Linus27

So I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I'm not being totally clear in the effect I'm trying to create but you are right in it sounding like a normal low B rather than stubby. It's very hard to describe the type of music we play but we have a singer who plays an acoustic so think of a Damien Rice singer songwriter type set up. Plus he adds vocal layers etc. Our drummer plays a small percussive kit using brushes only and shakers. I play fretless and either fill the bottom end or play a more cello role but my tone is the other end of the guitar if that makes sense. I also use a lot of octave to really fatten the sound but it would be good to try and have an effect that creates the low end but doesn't give the doubling up of notes effect that an octaver produces. In the studio, for certain moments in the track when everything drops out or ends, we boosted the low end on the bass or I played an extra track of just a single low note and then the low frequencies were boosted to have that big bass push So I'm not sure if this will show what I'm after, and this is absolutely nothing like the music we play, but listen to about 2m 55s of this song, the bass is subtle but very low and it's probably done on a keyboard but it's this sort of thing. You might need headphones for some of these examples or I might just need a 5 string bass 😂 From about 1m 14s of this song, very subtle but the second note is super low especially. Again from about 42 seconds in this song,

It that not just an octave pedal that will do the octave note as well or can it do just the low note?

Awesome and thank you. I'm hoping my Barefaced Two10 will be able to cope as I'm not planning on having anything too deep, loud or heavy going but more of a case that if I play a B for example on the A string, it will give me a nice sub B, not too dissimilar to playing the B on a 5 string or the equivalent of an octave down.

Thanks guys, just watched a demo of the DOD Meatbox and it looks like it might just do the trick. Thank you.

Is there a pedal that will allow me to create some low deep sub bass tones? I do have the Boss OC-5 Octave pedal which does thicken the sound nicely but it also gives that typical Pino/Tony Levin octave sound which is not what I am after. I would like to create a smooth low sub bass sound. Is there a pedal that can do that?

Friday: Sigrid, John Mayer, Soil and Pimp Sessions, Peter Gabriel, Foo Fighters Saturday: First Aid Kit, Dua Lipa, Kalandra, Simple Minds, The Walker Roaders, Rage Against The Machine Sunday: London Grammar, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tears For Fears, Bruce Springsteen, Sting

I loved my Ampeg PF500, an absolutely fabulous sounding amp head but by today's standard they are quite heavy and chunky. I've not tried the pedal but I would imagine it will give you more tonal options.

Yep, I agree with this also and would also add that you should try and find your own voice, rather than trying to sound like a fretless. I describe my tone as Jamerson Motown played on a fretless but occasionally I break into a bit of Pino/Giblin which gets people to sit up and then I drop back into holding the bottom end. Typical example of this was last Wednesday, I was playing a gig and a drummer came up to me after, complimented me on my playing, said he had to stand up at the back as he wanted to listen to my playing. He said he could hear a lots of Mick Khan in my playing and very fretless inspired playing and it would sound amazing on a fretless. I thanked him and then pointed out I was playing fretless 😝

You shouldn't really have too much difficulty transitioning to a fretless from a fretted as long as your technique and ear are good. I'm not saying you have bad technique but a player who has weak or lazy technique will struggle moving to a fretless and a fretless will really highlight this as theres no hiding. You should approach playing a fretless no different to a fretted bass, you play them the same despite having a different voice, personality and expression but bad technique will show, be it a fretted bass or fretless bass. The other thing is it's really really important to get very familiar with a fretless fretboard. They do differ and just because you have lines, doesn't mean it's the correct spot to fret. So learn your fretboard and make sure your fretted technique is strong and the transition to fretless should be painless. Start slow and stick at it.

Looks like a shell pink Precision in the background as well.

I've played there a couple of times. To me it was just another pub gig and no different to playing a lot of the Camden venues.

I've had multiple string breaks in the early days when playing guitar punk pop with a pick. However the last few failures have been jack socket failures on at least two basses.

I've never heard of this before either but I've always used all four fingers to fret and started out with the approach of one finger per fret. Playing a lot of walking bass lines early on as well I guess helped.

Pretty good gig for us last night playing in a new pub for the first time. We kind of expected it to be a very quiet affair as it was not advertised (the pub apologised), hot and most were outside but we did have a handful of people listening. Second set was amazing though as everyone came in and just headed down to watch us and were up singing and dancing and the being a typical pub audience 😂 Got to play two encores and the landlady loved it and booked us right away for a date next year. Best for me however was someone coming up to me and asking if I'm a Pino Palladino fan which I replied "I am" which he replied, "I thought so as I could hear it in your playing and some of the lines you were playing" 😎

Thanks everyone. I did indeed buy the LM IV and I can say that I am very happy with it through my Two10 and tonight's gig was a big success. Not fully dialled in a sound I'm blown away with but out of the box with a bit of tweaking and it sounded great. So I'm a happy bunny.

Hmmm keeping an eye on this as I'd seen a few basses at Fender Fever that I'd liked the look off.

Not sure that's entirely true, I would guess that Nate Mendal of the Foo Fighters, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, Duff McKaggen of Guns n Roses, Mike Dirnt of Green Day, Adam Clayton of U2, Flea of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Geddy Lee of Rush and Jaco Pastorius have sold way more records and played way bigger gigs than Mikey Way.

Two, one as a main and one as a backup. I was doing a club gig once to a whole room of punters who were dancing all night and during the break the jack socket failed so super happy I had my spare with me.

Sure, not a problem, happy to email them over.

Oh wow, that is shocking, we thought we had it bad but what happened to you is unbelievable. You are absolutely spot on with the singer/guitarist. We were very big U2 fans so lots of reverb on the vocals and delay/echo on the guitar. Great memory you have to remember that. So here are some pictures. They are not great and I hope the mods don't mind me posting them in here.

@Steve BrowningOh wow, that's amazing, 34 years later and we meet again 😁 The name of my band was Home Again and we were in the studio for a week and recorded about 4 or 5 tracks. Sadly the experience for us was not a good one. It was all booked and paid for by the drummers uncle who worked in the offices above the studio. I think it was a firm of accountants. When it came to paying, the uncle did a runner, literally disappeared off the face of the earth. So we were left with the bill. Being a bunch of naive 18 year olds, we had no money or no idea what to do but Mark eventually went after our singer and his parents to recover costs which caused the band huge tension and we eventually split up. The recording session itself was brilliant and I remember you and I and the girl that worked there hung out most of the time in the upstairs part that looked out over the high street. You were bringing a different vintage bass in each day for me to play. I remember a white Jazz which I loved, a sunburst Precision and was there maybe a 51 Precision? You were going to sell one to me but sadly I had no money at the time. I have a whole bunch of photos from the week so I can post them up in a bit. Sadly, I never got a copy of the recording but I did hear it and it sounded awesome.

So I also have a bit of a connection to this. Around 1989, the band I was in got invited to record at a studio in Soho and I am sure there was a link to this song somewhere as it was always being talked about and even played. I think the studio was owned by a drummer, possibly called Mark (long black hair, a bit gothic looking) who may have possibly been playing for the Pretty Things or maybe the song was recorded at the studio. There was also another guy who worked at the studio who played bass and would bri g me in his vintage Fenders to play during the session. The studio was called The Basement Studio in Soho. Ring any bells?

Thanks Lozz, that really good to know 👍

Hi all, I'm thinking of trying a new amp head and considering a MarkBass Little Mark VI. It will be fun through my Barefaced Two10 and my tone is clean, warm, rounded and played on either a fretless Precision with flats or fretless Jazz with black nylon tapewounds. Think Motown but on a fretless with a bit more clarity and a little less thump. Would the Little Mark VI be a good choice?