peteb

Lucky Peterson

The additional issue to factor in is that as of January 2021, you may well be paying import duty as well. So, if you are thinking of getting one, it might well be worth taking the plunge before the end of the year!

I'm The One, Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Take Your Whiskey Home and many others - can't help but bring a smile just thinking about them...

Early Van Halen

Obviously, you have to take what some marketing campaigns say with a pinch of salt, but equally you don’t dismiss everything that they say out of hand. You have to evaluate what they claim in the light of your own practical knowledge and experience. Now I have been playing for a long time and a lot of my closest mates are professional musicians and sound engineers, as well as being friendly with a couple of well known luthiers. They will quite often talk about the pros and cons of various types of gear and I will listen and learn from what they have to say. As far as the Hipshot marketing goes; it is hardly outlandish and stands up to scrutiny (as explained very clearly by Luke in a post above). They provide a summary of why you might want to buy their product along side a summary of why you might not want to. It’s not exactly a hard sell is it? Now, I’ve owned a fair few Fenders over the past 40 years and I think that I have modded everyone that I’ve owned in one way or another. What Hipshot say about hi-mass bridges corresponds with my experience (also, their reasons why they might not be for you makes sense as well).

Actually, I think that's pretty cool to have Jack Bruce's rack ears...!

For me its EVH & SRV, both known by their initials and both astounding players who simply stunned everyone who ever saw them long before they were famous. But there have been so many, from Hendrix to Jeff Beck to Robben Ford to hundreds of great players you can see everytime you fire up YouTube (not even mentioning the three Kings and all the great Chicago blues guys). Particular favourites of mine include Steve Lukather, Kossof, Andy Timmons and… so many to choose from! I think that people forget the impact that Eddie Van Halen had when he first burst onto the scene. It seemed that for years after, every guitar player either copied his playing / sound or made a conscious effort not to! Since then there have been thousands of guitarists who have ripped him off to the bone. But for every 12 year old out there who can play Eruption note for note, there is hardly anyone who can hold a candle to his rhythm playing.

And we have a winner - that's exactly right and explained very well...! What it comes down to is what you want to hear and how you want to express yourself on the instrument. You like the classic attack and decay of an old P bass, whereas I prefer something with a bit more sustain. There is no right or wrong and both can sound great, it is just down to personal preference.

I'm coming to the opinion that it’s pointless contributing to these threads - too many 'armchair experts' who haven't got a clue. You would expect a debate on what is supposed to be a forum for musicians to be concerned with the advantages and disadvantages of a such a product, if the marginal gain you get is worth the inevitable trade-offs and then compare it to the pros and cons of other types of bridges. But that was never going to happen…

I'm quoting from Hipshot (via their page on the Bass Direct website).Presumably they have engineers who also understand basic physics. As I mentioned in the previous post you quoted, they publish a list of the pros and cons for both brass (hi-mass) and aluminium (lo-mass) bridges - see https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Hipshot_A_style_bridges.html if you are interested.

It's more about the density rather than the weight of the bridge: "Brass is a dense and heavy metal as it is made of copper and zinc (and possibly a small amount of tin depending on brass type). As such, most of the string vibration stays within the bridge and is not transferred out to the body because of its high mass content"

I've played Superstition in Eb many times - guitars and bass tuned down a half step of course

Surely the only thing that is debatable is to what extent it affects the sustain? Replace the BBOT on an old (not particularly well made by modern standards) Fender and you can (or at least, you should be able to) notice the difference. The following is from Hipshot on the pros and cons of hi-mass (i.e. brass) bridges. Please note that Hipshot also make lo-mass (aluminium) bridges (as well as better engineered versions of the BBOT) so they have no reason to guild the lily (they also do a pro and cons list for the aluminium model): Advantages and disadvantages of BRASS bridges You’ve probably heard many times from many people that brass bridges have great sustain. Do they? Yes, they do. You can get nice long note decays when using a brass bridge, however there are a few tradeoffs to this. Brass is a dense and heavy metal as it is made of copper and zinc (and possibly a small amount of tin depending on brass type). As such, most of the string vibration stays within the bridge and is not transferred out to the body because of its high mass content. The advantage is that you’ll get great sustain for your notes, but the disadvantage is that your tone won’t have as much punch in a mix.

