BigRedX

[quote name='PawelG' timestamp='1495563900' post='3304905'] So, you reckon that getting this kind of tone in a live situation would be rather difficult? [/quote] IMO what makes a great bass tone is not the sound of the bass on its own (as the clip in the OP brilliantly demonstrates when it gets to the bass "solo" later in the piece, and the tone is completely "meh" compared with how brilliantly it fits when the whole band is playing), but how it fits in with the other instruments in the arrangement. This is one of the reasons why chasing a great tone you've heard on a recording is for most people a futile exercise, because the rest of musicians you'll be playing with don't sound like the other musicians on the record, so even if you do manage to completely copy the sound of the recorded bass, it won't sit properly because the other instruments sound different. So what you should do instead is listen to the recording and identify what it is about how the bass fits into the sonic space and then replicate that with the musicians you are playing with. In this case it underpins the whole track with the occasional accented notes that pop out. Copy the feel rather than the sound and listen to the tones the other musicians you are playing with are using and pick one for yourself that compliments those. Of course there's no way of knowing how much of that is down to the skill and technique of the player and how much is down to EQ and level automation in the DAW.

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/product-steel01b_zps7xnzqksp.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1495560236' post='3304853'] You don't see these for sale very often. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mid-80s-Staccato-MG-Bass-Guitar-Original-Hard-Case-Pearl-White-/132196649956?hash=item1ec788cbe4:g:oHUAAOSwurZZHdWh"]http://www.ebay.co.u...HUAAOSwurZZHdWh[/url] [/quote] That's only the second one I've seen in the last 10 years.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1495548427' post='3304658'] Yes, I know there's a special section for 'Recording'. I felt this deserved a wider audience. [/quote] Which is odd because it has been [url=http://basschat.co.uk/topic/304462-sound-on-sound-article/]posted before[/url] and in this very section.

[quote name='PawelG' timestamp='1495552837' post='3304723'] It was recorded in a homemade studio - says on the album. [/quote] It doesn't matter kind of studio it was recorded in. You don't know what processing has been applied to the bass after it has been recorded to tape, hard disk etc. And there will have been a lot of it. [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1495554011' post='3304741'] As long as the playing is right, it doesn't matter what gear the bassist is using. An engineer with a good set of ears can polish up the sound of any bass with the facilities of even the smallest studio. [/quote] Exactly.

[quote name='PawelG' timestamp='1495358472' post='3303154'] I am just curious what has the biggest influence on that particular tone. [/quote] The studio.

These sorts of tours only work on the assumption that the drum kit and backline will be provided by the "local" band(s). I had a quick look to see who the bands were, and I'd not heard of any of them, but I suspect that they have a following in their niche genre. If this is anything like the gigs I've done supporting bands from outside of the UK the only money being made will be from the sales of merchandise and that is unlikely to cover the cost of getting the bands over in the first place. The touring bands do it because it is for them a low cost way of playing to new audiences and travelling to different countries. The local bands do it because hopefully it will put them in front of people who haven't seen them play before and there is always the possibility that they will be invited back to play in the US, where they will be the ones borrowing the drum kit and backline. Also IME the touring bands tend to be extremely grateful that someone is prepared to lend them the equipment to play through and very respectful of it. After all with no local support and therefore no gear there is no gig.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1495549638' post='3304682'] It does not have to have the fifth of the chord innit. Sorry, I am just going outside for a word with myself. [/quote] But IME the 5th is what makes it sound so good. If was going to loose a note in a chord it would always be the 3rd because it nearly always sounds out of tune to me, but in this case it's already been replaced by much sweeter sus 4th.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1495547181' post='3304645'] Yup - Mick will be able to hit the audience with a G9sus4 when they are least expecting it... [/quote] That would be unexpected - especially considering that it's a 5-note chord. ;-)

TBF this is pretty standard practice when playing with bands from outside of the UK. The only time the band I've been playing with hasn't been expected to supply the full backline and drum kit in this situation was when we were supporting a German Rockabilly band that came over in a mini tour bus with all their gear and their own PA engineer. At least they aren't completely taking the piss like The Meteors who turned up to a gig with a guitar and a snare drum (and a van load of T-shirts to sell) and expected to be able to borrow all the other gear including an upright bass! On the other hand some more notice/confirmation of the situation than on the day of the gig would have been nice.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1495521845' post='3304335'] How many here were happy with one bass until they joined BC? [/quote] I had been slowly building up my collection of basses through eBay when I discovered TalkBass and BassWorld (BassChat's forerunner) while I was looking for more information about Spalt Basses. At the time I had just got back to playing bass after about 5 years of being the guitarist in my then most recent band, and had also discovered fretless bass. In many ways, it was the other way around for me. I was interested in getting more bass guitars and in the course of looking for more information on those I like the look of, I found the bass forums. I don't think that BassChat contributed significantly to the growth of my bass collection. I've always owned lots of instruments when finances have allowed, be they guitars, synthesisers or basses.

I quite like it, but for £8500 second hand I'd expect the decorative top/back to carry on around the sides in order to hide the bland core body wood. And do something about the horrible stripy neck too!

