paul, the

I've bought basses, accessories, all sorts from them Everything's always gone swimmingly.

I've read these through and probably will do again, A couple of questions, sorry if they've been covered (no doubt there'll be more on the way): Compatibility; if it has valves in it, can you play bass through it? This might get a little complex, but; other than the valves, what makes one valve amp sound different from another? --- If this is pinned, I'll add oxblood's valve description in That valve sound... (from BT) [quote name='oxblood' post='265198' date='May 14 2007, 03:51 AM']Well now, there's a short question with a long answer... The only way to really 'get' it, of course, is to experience it for yourself, and now you've posted this, I'm willing to bet that it won't be long before you get a chance. Odds are there's a BT member in your neck of the woods who has a valve rig and wouldn't mind you having a bash on it. After about 30 seconds, the whole tone thing will make perfect sense - and you'll be GASsing for something hot 'n heavy of your very own! Meanwhile, I can give you a basic idea of what the technical difference is. Among amp designers and audio boffins, the ability of an amplifier to faithfully reproduce the signal it receives at its input is known as 'linearity'. In essence, the whole 'valve tone' thing boils down to the fact that, from a purely scientific standpoint, valves are not very good at being linear! If you want clinically perfect reproduction, Solid State devices win hands down. As I'm sure you know, the classic behaviour of a Solid State device is that, as you increase the amount of signal (turn up the volume) its output remains clean until it hits the limit of its amplifying ability and starts to 'clip' - i.e. the tops and bottoms of the waveform are literally clipped off. This clipped signal is rich in odd harmonics, which sound harsh and unmusical. A heavily clipping SS amplifier is a HORRIBLE sound, and its nasty hard-edged waveform is full of high frequency crap that can actually damage tweeters. So, in order to avoid the risk of driving their SS amp into clipping, it's customary for musicians to buy an amp that has plenty of 'headroom' - i.e. it has far more available power than they're ever likely to need. That's why some bassists have a 1000 Watt SS rig, even though they might only be playing small club gigs. Valves, on the other hand, behave differently. With a small signal at the input, the amplified signal coming out of the valve will be a pretty faithful copy. As input signal level increases, though, the output signal gradually starts to bend out of shape, and this bending adds a range of predominantly even harmonics, which to human ears are percieved as sweet and musical. The effect is to very subtly enrich the note - a bit like opening up the stops on a church organ. At this stage, most listeners won't even characterise the signal as being distorted. To them it'll just have "midrange warmth" or "thickness". As we drive the valve harder, the proportion of harmonics in the signal increases, becomes even more complex, and the balance of even and odd harmonics shifts. Eventually, if we drive it all the way to its limit, the valve will clip - but even at this point, the transition of the waveform into flattened off tops and bottoms is nowhere near as hard-edged as with a Solid State device. The resulting sound is heavily distorted, but if you're a heavy metal freak, it's still a musically appealing sound. Another side effect of the harmonic enrichment is that it helps the signal 'cut through' in a live situation. The human ear literally has more information to get hold of, so takes more notice of it! Also, strictly speaking there is more energy present in the valve amp's bent-outta-shape signal. This is why a valve amp will always appear to be 'louder' than a SS amp of the same wattage. 300 Watts of clean SS signal is just not as attention-grabbing as 200 Watts of sweet, complex, harmonically enriched valve WOOF. There's a lot more to it than that, of course, but hell - it's 4am and I need me bed. Nighty night! [/quote] The reason I ask about compatibility continues from when I was asking rodl2005 about his Eminar PA head that he used for bass: From BT [quote name='rodl2005' post='257077' date='Apr 26 2007, 08:32 AM']Here's my small- er tube rig( an Eminar P.A. head from '76- 6 x KT77/6CA7's 4 x 12AX7) 180w & My EB MM Stingray 5 & Squier Special Anniversary 5 [/quote] He told me about it: "Gave a great tone for Guitar or bass but the EQ section was obviously NOT set up for bass really, so I usually stuck a pre-amp pedal type o' thang in B4 it. A while ago it was a ZOOM 506-later a V-amp & then a POD- these gave a much better EQ range for bass!" "I A/B'd it next to my Ampeg SVT3PRO a few yrs ago & there wasn't much difference-in fact the PA head had a better tube sound-just not quite as "EQ-able"" If this isn't kosher let me know? Any thoughts?

It's a beaut', classy with a bit of bling.

Oh my! What job do you do? Because I'd quite like to abduct you and parcel crate you to Guatemala while I discretely fill your position. the paul. nice basses! Just don't think about bass A that you'd sell for bass B that you'd buy - it'll drive you puddles.

basschat's pretty chill on the down-low. bassplanet's kinda sci-fi. Basstalk got it right, but Gerard got it wrong.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='2532' date='May 19 2007, 11:00 PM']There's some guidelines in Fender's setup pages. They are just guidelines and you should experiment from these specs. Optimum pickup height, like all setup details, will vary from bass to bass, player to player. Yep, I still have my first electric guitar, with its butter-knife adjusted pickup screws [/quote] Cheers! I'm just being lazy - I should have found that. Thanks again, Paul.

