neepheid

I've posted this up before, but much like a kilt, a gold top Jack Casady can make ANYONE look good

FWIW I have no axe to grind, never really had much play time with EBMM products. Their USA stuff is too expensive (new) for me to even think of trying one out in a shop because I would be wasting their time. I occasionally look at the Big Al and go "hmmmm, interesting" but I can't see it happening any time soon (unless they release a Sterling variant - ooh!). I also am weird, because I much prefer the look of the SR5 (non classic) - I am not a big fan of chrome control plates - random shiny shape on my bass? - no thank you. Saw someone play a Stingray at the weekend and it sounded horrible to me, all trebly, no substance to the sound - but that's probably due to interesting EQ settings on the guy's bass rather than the amp or the venue's PA - because I went on after with a different bass altogether and destroyed the place. An exaggeration, but a couple of people I was speaking to afterwards commented on the difference. Whenever people comment on anything to do with the bass, it must have been significant. I'm sure I've heard Stingrays sound great, so I know it's not the bass itself, but it's not a great advert for the brand having them sound weedy in public.

Looks like soapbar time to me...

Another Jack Casady player here, I did have a Fender Starcaster but I had to sell it recently. Also had a DeArmond Starfire and an Italia Maranello Z back in the day. Keep your flats though, the Casady sounds great with rounds and I have no intention of changing.

All but one of the bands I've been I have found through actual personal contacts. In only one case (FaR) I took a speculative punt on an online request for a bass player, got the gig and I'm still in the band nearly 2 years later. It can happen, but it's probably more good luck than anything else.

I guess it started with singing and playing recorder at primary school. Then all the boys gradually quit the recorder group, so I quit also (if I knew then what I know now and all that). Then my voice broke so all that singing like a girl stuff came to an end. Years later, I got a guitar, an Epiphone Special II (Les Paul shaped thing), but I didn't really get into it - didn't get good enough, quick enough for my liking so I just pottered about without really getting anywhere. Then out of the blue, I was in a music shop some time in 2003 and saw a cherry red Epiphone EB-3 and thought to myself how bonnie it was. Dashed home - learned how to play The Stranglers "Peaches" on the bottom four strings of my guitar then headed back to the shop, tried it, smiled at how much more sense it made on bass, bought it and that was that. Still pottered about for a few years until my now wife basically dared me on stage. Had my first proper gig in October 2008, weeks before our wedding! Joined my first proper band in 2009 and it just grew from there.

D'oh I completely forgot! I've seen the Jetsonics twice now (sorry Mr. Low End Bee).

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1408355775' post='2529209'] FB is a short cut to actually doing the rounds and getting your name about.... but now, with the demise of so many venues it is difficult to know where the music scene is in any one town these days so you can see why FB is useful. Thats is why we stick to the 2 most popular pubs in any town that will have their own 'regulars' so we can add 20 or so to their 20-30 or so and you'll have a resonable night and the place makes its money. Beer in music pubs is £3.50 upwards a pint round here and there are so many other alternatives that it is hard to get people out. One pub does 3 nights..and probably only pays bands on two, so he is delighted if all 3 are successful..but you will probably find one of those days is a turnover day for the beer and is subsidised by the other 2, hopefully. I am of the opinion that bands that rely a LOT on FB tend to get their mates along at the start and play to packed pubs but these thin out pretty soon if you don't pick up more people ... as people can't and don't wnat to turn up everytime. [/quote] I'd rather they didn't click on the "Going" button in the first place, but I'm probably being far too old school about it all.

Always nice to meet a fellow BCer, but I'd settle for everyone who says they'll go to the gig on Facebook actually arriving... I haven't seen many (apologies to any BCers that I clearly have seen and have either forgotten or wasn't aware you were a member here). Ou7shined (in Pearl Jammin', Deadfire), Stroopy121 (Needleman), Acebassmusic (Groove Cruise), and of course all the Moffat Bass Bash gang doing their thing.

I need to get my eyes tested. I read the title of this thread as "Getting a bass in Asda?". I have nothing useful to contribute.

It's not worth looking when one of the guitarists in one of my bands works in a Cash Converters. He gets the pick of all the stuff before it even hits the shop floor, the git

Glad you enjoyed it. I don't care for these sort of things much myself, always been in bands and miss the structure and defined people in defined roles, too self critical to allow myself the (inevitable when you're winging it) bum notes and too much of a control freak to go into something not knowing exactly what I'm doing. It would be nice to let go of that, like you seem to have no problem with it. Perhaps I missed a step before piling into a band.

