-
Posts
5,907 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Shop
Articles
Everything posted by BassTractor
-
Avoid shipping anything musical with Myhermes
BassTractor replied to itsmedunc's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400094530' post='2450742'] Should I ask why you ordered £300-worth of soap? A particularly dirty weekend, perhaps? [/quote] Use your cell, Mark! It was high-end soap. £150 a piece. (Notice this posh lot actually had a wheelie bin! ) -
When is a bass considered a "high end" bass?
BassTractor replied to Cameronj279's topic in General Discussion
I'm reminded of the classic story of the nouveau riche man who wants a go at angling, and of course arrives at the spot with a superduper fishing rod costing thousands, a 500 quid multiplier reel, as well as the hookers, bloopers and floopers that go with it (yes, I know ). He's barely had his first cast when a young boy arrives with a thin rope tied to a branch, and a tiny, bent nail attached to the rope, and the boy has to witness the man catch all the fish... -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1400073812' post='2450458'] Also, but I must investigate this first, there's a good possibility that a Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3) will do it, as it has sampling. [/quote] Now confirmed. It will allow you to hold up to four samples that can be looped or used as one-shot samples. So the next question is whether one of the cheaper, newer, ones also will do it. Edit: Yes! The Kaoss Pad 2 will record and loop a snippet of max 6 seconds, less than half of what the KP3 will do. My guess is the new KP4 will do a lot better in that regard, as the prices of memory have gone down considerably. -
Avoid shipping anything musical with Myhermes
BassTractor replied to itsmedunc's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1400068475' post='2450374'] Sold a rare Unibass pedal on eBay recently with the original box. Wrapped it in bubble wrap, put it in a big jiify bag and took it down the post office. Arrived in Northern Ireland next day for the princely sum of £6:50 recorded delivery. No drama, no issues. It does happen folks. [/quote] Liar! -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
Yup, whatever you go for, if it is to take a bass signal and loop that, then it's one of the expensive ones. That said, they are sooo totally worth it IMHO. The little KO-1 just has two bars (to put it simply), and no switching between four different set-ups like the Pro has, and no form of memory to store anything on. Switch it off, and you're gonna start from scratch the next time (...which btw is one of its charms to me personally: it's very much a "so-so-art-in-the-moment" thing, and ideal during commuting by train and the like due to its size (and its battery compartment!). I always have it with me when travelling, and even when fetching one of the kids (having to wait is not boring anymore). I love it, and will certainly not sell it once I have a K-Pro+.) -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1400072002' post='2450430'] Mr bass tractor , you are a man of many talents. I salute you [/quote] Salute all you will, but you'll only be saluting a man of many lacks of talents. Thanks though! [quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1400072002' post='2450430'] The(almost) last paragraph , where you record a loop on the kp pro is what appeals to me. The cheaper way( the mini kp ) looks good but is a bit difficult , as you have to have your finger on it to record. Cheers .still waiting for someone to say "do it" "get one" [/quote] Ray atM, I love you like a brother, but hold your horses! I know this stuff is confusing, but that's not a [b]KP-Pro[/b] (a non existing Kaoss Pad Pro), but a [b]K-Pro[/b] (Kaossilator Pro) (which incidentally often is called a Kaoss Pad Pro by innocent bystanders). The Mini-KP OTOH is a Kaoss Pad, and will not do this. It will take the signal from your (somewhat amplified / stepped up) bass, but will not store the signal, and will not loop it. AFAIK, the only model to date that will loop what you play on the bass is the Kaossilator Pro and Pro Plus, but I must hasten to add that there may be a model I don't know that will do it. Also, but I must investigate this first, there's a good possibility that a Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3) will do it, as it has sampling. The Kaossilator app for iPads and the like might do it, but I guess it doesn't. I haven't seen such functionality on it myself yet. It's quite different (in a fun way) to the other Kaossilators through its visual access to what I'd call style bits (too much to elaborate right now). For clarity's sake, I own the Kaossilator (KO-1), Kaoss Pad Mini (Mini-KP) and Kaoss Pad Quad, and have the manuals to look stuff up should you need me to. The Kaossilator Pro Plus and the Kaoss Pad 3 are next on my shopping list, but I don't know if I can afford them this summer. -
The residential area bit is probably just because it's a small firm that has the administrative bit at home. They may have storage rooms somewhere else, though it is also entirely possible that they first order in when a product is already sold. They do allow fetching, by appointment and during limited time frames, so it looks to me as if this is a somewhat limited business. To me it looks like a person having an extra job - doing this in the evenings, but still like a serious one. I do believe the bit about them selling to schools and music schools. In fact to me it looks like they specialise in that direction, which seems logical to me. They claim that everything that you can see in the webshop either is in stock or will arrive very soon. That last bit seems to me to be open to interpretation, and might also mean that they [b]think[/b] they can get hold of it fast (not only that it's already is on its way).
