Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1337589282' post='1662236'] I enjoy playing and I enjoy bass as a design form too, you know what I mean? I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm a collector. I'm an enthusiast of the instrument as well a player of one. The first thing I do with any new instrument is strip it down, see how all the parts work together. I'm not the kind of person who'd have ten Jazz basses or ten Stingrays, multiples of the same thing, I just don't see the point, but I do see the logic in a variety of different basses which follow different design philosophies. I enjoy the differences, the nuances which make one bass different from the next. There is a lot of variety and creativity in the world of bass which I find fascinating and, as long as the bills get paid, I don't see a problem in pursuing that interest. As vices go, I think it's a pretty minor one. That being said, if a bass doesn't move me or falls too much under the shadow of another I move it on. As a result, I don't see an end to GAS, but I just don't see the harm in it either. I don't eat the same thing for dinner every day, I don't wear the same style of clothes every day, so why would I stick to just one bass for the rest of my life either? Why would you restrict yourself, for what purpose? I don't want to beat GAS, I see GAS as a sign that the world hasn't broken me down just yet, there's still a spark in me, a continuing fascination in the instrument I first loved as a fourteen year old boy. Long may it continue! [/quote] Very much like myself by the sounds of things. Everyone's got their "thing" that they like. For less money and aggro than a classic car or a flashy car (for example), I've got a nice selection of instruments to choose from. And yes, it's a mood thing. I'll play whichever I feel like playing. I've got 10 or so bass guitars, and I've sold 3 to fund other things (and I can't remember what they were!) I fancy diversifying slightly, so an EUB and perhaps an electric cello may be in the offing.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1337537595' post='1661608'] Taking this to it's logical conclusion, the ideal bass rig for purity of sound would be a single driver mounted at head height and placed on stage so that it was at least as far from the side walls as it was from the floor. [/quote] [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1337539233' post='1661657'] If you can find a driver that small that can handle the power & a well designed cab to allow it to produce ample bass, that would be the bizz. [/quote] Put the two together and you get a (single?) small driver at ear height with enough system efficiency to produce sufficient SPL and designed to deliver good bass response. ...Thinks... You all need In-Ear-Monitors!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1337514591' post='1661124'] [b]Yes but stacking speakers vertically you still get the "it's not round anymore" phenomenon, just in the vertical plane instead of the horizontal one.[/b] And taking that idea one stage further surely having 4 speakers arranged in a square (like a 4x10) cab will start to get the pattern back to being circular? [/quote] I'm going to [i]try[/i] and resolve this in slightly different terms. Please be patient. Your first statement (bold) is correct. But it is the alignment of this plane relative to the walls, stage ceiling in the venue/room that makes the difference, as it alters how much of the sound interacts with which boundary. The nature of the interaction remains the same, but the magnitude differs. Consider a 2x10. With it in horizontal "mode" both drivers interact equally with the floor, and any interaction between the drivers takes place in the vertical plane. When you move around the stage/room, you should be able to hear the effect as you pass through areas of constructive and destructive interference. Flip it up vertically, and the lower driver still interacts with the floor, but the upper driver is now that much further away and is freer from the interaction that dogs the lower unit (stick another 2x10 cab vertically on top and it's even better for the two drivers in that cabinet AND they're at/around ear height) The interactions between the drivers now take place in the horizontal plane. You'd now have to be moving around the room (more) vertically to hear the interference between the drivers. Most of us (unless on a pogo stick) tend to stick to vaguely horizontal motion, so the effects are less immediately obvious. The 4x10 in its 2x2 (square) arrangement is a lose-lose scenario (you get a broad spread of constructive and destructive interference in both planes), whose only advantage lies in its easy to store/move/transport form factor and the fact that it conforms to what people still expect a cab to look like. If that isn't proof enough, have a look at PA (the big arrays are a bit different) and floorstanding Hifi loudspeaker/home cinema speaker designs. They all aim for vertical line-source driver line-ups. The only notable exception to this is the "centre" channel in some 5.1 speaker designs. Those lay on their sides to deliberately align their dispersion pattern so it aligns with your TV in the vertical plane whilst restricting its horizontal dispersion to keep it from overlapping into the L and R (front) channels as much... Hope that helps a bit. I see there's been more replies since I started this. Hopefully they were more succinct than I!

