BigRedX

Bear in mind that electronic kits are only quiet in relation to the noise that an acoustic kit makes. I've played in bands with a variety of electronic drum kits over the years and have yet to find one where the noise of the sticks hitting the pads don't mask the drum sounds at anything less than very loud hifi volumes. Also you will probably have to find a way isolating the bass drum pedal from the floor, especially if you intend to use in any room that has another one beneath it.

I don't like the term much either. However, I also think that if you play in a band with someone you consider to be a "guitard" you are just as bad yourself, as you are enabling all their bad habits.

Let me illustrate why you shouldn't always rely on electronic tuners and at the same time point out how little an average audience will spot you being out of tune. Some years ago at a Terrortones gig, our guitarist had managed to reset her Boss tuner from 440Hz to 445Hz. During the gig our drummer who was sat behind both amps could hear that something was wrong and kept asking us to check our tuning. Of course both our tuners told us that we were perfectly in tune. Out front, I could hear something a bit weird every so often but since we'd checked out tuning thought that it must be the odd wrong note being played. It wasn't until we were back in the rehearsal room the following week that it became obvious what had happened. However no-one in the audience seemed to notice that anything was badly amiss, and we even picked up an excellent review in the local on-line arts and culture magazine. BTW for those of you who are interested, the difference between 440Hz and 445Hz is just under 20 cents or 1/5 of a semi-tone.

Depending on how wide you like your 12-string neck, I've yet to play a better electric 12 string than this one: [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/Bass/HohnerTEXIICustom.jpg[/IMG] Comfortably wide neck compared with a Rickenbacker and low-output lipstick tube pickups that give plenty of lovely 12-string shimmer. Unfortunately there are 2 very different Hohner 12-string electrics with the same model number and the other is a rather nasty telecaster shaped thing with unsympathetic hum bucking pickups which is best avoided!

The shape is influenced by the Andreas Shark Bass if I am not mistaken. I'd probably be making an offer on that if the postage wasn't so excessive.

One of the many advantages of having a bass that is constructed with a carbon fibre skin over wood is that it takes a fairly extreme change in conditions for it to go out of tune. I'll generally check the tuning at the sound check and quickly just before playing, but unless one of the machine heads has taken a knock while getting it out of the gig bag it's never more than a few cents out at the most and I could certainly play the whole set without bothering to tune up. I never check the tuning during the set unless I can hear something off while I'm playing although so far it's always turned out to be someone else in the band who is at fault.

Played at The Bodega in Nottingham with my new band "The Death Notes" supporting Scriptures for the album launch gig. Excellent on-stage and FoH sound and almost enough room to throw some shapes on stage: [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/IMG_0075_zpsj9ordml3.jpg[/IMG] A really good evening all-round. I particularly enjoyed the set from the band on after us - The Madeline Rust.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1494244723' post='3294251'] Good photo. You look Numanoid! [/quote] Thanks! Well that suits the new band - post-punk with goth touches. As I always say a great gig photo is more than just throwing some appropriate shapes on stage - you ned good lighting and an excellent photographer too.

From Friday's gig: [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/IMG_0075_zpsj9ordml3.jpg[/IMG]

Even if you hadn't already been put off power soaks, I haven't yet come across one rated for use with amps above 150W. As others have said they are designed for guitarists who want to drive the valves in the power section of their amp hard.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1493932922' post='3292023'] [attachment=244644:post-9862-1296135181.jpg] Now you can play Guess how old I am. [/quote] Some time between 1960 and 1964 - more likely towards the latter date due to the rosewood board. Does it actually have a date stamp or sticker on it? It's in better condition than mine: [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/DSC01541-2.jpg[/IMG]

I've got a 300. It's part of my "small" rig. Tiny, light and with the right cab(s) plenty loud enough. The cab does need to be a fairly modern and reasonably efficient design, or you might find that the 300 isn't quite enough.

