BigRedX

It's supposed to make all the strings "feel" the same without requiring lubriciously large lower strings and cheese-wire thin upper strings. However as I said in my last post it relies to an extent on the compliance of the string evening-out lack or excess of tension, to give an even feel across the set. However since compliance is in part based on factors which are outside the string manufacturers' control such as the construction of the bass and the way some strings are attached to the bass (on a non-angled headstock for strings that do not pass under a string retainer you have no way of guaranteeing the break angle over the nut), it is IMO a bit of a none-starter, especially for any bass with more than 4 strings.

Which is what I thought. To get a low B-string even close to the tension of the E it would considerably thicker than the heaviest supplied in standard sets. However, as I also suspected it's "even feel" which means that the compliance of each string plays a part. Unfortunately compliance IME is as much a function of how the string is fitted to the bass as the string itself, so manufacturers have no way of knowing what adjustments they need to make to the tensions in order for them to work together with the compliance to give an even feel. Unless they also ask for break angles over the witness points and lengths of the non-speaking portions of the string? I haven't seen any evidence of this.

So how do you know when string tensions are "balanced"? Because from what I'm seeing here "balanced" does not at all mean "equal". If we are talking about taking compliance into account to get a "balanced" feel between the strings then that is going to vary depending on the design of the instrument they are fitted to - break angles across the bridge and nut and the length of non-speaking portions of the string. What might feel "balanced" on one instrument will not feel balanced on another due to compliance.

Not quite what I was expecting. I thought the whole process including moving the "capos" was going to automated.

I got 14. Just went through it again and if it it had just been photos of the basses I'd have only got 5 definitely. I might have got another 7 by process of elimination for the multiple choice options, but what I could see of the players certainly helped.

So many Rickenbacker basses...

Can't seem to find these on eBay anymore. Are they still available?

What lead? Where? I think it's the reflection in the Timpani in front of it.

The general advice with USB hubs for audio purposes is to get one that uses its own PSU and has a reputable brand name on it. In the early days of USB that used to mean Belkin. I have no idea if this is still the case. One of the problems with USB and laptops in particular is that without the right diagnostic tools you have no idea how many other devices are sharing a particular USB bus, and often there will be a "hub(s)" built into the computer, so by the time you've added an external one you have so many devices on a single bus that there is no longer sufficient bandwidth for the audio interface to work properly. As USB is basically a "dumb" protocol, it treats all connected devices equally and has no preferential treatment for timing and bandwidth critical devices such as an audio interface. Since you are on a Mac you have the required tools built in to the OS. With everything connected Go to the Apple menu and select "About This Mac" then click on the "System Report" button. Select "USB" from the left hand column and it will give you a tree structure of how all your USB devices are connected. The first thing you will notice is just how many extra (built-in) devices that you hadn't considered are connected; like the laptop keyboard, trackpad, webcam, built-in media readers etc. You may find that swapping your external hub to the other USB socket will make a difference as it has less internal devices connected to its bus, but there is no guarantee. You say you have 2 USB ports on your Mac, so connect the audio interface directly to the port that is on the USB bus with the least number of internal USB devices, and then attach the USB hub to the other port and connect all your other USB peripherals to that. I would also recommend disconnecting any non-essential USB devices completely when using the audio interface, and only connecting them via the hub. If you are still having problems then it is time to get a better hub - as described earlier - but only use it for your non-audio devices. The audio interface should always be connected directly to the Mac. HTH.

Depends entirely on the song, the style of music, what the other instruments are doing...

It really depends what you bass amp is for. If you need it for the audience to hear you then it's not going away any time soon. For those of us who use PA support a bass rig has little purpose these days. Some sort of tone-shaping pre-amp/DI device or a multi-effects like the Helix combined with an FRFR cab for those gigs where the monitoring won't be as good as the FoH system and you are sorted. I got rid of my rig after and handful of gigs where I'd been asked to turn down on stage so much (in order to get a controllable FoH mix) that I could hear the bass guitar louder in the guitarist's foldback wedge than I could from own speakers even stood directly in front of them. I now have a Helix Floor and an RCF745 powdered cab as a personal monitor. The pair cost less brand new then I paid for my last full rig which was mostly second hand. For gigs where I know the foldback is going to be good I don't even bother bringing the RCF.

