Wolverinebass

I have nothing against ES, but I think saying he writes all his own songs is a bit much as like most folk of his ilk these days (Jake Bugg being another) virtually all the songs are co-written with a team of folk. Much like James Blunt as well. I'm sure I read that they all used the same lady who wrote a load of stuff for Pink, but the name escapes me. I suppose this is nothing new, but it's something I think gets lost in the noise of publicity for people. Whilst I find all the folk I mentioned above make music I don't like, they all seem like folk I'd like to meet and have a laugh with.

Had fun today and met Ped, Seashell and finally Dood for the first time. I did see McDaddy, Bluejay and Sibob, but they were somewhat busy and I didn't want to interrupt. It was also really cool to catch up with Alan at ACG and Martin Simms as well. I had 2 massive "step away from the vehicle" moments though. The first one was trying that light burl Shuker. Good grief!! That was evil!! It had a particular growl in the low end that I've only ever heard anything similar with really old Warwicks. Brilliant bass. I can now see why Shukers are rated so highly, though until today I'd never played one. The other was the new Darkglass amp. No Youtube demo can do that thing justice. It's just devastating. I was playing a Maruszczyk Hellwood into it and the thing just killed. What was more insane was when I looked at the volume knob which was somewhere down in the 7 o'clock position (barely on) and the thing was brutally loud. I could have quite happily went home with them. I do think that not giving you the bag with the amp is a bit cheeky though, but that's another matter. The Jon Stockman pedal is really, really good as well, but I guess it has to be being that it'll probably be more than £300. I had never tried Cog effect pedals and I'm not a fuzz person at all. However, on wandering round, I catch this gentleman playing a Warwick into this Cog 66 pedal and I thought it just sounded fantastic. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't buy it. Tonally it wasn't that far off the Darkglass or even the Jon Stockman pedal they had. Yeah, okay, some of you are going to should "DIE HERETIC!!!" at that, but they had similar properties on some frequency bands I felt. In the end I came away with nothing, which is most unusual and not what I expected as I thought I'd get some strings or something, but it was good to meet a few Basschatters and browse some quality gear as always. Ida Nielson was brilliant and Glen Matlock was hilarious as well. A top day out.

Finally, I got my hands on one. I tried a Hellwood at the Darkglass stand. I quite liked it, but for the nut width being too thin. Will Adrian alter that if you ask? I'd want it changed to 42 or 43mm as the standard 40 is just too thin for me and feels odd in my hands. Where is the price listing for all of the models? I don't seem to be able to see a price for anything except on the stock basses.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1488446969' post='3248956'] I have a character flaw (among various others) where the more I am told I must do something (outside of work) the less likely I am to do it... I've left a few projects where I've been expected to play a certain bass... Being asked to play a bass other than the one you have chosen seems to have as much to do with asserting the authority of the person asking as it does anything to do with the aesthetics of the band. If you cave in it's basically saying someone else's opinion of what your playing is more important that your own... and what follows that? "Hey mate maybe you should try playing that bassline like this instead..."... its a downward spiral... [/quote] My thoughts are exactly the same. It's a downward trajectory of the assertion of power that they can make you do something. Absolutely nobody will tell me how to play a song as that for me is Defcom 1. I have the exact same "flaw" in that I will not be "told" to do something though if it's "suggested" I'll think about it. Only over the course of my life has this dawned on me that this isn't a flaw per se but a byproduct of growing up in a fairly rough area of Scotland where being told to do something would inevitably have negative consequences. So my reaction is ingrained behaviour. Invariably it's the correct one though there have been a few great opportunities I've screwed up because of this where the more someone has persisted, the more I've dug in. Whether it's been worth it as a price to pay for not putting up with being stepped on is something I've never fully decided.

I fail to see why anyone is advocating any form of gentleness with this. Unless the issue is in the small print of the contract, the bloke is robbing them and should be stood on in any legal way to stop him doing it though I'd imagine saying something at the gig would be easier in this situation the second this clown came off stage.

