EliasMooseblaster

OK...which is the closest match for "I've got pretty much all the things I want/need, except for [i]one very specific bass[/i], and I'm going to need to save a fair bit of money and probably wait for the exchange rates to shift in my favour before I can finally buy that one and then be happy for life*"? *[size=2]"Life" may not necessarily mean "life."[/size]

[quote name='sirmuppet' timestamp='1467881572' post='3086884'] Hi guys. I know some of this has been covered as I've read through the forums and done some searches online. I have a few PJ Basses and as I'm gigging more and more I'm realising that there's issues. For instance on the P pickup I really need to have the pickup height set correctly otherwise I get one string louder than the other, kinda goes without saying but I had to do a few little tweaks here and there. The Jazz sounds lower in output and when I put them on together the bass disappears into the mix, so much so that my guitarist thought I had stopped playing. My issue is I really would like a hum cancelling J pickup matched with a P pickup. I'll list my PJ basses and the pickups I have and perhaps you could suggest what I should change. Fender Precision plus with a set of EMGs (Not sure of the mode). I like this bass but it doesn't have the grunt of my passive basses thought the balance is a lot better. Fender Mex deluxe (passive) Seymour Duncan SPB2 and STK-JB2 Fender Aerodyne Seymour Duncan SPB3 and STK-JB2 Fender Aerodyne Stock pickups Am looking for a rock tone with hopefully a humcancelling J pickup, not a deal breaker but I did notice the Aerodyne J's buzzed so it put me off having a single coil J but if there's one that won't buzz as much with the P then I'll give it a try. FYI I know the SPB3 is really high output, I just had it lying around and thought I'd try it, Still have the original. My other basses are a Gibson thunderbird with stock pickups, a custom Thunderbird with a Kent Armstrong Musicman pickup and a Fender Jazz bass with SJB2 set. I'd ideally like my PJs to match the output of these. Any help guys? [/quote] I don't own a Fender, but I do have a very P-like Schecter with the same pickup config as your Mex deluxe. Simple answer - I'm afraid - is to just turn off the bridge pickup. I've often found the same as you: the Precision pickup on its own sits very comfortably in any rock band setting, but whilst blending in the Jazz pickup gives a bit more trebly 'honk', if I go too far then all the low mids start disappearing and so does my presence in the mix! The likely reason your T-bird and Jazz don't suffer in the same way is because the pickups are more evenly matched - I reckon Wateroftyne is onto something with the suggestion of adding a hotter bridge pickup. Or you could part-ex the worst offender for a Fender Blacktop Jazz - I believe that was two Precision pickups in the positions a Jazz would normally have them, wasn't it?

In a live setting, I have found that people will judge a band (at least to some extent) based on their appearance, so it follows that one may have to consider the look of one's instrument as a consideration of one's image. This is why, in the name of science*, I want to get hold of a Daisy Rock Butterfly bass and see whether I can get away with playing it on stage. *[size=2]For a very loose definition of 'science'...[/size]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1469705786' post='3100460'] no but I fell for mini disc [/quote] Whilst I never owned a minidisc player myself, I always thought it was a shame that the format never caught on - from my limited experience (that is to say: correct me if I'm flagrantly and embarrassingly wrong), it seemed to offer most/all of the advantages of a CD, but in a smaller package that wasn't as prone to getting dented and scratched. Was it just its timing (it seemed to appear just before the first iPods and the boom in small, portable mp3 players), or were there other downsides that kept it grounded as a format?

Excellent stuff all round chaps, not an easy choice to make, but choose I must.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1469539804' post='3099146'] I knew about the different quality tapes as a teenager. They were pricey compared to the standard ones, so I saved them for albums that sounded particularly nice on vinyl. I always made copies of my vinyl records, and play the tape normally. When the tape gets knackered, make another copy, thus saving the vinyl from dust and wear. It wasn't THAT expensive to have good sounding tapes. Just about any decent tape deck would do a good job. When CD players came out they were a LOT more expensive than standard tape decks. [/quote] I can certainly see the logic in backing things up onto tape - a friend of mine used to copy all his CDs onto CD-Rs to preserve the originals from getting worn, (which I was a little more sceptical about) and I know bits of my father's vinyl collection are "past it" and have been replaced with the CD version. That said, what would it cost you to achieve good-sounding tapes from scratch now? This chap's holding up his 21-year-old tape player, which must have been a rare find and he seems to pooh-pooh a lot of modern builds. On the other hand, what's "inferior" to him could likely be "perfectly fine" for the rest of us. Given he insists that "EVERYTHING" we knew about cassettes was a "LIE," shortly before admitting that FeO tapes were a bit crap, I expect he may be exaggerating a little!

