mcnach

"I only use the Fender when I have a good recording engineer" (no, I never said anything like that, but I'd love to see the reaction) (and no, nobody ever asked me that, but I'm not a session bassist, in all of my recording sessions we were the client so they do what we want them to)

Bar manager: "the bass is too loud" Me: "... It's not switched on yet, I'm still setting up" BM: "yeah but it looks loud, that's a big speaker" Me: "luckily, I've brought a volume control with me tonight" (grin) BM: (stares blankly) ... and you realise you have another 4 hours before you can leave, FML.

awesome, thank you!

Ooh, that's intriguing and looks perfect! It's tiny, I can easily mount it into some tiny box and fix it next to the power supply on the board... for that price it's worth a punt, thank you!!!

I was the same. Then I started liking Precisions ("Forget me nots" is largely to blame, that slapped Precision tone is deliiiiicious) and I've largely bent my Precisions to comply with my desires. Now, Precisions work for me too and no longer get lost like they used to. I think @drTStingray is probably right in that it's a combination of the inherent characteristics of the bass, plus everything else we do to achieve our sound, from preamps, pedals etc, to the way we actually play. Bottomline is, if I need to fight a bass in order to get the sound I want from it... that's not a bass for me. So I get that some people get frustrated with their Stingray and move on (many people, judging by the number of reports on threads like these). It is a real issue for many. It's probably like the "Jazz basses sound too mid-scooped and get lost". It is partially true: you *can* get that kind of sound out of a Jazz... but as many players illustrate, you don't necessarily have to have that issue. The difference is that, for some reason, Fender Jazz lovers don't seem to react so aggressively to that kind of comments, while MM Stingray lovers are more likely to act offended in some way... I don't know. PS: I am primarily a Stingray player. I love that bass, but I'm ok if someone else hates theirs.

It depends entirely on the band and speaker cabs available. I've used 150-200W amplifiers very effectively. But watts are cheap these days, so I'd also prefer at least a 500W, just to be safe although it looks like we'd be increasing cost/complication when the OP is not even sure he'll have that need, and a 500W through a single small cab (I'm assuming, we haven't been told) may not be the best idea, because it can only output so much volume, and there will be the temptation to crank the amp beyond that which will only result in heating it up, not getting louder. I used the TCE BAM200 (the tiny, cheap, 200W one) with full band (8 piece) using an Orange 410 cab. It won't startle seismograph operators in the vicinity but it can do 'loud enough'. It's surprisingly ballsy. I'd probably choose the BH250 over it, for the OP, 'though. Not because of the additional 50W, which I doubt will make any significant difference, but because it's only £60 more (£189 vs £129) and it's only marginally larger, but it has an aux input, a mute switch, and a built-in tuner, which the BAM200 lack. Also, the BH250 is the amplifier at one of the local open mic places and I've heard it in action many times [*] and it's not bad at all. [*] It's an open mic, but the evening typically sees a couple of bands playing short sets (40 mins or so), so it's pretty varied. My band has played there many times, BH250 plus a 210 cab or sometimes a 410. It's a pretty cool little amp.

I'm not sure I follow... I've got a 9V supply, I need it to go down to 5V (I mention USB because it's the most common alternative, and the clock works if powered that way). It's not so much to find a specific type of connector, but to get the right voltage. I looked for similar clocks but didn't find the right one working at 9V, which would make my life easier. If I find one that's an alternative too, I don't need to stick to the one I found.

Brilliant! Bonus points for thinking outside the box I can probably use one of those power banks they sell to charge mobile phones while on the move, and there are some pretty small ones that would have plenty of juice to power a clock for an evening. Not only they're about £10-25 depending on the charge they can hold, but I may have already one (I have a biggish one, a bit bigger than a modern phone, and 2-3x as thick, that holds a lot of charge... but I also have somewhere a much smaller one that can charge my phone entirely a couple of times, it might just work!) Thank you for the idea I'd still prefer something that is powered together with my pedals (the clock has a battery just to keep the time internally when main power is off), as this would be one more thing to remember (to charge it), but it's not terrible.

