Wil

Carol Kayes' J on Pet Sounds/SMiLE does it for me. Edit - might be a P, actually.

Status necks are nice bits of kit. I've had an aftermarket one which was fitted to my current P mongrel, but didn't like the sound at all, if anything with this bass it sounded quite muddy. All those frequencies ringing through that the wood neck deadens, perhaps? I now use a mighty mite maple neck and it's perfect. The S2 classic I owned was clear as a bell though, so I guess they suit some instruments better than others.

I've started to come round to the idea that most amps of 300 watts upwards and a decent cab will blend nicely with a drummer. After that, if the guitarists are drowning you out, they need to turn down, simple as that - your sound will be so much easier to manage on a live stage, especially in smaller venues. Of course, getting guitarists to turn down isn't always easy, but getting into a volume war turns things mushy quite quickly IME...

My band went into the fantastic Bink Bonk studios in Bristol for a few days this week and laid down a few songs. I'm very pleased with the results (we had three days to do three tracks, so they're by no means perfect, but not bad!). Great viby studio and the chap who runs it really knows his onions. [url="http://dirtybreak.bandcamp.com"]http://dirtybreak.bandcamp.com[/url]

All my basses are 4s and they're all set up for BEAD. For me it's more useful than a 4 strung traditionally, and I don't really miss the G at all. Go for it.

Bjork - Biophilia Apart from a couple of weak tracks (not fond of 4,5 & 6) it's great, love it. Animal Collective - Meriweather Post Pavillion Got this without having heard them before, but really like it. Sounds a biit like the Beach Boys in space.

I've been listening to Biophilia this week - really like it, some very interesting sounds/beats. Thunderbolt, Virus and Sacrifice are standouts for me.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjmRPbwJEPo[/media] Music doesn't get much better than this, IMO. Impossibly wonderful.

I quite liked Dancer in the Dark, but whether that's because I'm a Bjork fan anyway I'm unsure... interesting musical arrangements none the less, and wasn't expecting the end to be quite so, well, dark!

This is my favourite Bjork tune at the moment. All done with just the human voice (as far as I know) - fantastic. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIP1vtEPWqk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIP1vtEPWqk[/url]

Any artist who uses a synth with a working tesla coil attached is ok in my book. Definitely my favourite "whale voiced icelandic uber pixie".

Love Bjork, and haven't heard that remix album so I'll give it a spin later when I get a chance to listen properly. Looking forward to Biophillia a lot.

I love making music, and bass is great, but I don't love it any more than I love any other instrument really. It has it's perks, but also in a band context it has it's downsides, occasionally I long to be behind a guitar, keyboard or even a drumkit.

My S2 didn't have a logo on the headstock either. Awesome bass regardless.

B on the E string. I always go to it when I pick up a bass, for some reason. Sounds fat.

I've owned both, and besides the shape, they were totally different animals really. I can't comment on the thinner Warwick necks, but mine had a far squarer profile than the Spector neck, and to be honest felt a bit clubby. The Warwick (Streamer Jazzman) didn't sound quite as modern/punchy (different pickup config though so not really a fair comparison anyway), but it had it's own character which I liked. I found the Spector (a Korean made NS20005) to be better built than the German Warwick, however, I had several issues with the tuners being loose and screws falling out, from new. YMMV. *Just read Chris' post, can't really argue with any of that!

Any chance of a choice of skins to use in the future? The current one looks nice an' all, but with the big margins I find myself scrolling more than I'd like.

[quote name='silddx' post='1359647' date='Sep 2 2011, 11:18 AM']I completely agree with this and probably should have made that a bit clearer in my OP. I've been playing for over 30 years and have a well developed ear and pretty decent technique. The primary tool for my musical endeavours is my musical sense, taste, compositional skills, and my personal way of expressing all these. The less I play, the brighter the beacon of music is in my mind. When the beacon increases its luminosity it inspires me to do focused practice on my weaknesses because I have a compulsion to play something that's in my mind, or that is required by one of my bands. A tiny revelation can spark this off. I played in my studio for about three and a half hours last night on electric and acoutsic guitar, drums, and lastly, about half an hour of bass just sitting on the sofa with no amplification. I was doing things on the bass I have never done before, interesting challenging things that I theoretically don't understand, and it inspired me even more![/quote] Like. This is what it's all about for me - giving the music in your head a chance to pour out of it's own accord.

[quote name='THEACEOFBASS' post='1077319' date='Jan 4 2011, 02:57 PM'][url="http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=5"]http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?...2&subItem=5[/url] i love the blockfish(not just on a bass)[/quote] floorfish is pretty handy too (I've been using it recently to gate a kick and snare drum that had a lot of spill). Nice and intuitive.

I once spent £1500 on a new Status. It was lovely, but as a tool it wasn't worth that much to me so I sold it on. Now, I wouldn't spend over £500, ideally less. I'm perfectly happy in terms of tone and feel with my parts bass, which came in at under £200.

Could it be a result of digital recording - more frequencies from each instrument are present and potentially taking up sonic space in the mix? Plus modern music is more likely to include synths, distorted guitars etc.

Is comb filtering that almost metallic sounding effect that occurs with short delays? (Yes, I realise "metallic" isn't a useful way of describing a sound but it's all I can think of to describe it )

I find myself taming my own sound when mixing my band's stuff. As much as I like a bit of character, it's pretty tricky to retain that without overpowering the other instruments I find.

Ah! I first read about the effect on a site that suggested times of 30 to 40ms, so I've not experimented with much below 30. I'll give it a go later, the mix is still very much a WIP.