stevebasshead

I used heavy duty sticky backed velcro when I used my old vinyl covered Trace cabs, some on the cab, some on the amp's feet. Worked a treat. If your amps feet won't take velcro you could still stick one side of the velcro onto your cab in four pieces in a diamond pattern but with a hole in the middle for the foot to sit in, kinda like this ('scuse the rubbish picture): I'd doubt the amp would be able to ride "up" over the velcro, even a mm or two should be enough. Unless you're into serious earthquaking dub-bass :brow:

EQing your sound into the mix rather than making it sound nice solo'd will help a lot as will the other suggestions above. Maybe this will help (from my own experience.) Perception often plays a part, for example my bandmates say they can hear me and they really do mean just that i.e. they're aware of bass sounds being present. But as a bass player I also [b]need[/b] to be able to hear pitch (and preferably tone) from my bass in order to be certain I'm playing the right notes. I can play from memory without hearing but as soon as I doubt myself I get lost unless I can hear exactly what I'm playing, if you get my drift. So the perception between what I [i]need[/i] to hear and what my band mates are just OK with differs. Maybe that's why your drummer is hearing you but you're not hearing yourself - so long as he hears the rhythm of your playing he's happy but you need to hear the individual notes clearly too?

[quote name='DHA' post='147310' date='Feb 26 2008, 04:35 PM']Hi Steve, Bass 30Hz, Mid (Q in mid position) 1Khz, Treble 10KHz. There is about a 15-19dB cut and boost at each frequency. It's what called a Baxendall design and considered by many to be the best active eq there is. I have not worked out how much sweep the Q adds yet, but its a fair bit if my ears tell me right. Dave[/quote] 30Hz!! Wow, some of the rickety stages I've played on won't survive that when I pump it through my 1000w power amp

[quote name='DHA' post='147276' date='Feb 26 2008, 03:05 PM']I tested the design on your VT5-Bass but there is no room on the front panel for the new Q control as yours is already drilled, marked up and 3/4 wired so I will fit it on the back.[/quote] No probs, Dave, it'll only be a minor inconvenience compared to the bonus of having it Just out of interest what's the frequency range that the mid sweep covers? Oh, and what centre frequencies did you decide on for the bass and treble? Regards, Steve.

[quote name='DHA' post='146885' date='Feb 25 2008, 08:24 PM']I have added a new feature to the active tone controls, it's a Q control. It works on the Mid range and allows you to select the frequency at which the Mid control cuts or boosts. You will be able to pick the sweet spot for your bass. This will be standard on the VTX range and the VT2-Pre-amps from now on. Dave[/quote] Perfect!!

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='144522' date='Feb 21 2008, 05:09 PM']Why are the DM 40's £5 less than the DM 45's at THomann? Am I missing something? [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/dean_markley_2674_a_nickel_blue_steel.htm?partner_id=79570"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/dean_markley_2674...artner_id=79570[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/dean_markley_2670_a_nickel_blue_steel.htm?partner_id=79570"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/dean_markley_2670...artner_id=79570[/url] Surely they are produced the same and in fact the lighter strings use less material... go figure! I fancy giving these a try any body know where they are cheaper?[/quote] Weird, the less metal they use the more you pay The 45s look like a great price. I got 2 sets of 45s from Schneider Musik for 53 euros incl. p+p but I think I'll get my next set from Thomann once these go dead (been on since Nov and still great)

I switched from long term use of Elixirs to Dean Markley Blue Steels via Warwick EMP, DR FatBeams & Lo-Riders & D'Addario EXP's. The Blue Steels have a fantastic sound for my Ric's, last as well as anything above (other than Elixirs), don't rip my fingers and are nice and supple. I think I'll be sticking with them for a good while yet.

Neat I've got the chrome version of the pickguardian on my JG - top quality.