-
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1400060028' post='2450243'] Btw; I still don't know how to upload you pube clips onto Basschat [/quote] No worries. That's quite easy: Go to the vid in question, click on Share under the vid, copy the code from the code box and paste it into your BC post. The forum software will automatically ad 'media' forum tags around it so it gets shown correctly when your post is read. -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
Ah, I now seem to understand there's a bit of mixedupness going on. Ray atM, when you refer to a K Pro, you're referring to the synth Kaossilator Pro. (The effects unit of same shape and generation is the Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3).) When you refer to the Mini-KP, you're referring to the effects unit Kaoss Pad Mini. (The synth of same shape and generation is the Kaossilator.) My guess is now that you want to play the bass, and have a Korg effects unit connected to it. That can be done, but you'll appreciate that the Kaoss Pads excel when one is trimming their effects live, with a finger on the touch pad, which can be demanding for a bass player. A totally different way of working is to play something on the bass, and store that in a Kaossilator Pro, and then use that snippet in a Kaossilator loop. I'll try and dig up a YT vid from NAMM 2010 that demonstrates this use. Edit: here it is: [media]http://youtu.be/Zcyt5_2erS4[/media] -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='tonyquipment' timestamp='1400065969' post='2450341'] Kaossilator has no input function. [/quote] Well, the Kaossilator Pro has. BTW, for the uninitiated: Kaossilators are "synths". Kaoss Pads are effect units. -
Anyone plugged their bass into a kaossilator ?
BassTractor replied to RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE's topic in General Discussion
Yesno. I have tried to connect my bass to a Kaoss Pad or two (some routing needed coz of the voltage/impedance stuff, I think), but not to a Kaossilator yet. Am planning to do this as soon as possible though. Are you asking for guidance, or did you just want to know whether there are other weird people here? [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1400059013' post='2450219'] Can someone explain in easy bassist-friendly words what a Kaossilator is? [/quote] Yes! Someone can! Does that answer your question? In its basic form, a Kaossilator is a loop synth aka phrase synth. Wait! Don't panic! More follows! It has a number of readily made synth sounds built in (100 presets in the original Kaossilator). When you choose one of those sounds, you can use the touch panel to play that sound. Often the X-axis of the panel will command the frequency, and the Y-axis will command a certain sound characteristic like for example filter cut-off frequency. The phrase or loop bit enters the picture when you hold a record button while playing the panel. From that moment, everything you do will be recorded, and will be repeated when a preset amount of time (or bars rather) is reached. One can decide on tempo and number of bars that a loop has, and also what kind of scale to use and in what key. Then one can start layering by choosing a sound and playing a loop length of that sound, and repeating that ad infinitum. Many would probably start by choosing a rhythmic pattern first (there's 10 or 20 of them built in), and then adding material to that repeating bit. I'll try and dig up a YT vid that shows the essence, and one that shows advanced use of possibilites I haven't mentioned yet. Edit: here's a track showing both the looping and the free playing over the loop. This track is easy to find out about (as in how he does it and what settings he uses) and easy to play for a loser like me. In fact, if you dig through the comments, you'll find my listing of all of his settings (user v8bert). [media]http://youtu.be/u3_yXmIfmYg[/media] ..and here's a track showing advanced use by someone totally in control of "slicing" and tempo changes and their effects on the track. This track is hard to find out about and will forever be impossible to play for a loser like me. In fact, if you dig through the comments, you'll not find my listing of his settings. [media]http://youtu.be/IscBTcjE5K0[/media] -
We always knew our life in bliss wouldn't last. Welcome back! Enjoy the [s]forum[/s]... er... [s]forums[/s]... er... [s]forii[/s]... er... [s]fora[/s]... er... forum! ('n' teach me somt'n) Bert
-
[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1399971211' post='2449379'] I don't know what altruism means [/quote] We've been trying to tell you that for years, but would you listen??? Seriously, it's another word for not posting vids on YT that make other people feel worthless as bassists. Nice chops! Very non-altruistic of you! BTW, it's also used to describe the actions of people like myself when we don't post vids so as to spare other people from having to watch our attempts at attempting...
