Roland Rock

Is "PAT Testing" a redundancy, in that the "test" part is already within the acronym?

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1368873225' post='2082473'] We've been asked for a copy of our PAT certificates for a gig next weekend. Never been asked before & we play mostly in pubs . Probably a good idea but we don't have any such thing. Is this something pub bands should have? [/quote] Yes, and even more so for well organised festivals and functions. Typically an electrician will come and PAT test ten items for around £40, so it's easy to swallow as a band.

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1368689594' post='2080121'] AutoCad is the big cheese when it comes to technical drawings but it's expensive and complicated, maybe someone else knows of a cheap alternative? [/quote] Google Sketchup is free and more user friendly than AutoCad, which I found quite laborious. I do all my sketches on GS now.

Beastie Boys' Hello Nasty, superb album

I think my personality comes through when I'm playing. Trouble is, I'm a knob :-(

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1368571994' post='2078821'] The lass on the left was in the phantom menace [/quote] And Pulp Fiction, she's the girl hanging around the drug dealer's house,

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1368565079' post='2078731'] In my experience a bass that sounds rubbish acoustically rarely sounds great plugged in whatever you do to it, whereas a bass that sounds great acoustically usually sounds good plugged in or can be made to sound good with some tweaks. Tweaking the EQ can accentuate the good parts of the tone if the basic sound is there, but if it sounds dire there's only so much you can do to fix the sound. Plus there's a load of subconscious feelings you get from a good resonant bass that are missing from a dull lifeless one that make it more enjoyable to play. [/quote] This. You can't polish a turd, only roll it in glitter ;-)

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368526152' post='2077936'] what's the difference in a single coil and soapbar though? [/quote] Here's an article which may help explain: http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2010/11/16/bass-pickups-a-guide-to-formulating-your-sound/

:-D Reminds me of this, which I'd really like http://www.boredpanda.org/analog-tele-phonographers-christoper-locke/

Cheers for the info. I'm not so surprised by SWR, as they seem to have gone out of fashion a bit (also, I'm not a fan, as I didn't like the one I had) But Genz Benz? Very surprising, as I thought they were doing really well. Ah well, glad I got the Streamliner when I did, and look forward to seeing the new stuff next year :-)

Just to add to this, I offered to let my rig (STM900 and BF '69er) be used as the house rig at a four band event last week. It was played with a Yamaha 5, a Jazz, my Ergon 5 and a P. I could hear differences due to technique/instrument, but what they all had in common was big clear low end, proper fullness in the low mids and volume to spare. I think they all tweaked the knobs a bit, but generally the mid was boosted and mid and treble pretty flat. Gain boosted and volume at 9! Lots of very happy bass players, including me :-)

http://www.mansons.co.uk/categories/swr-bass-amps-138 Not heard about Fender winding up the brand, but you could ask Mansons

Cheers for listening and feedback. We're all still mates, although the drummer and rhythm guitarist have given up playing. The singer and lead guitarist still play in a band together in Kent.

I came across a CD of the demo for my first band, called Litewait (cringe) We were all students and mates at the time, in the mid 90's Britpop era, and you can tell! I have very fond memories, so thought I'd pop some tracks on SC for a laugh. 'Time to Cry' and '15 Mins' are fun upbeat numbers 'Remember Me' a bit moodier 'Drowned' is moodier still, but check out the outro - you reckon the guitarist had been listening to "I Am The Reserrection"? :-) FYI - Time to Cry, 15 Minutes and Remember Me were recorded at the YMCA in Leicester by a student engineer on a reel to reel jobby. Drowned was in nice studio in Nottingham, but I think the chap's heart wasn't in it. Not a fan of the mix at all https://soundcloud.com/christopher-brown-48

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1368117303' post='2073466'] Lovely top you've got there. What's the finish going to be? [/quote] Yellow paint? ;-)

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1368117654' post='2073471'] [size=4]So is this bass a fake music man bass ?[/size] [/quote] I think it's a genuine Ernie Ball Musicman bass, but they're advertising it as a much more sought after Pre EB model, which it's clearly not.

It's obvious the direction that fate is taking you - you will be the world's first band to only cover songs by people called Bruce. Add Bruce Hornesby and Jack Bruce to the list too ;-) I laughed when I saw your brief then the first suggestion being Bruce Dickinson! But what the hey, try it in your style and it might turn out to be a great version

Great, thanks for the response

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1368116029' post='2073430'] This will probably get me tagged as one of the humourless PC brigade, but what on earth constitutes a gay bass sound? I've heard gay bassists playing with about the same range of sounds as straight or bi ones! [/quote] In a phenomenon starting with playground slang, the term 'gay' has come to mean naff or rubbish in the same way that 'sick' means good. Chris Moyles famously caused controversy by calling a ringtone 'gay' on air. The BBC decided it was acceptable as it is common slang, and therefore disaccociated with any references to homosexuality in that context. Best start a thread in OT if you want to discuss further :-)

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1368106324' post='2073275'] NO. CORE STRETCH!!! It's not bad workmanship. It's string core stretch. On conventional strings, the larger diameter the core, the more the string stretches as you fret it, and it goes sharp. The reason it is not noticeable on fretless instruments, whether electric bass, double bass, EUB, or what have you, is that the player automatically compensates by where he/she stops the note. Remember, Leo Fender got it right to start with: the original Precision Bass had an adjustable bridge from the start in 1951. What most people don't realize is that this happens at both ends of the string. If the nut is not placed correctly and the nut slot milled correctly, especially the E string will go very sharp on the 2nd & 3rd frets. I actually prefer a little higher action because of the way I "dig in," to the strings, so I actually have intonation shims on the front of my nut on my custom fanned fret bass to compensate for the string stretch, as well as adjusting the bridge. It's in the strings, not the instrument, not the player, and not the workmanship, although all of these contribute to overall tonality and may have a slight bearing on how much compensation to set. [/quote] This makes sense, and explains why the majority of basses have more or less the same setup. So, on to the next question, what about basses which don't have this setup. Are they just badly set up? Some Foderas, which one would assume are well built and set up: http://basschat.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2010/post-5581-1290095522.jpg http://www.austinbasstraders.com/newbass/250/fodera-imperial-5-bona-signature The saddles are either 'out of order' or very closely aligned.

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1368108513' post='2073306'] ...little wimpy on the overall volume but thats what you get for using a car stereo for an amp! [/quote] This sounds odd too - mine is ridiculously loud. I suppose that sort of thing is subjective.

Are you sure it's mahogany? I only ask because any wood I've had reclaimed from old science labs (about four labs) the benches have been made from oily tropicals like teak or iroko, both of which can look quite dark red when old and used.

Here's an example: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/207230-pedulla-mvp5-custom-1992/unread/ It's listed in the 'Recent Topics' section, but invisible in the For Sale forum (I assume that's where it should be located) When I try to view this, an error message appears. It has happened with a couple of others in the past too.

Slightly OT, but another factor worth considering is the flexibility of the cable. I had always loved the Van Damme leads that OBBM provided, great quality, and I love the way they are very 'plastic' or floppy, ie you bend them and they stay that way, and they naturally lie flat on the floor. The next one I got (also from OBBM) was Klotz, which was much less bendy, and more elastic and stiff. It just feels wrong and wouldn't lie flat on the ground. It annoyed me to the extent that I only use it as a spare now :-(