BigRedX

"I Feel Love" by Donna Summer - in order to answer a question from another thread, followed by lots of other things vinyl (but only those that play at 45RPM because changing it back to 33 is a complete ball ache). Right now I'm on Doot-Doot (12" Mix) by Freur.

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1480325229' post='3183289'] Are you are going to go passive without any controls? First remove/un solder the pickup wires from the Vol control. Un solder the wires from the jack, (i'd make a not of where all the removed wires go in case you want to revert back to active. Then do as verb suggested. It looks like your pickup wire is shielded so the center/hot wire to the tip of the jack and shield to the body. As verb pointed out, a multi meter is your friend to establish which contact is the shield and which is the "ring" or switch contact to turn the pre-amp on. If you want a passive Vol/Tone control then after all the un soldering, remove the pre-amp and controls and Google the diagram for a Fender P Bass and use that. [/quote] Personally I'd replace the jack socket as well since you no longer need a switching jack if you are going passive. Unsolder the pickup from the volume control and then remove the whole pre-amp assembly as a single piece. That way you'll have less to do if you ever want to put it back in. Then look for a standard P-bass wiring diagram and follow that with new pots for volume and tone, plus a tone capacitor and standard mono jack socket.

Try a 3/16 note, single repeat delay. Then play the riff as 1/8 notes. That way you get a 1/16 note pattern, but the repeats are spaced further apart that it doesn't sound as cluttered. It's a while since I seriously listen to the original but IIRC that's how it was done in the first place. You can hear this on headphones since the original notes and the repeats are panned either side of the stereo. However one of things that gives "I Feel Love" it's unique feel is the precision of the sequencer that is driving the riff. That means practicing playing the riff with perfect timing.

I've come across the jack plug being vibrated out of it's socket once when using someone else's Ampeg rig where the DI was connected through the line out on the back of the amp. IME jack sockets should have a good enough grip for the plug not the get vibrated out, so I would suggest that there is something wrong with the socket. Also from experience I will no longer allow Planet Waves leads to be plugged into any of my gear. I've had to replace the jack socket on a couple of my older guitars which were used with Planet Waves cables. These days, anyone who uses my amp at gear share gigs also has to use my OBBM cable as well.

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1480321342' post='3183254'] Professional band, all with day jobs? Mmmm.......approach with caution. [/quote] IME only the very biggest names playing original music, or the songwriters in long running bands with a large back catalogue can get away with not having some other source of income during the times when the band isn't touring or recording.

If the band's management and label are actually any good, there won't be a lot for you to worry about since they should be doing all the day to day organisation of the band, leaving the musicians to get on with doing the the things they should be best at - namely writing and playing the music. However don't sign anything without getting it checked by a lawyer who specialises in the music business. Now would be a good time to join the Musician's Union since they can put you in touch with the right legal people and also offer a free contract check for members.

IME glossy necks look and feel great. All the basses I use regularly (Gus, Sei, Warwick Starbass) have high gloss necks and I've never had any problems with them. Maybe the finish that these manufacturers use is more suitable than that found on cheaper instruments? The stickiest necks I've ever come across were on new Warwicks with an oil? finish, followed by a Traben bass that had such a thin satin finish on the neck, I could feel the grain of the wood. Neither were very nice to play.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1480081397' post='3181521'] Of course they'll do so while using a full stack, whereas they would accomplish the same effect using a sensible 50w 1x12 combo, giving an entirely new meaning to the term 'dummy load'. [/quote] But there are some genres where playing with anything other than a full stack behind you, just doesn't look right, and when it takes up the same floor space on stage as a combo on a tilt-back stand, what's the harm?

[quote name='Grassie' timestamp='1480067524' post='3181377'] Mmmm... the posted image isn't very big on my screen, although the actual image is 300dpi... Any suggestions to enhance your viewing pleasure...? [/quote] An unfortunate side-effect of using the Basschat image hosting and the need to conserve space on their server. Try an external image host like Photobucket.

Dummy loads are for guitarists who want to make the power amp valves in their amp work hard without producing ear-splitting volume.

If you are on a desert island by yourself it doesn't matter what tone you have. They all work.

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1479844334' post='3179760'] Unlikely going to carry any distance except for 1 Gig a year that I use Manchester's Metrolink to get to. I think this is why the Mono Bass Sleeve is so actractive as it is definately smaller/thinner/lighter that an ABS case, and this what I am after [/quote] I have a Mono M80. From a protection PoV it's great and you can squeeze into spaces in cars where a hard case wouldn't have enough give in it to fit. Unfortunately as a gig bag I find it very uncomfortable to wear on my back for any length of time, as the straps are too close together at the top and because of how they are mounted in relation to the height of the case and the fact that I'm only 5'6" means that the lower part of the case hits the back of my thighs on every step as I walk. However other Basschatters with the same case don't seem to have any problems with it, hence my recommendation to try before you buy. I picked the M80, because at the time it offered a good amount of protection, but was smaller and lighter than the rest of semi-rigid competition. I should also point out that after 5 years of less than once a week use mine is starting to wear out. The exterior is looking a bit shabby and the main zip has become damaged at the bottom, which means I can no longer fully open the case. If I was buying another gig bag without being able to check it out first I'd settle for a standard well padded bag at around the £30-40 mark. The Ritter one I had previously was far more comfortable to wear, and although it only lasted 3 years of weekly use before it was too worn to trust it to protect the bass inside, to me it would make more financial sense than an expensive semi-rigid case.

