mcnach

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1141145' date='Feb 25 2011, 01:01 PM']As an alternative to trying lots of different pickups, had you considered fitting a John East P-Retro and getting lots of different P-bass sounds from one pickup?

It's worth bearing in mind that the P-Retro is a non-intrusive fit & equally easy remove, so you can take it from bass to bass without damage to the bass or its resale value.[/quote]


I'm a bit of a John East enthusiast (Stingray & Jazz versions already working for me)
So P-retro is definitely something in my mind. But at some later time. I still want a source sound closer to what I am after. A good preamp does great things, but it does even greater things if you start with a good sound.

[quote name='drewm' post='1137632' date='Feb 22 2011, 08:16 PM']For my birthday yesterday, the missus very kindly gave me a Digitech JamMan Stereo looper. It's great fun and I've been getting started with some simple patterns, percussive noises and chords.

Are there any particularly good resources for learning how to make the best use of looping techniques, or even just inspiration?[/quote]


Looping... crazy

I just swapped a pedal I wasn't using for a Boss ME-50B, just to see whether I could make a couple of presets to allow me to leave my pedalboard at home sometimes... anyway, I find there is a basic looper there. 2.8 seconds. And I've been having much more fun than it's reasonable with that thing.

So I'm looking at maybe something a bit more versatile. The JamMan Stereo looks great. I also liek the idea to use it to trigger samples live, for instance in one song we do we have some police noises in teh recording we made but we don't do that live... I hadn't thought of that.
However I'd really like the ability to have maybe 3 difefrent loops I can work with and/or trigger at different points. Essentially giving me the ability of generating a song with 3 parts: a verse, a chorus and a bridge... that I can trigger at different times.
I believe the Boss RC50 can do exactly that. Am I right?
And the RC50 can import audio from my PC and use it as I described above to trigger teh "police" soudns live etc... is that correct?

I was looking at the Boomerang but it seems far too complicated for what I need. The RC50 seems a lot simpler.

Hmm, it may be time to sell a couple of toys to get one of tehse machines...

[quote name='pikeman' post='1133881' date='Feb 19 2011, 11:22 PM']I'm in the same boat, looking for a P pickup. I've been calling Wizard for days but get a recorded message saying they'll get back to me.
Still waiting.
Edit
Finally got through to Andy who was really helpful and suggested a Thumper would give me the sound I described.
Ordered on Monday morning, the pickup arrived on Wednesday morning. Brilliant service and what a sound, who needs actives with these babies, rich lows with as much top end as you need. Great pickup.[/quote]


what sound were you describing?

I'm buying a DiMarzio DP127 for one of teh basses, because it seems like a nice beast. It won't be P-bass like, not too much, but I also considered do an "Ou7shined" of sorts, and put a 'Ray type pickguard with an MM pickup... so P-bass tone is not the objective there.

The third one, however... will be the one with flats (Chromes arrived today, will try at the weekend) and I haven't decided which pickup will go there. I might just leave it stock, but ideally I'd like something with a bit more mids to make the flats, with the tone control rolled down "a bit", sound a bit more punchy. That's the one where I thought Thumpers might be good, based on other people's comments.

yes, yes oh yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='Raggy' post='1139648' date='Feb 24 2011, 09:54 AM']Glad you picked one up Jose, I think the other Ashdown drive pedal is the Drive Plus, it differs from the LoMenzo as it does not have the little Mid frequency switches (i think).[/quote]

Yeah, I got one

very happy I did.

the mid frequency knob & switch is where the game is with this pedal. It can change the character of the sound so widely!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1139705' date='Feb 24 2011, 10:46 AM']Total balls. Have you heard the bass tone of the guy from Karnivool? He uses one.

Quite often people bring this pedal up and say it's only capable of weak fizzy distortion. It has a clean blend, and EQ to boost the low, and cut the highs, and it has a gain control, which is useless past 10 o'clock. It's perfect for a big bottomed growly boost!

It's not good at fuzz, but it's great at OD.[/quote]


It depends on what your definition of nice overdrive is. For me, this ain't.

Yes, you can EQ it, yes you can blend the dry sound... the problem is that if you blend the dry sound with a bad sounding fizzy overdrive noise... well, that's what you get.
All in my experience and opinion, of course
I find the character of that overdrive far too harsh. It's my second least favourite OD pedal for bass. The absolute worst (in my experience, I'm sure there are worse!) was the Behringer BOD100.

There are enough people who like it. Great. But so far they seem to be clearly metal oriented... and there's a lot more to bass overdrive than metal.
That's why I preferrd the Digitech Bass Driver to the Boss ODB3: it can do a similar sound to an ODB3, but it can also do warmer sounds that work well in other styles.

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='1140217' date='Feb 24 2011, 06:11 PM']Do you think so? Why?[/quote]


In that forum, anything with the MusicMan label is almost as 'though it were handcrafted by God herself, and should not be tampered with.

I believe the Taliban use the forum in their training.

