Ben Jamin

Hang on... two humbuckers and an 18v pre-amp with a 3 band EQ? Surely the HH model is literally just a G&L M2000/M2500? You could probably pick a G&L Tribute M2000 for half the price of the American Deluxe and I imagine it'd be just as good, if not better. And then you've got the USA-made G&Ls...

So infinite sustain that you can swell in and out? You could get an e-bow and just use your volume pedal?

Here's a bit of G&L and mood lighting from last week.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1376550483' post='2175687'] Now that's a good proper, stream of consciousness, rant. Nice [/quote] Glad to be of service It was a long day in the office!

Squier. Because deep down it's not a Fender. Fender. Because everyone has one. Stingrays. That cool hip Fender-alternative that... everyone has. And everyone expects you to play RHCP. Those GruvGear FretWraps and similar mute things that go up by the nut. An early warning of incoming incessant bass soloing. Chorus on bass. Why? People who say: "this bass was 'born' on...". No it wasn't. Your Fodera did not emerge from a pregnant woman. Keyboard players. Vocalists complaining about this week's cold/flu/virus/sore throat. People who wear sunglasses inside on-stage. Guitarists who run two amps in 'stereo'. No-one cares. PRS guitars. Ibanez. Association with silly excessive guitar solos. Musicians who ask for "just me and the lead vocal" in their in-ear monitors. Lists.

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1374618438' post='2151099'] Sennheiser HD25 - 1 make a decent choice. [/quote] +1

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1374018841' post='2144406'] I think we have a semantics problem here. What are you calling frequencies? Two basses can be playing the same note with the same EQ (same frequency curve) and sound completely different., If the bass has an inherent "frequency difference" then it would be a matter of adding or subtracting frequencies but that's never the case. Tone is also in the wood and the electronics, even the shape of the bass will be a factor. You can call it ALL frequencies but that's misleading IMO. [/quote] It's sound, so ultimately it's all just frequencies. But not everything can be changed with a graphic equalizer. The difference between bass-specific sounds is definitely down to the construction and hardware/electronics/strings/musician - all of which produce different overtones aside from the fundamental frequency. No instrument (other than a synthesizer) can produce just a fundamental frequency - every instrument has it's different overtones which give it it's own 'voice'. Hence flutes sound different to violins. You've got to factor in waveform, attack, decay, sustain and all that stuff too - EQ can't do much to change that.

I think tone is just balance of the output of frequencies, the keyword being balance. To get the best 'tone' you've got to look at the context of what you're playing - it all depends on what you're trying to achieve with your part. Are you underpinning the harmony of a dense mix of instruments with simple but solid low-end (some kind of rock or dub?) or are you playing more melodic lines with movement that needs more clarity and note definition (maybe a small jazz band). You want your part to be effective without getting in the way of other parts. A bass tone that sounds great on it's own can often just muddy up a mix by clashing with the frequency balances/'tone' of the other instruments, or fail to output enough in a certain frequency range to fill the gap required. Sometimes other musicians are at fault for not leaving enough room for your part - classic examples being guitarists who have too much low mid/bass in their overdriven tones (sounds great by itself for sure) and keyboard players who just love their big thick pads and make full use of the low end of their 88 keys (again, probably sounds great by itself) So for me context is the most important thing in achieving the balance. In terms of practically achieving the right tone, I think technique makes a big difference (the whole 'it's in the fingers' thing) in terms of the getting the right attack/decay/sustain and harmonic content etc. In terms of bass playing the main variables are probably where you hit the string and with what part of your finger/thumb/plectrum/nail/toe/whatever and with what force. Which string you use makes a difference too - an E sounds different on the A string than it does on the D or E - on some basses this is more pronounced than others, depending on the instruments' construction and what type of strings you're using and ultimately how balanced the tension is. Different instruments will lean towards different harmonic content because of their construction and critically their electronics/pick-up placement (which is why a Precision will always sound like a Precision, a Jazz like a Jazz etc). Get it right there, and then move onto EQ/compression. Carve out their frequencies that you don't need/interfere with other parts and emphasize frequencies that help you achieve what you want from your part. Compression for bass isn't a necessity if you're technique's fine but it can help emphasize different parts of your playing and shift the harmonic content around a bit (it's a good way to engineer a punchy kick drum sound, for example) Ultimately though, it's all up to the guy at the back of the venue/in the studio who sits behind this, so being nice to these people can really help with your tone

