mcnach

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1486059435' post='3228946'] Pretty sure MB amps have a protection circuit to prevent start up "pops" and sound being fed to the speakers. You can hear the relay click in after a couple of seconds on my SA450, (basically the same as an LMII but with parametric mids). I always switch mine on and leave it for a few seconds anyway before plugging in. [/quote] yup, there's a click and then you know it's ready to make noise

[quote name='mybass' timestamp='1486034768' post='3228625'] takes a few seconds to allow sound through on both my MB amps, quite normal. Maybe yours hadn't been used for a while when you got it. [/quote] same here, in the 4 MarkBass amps I've owned (three LMIII - one was in a combo, and teh second I sold stupidly and ended up buying another - and an LMT800) it starts with no sound at all and suddenly there is sound. I can't say I noticed any swell of any kind... it's just silent. BUt then I don't play until a few seconds anyway and I tend to have my bass muted.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1486067668' post='3229044'] My fingers were locking up a bit the other night at a gig. Luckily they loosened off between songs but i always carry a pick or two in my pocket just in case. Btw i tend to use one of those squidgy stress balls to exercise my fingers. Then i practice a drummers exercise with my fingers - paradiddles. [/quote] I had the locking/cramping up thing a few times in the early days. I can't tell you if this is the reason I never get it anymore, but I always make sure I loosen up my hands a bit before playing, and warm up a bit gently while waiting to get everybod ready, and I make sure I am hydrated. It could be coincidence, but since I do that I never had issues again.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1485818209' post='3227033'] ....I should add that they did say I might get it back if the recipient returned it of their own accord. My stance was that it would have been theft at the point of the dishonest appropriation, i.e. when the recipient saw it in their account and decided to keep it, but that argument fell on deaf ears. Easy to allege, difficult to prove unfortunately. [/quote] Keep that conversation, if in writing, and if one day the bank adds a couple of zeros to your balance, take all the cash out and show them that afterwards

[quote name='anzoid' timestamp='1485781001' post='3226582'] Not 100% sure where to put this so, Mods, feel free to move it to the right place. Got my Status Streamline 5-string up for sale and got a message from someone (zero posts...) asking me to ship to Thailand. I quoted a price and requested direct bank transfer. He/She has come back asking if I take PayPal and would I declare the value of the bass at £200 to avoid import tax. My reply was: no to PayPal to a non-UK destination, and no to mis-declaring the value of the bass (it's worth a little more than £200...). Right response, or would you have done the deal? [/quote] Nah. Like you I'd request bank transfer. Not worth risking it.

[quote name='smaz' timestamp='1486294461' post='3230583'] Or Cleartone: [url="http://www.award-session.com/cleartone_cables.html"]http://www.award-ses...one_cables.html[/url] [/quote] This. Or OBMM as many other said. Clear Tone (Award Session) have decades of business experience as an amp (and later accessories) designer and maker. I don't know the background of OBMM but he knows what he's doing and is reliable and serious. OBMM and Cleartone are the only two sources I'd approach for my cabling needs.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1485970671' post='3228166'] [media]http://youtu.be/MYqxHtAEIUA[/media] Forgive me if this has been posted before (I'd be surprised if it hasn't tbh). In the "album you know inside out.."thread, many people cited BSSM as that album. Thought many would be interested in this then. I've been playing Breaking The Girl for many years in a band and a bit incorrect as it turns out! Enjoy! [/quote] a few years ago there was a site with a lot of multitracks from many songs and some full albums. I got the BSSM album there and a few otehr RHCP songs. It made it really fun to turn down Flea's tracks and play along with the rest of the band. I should look for them, I had quite a few in a hard drive somewhere... It was very interesting to hear how "imperfect" many takes sound, yet in context there's no problem at all.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1486129453' post='3229447'] The pickguard makes the bass look like a toilet seat to me [/quote] don't leave it unattended in the bar...

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1486129573' post='3229449'] I love the colour - and the grain's lovely! Though I'd be tempted to try a black pickguard. I might get the Hausel's on my next one! [/quote] Exactly! I liked the white with my original colour plan... but with this colour I think a black one will be best. I plan to have one made in the future... The Haussels surprised me very pleasantly. Well, not really surprised as I heard the recordings from WoT and they sounded really good, plus he seems to be a man with taste I was enjoying the Custom Shop 60s on the last of my Fender Jazz basses that I've just sold and I thought I might want a pair of those in the new bass. I think the CS 60s were a bit sweeter, but it's hard to tell as it was a different bass entirely and it be just my imagination making them better than they were. The truth is I really like the Haussels and I have no intention on changing anything here. All I did was lower slightly the neck pickup on the bass side, and it sounds fantastic. It's the Jazz I always wanted (just don't mention the colour )

