Kiwi

OK I tried the Effectrode PC2A and it worked really well. Whatever it does, it seems to fatten up those frequencies that are sensed by the Future Impact making the tracking a little more stable. Noice floor issues didn't seem to cause any glitching. I'm curious to know whether it's just this compressor (powered by a valve) that does it or whether other compressors might work in the same way.

I agree with compression on the output as suggested above but I might play around with some light limiting before the FI and see if the noise floor is lifted. [quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1484206067' post='3213447'] Sorry to be slightly off topic, it can you get left handed keyboards that run the other way? I can't recall ever seeing one but it would be so simple to do on an electronic one. [/quote] You can but they're like unicorn poo [quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1484223205' post='3213649'] Has anybody noticed if using an eq before say, a future impact improves tracking? Maybe cleaning up all the sub lows improves tracking? Mind you, I'm guessing that the filters inside the Future Impacts triggering mechanism already do that if it's necessary? [/quote] Not exactly eq related but it and the Deep Impact both responded really well to single pickup basses like P-basses with flats and particularly Stingrays. Also does well with graphite necks but anything with two pickups and a scooped sound tends to glitch more easily. The Deep Impact used to track my Cutlass basses and the Modulus Sonic Hammer almost perfectly. I got the sense that there might well be a set of target frequencies that the pedals monitor for pitch tracking and related harmonics that make it glitch. The problem with eq-ing for these frequencies is that eqing needed is going to be different for each note played.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1484145586' post='3213016'] Use a keyboard ;-)[/quote] Oh nice try, Sir. Left handers aren't typically comfortable on keys - melodies are played with the right hand. Although, having said that, it didn't stop Phil Collins composing on one or Jools Holland (boogie woogie favours the left hand). I do pretty good with the Future Impact - it tracks my self built bass well but I'm still looking for potential improvements.

Perfected the use of a compressor into a bass synth pedal or even an envelope filter? Squashy settings seem to cause glitches due to the raised noisefloor but in principle it should make the dynamics more consistent. What's the secret?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1482948961' post='3203717'] Having dealt with Chinese businesses at my job, I'm very aware of communication issues. It can be a real nightmare. [/quote] Try living and being an entreprenuer there! I'm lucky I still have my sanity and hair. Being informed that there Chinese way of doing things and then seeing sh*t hitting the wall after my advice wasn't heeded has made me less tolerant...not more worldly (and this isn't my first time here). [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1482948961' post='3203717'] It pays to write concise and clear instructions... but even then misunderstandings do arise, it's true, ha! Still, they are not stupid and they want you to be happy so that you give them your money. They will work with you, you just need to remain focused, feed information in bite size chunks, and remain polite.[/quote] I could go on for hours about why this is the case. Mostly I believe it's the education system - it focuses exclusively on remembering facts and passing tests, not on understanding and problem solving. My niece is 12 and works until 11pm each night on homework (and she has a near photographic memory so never needed to study much in the past). It's a relentless grind for them with no room for personal development and I feel sorry for the poor bastards. The education system produces machines, not thinkers. Still...some, like my inlaws, can't help but think outside the box . In terms of generally working with Chinese, some allowance needs to be made for skill levels not being as high as in western countries and details get overlooked very easily. It's much more efficient to give them an example of what is wanted if so much of what is expected lies in attention to detail. It's then easy to point to the bits that are key to quality. Then they need training time to gain confidence and experience through repetition. As you say they're very eager to please. Once they've got the hang of what is expected, they turn into machines and can work relentlessly and very consistently - (as they are expected to by the education system). As for the topic of IP, it's a source of considerable frustration for myself. Trying to develop proof of concept without the manufacturing partner stealing those ideas is almost impossible to enforce legally. Yes there are confidentiality agreements that can be set up but the courts here generally like to have a pop at western interests on the basis of principle if there is an opportunity. So even if you took a company to court, used Chinese representation and had all the paper work in place, the courts might delay a decision indefinitely.

[quote name='five-string.co.uk' timestamp='1484063227' post='3212342'] What are your thoughts? Greg [/quote] I spoke with them at the BGM about pricing generally. They only make 10% profit on each instrument because they throw away huge amounts of wood from the stuff they buy up in bulk and they provide a lot of benefits for their employees. It's also not cheap to run a business in central New York. Having said that, in terms of these basses, there are loads out there around and above this price mark with a similar spec...Avella Coppolo, Sadowsky, Celinder to name but a few. I think the cost of instruments has sky rocketed in the last 10 years - perhaps due to the poor value of the £ these days and no discernable increase in wages due to the impact of redundancies after the recession on the availability of labour. Anyway, I started to learn how to make my own and haven't looked back.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1478802423' post='3171810'] Happy Effectrode PC-2A user here, traded it with a Diamond. It's a very overlooked pedal, yet Ovnilab places it in the top tier. [/quote] I have one of these too but use it for guitar. Haven't yet tried it with bass but may do. I currently have my name on the waiting list for an FEA Labs dual band compressor. Underrated here but not in the US.