My response to crap like this is simple. This. http://youtu.be/aNEiBl3aQcY

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487775000' post='3242715'] Hey folks. Whats your opinion on this one? My favourite Bass to gig with is undoubtedly my sonic blue Yamaha Attitude ltd3. Love everything about it. Been told that the Prog band I'm in requires a more 'traditional' looking Bass, a Fender basically. No problem, I have suitable looking Basses I can use, but none of them feel as 'right' to me as the Yamaha. I'm pretty pragmatic about it and will do what's necessary, I'm not the 'main' guy in the band, and I enjoy the music so if the look is [i]that [/i]important, then so be it. But what would YOU do? [/quote] They're tools. It's a genre that doesn't require a specific instrument type to fit in stylistically. In my experience, anyone who has ever suggested I play "a proper bass - like a fender" is a moron as I deliberately play in genres where you don't need to. That's not to say I dislike fenders, but if someone tells me what to play and it's not warranted due to genre of the band then they can go do one.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1486895090' post='3235256'] ...sorry, I had to go and make breakfast. So yes, we're at the studio. He sets up and we just have a little chat and decide what to play. As Montgomery Burns would have said, 'And we were off!' End of the first song, me, the guitarist and the singer are kind of looking at each other. The guitarist is smiling, which is strange enough in itself and I'm kind of at that point where I just want to laugh loudly because there's joy in my being. The guy is fantastic; he's taken the loops I put into the original demos and has bettered them. The guy plays like Taylor Hawkins. He sings. He harmonises. He's a machine and frankly one of the funniest guys I've ever met. Band politics are gone, we're a gang. So we gave him the chair. He accepted. We're about a dozen gigs in, we've done studio time and did a two hour radio show. Andy/Wolverine has heard the studio stuff and said some really nice things about it. I'm made up. [/quote] It's amazing how much of a difference an adjustment like this can make. From hearing the Johnsons material I can say that it's fantastic. It has a great energy to it, the songs are really good and it's brilliantly produced with probably some of the best drum sounds I've ever heard on it. The bass is Sansamp perfection if you like a bit of crunch (as I do) and it's almost impossible to come away from listening to it without thinking that the band have had loads of fun recording the material. If there is one thing that is impossible to fake it's the presence of joy and it is clearly evident here. I'm sure that this is in no small part due to the acquisition of a new drummer. I'd certainly be happy to be in a band with him. I'd recommend the tunes to anyone as they're really, really good.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1485423188' post='3223807'] £84 for a bag? That's stupid. [/quote] Darkglass can now officially go and do one. That's just insane and grotesquely greedy. I await the first £400 distortion pedal. Pfft. Jog on.

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1485286221' post='3222821'] also at that price its in the same kinda range as chase bliss brothers, def not the same kinda sound but with all the midi possibilities and different sound on tap via presets the Brothers looks pricey but kinda worth it, but it does sound very good! andy [/quote] A very good point. Unless it's just a stompbox then that's okay to not have midi implementation, but Darkglass are somewhat more than that. Or at least they market themselves as that rightly or wrongly. I think that the ultras and their new amp should be midi enabled. For what they cost for a pedal, I wouldn't entertain getting one without it. No presets on a pedal that costs almost £350? It does seem a bit odd.

Interesting. Glad that there will be a blended output. Wouldn't mind trying one, but I bet it'll end up being £500 when it comes out over here.

I saw them in April 2011 I think and myself and my mate met them all afterwards. Lovely guys and a devastating live band. I'll be going to Islington.

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1484934554' post='3219895'] I emailed Peavey yesterday, those in the Customer Services offices don't yet know a release date apparently. They kept this very very hidden from all but a few employees there it seems. Or so they claim at least [/quote] It wouldn't have been that hard to hide though now would it? The amp is only the size of a matchbox.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1484826287' post='3218773'] Very disappointing. Like a lot of you, what I really want to see is a lightweight small-package SMX with all its classic features. Doesn't have to be ultra teeny tiny, just sub-10lbs and around the 500w mark. A good take on this would see my Shuttle 6.0 up for sale and, I would suggest, could be something of a world-beater. Instead, we get yet another clone fag packet. [/quote] Exactly. This is beyond a level of sub par crap. I'm now not actually disappointed but now quite angry that they thought they could toss off any old crap and get away with it. Awful.

