fretmeister

Ed Friedland posted a couple of things on his Facebook recently about the realities of being a professional sideman. He had made a comment about his boss in The Mavericks having the final say on the bass tone and even the preferred look of the instruments for gigs. Loads of weekend warriors went nuts about how that was disrespectful and that they would walk from such a gig. Absolutely none of them gave any thought that Ed's gig is a job as a bass player playing the band leader's music, and that the band leader was his employer. Even when he laid it out as having the same sort of responsibilities as any other job and relationship with an employer there were still cretins suggesting that he start making demands! There's a reason he's had that gig for quite a while - he plays what he's asked to play when he's asked to play it. He's a solid and reliable employee. He admitted there were loads of "better" bassists than him, but clearly those better bassists have no idea what 99% of music jobs are - a job with terms and conditions like any other. Turn up on time, work, be pleasant company or at least not annoying company, get paid, and go home without causing problems for the boss. All that sort of thing is far more important than being able to sight read Classical Thump.

No it isn't. Every bit of evasion leads to higher taxes for the rest of us. Tax rates are set in part by reference to those who will try to evade. So the rest of us are your victims. Yes. It is morally and legally wrong.

I use EBS Flat patch cables as they save some space on a board. If space isn't a problem then the cheap Stagg ones are fine. It's not like Hendrix was buying snake oil patch cables for his iconic tones! With a good power supply you'll save a fortune one batteries, especially if any of them are digital and have a high current draw. I've had some mad things in the past that used up a 9V in under an hour! Whether you can get away with something simple like a One-Spot or if you'll need something with individually isolated outputs will depend on the pedals you have and whether they cause interference with each other when on the same supply. Just check the current draw on the pedals to make sure a supply can provide enough. Almost all makers have the information on their websites or in the pedal manual. Sometimes even on the bottom of the pedal itself. Set up time is much faster with a board too. 1 power, 1 in, 1 out. That's it and you are ready to go. Good luck!

If you want to try the Sansamp on a budget the Caline Wine Cellar and the Behringer Bass Driver are clones of the V1 (no mid control) of the Sansamp

That's handy - the Alpha is what I'm thinking about.

https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/mu-secures-ata-carnet-discounts-for-touring-musicians https://www.ism.org/advice/travelling-abroad-instrument https://www.londonchamber.co.uk/international-trade/trade-documentation/ata-carnet/ Get ready to list everything down to the individual patch cables... otherwise they will be viewed as imported items and be subject to import and vat etc etc. Join the MU and then get their advice. If you are getting paid - some countries need work permits, insurance etc etc The attached file is the flow chart from the MU Good luck. MU-EU-Musicians-flowchart-240822-update.pdf

I'm now into the delivery year for my Lionel Superlight. ETA March to April. Not that I'm watching the clock or anything! I should really buy some strings before they go up again. I really don't like the stock Sandberg strings. And there's a really good chance the pickup will be swapped for an Aguilar.

Anyone else tried any model of Demon? I have some xmas money and I'm tempted!

Anyone for some magic beans?

Justa thought - will the OP use any stereo fx at all? What is the rest of the set up? Will it be used with a PC all the time, or just with a preamp / modeller type thing plugged into it? If no PC use or stereo FX etc then a single powered monitor will be fine, and that really opens the budget to a single good unit.

Gigrig do it. But they aren't cheap. And unless you are looking for some really complicated systems you can do it yourself. It is easier than wiring a plug. The assembly is part of the fun - and it has a real world advantage: you get to know it, inside out. So if there's every a problem you know how to fix it or at least get round it until the end of the gig.

I had a Fender Urge 2 for years, and that had pau ferro. It was lovely. I prefer a darker wood for aesthetics, but ultimately aesthetics are just not important enough to be a decisive factor in buying a new bass. Can always use a good leather dye if it’s that much of an issue.

Sandberg Electras are narrower than the rest. The California VT / VS / TT / TM / VM, and the custom / basic / etc etc are 39.5mm The DK sig model is 38mm

La Bella White Nylons would do it. Bright tone, like a round that has been on for a month and lost the horrible top end, and completely smooth. So no finger noise. I had them on a Zon Hyperbass.

There’s no rules. Trust your ears and experiment, that’s part of the fun.

None.

They offer it in every colour they do. And in every wood,. and hardware, and aging. You just have to order it that way. Not all the options are on the configurator.

I really want one of them. I am slowly saving up.

Hipshot Ultralites for me too. My Sandbergs have their new super light tuners too - like for like (Clover keys) they are actually lighter than the Hipshots. They are available to buy to be fitted to other basses. Y key Hipshots are still the lightest of all though.

I think that's very fair - especially the P types where there is an active circuit with it. I'm not a fan of the pickups they use for that. Mind you, I have a suspicion it's more about the preamp. When I got my TT4 i swapped the Black Label pickups for EMGs and an EMG preamp. I just didn't like the stock sound. The EMGs sound great. When I bought a used TT5 it already had the East J-Retro Deluxe fitted but had the stock Black Labels. I expected to put EMGs in again, but the Black Labels with the East works very well indeed. My incoming Lionel will be passive and I notice the pictures all have small pole piece traditional looking P pickups for those. It might be fine, but if not, there will be an Aguilar AG-4P 60s wind ready to go in it.

I'm inspired by Dusty Hill's rig for this. He did this live.

I'm going to send him an email for that very thing. Although on the website it does say: "Can I have a micro-Thumpinator with a variable frequency control? One of my friends bought a HPF with a knob that sets the cut-off frequency... We designed the micro-Thumpinator with a single goal in mind: audio performace. Although it is possible to design and build high-pass filters (HPF) with variable frequency, they don't even come close to the performace of the micro-Thumpinator. From the power supply circuit to the enclosure, the micro-Thumpinator is designed to deliver the best possible sonic results. In simple terms, the micro-Thumpinator is the sniper of the infrasonic frequencies: if your signal has a component below the cut-off point, the micro-Thumpinator will remove it leaving everything else untouched." [sic] So I suspect he doesn't want to! But I might offer to spell check his website if he will!

Basses for Sale. Just mark it up as a For Trade.