BigRedX

And FWIW I've used both Awesome Merchandise and Shirty Something for T-shirt printing (100 T-shirts). Quality of both was excellent (print and T-shirts themselves). Awesome Merchandise were slightly cheaper and very slightly quicker in their turnaround.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1490022427' post='3261514'] Two of my basses are strung thru so I could try the red label on those then BRX? [/quote] Depends which part of the string you like on the saddle. I like the thinner part, as I it gives me a better feeling low B. However on the StarBass the taper seems to be solely for getting the ball-end to fit in the Warwick tailpiece. On my Gus it sits nicely with the full thickness of the string starting just after it has passed over the saddle.

If you get a MiJ model then they are great. I've owned a Talbo bass and still own a Talbo Jr Guitar, both of which are exceptional instruments. However I do have to say that I've been less than impressed with the UK distributers for Tokai, and ended up buying both of mine direct from Japan. All from what I've seen recently none of the more budget bass models are made in japan, and consequently they aren't really worthy of the reputation of the Tokais of the 80s.

[quote name='6feet7' timestamp='1489943239' post='3260987'] I had DR Sunbeams on my Warwick Starbass V (in the for sale section at the moment but wasn't getting the sound I wanted, so put some red labels on. It took a few days for the feel to 'feel right' but I can see no reason to go back to £30 - £50 strings as the Warwicks sound brilliant [/quote] The StarBass supposedly comes with Red Labels and the strings fitted to mine when I bought it were great. I tried Black Label, but didn't notice and significant improvement, so I went back to the Reds. One thing to note if you are looking at 5 string sets is that the low B is tapered, but the taper ends 50mm from the ball-end so it might not sit on the saddle (which is what you want ideally).

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1489783024' post='3259891'] 10 t-shirts, 1 colour print front & back, £120.00! �� [/quote] The thing with T-shirt printing is that you pay a lot for the first print - usually around £40 per colour per side - and after that the unit price is relatively low. So you need to order a decent quantity - ideally 100 minimum and then you start getting more sensible prices of around £350-400 for a single colour print front and back. The tricky part is working out how many of each size you need to order. IME no matter how many skinny hipsters make up your audience, the people who buy T-shirts tend to be on the lager side, so bias your order towards L, XL and even XXL sizes.

Personally I think that the synth comparison is vey valid. As a synth player from an era where programmability was only for those with record contracts, I couldn't wait long enough for the technology to become affordable for the ordinary player. And I'm not talking about the complex synths of today but something simple with a single oscillator and envelope generator. There's probably more controls on a relatively modest 4 pedal set up then there is on a Roland Juno 60, but no-one in their right minds would have picked the original Juno 6 over the Juno 60 with it's programmable memories unless they they really couldn't afford the small extra amount the 60 cost. For me it's the same with effects. As soon as you have more than a couple, it's a complex system and programmability is a boon. I couldn't see myself ever going back to individual pedals unless I had a dedicated road crew to move the extra gear I would need. Before I got my Roland GP8, my individual non-programmable effects collection required a 14U rack to hold them all, and a chunky cable snake for all the foot pedals to control them. The other thing to bear in mind is that sound is completely and utterly subjective. The OC-2 might be technically better on paper to the octaver on the Zoom, but in the end it's what they both sound like to OP's ears that matters. I've made the mistake in the past and upgraded to something with a supposedly superior sound quality only to find what I really liked was the "grunginess" the inferior model gave the sound. Sound-wise there is no right answer, so I'll stick with programmability because of the convenience it adds.

If they don't have actual recordings of the songs they are playing for you to listen to (and as a new band there's a good chance that they won't have anything recorded), then I would suggest that ask them for a list of similar bands that they consider to be their influences and spend the week impressing yourself in the music so that you can get a feel for how the bass guitar works in that particular genre.

Start by getting a quote from [url=http://www.awesomemerchandise.com]Awesome Merchandise[/url], and then Google local T-shirt printers in your area and see if any of them can beat it.