-
Welcome, Ghazey. What counts re your question is whether you live in the EU. For better answers, I advise you use the General Discussion forum, which is more often visited by people in the know. Here we're just the people who have nothing worthwhile to say about things bass, and who welcome new members instead. Should you decide to stay, then you'll find BC is a well of information for newbies. Bert
-
Welcome, Dan, even though you don't share our bassy ugliness but instead have the great looks of a keyboards man. Enjoy! Bert
-
I sense that with all these people's ears getting a clearance at last, those pesky scientific types will finally hear that a Hopi kettle lead really does make the amp sound different! Edit: Yes, I know (this time at least), but "clearance" sounds more fun than "cleansing" or those other boring words.
-
Not massively impressed with Guitar Village.
BassTractor replied to Angel's topic in General Discussion
Thanks, man. -
Not massively impressed with Guitar Village.
BassTractor replied to Angel's topic in General Discussion
Oh, I forgot: Based on the experience described above, I gave up in 2013, and removed the e-mail address from the website. I'd still receive e-mails of course, and would still answer, but those e-mails would likely be from "inner circles" in sea kayaking, and I would happily tell them what kayak they needed to look at, from which shop. Also, these people are more likely than the average e-mailer to give revenue to some shop, somewhere, and they're more likely to volunteer important info. [quote name='Angel' timestamp='1399727727' post='2447077'] I do wonder why people set up an email address and court questions when they can't be bothered to answer, or if they don't have time to answer. [ . ] If you aren't going to respond, for any reason, don't set it up as a route of enquiry! [/quote] In an attempt to answer, and certainly not thought to be an exhausting answer: Maybe they originally thought e-mail is a good idea, and handy. Maybe they think that [b]some[/b] of those mails may be worth it. Maybe they overestimated their ability to answer e-mails, or overestimated the revenue generated. Maybe they're cynical about it and use e-mail as a last resort of possible revenue, only using it when other sources dry up. I don't know. What I do know is that most firms are very afraid of closing routes of communication, and they may well keep an e-mail address visible almost solely out of fear. Though I'd take a guess and presume many aren't even aware of all the implications of closing or keeping the e-mail route. Other than that, I think I disagree with your "for any reason" bit. I think there are plenty of good reasons to not respond. But I do think it's good to have a statement about the terms of using the e-mail route, like I myself had on my site - - even when most prospective customers are not likely to oblige. -
[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1399724280' post='2447024'] They work at getting beautiful women to lay down practically naked in front of you ? [/quote] Yes, that's indeed what I tried to write, and thought I'd written also. I've now edited my English as I see I guessed wrongly with the "lie down" / "lay down" thing, and have added emoticons. And yes, I'm enthusiastic. Will certainly become a practitioner of this. (although I'm still perusing another career as well after I saw the "Sex Instructor. First lesson free" t-shirt last summer. ) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399724337' post='2447029'] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]But to be honest when I went it wasn't a candle OR an ear - there was no towel - but the principle was the same, I'm sure. [/font][/size] [/quote] This is correct. For the sake of clarity though, after that incidence I've changed some things, and, amongst other changes, don't do male customers anymore.
-
Not massively impressed with Guitar Village.
