paul_5

Today has been mainly random early RHCP (freaky styley / Mother's Milk era) and Primus. Radio 4 in the car.

'Sup lowenders, I've just finished building a 4 string fretless bass out of bits and pieces. My main bass is a 5-string, which I love playing. I'm a huge Primus fan, and so love the sound of a low B on the fretless, but don't want to sacrifice top end. Tomorrow I'll take a tiny file to the nut of my "Desibass" and tune it Low 'B', Low 'E' , then tune what would be the D and G to E and A respectively (the two 'E' strings being an octave apart). I figure that this will let me keep the low boom and still have the ability to do some "Palladino" sliding up the dusty end. I figure this way I can keep the chordal approach going too, as the root, fifth and third should fall readily under the fingers in one position. Granted I'll lose an open 'A' strings, but I don't really play much AC/DC, so shouldn't be too much of an issue... Any suggestions or thoughts on alternative tunings would be greatly appreciated.

My big thing at the moment (with two children 3 and under, so every minute counts) is to play major and minor scales going up in 4ths (G, A, B, C then A, B, C, D etc...) for about ten mins,then come back down again trying to vary positions (i.e. trying to make the notes land in different places). Then I just roll off the front pickup and play chordal stuff way up the neck. Not really got time to dig out and set up a 'nome, so it's pretty much rubato, but works for me. I try to do some reading too, but the kitchen table (my practice room and occasional work/solder shop) isn't always free... I work in a music college too, so lunch hours I'll lock myself in a practice room to shed some wood. For me it's all about making the most of the time I have.

Cool thread, I've just bought an old knackered Cry Baby from ebay to do exactly this. Cheers for the links.

Do it. It's loads of fun and really keeps the old grey matter going. Plus you can still tinker with stuff even when it's "finished"; you can pretty much guarantee that no-one else will sound like you too. Which is nice. Also the skills that you develop will enable you to fix / mod shop bought stuff should you ever need to. I used to have a book (came with a floppy demo 45rpm record thingy) called 'electronic projects for musicians' which was cool for loads of hobby/project stuff, which taught me a thing or two about circuit design. If you fancy I've got a couple of circuit diagrams (Wooly mammoth and Russian Big Muff clones) if you fancy a fuzz project. Arguably this is the place to start, as they're generally not very complicated. Running on 9v also means that they're not going to kill you should you get something wrong (terminal annoyance aside).

Thanks for the reply. Loads of good ideas here, and to be honest I had thought about doing pretty much what you suggested, so it just confirms the way to go.

Hell's teeth! looks like something threw up in there. Mine's an SVP preamp, and to be fair, everything looks a whole lot neater than yours.

my Ampeg SVP (and probably all valve amps) has two black wires running from the transformer (at the back of the amp) to the front of the amp (power switch) these NEED to be twisted together for their whole length otherwise it buzzes like crazy. Something that's really easy to check and easy to fix. Not sure if it's relevant but I'm replying just in case.

Hi All, I've already posted this in the 'effects' category, which means that loads of people have read it, but so far no response. I've got an old CE2B this i need to up the rate of the chorus sound on for a more "lesley" effect. I've been searching around for how to do this, and apparently it's possible by replacing two resistors. I've got circuit diagrams and I think I know which ones to alter, but not sure about the values of the new resistors. Any experiential/educated guesses would be appreciated.

Hey Y'all. Anyone know value of resistor to do the "lesley/rotary" mod. I believe it's just one resistor to increase the maximum speed of the "rate" control. If memory serves then it's the 47k one that jumpers 2 pins on the IC, but can't remember which value worked the best. Any takers?

[quote name='Tuco' post='1000799' date='Oct 26 2010, 07:57 AM']+1[/quote] +2. had one years ago and sold it (mistake). Recently walked into a (fairly) local music shop looking for an analogue chorus and a mate of the guy who was working there had an OC2 for sale. I think it's an accurate description of the transaction to say that I bit his hand off. Simply the BEST chorus pedal I've ever use. Ever. Not letting this one go.