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='1140141' date='Feb 24 2011, 04:46 PM']I tried the mod only with temporary wiring. I am waiting for a spare control plate to use for this mod. When I receive it and I implemented the mod, I'll try to record a couple of clips.[/quote]


subscribed and awaiting impatiently

I'm in the process of converting an OLP MM2 into fretless (waiting for my luthier to finish the neck). It will inherit the 2EQ preamp from my 2002 Stingray (which now has a John East preamp)... so I'm very interested.

Could you post any clips to illustrate the effects of the mods (any or all variations welcome )?

[quote name='setekh' post='1139402' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:32 PM']I disagree. After plugging it in it is clear that the pickups are somewhat thin, but otherwise my strat is as good as the P.

The strings it came were god awful too. The sound was akin to a monkey being stabbed...with a spoon. New strings improved the sound greatly (though it was still not perfect, but I can live with that).[/quote]


I liked the slightly disturbing sound comparison...

as for the quality, I hasten to add that I do not own one, I haven't touched pne, I haven't even seen one in the flesh, so i can't possibly comment (I'll leave that to somebody else )
I was merely summarising the impression received from previous posts.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1138956' date='Feb 23 2011, 06:15 PM']The Lomenzo version is great too! I'd like to A/B the Hyperdrive and the Hydrive,

i might actually when i get some more monies at the end of the month...[/quote]

The one I have (Hyperdrive) is the James Lomenzo one. I didn't know there was a "Hydrive" one too. Are they trying to confuse us???

If you compare them I'd be interested to hear what you think.

[quote name='Conan' post='1135560' date='Feb 21 2011, 02:52 PM']I am looking at joining a new covers band. There are a few in the area that sound interesting, but a lot of them plays songs where the bass features some sort of gritty, grungey or overdriven sound.

My backline set-up is very powerful, but very clean. The LH500 only has a volume control, not separate gain and master level controls - so overdriving it is not feasible.

So the question is, which pedal should I be looking at? I don't want to spend too much and am happy to buy second-hand.

Recommendations please?[/quote]


The Ashdown Hyperdrive (don't let the "James Lomenzo" signature scare you ) is really very very good. Around £75 new, and used £40-45.

Don't trust the youtube videos. Yes, the sound on the videos is achievable, but it can do a lot more, and a lot better.

I've tried a lot of pedals over the years, and this is the first one that really sounded great to me, keeping a great definition and a fat bass bit with a good distorted edge, not just a swarm of angry wasps on top of the bass sound or a farty bass.

Regarding some of the others mentioned here that I have owned or still own...

The MXR M80 is very good, but the distortion doesn't do subtle well.
The MXR Blowtorch is very interesting, again not subtle, but great for some quasy-synth type of noises.
The Digitech Bad Monkey is okay as a mild overdrive. But the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive (Cool Cat) is a similar pedal, a bit cheaper, that works substantially better.
The Boss bass overdrive is... horrible. Unless you want always tons of ultra fuzzy distortion, this is not a good one.

I like the Ibanez PD7, not mentioned here. It's not a great pedal, but I like its ability to add just some "metallic grit" on top of the undistorted bass using its clean setting wth the attack switch set at 1. Think of RHCP "By the way", the bit in the midle when the bass is left alone... you get a very similar sound. It does many other things, but that's the one I like best.
The Digitech Bass Driver is a good substitute for the Boss overdrive, in that it gets much more useable sounds, and actually has some useable mild overdrive tones too, but it overlaps a lot with the Boss, so I prefer the Digitech.

But the Ashdown Hyperdrive wins. Only problem is that it's huge. But you could use it to defend yourself if you're being mugged

[quote name='edstraker123' post='1138978' date='Feb 23 2011, 06:29 PM']Picked one up today - flawless transluscent blue finish with a maple neck. It was unplayable out of the shop but a new set of strings and a bit of set up and it's amazing for the money. As the first post said if you'd have paid £200 you wouldn't be disappointed. Now should I buy one of the strats ??????[/quote]


the consensus seems to be that the guitars are nowhere near as good as the basses...

[quote name='Magnolia' post='1139054' date='Feb 23 2011, 07:44 PM']I have just been told that both a fretless and 5'er will be with us in April.

Both, I shall be getting [/quote]


yum!

I shall have cash set aside for a fretless then!
in black!!

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1137267' date='Feb 22 2011, 04:22 PM']I dont believe it!! I,ve just checked the tracking number and they say that I have refused delivery! apparently they tried to deliver it last wednesday morning at 8am and I refused it!! No card through the letter box nothing!!!
Bloody Parcelfarce!! I,ll have to go and pick it up now from their sodding depot!! [/quote]


One wednesday am I hear something being put through my letter box. No bell, nothing. A few mins later I go to check and I find a note from ParcelFarce, dated *monday* saying they attempted delivery but i wasn't home, so they'd try again *wednesday*. The cheek!

But UKmail is by far the worst around here. In addition, their "local" depot is 25 miles away.
I've already *twice* called them to make sure they keep my parcel there so that i collect in person, to save me hassle... and get there to find they took my parcel out anyway.

