brensabre79

[quote name='tombomb' timestamp='1324716238' post='1477230'] Cheers guys, BC saves the day again! I think I'll forever refer to him as the 3 stringed wonder. So it looks ad though I've got something to research whilst chomping on leftovers. Couple of questions; -After a bit of preliminary research, could I just buy a new driver unit and put it in myself? -I could get a 4ohm that wouldn't get killed by my amp, what are the pitfalls of this? -I didn't know you could "tune" cabs/ports, what does this mean? [/quote] If you get a different driver you'll have to re-tune the port in your cab (i.e change the size) to suit (if this is possible) which can get complicated. Plus even though 3strings was a complete cock he should foot the bill for a like-for-like replacement really. On the rare occasions I've had to share my amp I have gaffa taped over the volume controls for exactly this reason. Even then I've come back to an amp with every fader on the graphic turned up to absolute max. There are some right idiots out there who think that spending £75 on a bass and amp from a charity shop makes them a musician. They also seem to think its absolutely OK to mess with hundreds of pounds worth of other peoples hard-earned equipment. This is why hire companies take a deposit. Sorry for the rant but your story made my blood boil, it's happened to me long ago and its an expensive way to find out that no good deed goes unpunished. Sadly the company who made my drivers doesn't make them any more so I had to re-tune my cab. Your best bet is either get hold of Ampeg in the UK and get a replacement driver, or get a quote for the repair of the speaker, and get the money from the 3string ahole. If you want to upgrade your rig I would just get another cab to be honest.

A lot of places do have deals with particular bands - usually the sort of places that do weddings and functions and they include it as part of a 'package' that way they get to mark up the bands fee, the caterers fee etc. etc. Some of them then even charge extra if you want to have your own band! amazing! Having said that, we have heard this excuse used many times in the past. We lost a rather well paid corporate gig for next year recently because apparently the venue were supplying a band and DJ already as part of the hire. (If that is the case why were they booking us in the first place, I'm sure the venue would not have neglected to mention this when the event was booked!)

Have to say we're turning them away too! Geography has a lot to do with it I think, if you're city based, especially one with a university, there are usually an ample supply of crap bands who will play for nothing and turn up with 50 friends or more. Trying to get a paid gig, even if you're a really good band, is a waste of time. Move out into the country and there are little places dotted around who will gladly pay good money for a good band because the entire village will come out in force to be entertained at the one pub offering live music for miles around. Thats when the band has the upper hand, and they are usually better run than the fly by night 'promoters' you get at venues in the city. Sure you might need a convincer, a demo, press pack even (we always send posters to the venue as soon as the booking is agreed and publish the gig on our website - seems to make it harder to cancel if they have something printed with the date on). When my latest band started we just went out and gigged for peanuts while we got used to the set and playing together, the owners loved it because it cost them nothing, and we were good enough to be asked back, at which point we started charging proper rates. I wouldn't even try and get a gig in the city I live in because we're booked through to 2013 with nice out-of-town places that actually appreciate us, all we have to do is travel a few miles. On the back of that we're getting inundated with functions and weddings from these areas now too. I guess you go where the work is, then do a good job and the work will come to you...

It might seem old school but the Beyerdynamic DT100s are the industry standard for a reason. Plus they look like professional headphones, unlike many of the 'DJ branded' things around these days. The Beyers come in black or grey. They are pretty indestructible, almost everything on them is replaceable and being the industry standard, not hard to get hold of. Plus, they ain't too deer. just my 2p

[quote name='rennie234' timestamp='1324486383' post='1474881'] So to finish off after a guitar leaves the factory the next person who usual inspects it is the end customer, the bidge is there to do 1 thing and 1 thing only, set the intonation, the factory may line them up so they look nice but it will not have correct intonation. [/quote] +1 The first thing I do with any new (or secondhand for that matter) is to do a set up. The major difference with the cheaper end basses and guitars from the £1k + ones is the amount of human contact they get. A Squier, Epiphone etc. would probably get about 10 - 20 minutes of human time throughout the entire process, including the setup - which will be approximate at best. And oftentimes just done visually (hence the nice diagonal line). The New York luthier Jimmy D'Aquisto once said that a perfectly built guitar with the correct strings on could in theory have a perfectly straight bridge and not be out of tune. Indeed my Dad had one of his electric guitars with a fixed bridge carved from a single piece of rosewood. no adjustment whatsoever, but it was perfectly in tune. Thats because the bridge was made for my dads setup. However, most electric basses are not built to these exacting standards, and the reason they come with adjustable bridges is that different people use different strings, action heights etc. etc. To the OP. Forget about the nice diagonal line unless you're just going to hang the bass on the wall. If you want to play it and be in tune, set the intonation right for the strings you are using regardless of what it looks like. If you use the same make and model of strings it shouldn't really need much adjustment when you change, but if you go from 40-100 flat wounds to 45-105 rounds, expect there to be some intonation/action adjustment required...