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1373566801' post='2139165'] [url=http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules/modells/instruments.php?modellID=60&katID=4621&cl=EN]Framus Junior 4[/url]. [/quote] That was quick! Cheers! Didn't know they had a vintage archive, that's a neat idea

My Dad's been looking to take up bass for a while now and yesterday he showed me this bass - he'd been given it by a local church he works for - it'd just been sitting in storage for years. It was covered in bits of white paint and general grime/dust and I didn't think much of it until I plugged it in and it sounded/played pretty good! Then I noticed it was a Framus (or claims to be) with 'made in West Germany' stamped on the neckplate. Got a bit excited and naturally offloaded all my Framus/Warwick historical knowledge in true geeky Basschat fashion, which didn't mean much to my Dad. Or anyone really. Anyway I gave it a good clean - the truss rod needs a little tweak and it could with some new strings, but everything works great - every fret is good and the intonation is all good. The pick-up sounds really nice. I just can't find any info on it - all the other shortscale Framus' I can find on the web seem to be semi-hollow and pretty different! Just wondered if anyone could shed some light as to what this bass is? Cheers! Ben

I don't think there's any tangible difference in set-up time. It doesn't take me much longer to connect a speak-on from my amp to my cab than it takes to run an XLR to a desk. In-fact arguably it'd take longer to set up a bigger PA and run a more complex monitor mix. My amp (Ampeg PF500) is smaller (or at least the same size) and much easier to use than a Pod. My cab (Barefaced Compact) weighs less than my bass in it's gigbag is is considerably smaller than the equivalent PA subs/monitors that would otherwise be required. Mainly though, my rig gives me the freedom to play in pretty much any venue (as long as there's electricity). In the bigger venues I play with big PA I will quite happily DI out/mic up and use my cab/in-ears for monitoring. In the smaller venues - pubs/outside marquees/rehearsal rooms with a small PA etc then my rig is required for obvious reasons. Either way with my set up I can get a consistent sound and adjust it easily with my amp/bass/fingers. Most of the venues I play are fairly big and have a more than adequate PA to run bass through, but for everything else, which there is still a lot of, a Pod just won't cut it - ultimately for me it's just needlessly complicated in terms of programming (I run my amp generally flat and use my bass' pick-up configurations/tone controls/playing technique to change sound) and impractical in terms of the lack of an output of any actual sound. I can appreciate that works for you but I'd seriously challenge you to try a rig for a while, maybe see if you can borrow something for a while, and see how you like it - just being able to walk into any old venue and gig in it with no hassle with a easily equalised quality sound that doesn't rely on the quality of a PA.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1370701510' post='2104615'] I think that's it really - they're all too materialistic & money grabbing to give a f*** about anything else. (Obviously that's a generalisation, but certainly the only thing the majority of them seem to do in Cardiff is shop & hang out in expensive coffee emporiums where they text each other instead of actually talking). [/quote] As a 19 year old, I think that's pretty much hitting the nail on the head. Most nowadays can get into uni, borrow a few grand on a student loan, have all the toys, go out every other night - general materialism, shallowness and apathy really. Some people communicate so much through texting and social media it's like they've forgotten how to hold an actual conversation. Could do with a bit of a punk renaissance really!

Thanks for all the replies guys, you rock It sounds like it's probably that RFI in the air then, as the noise changes quite a bit as I turn/move around the stage. There's no noise when the lighting is turned on and using power (without the faders up, so not emitting any light). I'm playing there tomorrow night so I'll try a few things out re power supply and chat to the bloke in charge of the lighting

Having a bit of a problem with buzzing in a venue I play at lot - not sure how to fix it! The lighting (it's a fairly big place) seems to make my bass pretty noisy! I play a USA G&L L2500. It's the same story, worse in some cases, with a few other bassists/guitarists who play there too. Standard, but quite big, par-can wash out front with LED bars behind. Only happens when the lights are on. The buzzing changes frequency/gets louder or quieter depending on which direction I face on the stage. When I run the pick-ups in series it's quite loud, but it's barely audible when I run them in parallel. When I used my Tech 21 Red Ripper (distortion pedal with buffered bypass) there was less noise when turned on than off! I'm quite confused! It's not loud enough to be a massive concern but it's noticeable inbetween songs and in quieter moments etc so I'll just roll down the volume on my bass when not playing, which kills the noise - so the bass must be the starting point. Anyway, weird! Any help would be much appreciated! Cheers

Bought a DHA VT-1 pedal from Dan, great communication, quick delivery, very well packaged!