pete.young

Or maybe a rack multi fx unit these tend to have quite decent sounding reverbs in. Can be picked up cheaply.

I think Dingus is on the money with talk of a pre-amp for the Yamaha. It's something you can try without huge expense or moving on your basses, and you'll probably get most of your money back if it doesn't work out. A VB99 or V-Bass is another suggestion. It will certainly give you a huge amount of variety in sound, although there are one or two downsides (complexity goes along with that variety, and you need the GK3B and associated flimsy-feeling data cable).

[quote name='Torben Hedstrøm' timestamp='1388756775' post='2325653'] Can't find it [/quote] http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-TRB5p-Fretless-5-string-bass-1991-Pat-Eggle-crafted-fretless-fingerboard-/291042991393?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item43c3839d21

There is a Yamaha TRB5P with an unmarked ebony board on eBay at the moment, which has been up a few times but attracted no bids.

Schechter make a really nice neck-through 8 string but they are very rare. I had a play with the pitch shifters on the zoom ms60b and the mono one tracks well enough, but you only get the top note if you play a chord. VB99 nails it but that is a lot more expensive than a schecter:-)

Jim Keltner Dave Mattacks Dave Weckl

Got my bass back today after a slight delay caused by an unraveled A string - fortunately Beerofthebass saved the day. The back has been reattached with the right glue, a new end pin fitted and soundpost repositioned. Peter has also lowered the action by recutting the nut and lowering and thinning the bridge. The result is that the bass plays better than it ever has and I have a big smile on my face! Peter also showed me his latest creation, a violin which is ready for lacquering. It's beautiful work. Cost of the work was extremely reasonable, all in all a great experience and I am glad I didn't try and bodge it. Now all I need is somewhere to play it!

Peter Messenger ME Strings 5 Lower Byfield Monks Eleigh Ipswich IP7 7JJ www.mestrings.co.uk Peter is a violin maker and restorer and is happy to do repairs on violas cellos and basses. He reattached the back to my German 70s plywood bass, fitted a new endpin, recut the nut, repositioned the soundpost and lowered and thinned the bridge. The bass now plays better than it ever has. Turn around was really quick and the price was extremely reasonable. And he is a really nice guy. Highly recommended.

Could you achieve the same effect with your existing bass and an octave-up pedal ?

We have played Liberty by Steve Vai once or twice, but it might sound a bit thin with only bass and drums behind the guitar.

Bop till you drop by Ry Cooder was the first mainstream digitally recorded album.

1 hour 15 minutes by train to Leamington Spa from Marylebone gets you to Bass Direct, who have a lot of interesting stuff.

[quote name='tonyclaret' timestamp='1387182363' post='2308971'] Can you assign the patch switching order on the b3 like you can on the ms60b so it cycles through assigned patches? [/quote] No, you can't do that on the b3.

If you were to read the String Information page it explains the term speaking length. You need a speaking length greater than the distance from the ball to the nut. With a semi acoustic bass with tailpiece you may well need a medium or even long length string even for a short scale length.

Thanks BigRedX that's very helpful. I think I will try a set of status half rounds they work well my other short scale bass.

Does anyone have a Hondo Alien or a Kramer Duke and know what strings will fit properly? It's short scale and the taper needs to be in the right place to fit through the tiny guitar-style tuners.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1386839921' post='2305098'] If that's the case, then it's piss-poor design. An effects loop should be either series or switchable. I can't think of a single instance when parallel only is more useful. [/quote] Markbass are parallel by default, switchable with a jumper inside the case. I assumed that most amps would be done this way, but it seems that I'm wrong, and that series are more common. Apologies. From the circuit diagram it looks like it is indeed a series loop. The point about the line level signal still stands. One reason given is that, even if something fails in the loop, you still get a noise coming out. Another reason is that it may allow to you blend the clean and effected signal, something which some older effects units may not offer.

In front. Guessing that like most amps, the effects loop will be parallel so you will only be EQing half the signal. Plus the loop will be looking for a line level device not an instrument level device like your GEB-7.

Someone should also fix the blog so that 51m0n's excellent 'everything you need to know about compressors' post is available once again.

They wear out eventually. Mine has, only lasted 40 years. Get a new one.

As a pogues tribute, we could use a snow machine on every gig. The cheap ones are utterly useless, it's much better to hire a really expensive one for a one off gig.

From our set list from last night and Thursday: Rockin around the Xmas tree Merry Xmas Everyone I wish it could be Xmas every day. Still trying to get the Showcase Showdown classic in there.