I've tried it out properly now, you know with other musicians and that... I'm staggered not only by the clarity of this cab, but the sound is amazingly good. I have more headroom than the Albert Hall, the cab almost begs you for more! No fine tuning the amp to get the most out of it, this will take whatever you throw at it and then some! Loads of bottom end, but its controlled, not boomy. The mids are all there, but not nasal, just warm and lovely. The top end with the tweeter is super warm too, not sharp and nasty. Moving around the stage the sound is consistent too. I have to say, given all the raving about them on here I was expecting great things but even so I am really impressed. I just have to sort out my playing now because I can hear [b]everything[/b]! I've ordered a Roqsolid cover for it now and I don't think I'll be taking advantage of the return policy. Sorry Alex, but you're not getting this one back

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1324419750' post='1474142'] ...the paint that Leo F put on his guitars in the 50's and 60's was Nitrocellulose based, henceforth that is why it is still used on guitars now. The Halfords stuff is acrylic and has a tendency to stay soft on wood... [/quote] I didn't know that about Halfords paint, thanks billyapple Actually even Fender have switched from nitro to poly. In fact since 1963 they have polyester coated all their bodies. Laquer is put on top of the poly to satisfy customers belief that Nitro finishes let the wood breathe.The trick is in the sealer, since the early 60s they used something called Fullerplast. Fullerplast is a spray on plastic sealer which is impervious to solvents once it has set. Essentially they plastic coat the bare wood body before applying the colour and then laquer. Years ago I stripped my '60s Mustang bass with (old) Nitromors, the paint came off really easily but the Fullerplast underneath was rock solid! Made it really easy to respray, but the paint alone will come off pretty easily so you have to put a clearcoat on top which sets rock hard! Theres some more info about it here: http://www.caraguitars.com/fullerplast.asp

One of my old bands got a bass rig on loan from a UK manufacturer, our management got it for us as they also managed a well known Manchester band at the time. I think they used the well known artists name, and our imminent UK tour as a factor though. Even so, it was just a loan - for the tour and recording then it went back to them. It was a new product line (dark green carpet cabs) and they wanted the exposure. It may have been a prototype model but it wasn't a patch on my bought and paid for rig at the time so to be honest it wasn't missed when it went. For me the biggest endorsement from an artist I respect is when the manufacturer doesn't do deals like this and they have to go and buy it like everyone else. Anyone would use ElCrappo strings if they were getting them free, even if they did need changing after 2 hours. A drummer I worked with once had a really good deal with a Japanese drum company - free kits galore! He played them live, on tv, took them on tour, did countless press shots with the drums, but he used his 1960s Rogers kit in the studio to get his trademark sound.

Not all pre-amps benefit much from a valve change. A number of manufacturers design out the valve characteristics to keep control of the variables. Valves can vary incredibly, even from the same batch from the same manufacturer (yes even NOS Mullards!) you'll quite often get 1 really good one to about 4 ok ones to about 6 not so good. To combat this, and keep the sound consistent, a lot of the characteristics of individual valves are designed out of the amp circuit to some extent. That way everyone gets a valve sound, but if the valve in there is one of the not-so-good ones you'll still get a good pre-amp sound. Some amps really drastically change when you swap valves (Mesa I know do), with others its difficult to tell the difference between a Tung-Sol and a Telefunken because they have designed it to work that way. So before you go spending a fortune on cryogenically treated NOS military spec hi-fi valves, i'd try a couple of cheaper/free ones and see if you notice any differences first... I don't know if you'll ever lose the 'Orange' sound just by replacing the pre-amp valves, Orange have quite a distinct growly tone to them which some love, others do not.

measure the length of the screw, make the hole length very slightly less by putting a bit of electrical tape on the drill bit so you know when to stop. put the neck in position and hold it there (should be a tight fit), turn bass upside down onto a towel on a solid, level worktop. Clamp the body down to the worktop (it should be pushing the neck down too but leave the neck plate area clear) drill through the holes in the heel of the body into the neck with a smaller bit (than the holes in the body) to mark the position and guide the woodscrew. Put the neck plate in place and screw down each screw through body into the neck until you feel it grip. Then go in diagonal opposites and screw them down a bit at a time to even the tension untll its all nice and tight. Don't be tempted to use your drill as a screwdriver for this job unless you can go really slow with it, even so this is better done by hand IMO Good luck! show us some pics when you're done...

Finally got my new rig. Picked up the Super twelve T yesterday from Alex and Bobby at Barefaced. Lovely guys, had a great chat in the chilly basscave. Alex showed me his destruction testing (dropping cab down a flight of stairs repeatedly). I'm pretty satisfied with how sturdy these are built put it that way! Some great things happening there in the near future too. Another happy customer here [attachment=95586:photo.JPG]

+1 for the Barefaced Midget. Add a GB amp and you're sorted either the Shuttle or the Streamliner is fine, they are just different. The Streamliner has more valves in the preamp (I think the EQ is valves too) so its a bit more expensive, the power amp section is the same in both I think. The Shuttle 6 is a great Amp, I've just bought one (£400 is a bargain not to be missed). +1 Fender Jazz Bass, or indeed a Squier CV or VM. The Marcus Miller Jazz bass is actually made in Japan so any Jap Fender will be pretty much on a par with that. Like guitars though there are some good some not so good so whatever you get, try it! You don't have to spend £1,000 on a bass to get a good one though. My favourite bass cost me £200 (Squier VMJ) and I love it far more than my American Fender Jazz.

