BigRedX

Glam most definitely - preferably early to mid 70s

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1450793824' post='2935931'] Gretsch do one,,, [/quote] Gretch actually do a couple - the White Falcon in 34" scale and there's an Electromatic as well. I'm sure that there are more 34" hollow bodies but I think you'll find most are either expensive or difficult to find.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1450891637' post='2936799'] My Duesenberg is 30". I think chowny has just brought out a 34" version. [/quote] Only the Duesenberg Motown Bass is hollow body with a 34" scale length. Do you have any more info regarding the 34" Chowny Bass? I couldn't see anything on their website or Facebook page.

IME for speaker cabs, the only spec worth bothering with is the impedance. Everything else is marketing bullshit and entirely subjective. For me it boils down to: 1. Does it give me the sound I want in the context of my band? 2. Does it look good on stage? 3. Is it transportable by my chosen method?

From what I have seen, these amps are extremely fussy about what cab(s) you plug them into especially when running into a 4Ω load, where one setup may work fine and another will keep cutting out. IMO the amp is only worth the time and money it will take to fix it, if you intend to keep and use it as your main amp. In that case get it repaired by Ampeg and get a guarantee on the repair. Otherwise sell it for "spares or repair" on eBay. You'll be surprised by how much non-functional equipment sells for on there, especially that with a well-known brand name. I had a similarly poorly Ashdown Superfly (sported all the classic Superfly maladies - high pitched whistle on the output, random failure to power up) and it still sold for £75 which considering it was EOL'd at £199 was well worth my time and effort to get it listed.

Try LaBella steels or Warwick Black Label.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1450812150' post='2936142'] Warwick Star Bass that I have has a solid centre block too and no probs with feedback other than some comment on its appearance. [/quote] My Warwick Star Bass feeds back very nicely [b]WHEN I WANT IT TO[/b] with the right gain and drive settings on my BassPod.

IME there are very few hollow-body basses with a 34" scale length. Off the top of my head I can only think of the Warwick Star Bass (but not the Rockbass version as that's only 32") and the Epiphone Jack Cassidy Bass.

A word of caution with using the Red Box for bass amps. This product is pretty much aimed at guitarists who very rarely go above 100W output on their amps. I couldn't see anything on the H&K site or in the manual for the latest version about the maximum power rating of the device, but I would double check with the manufacturer before using it with a bass amp or any amp rated at more than 100W. Also the speaker emulation is voiced for guitar cabs where the inefficiencies of the cab and speakers are a part of the classic rock guitar sound. This might not be appropriate for the bass sound that you want. For guitarists the Red Box is a fantastic piece of kit. I have one built in to my H&K guitar combo, and in the studio, the sound is virtually indistinguishable from mic'ing up the speaker with an SM57. When I was playing guitar live, I would always use the DI since it was far easier to control the sound on stage and FoH mix.

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Ped - how do you see that? I've just tried looking at the back of the headstock on a couple of my basses when they are on the strap and it's impossible without holding them at a very weird angle...

[quote name='gazzatriumph' timestamp='1450691792' post='2934838'] True, but Im sure we all have had to adapt some things we use because the manufacturers cant be arsed to get it right, the G30 is good for the price though but would be nice if a pouch had been included and not the cheap clip they provide. [/quote] Manufacturers could get away with bringing out half-baked products 15 years ago when all consumers had to go on would be a couple of reviews in the musical instrument magazines, but nowadays with the amount of information that is available from a simple Google search they have no excuse. Maybe in the past when there was less choice, I wasn't quite so well-informed on the various options I might have put up with the short-comings of the Line 6 model. However with the information available in threads like this it made far more sense for me to buy the Sony system which comes with a far more robust transmitter pack and a clip that holds it securely on the strap all for just £10 more than the G30.

[url=http://wittmanspinscom.ipage.com/?page_id=4]Whittman Spins[/url] do a tuner that can be fitted into the bass. Also Bass Surgery basses came fitted with a similar integral tuner.

Mr Venom doesn't seem to have any problem… ;-)

[quote name='bootleg' timestamp='1450659234' post='2934716'] A Fodera Scott Devine signature model won't be out any time soon, then. [/quote] No, because he's an Overwater basses endorser.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1450526239' post='2933588'] The main message I took away from the clip..which some people seem not to have received.. is that a high end bass, or one especially made for you, is not going to make you a better player. [/quote] I would completely disagree. As someone who owns a lot of high end basses including two that were made especially for me, I can categorically state that these basses very much do make me a better player, because compared with cheap basses I've played it is obvious to me that when I play them the only limitations for what I can do on them is 100% down to my lack of ability and not due to any limitations of the instrument. Plus shiny nice things inspire me to play better.

