thisnameistaken

[quote name='OldGit' post='603576' date='Sep 20 2009, 02:02 PM']Sure, if your band is good enough to play US colleges, ie you have the skill attitude and show, (and hats ) you're probably a very good function band here.[/quote] I don't think wedding bands would work terribly well on the USA college circuit tbh.

My mate loves his, I don't like it, don't like the sound either. Horses for courses. Had to laugh last week, he was supposed to be recording with it but they took it off him and made him play a Mustang bass that looked like it had been sitting at the bottom of a swamp for the last 20 years.

[quote name='Sean' post='603212' date='Sep 19 2009, 10:55 PM']Get one of [url="http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/Products,%20VT1-EQ%20Bass%20Drive.html"]these[/url][/quote] That would've been my suggestion too.

[quote name='M4L666' post='603120' date='Sep 19 2009, 08:19 PM']I am looking for a big, juicy Muse-esque fuzz sound. A blend knob would be nice but not needed.[/quote] You ultimately want a Sovtek Big Muff. Other obvious choices are the Way Huge Swollen Pickle, Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie 'B', Fuzzrocious Green Stache, or the EHX Bass Big Muff. But the recent EHX box is the last one I'd consider. I snipped your budget out of your post because if it's that green Muff sound you want, your budget becomes fairly irrelevant given that only the EHX Bass Big Muff would turn up in your price bracket. Incidentally out of those pedals above the Pickle Pie 'B' and the EHX Bass Muff have blend knobs, the others don't. I can also vouch for the Pickle Pie 'B' being a bloody wonderful Muff-a-like and the blend on it works great. But if you have to order one expect delays - I don't think Matt is all that into making pedals full-time. But he does do quality work.

I always DI before the amp, I use my amp as a monitor, try to keep the level down. And try to get friendly with the sound guy so he doesn't just turn me into inaudible rock-EQd mush. It's weird, most guys I come across want to cut my mids out totally, regardless of what they're getting through the DI. I'm holding a Thumb bass, I might quite like to occupy the mids! I think it's because they're used to mixing rock bands and they don't give a sh*t what the mix sounds like so long as they've got an uncomfortable volume level. It's always really hard to convince FoH guys to just turn it down a bit and not EQ the living sh*t out of everything.

I've got a 1212L in York if you don't find anyone closer. I tend to need it one weekend day a week at the moment so if you want to come get it and drop it off and we can figure out a schedule that will work you're welcome to try it out. PM me if you need it. - Kev

Usually it's stuff that was played with a pick, I'm rubbish at playing with a pick.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='602515' date='Sep 18 2009, 08:32 PM']Staccato Drums![/quote] I knew a guy who had a yellow set of those in about '92, '93, they were neat. Great story BTW.

[quote name='Etienne' post='602392' date='Sep 18 2009, 05:57 PM']I met (and made an arse of myself in front of) Mani about 8 years ago in Liverpool ... I took him aside and attempted several times to tell him "You're the man on bass!" I also met Michael Manring back in 2005 ...[/quote] ... and said "Have you heard Mani?"

I do two originals bands, and I'm happy with the music in both or I wouldn't be doing them. One is run by a lazy singer though, so things don't happen fast enough, and the other is a bit socially awkward at the moment because we've got two new players in who haven't quite fit in yet. But yeah I enjoy doing both my bands and I wouldn't swap either of them for a money making club/function act.

I don't think I've ever met any of my favourite bassists. Except Norwood, but I was chatting to Angelo (who's a top guy) so I didn't get a chance to speak to him. I suppose Norman, Horace and both of the Bruces would be the players I grew up on, but I've never bumped into them and their bands had all broke up by the time I started going to gigs.

Maybe look at the Yamaha BB414 or 416.

While we're on the subject, can you just stick steel flats on an acoustic bass guitar? I wouldn't really want that bright bronzey guitar sound, but I don't know if regular bass strings work on an acoustic bass.

Sometimes our guitarist comes with a bass part in mind for one of his songs and if he does he's usually thought it through and it's a good idea so I play them. Strangely this is the first time in 20 years I've ever had anyone tell me what they want me to play, but fortunately it's someone who has musical talent. Phew!

[quote name='tischbein' post='600349' date='Sep 16 2009, 03:38 PM']My thumbs always tickeld my ankles, even hung high... a good strap fixed that, but it still hung to far to the left for my taste... so off it went.[/quote] I must admit there are days when that bothers me (the lower reaches of the neck being a long way away), but most of the time it doesn't. If I could find a bass I liked more than my Thumb then I'd replace it, but I've been looking for five years and failed.

The worst diver I ever had was my old Godin Acoustibass, I suppose hollow-bodied full-scale basses all suffer from it. Dive wasn't a problem in the studio though, and it always sounded lush. Ended up using a P fretless live because it was impossible to prop up the Godin with my left hand, stay mobile and keep good intonation. And sing.

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' post='599949' date='Sep 16 2009, 10:25 AM']All Warwick Thumbs do this neck dive[/quote] You should try mine, it doesn't, the balance is perfect.

[quote name='TheBlueFalcon' post='599712' date='Sep 15 2009, 10:52 PM']How long do you feel it took for you to become a "decent" bassist and roughly how much time/practice did you have to put in to get there?[/quote] TBH I think it was a matter of how many gigs rather than how much time practising. I think at some point around the 50 gig mark I was comfortable in my own bass-playing skin and confident that I was useful to bands and could probably do anything I set my mind to. I'd been playing about 3 or 4 years by that point, but I was never one for locking myself in my bedroom and practising speed exercises / slapping / tapping, etc. so I can imagine there are lots of bassists who at that kind of level of experience could do stuff that I still can't.

[quote name='RhysP' post='598478' date='Sep 14 2009, 06:18 PM']Come on, own up - you must have at least been hoping to get a shag out of it........... [/quote] All the way to reply #19 before this came up? Sometimes this forum disappoints me.

He's a bit good. Not all of that worked but the stuff that did was very nice.

From that list, I've only had the Bass Auto Q and the Q-Tron. And from those two I much preferred the Q-Tron. The MXR has features it doesn't need - the LFO-based auto-wah part of the effect is totally useless - and the envelope part sounds a bit too polite. But the Q-Tron is quite wild and some people find it annoying. Personally I liked it a lot. I think filters are one of those things where you just have to try them for yourself. What works for one person doesn't for another.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='595862' date='Sep 11 2009, 05:23 PM']busty[/quote] If we'd had busty drummers I wouldn't have complained.

[quote name='davidmpires' post='595845' date='Sep 11 2009, 05:04 PM']One of the drummers I most admire is Carter Beuaford and he's a very busy one, but is taste and way to place fills and odd beats is fantastic[/quote] I used to know a guy who played like that, every stroke bang on and nothing ever sounded out of place, but he got a reputation for being an unbearable w***er. No idea why to be honest - I always thought he was really likeable and easy-going - but it killed his career. I'd hire a player like him any day, they are way too rare.

The only drummer who ever bothered me was one who'd play full-beans fills lasting a bar or even two bars, way too often. But his beats were alright. He did drive me nuts with the fills though. What bothers me most is drummers who are too loud, and you ask them to play quieter, and they just slip back into hammering everything again. We auditioned three of those in a row last year.