bassace

It's difficult for pubs to make a lot of profit just from selling beer these days. I look on a pub gig as an opportunity to play in a relaxed informal setting and that's about it. £150 to £180 seems about the pub limit. We do a monthly pub gig (jazz) with a five piece and a singer, sometimes a guest who gets up to £100 and we make it work with a raffle. Not quite sure how tho' sometimes.

01. Silverfoxnik: Roscoe Beck V, BC Rich Eagle, Yamaha TRB5 with Norstrand p/ups and Auderre pre, Hughes & Kettner Bassbass 600 head & SWR Triad.. plus old Peavey Head and 1x15 for the Jamming Room (unless anyone has something else we can use that's better?) 02. EssentialTension: Fender Precision 62, Fender TF Fretless P, Lakland Decade, Mesa Walkabout 12. 03. Waynepunkdude : Arsenal shirt, Nick Cave underpants, Sunburst Musicman Sterling H and Ampeg SVT 2pro G&K Neo412 04. Clarky: Currently Ampeg Baby Bass, Acoustic Image/Euphonic Audio rig; By September, who knows (watch the FS forum) 05. Truckstop: MIM Fender Jazz V, pimped Kay 2B; Gem/Ampeg rig; some effects 06. Urb - either Sei Jazz or Singlecut - and maybe some pedals - possible Genz Shuttle 9 07. dc2009 - Warwick CS Corvette $$ 5, Epi TB Vs (Reverse and non-reverse), my Dean if anyone actually wants a go, Trace Head, Marshall cab (heavy and big), various pedals. 08.Shockwave - Pedulla MVP5 Mean Green machine. 09. Sibob - '71 Precision, '73 Jazz, MIA Jazz 5 if there's interest, Barefaced Compact, Orange Terror, Pedal-board if there's interest. 10. MacDaddy - Custom Shuker & Hamer Blitz or Iceni custom. 11. Essexbasscat Roadworn somethingorother + Gs112. Amp - not sure which one yet 12. Plux - Berg HT210 & HT115 Hartke LH500 Ibanez BTB 13. 51m0n - Berg ae410, MB, Focusrite and Roscoe 14.seashell - MIM Fender Precision + some sort of Marshall practice amp (I'll look it up tonight) 15.Barneyg42- Some secondhand tat bought over the years! 16.Happy Jack - Double bass of some description + Status Graphite Streamline 5 17.silddx - Hohner B2ADB Headless Boat Paddle / Home Built Chris Squire Electra Evolution 18.TomKent - Fodera NYC Empire 5, Fender Jazz 4, Vintage Stingray 5, Fender P 4 Fretless, Fender P Fretted, Krampera KVB800 Rig, some pedals too.. 19. obbm - Shuker PJ5, ACG headless 5, Aguilar SL112, Ashdown LB, GK Microstack. 20.ped - Vigier Passion bass, BC T shirts 21. Merton - Stasusey basses of some sort, Eden WT550/GK MB200 and Barefaced Vintage (who's at 19???) 22. Jean-Luc Pickguard - NS-Design CR5M, Ashbory 23. Stingray5 - Musicman, Tune, Trace Elliot, GT-6B, other stuff tba 24. Bassace - A double bass and an amp or two 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. I'll be along with a double bass for anyone who wants to try it. I see I'm down for a double bass workshop; well I'm no teacher - Jakesbass is the man for that - but I'll do some demos.

[quote name='Earbrass' post='1034072' date='Nov 23 2010, 05:22 PM']+1. Great played arco in the massed ranks of a string section, but seriously lacking as a rhythm section instrument when played pizzicato and alone.[/quote] And you can't get it under your chin.

I have an ungigged Bassmax pickup for sale if you want it. But in any case you are very welcome to try it out and I'll even pay the postage. Not an opportunist move, even if it sounds like it, I just want to help a fellow double bass player. You'll find a few guys on this forum who are helpful beyond just giving advice. Right now I'm waiting for an Epifani cab that Mr Bassman is sending me on loan to try.

Freddy Hubbard features on my favourite album The Blues and the Abstract Truth. The band was put together by Oliver Nelson and it follows Kind of Blue by approx two years. Bill Evans and Paul Chambers were on both albums. BATAT, while not being overtly modal still follows the trend to simple chord structures that KOB introduced. It also has Eric Dolphy on it. Oliver Nelson made quite a good living composing TV and film music such as Ironside, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, but in spite of that he was a great jazz inovator as well. I'm rubbish at putting YouTube links into posts but the tracks from the Album can all be found on Spot. Notable ones are Stolen Moments and Hoedown but they're all good.

Very nice indeed, Clarky. You lucky fella.

