shizznit

Rickenbackers - There is nothing about them I like Pointy basses of any kind - Leave that stuff where it belongs (in the 80's) Gibson basses - After all these years they still haven't managed to build just one inconic bass Fodera - It would never leave the house, so what's the point? Ned Steinberger - Revolutionery technology, but awful basses in practice 12 string basses (Hamer) - Beautiful sounding instrument, but other than playing the 'Jeremy' riff...pointless and strings are expensive to replace Basses with trem bars - Hmmm...yeah...very useful!? The best way to kill the resonance of your bass! Relic - They look cool, but try explaining to a non-musician why you have paid over £2k for something that looks like it was found in a skip. I don't want to be ridiculed more than I already do!

Just watched the documentary on iPlayer. I had a custom Warwick Dolphin Pro that had a Madagascan ebony fingerboard. I feel quite sick now

[quote name='Mark Latimour' timestamp='1331813804' post='1579240'] I have tickets to both nights. I can't wait! [/quote] I would have done that too if I knew at the time that they are playing two different sets over the two dates

I stopped reading that mag ages ago. They always seemed to review kit that I already know I don't like or have very bias opinion about the kit they are reviewing. One of their old journalists is a good friend of mine and he told me that bungs from manufacturers in exchange of a good review was common.

Played Les Pauls for years and bitched about the same problems with that design until I switched to PRS. I will never buy a Les Paul again!

Must be a TD650/60 thing!? My HD350 hasn't skipped a heart beat over the 8yrs I have used it. Has anyone had a similar fault with their EBS amps? (HD350, Fafner)

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1331899774' post='1580588'] A little bit of silicon (yes, the stuff you seal sinks with) will keep things held in place... [/quote] If you open up a Mark Bass amp they use silicon to fasten a some of the components, so I guess its an effective and reliable method.

I play a 4 and a 5 and it doesn't distrupt me at all when I switch. But, the first time I bought a 5 I almost gave up after 6 months. I was so clumsy and found myself overusing the low notes on the B...I was very frustrated. I stuck at it though and when my dexterity and accuracy improved I started to focus on balancing all 5 strings whilst I play to produce a more musically pleasing result. I think that is the trick when you move up to a 5, 6 + bass. Finding a suitable balance that works for you as a player for and the music you play.

We have had a few occasions when we have tripped the limiter and it ruins the night for everyone. We are not a loud band even when everything is mic'd up, but we do bring along a horn section occasionally and those guys will trip the limiter straight away. The FOH gets louder when they play with us because they are acoustically very loud and we need to balance the band...then pop! The limiter kicks in! We have resigned to the fact that we are a band that is not suitable for venues with Db limiters and don't play them as a rule of thumb. Our FOH engineer always has his Db meter on him and quite often when the venues limiter kicks in the meter is reading a much lower volume. I do always question the accuracy of those systems.

[quote name='giblett123' timestamp='1331895390' post='1580485'] ... luck dictates they will all land at once and my wife will spot that I've blown the holiday budget on on basses! [/quote] I'm in a similar predicament with my missus. I paid Jon for my build last week and now we are going on a camping trip to W.Wales next week instead of Venice! She doesn’t like to fly anyway

From my experience owning both of those Trace amps and lots of others brands with a gain/input and master volume your method of balancing the input and output levels is the best way forward because you will reserve more headroom that way and you will work the preamp harder to get that lovely Trace tone. Trace amps are very clean and flat in nature even when you do try to crank up the input signal, but are sods for clipping and some owners don't like turning the gain level too high to avoid that. I find if you use more of the solid state gain instead of the tube gain it is not as prone to clip as much even when the red LED on the input meter starts to flicker.

I went through 5 different brands in my first 10yrs of playing...Trace Elliot > Hartke > Warwick > Carlsbro (don't ask!) > Eden. I ordered my first EBS rig from Bernie Goodfellow 8yrs ago and never looked back. Those amps satisfy every musical demand I have and I can't see myself using anything else for a long time to come. Musicians develop their own voice over time and EBS are very much a part of mine. I use the EBS kit mostly for live work, but I use an EA amp for recording quite frequently.... ....I bought an EA iAmp 500 (white face) from a friend a few years ago to use in the studio and that is also quite indispensable. One of the guys I work for regularly would shoot me if I got rid of it! He hooks it up to his Manley tube compressor along with a couple of other bits and bobs and we can get some beautiful tones from that set up. I should really upgrade to a EA Pro amp because it is acoustically quieter in use, but the iAmp 500 I got has more features on it such as controllable parallel and series effects loop (you can use both channels at the same time and mix them!), a controllable level DI out (pre/post balanced and unbalanced), two line outs and a tuner! I can send 3 different signals to the desk if I wanted to. Not many amps can boast that! You can really have a lot of fun with this amp in the studio.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1331743920' post='1578169'] [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/page11_jp.php?&data_id=63&color=CL01&cat_id=2&series_id=349"]They make one that costs £6000[/url] [/quote] Their high-end stuff is ok like the Prestige range (not my bag really), but I have to question why they feel that bass is worth 6 grand?? Save yourself the cash and just buy a £2k Prestige. There is very little difference between the two.

