Kiwi

[quote name='Beedster' post='190100' date='May 1 2008, 10:38 PM'] Easy Tiger, Ian and I were talking Fleas way before I was a BWer[/quote]

[quote name='MissPenguin' post='154949' date='Mar 10 2008, 11:32 PM']I've been playing double bass since i was 9, but have only really thrown myself back into it in the last 6 months or so. I took my grade 6 and am working towards my grade 7.. Unfortunately, last year around January till September, due to boyfriend issues and GCSEs, i didn't play much - The outcome of this being i've picked up some bad habits on double bass which i'm currently trying to unlearn.[/quote] That's bloody amazing Alice. Major respect to you. Have fun on the forum and if you have any issues, feel free to drop Ped or I a PM.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='189679' date='May 1 2008, 12:53 PM']I was expecting to be exorcised like a number of others[/quote] How many exactly in your estimation? I know how many. Use your common sense and play nice matey or you'll risk turning into a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Hmmmm, I wonder what Basschat's commission on that sale could have been? Ian, any donations would be gratefully recieved.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='189749' date='May 1 2008, 02:24 PM']I have visited that shop a number of times BBC they have some really nice instruments. I think they have a used series II. give it a try it's very playable.[/quote] I believe the owner is also the UK distributor for Alembic and he's a collector himself. He also said he was the UK distributor for Lakland but that doesn't tie up with what Lakland have on their site - mind you, I did meet him a couple of years ago. Things could have changed in that time.

1) do you own your own PA? If "NO" go to question 5 Yes, we paid for it with deposits in advance of our first gig. 2) if Yes, what size is it (eg how many watts and how many components) Mackie active, about 450w a side excl. subs 3) do you transport it to gigs yourself or do you get your roadies/engineer to load it into the van and set it up before/as you get to the venue? We hire a van usually, we've just taken on a roadie to help us shift it. 4) do you have your own soundman? Yes

[quote name='The Funk' post='156092' date='Mar 12 2008, 04:42 PM']Well, the other odd thing about it is the fact that there are no references on Google to this Golden Ear chip they claim is used in most high end consoles. It could be a clone or it could just be a load of BS. Still, I like the fact that it'll fit in my gig bag. Now I just need to get myself an Acme B1 and I'll have my mini rig sorted: stroll into a gig with a gig bag on my back, carrying the cab in my hands.[/quote] Your Acme B1 may make the amp sound less like 260w and more like 80w I suspect. I tried one of these heads in the Bass Gallery and, shortly before the fuse blew out, it sounded good but at the absolute minimum in terms of volume that I'd need to compete with a drummer unless I had an ultra sensitive cab. Thats why I asked Alex if I could (unfortunately) try it with the EBS 2x12 neo. Thanks to the fuse going, I didn't get to test the difference. Might have another go next time I'm up there though.

What can you say, mebbe she likes a bit of rough? BTW, EBS if that was your GF's work, its not really a laughing matter. That would be grounds for splitting up in my book. Mine would have known better than to touch the Precious Things.

I've just done it with my guitar neck after I refretted it. So far no problems, touch wood, but I'm still applying the layers.

Mmmmm. I think this one gets it. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18535"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18535[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18570"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18570[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18575"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18575[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18569"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18569[/url]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='189148' date='Apr 30 2008, 07:30 PM']But then I'd have to kill you ... [/quote] Bring it.