+1 about Vintage not being cheap crap, my VF940 fretless has a rather nice sound and decent build quality. Only the neck pocket routing lets it down. I'd advice you get it a decent set up and new strings, flatwound for mellow thump, roundwounds for zing or half rounds for an inbetween sound depending on what you're aiming for. Then set the EQ on your amp and bass "flat" and tweak from there. Don't be afraid to turn bass, middle or treble controls down, not just up. Good advice above to get someone else to play their bass through your amp while you listen too (use both your current EQ settings and then a flat setting as a startpoint.) But also play your mates bass through your rig in case it's your technique. Watch whereabouts on the strings your mate plucks (i.e. near the bridge, over the pickups or on top of the neck) and also whether he/she plays fingerstyle or with a pick - when it's your turn to play their bass use the same style and position.

+1 about buying what you really want 1st time round (where finances allow), it's cheaper in the long run. Power wise, 300w won't be too much for pubs. If I remember right it takes 10x the watts to get a doubling of actual volume (someone correct me if I'm wrong!) What more watts really give you is extra headroom so you're less likely to overload the amp if you have to push it harder. Liken it to a small engined car, fully loaded, going uphill - you have to thrash the engine whereas a more powerful engine takes the extra strain in it's stride. You also can't always guarantee that you'll have adequate monitoring so it's handy to have an amp that you can push harder just to hear yourself on stage without it groaning under the strain. Depends on your bands musical style and usual volume too of course.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='130167' date='Jan 29 2008, 05:20 PM']I think I might have written that in a rare moment of lucidity! Alex[/quote] Credit where it's due

I can't for the life of me remember where I got this from (might even have been somewhere on BC!) but these might be useful: Sub-bass - 30Hz (rumble) Low-bass - 40Hz (rumble/depth) Bass - 60Hz (depth/fatness) Mid-bass - 100Hz (fatness/boom) High-bass - 130Hz (fatness/boom/thickness) Low/mid-mids - 340Hz (thickness/growl) Mid/high-mids - 660Hz (growl/nasality) High-mids/low-treble - 1.3Khz (nasality/bite) Brightness - 2.6Khz Sheen - 5Khz Air - 10Khz Too high - 15Khz Hope this helps, Steve.

[quote name='Hamster' post='128117' date='Jan 26 2008, 01:14 AM']Yes, brain hurting whilst eating dinner and typing In the Rickys, they put a cap in series with the signal and run the resistor parallel to it to make a simple first order high pass tone control to reduce the lower frequencies. Hamster[/quote] Cheers Hamster, that makes more sense to me now OldGit, sounds like you're going to have some fun - enjoy

[quote name='Hamster' post='127171' date='Jan 24 2008, 06:39 PM']If you take the cap out of the circuit, you just hear the true output of the pickups - which may be a good or bad thing. You can't remove any of the lower frequencies by just fitting a cap. The much lower value .0047 cap just lets through more highs which may sound better on the bridge pickup. Hamster[/quote] Hi Hamster, I can't speak for Fender circuits but on Ric's the .0047 cap certainly has the opposite effect of what you're saying above, it definitely removes the lower frequencies. I've done this mod on mine and subsequently changed the standard tone pot for Ric's push/pull one so I can switch the cap in and out. Just out of interest/history Ric did this deliberately back in the 60s to remove bass from the bridge pickup because early bass amps & cabs weren't great at handling lots of bass freq's, and it also helped give Ric's the tone they've become best known for (although they're far more vesatile than they're sometimes given credit for.) Then in the late 70s/early 80s the cap wasn't fitted anymore but as of '06 the 4003s have been fitted with it again as standard albeit with the push/pull tone pot. Maybe the Fender circuit is wired differently? I don't know, Fenders aren't my thing (but I'm sure I'll succumb at some point, GAS being what it is!) Regards, Steve.