eeek! > £200!!! But it's a good call, I didn't think of power supplies that come with a USB outlet... Hopefully there will be something simpler around. The DC7 looks like a great unit with LOTS of power on tap, but it's way over-spec'd for my needs and I don't want to spend £200 to replace my power supplies just so that I can power a digital clock... when a £5 travel analog alarm clock will probably do the job just as well. edit: hmmm, my Voodoo Labs power supply has a 'sag' control on one or two of the outputs, allowing me to reduce the output (supposedly to simulate the effect that well-used batteries have on some effects) and I'm pretty sure it goes down to 4V... It's on my big board which doesn't get as much use (well, since March zero :D) but... yeah, that can work there. I still would like to find a suitable alternative for my other smaller boards

Busted! 🤣

To ensure we stick to the times etc. A clock discreetly bundled in the pedalboard looks better than us looking at our watches or even a phone, but in general I thought it'd be good to be able to tell the time discreetly. I'll probably just use something like this (simple, cheap, batteries last long), but if I can find a simple way to power a digital unit it might be nicer:

Nice! But isn't that USB only to transmit data (firmware updates and the like... although I'm not sure what kind of updates a tuner needs, hmmm)

well, I missed that, so I'm glad it was mentioned here again. It's an important detail, for me especially, as I tend to put away any power supplies that come with any pedals etc and use a separate multi power supply for everything.

Does it exist? I've seen many pedals, typically tuners, that give you an additional (or several) 9V DC outputs so you can power other pedals from it. I would like to power a little clock that can live on my board, which requires a typical USB 5V connection. I'd like to avoid having a separate power supply, has anybody seen some FX unit that provide a USB out for powering other gear? Or a 9V->5V converter if that's small enough that I can maybe put it under the board next to the supply? I'll probably end up using one of those basic 'analog' little alarm clocks running on batteries, but I'm curious to see if other alternatives might be possible.

It just feels like the body template slipped and when they realised it, they had 1427 of these bodies... "ah, sod it, we'll say we meant it all along"

my thoughts exactly... It's a difficult time for journalists of all kinds, I suppose.

to whom?

well, it's Phoebe Bridgers after all... "who?" exactly

Only if one string were between poles and the others were on the poles, surely Having all between the poles doesn't really tell you that there's a difference between aligned and not aligned strings over the poles. (not that it worries me, but if that's the point they're trying to make, this does not address it)

I hear that, and understand why you say it... I just don't hear any effect when I try to move the strings off centre until I am very far off, that's all.

I'm not sure, personally: when I bend strings, I have to bend really far before I notice a change in output (shrug). I haven't noticed a weak G myself, but with such widely reported 'complaints', I can't simply dismiss them. But I have no idea what the issue really is, let alone a cure.

I would consider a TCE BAM200. It's only £130, it sounds good, it's good enough at home, and powerful enough should they need a bit more oomph down the line. And it's tiny tiny tiny. It has a headphone out but not aux in, but at the price, I'd consider buying a small mixer (even one of those Yamaha SoundCake units) so you can put an mp3 player through it (which could easily be bluetooth). Although the BH250 is not much bigger, not much more expensive, and it has the aux in plus a built-in tuner which it's bound to come handy especially as a beginner.

I was a young kid, in the times before internet (but just after dinosaurs were extinct so we never overlapped) and the only way I had to find out about various bands out there was listening to the radio (very few dedicated rock shows), and sharing among friends... and sometimes just taking a punt on something. I was at the local record store looking for I can't remember what, which they didn't have, and I could not go home empty-handed. I knew of Michael Schenker and was curious... but the MSG section was empty. Then I remembered UFO. They had only Force It (1975) and Strangers in the night (1979). I bought Force It because it was cheaper. Getting home, putting the album on... Let it roll starts... and I was hooked before we got to the first solo. I wore out that album. Then I bought Strangers in the night, and I was a UFO fan ever since. I don't listen to them a lot these days, but they're always going to be up there for me. True no nonsense rock and roll band.

2020 can go do one already, quite frankly

Same here. I've enjoyed watching him with Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, but I never listen to his solo stuff. However I enjoy these sessions he does with an audience, talking about various aspects of music/bass.