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1482568891' post='3201467'] I think the negative sentiment against Mark King rises from the impression that many have that he appears to see himself as being more important than the band. This may of course be completely misrepresentative of how he actually sees himself and is just a matter of perception. He's not alone in this, other artists that I can think of that have been similarly perceived (rightly or wrongly) are Midge Ure, Phil Collins and Sting for example. It's probably more a reflection of band management and how the band's been presented in the media, as by all accounts Mark King is a really nice guy who can't do enough for others. [/quote] He was definitely the driving force behind the band. I think the issue with the brand isn't the band but the creepy obsessiveness of some diehard fans. At times it seems like some of them are one step away from donning a layered blonde wig, ripped skin tight bleached jeans and leather flying jacket while they pound away in videos to each other on an Alembic or Status. I'm glad to see that times are moving on though and the band is broadening it's appeal once again. Mr King is a nice bloke, a multi instrumentalist and a very shrewd businessman. I think he deserves respect for more than his bass playing. Speaking of which, anyone who has been to a l42 gig will known there are no shortage of lows through the PA. His Jaydees had more midrange bite though because the neck woods are softer but he likes the feel of graphite necks.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1182798627' post='23189'] Here's my list of suspects, I still have the instruments in italics. Sierra Precision - goddawful with a ply body Westone Spectrum 2 - goddawful with a ply body, but had 2 pickups Jaydee Supernatural Mark King - lovely but lacked a little warmth - very 80's sound. Warwick Rock Bass - stunning value, can give a stingray a run for its money Status Groove 5 - lovely bass, just couldn't get on with the offset body Jaydee Custom Jazz - less said about this, the better [u][i]Smith BSR5GN[/i][/u] - lovely bass, warm, growly but still has snap [u][i]Pedulla Pentabuzz[/i][/u] - very special, completely fills the room and sustains for days Smith BSR6GN - very nice but not as warm as the BSR5GN, I don't have the skill to fully exploit it Modulus Sonic Hammer Deluxe - soo-poib bass, not for my style of music however [u][i]Musicman Stingray[/i][/u] - brought back from the dead, after some major part transplants its everything I'd want a stingray to be Alembic Elan 6 - needed a chiropractors warning, dark sounding Pedulla MVP5 - lovely workmanship, just lacked warmth, couldn't fit Alembic pups and pre to match Pentabuzz so had to go Musicman Cutlass 1 (#1) - nice bass, neck like a banana, sold it to a collector Modulus Quantum 5 - nice bass, best suited a warm amp Modulus Quantum 5 fretless - also nice bass, warmer than the fretted, had to get the neck sorted though [u][i]Alembic Series 1[/i][/u] - very special, has the best fret job I've ever played [u][i]Musicman Cutlass 1[/i][/u] (#2) - also very special, like a stingray on steroids [u][i]Smith BSR5GN fretless[/i][/u] - lovely bass, can't get the action as low as the Pentabuzz though [u][i]Celinder Update J 4[/i][/u] - lovely bass, probably the only jazz I'll ever need to own [u][i]Celinder Update P 4[/i][/u] - lovely bass, probably the only precision I'll ever need to own To come: Shuker Custom MIDI Headless 6 [/quote] It's been 10 years since the post above so probably worth an update with the following: I still have the Alembic, Pentabuzz and Musicman Stingray above plus the following (non italics means they briefly passed through my hands): [i]Shuker Headless MIDI 6 (clear tint burl redwood)[/i] [i]Spector NS5CR [/i](clear tint, now heavily customised) Spector NS5CR (tobacco sunburst) Steinberger XL25A (black) 1975 Fender Jazz (clear) [i]Pangborn Warlord (graphite neck, black but refin to black cherry)[/i] [i]Status Series 1 (FPP red)[/i] [i]Self build semi hollow headless (blueburst)[/i]

There's a long story about the various transitions between Goodfellow, Nightingale and GB basses. Looks like it's a Goodfellow which predates Nightingale...