Yup, that's a Fishman BP-100, a notoriously difficult pickup to get a decent sound, although there are a few who can. It will certainly improve by putting a preamp in the line before our amp. The one most people like is the Fishman Platinum Pro eq. This will not only equalise any impedance mismatch - or at least go a long way towards parity - but with it you can shape your sound by the eq section, reverse the signal phase if you want to reduce feedback and it also works as a DI should you need on. It also has compression available. In answer to the broader question, there is no pickup which is 'the best'. They all have different characteristics, all basses are different and each player's expectations are different. The best bass sound you will get will be in your room at home with no amp but that is impracticable. The second best is in a recording studio with a nice floor standing mic and no competition from other instruments. Then a mic on a live gig will do it but you run into feedback problems, also off-axis sounds from others. So the best compromise is to use a pickup that you are happy with but bear in mind, if you've got good ears you'll never be totally happy with the sound. It'll always be a compromise. Sometimes the best sound will be right where you are on stage and not quite so good in the audience, and some times vice versa. IMO I always prefer the former because if I can't enjoy my own sound I don't play so well. And your fellow musicians want to hear a good sound too. I'm not saying all this to dispirit you but simply to try to give you an overall picture of the landscape in which your own problem sits. I personally like a bridge wing pickup like an Underwood or Shadow. I like their warm, sustained sound very much. There are others who like the Realist which sits under one of the bridge feet - I find it a bit too bassy. And there are those who say that the Fishman Full Circle is the best of all. This takes the place of one of the bridge height adjusters if you have them. I found it to be a very uncoloured sound but to my mind lacking in sustain and general personality. You'll get there eventually I'm sure. If you can afford it first get a ProPlat; it will be a good investment that will serve you well. Then see if there is any BCer who can lend you a Realist.

[quote name='tharidla' post='1287215' date='Jun 30 2011, 01:26 AM']Also I've been looking into this headway preamp thing-I notice that the eq on the module is for the combined signal, so you can't eq each channel seperately. Is this not really really annoying?!!? What if the mic is too boomy and you want to dial out some of the low end but keep the low end from the pickup?[/quote] IME you can just about get away with it if you are putting in a small amount of pickup to tighten up the mic sound, and such is the Headway's spec that you don't get boom - more likely a bit too much top if you turn up. If you need more volume from the pup the best thing is to put another preamp in the line. Although one more component to consider it's not as daft as it sounds, with the Headway taking the place of the front end of a conventional bass amp. It would be much better though with a full two-channel Headway.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1286771' date='Jun 29 2011, 06:16 PM']Er, Me! I had 2 Wizzy 10's and 2 UL110's, I sold the Wizzy's. The Wizzy's were lighter and a smaller footprint but I could only occasionally get a happy sound, usually on very quiet gigs. They sounded very middly to my ears. I also had an E.A. Doubler for a short time and couldn't get a usable sound out of it, although some people swear by E.A. The UL110's have a lot more depth and warmth to their sound and project well. They also sound great with bass guitar. I was using Markbass heads until recently, I now use a GKMB200 which sounds great with the UL110 and / or an A.I. Contra EX, also a GKMB210 combo for louder gigs (Lindy-Hop or blues bass guitar) I could send you a UL110 to try if you like Roger [/quote] Wow, now that's an offer, Keith. I'm reasonably happy with EA's, in fact for the seven-piece I use a 10" on a 12" quite happily. I've just come up against it with my new Bryant bass. I've gone back to an Underwood because, as I've previously said, I'm sure my ears are tuned to the sound. But to get a good sound out of a Clarus and 10" Wizzy I'm having to cut most of the middle out and that of course throws up a lot of other problems such as losing a lot of cut through the mix. It all sounds a lot better with my PJB Super Flight. I was prompted to enquire re the Epi following your recent post but also I know that Chris Kelly likes a UL112. I'll look at our gig list because I know that we are up your way later in the year and it will save having to entrust your speaker to the van men. Sorry to hijack the Eminence thread.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1286699' date='Jun 29 2011, 05:25 PM']Success again last night. Flexocor strings, stock Realist into GKMB200 / Epifani UL110 (+ a cheeky line into p.a. to keep level down on stage) Big fat sound that sings. Thanks to Clarky[/quote] Can anyone here with experience compare/contrast Epifani v EA Wizzy? Just curious.

Yes, twice. First time I went up to London to look at a '61 Fender Jazz for under £100 - well, it was a long time ago - and came away with a Gibson EBO because it was easier to play. What a t**t! Second in about 1994 I went to see a guy who had been Howard Jones's bass player who was selling a very nice WAL for not a lot of money. Trouble was I had very bad flu and wasn't in any mood to do a deal. So a bit later I went and spent the money on a starter double bass and have never really played a BG since. So perhaps I don't regret that one too much.

