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Everything posted by MichaelDean
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P.S. good choice on the whalepool burst 😁
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They are not a drop in replacement and do need new holes unfortunately. Dingwall are meant to be potentially releasing their big block style bridge as an aftermarket drop in option soon (I've got my fingers crossed it'll be NAMM). Hopefully they'll do lefty versions for you! I did email Mark about them in February to see if I could get on a waiting list. He said he'd talk to Sheldon and would get back to me. I need to chase him up...
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Brian also does excellent work and usually has a pdf template you can check the fit on. I've had two perfect pickguards from him. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115165532354
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Rubbed down to create unusual finish.....
MichaelDean replied to BetaFunk's topic in eBay - Weird and Wonderful
This Starcaster logo is also abuse. The only way that could be worse would be if it was in comic sans! -
Your Bass Journey - going nowhere without an amplifier!
MichaelDean replied to Gasman's topic in General Discussion
I started off with some really cheap amp, with what was probably an 8" speaker back in what must have been 2001. Horrible thing. Almost surprised I stuck with bass! So later that same year I got a Trace Elliott Commando 12 that did me a good few years. Loved the sound of it, but it wasn't loud enough and didn't have a DI out. Probably sold it in 2011. I got a Markbass CMD102P around what must have been 2009. It was good, but possibly a bit too hifi for me. Had a road trip with a friend to Andertons to get it. Took long time to sell as well once I decided it wasn't for me. THen I got an Ampeg PF-500 with the matching 210 in 2012. Really liked that at the time, but when I started playing 5 strings it didn't quite do it for me. So in probably 2019, I got a Zilla 212 made up that was so much better than the Ampeg 210. Something was still lacking though and later in 2019 I got my ABM 600, which has stood me in good stead ever since. I also had an Ampeg BA108 at some point, but it barely got used. -
Oh dear... https://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitars/sire-marcus-miller-p5r-alder-5-string-bass-guitar-natural
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The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread
MichaelDean replied to EBS_freak's topic in Accessories and Misc
I taped a long headphone cable to a regular instrument one once to do the same thing. Worked a treat and much cheaper than these already very good options as I already had the instrument lead. Plus I could position the headphone end just where I wanted so it was in the correct place when I looped my cable through the strap. Could even add some trunking and then some heatshrink to make look nicer. -
I had the same issue, it still happened with a new valve, do I sent it off to Ashdown, came back good as new. That's a bit harder for you based on your location! If a new valve doesn't sort it, I'd contact the shop you bought it from.
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Budget MusicMans (MusicMen?) Ray 35 vs SUB5
MichaelDean replied to StingRayBoy42's topic in Bass Guitars
I had a SUB 5 for quite a few years. It played really nicely. The stock preamp was ok, but it sounded better once I put a Retrovibe Stinger in it. I think, had I kept it, I probably would have gotten curious eventually changed the pickup too. It held up well to gigging though and I utterly outdid (tonally) a real Stingray 5 once at a gig. The other bassist we were supporting looked a bit annoyed about that 🤣 I only moved it on when I got my Dingwall as I had some instructions from the other half! -
Yeah, I've been trying out the main contenders at practice and we rehearse a bit silly loud (with hearing protection!). One of the guitarists even said he couldn't hear me as well with the one I thought would work well (which was a Gator Grip triangle).
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Thanks to this thread, I went and bought loads of picks to try out as I'd been using the same ones for the last 10 years. The close runner up was the Nylon Big Stubby, but I kept dropping it. If they did a grippier one of those, it would be perfect for me. So, I ended up where I started - a Dunlop Nylon 1mm! It's amazing the difference a pick can make though. A/Bing them all was really interesting. Some were clearly not what I wanted and I could tell acoustically, others I needed to hear it amplified to really tell the difference. But once amplified, it was really obvious.