Depends what the current finish is but I have used both Nitromors and heat gun/scraper methods. Some of the poly finishes are pretty resistant to chemicals but if it looks like Dulux you'd probably be ok. You could test a small area under the scratchplate. The other way is good old fashioned sandpaper and elbow grease but if you take it back to the wood you'll need a sealer/grain filler before you apply paint or it will soak it up like a sponge and leave you with a woodgrain texture. Car paints are perfectly fine, this is what Leo used on the original Fenders - hence they used to come in a variety of DuPont colours that were popular on American cars from the 50s. These days you can go into Halfords and take your pick! You will also need to clear coat on top of the colour to get the shine up, again Halfords clear laquer will do the job fine but its poly based so won't come off too easily. Also, wear a mask when you're spraying and don't do it outside unless you like bits in your paint Best thing I know for the scratchplate is that there are lots of companies who make them and some will do custom shapes if you send them a tamplate, google bass scratchplates and you should get a few. not sure where you can get the raw material and how you'd get the bevelled edge etc. If you want a cheap option, just get some thick plastic sheet from a stationers.

A 4 ohm 4x10 would get the most out of your amp without adding extra cabs. You're probably getting about 150w max running at 8 ohms. However watts isn't everything as people have said. If you can afford a BF cab Alex is super helpful, and there's lots of good info about watts and cabs etc. on his website too. If not I'm thinking of selling my SWR 4ohm 4x10 very soon...

http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/super-twelve.htm

I was told once that valves tend to amplify odd harmonics more and transistors favour the even harmonics. MosFet gets quite close to a valve sound too - I think a lot of Ampegs have a MosFet power stage, valve pre-amp. Needless to say, you'll probably never get a true valvey sound from a solid state rig. I do think the typical Ampeg sound has A LOT of mid frequencies in there, so you'll be hearing plenty of the odd harmonics in that frequency range.

I have a Cube 30 for home practice along to the stereo. Its more than adequate for that, but if you're practicing with a band I'd go for the Cube 60 I think the only difference is the power. It has amp models and some FX built in so it can be quite versatile. My dad has a Cube 100, he does big band and jazz quartet stuff and he is getting rid of the Cube 100 because he says its too loud! He's taking out a Line 6 100watt 1x10" combo these days which he loves, its got the Bass Pod amp models and its pretty convincing for a little box. The big EBS stuff I have tried is really nice gear but it is on the pricy side! I have not tried the EBS 60 though.

You should definitely give them both a listen if you can, and choose with your ears. But FYI the Barefaced Super 12 spec is not the same as the GB Neo 212. I believe the drivers in the Barefaced are superior 3012 based ones wheras the GB is a 2512 based driver - there's another thread on here about it... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/162366-diy-or-built-given-the-rising-cost-of-neo-drivers/ somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!

Me too! A S12T with the silver cloth. Can't wait to pick it up on Thursday, I'm all jittery with excitement

Yeah theres all sorts of factors at play here, not least who is playing like Alex says above, how old the strings are etc. But you'd need to also get the same Bass, Amp, Cabinet, Microphone, Desk (probably a nice old Neve) a nice old compressor (Fairchild or something), not to mention a modicum of tape compression running the VUs into the red. I used to use what I call the triple compression method to get that 70s studio sound when I was recording. Record to tape via a Neve Pre-amp and a tube compressor (Tube-Tech), driven a little, red line the tape, then from the tape through the compressor again just to tickle it. Reducing the attack time and the amount of compression slightly the second time. The result: smooth and slightly toasty golden Bass, Vocals, Drums... whatever... I don't think you'll ever get the exact sound, even the same people in the same studio with the same gear would struggle, so I would stop trying and just get as close as you can with what you've got

Yeah do it locally. And I wouldn't bother with Nitro, on an '05 P It was probably Poly to begin with. I'm sure you can get it done cheaper than that. I wouldn't send it in the post, no siree! How much is a finished allparts/warmouth P body these days anyway?

[quote name='andydye' timestamp='1323447697' post='1463561'] I currently have rotosound flats on my '61 style p-bass and while they sound the real deal for motown stuff they are v high tension! [/quote] +1 hate their rounds, got the Roto flats because i needed them quick and its all they had, but actually they are pretty good.

Pints on amps... A few years back, when I used to play the drums... Bass player puts a full pint of Guiness on top of 8x10 stack next to me. First song, Another Brick In The Wall. After the guitar intro, he comes in with the dropped D, at which point the said pint scuttles its way to the edge of the amp, falls on to my head and smashes. Bits of broken glass and brown liquid go flying everywhere (i'm still hitting the drums) it looked amazing but managed to cut every single band member, possibly some of the audience and my white snare drum skin become covered in spots of blood. Ever the professionals we just carried on. Managed to survive, with only minimal head injuries and get through the rest of the gig fine - albeit stinking of Guiness and sweat (a normal night then eh?)... Only to crash the van pulling out of the venue car park. It wasn't one of my best gigs.