BassTractor

Welcome, Remy! Good luck with the cab hunt, and enjoy the site. best, bert

[quote name='grayn' timestamp='1381494924' post='2239842'] they only seem to come up, just after I've just blown my cash on something else. [/quote] Not true. In fact they only come up after you have posted here that you've blown your cash. So now you should know the drill: save up money like Hull, then write a post on here, and LIE THROUGH YOUR TEETH!!!! Good luck! You'll have that bass in no time.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1381587956' post='2241049'] But to say it's just rubbish or the the guy can't play or it's unmusical -- that's just absurd. [/quote] No, it is not absurd. In case it's an opinon that you do not share. I'm getting the suspicion that the term "a musical performance" simply is understood by you in a different way than it's understood by some others here. In case: many people, myself included, understand it to be a performance that manages to convey something about the composition that is deeper than just the notes. This conveying is normally achieved by choices in micro-timing, tone length, tone volume and sound. The performance in question hardly contains these chosen elements - and certainly no micro-timing. The timing is not governed by the player's musical choices, but by the fingers' lack of ability to reach the frets and string in time. Thus, this is an example of a non-musical performance in that sense. In the unlikely case that the timing in this performance is the player's choice, then he simply is not a very musically gifted person - or rather: he then is virtually music deaf. If you, after this explanation, still maintain that this performance is musical in that sense, then the sad news is that you are not a very musically gifted person, which is quite OK, mind, but it should in case teach you to not attack people on here (like you did with xilddx) for their inability to hear what you hear. In case it's soooo very much the other way round, and I am indeed sorry to feel forced to write this. No joy here. Just a combination of sadness and the will to not allow you to bully us with your unintelligent and uninformed, sweeping statements. Sadly, this thread is very much not the first time you take exactly the same role: of someone who will do anything to not allow other people to provide some correction on your ill-advised "opinions".

Let me be a little clearer then, since I seem to be one of the very unmusical ones who have a grudge against able people *) , and who also have terrible other capacities - as so eloquantly worded by Lowender. I would never ciriticise the playing of the bassist in the OP if his contribution was not used as an example of greatness. Initially, for me, he's just another bloke on a stage performing some music to the best of his abilities - nothing to get overtly critical about. Just like him, I too can be just a bloke on some stage playing some notes to the best of my abilities. Nothing to get worked up about either. However, the OP is what the OP is, and it strongly invites people to respond - whether this be Lowender's wish or not. People responded honestly, and from there it went downwards terribly fast and terribly unnecessary, becoming another sad example of what forum threads can grow into. OK, here goes then: The bassist in the OP already ruins the piece during the first 16 seconds. His timing is uncontrolled, amateuristic and flat. As a result it becomes musicality-defying. From there, the piece only goes downwards. There, I said it. The songs he plays for the most part are NOT free timing stuff. They're quite romantic small pieces with their own harmonic, melodic and rhythmic drive. The bass player lets the audience wait for musical information while he gets his fingers to the right places. Now while he may be a very musical person and a great bassist, in this exact performance things go terribly wrong because the musical drive is victimised on the bass w***ing shrine. Someone get me a ladder! *) For reference and clarity: I'm a classical composer and organist, and have taught electronic music at music college. While I think this makes for me not having a grudge against able people, it does probably in part disabilitate me as a judge of solo bass versions of old prog songs, since the rock world embraces stuff that the classical world tends to look upon as amateuristic, but I still do love both ELP and the Sex Pistols.

Welcome, Rodma, end enjoy being an ex-lurker! bert

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1381309935' post='2237202'] 2) Musicman Stingray 5. Too light, IMO shoddily put together, blemishes in the finish, weak output and generally felt a bit toy-like. I really don't know why I didn't get on with it but it just felt alien to play; it was a single H version and was impossible to play comfortably. The body was too big and I couldn't get set on it no matter the strap height and sitting with it caused my right wrist to cramp after 5 minutes of playing. Dreadful thing. Vastly overrated in my opinion. I sold it making a profit of £200 so it wasn't all bad I suppose. [/quote] Bloody nonsense! Do you even know anything about basses? I made a profit of £600 on mine!!! Seriously though, I didn't expect too much from the StingRay 5 when ordering it unseen, but was totally blown away by it. It's easily my best or second best bass, and I think I got some good ones. I don't know whether this shows I'm a noob (which I am), or the production quality is unstable (which seems weird, seeing most comments on them) or people are just soo very different.