BassTractor replied to Angel's topic in General Discussion
Here's one answer from one shop at least, JapanAxe. In my case, my now defunkt firm used to import and distribute as well, but mainly functioned as a a sea kayaking specialist and sea kayaking school. Now, in my shop heydays, I'd work outside most of the day, and often from 7 AM to 11 PM, and I would start answering e-mails from 11 PM til I dropped and just had to get some sleep. I've many times calculated what it would cost if I were to answer every question properly. In my case that was roughly 8 hours - a full job. Mind you: in what follows, I'm not saying a thing about Angel's or Walbassist's e-mails to the shop, or the shop in question's lack of answering, as I know none of them. So please do not feel that I'm telling Angel or Walbassist anything with it. It's only trying to answer JapanAxe. Anyway, my personal experience is that customers asking questions by e-mail statistically share some things. They tend to: - ask questions that are easily and quickly formulated - ask questions that take an enormous time to answer - not volunteer any information that might help me help them better - not volunteer any information that might help me reduce the time used on answering - never come back and actually buy something Most of these customers would get our e-mail address from the Contact Us page on our website. So, I dealt with this, on the Contact Us page, by letting people know what I needed from them to help them. After that, I never noticed any really statistical difference, but did get a tiny amount of e-mails referring to that and indeed giving me the info I needed. I've also tried to answer these e-mails by friendly and politely asking for the info I needed - to little avail. The last five or six years, I've been hard as a nail, about it: If I like your e-mail, I will answer fully. If don't like your e-mail, I will answer in short terms and asking for more information - - still friendly, mind. In severe cases I will not answer at all. One striking example of what an e-mail from a customer could look like in severe cases, where kayak A is sold by me and kayak B is sold by a competitor: - "Sea kayak A versus sea kayak B. Advantages/disadvantages. Elaborate!" Yes, this was an actual e-mail I received - only translated to English, and the kayaks' names removed. -
Hopi ear candles DO work, and I've got the evidence to back it up! Just do a Google picture search for them, and see for yourself. If you're a Hopi ear candle practitioner, beautiful women will undress for you and lay down with nothing more than a towel covering them! So Hopi ear candles DO work!
-
Avoid shipping anything musical with Myhermes
BassTractor replied to itsmedunc's topic in General Discussion
Have you any idea what it takes to keep those locals organised and actually doing something? Can't leave it all to my estate manager, now can I? -
Howdy, Cana.dan, and welcome! Bert
-
Avoid shipping anything musical with Myhermes
BassTractor replied to itsmedunc's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399627575' post='2445938'] the maintenance and upkeep of a Norwegian castle can be very expensive and time-consuming! [/quote] Aye! My 23/6 involvement in BC even is threatened by it! -
Avoid shipping anything musical with Myhermes
BassTractor replied to itsmedunc's topic in General Discussion
[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1399620494' post='2445854'] This industry is a national scandal [/quote] Seeing from other similar threads it's an international scandal, but with different experiences in different countries. I don't think we have MyHermes here, but it sounds like Hull with their using dodgy characters to do low cost deliveries. In fact that alone probably prevents them from operating here at any rate. Lidl didn't manage to survive in Norway, and neither would MyHermes. As posted earlier, DHL have been consistently stellar with me, whilst UPS always falsely claim they've attempted delivery at our portcullis (both Alto and young Tenor overlook the drive up to Caterpillar Castle, as I do myself. Also, we have cctv on the other side of the moat). What UPS also will do consistently is let cheaper packages slip through without duties and VAT, whilst instead putting those small amounts as little extras on the bills of firms who get bigger packages - even mentioning who that cheaper package was for (always the same amount and the same adressee in my case). It's too expensive for the firm to even consider reacting to this, whilst on the other side, His Majesty's Customs are kept satisfied with roughly the expected revenue out of UPS. I have the evidence in my bookkeeping. The only thing I've not encountered is that my own firm had to pay for my own private cheaper packages. I feel like murder and bombs and grenades, I tells ya! If only I had time and money to follow it up in the judicial system. Of course they'd simply claim "bug in the software". I beg to differ.