Well, we haven’t had this one for a while… The main advantage that a hi-mass bridge has over a BBOT is that you get longer note decays when using a brass bridge, hence more sustain. Whether you want or need that little bit of extra sustain is another thing, as is whether you think it’s worth the extra weight / £80 to buy a decent hi-mass bridge. Many people like the vintage style / sound of the BBOT and a lot of people think that ‘Leo got it right first time’. But there’s a reason why so many people started fitting Badass bridges to their 70s Fenders when they came out (including me) and why Leo used a much more solid bridge when he broke free from Fender and started building Stingrays! Also note that modern American Standard Fender basses may look like they are wearing a BBOT, but they are in fact much sturdier. It's all a matter of what you prefer...

If I'm not gigging and I'm going out for a beer with mates, we will generally look to see if there is a band playing and meet up there. I'm certainly a punter as well as a player... Don't get me wrong - I love watching videos of bands and spend quite a lot of time doing so. But a video of about ten minutes or so is the most I will do, even if I like the band.

The trouble is that after five or ten minutes with these livestreamed performances, I start to get distracted and want to take a break to check on something else or get a beer or whatever (even if I like the band). I want to be in the same room, to share the experience with other people in the room (atmosphere or whatever) and for the musicians to feed off the energy of the audience. One thing that the lockdown has confirmed to me is that livestreamed online performances will never replace live concerts...

I like the all black look. The other just looks like a cheap flightcase to me...

Getting a bit OT from iconic London crime / police TV shows...!

Yep, a bit before my time. In the mid sixties I was a very young child living in Essex, soon to be transported up to West Yorkshire (where I have lived on and off ever since). The Rocket was still there when I lived on Churchfield Road. It was a bit of a sleazy boozer at the time, although not particularly rough. Maurice Plaquet had gone by that time, although there was a dodgy rehearsal studio (that used to flood whenever there was prolonged heavy rain).

When I lived in West London in the early 80s, I was involved in a Crown Court case and had to deal with members of the real Flying Squad. I'm sure that they got their training from watching repeats of the Sweeney...! I used to live on Churchfield Road in Acton, which was the location for the Winchester club in Minder. It was a bit strange seeing my old street on TV a couple of years later (not long after I had moved out).

Been getting a few laughs on Facebook

That is a welcome change from when I tried to deal with them about twenty years ago. They were shocking – fortunately the Bass Centre interceded on my behalf, otherwise I would have got nowhere...

It’s not just your chances, it is also those of everyone you come into contact with. When it comes down to it – it is your life, but Darwin did note that nature has a way of sorting these things out. Having said that, figures are coming down (perhaps not as quickly as one would like), there is a downward curve and things will get better. The problem is that some people are being completely irresponsible whereas others will be overly cautious. I suspect that the most reasonable approach is somewhere between the two extremes.

My post above is about pubs and smaller clubs. I really can't see anyone promoting an event this year that will draw a large crowd or requires artists / audience to travel long distances or across borders.

Has anybody got any suggestions for the best DAW for someone who is new to home recording and not particularly tech savvy? It must be easy to use and easy to download / setup and get started! I need to be able to load files sent to me, so that I can record a bass part and then send back to them. It must be grid based and be able to run on Windows 10 (on a modest spec laptop). Ideally, I want to be able to record a part and send it on two tracks, one dry and one through a preamp. However, at the moment I am more concerned with learning how to use the DAW. I can always upgrade at a later date when I’m more confident about recording and have a better idea of what I want. I am looking at getting a Focusrite Scarlett interface (either a Solo or a 2i2 3rd Gen), but will I be able to get away with the bundled software (I’m quite happy to pay for a DAW if I need to)? Should I pay the extra £25 for the 2i2, or will the Solo will suitable for my needs? I have a budget of about £200 for both the DAW and the audio interface. Any help or advice is very welcome…