mcnach
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Everything posted by mcnach
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[quote name='neilp' timestamp='1459951848' post='3021191'] Ok, I can see you all disagree! No biggie, I'm just a luddite I guess! I do wonder though if the episodes we've all heard of musicians being out of tune on stage and not being able to sort it are a product of the tuner age... Why else? [/quote] I have never met anybody who could not hear their out-of-tuneness and sort it out straight away with or without tuners, as long as they can actually hear themselves. Seriously, who ever gets to the stage they perform in public and they're unable to tune? I think that's a myth.
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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1459942947' post='3021064'] Orchestras don't play to small rooms of noisy drunks and they don't have DJs blasting out loud music while they're preparing to go on. So I don't feel bad about using a tuner at gigs rather than doing it by ear every time. [/quote] especially if you use a Pitchblack... you can make it look like K.I.T.T. how cool is that?
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[quote name='neilp' timestamp='1459940207' post='3021021'] I don't think that, but I do think that, as a general principle, it's more important to be in tune with each other than with a little green light, and it would be a good thing for a band - any band - to make a habit of tuning up as a band before they play. After all I can go to an orchestral performance with my bass perfectly tuned to my tuner, but what happens if the A from the oboe doesn't match? Do I tell her she's flat, or do I tune to her? It's a skill we should all learn IMHO [/quote] and I would not disagree with that... but having that green light as a common ground, regardless of whether the other members are around or not and the ability to tune silently is just too useful in practice to ignore. We have a trumpet and a sax player in my band... they just ask me for a high G (guitarists are too busy doing... who knows what ) and they're ready to go within seconds... the guitarists and myself use the little green light and it makes things (in my view) simpler onstage.
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ah! if only it was the metal grille version! -
COG Raging Bull - Overdrive + configurable FX loop *** SOLD ***
mcnach replied to mcnach's topic in Effects For Sale
[quote name='TBBassist2011' timestamp='1459897933' post='3020751'] PM'd [/quote] and PM'd back... on hold for TBBassist2011 -
COG Raging Bull - Overdrive + configurable FX loop *** SOLD ***
mcnach replied to mcnach's topic in Effects For Sale
[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1459893483' post='3020715'] That's a shame, it's got your name on it and everything! [/quote] I know! To be honest... I'm a little reluctant. I have the feeling that the minute I sold it I'll want it again, as it's often the case... I'm just having slowly a clear-up of things I'm not using, after recently moving from a 5-bed house into a much smaller apartment... dunno. I took my time to design the functions of this pedal, dang... you're making me doubt already! -
[quote name='Alfie Noakes' timestamp='1459892737' post='3020704'] Yes please. PM'd [/quote] and PM'd back -
[quote name='neilp' timestamp='1459892995' post='3020707'] If you seriously believe all your electronic tuners give you the same result, there's no hope.... [/quote] If you think that the differences between tuners are more significant than the differences between people's ears, there's no hope...
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This pedal is based on the COG Darklighter overdrive, with a few differences and additions. Unlike the original Darklighter this has a blend knob. There is also a level and gain knobs, and the tone is controlled by two filters labelled LPF-1 (low) and LPF-2 (high), which allows you to tweak the character of the overdriven sound from low end meaty to gritty buzzy, all while retaining definition and low end. The overdrive section is in the left of the pedal. There is also a loop that allows you to hook it up to another pedal/pedals.The reason I wanted this was that I often used overdrive + octave, or overdrive + envelope filter, or another pedal, and in order for me to combine both pedals being able to switch them individually or both with a single switch, I used a Boss LS-2. This worked great, but of course it means you need an additional pedal: the LS2, with the additional cabling for power, connections etc. This pedal was an attempt to simplify that. The loop (a simple send/return) has a number of controls. The Level allows you to attenuate the signal to better blend it with the overdrive/dry sound. Mode switches between series and parallel. Order selects whether the overdrive comes first or the loop comes first in the signal chain. This is because I prefer some pedals before overdrive, and others after. There are two switches. The right one turns the loop on/off. The left one is a master switch. Each switch has a led to indicate status on/off. With the loop off, the left switch simply turns the overdrive on/off. With the loop on, the left switch allows you to switch both the overdrive and the loop simultaneously. You can also have the overdrive off, and use the pedal to simply turn the loop on/off. It took me a little while to get my head around it, and quite a few emails with Tom to get the functions just the right way to make operation versatile and maintaining a 'single-button-press' action. I still have the emails with all the details, so I can fish them out and provide all the detailed information if desired. Runs on the usual 9V negative centre power supply. Low current requirement. I love this pedal, but I really have no need for it and new toy-tokens must be obtained... £120 including delivery, recorded, 1st class.
