icastle

[quote name='yorick' post='1017699' date='Nov 9 2010, 03:38 PM']I like the "anti-dust carry bag"....... a bin liner with straps???? [/quote] I like the....... matching branded shoes!?! [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Lindo-Limited_Other/_i.html?LH_TitleDesc=1&lh_sellerwithstore=1&_fsub=1&_sasi=1&_sid=113303195&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Lindo-Limited_Oth...d=p4634.c0.m322[/url]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1017677' date='Nov 9 2010, 03:27 PM']One of the many great things about Basschat is that we cover a wide range of ages here & there will be people who remember Paul McCartney as a kid & further back than that. [/quote] Paul who? Nope, you got me there Burrito...

[quote name='tombboy' post='1017635' date='Nov 9 2010, 02:56 PM'][url="http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-bass/183525-markbass-voltage-selector-jumper.html"]This might help.[/url][/quote] Just the thing tombboy Lawrence - make sure your jumper looks like the one in the picture and you'll be sorted.

[quote name='Patster1969' post='1017602' date='Nov 9 2010, 02:37 PM']Thanks for that icastle, you are right in that I don't feel such an idiot if I get it wrong at home. Have been tempted to find some people to play with but worry that my lack of talent will be discovered all too quickly! My wife & teacher are always telling me that I need to give myself some slack, as can't expect to be brilliant straight off, but it's easier said than done. Don't worry that you've only been on here for a few days, appreciate the time to reply & kind words. Pat[/quote] There's nothing wrong in feeling an idiot - I've spent years practising that skill... It'd be interesting to find out what percentage of basses sold remain in bedrooms, I bet it's kinda high. As I said, it's a good practice method but has long term limitations. As for your percieved lack of talent, don't worry about it - there are drummers/guitarists/keyboard players/guatamalan anal flute players and goodness knows what else out there - probably thinking the exact same thing about themselves! Join them and stop them feeling lonely Be upfront and honest about what you can achieve at the moment and then there'll be nasty surprises for them will there? Not sure what sort of music scene you have near where you live but up here in the midlands there are loads of "plug and play" nights that welcome all musicians at all levels - perhaps track one down where you are and go along to a few of those to see what sort of standard you are playing to in comparison with others? I regularly go to three folk/roots type ones up here and am always happy to spend time helping "newbies" and the same is true with other experienced musicians as well - everyone supports and helps each other out. Track one down and I bet after a few visits you'll hook up with a couple of other people and be franticly practicing a tune or two to perform yourselves...

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1017544' date='Nov 9 2010, 02:02 PM']Hi all, I've just taken receipt of a US Markbass F1. I'm aware these can be converted to run at UK voltage, and the markbass manual details the fuses required for 100, 120,230 and 240V so that should be all good. Can anyone confirm exactly what the jumper switch change should be? I've seen that picture on the talkbass thread which seems to show an f1 but it's not all that clear, and I don't know if the jumper has alternative settings for 230 versus 240 volts. Also in case it's not obvious which fuse I should change, is it just the one referred to in the manual or should I look elsewhere? I'm assuming down-rating the fuse means changing is just a safety thing, it won't affect normal performance, is that correct? Thanks for any help! Lawrence[/quote] As far as your amp is concerned it doesn't care if it's 230V or 240V (mains is hardly ever exactly 240V). The usual scenario is that a jumper will have two positions - one position on the jumper will be labelled 110/120V and the other will be labelled 230/240V. [b]You need the 230/240V position.[/b] The fuse you need to change will just be the one referred to in the manual - the others will be on the other side of the transformer and will always stay the same. Fuses are passive devices, they have no effect on the sound or performance of your amp so yes, it's purely a safety thing. HTH

Hi Pat, I've only been here a couple of days so, for what it's worth coming from me, welcome Playing along with CD's gets you "private time" if you like; a place where you can experiment and get it wrong without feeling too bad. It also gives you a very solid platform to fall back onto if you start drifting. Playing with others though is totally different, teaches you to listen more carefully and develops a responsiveness to what is going on around you. It's also far easier to go for a pint together afterwards than it is to drag your CD player down the pub So my honest response would be - do both

[quote name='Wil' post='1017474' date='Nov 9 2010, 01:24 PM']I tend to play along with the music on television. Advert breaks can be quite hectic [/quote] LMAO - Why am I seeing a jazz funk version of Mr Sheen in my head