I started [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/279770-the-year-of-birth-bass/"]a very similar thread[/url] just over a year ago. TBH there is nothing from my YoB that I could ever consider to be a usable bass for me. There are a handful of oddities that I would be happy to own, but they would be display instruments with occasional studio use at best. 1. [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hofner 500/10 Six String Bass[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]2. Danelectro Longhorn Six String Bass[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]3. Gibson EB6 Six String Bass[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]4. Gibson EB0 (original body shape)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]5. Gibson EB2[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]6. Burns Artist Bass (If I could find one that definitely was made in 1960)[/font][/color]

Ideally LEDs, but Luminlay comes a good second. I've found that anything non-permanent will rub off at the most inconvenient moment, and I've stopped trying to make do with these sorts of solutions.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1493506115' post='3288882'] I'm back here again as I don't feel the smiley quite conveyed my astonishment that an instrument this unattractive actually exists... Somebody designed this... with its beautiful lines and ergonomic aesthetic... the way the scratch plate seemlessly flows with the body shape... the headstock complimenting the body in perfectly harmony. Could this perhaps have been the first single cut? Weren't Burns a respectable brand at the time? I've seen basses from this era that were manufactured behind the iron curtain from old tank parts that are easier on the eye. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but this truly is a shocker... I wish I hadn't looked at it again right before bed. [/quote] Except that's not a Burns. It's a Burns-Weill, and pre-dates the Burns London brand by a year or so. The Burns guitars of the 60s were a major step up in design, construction and finish from this Burns-Weill.

I'll be getting one of those sometime in the next week. Regarding reviewers, I think these days there is such a wealth of new music being released (and old music being re-released) every week that reviewers no longer feel obliged to review everything they receive. If they don't like it they simply won't review it, especially for niche genres. I think the only exceptions being made now are when someone very famous (or important in a genre) releases something that is seriously sub-par.

What do you want from your producer? Is it just someone to make you recordings sound technically great in the way that you envisage them? Is it someone who is going to cajole/bully the best performances out of the band? Is it someone who is going to take a long hard look/listen to your current set of songs and then make changes to to them in at least arrangement if not the actual songwriting itself? Is is a combination of any/all of the above? As others have said, the best way to find a suitable producer is to find recordings in a similar vein to where you see the band heading and find out who produced those and approaching them. As for price, I have no idea, but I would expect anyone any good to be wanting to make a living wage (at the very least) from what they are charging. It would also help if you posted a link for your first album so that we can take a listen and may be able to suggest recordings that you should be listening to.

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1493387710' post='3288000'] The Jetsonics came about as I was throwing a list of noise and speed words together and I liked the sound of it. It's also the name of a brand of lightbar on the top of US cop cars I found out later. [/quote] It's also the name of a Burns guitar designed by Claudio Pagelli.

Even if you don't like them as a company, there's a lot to be said for Apple's policy of only announcing new products when they are going to be available within the next few days.

IME the best band names have nearly always been thought of by other band members. From past experience with band names I would make two suggestions when deciding on a name for your band. 1. Don't go for anything with made-up word(s), invariably (and more so in these days of auto-correct) it will get spelt wrongly in publicity and reviews. In the 80s I was in a band whose name was single made up word. Only about half of our print reviews spelt it correctly and almost every time we were on the radio it was mis-pronounced. 2. Have something that is Google-friendly, so that when people search for you on-line your website or Facebook page is easily found.

Everything else being equal (the fretted and fretless versions are identical other than the absence or presence of frets), for me it would come down to two things: 1. Potential damage to the fingerboard from removing the frets vs cutting the slots for the lines accurately. 2. Where you want the side dots? - on the fretted version they will be between the frets, whereas on the fretless version they would probably be at the position the fret would have been. If you want to move them how much extra work would it be?

Is the program data for the Future Impact in MIDI system exclusive format? If so the interface might be filtering it out. Many are set to do this by default as SysEx tends to clog up the MIDI data stream and affect note on and off timings. Check with the MIDI interface editor application to see what MIDI messages are being filtered at the MIDI in and outs and use it to enable SysEx.

I think you also need to get clarification from the courier as to what they consider to be sufficient packaging for an item of this size and weight.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1493123394' post='3285775'][list] [*]Near total silence - 0 dB [*]A whisper - 15 dB [*]Normal conversation - 60 dB [*]A lawnmower - 90 dB [*]A car horn - 110 dB [*]A rock concert or a jet engine - 120 dB [*]A gunshot or firecracker - 140 dB [/list] Now they do. [/quote] Another meaningless statistic. Are those figures average or peak level? And do they take into account the duration of the sound?

No more than 30 minutes unless you have a decent back catalogue of well known songs.