fretmeister

If you don't want to use an amp at all, then either a powered FRFR cab or straight into the main PA. Or both so you get some personal monitoring on stage. RCF / Yamaha / QSC all make good powered PA cabs that are excellent for use with preamp pedals and modellers etc.

I might try that on my long scale. Really more for swapping between E and D standard. I have 2 guitars, 1 in E and the other in D standard for recording and that might make things a lot easier for trying stuff out.

The 7000 was really just 2 3500 in a box. I had a LH500. It wasn’t impressive. Uninspiring. Good as just a power amp though.

Stu was a big name Hartke endorser many years ago. IIRC the MB is a modern version of the HA3500. I ran a HA3500 for years. It was a great amp. Probably the last good amp they did.

I finger palm it with my little finger. #magician

Worth remembering that if the bass has full size tuners then regular long scale strings will usually be fine. It’s s when mini tuning posts are used that the coil size is too small causing string breaks. String tension and stiffness vary so much across the brands that strings can be found quite easily. Going up a gauge but for a different brand can actually mean a lower tension and / or stiffness. I usually use 40-100 steel D’addario rounds on several basses, but for my Lionel I used DR Hi-Beams 45-105. They are round core and more flexible than the hex core D’addario. Roto shortscale Monel flats 40-95 are still way higher tension and stiffness than any 45-105 rounds I’ve tried. For the Lionel my favourite rounds are the Hi-beams, and favourite flats are Fender 9050L. (Well, it would be TI flats but a nickel allergy means I can’t use nickel strings anymore, but the 9050s are surprisingly close to my ear). I’ve got La Bella Deep Talking Flats on my Jim Deacon cheap bass for when I want a super deep old tone, helped by a 60s wind Aguilar pickup. I am going to keep my long scale Sandberg because I’m sure I will regret selling it if I did, but saving up for a shorty version has begun. Superlight options, of course!

I swap a lot, fingers, slap, pick. I don’t change amp settings ever as I want the differences to be obvious. I use a chunk of compression to help even out the massive dynamic differences though. I’ll often lower the bass tone for some songs but it’s not technique dependent, could be for any of the 3 ways. The song makes the choice really.

Excellent heads, but cabs are not so good.

Anyone who has ever owned a Les Paul doesn’t get to complain about them.

It will be class D. The vast majority of amp sales are now. They'd be mad to do anything else for their first amp.... unless they went down the £3000 boooteeeq made to order route. But there's probably not enough buyers for that sort of thing to justify the R&D spend. Class D, and I bet made offshore to be competitive on price. I don't have a problem with that. There's amazing stuff from all over the world now.

I own 2 from very different price points A Sandberg Lionel and a Jim Deacon P. The Lionel is a Superlight and is only about 5.7lb. It has become my main bass. It took me a little while to settle on the best strings for it but it sounds massive and is very easy to play. As I've said in the other shortie thread I am considering the previously unthinkable - selling my 'berg TT4 jazz to be able to order a TT4 Lionel instead. A good modern shortie can sound just as good as a long scale. I did think about a Mustang but the balance and higher weight put me off.

That's a nice demo *, great tone, and nicely nothing like the DG sort of sound that is now everywhere. I'd love to know more about your keyboard - I use an ergo one myself. * = Sideways pedals trigger my OCD like nothing else on earth.

That's a handsome bass.

If someone is using a pair they can have 6 ohms and they really won't hear a difference in the real world. Impedance is not a static figure anyway - it varies in use. Or if they have a 2 ohm capable amp they can run a pair of them in 4 ohm mode. Even if I had a 2 ohm capable amp I'd run a pair of them at 6 ohms. Less of a chance for an amp problem and just turn it up a tiny tiny bit more.

Doesn't look like Fender do short versions, at least anymore. The JMJ Mustang uses the long scale ones. So I've given that a try and I really like them. I was a bit nervous as they wound onto the machine head but they seem to be ok. I just wish they did 45-105. The 45 and 65 are perfect but the 80 and 100 from the 9050L set are a tiny bit floppy. But the next set up is now a 55-105 and the D & G would be too tight for me. Can't find any singles either. I suppose I'll just have to play more gently!

I'm getting some clicking from when my strings touch the pickup pole pieces. I've put some electrical tape on and it is very much improved but it's still there a little when I dig in. Is there a better option than tape or a couple more layers? The poles stick out by 0.5mm only (seriously! Pickup makers - make them flush!) and I don't want to buy a different pickup if I don't have to. ta

I've never even heard of Electronic Audio Experiments!

Yeah... but that requires remembering the formula. It's actually easier just to learn the common combinations by rote. 8&8 = 4 ohms 8&4 = 2.67 ohms 4&4 = 2 ohms. There's hardly any 16 ohm bass cabs so no need to remember those.

It's not my site. I just put it in my Signature because I thought it would be useful to anyone with an amp!

There's a link to an impedance calculator in my signature. Everybody should save it.

Oh - when you've done a performance volume practice save the patch. Then at each venue when you have tweaked it a little for that room, save that patch again as a separate patch for that venue. Then for any places you get repeat bookings you can call up the patch that works at that venue. Large touring bands have been doing this for years - often with a little black book so they can recreate the settings from last time. But modern PA desks / modellers etc can all save hundreds of patches and settings so they now do it that way. It makes soundchecking much easier and consistent. But you will have to do a full volume rehearsal to get going. Even that won't be perfect because a hundred walking bags of meat and water will really change the sound of a room, but you have to have that proper starting point.

Fletcher-Munson means that there really is no alternative to rehearsing or at least tone setting at performance volume. Even doing it just once so you learn the device at proper volume will give you far more knowledge than you have now. For the sake of £50 notes for a couple of hours in a rehearsal studio your sound will be massively improved. https://www.first.edu/blog/fletcher-munson-curves-explained/

I have both and I like both. I also know the audience doesn't give a crap.

I might need one of these

I like the black one best.