The only time I had mime was for a show called The Electric Chair for ITV Wales donkey years ago. Felt like a right prat! However, the music video they did was pretty cool though and we didn't have to pay a penny for it! The song they chose was crap though! You will often find ad's for musical actors that can mime for TV and movie productions. One of my agencies sends out emails once in a while asking for actors/musicians to mime.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1331823377' post='1579479'] We do it in E at the singers request! Makes life easy but songs that we do in Eb, I Wish, for example were played on a 4 string originally so theres no need to go looking for a way of achieving the low Eb. [/quote] Just checked myself before a wrecked myself...yeah, I actually do play Superstition in E and I Wish in Eb! Perfect demontstration of my lousy memory once again!

[quote name='Dropzone' timestamp='1331821091' post='1579445'] Hmmm, I am a bit worried about where you got a flask of stomach acid from????? [/quote] Demonstration at Uni

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1331819100' post='1579394'] strange enough Superstition never sounds right with The normal Eb on a four string, so I add a lower Octave with my sub pedal- job done. Believe you me, very noticable. More noticable when this was played on the B string of a 5- so I just need that little extra. [/quote] That's interesting. I play that song in concert pitch no matter if I am using a 4 or 5 string. Sounds ok to me. Do you play the low Eb on that song?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1331811815' post='1579189'] No, don't worry. [/quote] Who am I kidding! Yeah, you are probably right . Sometimes you have to post a tactile message just in case the missus looks at my internet history!

Tidy! Great result mate. Sounds like a band I would love playing with too. Have fun!!

First up, great review Scott! If they have done the basics...good timbers, hardware, solid construction etc... these basses are ideal personal modification projects at that price. Well, if the mood took you to do that. They sound pretty good anyway!

I have had a similar experience in recent years. When my band folded 7yrs ago the tour rig I was using was surplus to requirement and promptly sold it. I also had 7 basses that were collecting dust, so I cut it down to 3 basses that would get frequent use. To be honest, I could probably get away with just one bass for everything I do...the Lakland. Most basses I have owned normally have a ownership lifespan of 2-3 yrs...I have owned the Lakland for alsmost 9 yrs. It covers a lot of bases for me. It's quite unassuming, but sounds great, plays great and very versatile. I use it with my soul/funk covers band because I can switch to a P, J or MM tone at a flick of a switch depending which song we are playing. It also has a great passive tone. No need to bring a row of basses to a gig anymore! I hardly touch the low B with the songs we play, but I sometimes creep into that area when the mood takes me. I sometimes use my Warwick Thumb 4 string which is great for all the funk stuff, but I don't find it as flexible as the Lakland. It stays in tune very well and is the best all-round work horse I have ever owned. Weighs a friggin' tonne though! Hence why I am retiring it to studio use only and Jon Shuker is building a lightweight bass for me to use for live performance. Will my bass GAS be finally satisfied? That's my intention. I am still an amp and cab addict! My excuse for that is that I can match my backline according to the job and venue. No point in taking a wall of cabs along to an intimate acoustic gig in front of 40 people...a standalone 210 won't cut it at an open air gig! So, I have an adequate set up for every environment. I don't ever use the EA amp live, but is an awesome piece of kit to use in the studio and I will never get rid of it. As for effects...that's an area I have really calmed down. Last year I sold 9 pedals and 3 rack mount multi effects! Some pedals were never taken out their boxes since the day they were bought. Now I just have pedals that do get used and no 'nice to have' stuff. Which leads me to my final thought... I am starting to get out the 'nice to have' GAS problem I have had ever since I started playing bass. All the kit I have now is getting frequent usage and all the fat has been cut out. If the hat fits, wear it…but I think as time has gone on and my ears and musical demands have been finely tuned. I am very fussy, but I think that has bred a selective attitude. I won’t buy a piece of kit and think “yeah, that might be useful at some point” or for polishing my ego “hey, look at what I got!”. I now buy kit that I can use straight away and use consistently, but above all will do the job it needs to do. Have I finally grown up??

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1331804206' post='1578989'] We don't mix the genres and stick pretty much to your normal funk/soul/disco tunes. Thing is if you are doing a genre as wide as this you can play a lot of tunes. [/quote] Very true. I find the trick is to stick to songs that are played on Radio 2! We play a Rosetta Hightower song (Baby Bird) that is a guaranteed dance floor clearer, amoungst other niche Northern Soul and Stax songs we play. Great song, but nobody knows it! You can probably tell from my posts on this topic I do not select the set lists for my band!