[quote name='Mikey D' post='188340' date='Apr 29 2008, 07:19 PM']As always, I would say the best value for money and sounding fretless 5 is the Ibanez GWB35.[/quote] It would be interesting to let you have a go on my [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/pedullapentabuzz.htm"]Pentabuzz[/url] sometime and see if you still hold that opinion , however even a used PB is a little out of the quoted budget. Still excellent value if you can snag one for less than £800. I would agree with BigRedx, the construction and I would add that design of a fretless is even more critical because a good fretless sound relies that much more heavily on sustain and good, rigid construction.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='189082' date='Apr 30 2008, 06:13 PM']Sooner than you think. The north side of Denmark Street (most of it, anyway) could be gone within two years, as will The Astoria which will probably close - again - at Xmas this year.[/quote] Its been a matter of [url="http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=3078569"]public record[/url] for quite some time. Although the writer of that article has confused Denmark Place with Denmark Street. I was approached, in a professional capacity, in the middle of last year to comment on the development proposals by Derwent Valley and Crossrail (the developers for the Astoria site) as I'd already been project managing the design of the area immediately in front of Centre Point. Demolition work on Tottenham Court Road station starts in December this year IIRC. The whole of Charing Cross Road in front of the Centre Point Tower is eventually being dug up for the Tottenham Court Road station improvements as well because its the only way they'll get new escalators down there. There's a report on the proposed works to Tottenham Court Road station on the back of Crossrail [url="http://billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk/files/Home/Home3/01.Environmental%20Statement/Volume_08b/0007_R_C5TottenhamCourtRd.pdf"]here[/url]. The Astoria is probably going to be demolished to make way for the Crossrail station but that doesn't mean the area will lose a venue. [url="http://prosoundnewseurope.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=551&Itemid=26"]http://prosoundnewseurope.com/index.php?op...1&Itemid=26[/url] [url="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entrtainment/music/article3549396.ece"]http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle3549396.ece[/url] It depends on how planning negotiations with Westminster go because an alternative venue has been discussed on the St Martins Central School of Art owned site almost next door. St Martins Central School of Art are selling up all their holdings and moving lock stock to a single campus at Kings Cross behind the revamped station. [url="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/features/central-st-martins-the-art-college-that-is-redrawing-its-future-791848.html"]http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...ure-791848.html[/url] I think the part of that block north of Denmark Place is probably going to be redeveloped on the back of Crossrail, but who does the developing depends on whether the site gets sold or not. I think the current owner/developer (Consolidated Developments) was asking for something like £25 million which even the owners of Centre Point told me they'd baulked at. If you know for sure that the whole block is being developed then it sounds like the decision has been made by Consolidated in the last few months perhaps.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='188875' date='Apr 30 2008, 03:07 PM']the internet has the potential to increase the capacity of musicians to shortcut the monopolies that the major labels have on distribution.[/quote] [quote name='bilbo230763' post='188875' date='Apr 30 2008, 03:07 PM']The problem that arises, however, is that there will cease to be any form of editing so the market will potentially become flooded with second, third to tenth rate product. Most of this stuff will never be reviewed in industry magazines or be placed in strategic positions in music shops. Most of it will never see TV or radio airplay. It will thus become harder to search through the piles of cr*p the is out there in order to find the diamonds. There will also be fewer opportunities to earn massive sums of money from CD sales because fewer people will have the massive marketing machines that defined the majors. There will be fewer bands touring the bigger venues and the smaller venues will get smaller until a 400 seater will be the maximum. It will be a kind of musical communism where the biggest marketing strategy will be word of mouth.[/quote] +1, I can't think of anything else to add

[quote name='Shaggy' post='188755' date='Apr 30 2008, 12:35 PM']When in combined mode you mean? (and a “pan” control would have been great) Not sure about that - it’s an early one with phase and bright switches only. I found it sounded amazingly similar to a mates’ ’75 Jazz, especially on combined p/u’s, playing through his SVT which admittedly adds its own colouration.[/quote] Interesting - got any sound clips? If yours is one of the early ones, its likely to be a bit of a different beast to my Cutlass 2 which is an '84 [quote name='Shaggy' post='188755' date='Apr 30 2008, 12:35 PM']and inevitably the big magnets in the neck p/u will slightly dampen string vibration and therefore affect tone.[/quote] That was the case in the early sabres, but in the later ones they changed the poles from 4 single pole pieces to 4 pairs of pole pieces like in the jazz pickups to address this issue. They also changed the pickup selector from 3 way to 5 way and changed the pre to (what I believe was) a stingray version. So no treble boost or phase switch. [quote name='Shaggy' post='188755' date='Apr 30 2008, 12:35 PM']The cutlass 2 is the graphite neck Sabre, right?[/quote] Yes Feel welcome to click the link in my sig if you fancy reading my review of it.

