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[quote name='funkypenguin' post='498897' date='May 27 2009, 03:38 PM']ahh yes i get it. i can just about do that . my comfortable stretch is 1 - 4 on the B or E of my 6. as you say, gymnastics arn't necessary im liking what im hearing on your Myspace btw (neoprene fetish) HAHA! [/quote] 1-4 is definitely my comfy stretch, I guess I'm saying I can get another fret if I really have to without hurting myself by using a slightly different technique may be. Glad you like the myspace stuff, keep listening, you may find you stop liking it so much it's been really nice hearing positive comments about the stuff on that page! Just look at the lady's picture, if that isnt a neoprene fetish I dont what is , she'll be the first to admit it too!

I saw this a couple of days ago and have been considering funds (that dont exist). Then my partner saw it and asked if I was going to buy it. This was yesterday (my birthday) I think that may have had smething to do with it I cannot afford it (repeat, a lot to myself), but its soooooo nice (I love green basses, and I love Roscoes). Any reason particularly why it keeps getting moved on???

If you have reach issues I'd strongly suggest an Ibanez SR300 or similar. I can reach even further on those

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='498882' date='May 27 2009, 03:28 PM']then may i recommend one of these [url="http://www.comfortstrapp.com/"]http://www.comfortstrapp.com/[/url][/quote] +1 they are nice, and you already have a neoprene fetish, so it'll be right at home

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='498873' date='May 27 2009, 03:23 PM']slow and steady wins the race. practice consistently and you'll see the improvement soon enough you must have the biggest small hands around mate if you've got a stretch like that!! [/quote] Not really, I just learnt how to do it. Hold you left hand in an open relaxed position. Keeping you index finger pointing straight pull you pinky toward your thumb, it doesnt hurt, its all really relaxed, but thats a huge distance on a bass neck between tip of index and tip of pinky as the pinky comes in towards your thumb at such an angle as to increase the distance to the index tip. Now close your thumb in toward your relaxed middle finger and with the slightest curve to your index finger you can fret both notes (fret 1 and fret 5) This is impossible to really describe, but thats what my stretching is based upon, and I really dont have huuuge hands, I have very medium possibly slightly small hands for a bloke (I'm only 5'7 and 3/4" (dont forget the 3/4"!!) tall. Note my wrist is not bent (overly) to do the reach cos my bass is high enough. Now I have a 5 I dont really go in for gymnastics like this (cos I can play the same notes further up the neck). PLus I'm old and decrepit

With a really well set up bass its more about comfortable use of your fingers at a stretch than raw strength. This is all about 'proper' ie safe/good LH technique, and goes hand in hand with your damping issues as well I think. 1 finger per fret exercises from 12 down to 1 are great too, as they can slowly make you stretch further. I would always suggest anyone interested in stretch work from higher to lower rather than the other way around, that way you progressively increase the distance you need to reach.

[quote name='AM1' post='498819' date='May 27 2009, 02:44 PM']I have to pivot my wrist a bit to be able to do 1 finger per fret on the lower frets as I haven't got enough reach..well I can just about do it but I feel too much of a stretch. In fact since I've been working more on scales, I am noticing some aching down on the karate chop side of my left hand.[/quote] I bet you have enough reach. You may not realise how to maximise your reach safely. Or the height of your bass is impeding your reach. I have small to average sized hands for a bloke, and I can reach from an F to A on the E string of a 34" bass fairly comfortably (index to pinky) However I think that it would be very hard for me to try and explain how to do this over the internet - its the job of a teacher in person I think. To much risk of misunderstanding causing you to do it wrong and possibly hurt yourself.