Whilst the function circuit seems healthy enough, the pub/club scene is drying up fast. Venues closing and revenues/attendances falling. Costs to bands aren't exactly falling either (fuel/costs for travel, for example) Soon there'll be nothing left except large venues (ctiy halls and stadia) and open mic nights.

Double P's are ace. In fact, almost any quality humbucker design positioned well back towards the bridge can give good results in combination with a mid/neck pickup. If it can be coil-tapped, so much the better The only people who wouldn't like it are those who must have single coils or have to have a MMHB in the (so-called) "sweet-spot" The biggest potential issue I can see is string/polepiece alignment.

[quote name='Jam' timestamp='1337467334' post='1660609'] Guitar: Intermediate, Vocals: Lead, Bass: Expert. [/quote] There is a great danger that they may believe a fallacy that bassists know to be false; [b]Intermediate guitar ability = Utter bass awesomeness[/b] I myself have a great deal to learn after playing for a... err... long time.

The Bongos I've played were great. I favour the 4HH. BUT... There are some good takes on some EBMM pick-up configurations by other manufacturers that might be worthy of some attention. Sandberg- Basics/Ken Taylors Lakland Warwick- Anything with J/JJ pick-ups (Infinity,Vampyre, Dolphin) Corvette FNA and $$. Streamer $$, Jazzman and Pro-M. Fortress Masterman. But a Graffiti Yellow Bongo 5HH with black hardware might be rather nice.

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1337446755' post='1660236'] And here's me with a switch on my Fender too I like the simplicity of 3 options, infinity scares me. Peter [/quote] No V/V/T/T for you then!

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1337446126' post='1660222'] I demand more and bigger pics [/quote] I'd demand a pick-up blend

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1337433131' post='1659866'] I would personally look to take money from each gig you do in the future to pay for said PA. [/quote] This. Over the medium to long term, [b]any[/b] band that ever makes any money should put aside a percentage or fixed amount of their income to cover any unforeseen circumstances. In the best band I was in, we put away all the funds from CD/merchandise sales into a bank account (with 2 signatories) This then covered recording sessions, and the recording side of the band became self-financing. If we had a hefty surplus, it'd pay for a Christmas booze-up (whilst keeping some back, of course) And we were only a moderately "serious" amateur originals band....

Collection? Shipment to a friend/relative/trustworthy BC'er?

Alternatively, try looking at your surroundings- what's causing the noise? And can it be moved/removed/switched off?

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1337387460' post='1659346'] TIM [/quote] Beat me to it.

I like mine. Provided that you like Jazzes, they're fine. Watch the weight if that sort of thing bothers you, as the Maple bodies [i]can[/i] be a little heavy. Mine's currently sporting a BadAss II, and it may eventually get better pick-ups and a stacked V/V/T/T control set.

Another one for Sunbeams. Sound great on my MIA Jazz. Mine might still be a bit on the new side, and would doubtless thump more with humbuckers than single coils. Still damn good strings, and easy on the fingers and frets.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1337197504' post='1657098'] Is that the one that looks like a bathroom? [/quote] I ain't saying nothing. Last time I did, people got upset.

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1337197908' post='1657110'] The trick is to have a high input gain (or a Status with 18v pre ) to adequately drive the synth. This is where most people fall down and end up with bad tracking problems. [/quote] Funny you should mention that. My Streamline does sound better with effects than most. My Vigier seems to ignore effects altogether. I reckon it's to do with the low impedance output of the (on-board) pre-amp.