Surprised no-one has mention this yet...

I think that you find, that once there is enough processing power to do the trigger to MIDI conversion (especially if you have programmable velocity curves and different rigger regions), the ability to generate sounds comes virtually free, therefore most manufacturers put them on. It's only very old (and usually quite limited compared with modern versions) and some very high end systems that don't have sounds built in. Do you already have something that you can use as pads (a drum kit)? In that case you could make your own piezo triggers and just get a module that does the MIDI conversion - you don't have to use the built in sounds.

Thanks for doing that. Measurements are too similar to the Burns Barracuda to be worth it for me. Do either the volume or tone control pull up? On the Barracuda this switches on the neck pickup irrespective of the pickup selector switch position to give extra tonal possibilities.

TBH most of us could get away with a 2-string bass - either E and A or A and D depending on what you were playing. Certainly in my dad rock covers band days 90% of the songs could have been played comfortably on a bass with just 2 strings.

IMO the trick when commissioning a custom bass or guitar is not to overthink it. All of the woods on mine (where you can see them) were picked first and foremost for their colour and grain pattern. I spec'd up my instruments by deciding how I wanted them to look, sound and play. I picked a manufacturer/luthier who was already making instruments with a design I liked and gave them my colour, playability and sound specifications and they did the rest. IMO if your choice of luthier can't make you the perfect instrument from those specs you need to look elsewhere.

I've had several guitars and basses made specifically for me. I sold one of those basses last year (a fretless 5-string Sei). It's a fantastic bass, and when I first got it, it was my main instrument. However since the band it was bought for split, I've used it twice for live and studio work in the last 9 years, and I can't see any of the bands I am in currently or any music that I might want to play in the near future requiring it, so I decided it was time to move it on. The money I got was spent on something I can use for the music I am currently playing. Did I regret it? Yes and no. It was a bit sad to move on something that was specifically made to my tastes and requirements, but equally I felt guilty that it had spent a good proportion of it's life either in it's case or on a stand only getting occasional playing time - very little of it serious, so I was glad it has gone to someone who will spend more time playing it than I had recently. And should I ever need another fretless 5-string bass I can go through the whole process again!

When you say home use are you hoping to be able to play it without amplification? IME semi hollow basses are only marginally louder than solid ones, so there is little advantage.

20 years, and thousands of Pounds worth of transactions, buying a selling musical instruments on eBay and I've only ever had a few problems all of which were the fault of the courier and were sorted out under the insurance. Most of the instruments I'm interested in are only available by either buying a new one direct from the luthier or finding a second hand one one eBay. I'm happy to buy on the basis of some photos and a brief description, and often from an entirely different continent, because I know that if I can't get on with what I've bought I'll be able to move it on without much difficulty and no significant loss.

Actually it's difficult to tell from that photo. It looks as though the bass has been refinished so it could be either.

Modified Roland G33.

I play 5-string basses and I love the sound of open E. Sometimes you need open strings and sometimes you need fretted ones. There's more to playing an instrument then playing the right notes in the right place. It's playing the right notes with the right sound in the right place. If you don't get that you're not much of a musician.

The you need to play one. The sound is extra rich and ideal for post-punk bass lines. I've got a hankering for one of these now even though I don't really need it.

No definitely a separate saddle for each string looking at the 208SM photos. Edit: looks like the same bridge and tailpiece that all the far-eastern made 8-string basses use - Dean, Schecter etc.

It's 24bit with a sampling rate of up to 96kHz. What extra features from a more modern interface would you want? Until I got rid of all my studio equipment a couple of years ago I was still running 2408 Mk1 interface into a 424 PCI card and it was doing everything I needed.