[quote name='Sibob' post='1139207' date='Feb 23 2011, 09:23 PM']Actually, saying this.....I've decided.....getting paid isn't for the playing for me....getting paid is for the rest of the rubbish I have to put up with lol[/quote]


100% agreed.

Playing is the fun part. The other stuff is what I want to be paid for!

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='1138397' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:53 AM']If anyone is still trying to get hold of a Ryder bass, there is a Red one with a maple fretboard sat in the window of the Thetford shop.[/quote]


Go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(hmmm, red...)

Have you thought about maybe adding some kind of distortion pedal?

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1137822' date='Feb 22 2011, 10:12 PM']But then again, does the bass sound suffer from the bridge being slightly misaligned? Is there a point where if starts messing things up? I ask as I imagine the magnetic field of the pickups is spread around to a certain extent. My Squier P/J has a misaligned bridge, but otherwise sounds fine.[/quote]

Yes, I think it's in most cases purely aesthetic, as it does not affect the sound or playability. But the OP is right: it's not a hard thing to achieve, it just needs some attention... and you'd expect that basses above a certain price would have been a bit more carefully made.
It's usually teh bridge... but sometimes it's actually the neck needing to be realigned, on bolt-on basses. A bass will still be fine without a perfect alignment, as long as you don't get a string too close to teh edge and the polepieces roughly align... but it does not look tidy.

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1137762' date='Feb 22 2011, 09:28 PM']drummers never do. you have to tie them to the kick drum.[/quote]

not all of then. I met one once to have a little jam, and I didn't even get to play my bass before we...
but that's another story!

Yet it's true that they're all crazy.
Which can be pretty cool sometimes

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1137850' date='Feb 22 2011, 10:30 PM']Oh No what have I let myself in for?! [/quote]


Noted.

I also noted that you seemed to know a thing or two about repairing rust damage in the bodywork of a car.

and your Stingrays...

if you were a woman I'd ask you out.

You could also check out SX basses. Find out if there's a distributor in Portugal. If not, there is one in Spain (google SX musicasa). The delivery prices are not much within Spain, and I suspect it'll be similar with Portugal. They have some really cool Stingray style and jazz type basses.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1137972' date='Feb 23 2011, 12:10 AM']Those are both going to be eBay or similar only nowadays. If you must go for new certainly a Squier Jazz bass of some description but I'm not sure about a practice amp? a lot of people on here like behringer combos I personally have found them awful compared to similar priced ones.[/quote]

I have a Behringer BXL450A that I find *excellent* as a practice amp. It sounds great. Not "great for the money", no, simply "great". I really like it. I could play the Ashdown or TC Electronic, but at home it's the Behringer I go to. It cost me just over £100 new from Thomann (google for Thomann, it's a german shop that have reaosnable prices and delivery is cheap) several years ago.
The problem is it will not do for rehearsal. It's just 45W and if there's a drummer, I'd have to crank it to the max and it will still not be enough.
If you want something you can use also for rehearsal with a full band, you're going to need something more powerful.

I'd look to see what's available second hand. You never know. My first bass rig was a 300W Behringer BX3000 head with a 2x10" speaker cabinet... both cost me just £100 and were like new. It was not fantastic, but it did the job and was only £100. Then as time passed and was able to afford better things I did buy better things. Those heads (and the 450W version) tend to be quite cheap. Usually undr £100 used. They sound good. I have recently bought a 300W rated 4x10" Peavey VT cab for £75.
I'd look around to see what's available in the used market, and buy something that does the job. Buying used, you will not lose money when you start realising what it is that you really need/want and decide to sell it to buy something else. That woudl be my recommendation. It worked pretty well for me.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1137931' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:33 PM']OLP stingray copy and a Peavey TNT combo would be a good combination to get the bass pumping within budget plus that amp although a bit heavy should do you for medium sized gigs for a good while too.[/quote]


what he said.

You can get a lot of mileage out of an OLP.
And yes, definitely second hand. Chances are you'll be wanting to change bass/amp often while you're learning what type of bass you really like etc, and buying second hand makes the process much less painful in your pocket, as you can pretty much sell without losing money, if you're just a bit careful.

I don't get this excited about many pedals... but this little one (actually it's huge) surpassed all my expectations.

I've tried many overdrive/distortions, and got a few to work well for me, but never great. This really is a great pedal. It maintains the definition and low end, and you can really allow it to be as thick and/or as cutting as you like with the "Q" knob... Having a heavy distortion is not so difficult. I can get that with many others. But this pedal does a great "just a bit of grit" thick sound that still sounds like a bass, if you know what I mean. The type of distortion that you don't really know you are using distortion unless you hear the bass alone. I have just returned from my first rehearsal with it, and... I think I'm in love.

And it's not expensive.

If you are looking for an overdrive pedal that can do from "just a bit fat" to "I'm so metal I eat small children for breakfast" type of sounds... check this one out. I haven't found a video online that does it justice, so try if for yourselves... and fall in love (or not! )

That's all.