Personally I think it's a great idea. Now you can set up an amp either side of your drummer to scare the living bejeezus out of them when you play in octaves...

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1469524206' post='3098933'] He is right about the chrome & metal tapes: they sounded so much better than the standard ones (assuming the source was good quality)... But, portability? Yeah, smaller than a CD, but you can put a lot more music in a CD these days. And let's not start with digital media players that can hold gigabytes of data... [/quote] Yeah, it was quite interesting, and I certainly didn't know about the four distinct species of cassette, but if I were being cynical the video could be summarised as "cassette tapes can sound amazing if you're prepared to sink large amounts of money into it."

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1469180439' post='3096326'] I stopped worrying about Brontosaurus when they accidentally changed the name to Apatosaurus. [/quote] I fear you may have dismissed your fears prematurely... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brontosaurus-is-back1/ Discreet and I will be hiding in our Brontosaurus Bunker until this all blows over.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1469198475' post='3096578'] We're defining cover band not what a cover is. Blue [/quote] Ah, but this semantic hair-spitting is one of the essential details of the argument! For in order to determine what defines "a cover band," we must return to first principles regarding our determination of what is, or is not, "a cover." Once we have concluded this section of the debate, we shall move on post-haste to discussing a philosophically rigorous definition of "a band."

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1469174273' post='3096264'] I had to look that up. Though I know what 'brontophobia' is - fear of thunder. As in brontosaurus (thunder lizard). [/quote] I, for one, live in constant fear of brontosauruses.

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1469045715' post='3095408'] Perhaps we should take a climb back up the taxonomic tree and start at the type of music being played, regardless of the style genre. Thus original or non-original - surely that's a non-contentious starting point? [/quote] *rolls up sleeves* Have we ordered the taxa incorrectly? Historically (and from what I've seen today) jazz bands give little thought as to whether they want to focus on "covers" or self-penned material; a set will often comprise their interpretations of various standards and other tunes, maybe along with a couple of pieces written by the band members. I have encountered jazz bands who mostly focus on writing their own pieces, just like I've encountered some who are happy to just take tunes out of the Real Book and haul those into new territory, but nobody seems to be too worried about whether they're an "originals" band or not. (Ditto orchestras - I know a lot of them will crowbar a modern composer's piece into the first half before they play what you actually paid to hear, but it's not often written by the feller waving his stick around at the front.) The distinction does seem to be a bit more endemic to rock/pop music, and then I wonder...has the distinction been reinforced artificially by pub landlords who want to eliminate the risk that the band they're booking will play a 2-hour doom-sludge-improv set?

I suppose the real question is whether you want to try and sand out the marks where he's engraved the note names into the fingerboard...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1468934456' post='3094438'] What about nudity, donkeys and hemp..? [/quote] Dammit, I just sold my donkey and moved over to lightweight Shetland ponies with neodymium horseshoes. Can I still use those?

Well, it's certainly closer to playing a guitar than all this "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" stuff that the kids are into these days. Limited, sure, but a nice idea - and it's reassuring that he seems to have a sense of humour about the whole thing!

[quote name='pintspiller' timestamp='1468895338' post='3094132'] Bass Centre Bass Collection have a Frankenstein model. In pink. Which is weird, as I don't think he performed it in that colour. Haven't tried it though. [/quote] I believe the original body might have been finished in sunburst (could be wrong), but he had it resprayed in "salmon" - perhaps unsurprisingly, given it was supposedly assembled from a collection of smashed bass parts. [quote name='pintspiller' timestamp='1468895472' post='3094133'] [url="http://www.basscentre.com/british-bass-masters/the-bass-centre-frankenstein-bass.html"]http://www.basscentr...stein-bass.html[/url] [/quote] I think I've seen these on another thread, though the reaction from others was a little lukewarm overall...anybody know whether they're much cop compared to a similarly-priced Precision copy?

