BigRedX

What do you actually need from your multi-effects? Lots of new sounds that no-one has used before? Programmability? MIDI control? What's wrong with the technology of 5 years ago? TBH once you beyond the products being offered by Zoom and Boss you are into the realms of niche and specialised uses. I'm still perfectly happy with my Line6 Bass Pod and Linn Adrenalinn - both over 10 years old and still going strong giving me all the sounds and controllability I need. My guitar rig is built around a Roland GP8 from the mid 80s! If money really was no object I'd be filling a rack-mount flight case full of hand-picked effects and routing them through a MIDI controlled switching system. It would be big heavy and probably cost thousands of pounds.

[quote name='pougema' timestamp='1458125087' post='3004862'] I taught over all the show was good, got a lot out of it, came across a lot of nice people with bass in common, very helpful people like bass direct which will be my first stop in the future for buying gear, the ceo of roto sound offered to make strings for my sons mini bass which are hard to get, people I came across were very helpful, went to the after bash party with some guys I met and had a great night, Iam looking forward to next year [/quote] Living in Derbyshire have you not tried [url=http://www.newtonestrings.com]Newtone Strings[/url]?

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1458123714' post='3004837'] So it was a one hit wonder then? If if's and and's was pots and pans.. [/quote] I'm not denying that it was a one-hit wonder. It was posted more as a piece of pop trivia. Most artists achieve one-hit wonder status because they only have a single song worthy of being a hit. In Furniture's case the record company could have released pretty much any track off their album and it would have been successful provided that people had been actually able to buy a copy! The demand was certainly there. "Love Your Shoes" was getting lots of radio play, but very few singles were making it to the shops. I recall having great difficulties getting a copy at the time. And to give you an idea of the kinds of financial and contractual difficulties the band and record company got themselves into, it took almost 25 years for their album "The Wrong People" to get released on CD.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1458122992' post='3004822'] Rock Me Amadeus! [/quote] "Vienna Calling" was a Top 10 hit in the UK. And "Der Kommissar" was a massive hit everywhere in Europe except the UK.

But what counts as a hit? Although a lot of the songs mentioned were the best known or most successful, a lot of the artists mentioned here had other singles that made the Top 40. Without even needing to look it up I know that Lene Lovich, The Ruts, Kraftwerk and Sigue Sigue Sputnik all had multiple Top 40 singles. Does Edwin Collins count? He'd already had a hit as the only original member left in Orange Juice by the time they released "Rip It Up" "The Model" by Kraftwerk wasn't originally released as a single in the UK and only became a hit after being the B-Side of "Computer Love". "Ça Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertand is actually the backing track to "Jet Boy Jet Girl" by Elton Motello with a new vocal recorded over the top. "Brilliant Mind" by Furniture was only a one-hit wonder because their label Stiff Records had run into financial difficulties and were unable to press up sufficient copies of the follow-up single "Love Your Shoes" to meet demand.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1458075184' post='3004532'] They made a strat out of cardboard, so I wouldn't worry about it. [/quote] To be fair that strat was made out of just as much epoxy as it was cardboard.

[quote name='linear' timestamp='1458045742' post='3004144'] What type of strings does one use on these? Are they the same as the ones on a baritone guitar or are they a bass-specific short scale set of six? [/quote] No baritone guitars are shorter scale (27-28") and tuned to B or A. The Bass VI is 30" scale length and tuned E-e like a normal six string guitar but an octave lower. There's a full discussion on what strings to use on the Bass VI in the thread I linked to in my first reply.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1458036481' post='3004014'] Believe it or not I actually use it loads. [/quote] That rules out the Schecter then. However I have just found this rather nice-looking [url=http://www.gretschguitars.com/products/guitars/jet/g5265-electromatic-jet-baritone-rosewood-fretboard-black-sparkle/]Gretch Jet with a Bigsby vibrato[/url]. It's sold as a baritone guitar but with a 29.75" scale length it should make a decent bass VI when fitted with the right strings.

If after all that you decide that you still want to look for an alternative bass VI, then I suggest you work your way through [url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-short-scale-six-string-club%C2%97for-the-original-six-string-basses.391343/"]this thread from the other place[/url] which contains a wealth of information and lots of actual examples of instruments from other manufacturers. What you are going to find is that the majority of designs date from the early 60s when these basses were generally studio instruments for doubling up the double bass line for the "tic-tac" sound and technology was still relatively primitive. Even the modern examples tend to follow these old designs rather slavishly - like the bass you currently own. I haven't gone all the way through the thread but AFAICS if you want a truly modern take on a bass VI the easiest one to find will be the [url=http://www.schecterguitars.com/international/guitars/hellcat-vi-detail]Schecter Hellcat VI[/url]. BTW do you use the vibrato on yours? If you do that will limit the number of possible alternatives.