I don't mind the sound. It may not be the best ever, but I don't mind. I do know the stuff he plays - intimately - and do love it in its original form. I do like the bass as a solo instrument. However, this was simply terribly poorly executed. Any musical sense that this guy may have did not come across. The best case scenario is that he simply can't play what he wants to play, but sadly there's a good chance that he actually thinks that a poor attempt is just as good as succeeding. Well, I've got news for this guy: it is not. [b]Convey music, not "ability"![/b]

Welcome, Dean! Put up some pics!!! ;-) Enjoy! bert

Welcome, John! From my experience, all of those are safe buys with the exception of the GSR 180, which should be checked before buying. Others may know better. Enjoy! bert

Yeah, ain't it grand what a little money will buy these days? Things surely have developed from the days we couldn't afford a lousy Carlsbro amp. From BC, I think I've learned that chances for a quality bass being cheap are better than those for a quality amp, so as a rule one would do best to save on the bass rather than on the amp, but of course this does depend on price range too. Though: I (soon) have this combination of great Yamaha RBX170 bass (175 quid) and great Harley Benton 110W combo with built in effects (75 quid) and some other bits 'n' pieces, totalling well below 300 quid new from the shop, so everything is possible.

[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1381229637' post='2235992'] [i]There doesn,t appear to be a lot of love for these cabs[/i] [/quote] I'll repeat what I wrote a few weeks ago: in my two years on here, I can't remember having read that anyone has been negative about their sound. But some have repeated that the "212" part in the name is wrong as these essentially are 112s with "support". Me I have no opinion. Have not heard them, and not carried them.

Welcome, Chris! best, bert

Welcome, Seb! What they say. That, and there's more than one drummers on here. Enjoy!

Worst tried: Two old ultra cheap ones, one of them being an Egmond - a Dutch abomination in a long and proud tradition of Dutch abominations... Worst well-known ones I tried: - a Rick 4001 - the dream bass of my life, but still - a Höfner violin bass. This may just mean I noobly couldn't get along with them at all. It can also mean there really is something wrong with these, as I could get along with other basses quite well. Worst owned: Axl Marquee AP-800. Mine was a dud, but this may not reflect the quality of other Axl basses. Yes, I'm Dutch...

Toneoil! Didn't see that one coming, I must admit. One word of warning: I put rosewood syrup on a maple neck once. Never again. The opposite however works very well.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1381215835' post='2235768'] Everyone gets issues and running a business isn't easy. That's not however an excuse for poor communication... [/quote] Now that would depend on the nature of the issues, now wouldn't it? Some issues can be almost totally disabling. Also, one can function fairly adequately in one area whilst not functioning at all in another. I'm not taking sides here, and don't know about Jon's issues. It's just a response to the that's-not-an-excuse bit.

Beautiful knobs. (Never thought I'd say something like that.) Is the reason for choosing two different types of wood a technical one or esthetical or both?

Welcome, Scoobs! Mention a budget, and whether you'll buy used or not, and I'm sure streams of floods of avalanches of answers will start moving in your general direction. Oh, and there's some searchable advice already too. Enjoy! bert

Bah! That's soooo typical. A soundguy choosing gear that sounds great. Welcome, Trev! Yes, you just had to have it. In reality there really was no way around it. Now stop using my time. I need to practice. best, bert

Thanks, Mate! Bought that album. Quite many songs on it are from the Shelter period (roughly half of them I'd geuss), so I guess the answer is Yes. Will try and delve into it soon. Watch me become a bassplayer noob!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1381072621' post='2233990'] Start by buying a "Best Of" for Freddie King. [/quote] Thanks for the tip, Happy Jack. Do you know whether the Shelter Records period is to be avoided or good enough as to this aspect?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1381085296' post='2234235'] Pity about some of the guys on here acting like 5 year olds. [/quote] Just a bit of innocent fun amongst ale drinking mates. You should've been there. In the end we were even swapping girlfriends.

It's the Shroud of Turin!

Bah! Bloody amateurs using a Blame Shifter. Whatever that thing can do, my mouth can do better. That thing sucks!

Love. 1982: saw a Streamer in a shop window. Natural wood, and arched top, for me it defined the future as to development in basses. I was in love immediately. 1991: someone demoed his Warwick for me, and showed how wonderfully and wonderfully diverse it sounds without any effect pedals or turning of knobs. Even I (a keyboards man with virtually no bass experience) sounded good. Love strengthened to the degree: "One day... One day..." 2011: buy my first bass on a Friday or Saturday. Return it to the shop on Monday, and get me a Corvette at almost three times the price instead. After all, it had been looking at me the whole time that previous Friday (together with an overtly sexy Bongo). Come to think of it, it was in early October, so exactly two years ago. Time to celebrate.