If your guitarists [i]really [/i]have it in for you, they'll put their guitar in an alternative tuning - perhaps an open chord, or a DADGAD, or similar. Then when you ask for the chords, they'll reply, "Well, I'm playing E, D, A, B in the verses..." "OK." "...but I'm in open G." "Ah." "Oh, and I've got the capo on II because it was a bit low for my voice..." "GAAAAH."

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1467879099' post='3086855'] Because it's hard enough finding one reliable keyboard player never mind 2 or 3? [/quote] [quote name='charic' timestamp='1467880195' post='3086868'] oi [/quote] Joking aside, it's a fair point in my experience. If I had to cobble a band together at short notice, I wouldn't struggle to find guitarists among my friends and acquaintances; bassists and drummers are a bit more limited but not impossible...keyboard players, I can think of three I could call on for a gig. But then one of those is me, and I probably wouldn't call one of the others 'cause he's a pain in the arse*. *[size=2]So am I, but I can just about bear to work with myself.[/size]

Could it be the rise of funk/fusion type music around the same time? I wonder whether the aspiring bassists of the day went in the other direction and decided they wanted to ape players like Jaco or Mark King instead.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1467739182' post='3085803'] 5th Symphony T-Shirt fail. [url="https://postimg.org/image/ha160xxer/"][/url] [/quote] *facepalm*

I think it's four notes rather than three, but I expect it will instantly evoke pictures of apes breaking bones in front of an unexplained monolith, and that's the opening phrase from [i]Thus Spake Zarathusthra [/i]by Ricard Strauss. Look it up and imagine the monkeys.

[quote name='Freddy Le Cragg' timestamp='1467572356' post='3084639'] Binbag. Or if I'm feeling flush, a Poundland bag for life. [/quote] ^ Perhaps I should add that, back when I barely had two bob to rub together, I did have the zip break on a gig bag about twenty minutes before I had to set off for a gig. Said bag ended up being sutered shut with an old set of strings. But at least that felt more secure than the time I had to encase the bass in bubble wrap and bung it under one arm.

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1467045903' post='3080760'] Tube Screamer - Weak drive and a mid hump I couldn't dial out. EQ didn't seem to do a whole lot either. I assume it works in a band setting or for bluesy stuff but I didn't get on with it as I don't play that kind of stuff. Had a Bad Monkey for a while and kind of liked it on bass but sold it for something a bit more dirty. [/quote] On the other hand, that mid hump was the main motivation for me buying one! But then I bought it as a pedal for soloing - if you're looking for big fat fuzzy basslines, I agree it's not so hot, but if you need the bass to sing clearly over the top of your guitarist and drummer, I found it was just the ticket. Nicely responsive to dynamics as well.

As somebody whose gear is rather more on the heavyweight end, my amp and cab have their own padded covers but are basically carried around by something with an engine! On a more practical note, I have found that despite its enormity, the coffin case for the 'bird allows very little room for storage. As a result I've dedicated a spare laptop bag to carrying pedals and cables.

[quote name='72deluxe' timestamp='1466966084' post='3080101'] [font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]I got the last seated ticket late last afternoon and went along. Rip-off commission, rip-off admin fee, rip-off parking but a good gig![/font] [font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]I really enjoyed it! Blackmore wasn't as fast as he used to be but he still did some great guitar work (sweep picking, great runs) despite being 71. Really really enjoyed it! [/font] [font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]The instrumental section in the middle with the drum solo and keyboard part wasn't popular from what I can tell by online reviews but I really enjoyed it- Jens Johansson was on keyboards and his solo section was really enjoyable.[/font] [font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]No Marshall stacks - Engl everywhere. I will post videos on YouTube if I get a chance[/font] [/quote] Glad to hear it was a good show in the end! A few friends and I initially scrambled to get tickets when we first heard about it but then (like a lot of people on here, I guess) stopped trying when we found out that it was basically going to be "Ritchie Blackmore plus some session musicians" and the last tickets had shot up to £200+! Would have been great to see the man in black, but getting down to Brum from London, Leeds and Leicester on top of the ticket price was a stretch too far for us - but I wouldn't mind seeing those clips if you've still got them.