thisnameistaken

Some nice stuff there Bruno. You look way too young to be playing with this level of skill.

It's a lovely looker. My only worry would be that disassembling it regularly would stress the crap out of the strings.

With something like that, you'll end up with 1 or 2 you actually like. It's like the Line 6 modelling stuff, the only benefit of all that choice is that you'll probably like [i]something[/i] in there. IMO it's better to get something with versatility rather than multiple versions of the same thing. Which is why the EHX Enigma is such a winner - expression control, start and stop freq. knobs, it's really easy to dial in and does more than just envelope-following.

In terms of features for the price, it's hard to beat the EHX Enigma at the moment. If all you need is a funk envelope filter, get a Q-Tron, they are really good at that. If you are a certified filter maniac, look at the Robot Factory Meatwad. If you need lots of different filter settings and be able to store/recall them quickly, including ADSR, envelope control, LFO modulation, sample and hold with tap tempo, and low- and band-pass outputs, maybe the Octavius Squeezer. For a while I had three of the above on my board at the same time.

[quote name='jonnyj' post='957733' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:42 PM']Which manufacturer out there is currently making the best basses?[/quote] It doesn't really matter since you can never hear the bass player anyway. Just get a cheap one. Unless you want a special-sounding bass for doing YouTube play-a-long videos.

I haven't had a fretless for about a year - I sold my Stingray last summer - but tbh I never used it for that familiar fretless sound anyway, I smothered it in synthy effects and used it to make unpleasant dance music noises. I don't do any of that any more so I got rid of it, and I've got so into DB I doubt I'll buy another fretless, despite playing it exclusively for many years.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='957692' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:02 PM']Best of all is trying to play fretless bass in a band built around a slide player. You end up using new definitions of "in tune".[/quote] The other weekend I had the opportunity of playing double bass with other double bassists for the first (and probably only) time. It's amusing when you've got six basses all bowing the same long note. If one person is slightly out - because the hardest instrument to hear is the one you're standing behind (ie: your own) - you instantly think it's you, and adjust your fingering. So one person plays out of tune and all six instinctively try to compensate! Very funny.

[quote name='51m0n' post='957361' date='Sep 15 2010, 04:31 PM']Cracking line [/quote] Kim Deal has quietly established herself as one of my musical heroes. Always has a great bass sound, always manages to be at the front of the mix, always plays something interesting, and her voice is great too. What a star.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='957600' date='Sep 15 2010, 07:49 PM']I wouldn't dare tackle a "Graceland" track without a fretless bass. It just wouldn't be right.[/quote] Boy In The Bubble, Graceland and Diamonds all sound pretty good on double bass too.

[quote name='fatback' post='957618' date='Sep 15 2010, 07:58 PM']I might wait till I get to see a teacher early next month.[/quote] Don't worry too much about over-doing it. What's the worst that could happen? You're not likely to run out of rosin, maybe you'll get your strings dusty, either way it will rub off your bow (and your strings) over time anyway. Just keep giving it more and bowing and seeing what happens.

I had the truss rod go in my old Corvette Proline 6, Warwick took it away and sent it back to me with a whole new neck saying the previous neck with predominantly maple laminates had been shown not to be strong enough. Didn't charge me a penny and sent me a bunch of other freebies back with my bass. Next bass I bought was a Warwick.

I think it's easier when the audience are into it. If I know they're all just standing there staring at us it's harder to loosen up, if they're dancing you just go with them. I used to be in a 10-piece band and there you almost didn't notice the audience, there was enough of a crowd vibe on the stage.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='957317' date='Sep 15 2010, 03:58 PM']Bona interrupted the show a couple of times to talk about "space" and "the moon" and he started a long monologue to convince the public that they should refuse injections when they were ill because according to him it was all a conspiracy of the pharmaceutical firms to make people more ill with these injections..[/quote] Ice-cream, Mandrake! Childrens' ice-cream!

Quite apart from the sound, how much of a freak does Richard Bona look back there with his weird stance? He looks like he got hit by a bus on the way to the studio.

Looks like a Fender Twin Reverb. Is the bass going into that? Edit: Oh I see it's just a head, looks bigger in the close shots. Bandmaster Reverb head?

I picked up my Thumb for the first time in ages today (been playing double bass at home and gigging my Jazz for the last six months or so), I'd forgotten how good it sounds. It really does have its own character, more so than any other bass I've played I think. But it works, it's nothing outlandish, it still sounds right in a band mix, but it somehow manages to stand out just enough too. Especially the burbly purry sound from the D and G. I think I'm going to get it set up nicely and start gigging it again.

I did two bands where I only played fretless, one was an early '90s indie band, another was a funk/rock band. It made both stand out a little bit sonically, which I don't think hurts.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='956474' date='Sep 14 2010, 08:01 PM']Lakland DJ with EMG's I assume... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8M3C6GuCs&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8M3C6GuCs...feature=related[/url][/quote] You'd think with all his high-profile gigs he could afford to get his bass set up properly.

I've never seen a headstock like that before - maybe a previous owner got it made up for him? The rest of the body looks a bit Bass Collection-y, late '80s Japanese anonymity sort of vibe.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='955137' date='Sep 13 2010, 06:07 PM']The only major manufacturers I can think of that conceal their neck-thru behind body faces are Warwick and som Status models.[/quote] Not all Warwicks. I love the look of the '80s Streamers with the [url="http://media.photobucket.com/image/warwick%20streamer%201990%20fretless/rehanceral/1221338805.jpg"]darker stripes[/url].

It reminds me of the stuff the insane coachbuilders used to do. [url="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3348567729_23f7883a03.jpg?v=1236869635"]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/334856...pg?v=1236869635[/url]

Actually if you decide you want to get rid of those steels I might be interested in them, we'd have to figure out what they are first though.

I don't think anyone I was in a band with ever had any real success. Nearest I got was turning down a deal from Arista when I was 18, and another one from Sony when I was 21. None of the cool indie labels who I would've signed for ever came a-knocking. Oh, but a lad who used to hang around at my band's rehearsals is now fronting Pendulum. His big brother was our singer. Funnily enough out of his entire family he was the only one with no apparent musical talent. It's a funny old game.

[quote name='PURPOLARIS' post='954293' date='Sep 13 2010, 06:28 AM']I would just walk through with it, my son's brought his guitar over with him to visit me a few times and they never stopped him. Musicians carry their guitars with them all the time at airports. I understand you wanting to be honest but your guitar has probably had enough tax paid on it through the years.[/quote] That's where I was coming from. I've carried a couple of guitars back from the USA before and nobody's batted an eyelid at them.