[quote name='christhammer666' timestamp='1486116568' post='3229321'] ive walked off stage before where the sound was so crap.all through soundcheck my vol went further and further down I couldn't hear myself or even feel it.Got 2 songs in just took off my bass and walked off.said to the soundguy I cant heara thing whats the point whole band followed to [/quote] I only walked out once. It was an 'independent' festival. Well, it's a locally famous protest site in the woods (people moved in to protect the woods from a motorway building project... 10 years ago... they invited us to play at their 10th anniversary party and it sounded interesting enough). They had a great set up, it was beautiful there... but of course you can imagine there were no permissions etc. Of course the Police showed up, and they did when we were on. They were very cool, just walking around chatting to a few people, they were not about to shut anything down, and they didn't. The wood is far from houses. The nearest thing is an industrial estate which was empty on a Saturday night. The organisers obviously wanted to not give too many reasons to the Police to intervene and stop the party... and they thought keeping the volume down would be a good move. Unfortunately they dealt with that by sending a clueless guy onstage to tell *ME* I was too loud and needed to turn down. He wasn't polite either, which is what really annoyed me. Treat me like crap and guess how I'm going to respond. Although at first I did laugh because it was ridiculous. I pointed at my onstage amp. It was a tiny 30W Gorilla practice amp. I could not hear it onstage! It had a line out and they used that to feed their desk. For guitars there were a couple of 100W 212 combos which if you need to find a source of noise you might want to go to them first however, and this is what I told the guy, we do not control the levels... go to your desk and tell your guys to turn the PA down, as we're all going through it. He was having none of that and I turned around and ignored him. He left... Drummer asked what it was about... I told him. He rolled his eyes... and between songs I was able to quickly tell the rest what had just happened. I also added "the dude comes back again to me with an attitude and I'm out of here". And he did. So I just unplugged midsong and walked. As I walked I yelled at him "your guys are the ones who are able to control the volume, right there on that hut where the desk is" I may have added a few choice swearwords to spice up the message. I still think he just thought I was a diva who walked because he was asked to turn down . The band did follow. They stopped playing, singer said goodbye to the audience (who were great, I have to say) explaining we'd been told we needed to quit live music (untrue but...) and that was that. I found later that this guy was one of the guys helping run the party, but that nobody had told the guys at the desk to turn down a bit while the Police was there. I think he just freaked and took initiative about the volume but was clueless as to how the sound was generated... Argh. Still... until that moment it was pretty fun

Some times, a Precision is an Imprecision...

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1486114600' post='3229290'] All sounds good to me mcnach, and I love the colour - kind of 'Off-Purple Rain' [/quote] It's hard to photograph with my phone. The kind of illumination dictates whether it appears more red, dark, or you start seeing the 'purple'. Playability and sound are superb. I am just kicking myself for being careless and not getting the neck tint and the body colour right But when I'm playing it I don't care anymore. It's really really nice, and as before, the neck is just right and feels fantastic. For my red one, we talked about the exact tint and they got it right, and I wanted the same. The red was also just right. This one, I failed... ha! The kicker is when I first indicated the colour and sent a couple of pictures as example, he sent one back of an Elwood in pretty much the right colour. It was just a bit too blue, but I'd have loved it. So I mentioned a bit darker and a bit redder... and damn, they listened. The original idea for this bass was Prince! I always wanted a Jazz in purple with white plate (and it's got to be maple for me). When he died last year I was thinking about the Precision body and two J pickups, and I thought 'it's got to happen' but initially I just converted my Matt Freeman Precision as I didn't want to spend much money at the time (contract uncertainties and house move, so I was in save mode). And eventually I went for it. I should have just forgotten about pictures and say "you know Prince's bass? That kind of colour". It'd be different as it's translucent on my bass but that sort of hue (initially it was going to be solid, sparkly purple! but I chickened out and toned it down) Here's a pic I took this morning with natural light:

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1486104874' post='3229214'] You guys need to join a Jazz band. The audiences are never big enough for us to NEED a PA or soundman. [/quote] and you can play bum notes galore as long as you stay in time