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1017390' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:23 PM']So you've got your flash bass and rig, you've got your band, and you play regularly, often stuck in a rut playing the same old same old... What do you do to improve your skills and aim to become a better player so you can move up to the next big thing? Scales, difficult licks from renown musicians, or what is your practice schedule if any? I am trying to go through a lot of music books and use a drum machine avidly trying to master difficult techniques, like 16th notes tempo's and anything by Jaco often realising that in a band when it comes to bass, less is usually more. I am puzzled as to what other people here do. Bear and share. Ta![/quote] I go for the most awkward method I can think of. I pick a youtube video at random, play along with it then pick a "related" tune and play that and just keep going. In a two hour session I can start off with the Hollies and end up with 10cc via Fleetwood Mac, Mike Oldfield, Lindisfarne, Joe Jackson and obscure spanish bands (hey, don't ask me - I just click on the pretty pictures!). No cheating by missing songs I've never heard of or don't like either...

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1017277' date='Nov 9 2010, 10:22 AM']Read this - just scroll past the big picture of City Hall & the two embarrased men and go to the article about pre-amp valves, or tubes. Myles Rose is one of the most knowledgeable gents out there when it comes to tubes & he's developed his own testing equipment for the proving thereof. [url="http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/09/most-critical-least-expensive-most.html"]http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/09/mos...nsive-most.html[/url] G.[/quote] I was gonna say all that but figured "some work better than others" kinda covered it Interesting read though.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1013802' date='Nov 5 2010, 10:08 PM']I know that the question has been asked before but is anyone gigging with a PA cab as a bass cab? Having ran a search, I see that some people have used them for rehearsing. I was thinking of getting a Peavey with a 15" driver. I recently went and watched a local covers band and the bass guy was going through the pa and was just using his combo as a monitor. Don`t get me wrong, they had a sound guy and were using Mackie active speakers for the foh but it got me thinking. Opinions/advice? Jez[/quote] I've used a Peavey HiSys 2XT with a beer towel stuffed in the flared horn to deaden it as part of an emergency rig before without any major problems.

[quote name='gary mac' post='1016973' date='Nov 8 2010, 10:14 PM'][url="http://www.relicdeluxe.com/default.asp"]http://www.relicdeluxe.com/default.asp[/url] Plenty of info on this site. At the moment I've got screws soaking in salt and another lot in vinegar as recommended by other BC'ers. Will check them out in the morning and let you know if it has achieved the desired effect. All the best, Gary[/quote] It's a damn good job I'm a well balanced individual - a lesser man would have suggested cow urine just for the sheer comic value of it...

[quote name='bobbytodd' post='1017123' date='Nov 9 2010, 06:32 AM']to be honest im glad its gone.ive had quite a few problems with the head and also the 15" cab.problems like the thermal protection cutting in poorly constructed pcb's bad solder joints.[/quote] Such as shame, they used to make such good kit that is still working 40+ years later.

[quote name='knicknack' post='1014708' date='Nov 6 2010, 08:02 PM']Hi All, I'm currently playing an active bass - but I'm not quite getting the tone/sound I want out of it. I have an outboard preamp on order (possibly for a different bass), and I was thinking of running the bass through this before sticking it into the Active input channel to see if the outboard pre gives me the tone I want. If I like the sound, will it damage the amp at all? Also, is this process normal?! Ultimately I am considering replacing the current active EQ and p/ups in the bass to something else, but I simply don't have the time or money for such a project at the moment. I just wondered what your thoughts are on an Active setup into an outboard pre and then the amp? Cheers[/quote] Running an active preamp into another active preamp is only normal insofar as your bass amp has an active preamp in it. I've never tried doing what you are suggesting but I'd say that daisy chaining two active preamps together and then feeding that into the preamp of your bass amp is going to result in some rather nasty distortion at best. If it was me doing it, I wouldn't

