mcnach

[quote name='Sumbabba' timestamp='1473415478' post='3129956'] Aww my video didn't embed, what did I do wrong?? [/quote] [media]http://youtu.be/kXBgNb6d9mk[/media] just remove the 's' after 'http', and surround the link with 'media' and '/media' tags (wrapped in square brackets where the quotes are)... then it'll look like that above. The Destroyers!!! I love that band. I had the good luck to support them a couple of years ago at Balkanarama in Edinburgh and Glasgow, they were amazing

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1473161996' post='3127494'] I like playing guitar and bass equally but is there anyone here that used to play or tried out the guitar but preferred the bass. If so, what swung it for you? [/quote] I started out on guitar. I was not amazing but I could play a bit, but I never had any interest in playing live or bands. I tried the band thing but I found it difficult to find reliable people and I just wasn't bothered. Recording at home was enough, with the very rare occasion where I'd end up on a stage for a bit somewhere. I bought a crappy bass, because the recordings sounded better with some bass in the background going dum dum dum dum... but I never really cared. Then one day I ended up at a work event thing where we had a bit of a jam... but no bass player. I took the bass and gave somebody else my guitar. I knew the drummer as we had jammed a lot together... and found that we could communicate well... and suddenly bass was a bit more fun. Instead of going dum dum dum dum following the chords, I was just playing whatever I wanted and watching the drummer for changes etc... and I ended up leading, with the guitarist playing wonderful stuff that I could not come up with. That was fine, when it was about 10 of us between players and people sitting down... then the rest of the people started to arrive. This was at a function room in a hotel. And they wanted to dance. So... we provided the music. And THAT is when I fell in love with bass. I had a blast, and loved the ability to play with the rhythm and make people respond to it. I was so lucky to have such a good drummer... So after that I went and bought a 'real' bass. And I started paying attention. And I had to play with another drummer, live, so I started joining bands... and I haven't looked back. I still play guitar but very rarely. I cannot believe that I ignored bass for so many years. Playing bass led me to play in bands as it's not as good an instrument to play alone by yourself, and that led to a lot of fun in the fast 7 years or so, including meeting my girlfriend who started out simply as a fan of the band who'd appear often at our local gigs. And that's the story.

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1473103942' post='3126994'] These sorts of arrangements are fine until something goes wrong. The OP is clearly unhappy about it and I think I would be too. If it were me, I'd have a chat with the owner about my concerns, possibly by email so there is a written record even though I'd generally prefer a face to face chat. Perhaps a chat first followed up with an email just to confirm what was discussed? [/quote] +1 it seems easy going and fine... but what happens when something goes wrong? I'd be nervous unless there's good security camera coverage to show my innocence if/when it goes wrong.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1473083990' post='3126715'] Alternatively, do what we did and put on your own gigs with a reasonably well-known band of the same genre headlining and your band supporting. [/quote] This.

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1473072781' post='3126516'] I just saw it on your band page and I'm literally 20 mins away from Morpeth! If I spot you're ever in Edinburgh I'll get the train up to see you guys. Oh lovely, a JE preamp. I've been contemplating doing something like that to my Jake, but I'm unsure about it. What advantages would I really have outside of more control and a possible DB boost? [/quote] The next few gigs are Edinburgh (this week and next) and Glasgow (couple of weeks after that)... then we have a break. 'more control' is the answer. I really like that particular preamp, with the semiparametric mids module. In addition I'm trying to see whether that makes me like it more. The bass is great but I'm not convinced about my choice of pickup. I went with some Delanos with the big polepieces, because I liked that look... but they seem very very hot and aggressive. I'm just not *loving* it. Lovely bass to play, and so light and comfortable... but I need to change pickups I think. The preamp would help, with this or another pickup, and the black plate will offset nicely the empty top. I should have gone for that preamp from day 1 really. I have had one in my drawer for a few years now for an old project, so it's time I put it to good use.

