JapanAxe

After Saturday's gig, I wonder whether the Sylvanias might have taken too much top end off my guitar amp. Getting a bit OT now!

[quote name='donkelley' timestamp='1382997875' post='2259045'] Could be that the new string accidentally (or without knowing of the possible side effects) was twisted 1/4 to 1/2 turn or more between the bridge and the nut.... this happens pretty easily when you're stringing up if you aren't careful or aware of what this can do: - a twisted string can end up sounding like it's going through a chorus pedal (multiple tones at nearly identical frequencies will sound at once, specially so at certain fret ranges more than others). And once you've done that one time, putting that full tension on the string in a twisted setup can actually make it return to that same multi-pitch tone even if you take the string off and then put it back on again. IE: the damage is done sometimes by this point. I have made that error more than once, and in fact it can almost sound cool in some ways, but the inconsistency of sound combined with shortening of string life (not to mention inability to turn that chorus sound OFF again LoL) isn't really a due reward in the end. It happens by accident sometimes, sometimes because it's a phenomenon you have never encountered before and didn't know to avoid twisting the string, and it also happens much more with certain brands of strings on certain basses than with other combos. Worth watching for this when stringing up again just in case you did it by accident. Let the ball go where it likes, don't try to twist it into line to look good or whatever unless you MUST by the design of the bridge, in which case you have to be extremely careful when installing onto the tuner that you don't twist it at all (...this is NOT easy to avoid so I always try and let the ball go where it likes instead). IMHO YMMV yadda yadda [/quote] [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1383002616' post='2259119'] I've noticed a thing with flatwound B strings where the angle at the saddle is a little steeper than the string naturally bends to, leaving the break point indistinct and the tone a bit strange. It goes away once the strings are settled in, but this can take a while. If this is the problem, pushing the string down on to the saddle with your fingers to put a bend at the right place can help. [/quote] Thanks for that guys. I did read about the twisting problem elsewhere on BC, so have been taking care not to twist when installing. Didn't know about the bending-at-the saddle thing. I have just taken delivery of a set of Chromes for the 5-er. I already have these on my 4-string fretted bass, and I like the high tension, so expect these will do the job. Just off to fit them now, so will report back.

Make your own 'zero fret clearance gauge' by capturing and emasculating a gnat.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1382879177' post='2257441'] So at last nights gig at a particularly sh*te pub, there's these 2 rather lovely very skinny but generously upfronted (?) girls, very drunk, dancing when one goes up to the guitarist/singer and shouts mid way through a song (like they always do) if she can sing. He smiles and shakes his head, so she moves on to the drummer and yells if she can have a go on the sticks. He shakes his head, she takes one look at yours truly and just walks away... charming. The girlfriend of said guitard then throws a punch at skinny girl and all hell breaks loose, guitarist amp dies and we set of the smoke alarm with the new haze machine, all for £60 each in a storm. Rock n Roll. [/quote] We had just done the sound check for a pub gig when two young ladies approached the stage. One asked me, 'Can my friend sing?', to which I replied, 'I don't know, I've never heard her.' They retreated in confusion.

[quote name='matybigfro' timestamp='1382869726' post='2257284'] Those labels make it look awfully like they're just rebranding any old crap [/quote] Tsk! How could you say that. Next you'll be saying those jackets are a gimmick...

Seems fair, that is a nice unusual finish.

It might be good - but not £529 of good!

I was in a dance band that had about 350 songs to draw from, but they were arrangements in a 'pad'. At any given gig there was a core that would almost invariably get played. The rest would be drawn from the pad to suit the particular function or requests for dances, so I would be sight-reading a piece without any idea of how it should sound. I probably know at least 200 songs that I could play all the way through on bass, but it has taken me 13 years of bass playing to get that far. They won't be the same 200 that you know. If you are going to learn 200 songs before gigging, you will never gig! Any chance you could put up the list as it stands at the moment? It would be interesting to see what this chap considers to be the top 200 cover songs! And if 'Sex On Fire' isn't in there you can leave this would-be band, safe in the knowledge that the band leader has no grip on reality!

Matchless Lightning 15 Reverb 1x12. The loudest and loveliest 15W combo on the planet. Not a bass amp mind!

Jimi often did play bass in the studio, and is on some recorded tracks, including 'House Burning Down'.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1382793567' post='2256631'] We all know, it's always best to try before you buy. Otherwise take these demos (regardless of what's being played, or how ) with a sack of salt. [/quote] Check out the demo vids from Pro Guitar Shop - they make [i]everything[/i] sound good, without exception!

Yep. Every time I go through the YouTube vids in the early stages of GAS, it's 'slap... slap... v. bad slap... w**ky slap... aha! someone playing properly - on no, they've started slapping'. Slapping tells me [i]nothing[/i] about the kit being demoed, it just tells me the person likes to show off. If they play finger-style over a range of tones, from bright to dubby, and add a bit of dirt at some point, now [i]that's[/i] useful.

Nobody went for my Phrygian cadence thread hijack then. [i]Meh[/i], I say, and [i]meh[/i] again.

[quote name='madshadows' timestamp='1382775666' post='2256392'] Love it, buy it before PRINCE does [/quote]

Just fitted new JJ valves in the Streamliner and happy with the result. The Sylvanias have gone into the front end of my guitar amp. Win all round!

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1382728997' post='2256115'] Maybe you call talk to the cool folk at status? They may even send you another. [/quote] Hadn't thought of that - worth a try!

[quote name='Karnage' timestamp='1382726371' post='2256059'] The change in gauge isn't major, but any reason you changed from 130 to 125? The change would mean that the neck etc would usually need adjusting unless like Rotosound strings the Status strings are high tension for their gauge in comparison to the EBs. You might have a freak string or something, although these things are rare. Might be you need to go to what you know works in the end. [/quote] [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1382726752' post='2256066'] Could you have a dodgy new string? its more common than people think. [/quote] I just found the 130 B to be a bit monstrous, this being my first 5-er. String tension feels about the same and I didn't detect any need to adjust anything other than the intonation. Could well be a duff string. Might try some Picato flats soon - still experimenting.

Neither the old Ernie Ball B nor a D'Addario half-round have this problem, and I do damp the other strings.

Replaced the ancient Ernie Ball 45-130 flats on my 5-er with Status 40-125 flats and got horrible wolf-notes on the B.

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1382692483' post='2255414'] I'm going to start simple, then add some bells & whistles My plan is to start with a simple Fender-style preamp, two 12ax7's probably, gain stage, passive tone stack, gain recovery, cathode follower driver stage -> power amp I generally play with a bit of compression, so when I've got the basic sounds dialled in, I'd like to add a tube compressor, and a tube driven transformer-coupled DI out. Initially I was planning to model it all in gEDA, but I started and it's just too time-consuming. So instead I'll do what I've done on all my previous amp builds, cobble it together by nicking bits of existing amp designs, then tweaking until it sounds good [/quote] Sounds like a plan!