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1486062094' post='3228983'] That bodes well for my chambered s-s Elwood with alu bridge and lightweight tuners - still no sofa shot yet though! Hoping it won't get delayed by the NAMM stuff. [/quote] It's 7.8lbs. Feels and balances perfectly, like the other two Jakes. The finish is... not what I had in mind but I guess I only had myself to blame for not being so clear at describing it as I did in the past. The neck has a darker tint, not the yellowish one I was wanting (as in my red Jake), and the body is most definitely not what I had in mind... but it's beautiful. I meant for it to be a dark purple/violet type of colour (think Prince... not far off, but a bit darker). It came out a lot redder. Under some light it's clearly purpleish, under others it's almost burgundy... the wood grain is beautiful. I should have made sure we understood each other about the actual colours, but it still looks fantastic, and most of all, it feels and sounds great. I went with the Heussel JJ60 pickups this time and I'm not disappointed. Interestingly now it comes with the usual catalog but also a 'certificate' and user's manual... It certainly succeeds at giving you the impression that you have something special in your hands, which it is Not much time to play it now, but this weekend it'll be unleashed! About weights... my other two Jakes are 8.8 (P/JJ) and 7.6lbs (reverse P).

Oh... I opened the box to take the gig bag out, easier to transport later. But... it's empty!!!! Well, it must be empty. It weighs nothing!

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1486042907' post='3228725'] Oh, harsh! Still, anticipation can be fun... no... really! [/quote] (glare...)

It's been delivered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (at work... big box... and I'm too busy to even just open it to have a look... )

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1485723154' post='3226188'] No an active bass is active no matter what really but a passive bass into a modern amp with an active eq section that most people have is no different to an active bass other than the distance from the knobs in relation to the person playing it. [/quote] also known as interknob distance

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1485568520' post='3225045'] Interesting. I have been tempted by one of these for a while, in as much a way to ease the stress on the speakers as much as anything else. So you really don't notice a negative effect on the sound? Fantastic! [/quote] I haven't noticed anything (negative) when using mine, but the master volume knob tends to stay a little lower when I am using it... so I guess it's doing what it's supposed to. My usual rig is 2x TKS S112 which don't have a massive low end or can take very high power, and I like using the Thumpinator as a way to help the speakers a little in case they get pushed. I am using mostly an LMIII (and a Streamliner 900 sometimes) and although those amps are supposed to have a built-in HPF, the Thumpinator still does something to the output, no doubt.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1485600277' post='3225169'] How many people are running a passive only EQ on their amps with these passive basses? [/quote] pssssht!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1485604991' post='3225227'] You're not an Elvis fan are you? Because I've got some bad news. [/quote] !!!!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1485529798' post='3224693'] Looking forward to both of your guys opinions on your respective toys - maybe stick them in the big in ear monitor post to try and keep everything together? [/quote] will do!

ah well... I ordered the UE900. There was even a £5 discount code... it was a sign

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1485468804' post='3224266'] Yeah - colour is tricky, because it's so contextual. I got lucky with my old LPB - it's exactly what I wanted. Strangely, I see it as blue, but Adrian insists it's green :-) [/quote] He must be like my dad, who sees all colours, but the RGB balance is not quite right. A few years ago I hired a Citroen Xsara in Madrid to go up north and visit family. It was some kind of greyish/brownish strange kind of colour. You could say it was grey and I would not argue. I was meeting my uncle on a little car park off the main road and he was expecting a GREEN Xsara. I parked right next to him and watched him for a few minutes as he was watching every car getting into the car park.

[quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1485439723' post='3223980'] What a great finish. It looks almost sandblasted. Is it dyed and oiled, or what's going on here exactly? [/quote] I asked about it when I was designing my order. Initially I was going for a metallic sparkle finish But I decided I wanted to see some wood, and they do get some nice pieces of ash those guys... I asked if it was an oil finish, and he said no, it was polyurethane, satin finish. Looking forward to seeing it up close. I actually wanted the colour a bit different. I described it and sent some pictures as examples, and he sent me a picture of one of their basses. The colour was nearly right, a dark purple/violet, but a bit too blue. I asked for it to be redder and sent an image of a plain coloured filled square. When I saw the sofa shot I thought "That's not what I expected... although... I think I like it". I went back to my original email... and I noticed that if you looked at the colour example perpendicularly to the screen, it looks just like what I wanted... if you look from above however it looks very much like what I got. And then I noticed that the colour changes a fair bit between my work monitors and my laptop (we're not into graphic design exactly so these monitors are never calibrated for colour)... So... if you want a particular colour, make sure it's understood. Maybe send a physical example? That's what I did when I had my 75RI Jazz refinished by David Wilson, and he nailed it. I doubt he'd have got that close if I had just emailed a picture. I initially thought about asking Adrian about refinishing it, or maybe if they were able to sell that one and I get another in the 'right' colour... but the more I looked at it the more I liked it, and finally my gf expressed such enthusiasm for the colour, that it just has to stay. I should have it in my hands some time next week