[quote name='AM1' post='498759' date='May 27 2009, 02:08 PM']Ello mate! Just had a look - excellent resource - many thanks! That's actually a brilliant exercise as you're kind of forced to figure out the notes and think about where they are. I really must stop playing by ear so much! I don't know where you dredge up all these gruesome exercises from, but you've single-handedly killed what was left of my social life! You really are a git, in the nicest possible way! The only thing is...how do you know what fingers to use when practicing in the way described in that exercise? Cheers AM[/quote] Alright chuck! 1 finger per fret works a lot Also try and use open strings to help shift up more easily. So in the key of C play EFG on the E string, open A, then BCD on the E string then E on the A string etc etc Helps cover ground. Where necessary it can help sometimes to develop the ability to play two whole tones on one string, using fingers 1,2 and 4. SO to play G->A->B on the E string as an alternative way of playing the first three notes of G major. Finally as a general strategy for shifts if you get to the pinky and need to stay on the same string then move your hand such that your index is used to play the next note rather than shuffling the pinky up a couple of frets, It means you always play a whole tone half tone, or half tone whole tone or whole tone whole tone pattern for each move of the hand. Naturally there may be exceptions to this 'rule'! I only wish I had the time to devote to these exercises as much as I do in finding them, I'd be blinding if I did! Personally I have taken the pattern knowledge thing about as far as I think it can be taken (including Gary Willis' fingerboard harmony book, which is a complete swine to get your head around). I've recently been looking at reading and fingerboard note knowledge properly as a way to open my playing up further. I can not emphasise how much just working on C major scales all over the neck has helped me already. I think pattern stuff is an easy trap we subject ourselves to as a result of the fourths tuned nature of bass. Clearly a great ear is the best thing to have, but a full and extensive knowledge of the fingerboard in a harmonically meaningful manner must be an equal goal if you want to be able to just play the thing. Naturally IMO, and if I put loads of effort into this and it doesnt make a great deal of a difference I reserve the right to debunk myself later

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='498758' date='May 27 2009, 02:08 PM']OT here...but your avatar is immense! [/quote] Uh-huh thanyewverrmuchhh (in best Elvis voice) Dreadlock kicks arse, Khaos rulez OK!

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50170"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50170[/url] Pacman's sure-fire scale practice method If you dont know your fretboard after this lot (and in a useful way) you are dead from the neck up (pun intended) Now get to work!

You need a notch filter. Which is an extreme setting on a fully parametric eq. IE maximum gain reduction, minimum Q (bandwidth) at exactly the correct frequency My BP8 had one built in which was brilliant, esp as you sweep the frequencies with the wah pedal! Set and forget too until a power cycle, 'kin brilliant. Would love to find another device like this.... [quote name='foal30' post='498495' date='May 27 2009, 08:25 AM']well the Boss PQ-3B is on my pedal board[/quote] Do you know how to use it like a notch filter rather than for tone shaping? {maximum gain reduction, minimum Q (bandwidth) at exactly the correct frequency} Really ideally you need a Q that is literally a few Hz wide at most at the low frequncies you are dealing with, maybe only a single Hz is actually required in some rooms. [quote name='foal30' post='498495' date='May 27 2009, 08:25 AM']and I think 5 string bass means 15" speakers.[/quote] With all due respect thats utter plop. Its a function of cabinet design not driver diameter. For instance my stereo has 6" drivers, but being old school TDL transmission line cabs it goes down to ridiculous depths (around 25Hz on my Studio 0.75Ms) My berg ae410 easily handles my low b and never ever farts out, not even close, at crushing volumes. 10s, 12s and 15s can all do low notes at high volumes in a correctly designed enclosure. [quote name='foal30' post='498495' date='May 27 2009, 08:25 AM']potentially not as cheap a solution as a blanket under your cabinet though.[/quote] Thats not a solution. Boominess is almost always a function of standing waves and resonant room frequencies, not some perceived coupling with the stage - its the entire physical shape of the room more often than not. Also the width of a blanket is not going to make any diff, most stage coupling is not mechanical (if it were then your cab would be bouncing around like mad due to the amount of vibration emanating of the side panels). Its acoustic coupling, in which case you need to be well over 2 feet away to decouple if I remember correctly. The auralex pads are great for preventing downstairs hearing you bashing a drum kit, or that energy being transmitted directly through the floor to a not prperly decoupled control room. They wont make so much diff on a stage, cos that isnt the solution to the problem. Point to note though (and I have experienced this on many occasions) if you knock out the resonant frequency of a room, you often need to turn up significantly to compensate for that 'weight' having disappeared. Really, these are often between 40 and 80Hz, and if you lose the boost from the resonance you have to compensate somehow. The result can be the most glorious live sound you can imagine though....