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1473069475' post='3126488'] Mcnach I had no idea you guys were playing near me and I missed you guys! By any chance do you tour with your Jake? [/quote] Pity. It was a great night! Both my Jakes are on dry land at the moment. I tend to use the Stingray mostly anyway, but I'll soon bring out the Jakes more. The red one (reverse P, bit closer to the bridge than normal) is being modified to incorporate a John East MMSR (Stingray) 3-band preamp, with a black plate to suit the other black hardware. I hesitated when ordering it and went passive... and there's only a couple of basses I like passive: a Precision and another Precision (ok, maybe a good Jazz). The P/JJ... I removed the P pickup and put in a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 that I like better... but I managed to break one of the mounting screws, and in order to remove the bit that was left I had to enlarge the hole a bit... so I need to fill the hole and redrill before I am happy to use that bass 'in the wild'... I still use it at home, and I love it... but I don't want to play live with a bass whose pickup is not firmly fixed in place. Not a lot of work, but there's always something else distracting me And I can't find anything that beats the Stingray

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1472997114' post='3125861'] I am wondering if it is feasible to add a Precision bass split coil pickup into a Sterling 5 to give me a P bass tone option? I have read a few threads where the opposite was done - MM pickup into a P bass, but wondered if this might give me my desired effect? Wiring-wise, I only use the Sterling on the one 'coils wired in series' setting, so could lose the existing toggle switch functions and get it wired as a pup selector. I guess doing the reversal of the two halves of the pup would make it fit better? Anyone done it, and did it work? Ta! [/quote] I'm pretty sure the MM pickup and the Precision position overlap, so you could not get the pickup positioned just like in a Precision. That means it will not sound like a Precision. It may still sound pretty good, I don't know, but not like a Precision.

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1473017200' post='3126131'] And thirdly. I think we live in a new era.. where live entertainment is going to die and be non existent in 10-20 yrs time. I thank my lucky stars that my best gigging days were in the late 70's early 80's where I was out five nights a week doing originals, covers, holiday camps etc....feeling rather sad about it all really. [/quote] I don't think so. Things may be changing sometimes... but there's always room for live music. I can't see how that could change. There may be more competition in the future maybe... which is not necessarily a bad thing (from an audience's perspective)

Two gigs last night... at a festival near Newcastle in a very pretty location (shame about the rain)... Fortunately there were big tents, so if anything the rain made people get into seeing the bands more First gig with my usual band... it started a bit slow, you know, when people watch but you're not sure if they like it or not, except for a couple of nutters at the front who were really enjoying it. previous two bands had played a lot of classic ska and we play originals so they could not immediately sing along or anything... but by the third song they were ours. Good feeling. It's always good when you unplug as they roar "one more tune" and you leave them wanting, rather than them being relieved you're going away at last Then another band went in. Pretty good... I have to find what their name was, I liked them a lot. Their bass player was playing very very simple lines on his Precision, but it sounded mighty and just what the songs needed... I enjoyed that. Then, the band I'm currently being a 'guest bassist' with went on... This is a 5 piece as opposed to my usual 7 piece and I had room in front of me! Luxury! So I could move about and I had a blast. A woman at the front was making gestures at me and indicated she liked the bass... I smiled and mouthed a 'thank you'... That was one of the most fun gigs I played in a while. A few of my bandmates were in the audience, who hadn't seen me with this band, and they were dancing and smiling and having a good time. That was awesome. The sound guy was a bit confused because he had seen me before but in his mind that was impossible... And then, backstage... Bombskare were getting ready. I've known them for years... they're awesome onstage and off it too... we laughed, hugged, their sax player told me my T-shirt was sh*t (it was a Bombskare one ) and they went on... they sounded amazing! I was tired and ready to drive home with our sax player and my girlfriend who was feeling a bit ill... but we said ' let's wait a bit and see just one song'... a couple of songs in we were all dancing and even my girlfriend was no longer feeling ill If you haven't seen Bombskare but get a chance to... do it! They're all a bunch of silly idiots making great fun music... I can't get enough of them. So... I got to play two short gigs with two different bands, and got to spend some time jumping around to Bombskare. Best Saturday in ages!!!