[quote name='Changles' post='1016807' date='Nov 8 2010, 07:43 PM']So the valve in my TD650 has come to the end of its life. I bought the amp second hand a few months back and the previous owner had put in a Marshall ec883. I don't know much about the different valves out there. Is this a good valve for a TD650? Or is anything better that I should buy? Does it even matter?! Give me a clue! Thanks Changles[/quote] Valves come in different grades, but essentially any ECC83 or 12AX7 will work but some work better than others. Marshall valves are rebranded Svetlana's if that's any help? Try [url="http://www.watfordvalves.com/"]http://www.watfordvalves.com/[/url] - I had a set of valves off them for an ENGL combo recently and they were happy to advise.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1016753' date='Nov 8 2010, 07:07 PM']I guess the rear sockets are useful if your using rack gear that also has rear sockets. It keeps it all neat on the front. Personally i would prefer it all around the back so the leads dont block quick access to the knobs on the fornt. Hmmm...That all sounds a bit pervy.[/quote] 'Course it sounds pervy - you're a bass player Don't get me wrong - sockets round the back are just fine for stuff that rarely gets used, it's just that my DI socket gets used all the while and would be easier if it was on the front. I guess the nearest analogy would be having the input sockets round the back - it would work but be bl**dy inconvenient...

[quote name='Count Bassie' post='1016742' date='Nov 8 2010, 07:02 PM']Hey, you know what you could do is... [/quote] Aaaargh! That's it - I'm gonna go wrap my head in aluminium foil...

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1016733' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:59 PM']Thanks everyone for this! I'm not as intellectual as some of this may seem, but I do like to write and I do like to think![/quote] Can't say I buy into your whole set of views (we are all different after all) but it is an elegant and eloquent argument

[quote name='LiamPodmore' post='1016724' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:54 PM']I've seen some people get around this by getting a short (1ft) XLR Extension and leaving it permanently plugged in, and taping the other end to the case, so its easier to access it to plug into. Might be an idea for you to try. Liam[/quote] LMAO - get out of my damn head Liam! I'm sat here halfway through making one now!

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1016662' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:20 PM'][i]"there are a great number of bass players I know who also want to distance themselves from the ‘quiet-but-reliable guy at the back’ image constructed by the media when writing about bassists"[/i] Constructed by the media or reflected by the media? Whichever, I'm actually quite content being the 'quiet-but-reliable-guy-at-the-back', (well, loud-but-reliable ), having never, ever, craved the limelight. And I don't use effects pedals. Does all that make me a disgrace to the fraternity?[/quote] Like you, I'm quite content to be reliable. I became a bass player so I wouldn't have to stand at the front and the first gig I ever played was in a cellar wine bar and all the audience could see of me was my left hand poking out from behind a pillar There's a Health & Safety issue as well, there's a risk of nasty chaffing if you fall off a pedestal

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1016539' date='Nov 8 2010, 04:32 PM']And someone would always say 'Well, he's not as good as...' despite what one thinks of oneself [/quote] Yes. That's exactly it. My philosophy on life has been that no matter how good you are at something there will [b]always[/b] be someone better at it than you. It keeps my feet on the ground and my head the right way up.

[quote name='PenrynJim' post='1016624' date='Nov 8 2010, 05:39 PM']Hi guys, I recently got a beautiful 2nd hand Hohner B2A, which I've been very happy with. I was due to set it up and on inspection, noticed two tiny bolts missing! They're the bolts that allow you to set the friction on the de-tuning lever and the de-tuning knob. I've found photos of them in this pdf document from the Steinberger site: [url="http://www.steinberger.com/images/DB.pdf"]http://www.steinberger.com/images/DB.pdf[/url] The bolts in question are photographed being adjusted in photos DB3 and DB4. Can anyone help me identify their exact size and type so I can hunt some replacements down, or even better does anyone know where I could get some from? Thanks in advance guys! Jim.[/quote] Hi Jim, Have you tried Hohner themselves? [url="http://www.hohner.eu/index.php5?2183"]http://www.hohner.eu/index.php5?2183[/url]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1016572' date='Nov 8 2010, 05:01 PM']I highly recommend it - although my biggest success so far has been punting a 1963 Watkins Rapier for £250. Paid £6 for it but it needed a [i]lot[/i] of restoration. J.[/quote] Cool I'm off to the bootfair to buy a pre CBS scrotumcaster... ... anyone know if they still make Letraset?