[quote name='alexclaber' post='498094' date='May 26 2009, 04:30 PM']That reminds me I meant to start a similar thread for someone I saw I while back but I'll be damned if I can remember where or when it was now! Hmmm... On the other hand I still can't forget the covers band I saw at a ball a few years ago. I'm sure they were talented individuals at something but the rhythm section's talents clearly lay somewhere other than in rhythm! Alex[/quote] Oh yeah Alex, I can see you getting loads of people owning up to being 'the really cr@p bassist who didn't gel with his drummer at all' that you saw last night - unless it was me in which case I hold my hand up, guilty as charged Excellent, the "name 'em and shame 'em" thread!!! Make it so!

They werent in GAK last week. I'll pop in again this week and see if they are now.... [EDIT] Nope still not in.... [/EDIT]

Nice job! Is it all your own design??

Oooweeee thats a clear case of chewing on a wasp there - or possibly letting one go with more than a hint of a gamble involved Great groove though, nice!

Subscribed:- I want to see how this goes down Looks great so far.

Hi Beams are even more supple: the tension is the same or there abouts given the mass and length of the string are the same, the string is just easier to bend. The tend to be a bit more sccoped sounding, I thing they have more top and more low end then the lo-riders do. You may need to lift you action slightly (hence hi beams) due to the extra suppleness of the string. I love both, I have used Lo-riders and Lo-rider nickel on my 4 string to great effect, and recently got some hi-beams for my 5 string as it would be fine with a brighter string. I dont believe the 'funk' thing for lo-riders, Marcus Miller uses a variant on the hi-beams, it dont get much funkier! And the Bootsy strings are nothing like Lo-riders (they are coated for a start). Lo-Riders work brilliantly for me in a rock/pop context.

[quote name='SteveO' post='494718' date='May 21 2009, 10:21 PM']I changed my strings once... I became paranoid and bought a 2 spare sets, one for the 4 and one for the 5. Thought i'd change them and keep the old ones in case of breakages. Swapped out the 5 string, but never bothered with the 4. I still have the unopened packet in the gigbag... that was back in '95. Come to think of it, the 4 still has it's original strings, they must be 15 years old now. Not sure what a set costs now, but this maybe a usefull tip to save on replacements...[b] I have an amp with a trebble control on it[/b]. A quick clockwise tweak makes the sound lovely and zingy when needed Come to think of it, I usually end up soaked in beer at the end of a gig... I wonder if ale has string rejuvanating properties...[/quote] Errr epic fail matey. New strings arent great because of trebleness, but because they have so much more harmonic content, old strings + treble is not the same at all!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='494365' date='May 21 2009, 03:37 PM']My Big Series cabs are basically designed like high-quality PA speakers, just minus the tweeter. For PA use I'd be inclined towards making the box taller and narrower so it's less visually obtrusive and that would allow me to vertically align the mid and tweeter. Would probably use a different midrange speaker which has a bit more output where it would be needed and then a full crossover to the tweeter (the midrange I use in the Big Series goes higher and remains good off-axis remarkably high up but in a PA cab the tweeter would be doing everything up there). Weight-wise could definitely come in under 55lbs or 25kg. Would best be used with an amp that can give each cab 1000W+ (personally I see little point in running many PAs in stereo, so you could bridge a relatively cheap amp into the pair). I suppose one could do a pair for about £1500, so about £2000 with an amp. My other thinking is to do a smaller main/monitor, again using a 15" so it's loud and can do good bottom, but will go less thunderously low so you'd want subs for bigger gigs. That would be about the size of the Compact and could also be used as a wedge monitor. Wouldn't be much cheaper though. Having heard the pleasure of a 3-way design I think it's well worth making PA cabs like this, particularly for smaller venues where the acoustics are more challenging and hardly anyone is on-axis. For larger venues I'd lean towards 1.4"-2" compression drivers on big horns and high output midwoofers in 2-way biamped cabs as really wide dispersion isn't so beneficial. I keep looking into amp modules but at the moment the best price/performance is definitely from outboard amps - also looking into designs where amp and cab are a complete system and use DSP driving bi/tri-amped designs. Alex[/quote] If its no cheaper you may well find the extra performance from the bigger cab is going to make more sales. Especially given its weight....