I'm seriously underwhelmed. After all this time, the best they can do is a GK mb200 clone and a pseudo paraphrase of the Tech 21 flyrig?!! Really?!! Try just a bit here!! Obviously, Trace Elliot must have hired the same consultants that advised Hartke to create such awful amplifiers for the last 8 years. How difficult is it? Just put the graphic and drive functions in a box with a 1000w power module and you're good to start on the way. But no. Instead we get this crap. Who even uses a 200w amp anymore anyway? (unless it's a very old trace). Pitiful. Absolutely pitiful.

An updated mp11 would be good. If they did that, old be all over it.

Game on! Shall be along on Sunday.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1484037343' post='3212043'] I played a gig at the weekend and the sound wasn`t particularly good - a lot to do with the venue acoustics. The band on before us went on and the bassist had a great sound until the sound-guy went on stage and changed the eq on the bass amp (provided rig). Suddenly they went to mush as well. Sometimes it`s how the sound-person thinks an instrument should sound that messes up a bands sound, not deliberately doing it to make the band sound bad. The band spend ages rehearsing and getting the sounds of the instruments as they want them and then someone on the desk - who has never heard them so has no point of reference - changes the sound to a more generic sound. [/quote] This is why I generally hate sound engineers. Had someone tried to do that to me I'd imagine that they'd see their own blood pretty quick. Fair enough if you're too loud, but the second someone starts messing with frequencies for you it's game over. I've had this sort of crap happen to me on several occasions and on one of the more "heated" exchanges I had to be restrained by my bandmates. All because this idiot decided to do frequency pans on me for the whole set. Ever wanted to know how amazing your bass will sound when you cut off everything above 400hz? No, you don't. Nobody does. But that's what these clowns do. Reduce you to a dull throb in the background regardless how much you've explained that the bass is occupying a different role to the normal "play a note with the kick drum." Divs.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1482054894' post='3197168'] Don't do ANYTHING until you've checked out the HandBox R-400 ([url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/282884-handbox-bass-amplification-new-to-the-uk/"]Thread here[/url]) Best amp I've ever owned, and that's a lot of amps. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEnzJVaMpmo[/media] [/quote] I hope you're on commission for Handbox! If not, you might want to renegotiate your promotional status towards their products.

[quote name='Thor' timestamp='1477092951' post='3159881'] Saw this and actually laughed out loud - got some strange looks too from them travelling folk on the train... http://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/ambitious-bass-player-wanted-for-upcoming-rock-n-roll-band-t917749.html [/quote] It doesn't matter. I listened to their stuff a few weeks ago and it's exactly the kind of tight jeaned Strokes crap you'd expect. Avoid.

Superior Drummer is so scored!! £76!! Game on! Come on Toontrack, make my day and put the progressive foundry pack on as well!!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1478422166' post='3168904'] I have an 8-string bass and I fall into your age bracket ... erm ... twice. And I can spell 'new' properly too, if that helps? [/quote] Ha! Quality! In truth, were it not for the age range and 5 string bass, I'd be up for this. Besides, as I play a 12ver, everyone knows that is like 7 better than a piddly 5 string? Well... they probably should!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1478174040' post='3167248'] He said he didn't count anything. You get a rhythmic pattern in your head and follow that. [/quote] Pretty much it exactly. I've almost totally stopped writing in 4/4 as I find it limiting. Generally, I'll just play something in free time then figure out what it is later. In saying that. from experience of what seems to sound good and generally fun, I'd say 11/8, 9/8, 7/4 with my alltime favourite being 19/8. Totally pickles most people. I guess I've listened to too much progressive metal really.

[quote name='lastanthem88' timestamp='1478028540' post='3166208'] Unsure. I'm interested in the nitro as I'd like it to age and become battle torn, poly basses don't have the same aesthetic appeal to me! [/quote] My point was that the bass in the classifieds comes with a fender bag, so it's probably the poly version. On the other hand you can get one of them new for £720, and that bass is £100 more. Worth asking methinks.

I thought that the nitro version shipped with a hardcase and the poly version was a gigbag?