If I was to be starting a new originals band my process would be: 1. Pick a genre that I like that also has a dedicated ready-made following. 2. Sort out enough musical ideas for about 25-30 minutes worth of songs (enough for a supporting set) and get them down in a form to play to prospective band members. 3. Advertise and audition for a singer/lyricist. I don't sing or write words very well, so I need someone who can do these things so that we can get a songwriting partnership going and turn my musical ideas into finished songs. Record a decent quality demo. 4. Once that is done decide what other instruments we need to perform these songs live, and advertise for musicians to play them. 5. Get some gigs booked and get rehearsing.

For me highest is definitely Ziggy Stardust. It was the first album I owned so I got to know it inside out. I can say I've really been taken with very much that he's done since Scary Monsters, with the exception of Tin Machine which I rather like.

I don't think there is any one way to form a band. It depends entirely on your age, location, type of music you want to play and a whole host of other factors. Every single band I've formed or joined has been done in a different way. I've been in bands that lasted over a year without ever getting out of the rehearsal room or even finishing a single song. OtOH The terrortones went from being an idea that Mr Venom has to our first gig in 8 weeks - including auditioning guitarists and drummers and writing a whole 7 song set. Another 8 weeks on we had 5 more gigs under our belt including supporting The Meteors and 6 track demo recorded that we were using to get gigs all over the country. One thing I try and avoid when starting a new band is asking musicians you've played with in the past to join. IME bands are like relationships and there's normally a good reason why your still not playing with those people any more. That's from an originals band perspective. Maybe it's different for covers bands?

Programmability doesn't necessarily rule out analogue effects. I still use a Roland GP8 in my guitar rig, which is a mixture of digitally controlled analogue (was, auto-wha, compressor, distortion, overdrive, phaser and EQ) and pure digital (delay, chorus and flanger) and it works very well too!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1489516943' post='3257622'] Some mind blowing technology here: [url="http://www.ricktoone.com/instruments.html"]http://www.ricktoone...nstruments.html[/url] [/quote] I really like his work, even though most of it is heavily influenced by Steve Klein

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1489573652' post='3257990'] Yes - before ethercon, I made up cat5 cables with a couple bit of stiff heat shrink wrapped around the connector and the cable. As you say, the cable is more likely to go. The problem I have with ethernet cable is that its not very flexible - in that it always seems to coil up somehow and not lay flat.... and it has memory - so any kink in it is pretty permanent. Not tried the Vandamme stuff, whats that like? [/quote] The Van Damme cables I've got are supposed to be coilable, and they have been for a couple of years, but recently one of them is starting exhibit the same characteristics as the standard installation Cat5e in that it won't lie flat in some places and it is starting to kink. However they have been a lot more durable in a gigging environment than the standard stuff, and when these fail, if I still have a need for Cat5e cables for live use then I'll happily replace them with the same unless something even more hard wearing has become available in the mean time.

Is there room to fit a mic-stand adaptor to bottom of the case?

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1489539397' post='3257826'] Yes and no. RJ45 but Ethercon - so a lot more robust! [/quote] Since I had my heavy duty Van Damme Cat5e cables made up, it is looking as though the weak part is probably going to be the cable itself rather than the shrouded connectors.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1489539552' post='3257827'] They do. If you look at some peoples pedal boards, I would wager that it's a lot more accessible than some of those! [/quote] I'd always assumed that the pedals wedged in sideways or at the top end of those unfeasibly huge pedal boards were either on a loop controlled from a more assessable part of the board of not needed to be switched on or off mid-performance. I proved to myself at rehearsal last night that I can't reliably use switches on the second tier of my Line 6 Shortboard when sitting down - never mind standing up - so I'd have no chance with one of those boards!

