mcnach

Hey, Happy Birthday, Martin!

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1422536861' post='2673791'] Plenty of people rave about them though too, so don't just be put off by my opinion! Not everyone likes the same pedals, there are plenty that get glowing reviews that I think sound like crap! [/quote] Yeah, quite subjective in the end. I thought the Ultimate Drive was pretty cool. There are better pedals out there, but not at £30.

[quote name='LITTLEWING' timestamp='1421701190' post='2664171'] I'm looking at somehow tilting back my combo to hear better when we're playing but can only find stands for sale which will raise it off the ground. I know the normal practice is to have a cab as much on the floor as possible, but is there REALLY any discernible loss in bass and 'good' tone if it's up in the air somewhat ? [/quote] LIfting it from the floor will remove quite a bit of the low end. Tilting it but leaving it low, not so much and the mids/top end which are directional can reach your ears better, so it may be a better option... However, although the extra bottom end feels nice, if you're mic'd or DI'd and your combo is only really a monitor, then the primary objective is for you to hear what you're playing. In that case, lifting it and bring it closer to your ears will probably be best. You may not get the same deeper lows onstage, but you'll hear better and might even be able to lower the stage volume, which is not a bad thing. Just try it

Hmmm, master volume crackly? The master volume pot also works as a mute (pull to mute)... I wonder if it could be something as simple as a duff pot.

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1421775301' post='2664879'] I'd go with wire wool rather than sandpaper, just takes the shine off with no danger of sanding through [/quote] It sucks, however, when you get bits of wirewool stuck to your pickups... they just won't come off... so watch out! I'm sad, 'though, about this thread... I've seen so many formerly glossy necks butchered, sanded through to the wood...

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1422311276' post='2671154'] Bear in mind that if you bass was originally finished in a solid colour, the wood (and how the pieces that make up the body are joined) might not be attractive enough to stand being visible through a sunburst finish. [/quote] That would be my concern too! As for refinishing, should you go that route, I can't speak highly enough of David Wilson: [url="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002025970885&fref=ts"]https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002025970885&fref=ts[/url] Contact him, great guy, superb job, and not as expensive as some of the others although you would never know looking at the results!

Check David Wilson [url="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002025970885&fref=ts"]https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002025970885&fref=ts[/url] he's refinished a Jazz body for me in red and it's beauuuutiful. He recently also lacquered the neck on my Stingray and he's done a terrific job too. Nice guy as well. I think he's on BC but does not participate much.

[quote name='YehItsRyan' timestamp='1421976818' post='2667440'] Sorry to dig up an old thread but are these basses short scale? Can't find the scale length at all anywhere. [/quote] No, they're full scale, 34".

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1421673705' post='2663773'] I don't think they can have started out fretless, as with a bound neck the fret slots would have to be cut before binding. I reckon they just don't have anyone who reads English on the factory floor, so errors in the labels don't get noticed. They were selling a guitar model where the headstock read "Delxue" instead of "Deluxe" for months before they got changed! [/quote] I have one of the early V-Amp2 units. One of the amp models, as written on the front, is "Amercian Deluxe". I noticed later models being spelled correctly. I held onto it hoping one day it would become rare and sought after

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1421509745' post='2662110'] It's well known that, if you put a Stratocaster on the neck pickup then you can't hear the octave harmonic on the 12th fret. Switch it to any of the other two pickups and it comes over loud and clear. G. [/quote] Really? News to me but I can't say I've ever tried... Must get my strat out and see!!!

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1420994858' post='2655946'] You lot are useless, you wouldn't catch me forgetting both my basses and driving 30 miles to a gig... [/quote] +1 or forgetting the snare drum and driving 150 miles to a gig...

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1421087815' post='2657030'] You're welcome to check it out once it's officially unwrapped... [/quote] It'd be an honour

