peteb

Markbass might not have the 'wow' factor when you listen to them on their own, but they always work well in a live mix and the old Italian built / non Class D amps have plenty of power for their RMS ratings.

As far as the Handbox goes, I've had the same issues with Class D amps as you. I had a Mesa D800 that sounded great in certain situations, but struggled onstage with the heavier stuff (especially when competing against keyboards IME). I eventually sold the D800 and got a Handbox R400, which is great. I did have issues getting used to the EQ section, but once you get your head around that then it is a really nice sounding amp that works well in any live situation that I've come across since getting it.

I'm always amazed at the number of people on Basschat who use flats. I can only think of one guy on the circuit around here who uses flats on one of his basses - everyone else uses rounds! Personally, I use 45-105 nickel hex core roundwounds - DR lo-rider or D'addario XLs (slightly cheaper option). I do sometimes use heavier gauge DR DDT sets for when I have to tune down for certain gigs (although my P bass always stays in concert).

Not sure that is correct. Walter retired his old Strat quite a few years ago, as it was getting too heavy for him and he was paranoid about taking it on the road in case it got nicked. He had a luthier friend build a lightweight replica body of his original strat, which he teamed with the neck from another one of his Fenders. DiMarzio then made him some custom pickups based on those on his original guitar.

Thanks for that - appreciated I did get a response from the Avid YouTube page with the same advice. I still had an issue and was then advised to open PTF in Administrator mode,which seems to have done the trick. All the instructions I got was that I needed iLok to get the licence for PTF. To be fair, that didn't seem to be the problem, more an issue with Windows.

I am trying to install Pro Tools First and have downloaded the programme and set up a licence on iLok, etc. However, when I click on the Pro Tools First icon on my desktop it comes up with the error message "Pro Tools First could not be loaded" / "Import DLL mfc120u.dll cannot be loaded". Any advice on what I should do or what have I missed / done wrong in the set-up? Many thanks...

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).