Rock board 😁

And here is my entry for this month's composition challenge - I had a lot of fun with this one. Two harmonised guitars race bumper to bumper in a high-octane charge, wrapped around a song musing on the imminent demise of this breed of vehicle.... and perhaps their human drivers too? I present "Endangered Species". The lyrics: The tech stuff: DAW - Cubase 12. Bass - Dingwall Afterburner / Guitar - Jackson Soloist, both recorded with Line6 Helix Rack. Vocal mic - Rode NT1. Drums - EZDrummer 3. VST effects - iZotope Alloy on the vocals, a few instances of tempo-synced SoundToys EchoBoy on guitars and vocals, vocal and long effect reverb from Exponential Audio R4 and some glue from Lexicon MPX Native. Church bell sample (free) from https://zapsplat.com.

I wouldn't even consider putting a bass in a roof box. Opportunists would love the chance to get their hands on something they could exchange for a couple of bags of smack / crack. Would the kids be open to travelling in the roof box?

So I made a 1ft long mild steel lolly stick of the (approx) appropriate with for the slots. .. this was incidentally made from a piece cut off the side of an old road sign, so by sheer coincidence the bass will have some literal "Street credibility " Anyway this will be chopped into 4 pieces for the slots, 2 of which seen here, I'll have to round off the ends for the next 2 obviously. When these are done I'll mark and drill the holes, and hopefully they'll raise the bridge units by a suitable amount ( you never know your luck..) I've hacked a bit more wood out to try and level the slots, this I'll have to persevere with until I'm happy with them

@Paolo85 Thats a very considerate thing you have done. RSPB - Royal Society for the Protection of Basses... 'we never put a good bass down!'

Here's a demo of the bass in action

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about Virginia to Greece and oversized nut slots. But I'm not going to be the one to make it. Oops! Maybe I just did. 🤭

"That's a nice colour..." said MrsAndyjr1515 as she walked past. Trust me...praise indeed! For natural timbers, Tru-oil slurry and buff remains one of the easiest, cheapest and most effective finishes. This is after slurry and buff 2. Slurry and buff 3 will be this afternoon and then first thing tomorrow morning it will be ready to be packed up and shipped off back to @PaulThePlug, who has waited VERY patiently for it to come back to him

You soon find out who the good guys are. Spector have a great reputation for a good reason.

No, honestly, I am a pretty mediocre player. One of life's little ironies, I can afford nice instruments mainly because I don't make my living making music.

I think most of us probably know the answer to both of those questions already.

I'm not a shop owner or member of staff of one, but I have to disagree. I don't think 15-20% is unreasonable if a shop takes all the grief out of selling an instrument. You don't have to deal with chancers and tyre kickers or dodgy types who come round to case your place to see what you have and whether it's worth coming back another time and breaking in. You don't have to worry about shipping an instrument. A shop will normally clean, set it up and prepare it for sale and advertise it. Many more people will see your instrument when it's hanging on a shop wall than will if it's in a case under your bed. You sit back and do nowt and wait for the money to materialise. What's so disgusting about that? You can always sell an instrument yourself if you prefer. Nobody is forced to do it through a shop.

Ah yes, this is much admired and lauded work. An artist, writer and raconteur extraordinaire. Much has been written about his creations. There’s no better testimony than this: ”You never see an MDP up for sale here” “once you’ve played those braille side dots, you’ll not want for anything else”

I invested in a set of Genelec 8020 monitors a few months back. My Mordaunt Shorts are great and powered by my vintage Yamaha hifi amp sound better, but hurt my ears after a while in my small studio, hence the Genelecs. I don’t normally like the sound of class d amps but these are ok. Or at least the were until one started rattling very slightly when tracking solo bass lines. I tested all the normal stuff. Made sure it wasn’t the grills, checked the multiple screws on the rear sockets were all tight, and really could not fathom out what it was and thought it must be something inside come loose. So I contacted G4M who were absolutely first class in arranging a return. I got it back a few days ago and no more rattle. There is a metallic type sticker or plate on the back which has the make and model etc on it. This is now stuck down with extra glue so was obviously the problem. How stupid do I feel not being able to diagnose this myself, well extremely I can tell you. still it’s back and my ears are very happy about it.