[quote name='mic mac moe' post='2556' date='May 19 2007, 11:44 PM'] I've been giving my pupils the benefit of Ed Friedlands Complete Bass Method published by Hal Leonard. It features loads of exercises in standard notation with no tab in sight.Incredible how they cope when you remove the safety net!!!!That and Crash Course by Stuart Clayton.Great for the beginner with gradual increase in difficulty[/quote] I've bought that and not used it yet. --- Original poster: Depending on your preference, you might want to try out a Carol Kaye book. She does music books and tutor books all in notation. Paul.

Cripes Batman! Any more piccies? I'm not normally so easily teased! Paul.

Thanks guys. Kaye certainly didn't always use a pick. I also think it's Jamerson - although the tone is a little different. My recent amazon order form: R&B Bass Masters: The Way They Play - Ed Friedland Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson (book and CD) - Dr Licks Funkmasters: The Great James Brown Rhythm Sections, 1960-73: For Guitar, Bass and Drums Funk/Fusion Bass - Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation I'm going to put some books up for sale on here to try and make up for it a little. Cheers, Paul. --- Here's some more interesting reading on the thread's subject: [url="http://www.bassland.net/books-n-mags.htm"]http://www.bassland.net/books-n-mags.htm[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=011&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=320113649242&rd=1&rd=1"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1[/url] Stevie Wonder's I Was Made To Love Her (as described by Stevie Wonder to his band, "Carol played the original part on my hit")

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='2440' date='May 19 2007, 08:59 PM']Welcome NAS, whats the status like to use? They will be if I have anything to do with it. I'm fed up with all this shifting about. [/quote] It's hard to take you grumpy seriously with your avatar. prrr

Hello, I was wondering how high the Pickups should be on my Precision special? And should they be level? I dampen the strings and don't get much out of the G, would raising the pickup help? If it's personal preference, what are the advantages/disadvantages? I'm sure this is something pretty obvious but I wanted to hear some recommendations before I started stripping threads, Many thanks, Paul.

This isn't a 'who's your favourite?' What it is, is that one of my favourite bass lines and my favourite bass tone is on the Stevie Wonder Track: "I Was Made To Love Her." [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrsrTvB_F34"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrsrTvB_F34[/url] Now the problem is, after 20 minutes or so I've got the chord structure down and had a Jamerson style fiddle around them and I went to have a look at anybodys'(g?) ideas online for the specific bass line. I found this page: ("Carol's famous hit bass line transcriptions...I Was Made To Love Her") [url="http://www.carolkaye.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=36&osCsid=721f54f83d906ec5958bed1b5d047d05"]http://www.carolkaye.com/catalog/product_i...58bed1b5d047d05[/url] Now I always assumed, understandably so, that it was a jamerson line from the tone and his relationship with Stevie. And I know Kaye can get a bit sh!tty about this - so I was wondering if anyone can clear this up for me before she comes and stabs me in the jaw. Anyone got anything beyond say and conjecture? ta, Paul.

Get yer brand name on it quick! no, seriously.

Hello, I've owned some vintage equipment in my time but I've never had a valve amp. Sacrilegious, I know. I feel like the kind of guy who should own a valve amp because I like to play mostly sixties stuff, especially Motown. But I've always been scared to get one because of; price, lack of understanding and the odd bit of bad luck with vintage gear. The thing is, I'm young and poor so I was hoping that you would be able to suggest an underrated first time valve amp to get me experiencing the valve tone. Also, how is their reliability? Are they expensive to maintain? The differences of different wattages? (besides perceived volume of course) I think I understand how the tone is created - with the lack of SS clipping at high volumes. I'd like to know more about their practicality, availability and brand reputation. Thank you so much, the paul.

Welcome gingerfish! cool gear and cool handle. I see you're a fellow night owl : ] paul

Hello all, No doubt many of you have searched long and hard for that elusive 'perfect' tone. Of course one man's (or lady's) perfect tone may be anothers tonal nightmare - so if you've nailed that signature tone on the relatively cheap and you're dead chuffed, feel free to post. These would be useful to include: -Who inspired your tone -What bass/cabs/effects you use -key extras: Mods, home made equipment, magical deities, strings, instrument setup Is there any unreachable bass tones at any price? Cheers, Paul.

'lo all, This is my first post in basschat. I don't care much for the decor but I hugely appreciate the time and effort of everyone who put BC together - take a bow. I've put the following Basstalk content on to word, it isn't neat, but the content's there: -Best Ever Bass Tips -Ear Plugs -Gigging, a beginner's guide -Real Funky Tracks -Transcribing Software and -oxblood's description of valve tone in That Valve Sound... Let me know if anyone wants any of them or if they don't want me having it. Or if anyone can recommend any threads they think I should make a copy of that I haven't already, please let me know. Thanks again, looking forward to Basschat's bright future, Paul.