3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator - 3 Adrenalinn II - 1 Aguilar Agro - 1 Aguilar Octamizer - 1 Akai Unibass - 1 AMT Slap Bass -1 Ashdown Chorus - 1 Ashdown Drive Plus - 2 Asdown dual band compressor - 2 Ashdown sub octave plus - 1 Barge Concepts VFB-2 - 1 Behringer chorus - 1 Boss CE-2 - 2 Boss CEB3 - 1 Boss DD-20 - 2 Boss DS-1 - 1 Boss LS-2 - 5 Boss OC-2 - 8 Boss ODB-3 - 3 Boss SL-20 -1 Boss SYB 3 - 2 Boss TU2 - 5 Boss TU-12H - 1 Boss chorus ensemble CE-5 - 2 Bugbrand Bugcrusher - 1 Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer - 1 Devi Ever Hyperion - 1 Devi Ever Cherry Pop - 1 Devi Ever SodaMeiser - 1 Digitech Whammy - 2 Dunlop Bass Cry Baby - 3 DHA VT2 - 3 EBS Octabass - 1 EBS Multicomp - 2 EHX Memory Man with Hazarai - 1 EBS Unichorus - 1 EHX Bass Micro Synth - 4 EHX Big Muff Pi (Black Russian) - 2 EHX Octave Multiplexer - 1 EHX POG2 - 1 EHX Small Stone Nano - 1 EHX Qtron+ - 3 Ernie Ball VP-Jr - 1 Fishman Platinum Pro EQ -1 Guyatone MD-3 delay - 1 Guyatone PS-3 Phase Shifter - 1 HBE Psilocybe -1 Ibanez PD7 Phat-Hed Bass Overdrive - 1 Ibanez SB 7 - 1 Ibanez WD7 Weeping Demon - 1 Korg DT-10 - 1 Korg Pitchblack - 2 Line 6 M9 - 2 Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live - 1 Line 6 DL4 - 1 MarkBass Super Synth - 1 Marshall Jackhammer - 1 Maxon CP9+ - 1 Mojo Hand Cream Pie - 1 Moog MF-101 - 3 Moog MF-102 - 1 Moog MF-105b - 1 Moog MF-107 - 2 Moog MP-201 - 1 Mr Zinky Master Blaster - 1 MXR Blowtorch - 3 [b]MXR M-80 DI+ -4[/b] ProCo Tubro Rat - 2 Radial Bassbone - 1 Rocktron Cyborg Reverb - 1 Sansamp Bddi - 5 SFX Micro Fuzz - 1 SFX S&M - 1 Subdecay Noise Box - 1 TC Electronics PolyTune - 2 TC Electronics Nova Modulator - 1 Tech 21 VT Bass - 2 Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe - 3 Toadworks Mr Squishy - 1 Way huge swollen pickle - 1 Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth - 2 Z.Vex Mastotron - 1 [/quote]

[quote](NB: item bought from Soundslive - a company I've bought from many times. A bit disappointed then that they were very quick off the mark when I was on the 'phone wanting to buy, but clearly a punter who is not entirley happy with his purchase is a bit of an inconvenience to them....... Big difference to The Academy of Sound who bent over backwards when my Ashdown went tits up, & gave me all my money back (in warranty) when they ran out of options)[/quote] Interesting that you've had an Ashdown that went the way of all flesh; I had one for just under two weeks, did two gigs and some studio work and it started falling apart (still sounded great though), so took it back (again to Academy of Sound) who did the same for me. Genuinely helpful chaps. Haven't bought Ashdown kit since.

[quote name='philipleonard' post='1013611' date='Nov 5 2010, 06:44 PM']I never used to be much of an effects guy, thought compresssion and chorus would be more than enough. So I bought them, and then thought "what about a bit of overdrive/distortion?". Before I knew it my pedals justified getting a board to house them in. So here it is my first pedal board.[/quote] At last your journey to the dark side is complete.

Hmm, I'm guessing from these responses that my blowtorch sounds a bit more "Raaaaa!" than everyone else's. Maybe it's because I'm using mine through a preamp into protools instead of through a speaker. I think I'll have to crank up my amp soon to see what it sounds like through that...