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1421080962' post='2656915'] I've ordered the five string fretted. I'll have a quick peek at it when it arrives just to check it's OK, then we put it away until my birthday on the 29th. It was all of £32 including delivery after the voucher was deducted! I went for the fretted version as when I've borrowed my friend's acoustic bass I like to play it with the heftiest pick I can find, a couple of inches from the bridge for a sort of clanky thump. I feel like a fretted bass might be better for that. I've got some D'Addario tapewounds in my used string stash, so those will probably be going on it. [/quote]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1420985011' post='2655785'] Well, we brought the kit, used it as-is without the hole and it was fine. The sound guy suggested taking the skin off, but he wasn't going to push the point. He miced it from the front and the FOH sound was perhaps a little less immediate and punchy than with a mic inside, but the mix was fine and it didn't seem to deter anyone from dancing. After that, I really don't get why the promoter was so adamant about it before the gig. Because we were sharing gear, I was obliged to stay around after my band had played, drink a couple of beers and dance to McNach's band. There are worse ways to spend a chilly Saturday night in January! [/quote] It was pretty good in the end, wasn't it? Good attendance, and very participative. I think it's the first time I see NUF from an audience perspective since my departure, and it sounded really good! The sound onstage was awful, I thought. How did you find it? It was way too loud, but not so much from the amps onstage, it just seemed to me the monitors were very loud, lots of vocals where I was, barely any rhythm guitar (who was next to me so I could hear his amp a bit) and lots of brass... I couldn't hear myself very well, which is ridiculous since I was right next to my amp, but there was just too much going on onstage. The sound guy already asked me to not turn up as he was having trouble with bassiness I suppose, and it was a situation where adding more noise was not going to help much anyway... So from that point of view, it wasn't as enjoyable, but watching people getting so much into the music compensates for it Out in the front it sounded good enough, so I was happy in the end. We had a blast.

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1420927066' post='2655258'] ok, im a bit of a slacker lol weighed it today and it came in at 7.9kg or 17.41 lbs. its fairly weighty, you feel it after a while. Im actually toying with the idea of taking the scratchplate off and routing some material away underneath it just to make it a bit lighter, how do you think that would affect the tone? Its actually a really nice bass, im well chuffed with it, and I reckon it looks the absolute dogs ball-locks, but then ive never really been a 'label' kind of a guy. Goes well with my George Atasda clothes [/quote] wow, that's heavy!!! I don't think I ever tried a bass as heavy as that. I just weighed mine, 9.7 lbs / 4.4 Kg Not exactly feather light, but comparable to other Jazz basses I suppose, which are rarely light due to their large body. [i][size=3][b]edit: That was the J&D Jazz, not the harley Benton, ooops, wrong thread [/b][/size][/i] For comparison: Fender 75RI Jazz MIJ from 1996 - 10.8 lbs / 4.9 Kg Fender 75RI Jazz MIJ from 2010 - 9.4 lbs / 4.3 Kg Squier Precision CV50 - 9.3 lbs / 4.2 Kg My lightest bass is a Cort GB74 superJazz type, at 7.0 lbs / 3.2 Kg... 7.9 Kg!!! what is it made from??? I hope you have a comfy strap!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1421065840' post='2656677'] I've just got a 35 Euro voucher for reviewing some bits and pieces I bought in the last couple of years. This kind of makes it hard not to spring for one of the cheap acoustics. It'd be less than £35 delivered - I've had sets of strings more expensive than that! I'm choosing between the black four string fretted and the five string fretted and fretless. I'm leaning towards fretted (since it'll sound like its own thing rather than a double bass imitation), just not sure how useful the B string is on an acoustic. I like the natural better than the black though, which nudges me back towards the 5-string since the natural 4-strings have sold out. [/quote] I played with Conscious Route for a while (my very first gig on bass was with them, in fact). I went for the audition, they told me they were checking a few other guys too... and eventually I got the call "if you're interested, we'd like you in, the only thing is you need to decide quickly so that we can call someone else if you don't want it anymore as we have a gig in two weeks", so I said yes and we had an acoustic session to go through the songs for the gig. "Don't bring anything, we have an acoustic bass you can use". It was a 5 string fretless. So, I had never played a 5 string, or a fretless... it was interesting But, back to the question at hand... the bass was beautiful and played great, I forget the brand... the size was only slightly larger than an acoustic guitar, similar to other acoustic basses I've seen around, and of usual depth. It was not very loud at all... with an acoustic guitar, percussion and two vocals I was being drowned out. The B string was not loud at all. I don't think you can get those lower notes on the B at a reasonable volume without a larger resonance box. On the other hand, if you're going to get one, you might as well get the 5 string and you have that if you need it - you would probably amplify it in many situations and that would sort the volume problem while still sounding like an acoustic bass. Personally I'd get the fretless. Whatever you do... if you do end up buying one... can I please try it? I keep thinking it would be cool to have one, but the impracticalities put me off (low volume, needing another case for it...) however, these deals seem to good to pass!