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1495538590' post='3304521'] Clearly this is going to vary from region to region, and the type of gigs and venues involved. But there are lots of bands and bass players who would love your situation to apply to them too! That said, just because there is a house PA and soundman doesn't mean they will get a good sound... For those of us who play solely on backline, the dispersion of our bass cab(s) remains an important consideration. [/quote] The Terrortones played all over the country, and with that one exception (and the house party mentioned earlier in this thread) in every case a PA and engineer were supplied at the gig. I see that as another reason not to go back to playing covers. I like the idea of, if necessary, being able to rock up at a venue 15-20 minutes before the band is due to be playing, and not have to be there from the early evening onwards spending ages pissing about setting up and later breaking down the PA and lights (which was my experience of playing in a covers band).

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1495534587' post='3304469'] I don't think it's quite as simple as that. It's probably almost always true that people who use a professional sound engineer will be steered towards a proper front of house mix, with stage levels kept as low as possible and backline as monitors only. For pub gigs (and the like) even with your own PA pragmatism rules. With no-one mixing out front many of the advantages of 'everything through the PA' will have gone. A full mix means miking up the drums, with a lot of extra complexity, and small venues don't demand high levels to fill the room so the onstage levels are bearable. With often one poor band member setting up the PA time to set up and knock down needs to be reduced, so even if the PA is up to it you won't necessarily put anything more than vocals through. Stage space and access for loading become issues too. Keeping it simple makes a sensible compromise Personally I've a range of PA including a choice of multiple tops and subs available. I've used my biggest set up with up to 2,000 people so it's adequate for most things. I don't use the full set up down at the Dog and Duck and most of the times it's everything mixed to the drums (heavy sticks confiscated ) and just vocal PA through the smallest lightest tops. I could put bass through the tops and that'd be my first choice but the rest of the band (drummers especially) usually like a lot of bass so I end up with backline I could do way better mixing out front and cutting the backline out of the vocal mics but the places we play wouldn't stand the cost of a sound engineer and wouldn't thank you for setting up whist they are finishing serving food, we still get compliments on our sound from time to time. [/quote] My own experience of playing in originals bands over the last 8 years is that in almost every case* there is an in-house PA system with an engineer. The majority of these venues are no different in size to the average covers band pub gig but the PA supplied will always be adequate enough for the kick and snare drum (at a minimum) too be mic'd up and the bass to be DI'd. As I've said previously, several of the most recent gigs I have played, I have been asked to turn down my rig to such an extent, that I have relied on the wedge monitors in order for me (and the rest of the band) to be able to hear any bass guitar. In these instances the dispersion characteristics of the bass cabs have become completely irrelevant. *In fact the only time I can recall there being no PA with the venue, was one where between the gig being booked and actually occurring the pub in question had undergone a refurbishment that had included removing the in-house PA system and not replacing it.

IME any low B with a gauge of less than 125 will feel too floppy unless the break angles on the bridge and nut give it a lower than normal compliance.

Since in this case the filter is being used to cure an audio problem as opposed to being an effect, the steeper 24db/oct slope ought to give better results.

I'm assuming that bassists who aren't being put through the PA are playing in bands that own their own system?

I saw both Bauhaus and Classix Nouveaux at the Ad-Lib club in Nottingham within a couple of weeks of each other in 1980 and from what I recall both bands looked a lot weirder than their record company approved sanitised publicity shots shown in the link.

The scale length of any bass is the distance from the nut to the 12th fret x 2.

Nothing wrong with an 80s look, but very few of the artists picture there have a good one.

I still own the first bass that I bought back in 1981. It doesn't get a lot of use these days. The 4 basses that I do use most of the time now were bought at various times over the past 15 years. TBH since I got my first Gus back in 2002, I haven't seriously used anything else except for the Warwick StarBass I got a few years ago.

Early 70s Glam Rock. I had absolutely no interest in any kind of music until I heard T.Rex 1n 1971. After that I was hooked. However I didn't start learning to play the guitar for another 2 years, and didn't get my first bass until 1981.

IME research is almost completely worthless. The only thing that matters is how a product performs when you are actually using it. Only then can you make an educated decision.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1495199210' post='3302076'] Could you make the introduction a little longer... ©Eric Morecambe [/quote] IME the introduction tape is always way too long, so either there is far too much "atmospheric" music and an empty stage which eventually kills the anticipation, or the band are stood about looking embarrassed waiting to start. Unless your band is massively famous with an audience of thousands of adoring fans at every gig, the intro should be 1 minute max plus whatever time you need to appear on stage and plug your guitar in.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1494535520' post='3296872'] I`ve seen bands come on to instrumental music of their own, the theme to The Flintstones, the theme to The Godfather, things like that. All great but to me I always think that the impact should come from the band itself, hit `em hard & fast and tell `em you mean business with your own music. [/quote] The number of times I have seen bands mis-judge the length of their pre-recorded intro and the amount of time required to get on stage and plug in their instrument, so consequently get on far too early and then proceed to stand around on stage looking faintly embarrassed while they wait for the appropriate moment for the first number to start.