Is this the Trav Panini BB sticker album? Got... got... got... want... got. 😆

Picked up a SB315 for peanuts but the cost keeps going up! Absolutely great bass and slightly unusual as it has a transparent finish. I’ve removed the stock pre and installed an Audere which sounds tremendous. The plan being to replace the black hardware with gold but I can’t find a drop in bridge and I am scared of drills! I’m all set for the 80s revival.

I’d love to gig with that. Honestly.

If it helps ease your conscience, I think you’ve done the right thing. 👍

I've just sold Loz a short Scale Sire! In the 15 years I've been a member on this site, I've been very lucky to deal with some very very fine Gentleman (some complete Donkeys too, but far less 🤣) but Loz sits at the top of the tree. I was very poorly as so decided to get parcelforce to pick it up and add the labels themselves (I always do it myself, but printer was Fubared) I even made a point of asking the courier where his labels were "ill do it at he depot Mate" well he didn't, and the bass sat in a depot for nearly a week undelivered 😡🤬 Loz was patient,understanding,and more importantly kind!! His calm attitude kept my already escalating anxiety (on top of raging flu) to a minimum. With a bit of calling abd digging, the bass ended up where it was supposed to be and everything was OK. Lesson to myself "print your own labels. Don't rely on them to fo their job" Loz! You have a fan, thankyou so much xx

The headstock is genius. Or should that be genitalia?

I'd advise against rosin. It's intended to make things sticky. That's why we use it on our violin bows.

I know it's reviving an old thread, but I'm now the owner of this! I use it as my backup bass while playing as Johnny Mayhem in http://www.kingawesomeband.co.uk . My main bass is a Nikki Sixx signature Thunderbird and I have a Dave Ellifsen Kelly Bird too. Check out http://facebook.com/wearekingawesome

Mr Phillips' creations have a storied history here. On this particular one I like the way he's cut the nut slots to give you the option of fitting four low B strings if desired:

Here is my little board. Now with “extra melodic richness” with the addition of the EHX Bass Clone, which arrived yesterday courtesy of @glenalli of this parish. I tried it briefly last night at a rehearsal. I’m really impressed with it.

In the spirit of getting it done early like some others have, here's mine with a week to spare 🙂 A late night cruise by two artificial Ferraris through the mean streets of Artificial City to an artificial electro-synthpop soundtrack. No strings were plucked in the making of this melodic, mood music. Recorded with Wavepad and Ableton, I used the MT Power Drum Kit and Ableton's extensive library of sounds for the bleeps, bloops and banging donks.

I don't think I've ever submitted one so early in the month 😂 The music: Driving Ferraris around a dystopian city cost me a lots of 10p pieces in the 80's. Beating the clock, getting time bonuses and moving to the next stage were all that mattered, accompanied by 8-bit hard rock. The blurb. Yamaha drums with a brass snare, captured by the cheapest Thomann mics and Behringer interface. Bass is a Levinson Blade, guitars are a Bacchus floyd-equipped rock type, into an Engl pre. Synth stuff is Reason, all mushed together in Protools.

The basic idea in amplification is to set the input gain to fill the channel. But you should not overdrive it, if that is not the idea. This way your amp is amplifying the signal, not the noise. Otherwise your amp is a) noise generator, or b) distorting. When the channel is full of the bass signal, you can open up the master/volume/whatever as much as the situation and you need. The signal is always a mixture of the wanted content (the bass), and unwanted (noise). If your adjustments are not functional, your output from the cab has lots of something that warms the amp, but not your audience. The comment from @gjones is somewhat questionable. If the adjustments are named unconventionally, this may be true, but the input gain is the thing you set and forget. All other adjustments can be tweaked while playing. (Although every eq pot should be seen as a bandwidth limited gain. Use the eq wisely along with input gain.)