Unfortunately it's only the standard sets. So if like me you favour something like the 10 - 52 set you're going to be out of luck.

The differences in level between instrument (before the amp) and line (in the effects loops) shouldn't be such that they will damage your pedals. It might not sound very good if your pedal doesn't have sufficient headroom to prevent input clipping, but unless it has been poorly designed with low tolerance components, it won't break.

The reason the neck moves sideways is two fold, Firstly the routing templates for making the neck pockets were wearing out meaning that they were routed over-size. Secondly Fender didn't have required engineering tolerances to make the micro-tilt neck adjustment work properly. If the plate that the micro-tilt screw acts agains hasn't been fitted perfectly flat, then the screw will act sideways as well as up causing the neck to shift in the over-size pocket. There are a couple things that you can try. It might be possible to reseat the plate so that it is perfectly level with the flat part of the neck heel, but it will need to be absolutely level. Alternatively you can wind back the micro-tilt screw so that it doesn't have any effect, and use a shim instead to get the required neck tilt angle.

Are you going to need to carry it son your back for any distance? If so don't buy without trying it first. Not all of them are comfortable to for everyone wear. If not, then almost anything with a decent amount of padding will do. However check the specifications first. A lot of the semi-rigid cases like the Mono ones are only marginally smaller and lighter than a Hiscox case.

IME deps are simply too much hard work for an originals band. From personal experience you have to limit your set to songs you have decent recorded versions of, so unless you are promoting your latest album, it's going to mean digging up material that you'd stopped playing ages ago. And unless you actually manage to get a rehearsal or two in with them before hand, you have to trust that they have learnt all the right nuances. Finally, just getting them to look the part image-wise for the band is generally an exercise in futility. Even a simple instruction like, wear black, no visible band or brand logos and no trainers is too difficult for some.

Depends on the effects and the amp and sorts of sounds you hope to get out of the effects and amp. Some pedals benefit from being before the amp and others in the effects loop. With your set up since the amp doesn't have valves, it's contribution towards changing the sound is in the EQ section as most amps have the EQ section before the effects loop (although I would check your manual to be certain), so consider where in the your signal chain you would place an EQ pedal and then wire in your amp appropriately.

£6000 is actually pretty cheap for a buy on considering it is a 9 date tour (although I wonder if the figure is significant to the genre - do the maths!) I'd be looking to your record company for advice. That's some of what they are there for after all; and if they can't supply it, I be pondering the wisdom of actually being signed to them. This would be my check list: 1. Check the popularity of the band and the venues being played. They might be using the buy on to finance a tour into less tried and tested areas for them. 2. Find out what the plan and deal is if any gigs are cancelled. 3. Find out who else is going to be on the tour. Personally I'd only consider a buy on if it meant my band was going to play immediately before the headliners. There's no point in spending all that money only to find that you are opening a four band package and mostly playing to no-one. 4. Make sure you have loads of merchandise to sell. That's where you are going to make some of your buy on fee back, and that's what helps your potential fans remember who you are after the gig is over. Also I'd be looking for some sort of contribution from the record label. If it's not forthcoming them maybe they don't consider being on the tour good value for money as regards promoting your band.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1479807345' post='3179359'] The problem with bands is that they contain other people... [/quote] That's also their greatest strength.

OK. That makes sense. My "why bother" comment was based on all things being equal, in which case there is a definite difference between playing bass lines on a bass guitar and playing them on a keyboard. So... if you are thinking about making the switch remember it is a whole different game. Things that are trivial to play on the bass guitar might not be on the keyboard and vice-versa. And all those little nuances that you take for granted on the bass guitar and probably do without even thinking about them, for instance ghost notes, pops and slap (in the middle of a standard bass line) are either near impossible or are going to take a lot of programming skill and then a lot of playing practice to master. However there are plenty of styles of music that make a point of using keyboard bass rather than the bass guitar, so If you are going to be forced to look at playing the bass part from a keyboard, it might also be wise to start getting into some of those...

Getting a realistic bass guitar part out of another instrument is not just about duplicating the sound but you also need to duplicate the playing style. A keyboard is simply not the same as a bass guitar, the whole approach to what you play on each instrument will be different. Of course you could send loads of time programming up the sounds and then practicing so you approach the keyboard playing style in the same way as you would a bass guitar. But really? Why bother? Maybe it's because I can play both to an adequate standard, I pick one or the other depending on the both the sound and feel I require for the part.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1479733006' post='3178784'] Do you press on the strings at both sides of the nut and saddles to create witness points, or you don't bother with that? [/quote] I do with the E and B on my Gus basses as they bend at almost 90° over the bridge and need a little help to bed down properly because of their girth. I don't bother at the nut because all my basses have angled headstocks and properly cut nuts, so the strings bend properly anyway.

AFAICS the silver on the original Fender logo is actual silver ink. I would have thought that these decals are screen printed two colours: black and silver with the silver being printed "behind" the black. There's not really any way you can replicate this with an ink-jet printer, unless you go for a high end one that supports custom metallic inks, and even then there is more than one shade of silver, so unless it happens to be the same as the one that Fender use, it's still not going to be right. BTW the difference in spacing on the word "BASS" on the two decals is a classic example of how a screen printing stencil breaks down with use.

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1479465322' post='3176724'] I've just started to explore this part of bass playing but i'm wondering if there's a go to piece of stand alone gear? [/quote] TBH any decent synth that you find easy to program will do the job.