mcnach

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1375705382' post='2164460'] They were too poplar, that's why they stopped making them [/quote]

I had the chance to try my Compact properly last night, for the first time. We were asked to play in this bar in town (The Potting Shed, formerly Native State, for those Edinburghers in the forum), and they had a small PA through which we put three microphones for vocals and saxophone/clarinet, and everything else was provided by our own amps (except the drummer and our very loud trumpet player,, that did not use amplification). I took along my Compact, alongside the MarkBass CMD121P combo. Essentially this below, except I was using the Stingray rather than the SUB in the picture: The results? MIGHTY. Lots of bottom end. LOTS. More than I was used to when I used the MB alone or with the RS210 cab. Also more than when using the RH450 head with the RS210 and BC212 cabs. It sounded big. Alex said this 1x15 cab could sound like or even bigger than many 4x10s, and I don't think he exaggerated. I would add "not just any 410, but a good one". The sound was a bit "darker" than I would normally prefer, but it's early days, I'll just have to experiment until I get it just the way I want it. I did not normally have this amount of bottom end available so my Stingray and amp settings will have to be different now, of course. It sounded big, and with definition. It's a really good combination, using the MB combo and this cab. I was using my wireless, so that I could go around the bar for sound check... and it sounded really really nice out there. On stage it sounded louder, obviously, but no overpowering, it just sounded... "big". Drummer was very happy with it too. And this is a rig I could easily carry in one trip if I wanted to: bass on my back, MB combo on one hand, and Compact on the other. I can't get over just how light this Compact is... and how big it sounds. The volume knob on the Markbass was set also noticeable lower than I used to. This rig has some serious punch and volume. I'm in love. I see a future where I sell the RS210 and buy another Barefaced...

Keir bought my Joyo Sweet baby overdrive. Very good communication, pleasant and easy. A while ago I bought an SD preamp from him but forgot to leave feedback as... over a year afterwards I still have not used the preamp and is sitting in my drawer but I am sure it works fine and I remember the transaction back then also being smooth and easy. Thank you, Keir! PS: oh, and it seems he likes guitars with P90 pickups as well. Clearly a man of taste!

I just bought Matt's modified EHX Nano Bassballs. Great communication and a real pleasure to deal with. Really enjoying this pedal, thanks!!!

I had a love/hate relationship with my first Bassballs pedal. Actually, it started with a Behringer clone. The VB-1: This looked a lot like the old BassBalls and is based on it. I found it interesting but a little bland. I got tired of it rapidly. Then I read reviews that essentially said that Behringer's take one the Bassballs fell off the mark... and one day I ended up with a EHX Nano Bassballs. And I really liked it! Definitely nothing like the Behringer. When reading reviews on the Behringer, I also came across pedal modifications. People have often opened up their Bassballs and tweaked the two internal trimpots, which control the two filters, to taste. Aha! I opened the Behringer and there was only one trimpot. I was able to tweak it to enhance its sound. Cool. But it was still a little bland. I sold it. A while later I sold the Bassballs too, as it did not seem to have a place in the music I was playing at the time and I did not really use it. Fast forward a year or so... and a situation came where I thought "oh, I think a Bassballs here could be pretty cool", and I bought another EHX Nano. It was ok. Then one day, I came across someone selling a modified Bassballs, the older version in the large box, where the internal trimpots were now accessible from the outside via two extra knobs! I went for it... and I wa so glad I did! The Nano started to languish, unused, as the modified one was just sooo much fun. The general sound is the same, of course, but you could get the sound just right with the three knobs, getting the right amount of whump and waah and weee and gurgle. I still used the Nano, because it was a lot smaller and fitted better in my board... but I often used the modified one, running on batteries (they last forever on this pedal!), without a pedal board. Lovely quirky pedal. The Bassballs stock is... alright. You could open it up, tweak the trimpots to taste and leave it there, and get a great sounding pedal. But because the sound depends greatly on how hot your bass signal is etc, it seems a bit silly to leave those controls with such awkward access. Having them easily accessible on the top of the pedal allows you to get a few extra great sounds too, very very easily. I am sure they would have sold a lot more of these pedals if they had these controls outside. What were they thinking? Why did they not come out with "Bassballs II" or something with this modification? The nano version is a bit tricky to modify, sure, but the original is dead easy. Lots of room! I have just found a modified Nano, which I received today The modification was made by SFX (probably known to many in this forum), and it looks great... I spend nearly an hour this morning playing with the Nano alongside the old version modified one... and I am pleased to confirm that they sound identical to me. The modified one sounded so good that I was a little afraid that something had changed when making the Nano and could not be made to produce the same sounds... but it does It's a quirky pedal, it's not a pedal to use in every song... but it's a great sound to have. Long live the Bassballs! And here is a picture of my balls a quick and dirty clip just using a hand held ZoomH2 recorder: [url="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38169404/Pedals%20to%20sell/STE-035.mp3"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38169404/Pedals%20to%20sell/STE-035.mp3[/url]

Someone on Talkbass says he powers and gigs with his MS-60B using a mains adaptor USB thingy, similar to those use to charge mobile phones...