Crossrail is going to bring a whole load of change to the area which is not only underdeveloped but also dysfunctional (anyone discovering by accident the lack of a pavement around the fountains will already know this for themselves). One my last projects at my job-before-last was looking into how to redevelop the whole St Giles/TCR area given the impacts of Crossrail. The only positive thing about that area is that Denmark Street is one of the few central London locations that still has its original building facades intact and unmodified. St Giles Church is quite nice too, apart from the clustering of out buildings.

I put other in the neck option as I like the idea of a graphite neck with an ebony fingerboard and an epoxy/poly coating. The harder the better for fingerboards but phenolic is a bit too clattery unless using groundwounds.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='188837' date='Apr 30 2008, 02:22 PM']As a very general piece of unasked-for advice, I wouldn't even consider buying anything in Denmark Street and I work 50 yards from it.[/quote] As someone In The Know, the whole place is likely to get levelled in the next 15 years anyway if the current land owner gets their (somewhat optimistic) asking price.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='188695' date='Apr 30 2008, 10:59 AM'](NB; Jazz + Stingray = 1 Sabre :brow: )[/quote] My cutlass 2 doesn't sound like a Jazz at all to me. It has its own sort of sound ranging from varying fat stingray sounds to flabby single coil neck pickup funk a bit like the bass riff on this ad. Is the pickup selector on yours wired so that it gets a single coil from each humbucker? FWIW I could probably make do with 5 standard basses - 5 fretted, 5 fretless, jazz, p, stingray. But I'm currently working on a little idea that may do away with the need for individual ray/p/5 strings.

[quote name='Rich' post='188600' date='Apr 30 2008, 07:18 AM'] [size=1]coat->get[/size][/quote] LOL Yeh mate, woteva

I've accrued most of my basses as I thought I needed particular sounds. They've always been tools of one sort or another. However, the graphite necked basses I have are a bit of an indulgence. The other thing is that I've grown to accept is that I can't really take loads of basses to gigs, however one bass definitely isn't enough for the range of songs we do. I played just the Smith at our most recent gig last Saturday for all our songs and our disco songs just sounded flat because we didn't have the bark of the Stingray/Cutlass cutting through. Some day, I may well sell most of them if I find a bass that can do the job of three (5 string/precision/stingray)

Heheh, this post has flushed out some of the Alembic players I see. R5R5 and Alemboid haven't contributed yet though. Alembics are idiosyncratic instruments. They were originally designed to isolate the string as much as possible from the neck and body to promote sustain etc. etc. If anyone go plays one thinking its going to be like a Stingray or Pre CBS fender then they're guaranteed to be disappointed. However, when its the #1 recording bass for sessions in Nashville, its difficult to argue with that too. The Series 1 and 2 basses are in a completely different league to the other models, although I think the MK and SC sig basses are at least comparable in terms of playability. What you can expect from Series/Sig basses: 1) Super low action and suppleness 2) Loads of sustain 3) Huge, powerful and hifi sound 4) An impressive amount of versatility 5) Superb craftsmanship 6) Reliability I can't speak for other basses apart from the Elan 6 I bought off Ped which I know he will mention The Elan was dark sounding and very heavy to me. £700 for a Spoiler in good nick is a bargain. However I wasn't that impressed with the Spoilers i played in shops either. Not enough growl for my taste.

[quote name='Russ' post='187266' date='Apr 28 2008, 02:53 PM']I loved the old model they made for Steve Swallow when I first saw it in BP years back, and was pretty gutted when it finally came to market, and looked nothing like his model.[/quote] I understood he played a prototype. There could have been all sorts of changes made between his and what ended up being produced for the mass market. I think they should produce something with dual humbuckers to warm the bass up a bit (plus with coil tap options if really needed) and a wooden fingerboard.