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Here's my Bass Soul Food. Lovely pedal but surplus to requirements with my current band situation... It comes with original box, manual and unused power supply. The sticky rubber feet were removed and two strips of heavy duty velcro have been attached to the bottom. The velcro is of course removable, and the rubber feet are included if you prefer to have them on. Excellent condition. I'm sure if I dusted it I could pass it for new £50 delivered 1st class recorded delivery.
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Some basses are hotter than the norm, so the so-called 'active' input (which is nothing but an attenuated input) provides a way to not run the preamp to hot and distort (which can sound ugly, but I'm not quite sure it can damage anything with the kind of signals an electric bass produces). It's better when we just have an input and a input gain knob... but hey, we use what we have to. Active basses are not necessarily hotter than passive basses. Most I have tried tend to be just around the same as most passive basses I've tried. My two Stingrays are no hotter than any of my passive Jazz or Precision basses, for instance. The L2000, passively, was hotter than nearly every active bass I've used. The loudest output bass I've owned is this passive Precision with neodymium magnet pickups... Thinking in terms of active/passive is pretty irrelevant in this context. I always use the Passive input if there's a choice, as on many amps the active input doesn't sound very good. But I pay attention to the signal I am using and I know which of my basses is hotter than usual so in the absence of an input gain control... you can often turn down the volume on the bass if it's an active bass. If it's passive that will change the sound... so it depends. The issue is not just with amplifiers. If you use pedals you encounter issues too... some basses produce a signal that's too hot for certain pedals to function nicely. But the vast majority of pedals work well with the vast majority of basses too. I haven't heard of pedals being damaged because a bass was too hot, however.
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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1459605277' post='3018028'] Ah, I meant to mention his ages ago. I noticed the same thing. Very odd! [/quote] True! It did drive me mad (momentarily) on my first Jake. I thought I was going crazy!
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[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1459574427' post='3017742'] Where does a tribute band get gigs? Considering there already seems to be plenty of them around? [/quote] I was in a RHCP tribute band, although not full-on tribute (we did not try to look like RHCP although we did try to sound like them... or better ). Most of our gigs were very music bars, we also played a few with other tributes (RATM, AC/DC...)... and we did a fair few where we were booked for an event (birthdays etc). It seemed very easy to get gigs once enough people have seen you around. But it does depend on the band you choose, I think. I was in a RATM band too during much of the RHCP period and we got a lot less work.
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[quote name='paddy109' timestamp='1459280326' post='3015125'] Guys, I am looking to upgrade from my Squier and wonder whether a Fender Standard MIM is a good choice? The used price range certainly fits my budget. [/quote] You have to try them and see. Some MIM basses will definitely feel amazing, others not so much. In general I don't think you'll find it a huge upgrade. Those VM basses are pretty decent. Definitely a matter of trying basses until you find one that you feel is an improvement.
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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1459545654' post='3017659'] I'm in the habit of checking local musicians wanted/available adverts and noticed a pattern which strikes me as bizarre. Now, I have no interest in doing a tribute band myself, but I'd always imagined that when forming one, you'd start with the frontman or most recognisable member. Yet in recent months I've seen a Police tribute looking for a Sting, a Bon Jovi tribute with no Jon or Ritchie and a Guns n' Roses tribute with no Slash. Oddest of all would have to be the Dio tribute looking for a Dio, or the Nickelback tribute looking for a singer/guitarist, bassist and drummer (so who posted the ad?). Apologies if anyone local recognises their band in this, but I just found it a little perplexing. Is this a common situation in tribute-land? [/quote] I have seen the Dio band... they've been looking for a vocalist for aaaaages. Not going to be an easy search!