Mine is around 4kg in weight

That last comment of his on the video "I'm not gonna do that bit" was so similar to James May I swear they must be related.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1482604013' post='3201842'] Ah, I guess it's harder to change than a bass drum skin! I hope their time estimates aren't messed up too much by Chinese New Year. I've ordered something from China in January before, and it seems like everyone downs tools for a week then the post is backlogged after they start up again. [/quote] The Chinese New Year is around early Feb (although it's late January this year). There's a slow down in production to avoid having stock in limbo for the two weeks that the nation is on holiday, and then there's a slow pick up as everyone trickles back to work. [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1482629349' post='3202052']These carbon bars and they are carbon because they weigh the same as the real thing and i took them to a bike tech to veryfy they we're carbon. I stagger to say this. £15 posted to the UK. Work that one out. ??? [/quote] Labour is cheap in rural factories and bike bars are relatively uncomplicated to make so only need semi skilled labour. A carbon bike frame would be a whole different kettle of fish.

Somewhere around the £80-100 range I expect. Drop him a line though and see what he says. I don't know what The status pickup sells for.

[quote name='itsmedunc' timestamp='1481947271' post='3196498'] I thought about it and remembered there's a bottle of peach schnapps in the fridge. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or not? It's crap! [/quote] Yeah relying on alcohol to sleep is a short term fix I guess but not good to rely on it in the longer term for insomnia. Even if you were to go down that route, beer is better and less harmful. Hops make you drowsy anyway.

Think of something that makes you happy. Try to think about it in as much detail as you can. Enjoy it...a mug of warm milk and honey will sometimes do the trick too.

Status pickups...I don't know. If it were my choice, I'd be talking to someone like Aaron Armstrong about a custom build.

I've had Spectors as main gigging basses for the last 10 years or so. Originally a Euro 6 from the Sound Control closing blowout and then I went for a BC orphan NS5CR which seemed to have passed through many hands and I have no idea why. I'd actually played and fallen for it a number of years earlier and missed out on two opportunities to purchase. I finally got my hands on it in 2009 and haven't regretted it since. Shortly after I bought a second (which I sold earlier this year) which was a transition model from I guess '98 (Spector name, SSD specs so it had a very fat neck and dot fingerboard inlays). [i]The good bits:[/i] Czech made CR basses are nearly identical in spec to the US made XL basses apart from different electronics and a rosewood fingerboard instead of pau ferro. So this means solid maple wings and some decent figuring and they're a third of the cost second hand. Neck shape - it's thicker than a typical Fender profile but still comfortable and my hands have never cramped. Sound - growly as f***. Think Smith but with more midrange, MTD but with more warmth, fatter sounding Yamaha BBNEII etc. I think you know where I'm going. Looks - that body shape is still sexy after 30 years. [i]The less desirable bits:[/i] EMG electronics - while I love EMG's in guitars for high gain sounds, I don't like them in basses because they colour the sound too much. I replaced the electronics in mine with a Noll preamp and less coloured custom Wizard soapbars with coil splits. My particular bass has had a slight S-curve in the neck for most of it's life so it's with Mr Shuker at the moment. He'll replace the rosewood fingerboard with something stiffer like ebony and maybe refinish it in my favourite matt tint of reflex blue. It's a keeper.

I could suggest the one I have on order but its got lots of knobs on it.

Its only collectable to the bloke who owns it, I guess. There are some Alembic owners out there who would enjoy the bragging rights and status boost within their own online community and lets face it, many of them are wealthy enough not to blink at that asking price.

In no particular order there are bassists I admire but, due to a lack of technical ability (i.e. practice) have no realistic hope of emulating...like Esperanza, Pino, John Patitucci and Sharay Reed. Then there are players whose bass lines I enjoy playing like Bernard Edwards, Gene Perez, Mark King (yes, I'll put my hand up), Herbie Flowers, Rutger Gunnarsson, James Jamerson and Meshell Ndegeocello. So I guess that's 11 in total...but I play guitar more these days anyway.

Alembic were always clear about no endorsements officially. Mica never responded to questions about Stanley Clarke and Mark King at the time they were asked on the Alembic club forum. I squandered an opportunity to ask Mr King about this when I shared a Jubilee line carriage with him in London last year and have been kicking myself since...

I have a pair of Bose QC25 ear buds. They're pretty good but in terms of sound quality, they don't compare to a non-cancelling set of Sony buds. I only got the Bose set because I moved to Samsung phone, still wanted noise cancelling (for Saturday mornings at my son's day care) and I couldn't use another set of Sony buds that use inbuilt noise cancelling built into my Sony Xperia Z2. Side note: Sony Xperia phones are great for audio. Stereo speakers and inbuilt noise cancelling.