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1375616481' post='2163423'] Or bye laws that prevent people shoving their unsolicited music down your throat when you're out for the day is another way of looking at it. [/quote] Indeed. In the end, like with most things involving numbers of people living together in villages, towns and cities, it's all down to compromise. We cannot all get it just the way we would like it all the time, but we can find some middle ground. Not being loud when playing in open spaces is one of those compromises: the people who like what they see and want to ear you will come closer, those who don't can just walk away without being disturbed excessively. I wish I could walk anywhere unemcumbered by roads [1], having to wait at traffic lights... but again, that's another compromise. [1] except when I'm driving, of course

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1375614244' post='2163393'] Jen and the Gents are doing the official Fringe slots on the Royal Mile this year. We signed up in advance and have specific slots booked, but we're on a little stage, with electricity, which makes life a bit easier. It definitely gets more CDs out there than playing venue gigs. Did your dancing guy have a kilt, big moustache/sideburns and a hat covered in badges, by any chance? If so, that's auld Lewis, King of Scotland! He always seems to dance to Jen and the Gents when we're busking. He has it down to a fine art, he comes and larks about for about half a song, then wanders off before he's outstayed his welcome... [/quote] Ah, nice one about the Royal Mile slots! We are going to play at the Royal Mile too brought by "Fortune Promotions", but I am not certain they have a stage or it's literally just a spot on the street where we will play with our battery operated amps. We were supposed to have gone last night but our drummer had a wedding gig, so we opted for a busking tour instead. Our guy did not have a kilt, no. I don't remember badges on his hat either... he may be Lewis's cousin There were some pictures and even video taken, so I'm sure he'll be on our facebook soon.

[quote name='TheMissWolfiee' timestamp='1375576300' post='2163167'] When I bought mine I was told by the seller is was Basswood - however when I went to get it set-up the Luther (The String Surgeon in Horbury) told me it was actually a 2 piece Alder body - I was looking to get it stripped/re-finished at the time [/quote] They were advertised as being basswood. Or was it poplar? One of the two. But EBMM seem quite inconsistent with the SUB line (pickups in series or in parallel? see below) so I would not be surprised if at some point they built a few with other woods if it was convenient. Lovely basses. Are they worth £675? I'd say yes... Would I pay £675? Most definitely not, as the going rate for them seems quite a bit lower, so I'd look for another. I bought my SUB5 for £350 3 years ago, but that was a low price even then. £400-450 seems more like it these days, with the 4 string version a bit less than that 9I paid £415 for my white one, which was immaculate except two tunes that got bent in transit, and I got the seller to pay for the replacements... I wanted a white one and was not willing to wait, so I paid a bit more than I could have... and recently I paid £350 for my wine red one) Is a modern Stingray better than those SUBs? Maybe. I don't know for sure. But they did not make SUBs with maple fingerboards and the Stingrays have prettier finishes... so I will still keep my Stingray, but there really isn't anything between them. The build is certainly just as good, just the finish is different and the bridge/tuners may be different (they are not MusicMan stamped). The late SUBs (2005 and 2006) have the same compensated nuts the Stingrays did at the time. The preamp is the same, and so are the pickups... although it seems that some were wired in parallel (as in a Stingray) and some in series, who knows why? My SUBs are one of each, the early one from 2003 is series, and my 2006 one is parallel. I personally love the punch of the series configuration, I think it complements the 2EQ better than in parallel.

It wasn't all fantastic, 'though... There was a homeless man, bearded, in his late 50s probably... very merry and up for a bit of dancing. That was great, he was very complimentary and funny... but I really did not need him kissing me on the cheek...

[quote name='Jigster' timestamp='1375576118' post='2163165'] did u have to overcome any sour mouthed bye laws that forbid spontaneous intervention in 'public' spaces? [/quote] Perhaps Edinburgh is more busker-friendly than Coventry? The Council's rules are simple (and online), and as long as you are not loud and playing at reasonable spots, it seems it's permitted. Right now we have the Festival going on, so rules are relaxed even further. Certain areas are "no go areas" without registering as a street performer... which we have done anyway, and then you need to get in the morning of every day you want to play to a certain place for a ballot, and when your name comes up, you choose a location and slot from the ones available. But there are many other places you can still play outside that controlled area. I think the key remains not being loud. We have battery powered amps that could go MUCH louder than we have done... but you just have to be reasonable. The trumpet player remains the loudest BY FAR! The police are present, constantly, due to the large number of people present. All we had from them was a smile. Yesterday there was a moment where a pair going down the walkway, and a pair going up, met... almost in front of us... and stopped chatting to eachother for a bit. They did not really look at us, they did not talk to us... then they said their goodbyes to eachother and continued the way they were going. There are buskers in Edinburgh all year long... but it's especially easy at the time of the Festival.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1375575696' post='2163162'] It`s strange, but people seem to be more positive about bands doing "odd" things. We had really good attendance, feedback, and sales, when we played a florists, and a record shop. [/quote] Florists!!! we must try that!