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1420827064' post='2654011'] Well spotted. Loose use of language on my part (although fwiw I was trying to make the, er, point that it is in fact infinitesimally small; I plead extenuating circumstances). Perhaps we should all get out a bit more. [/quote] Oh I know, it's just that you raised the pedantry flag and I couldn't hold back Get out more? Indeed... just finished painting the bathroom, fumes, bleuch... I need air.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1420816705' post='2653840'] See, this is why we should use Hamish's kit. Red cabs with black grilles, next to black drums with a red pinstripe. It'll look good! [/quote] It's true!!! Tell him to bring it, if they complain, blame me... I am a diva and I'll be wearing black and red, I cannot play if the drums don't match my outfit

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1420811587' post='2653745'] It's nothing compared to my more serious problems... for example last night I couldn't decide which brie to buy in Waitrose. [/quote] The most mature one. Or Reblochon. Yum

You have a line, call it A. You have a point outside the line, call it P. How many lines parallel to A can you have that pass through P? - it depends on how big the point is That was the "theorem of the fat point"

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1420796081' post='2653425'] [pedantry] I assume you're joking here. One of the nice things about disciplines like Euclidean Geometry is that they are absolutely precise and leave no room for doubt or ambiguity, and remain so irrespective of what anybody thinks about it. A circle of zero radius is mathematically equivalent to an infinitely small point, whatever the Flat Earth Society say. [/pedantry] [/quote] a point is a point, there are not big or small points in geometry

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1420745548' post='2653011'] No. I understand that. The fact remains that it's the organisers who have a problem with the kit that they're getting the benefit of (indirectly) that are complaining about the kit. Maybe they should hire a drum kit in that meets with their requirements. [/quote] Oh, ok, yeah, I agree entirely about that! I'm going to use my red cabs tomorrow. I hope they like the colour

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1420745026' post='2653001'] Yes, I would [size=4], but I doubt that the logistics of such a venture would allow it..! [/size] [/quote] pah! details!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1420732696' post='2652774'] I'd just add that the hole in the head of a bass drum is not just cut in a circle. It's a port, and its position and diameter affect the sound just a s much as the port on a bass cab. It can't be improvised on stage with a cutter. The 'taking off the head' approach, too, is so radical as to be excluded except, maybe, for a '60s tribute band, imitating the 'concert tom' groups of that era. Changing the head for a ported one would be the best solution, but bleed should not be that much of a problem micing a full head drum. I've done quite a fair few stages, and not once had to compromise in any way, even when my built-in mic was not solicited. Micing from the batter head is not that complicated, either. Micing both would be ideal, but could cause fuss. [/quote] Thank you! Hmmm, would you like to visit Edinburgh this weekend?

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1420734258' post='2652795'] This one [url="http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/cms/"]Link[/url] [/quote] Whoa, I'll bookmark this for later... I still can't decide whether they have an exquisite sense of humour and promote healthy debate and thinking, or it's one of the whackiest things I've seen in the net recently, but either way it caught my attention From their history: [quote] The modern age of the Flat Earth Society dates back to the early 1800s, when it was founded by Samuel Birley Rowbotham, an English inventor. Samuel Rowbotham's Flat Earth views were based largely on literal interpretation of Bible passages. His system, called [i]Zetetic Astronomy[/i], held that the earth is a flat disk centered at the North Pole and bounded along its 'southern' edge by a wall of ice, with the sun, moon, planets, and stars only a few hundred miles above the surface of the earth. After Rowbotham's death in 1884, followers of his [i]Zetetic Astronomy[/i] founded the [i]Universal Zetetic Society[/i]. Flat Earth theory spread to the United States, largely in the town of Zion, Illinois where Christian Catholic Apostolic Church founder John Alexander Dowie and later Wilbur Glenn Voliva promoted Flat Earth theory. Voliva died in 1942 and the church quickly disintegrated. Flat Earthism remained in Zion, gradually becoming less popular into the 1950s. The International Flat Earth Society was formally founded in 1956 by Samuel Shenton, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Geographic Society. Shenton died in 1971 and Charles K. Johnson became president of the International Flat Earth Society. Johnson actively and charistmatically promoted the Society and, over time, its membership increased to over 3,000. His wife Marjory took an active role in the Society as well, often contributing articles to the Flat Earth Society Newsletter. In 1995, a fire destroyed the Johnson's home as well as all of the Flat Earth Society's library, archives and membership lists. Following a long period of poor health, Charles K. Johnson's wife Marjory Johnson passed away in 1996. He vowed to rebuild the society. Sadly, Charles K. Johnson passed away in 2001 at the age of 76, leaving the Society's future uncertain. After several years of inactivity, the Flat Earth Society was resurrected in 2004 and remains active today at theflatearthsociety.org. The Society officially reopened to new members on 30th October 2009. [/quote]