[quote name='tharidla' post='1284308' date='Jun 27 2011, 04:51 PM']Hi guys thanks for your replies. It seems that this pa speaker/mic thing is more popular than I first thought! The consideration I have now I suppose is cost-just looked up the QSC K10 and headway preamp. £689 and £199. Ow. And that doesn't include the mic! Would this setup be [b]that[/b] much better than a Mackie SRM350 (£320) and a behringer mixer? (£30 on ebay)[/quote] Not sure as I haven't any experience of a Mackie - Clarky uses one. As someone on TB said 'the 4099 isn't a cheap date'. However, if you get one you have the second option of putting it through the front of house, if there is one, and then it really kills!

I'm getting very good results with a DPA4099/Headway/QSC K10 on a stand with a little bit of pickup blend into the second Headway channel. Very good for trios and quartets in smallish/medium rooms. Probably best ever. Problem is when I turn up for a bigger room I get a bit of off-axis sound from other instruments even into a close-miked DPA and I struggle to cut through. If I play with any more than four I use a pickup and to a certain extent compromise on the sound quality. Also with the mic there is quite a bit of stuff to set up but for all that it can be very rewarding.

Did the Shipston Prom on Saturday with our 'village project,' FiddleBop which is a Django/Gypsy trio of violin/gtr/double bass. We were booked to play the Horsehoe and when we arrived, the landlord told us that if we plugged just one plug in he'd be closed down. Pity the Prom organisers hadn't let us know. So we did two 45 min sets completely acoustically with not an amp in sight and went down very well. The landlord, Baggy, was well pleased, wants us back soon. Seems I'm having more fun than with my 'proper' band.

No, don't burst. If you've got a few days to rest it may even go down on its own accord.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1280436' date='Jun 24 2011, 01:58 AM']Egads - I haven't even had time to chime in yet and I've already been quoted. Well, all I have to add is everything I've already said And that I'm using an Apt-Flex pickup as a replacement for the David Gage Realist and find it to be a better suit for the Eminence all round. I did buy a Kent Armstrong magnetic pickup for my Eminence but I've to get around to installing it. I do know that Trevor Hutchinson from Lunasa prefers a Fishman Full Circle to the Realist for his one, and he has toured the world and elsewhere with that thing - and he does get a truly righteous sound from it. I did have mine strung with D'Addario Helicores for several years and liked those a lot. Not really sure why I changed. Must have been a Tuesday.[/quote] Interesting, that. Actually I have an APTflex pickup for sale, ex Clarky. The Underwood has gone back on; it must be hardwired into my brain (the hearing bit).

Rattling Bilbo's cage puts me in mind of someone going into a bear's cave, banging a drum and saying 'How's the hibernation going then?'

[quote name='Beedster' post='1278116' date='Jun 22 2011, 08:30 AM']I suggest you start a website [/quote] Thanks Beedster but a phone does just fine. There's a lot of stuff coming in at the moment.

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1277862' date='Jun 21 2011, 10:43 PM']Update: On top of everything have a friend who happens to be a very experienced DB player and she said she will help me sort it out and set it up for me.[/quote] Has Jennifer migrated to Wales then?

I was playing fretless in 61. My brother made it for me; because he couldn't figure a way to fit the frets and I had just started on DB we left them off. The pickup was the moving coil thing out of a headphone. It sounded very good and I gigged it a few times. But because I'm not really anybody that doesn't count.

It's happened to me twice. First was during the gig when it was quite spectacular. It was so long ago that I don't remember who repaired it - it might even have been me. Second was when I was tuning up and the more I turned up the lower the note became. It was on my Meinel which was a quality bass but on which they'd put cheap single core tail wire with the strength of a welding rod- yes, that soft. Peter Tyler put a good length of twisted cable (yacht rigging?) while I waited and no more probs. So, in common with what the others have said, breaking a tail wire is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things. I'd forget gear4 and spend out on a local luthier and maybe he'll do it while you wait. You can see what he does and in so doing you'll learn a lot more, such as how the strings are removed and reset, ditto the bridge. BTW, during the second interval of a gig last Friday I heard a crash followed by a bass noise and a crack. My bass had been resting on its side and a the sax player tripped over the neck toppling the front over onto the corner of my cab. Result a 5" long crack in the front. George Martin said no probs at all and my MU insurance will cover it. They even offered me a loan instrument. Great.

Because I can't slap very well I tend to look down on those who can - but seriously it's a worthwhile technique. Trouble is while you're slapping you are tending to stifle the actual note sound and your notes are limited, so there is danger of becoming a percussionist rather than a bassist if you overdo it. There is a guy on the scene who is hailed as 'the top trad bass player' who just slaps all the time. Personally, I think he's just bollocks. But that's my opinion. I was doing a festival abroad and I heard the band Hullabaloo and their bass player was just amazing. Limehouse Blues very up tempo.

Not work-related but gig-related having an effect on work. If I had a 'challenging' project come up on a day that I had a gig in the evening I'd think of the gig and idle a lot - to the detriment of the job. I used to have a lot of gigs come up! I'm sure there are others who had this prob.