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I briefly had a fretless bass. I don't care for mwah or any of the other words used to describe the sound! Mind you I'm not even a big fan of other people playing fretless, so maybe I should have seen it coming 😅
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A bit of reverb can make you into a massive wall of noise too. Wah pedals are fun. I've been using my GX-100 in a doom band and it's been great trying out some other bits like an octave and chorus for some bits. A gate can be useful too. I've got one set up so I can be silent if needed with my base dirt and then it doesn't affect any of the bigger noisy stuff I'm doing.
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It might be worth you trying out a PJ bass (if you haven't already). You can get a bit more high end from the J, but you've still got the P there that just fits in well.
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I'd also prefer the block to be inside the thing. I guess they also probably have the same one for X number of products and it's easier for them to do it like that. I'm almost tempted to trim the long cable and put a new DC connector on it. Should probably wait for the warranty to run out first mind!
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I'm glad you like it! If you get the bluetooth module and you're having issues with it, I recommend connecting to the audio signal before connecting to the MIDI one. It's the opposite of the booklet, but worked for me after a frustrating half an hour. You can't seemingly do anything with the footswitch colours/brightness. I was hoping to tweak the colours to my preference. No dice! If you don't need any other pedals, this cheaper case also seems better than nothing so far. I got an extra long figure 8 cable so the rest of the power block is velcroed down.
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You can assign the expression pedal to multiple parameters at a time. That isn't an issue. I don't think you can change what the expression pedal is controlling in the same patch though. I think you'd need to use an external expression pedal for part two of your plan.
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So, yes, only being able to play back other audio sources through the optional Bluetooth module is a pain in the backside. I capitulated on that add on pretty quickly. I don't use it for the Tone Studio app though. I find I can do any patch editing quickly enough on the pedal itself. Another oddity is that you can't create a blank patch/wipe one quickly. There are X number of presets (can't remember off the top of my head) and then X number of user definable presets with corresponding numbers but different prefixes. The user presets default to being the same as the main presets, which you can then either tweak or delete all of the blocks and start from scratch. Once you have one blank patch you can then copy that to other slots. If you choose the "initialize" option on a patch, it restores the original preset. Really odd choice I feel! The outputs aren't balanced unfortunately. And the headphone out mirrors the main outs. You can set a divider block up with just the one output with the amp/cab sim and one without, but you can only have one divider block per patch, so you can't necessarily do as much parallel processing as you might want. I've been OK with that compromise though. All of the guitar dirts have a clean blend and bass boost, the bass ones have a clean blend. But I'm finding myself using the guitar ones over the bass specific ones. The only bass specific effects I'm really using are the bass wah and bass amp. So, I've got one side set up with an amp and cab sim for front of house and the other without to go to my amp. Still really pleased with it. No regrets.
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I almost sliced the tip of my left ring finger off the day before a gig a few years ago. I did surprisingly well with just a plaster. Thought it was going to be much worse than it was. Still got a scar on that finger.
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The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread
MichaelDean replied to EBS_freak's topic in Accessories and Misc
I had some of an older version. They were worse than terrible. The cable was soooooo microphonic and the sound was bad. Bass response wasn't there and the highs were tinny. Unless you can try this version before buying, I'd avoid. -
The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread
MichaelDean replied to EBS_freak's topic in Accessories and Misc
When I got mine, the cable upgrade was a "free gift". I didn't bother using the original one till the upgrade died a few years later. After a day or two of using the original one I ordered a new upgrade cable! I just couldn't deal with how the original one tangled as soon as you looked at it wrong! -
I've also got a GX-100 and am loving it. The lack of line outs did concern me a little, but I went ahead anyway - as Al Krow says, just stick a DI on one output if it's a long cable run. It's a really great unit. No regrets at all. I've found that because there is an extra bass knob on all of the drives/distortions/fuzzes intended for guitar, they have been working out much better than the bass specific ones for my use case. The only downside would be any synth type stuff. There aren't any blocks for that with the GX-100. I guess you could layer other effects to make something synthy though.
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The issue there is that the input gain also affects the valve drive. I'd much rather have smooth pots on the gain and volume.
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Direct sunlight is really good at breaking down odours - not so handy at this time of year though! I had a smelly case. Left it out in the sun for a day and it smells no more!