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1016364' date='Nov 8 2010, 02:08 PM']Hey guys, My recent blogpost deals with perceptions of hierarchy and how we use our equipment to establish it. [url="http://mrdfowens.tumblr.com/post/1515874283/effects-as-a-catalyst-for-consumerist-one-upmanship"]The blog is here[/url]. Please have a read and tell me if you agree / disagree. It certainly made me feel a bit dirty to be writing it. Dan[/quote] Dan, A well considered and analysed set of thoughts there. Couple of things jumped out as I was reading it... (very slowly as I'm not very clever ) [i]"These players want to make big strides towards new and interesting sounds in the same way I do, but the distance we put between ourselves and the perceived norm seems like a caricature of teenage rebellion". [/i] Isn't teenage rebellion an extended caricature of what makes humans human though? That stubborn streak that makes us want to prove to ourselves that we are all different (despite the fact we really don't need to)? History is made up of people who "did things differently" - Newton, Einstein, Ford, Thatcher - all went against the grain of accepted normality but you couldn't really class them as rebellious teens. [i]"We might buy instruments that look different, play through amplifier setups more akin to small PA systems rather than Ampeg 8x10s and build small forts for ourselves out of pedal boards and synthesizers, but is all of this necessary to create our sounds or is it indicative of the elitist attitude amongst us as a community?" [/i] As soon as more than one person has anything there will be differences - a Fender P looks fundementally like a Musicman at first glance to an untrained eye. As in all proffessions\hobbies, there will be people that amass enormous amounts of kit that seems pretty unnecessary to someone else. The last laugh is on the person who doesn't realise they are overkitted - it can easily empty your pockets quicker than you can fill them [i]"We try hard to make sure that when we get on stage, people know we’re different from the band on before us before we’ve even played a note. Perceived distance between ‘us’ and ‘them’ allows us to engage in the hierarchical nature of live music performance and revel in our own stature."[/i] But isn't that what makes music what it is? Western music at it's most fundamentally basic level is just seven notes muddled up to create an almost infinite number of tunes. The only differences (when you disregard the order that the notes are played in) by their very nature have to be around the skills and personalities involved in playing those notes - and as we are all different some are going to be better than others. A self perpetuated position within that hierarchy is worthless - it's where [b]others[/b] put us in that hierarchy that matters. [i]"On www.basschat.co.uk and www.talkbass.com, the new Squier ranges of guitars and basses are very highly thought of. A standardisation of key desirable features combined with a high standard of manufacture and quality control means players all over the world have embraced these instruments with an attitude akin to reverse-snobbery. Players revel in the fact that their guitar only cost £150 and sounds better to them that the £2200 Gibson Darkfire that the accountant in the previous band was playing. This is an interesting phenomenon which I believe to reflect Britain’s constant class-struggle and is an observation I continue to enjoy in our competitive environment. I suppose that this kind of snobbery is probably a bit healthier than other forms simply because the owner of the cheaper guitar elevates their status based on a knowledge of the market and community rather than simply a bank balance, but it still reeks of hierarchy and our need not to be better than anyone, but to be seen to be better."[/i] Is it a class struggle or pride in the fact that the Squire owner can achieve what they need to achieve without spending 20x the amount? I went looking for a fretless jazz a year or two back - I tried the MIA and liked it, I tried an MIM and couldn't tell the difference. I'd budgeted for an MIA and came out with a MIM, a pocketfull of spare cash and the satisfaction of knowing that I'd got an instrument I was happy with.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1015963' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:32 AM']That's pretty funny, and a rather close analogy too [/quote] [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/jun/14/uknews"]http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/jun/14/uknews[/url] I'm waiting for Spray-on Clean to hit the market...

[quote name='Count Bassie' post='1016406' date='Nov 8 2010, 02:36 PM']I have always been scratching my head about why Effects Send/Return loops and other potentially useful connections are so often at the back panel. I do all my playing and pedal-stomping from the front-side of my amp, where I stand when playing. The only jack I want to see at the back is the Speaker jack(s). Put the rest of 'em on the face! I think it's a useless feature that requires one to spend time leaning over their amp in the dark. My older Trace Elliot AH250 has Send/Returns on the front panel, and the newer GK heads do also. Well-done.[/quote] The little engineering demon on my shoulder is whispering to me that I should really drill some holes in the 1U blanking plate and run extension sockets from the rear of the amp. ...but then again, it's good to have something to moan about occasionally