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1473014905' post='3126098'] Did you see the recent BBC 4 show - Britain's Best Unsigned Band/ There was a band on there that had been playing together for years, perfecting their own brand of Prog rock. The show was the first time the had ever performed on stage, so yes, sometimes the reward for all this effort may well be your own, personal enjoyment. [/quote] Yeah, that's a good point. There's a local band here that I first saw as a trio playing a semi-acoustic session in a small bar as a warm up to the main session, of which my band was the main act. Now they are playing bigger venues, I keep seeing photographs of them playing festivals with large audiences, they're very active... and I still think musically they're not that great. Their guitarist is average, the singer is often out of tune and too shouty... drummer is adequate, bass player is ok... but they have a pretty intense energy together and they're fun to watch and I get why people like them. If they had stayed in their rehearsal studio trying to perfect each song and sound perfect... they'd still play to nobody.

I'm sympathetic... it is very disheartening playing to the bartender and a drunk in a corner. But whose fault is it? Well, 'fault' is too strong... what I mean is you can't blame 'people' for not coming. You have to give something people want, you have to provide something that they really want to come out and see, then they'll come. It takes time and effort. Lots of both. There are thousands of bands playing their thing every weekend out there. They cannot all attract large audiences. You have to find your 'niche'... but I can't tell you how to do that, I only know that it takes time, perseverance, and networking... as well as having something interesting to show.

[quote name='Davebassics' timestamp='1472985081' post='3125724'] Congrats! Jazz with P neck is my flavour. Unfortunately I'm still looking for the perfect combination of body and neck. My first bass, a Squier affinity jazz currently has a warmoth P neck on it but there is a huge gap between it and the body. I've had a squier P neck on it as well but the truss rod went on that. It's been on my list for about 10 years to get a nice Fender jazz and find a direct replacement P neck but there is always something in the way! Needless to say, I am incredibly jealous! Enjoy the bass, it looks stunning! [/quote] I may not keep it after all... I'm realising that Jazz are not really my type... I keep trying to either make it sound like a Precision (but I already have a lovely Precision) or going for 'burpy' bridge pickup tones, but I never like it more than the Stingray... If it didn't look so good!!! Regarding the roadworn effect... I'm not a fan of having bits on the neck that feel like the finish is all gone. So I put a few coats of Tru-Oil and smoothened it and it looks and feels so much better! I guess it won't age quite as fast anymore, but that's not a bad thing in my view!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1472897045' post='3125140'] I assume top ones are. Seems like a good idea until you think what you would have and then realise it's taken you several days to decide on the colour! I will - I am having a rosewood neck with block markers so I could see it no issue, normally, but I did do a gig in the dark and although I don't normally need side markers, we do alright now now, and it is harder on a 24 fret bass! [/quote] Yeah, I agree... I don't need top markers at all, and the side markers are not a *must*, but they do come handy at times so having something you can see is handy. Years ago I had a Warwick Corvette, very dark neck and tiny markers and I did couple of gigs with very distracting lights... so I bought some glow in the dark paint and powder, and mixed both to make a thick paste and added small blobs on the side markers. It served two purposes: it would glow brightly if there was any UV light on stage (or if I charged them with a tiny uv torch) but even without glowing the 'bumps' were very handy landmarks. Not the prettiest solution but it worked... and could be removed easily too without marks.

Does it need to be true bypass? I've used the Boss LS-2 for the purpose you describe for years. I started because the EHX micro Q-Tron has a noticeable volume boost and that was the envelope filter I used at the time, and using an LS-2 allowed me to tame it. I no longer use that pedal, but I still keep an LS-2 for when I have difficulties with loud/quiet pedals. It seems to work fine. There are other similar pedals with more features (polarity switch?) but I'm not sure any of the ones I know are true bypass, and the LS-2 works well in my hands and it's cheap.