Firstly before you go looking for alternatives have a good read through [url=http://basschat.co.uk/topic/211505-2013-squier-vintage-modified-bass-vi/]this thread[/url] especially the bits about replacing the bridge and vibrato units with aftermarket versions and generally about how to set these instruments ups with regard to bridge/saddle height, string break angles and shimming the neck. It may well be that this will contain all the information you need to solve your problems.

Also check the filtering and routing on your MIDI interface. You'll probably need MotU Clockworks to do this. IIRC a lot of the more esoteric MIDI messages are blocked by default.

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1457915719' post='3003056'] But does it sound like a Thunderbird? [/quote] Which Thunderbird? The latest Gibsons don't sound like the originals and the three Epiphone models all sound different to each other.

I got a reasonably playable acoustic guitar for my 14th birthday. I think my parents were hoping that it would be a gateway into the world of classical (or at least folk) music rather than rock n roll. I was actually forbidden to buy an electric guitar, not that I could afford even a Zenta or a Kay as it would have involved saving all my money for the best part of 6 months, something I doubt any teenager of any generation would be able to do. I finally got around the problem by building my own solid-bodied guitar in the woodwork shop at school during the free periods of my A levels, and buying the hardware to go on it as an when I could afford it. Also it was relatively easy to smuggle a pickup or a set of machine heads into the house and hide them in my room until they were ready to be assembled. I worked out that I had spent more time working on the guitar than I had on any one of my 3 A-level subjects, something that was probably reflected in my grades. The finished guitar was brought home on the last day of term and presented as a "fait accompli" I didn't care what my parents thought any more, and besides I was off to university in a couple of months time. TBH I think that the difficulty I had playing rock music when I was growing up made me all the more determined and probably is a large factor in the fact that I'm still actively playing in bands today.

I find it very difficult to get misty-eyed about instruments like this, because back in the 70s when I was just starting to learn the guitar, unless you had parents who were relatively well off and supportive of any rock music aspirations, this was all you could dream of affording. And even back then we knew they were sh*t. A class-mate scraped together enough pocket money and saturday job earnings to buy one. He spent weeks levelling the frets and adjusting the truss-rod, nut and bridge to get a bit more playability out of it, but all that fettling couldn't disguise the fact that it had a neck like half a baseball bat and the pickups sounded like crap unless you played it through a distortion pedal turned all the way up. It also went out of tune at the drop of a hat.

Woolies Special. Cost about £25.00 in the mid-70s. Unfortunately only worth the same today.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1457860072' post='3002315'] Worth a punt, I like 'em. Makes you realise that every string set you've used so far has had a wildly tense 'D' and 'G' string and that you've been sub-consciously compensating for it all this time. Nice strings. [/quote] It's all about taste. IMO the D and G on a standard set are about the right tension and then everything else feels more and more floppy the lower you go. It sounds as though for me a "balanced" tension set would all feel to loose.

Have you got both devices set to same MIDI channel?

1. Minimal heel at the neck joint i.e. set or through neck construction 2. Angled headstocks. 3. Neck finishes that match the body finish. 4. Instruments where every part has been specially designed so that it compliments the overall look, rather than having been thrown together from standard inappropriate looking bits that just happen to be easily available.

Just noticed the prices... What on earth makes the Bigsby version be worth two and a half times the cost of the entry level model?

Almost definitely home-made. Just look at the neck...

[quote name='DaytonaRik' timestamp='1457709098' post='3001200'] I get this if it was a few days apart but two months? [/quote] I suppose it depends how often the average punter wants to go and see a Thin Lizzy tribute band. It would appear the venues think no more than 4 or 5 times a year ;-)

The problem with DAB is that in order to maximise revenue Ofcom have opted to cram many more stations than originally intended into the bandwidth meaning that the broadcast bitrate is severely compromised over what was original intended. IIRC the best way to listen to DAB is via a cable set-top box, because that gets a much higher bitrate than the signal that is broadcast to air.

[quote name='DaytonaRik' timestamp='1457708380' post='3001189'] We are taking it as a HUGE compliment as we already know of punters who have elected to come and watch us for free in/around derby in lieu of forking out nearly £20 to watch Limehouse play locally the next night. [/quote] And that's exactly why your other gigs have been cancelled. Why pay to see one Not!Thin Lizzy when you can see another for free?

Where's Bilbo?

Hazards of being in a tribute band, and especially if there is another one covering the same artist that is better known.