IIRC batteries behave differently when used continuously until they run out as in the test above and when they are used for a couple of hours once or twice a day, as would be the case with most being used in musical instrument and effects pedals. For my own battery usage, everything that can be run off a mains adaptor is, and where I can only use batteries my PP3s are Duracel Industrial and my AA and AAAs are from Ikea where they came in packs of 10 for £1.00

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1489519489' post='3257648'] Note: We get quite a bit of rock radio play but never get around to claiming for that either. If you are not registered with PRS then there is money sitting somewhere waiting for you. Get on it! [/quote] Actually the money is only sitting waiting for you for so long (a year IIRC) after which it goes into the unlogged royalties pot which is distributed among members depending on their logged PRS earnings. So if you don't join the PRS your songwriting performance royalties eventually end up going to people like Bono and Elton John. Also if you are a PRS member you can submit set lists for the songs you play at your gigs and earn money from playing your own songs live! Admittedly it's not a lot - £6 divided by all the songs played by all the bands at a gig - but IME most bands don't do this so if you are the only band supplying a set list you'll end up with all the money. For a regularly gigging band this can be a decent source of income. The Terrortones funded the recording of two of our EPs with our PRS royalties from gigs.

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1489502686' post='3257474'] That's what I like about the Axe FX. It has that Links feature. So you just run a standard XLR cable to the board. No messing. [/quote] It's a pity though that they didn't also use XLRs for the MIDI ports as well.

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1489480179' post='3257208'] I've considered getting the rack version. The pros to me are: If the footcontroller breaks it's cheaper to replace. No long signal cable (wireless) just the cable to the controller. Cons: Can't fly it. Doesn't have an expression pedal built in. Initial cost is higher. It's a tough one. [/quote] Very much my dilemma too. One thing to consider is the connection between the rack unit and the pedal. Have Line6 gone for something a bit more robust that the standard Cat5e cable with RJ45 connectors that they used previously? IME these are simply not robust enough to be used in a gigging situation. At one rehearsal and a couple of gigs a week I was getting through a cable every 2-3 months, whereas all my (OBBM) signal cables are still going strong after 6 years of constant use and abuse. In the end I had a couple of special coilable Van Damme Cat5e cables made up with extra robust shrouding on the plugs to protect the locking mechanism (one that breaks the cables are virtually useless), and even so they are getting close to needing to be replaced after 2 years of intensive gigging.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1489442848' post='3257070'] Oh cmon, you can do better than that Nash! [/quote] Do the people who design these things actually use them in real-life gig settings? I find it difficult enough accurately hitting any of the switches on the second row of my Line6 Shortboard. I can't imagine having the use a third or fourth row unless it was a sit-down performance.

Enjoyed that a lot. Is there a CD or Vinyl?

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1489489215' post='3257305'] Yep. Set up a server with 100 virtual machines streaming the same song over and over again. You could increase the figures by 300,000 a week. Would be fairly easy to do at home in your bedroom, assuming Spotify isn't watching for this kind of behaviour. [/quote] IME you would need to set up a separate Spotify account on each virtual machine, and they would have to be full paid-for accounts as the free version will stop playing without user intervention every couple of hours.

In many ways I think that streaming is a far more accurate indicator of what is popular as opposed to sales for exactly the reasons that Happy Jack has said. And I don't think it's any more or less open to abuse than previous methods of calculating the chart were. Sure I can stick my band's latest release on continuous play on Spotify and rack up the micro-payments that it generates, but unless I can persuade a few hundred (if not thousand) other people to do it during the same week, my activities are not going to affect the chart standings. I think the decline in importance of the charts for us "older" basschatters has less to do with our tastes stagnating (although that's always a cause), and more to do with the way we consume music these days. Since pretty much everything is available on demand, there is little reason to be bombarded with the usual crap that the radio plays in order to hear the few songs that you like each day, and therefore it is very easy to lose touch with what is popular. Even if you are constantly on the lookout for new music and artists it is much easier to do that without exposing yourself to what Radio and TV think you should be listening to.