Fender experts will no doubt answer better but it sounds similar to what Rickenbacker used to do on the bridge pickup. They put a .0047 (that's one more nought than the one you're talking about) capacitor in the bridge pup's tone circuit to remove a shedload of bass and lower mids. A .047 cap like you mention (I would imagine) do the same but to a lesser extent. So it doesn't so much add brightness as lose some bottom end giving a more clear tone. Ric have recently added the cap back but on a push/pull tone pot so you can switch it in and out of circuit - if the Fender cap is the same sort of idea maybe you'd want to do something similar so you can get the best of both worlds. Of course, I could be talking complete b*ll*cks, I'm not up to speed on Fender tweaks

[quote name='Beedster' post='122623' date='Jan 18 2008, 07:55 AM']I'm sure he's here somewhere , and if he is, good on him, he was one of the most entertaining and knowledgable guys on here and the site, albeit still a great resource, is slightly less so for his absence Chris[/quote] [quote name='Mike' post='122634' date='Jan 18 2008, 08:25 AM']Yes Chris, for all the BC bashing that goes on at Finnbass, they always seem desperate to know what's going on over here, linking to various threads and whatnot, and keeping up with the gossip. I miss some of the old members like Thumper too, they were great contributers. It would be nice if the differences could be resolved.[/quote] +1 on both counts. Life's too short.

Re that Trevor Bolder one on Jean Genie - I heard an interview where he said he hated playing it live 'cos he [u]had[/u] to play the mistake...can't say I blame him! Since I've Been Lovin' You (Led Zep) - there's a squeak from the kick drum pedal (or maybe his drumstool?) Also Led Zep - wasn't there a plane flying overhead before a take and Planty can be heard saying "nah, leave it in"? Can't for the life of me remember which song but I [i]think[/i] it was off III or Physical Grafitti...

Gibson do an SG with racing stripes, I'm pretty sure I didn't dream that... I always had a thing for the Martini colours. A white T/Bird with Martini stripes would work for me. A flying V would work with the TransAm winged bird too.

I got mine (super strength sticky backing AND super strong hooks) from John Lewis department store in the section where they sell material and other crafty bits. They sell it by the metre.

I've been using my pair of Tech Soundsystems 2x12's for 2 years, around 150 gigs plus some rehearsals. The only damage they've suffered is to the feet (rubber 'rings' rather than solid feet) which are showing minor signs of cracking, and the plastic cap-cover on the tweeter knob has fallen off. Oh, and a minor scratch on one of the grills. The corner protectors, carpet cover and grills remain dent and tear free. I don't have roadies (I wish!) so load them into my car myself and take a more than reasonable amount of care when carrying them in and out. It's hard to guage how they'd live up to a tougher environment - on the one hand mine seem pretty resilient, but because they're so incredibly light they feel somehow less substantial which may just be an unfounded psychological fear!

I'm sure I read somewhere that MOSFET, although solid state, has behavioural similarities to valves. I'm sure someone who knows more about electronics than me will correct me if I'm wrong. It could explain why MOSFET is highlighted/promoted in marketing literature otherwise, as you point out, who'd really care? Maybe it's to appeal to people who don't want the cost of an all valve amp but want an approximation of the sound. Or maybe it's just marketing fluff.

Drunken idiots falling over your gear could be argued as being the venues responsibility, especially if they'd supplied the alcohol to them in the first place. But I think the reason bands are sometimes expected to have PLI is in case you swing round and decapitate someone with your headstock, or a drumstick flies out into an unsuspecting audience member. Or worse, an audiences member :wacko:

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='113123' date='Jan 3 2008, 07:23 PM']I thought preshape 2 was the smiley face (in that the button was pressed in and the led was lit)?[/quote] Could well be mate, my memory is shot and I've not used my Trace for about 4-5 years now. I really should get it checked over by an amp tech and sold.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='112925' date='Jan 3 2008, 02:20 PM']...Trace graphic was roughly like a scewed [i]m[/i] with the right hand side higher than the left. Yup - the graphic works best when it's balanced around the 0db level. The deep bass was cut beneath the 0db...[/quote] I found the same worked well for me (AH300SMX head) but I also had pre-shape 1 turned on so probably got diffferent results from you. Pre-shape 1 was a smiley face preset, wasn't it? Or is my memory playing tricks?