Another good reason to buy a Gibson bass - neck swaps are pretty difficult

My cab can handle over twice the power my head can throw at it (I do realise that it isn't all about power before someone jumps on that). I am comfortable with others using my entire rig, as long as some manners have been applied (i.e. I was asked in advance, and preferably there's some sharing the other way, drum stuff or whatever) and NO DRINKS are placed on top of it. Those are my only rules. I know my settings so I don't care about people changing them and don't get annoyed about it. Next shared outing for rig will be at a private party I'm playing a week on Saturday, 4 bands, I'm playing in two of them, will be a good laugh, certainly won't be worrying about my bass rig - that's for sure.

I sold a Fender Starcaster to Werner recently. Communication was good, he put up with the delays in my getting the bass packed up and weighed for courier quote due to some home improvements, paid promptly and let me know as soon as the bass arrived safe and well. It was a pleasure to do business with this gentleman, and I would not hesitate to deal with him in the future.

Out of all of those (and having owned or at least played three of them), I'd choose the Jack Casady every day and twice on Sundays Gold top for the win though, but the limited edition white one looks pretty damn fine too...

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1352908270' post='1869255'] "Impedance switch (2 and 4 Ohms) to match virtually any speaker cabinet" but not an 8 Ohm one, then. G. [/quote] Would it not be the case that if you put it in 4 ohm mode and presented it with an 8 ohm load it wouldn't mind, just be less output, as per most other amps out there? The reduction in output would be more marked if it was in 2 ohm mode and you gave it 8 ohms to play through? Or am I showing my limited knowledge of valve amps - would it blow up and let the magic smoke out? Do people still make equipment that you need a doctorate in the care and usage of cranky, unpredictable machines to operate?

The first time I went to lift a Markbass 4x10 I nearly threw it in the air, it's so light. I was used to lugging around an Ashdown ABM 4x10 at the time, so you can maybe understand my overcompensation

I'd like a collaborative approach to songwriting - someone comes in with an initial idea, we all flesh it out with our own expertise. I prefer to be in a band with people who aren't dicks/people I'd like to have a pint with. Band members to be reasonably proficient in their chosen instrument. Band members not shy of helping out with the setting up/breaking down of equipment. I have all of these things in one of my bands, and the vast majority of these things in the other one (only missing the first one - it's very much sidemen tacked onto a singer/guitarist songwriting duo, and I feel it's changing a little in the direction I'd like). I'm doing pretty good.

I swear by my Zoom H2N Handy Recorder. Just plonk it somewhere in the room where you get best results (probably not right next to the drums) and hit record. Well worth the money. There's a smaller one (H1N) which is about £70 and will probably do a right good job as well, I went for the H2N because of the flexibility of different microphone arrangements, analogue gain wheel and I feel a better ergonomic packaging. An example out of the rehearsal room recorded simply with the Zoom H2N in Mid-Side mode at its widest (150 degrees) setting ("47 Days" by my band The Inevitable Teaspoons) [media]http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/Teaspoons/practice20140325/47%20Days.mp3[/media]

I doubt it'll blow up at full whack on the master volume, it ought to be able to handle that otherwise you might as well fit a self destruct button Preamp gain is a different matter - you turn that up full whack it probably won't do any harm, but it'll sound awful and clipped to hell unless your bass's output is seriously weedy. When it comes to gain, I turn up the gain until the clip light starts coming on then back it off a bit. It's OK for the light to flicker a bit when you're playing your loudest, I think. Preamp gain does not equal volume, it's just the first stage of amplification and it should be matched to the particular bass you're playing.

The three pickup Hodad is a lot of fun. All 7 pickup combinations available, and the all three pickups together is on a separate switch - the oomph switch! I had one a few years ago. Sold it on, but it sounded good, looked pretty "out there" and was super light (of course!)

That's pretty ropey looking, both of them to be honest. Finding it hard to understand why Thomann thought it'd be OK to send you a used instrument when you'd paid for a new one. A catalogue of errors, unfortunately for you. On a side note, it is relieving to me to see some photographic proof that Gibson don't have a worldwide monopoly on bad/non-existent QC

I know exactly what they are - my Dad is an architect and he has an old set of Rotring Variant (probably the ones he got when he first started), and I think he got Isograph later on. I drew the plans for a garage once in my youth when deciding if I wanted to follow in the parental footsteps. I didn't and went for a much less lucrative option (IT). Oops!