[quote name='Salt on your Bass?' post='1006207' date='Oct 30 2010, 11:17 AM']My first board! just got the PT2 and EHM Memory man with hazarai from my good lady for my birthday!! Great stuff!! Looking at getting a Pitchblack, and maybe swapping out the blowtorch for something else....but not sure.....definitely got the bug!!! Also thinking about th EHX Freeze. Using the velcro from the PT2 at the moment, and seems all good - nothing seems to move!! So the order: Weeping Demon>VT Bass Deluxe>Blowtorch>TC Nova Modulator>Ehx Memory Man with hazarai....all goes to a shuttle 9 and a coupla barefaced cabs. Love it!! [attachment=62556:Pedal_Board.jpg] [/quote] My suggestion is to keep the blowtorch for extreme overdrive and get a gentler distortion pedal for 'everyday' use. In my experience the Ashdown drive plus is a nice 'clean' distortion; just enough to cut through a busy mix etc... The blowtorch tends to just do varying degrees of "chainsaw", which isn't always what you want (though it's worth it to see the guitarist look round as you fire it up: .Priceless!).

If you switch the distortion circuit on then it does a startlingly good copy of 'Sexy Boy' by Air. As a self-proclaimed "punk dude" that probably doesn't help much... Sorry. +1 for "psycho sexy" - simply an incredible tune. Also try "Naked in the Rain" from the same album. Flea doesn't play with one on this track, but the line works just as well if you want to rub some extra funk on it.

To be fair, I changed my valve for a tonal variation on some recordings, and the noise reduction was a welcome side effect. I think you're right about the nise from the pedal board - currently up to 6 different distortion pedals etc...

I've got the LH1000 and found that replacing the valve with one of higher quality made a difference. Also attenuating the horn in my 4x10 reduced the hiss too. I also found that I had some noise from the effects board too (not using the FX loop of the amp though). I'm not entirely sure whether I eliminated all of it as I've recently been using a compressor with a built in gate which has killed ANY background noise, maybe not the solution for everyone, but worked for me.

IMO go for it. Peavey bass amps (particularly the TNT stuff) are the 'ford mondeo' of the bass world. They're not likely to ever set the world on fire, and might be considered a bit bland, but they'll run forever and with some careful setting can sound really good. They're pretty much bombproof too.

I'm definately getting one of these!! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WcsV7hQ1V4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WcsV7hQ1V4[/url] In fact, I'm so impressed that I'm toying with ditching all the jazz and moving exclusively into Black Metal...

[quote name='Geoff' post='994760' date='Oct 20 2010, 01:23 PM']I dont know if this is the right forum for this, but i'm currently making my own distortion pedal, just as a little project to get my electronics back up to scratch, however I cant find a box to house the circuit in. Has anyone here ever made thier own stompboxes and knows where I can get the boxes from? Another question ive got is whether Germanium diodes are really that much smoother sounding distortion wise, then a Silicon one?[/quote] I've bought cast metal boxes from maplin before now, but there are cheaper places to shop. On the subject of Ge vs Si diodes then yes. I first fell into electronics by modding a Russian Big Muff (replacing input cap etc..) but the BIG difference was swapping the stock diodes for germanium ones. The difference was like night and day - a really smooth, rich fuzz. Careful though, the germanium diodes are housed in a little glass case of Arsenic. My better half wasn't too pleased when I cracked one at the kitchen table...

Hey Y'all my pedalboard is now at the point where either replace my huge Qtron with something similar (expensive option), buy a bigger board (again, more expense) or have a stab at rehousing it in a smaller box (some expense, but not a lot). Does anyone have any experience of stuff like this? I'd appreciate any thoughts / advice / jokes.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='984847' date='Oct 11 2010, 08:21 PM']I happen to know that a 5 string Alembic Epic fretless has just come up for sale for £600 on the boards...! [/quote] My first fretless was a cheap (75 notes) chipboard that I defretted, filled, sanded and varnished. Cheap and cheerful and also 'disposable' if I didn't take to it. This might not be for everyone, but it worked for me. If Jesus played bass, then it would be fretless.

[quote name='Rayman' post='981947' date='Oct 8 2010, 07:46 PM']One of my favourite players Yolanda Charles swears by her Blade Jazz, not sure of the model, but having had a quick go on it I can confirm it's beautiful. I really don't know much about Blade basses, but I'd love to know more.[/quote] Their website is here. [url="http://www.bladeguitars.com/bassgallery.html"]http://www.bladeguitars.com/bassgallery.html[/url] Currently only 4 models in production and not every music shop stocks them (or can get hold of them). I bought mine unseen from HW music in Bolton, Lancashire who deal with their distributors. Have never regretted taking such a risk. Hope this is helpful Paul