thisnameistaken

Also, are volume pots log or lin? Tone pots? I am getting super-conflicting information from people and frankly I don't trust any of them because they're all guitarists.

Er... I'm not sure I understand that. Where are the volume and tone knobs? I am useless at this sort of thing.

I did a series/parallel mod on a Jazz earlier this year, now I've got another Jazz and I'd like to add series/parallel switch to that too, plus a blend pot, so the knobs would go... V (push/pull) - B - T Does anyone have a diagram for this? Cheers, - Kev

[quote name='squillybet' post='1235204' date='May 18 2011, 08:39 AM']I get the finger a fret thing but 1,2,4? Could someone enlighten me I feel like I'm being a little slow here![/quote] Leaving out your ring finger because it's the weakest one, so you just span three notes instead of four in the lowest positions on the bass. It's easier on your wrists and hands to do that where possible.

Only trouble with Leeds college of music is having to live in or near Leeds. I agree it produces some good grads though.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1234346' date='May 17 2011, 02:35 PM']you could bump some Spiros down Clarky, get a high C for the G, real nice low tension i bump Spiro A&D to E&A and use lambert Deluxe D&G, lamberts have no steel so no good for mag pup, but the tension is nice and even and the slight tone difference isn't a problem when amplified loud with some EQ[/quote] Ah yeah a psychobilly guy I know uses spiro solo sets and tunes them to standard concert tuning so he gets lower tension. Certainly seems to work for him.

[quote name='PaulKing' post='1233883' date='May 17 2011, 06:53 AM']Evahs ... I've never tried.[/quote] Evah weichs feel a lot like Spiro weichs, slightly higher tension but not much in it. They also have synthetic cores so probably not ideal for a mag pup.

I've also had no problems with getting midrange frequencies from my LH500 into my Schroeder 1212L. I have Jazz basses and a Thumb bass (which would probably sound mid-heavy through a piezo tweeter tbh...)

[quote name='Doddy' post='1233862' date='May 17 2011, 01:24 AM']I'm fully aware that the 1,2,4 fingering is a double bass thing,as I play it myself,however it is still a perfectly viable technique in the lower positions on the electric bass and is used by a lot of people.[/quote] I do it a lot and I've got pretty long fingers. If I have to I can do a finger per fret but it's more comfortable not to, and I'd rather not hurt myself than be macho about how far my fingers are spanning.

[quote name='purpleblob' post='1232941' date='May 16 2011, 12:38 PM']his fav. colour is/should obviously be orange ![/quote] +1

You'll also find that filters / wahs designed for guitar won't work very well on bass, because they're focused in frequency ranges that are too high.

Go for it, you won't harm them.

[quote name='JayPH' post='1232620' date='May 16 2011, 12:33 AM']Trace Elliot is bang on the money haha. How'd you get that from my inane ramblings about tracks haha.[/quote] When I was a kid all bass players aspired to use Trace Elliot amps. In the '90s they sold the brand to a big name (Gibson I think? I am going to get reamed for not knowing this!) and the reputation suffered a bit, but back in the day they were the mutt's nuts.

[quote name='JayPH' post='1232617' date='May 16 2011, 12:19 AM']Tracks somthing I think but he rekons it's very good.[/quote] Trace Elliot at a guess. Yeah a lot of their gear is very good (if a bit complicated). There really is no one-size-fits-all solution, it's very much dependent on the capabilities of the PA system in the venue. But always rehearse with the gear you will be taking to the gig and that will make life much simpler for you. Then it's just a matter of setting up exactly as you would for a rehearsal, and the venue's sound guys will either mic or take DI signals from the gear you use to rehearse and you can let them get on with their jobs. Hopefully they're not shockingly incompetent sound guys. To be fair most aren't, and there's not much you can do about it if you get a bad one anyway - he's still going to be in charge of what the audience hears. All you get to decide is how it's going to sound on stage for you all. This is why you should use the same gear you rehearse with - so it sounds familiar on stage and you can concentrate on your performance.

The standard jazz strings are Thomastik Spirocore (weich/soft). They're not cheap but they are ubiquitous and they last for ages. If it's a jazz gig you'll be chasing then they should be the first set you try. Of course plenty of famous jazz bassists have made their sound with other strings, and if you've got a particular player you're trying to emulate you should say so and no doubt you will find out what they used, but if not spirocores are your safest bet.

I always bring my bass amp to use as an onstage monitor, and I face it at an angle so the drummer gets as much level from it as I do. If you can't have a bass amp on stage for whatever reason (or if you prefer not to - some bassists just go direct, post-FX/processing) then you need to be able to get your bass in the monitor mix through the PA. Personally I prefer to only have vocals in the PA monitors and rely on backline amps for everything else, so it's more like a rehearsal mix on stage and familiar-sounding.

Personally I would use the DI on the amp. That way you can still get your effects in line for the BG signal (assuming the pedals are only being used for bass guitar, but not upright?) and the signal from your preamp for the double bass.

I did my first ever gig on a bass with a maple fingerboard tonight. I've done about 500 gigs and this was my first one with a maple fingerboard. Weird. I thought with that and the glossy neck I would be slipping all over the place but fortunately I'd strung it with rotos so they anchored my fingers quite nicely. Still think I prefer rosewood (or Wenge) but I'm not about to get fanatical about it, it seems a nice enough bass and more importantly it looks cool.