stewblack

I am a tart. I can't deny it. I think it stems from a restless soul. I'm always looking for novelty, never satisfied for long with whatever was new just moments before. I remember a fellow alchy saying when asked what his favourite drink was he invariably replied 'the next one'. I'm a bit like that with amps, cabs, effects, instruments, cases, straps, cables etc etc etc etc etc etc

I used an Ampeg in a rehearsal room once and thought it was pants! The Ashdown I've fallen for seemed anything but special to me on its first outing. It was only after pairing it with a BF and discovering that magic 'grind' nob that I was smitten. Of course one man's nut roast is another man's beetroot salad as they say. Also I seem able to love Behringer, Trace, Ashdown, TCE, Ampeg, solid state, hybrid, all valve, class D, so I think I'm just really lucky.

Mine has a weekend of gigs coming up. The Trace isn't speaking to me after being told it was relegated to back up tonight

That's really great thank you

Hope it's helpful to you. Plug it into your pc and look at the difference it's making. It might not instantly appear much to you but overall your sound will be more consistent, so the band will sound better too. It's a piece in the jigsaw.

They absolutely make you sound better than you are unless you're already really really good and in exquisite control of your technique.

I'll tell you what... I reckon you can tell the quality of gear by the quality of the people who choose it. You Asdowners are all great.

My goodness me. You would imagine they'd plaster the presence of that little blighter all over the place. Maybe even a window so we could watch it glow.

Really? You wouldn't be kidding an old man now would you? It makes no mention anywhere on the outside that it has a tube in it.

Now you're talking. Norm is the man.

Are you saying you've owned nothing made by Ashdown? Or did you mean nothing but Ashdown?

Bought a couple of cabs a while back and the seller threw in an Ashdown head. I mean, seriously this was a reasonable deal for the cabs alone so the head was almost a freebie. I never had any intention of owning this amp, I have trace Elliot for that kind of thing but still, now it's mine why not give it a whirl. Last night we rehearsed at Real World and the sound was a step up from the usual dives I work in. Seriously good. I popped the amp (an ABM500H if you're wondering) atop a Barefaced cab (15" no horn) and after 10 minutes fiddling got a good sound. It had a kind of Trace vibe I thought but a character all of it's own. there's an octaver built in (just like on the Behringer BX4500H I used to use) but that just muddied up my tone so I left it alone. I was playing a bit of soul and wanted a relatively straightforward, authentic sound, but wouldn't have minded a nice valve grumble like my Ampeg gives me. So I wound up this little nob with 'Input Mix' written above it. It goes from 'clean' to 'grind' and by golly it sounded splendid. Of all the tube like facsimiles I've tried this honestly came closest to giving me that gorgeous thickening, that sumptuous fattening, that satisfying all enveloping hug of a valve amp. I may struggle to sell this 'bonus' amp after all. Oh, did I mention it was really loud? Because it was. And at 8 ohms too. Can I join the Ashdown lovers club please?

So you've read the Basschat Compressor Wars, you've marvelled at the diversity of opinions, at the anger, the pain, the laughter and the tears. At how a simple device designed merely to reduce the differential in gain caused by the nonlinearity of the transfer function of the noise you make when playing bass can be the subject so much debate. And yet, if like me you are still none the wiser, then maybe I have stumbled upon something simple to help us both. My ears are shot, my brain is fried but with specs on my eyes still work. So here is a visual representation of my compression at work. I have stopped thinking of it as an 'effect' because that's when my confusion kicks in. If I'm listening for a dramatic alteration to my sound that's not going to happen. What happens instead is I get a perfectly nice sound exactly how I like it just as if there wasn't a compressor there but without any horrible farts, clanks, skranks and thuds which over enthusiasm, lack of technique, poor monitoring, and so forth can often cause. So here is me noodling without compression And here is me noodling with it I couldn't clearly hear much difference in the sound of my bass what with concentrating on playing and such, but I now realise that's fine. I like how my bass sounds and don't want it changed thank you very much. What the pictures tell me is the compressed noodle doesn't have the horrible over blown and distorted moments but is still dynamic and sounds nice. Took a bit of fettling to get it how I wanted but visualising it on the screen was a huge help in setting it up. (puts on tin hat, waits to be scolded for knowing less than John Snow)

I've YouTube taught myself everything except wiring. I am bedevilled with buzzes hums and crackles. Those still cost me money.

This is why I gave up being on the radio.

Nope. I now play and dep in multiple bands. Basically I'll play anything I'm paid to play!

I remember when we met. You were investigating new effects in an attempt to keep up with the man himself. The Trace is still in use BTW!

Only Muse song I ever played live was New Born. Seem to recall it was a bit of a tongue twister for the fingers. ({minor thread hi-jack} @HazBeen was it you I met in the Vic in Swindon to buy a Trace head years ago?)

Definitely a huge difference. A real eye opener for me. I've probably been a little sceptical of just how much difference a pup could really make but that was night and day. Of course we're bass players, so no one else would ever notice, but we know, right?

Stevie - I am absolutely not rushing you. I am in awe of how much you're putting in to this. We all owe you a drink. A big one. I just thought if I can start buying bits then it'll help spread the cost a little and mean I'm ready for the off when the pack arrives

Marvelous. Don't have any more time to play, first meet with new band lunchtime, but thus evening I shall be delving. Thanks again.

That's super thanks Al

My goodness I'm deeply envious of all this. Compared with poor pay, changing in toilets, sleeping in cars, being ripped off, sounds like a different world.

OK, I'll have to dig around and look at that. At the end of the chain presumably?

By the by I found this rather excellent visual (and audio) demo of a HPF in action but the video itself is entirely free of information about how it was achieved.