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[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1459542904' post='3017635'] I had to remove the link because the tune we played isn't released yet and artist want to keep it private until release date. Mcnah, can you please edit your post to remove the link? I'll post later other tune when I get home. I don't want to have any trouble related to leaking stuff too early [/quote] done
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[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1459507309' post='3017191'] It's funny that actually gig bag that I am carrying the bass in is more expensive than the bass itself [/quote] same here: Fusion F1! well, actually about the same as the bass, I think it was 114 vs 119 for the bass
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[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1459498949' post='3017070'] As I said, I gigged mine last night. The sound from the camera is a bit crappy, and the room wasn't really suited for a music as it was a large hall with a lot of reverb, but you get the idea [/quote] nice I used mine in a few gigs right after I got it too. Mine had a little issue with the nut being cut too low on a couple of strings, but was still useable. I meant to replace the nut but my temporary fix of putting a bit of superglue on the string groove worked fine so I didn't bother with that. I'm a big fan of the Jazz sound but not of Jazz basses because the neck is so thin, but this one is nicer than most (for me). It's still narrow but slightly deeper than others, which makes it a lot more comfortable for me. Hmmm, I should really bring it out again.
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[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1459439327' post='3016610'] Where did you get the pickguard from? Did it fot without any problem? I am looking to get one from ebay. [/quote] the screw holes do not align, and I was reluctant to make holes because I like it without a pickguard too and didn't want to add more... so I ended up using a bit of double sided sticky tape to hole it in place and never drilled the holes. I can't remember where I got it from... it was a seller on ebay... I know it fitted my old Squier VM Jazz, which is what I originally bought it for. It's a little tight, but it fits.
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That looks amazing!
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[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1459422083' post='3016337'] They do sound great, and surf green isn't boring by any means, still looks great and I might get one as a backup. Pickups do sound great, very growly. It reminds me of a MIJ Geddy Lee jazz that I had a few years back. Even with the tone rolled all the way down they still got some of that growl there. Did you keep the pickguard stock on yours? [/quote] I changed the pickguard and knobs on mine. Just because! I don't have pictures of it as it is now, just this one where I just placed the pickguard on it, unscrewed, and placed the cream knobs on top of the existing black ones... but it gives you an idea:
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[quote name='RickyV' timestamp='1459426653' post='3016421'] Mmmmm. Have looked at these before but not gone for one. Now thinking I really need to! Probably go for the all black with the maple. What are the strings like tho? Are they a decent branded set or just stock J&D's which will need changing straight away? [/quote] I like the stock strings, so I left them on. It's very rare I do that, but they felt and sounded great to me.
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[quote name='highwayman' timestamp='1459286805' post='3015225'] Update, I'm now in possession of a gorgeous 2eq black Stingray with a stunning maple neck - I love it! Although I think the black pick guard looks superb I've also bought a mirrored one, however I'll wait until I have a degree of competency before I fit it... [/quote] welcome to the Stingray club! Nice choice. I hope you enjoy it as it is and be done... *however*, if you feel there's a little something that could make it batter and can't put your finger on it, I'll share two experiences with 2EQ preamps that *for me* transformed a good bass into a much better bass. 1) replace the original 2EQ with a John East MMSR 3-band 3-knob preamp. Straight replacement. The mids are flat at the centre detent, so you get the 2EQ flavour still (although I find John East's a bit tighter and more refined than my 2002 one was), and the mids with mid-sweep frequency control just opens it up tremendously. So versatile. 2) rewire the pickup from parallel to series. The series configuration has a bit more punch, more mids... and for me that works perfectly with an original 2EQ. Just suggestions in case one day you get bored with it. I hope you don't
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[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1456091563' post='2985361'] The John East MM pre-amp is amazing, based on the original MM pre-amp, and with the optional sweepable mid control it's just so versatile. That's what I would do, in fact I did. [/quote] and that's what I did too in my 2002 2EQ model. It transformed a great bass into an amazing bass.
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I have the 'boring' surf green one... pretty cool basses, eh? I like the pickups on mine too, they sound righteous!