[quote name='Stefanogregori' timestamp='1471216724' post='3111374'] I love the zing of new strings but my fingers and body chemistry usually kill the tone I like after just 1 gig. I usually use d'addario exl165s and while they are relatively cheap, they aren't cheap enough to discard after one gig. I saw a set of generic nickel strings on Amazon for £4.05. I'm sure they aren't fantastic but as long as they last a gig I'd be happy to chuck them at that price. Does anyone have any experience with cheap, generic strings? [/quote] I used Coban stainless steel strings, for about a fiver on eBay or amazon. I'm sure they do nickel too. They are not bad for the price. They are not as zingy as others, even from new, but they still sound like new strings, they just don't have as much of the extra brittle zing that stainless steel strings often have during the first few hours of use, which was a good thing. They'd last more than a gig, and they felt good. I don't use them as I prefer the sound/feel of other strings and I don't mind it when they start deadening a bit... I'd try the Coban ones... they felt fine. If you like them, they'll definitely last the gig and they're dead cheap.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1472893649' post='3125085'] Not that sofistika ... sophissti ... sovietis ... clever. [/quote] damn spelling (original edited with excuses )

Patience, grasshopper, patience.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1472857969' post='3124935'] This is a 5 string, so 45mm nut is fine (which is what theirs are anyway). Bring the neck down to 20mm and 22mm and that is what an ibanez is, although I can't imagine I would be able to tell the difference between 22 and 24mm am I. Has anyone had custom fret markers done? I would imagine something like that would be expensive. Or luminay side markers? [/quote] I don't think side markers are expensive, not sure about top ones. I asked for wide 3mm black markers for my red Jake. On a maple neck it makes it easy to see where things are in a dark stage. I am not sure it added much (or anything) to the cost. He mentioned he could use Luminlay too but I doubt that would be a more costly option: I bought Luminlay rods and they cost me around £10 which with plenty left over... so if Luminlay is what you want, go for it without fear

[url="http://www.rondomusic.com/product8875.html"]http://www.rondomusic.com/product8875.html[/url] I first discover SX back in 2005 when I had a bit of unexpected cash in my pocket and saw a cheap set neck Les Paul with P90 pickups that looked great, and being a big P90 fan I thought I'd order one and at the very least it would look great on the wall. It was only £124 delivered from Germany. It arrived and I was ecstatic. The guitar needed some very minor adjustments, but it felt and sounded great. I used it soon afterwards at a "Guitar Bash" where I performed with it in a couple of songs and it attracted some attention, all positive, and actually compared positively against a Gibson Les Paul Junior reissue... When I eventually decimated my guitar collection, I let go everything except three guitars: a Floyd Rose stratocaster, a standard stratocaster... and the SX. Now, I don't need any instruments, but this bass... If I were in USA, I'd get one. $159!!!

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1472835509' post='3124680'] also, if you were of the theiving persuasion, surely the first thing you would do after stealing a bass would be to take it apart to make sure it doesnt have one of these TrackR devices in it - i mean there are only so many places you can "hide" one of these things in a bass... [/quote] your typical thief is not that sofisticated ;-) [1] but the problem I see with this is that until they're widely used they don't really do much... [1] edit: of sophisticated, even - Spanish spelling creeping in...

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1472834200' post='3124667'] I never got that far, that would be good to ask, but he has stopped talking to me now, I think I asked too many questions! I think I need to make some specs and ask for prices on those. I guess I can measure the ibanez neck and that will tell me what sort of size to go for as thats my perfect neck. [/quote] His communication style is direct and to the point. What I did was list clearly and concisely the various alterations to a base Jake model that I wanted, as a check list almost. Where I had doubts or wanted input I indicated it. That worked well for me. I think if you write long emails it just gets on the 'for later' pile

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1472826221' post='3124580'] Nut width, and front-to-back depth at a couple of points along the neck... [/quote] That. He usually asks for width at the nut and depth at 1st fret, but that's just a rough description, you can give a few more measurements for a better defined neck profile.

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1472776153' post='3124246'] So specify the neck dimensions, they can work to exact measurements! Si [/quote] indeed! That's the first thing I would do, in fact. My first Maruszczyk was pretty much a stock Jake, only I specified the neck dimensions and finish, that's all. I don't think it added to the cost. The finish did, marginally, but not the neck size specs.

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1472654723' post='3122966'] One band I play in occasionally gets too too loud, and a couple of times now I've been faced with a) turn up further and compete, thereby making the noise even worse, or b)turn the bass completely off and mime for the audience's sake. B wins each time, as it also removes a bit of sound pressure, but it's usually about 3 songs before the buggers notice! Maybe next time it happens, I'll be armed with an orange. [/quote] I like your style