IMO if a transmitter pack needs a pouch to hold it together (and onto the strap) so that it functions reliably then it should come with one in the first place.

Yes and no... Most of my time is spent composing new songs for The Terrortones. I would guess that only half of them reach finished ready to gig status so therefore I do spend quite a long time working on songs that I won't get played live. I'm so busy with these songs that I've written myself that I don't really have time or TBH the need to spend time working on learning other peoples songs that I won't ever play live. At one point it did use noodling along the other people's recordings as a basis for new tunes of my own. I wouldn't learn any of the parts on the recordings but would create a new part (normally on guitar) that fitted over the top, and then take that new part and build up a song from that. The resulting tune with the complete new arrangement would have next to no resemblance to the track that had been the original inspiration.

I started learning the guitar when I was 13. I had discovered pop music a couple of years earlier, having previously had almost zero interest in any kind of music, and now I wanted to create some of my own. For me the act of learning an instrument was always a means to an end - that end being able to write my own songs. It was also never about one specific instrument. From my PoV the more instruments I could play, the more I would understand about how the different instruments worked together in a band and the more able I would be when it came to arranging the music I was writing for whatever band I was playing with. In my first band everyone played every instrument that we could get our hands on, and instrumental roles were dictated by who could play which part the best for each individual song. I didn't actually get my own bass guitar until I was 20 and I had a bit of disposable cash, however I also bough my first synth later the same year. Over the past 40 years I've been guitarist, bassist and synth player in various bands. I've spent more time in bands playing bass than any of my other instruments but often that has been by default - on several occasions I've auditioned on one instrument but because I play others too I've ended up playing a different instrument in the actual gigging line-up. For the last 10 years I've only played bass on stage, but I still use my other instruments for songwriting. I suppose I consider myself as a songwriter who also happens to be the bass player in the band.

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1450429909' post='2932632'] I couldn't write a song to save my life...hats of to these guys. [/quote] I really don't get this attitude. I very much doubt that anyone on here was able to play a tune competently the first time they picked up their chosen instrument. Song writing is a skill just like any other that is developed by being rubbish at first and then practicing until you are not.

[quote name='jbn4001' timestamp='1450296410' post='2931530'] Actually - McCartney track was a Yamaha CS80, as used to great effect by Vangelis for Blade Runner soundtrack [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0QpG2Z54QI"]https://www.youtube....h?v=U0QpG2Z54QI[/url] [/quote] Some amazing programming going on there in order for it to sound like a cheap and nasty home keyboard.

PRS joining fees change all the time. It was completely free back in the early 80s when I became a member. They have at various times deducted the joining fee from your royalty payments - which might have been your situation and would also explain why your actual royalty payment was so low - also IIRC at one point it cost £100 to join. I suppose the current £50 fee up front is to try and weed out those whose works aren't going to generate enough income to be worth the administration costs, with it being so easy to release your own music these days I suppose there are a lot more people looking to join and hopefully get some performance royalties. I also suspect that there are lots of members who earn very little. I know that my account was completely dormant for almost 10 years from the late 80s.

And after all that here's some specific advice for the OP. The only realistic way that your ex-guitarist is going to get any of his songwriter performance royalties is through the PRS. Therefore before anything else happens he needs to become a member. For songwriters the joining fee is currently £50. Many musicians don't think this is worth paying (although IME a songwriter whose overall contribution to the whole set is at least 25% should make this back in their first year provided that the band is doing at least 30 gigs a year). If he does decided to join get him to supply you with his CAE number and then add his contribution to the already registered songs (if he isn't already, and if he is add his CAE number to the registration) plus register any new ones. That just leaves the question of who submits the set lists. IMO if the band is doing 2 to 3 gigs a month playing mostly self-penned songs, then unless you are doing lots of house parties and similar unlicensed venues, it should be more than worth your while to take the 5 minutes os it requires to complete the on-line form after each gig. If you really can't be bothered then why not email him the set lists and let him do the work?

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1450264205' post='2931071'] So how do you then get "my sound" out front even if you Mic it up? Does the pa have ampeg cabs out front? [/quote] In the same way that you don't need Ampeg cabs for you hifi system.

Bandcamp is only free if you are only offering downloads and not charging for them. On everything else they take 10%. If you are selling physical product (CDs/vinyl/cassettes) you would be better of learning a bit of HTML and building your own merch page and using PayPal to process the payments.