Looking at your signature, you've got more fx than me.... For I have none. I still can't even find a suitable OD. The Ampeg SVP-Pro sounds nice, but the OD isn't switchable. And it softens the bass end of things too much, Why does no-one make a tap-tempo chorus? Surely that'd get rid of the nasty out-of-time wobbles.

Oddly, I've never experienced any obvious issues with necks. This is quite ironic, given that my third bass was (and still is) a Vigier Passion 5 series 3. One of the main reasons I bought it was to alay my (then) fears about truss rod problems. Since then, I've bought another ten or so basses of (generally) more traditional construction and none have been problematic. I had an SR5 (fretless) myself but the neck was finished with their usual gunstock oil. The only truss rod adjustment I made was when I elected to re-string it EADGC. I tightened it a little to compensate for the higher overall tension compared to BEADG tuning. As for fretboards, one known concern is related to the use of wooden 'boards on composite necks. There is potential for a wooden board to expand or contract to a considerably greater degree than the neck. This is why phenolic boards are so common on composite-necked basses. I'm not absolutely sure about the GB take on wood removal. If it's to accomodate a second T-rod, then I can see the logic. If it's for the installation of reinforcement bars which will stabilise the neck further (especially if they're bonded in place), then I'm less convinced.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1337191496' post='1656991'] But say for talks sake I buy my self a track day car. I'll never be on the road . so why should I be paying a "Road Tax" to blast along a circuit. I used to work at a rally school. 40 to 60L a Session two sessions a day. Plus the Kart track. That will be a lot of "Road tax" for vehicles never going near a road . Officially the cars don't even exist. [/quote] I agree with you that non-travel related [u]business[/u] fuel users (including the rally school example, users of chainsaws/strimmers and other petrol/diesel powered appliances for commercial use) ought not to be disadvantaged. Your track day car is most definitely a luxury item, though. Which leads me to the question; What are we taxing with each tax, and what does each tax then actually pay for? [b]If[/b] Fuel duty is levied as (partly) a means to to tax/discourage emissions, then it ought to be payable by all vehicles and devices that generate emissions through the consumption of petrol/diesel, whether they be generators, outboard motors, snowmobiles etc. ad infinitum. [b]If[/b] Vehicle excise duty is levied to compensate for damage to roads, then (hopefully obviously) vehicles which do not use roads need not be so taxed. What the government has done, however, is to blur the lines between the two taxes by introducing a variable rate based on emissions.

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1337186625' post='1656897'] One problem wit extra tax on fuel. Not all Fuel used gets used on the road. Paying a road tax to fuel your Lawn Mower or the sons day out racing his scrambler, seems a little daft. [/quote] Kind of. But (using your examples) How many people that have gardens large enough to necessitate petrol mowers can't afford to power them? Likewise XC motorbikes if you can afford to buy/maintain/transport such a thing, a few extra pounds spent on fuel is no real hardship. Consider it a tax on luxury items. Like VAT on bourbon biscuits.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1337171275' post='1656528'] No, no, no!!! More useless and expensive bureacracy. Road tax should be SCRAPPED!!! I'm not stupid enough to think that car-based tax will be abolished but why have a tax that is so complex and costly to administer when the simple answer is just to put all vehicle tax onto fuel? The collection mechanism is simple and already exists, the more fuel you use the more miles you would travel the more road you would wear out and the more tax you would pay. Plus, it's completely impossible to evade. [/quote] With the exception of the naughty people that use pink diesel, you're largely right.

The Steinberger sounds [i]heavier[/i], quite simply because it is more massive. More fundamental content, less harmonic content to its sound. The Streamline is more resonant. For the most part, there's not a lot to choose between them in most musical settings. The Steinberger would be a clear winner for dub reggae, though! For sheer long-term comfort, the Streamline is stupidly good, and an ergonomic tour-de-force, whereas the Steiny is just minimalist.

And, in all seriousness, HTF will you get that in a car?