It's kind of obvious, in a way. What is the best way to publicise your band? Posters? Internet campaigns? Well, that helps if you are well known already. Otherwise people just see a poster with a band name... We have done the above with varying degrees of success. Zero success at first, some success now that there seems to be a bunch of people who knows us and notice when we announce gigs. Having a CD has helped a lot, it seems, as people take it home, others listen to it... But we never really considered playing on the street. Until now. I bought a QTX QR10PA mini PA thingy to put my bass through and everybody else went acoustic. We went to try the set up one evening and within 40 min we had people buying a few of our CDs and giving us money. We did not mean to treat that evening as a proper busking session, but it worked well enough. Next evening we repeated the experience, again for just a little under an hour. To our surprise, we got a surge on Facebook hits, and sold some more CDs online around that time. Aha, so being seen is definitely a good thing! Then we decided to go electric... and bought three mini guitar amps: two Roland Mini Cubes and a Vox Mini. This way we sound a lot more like we do for real. Today we chose a couple of spots and did about an hour on each. It's busy, with the festival and all, so we sold more CDs and made more money, ok... It was also great fun, yes... but we got a girl who books the gigs for a local venue asking us for our details and whether we'd like to play a few nights this month. Result! Then after we finished the second stint, a guy approaches us and tells us he is from a nearby bar that just opened, and they want to start having live music.. so we are playing there tomorrow night and might become a regular spot for us if things go well. So... do you play originals and find it hard to get gigs? Invest in some street equipment and get out there! It seems to work wonders!

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1375548051' post='2162806'] The manual doesn't seem to mention using the USB as a power source at the early bit when it tells you how to switch it on, only at the very end 'specs' bit in passing. Nothing ventured... I just tried mine and, although the unit powered up, it made a god-awful noise when I plugged it all in. I am guessing it provides enough power to update the software etc but little else. [/quote] that's interesting and disappointing but not all too surprising. However on the Zoom website it does state you can power it up via USB... true, it doesn't go on to say powered up "for what purpose"?

The Eno pedal is pretty good I think, whatever the price. It is very good at keeping the bottom end, so a blend knob is not really necessary unlike with many other OD pedals. I used mine (well, the Joyo version, rather, but they're nearly identical) with a Boss LS-2 precisely so that i could blend some dry signal... and I found that although I like to be able to blend dry/overdriven signal exactly the way I want it, I wasn't really gaining anything that way, so I use it straight now.

Yeah, I wonder. To be honest, AA batteries are easy to use... I buy big packs of Duracells at Costco and that way turn out very cheap... but if the USB method worked it would be a nice touch.

MM Stingray Jazz Fretless Jazz Do I really have to choose 5? ok, and another two Stingrays as a backup! (Fine, make one of those a 5-string if you insist )

Take a look at the OCD clones as well. Joyo make one (Ultimate Drive) and Eno Music have another (DSO-2, with a big cheeky and even shameful OCD label on the top too) in a very small sized pedal. The Joyo was around £30 and the EnoMusic was £23 or so, I think. I like the EnoMusic a little better, but they're extremely similar. They will do well very mild OD, nearly clean, and get into pretty distorted territory if you want it to.

Good compressor under £100? I like the EBS Multicomp a lot... yeah, it's more than £100, but used can be bought for £80-100.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1375437173' post='2161193'] I'm not sure it is. I use a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. Lost of money, but fully isolated and silent. And more to the point - would I be paying for more than £150 worth of batteries over my playing life? Definitely. At about £5 for a Duracell 9V that is only 30 batteries cost. If you really are only going to use 1 pedal, then I'd say the Visual Sound One-Spot. That is a great bit of kit. Massive 1700mA capacity, well made and quiet. The only pedals that it seems to have issues with are Line 6 stomp boxes. Bit noisy on them for some reason. [/quote] +1 A good power supply is a must, for me. I don't like the idea of depending on batteries for my pedals, and a power supply is something you keep "for life", to power whatever pedals you may want to use... For me it's worth getting a decent one. So what if one of the pedals I want to power cost me £10? Or £100? What does it matter? Whatever it is, I want it to sound good.

I have my eye on one of these things, closely watching the classifieds... especially since I read something about the ability to power this pedal via USB, unless I misunderstood. Has anybody tried that? THat would be really amazing for me. I have a QTX QR10PA battery powered mini-PA thingy that I use to run my bass through for busking. It works reasonably well. EQ is limited and the sound is not amazing, but it works more than adequately. It has a USB slot... and if I could use it to power the Zoom, then that would be perfect as I can use it as an EQ pedal and tuner (and even FX if I wanted to, although when busking we keep it simple)... Is that possible? Or is the USB on the Zoom only for shuttling data?