[quote name='High score' post='494229' date='May 21 2009, 01:41 PM']This type of full range kit already exists but tends to be floor standing and getting into 60kg a speaker. I have used mackie versions and they have awesome high powered output but don't mix well with other gear suffering frequency overlap if speakers were too close to them leading to signal cancellation. Do you think you could achieve the weights you quote though?? You explored pa build already Alex?[/quote] Yeah we use a pair of JBL monsters (2x15 + horn) they weigh somewhat more than the van we move 'em around in. The owner of the PA is even then worried about putting too much kick or any bass through them Not an issue with the berg, but still, they are full range for crying out loud! They do sound the nuts though! We have subs for them too, but I've never heard it all plumbed in cos thats just silly loud....

[quote name='truegeminis' post='494228' date='May 21 2009, 01:41 PM']I know. I tried the Bergs out at Bass Direct last month when I bought a new amp. I really liked them but just couldn't bring myself to part with all that money at once. Plus I was all set on the Schroeder 1212L until I'd tried the Bergs so I had to take some time and advice from everyone here just to confirm I was making the right choice. [/quote] Ha ha, another one succumbs to Marks outlandish sales technique of letting you try out amazing gear until you cant live without it Congratulations mate, I really hope its everything you need, at least until you can save enough for the second ae112! Enjoy it

[quote name='alexclaber' post='494177' date='May 21 2009, 01:00 PM'] One thing I have pondered is doing a large PA cab based around the Big One - so a 15" high-excursion woofer, high output 6.5" mid and then a nice compression tweeter. It wouldn't be small but would still weigh in at under 50lbs so very manageable and you could put a pair on short-ish stands and play a pretty large gig (the kind that would normally demand decent 1x12" tops and a couple of decent subs) with just a pair of cabs, no subs. As someone that's gigged with a Big One and has a feel for its size and output, what do you think of that? Alex[/quote] I'd love to see it, I think it would be getting on for hifi quality at monstrous levels out of two boxes You would be best marketing this as a rig that is as louder and equally full range as 2 1x12 mid tops + 2 1x15 subs in just 2 boxes about the size as most subs, so people are saving the size of the mid tops, Then design a monitor based around your midget (it would be comparable in size to a 1x12 mid top in all probability. Add two of those to the system and sell the lot for less than a similar spec big PA. In all likelihood people would be able to throw in excess of 3K into the pair of BigOne based bins (more like 4K if they could find an amp capable), and a good 2K into the monitors (feedback permitting) Coupled with the right amps and a dbx driverack that would be the best 'small' PA in the world, and should definitely be capable of coping with kick drums and bass/keys/vox/guitar - much to everyones surprise!!! Definietly the best direct radiating mid top/full range speakers anyways. Getting that across to people in the PA world may be quite tricky (esp DJ types who put a lot of store in subs). For anyone like that just tell them to hook it up with 4 BFM Tuba 36's That would do it! (ie knock the back wall of the venue down)

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='494135' date='May 21 2009, 12:25 PM']I went out in Stoke once. Full of slags. My kinda town.[/quote] Yeah, I bet you felt right at home you filthy £&*^er

I have a Digitech BP8, the compressor on it is fantastic. But, it wasnt even close to my focusrite. I've pretty much come to the opinion that you just need a quality stand alone compressor. As for chorus/flanger, I think you wont find many multi-fx where you could run both at the same time, if thats what you need. If you only want one or the other I would suggest keeping you eyes out for a BP8, they often go pretty cheap. They aren't perfect but if thats the extent of what you really need to do they are really good at chorus/flanger and compression...