EliasMooseblaster

I've never had an experience as bad as some of the ones described above, I'm glad to say. Just a couple of occasions where I've picked up a bass and wondered how they ever expected to sell it... My Epi EB-3, I probably wouldn't have bought were it not for the convoluted circumstances that led me to it. I'd been down to Anderton's with a friend and tried one seeing as I was down there. Loved it, but didn't have the cash at the time. A few months later I went to a shop more local to me and asked to try the one in there - they plugged me into a tiny Marshall practice amp which, frankly, couldn't cope with that great big mudbucker. Fortunately I knew how it sounded from the one I tried in Anderton's, and since it felt OK to play I bought it. To be fair to the shop, they were quite happy for me to haggle on the price. That said...other Epi basses, at a larger chain I won't name: got one or two off the wall when I was shopping around for a new amp, and the setup was terrible! Mind you, the other basses I tried were fine (I blame them partly for my Gibson T-bird GAS) and the customer service was excellent throughout, so I'd never hold it against them.

Very good news indeed! Nice when these problems sort themselves out, isn't it?

An update from Cherry White HQ... [url="http://youtu.be/IUF6ITZmMB4"]http://youtu.be/IUF6ITZmMB4[/url]

Another thought: you know how we always end up having conversations on here about tone, and the usual conclusion is "see how it sounds in a band setting"? I do wonder how often guitarists have that kind of conversation, or whether they draw any distinction between "sounds good in my room" and "sounds good with the rest of the band." This is especially important in a two-guitar setup, where they'll be fighting for similar space in the mix. Maybe your lead guitarist should try cutting his low frequencies, and rhythm guy can try and find a slightly warmer tone that can sit just above your bass but not get in lead guy's way. Obviously I'm just making the vaguest suggestions with no idea of your various tone preferences, but a little judicious EQing might clear up the overall sound so that it doesn't "feel" quite as loud. And, as Lord Sausage suggests: [quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1416823590' post='2613824'] Try getting your drum not to play as loud and all come down a bit. Maybe he's right. More often than not, in my opinion, bands are too loud! [/quote] ...find the volume knob on your drummer!

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1416736235' post='2612942'] i would personally give them a sharp dig in the ribs with your antlers - that headline font is dreadful tsk tsk [/quote] It's pretty horrific, isn't it? I just keep telling myself, at least it's not Comic Sans...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1416566021' post='2611453'] Try setting fire to a famous public building or [b]assassinating a high-ranking member of the government[/b]. Good luck! [/quote] Oh trust me, old chap - I've got a list! Cheers!

If the congregation would please turn to their copy of this month's BGM, we will be singing the hymn on page 8: [attachment=176840:BGM2.JPG] I shall be keeping this in a locked box in case it turns out to be the pinnacle of my bass-playing notoriety.

Very sorry to hear you've had such a hard time with them - particularly since I've stuck quite loyally to Laney in the 15 years I've been playing and found them to be generally reliable amps (I know the sound isn't to everyone's taste, but I like them). But then I guess I've never had to deal with the customer service end of things - glad to hear you got a good resolution from the shop, and I hope Laney get their act together with your RB9!

Latest: just popped a brand new battery in and had the same results. I can't help but think the rusty battery connector might have something to do with it...but she's still under warranty so I'll let the good folks at Wunjo take a look!

[quote name='pnefc42' timestamp='1415650874' post='2602438'] Buy one? [/quote] Don't be ridiculous, that would be FAR too sensible! [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1415654168' post='2602482'] First rule of the active bass club, keep at least one battery in front of yourself, I have 3 pp3s in my gig bag at any one time, never needed to use one in an emergency but they are there, strings and battery once a year around my own birthday to help remember these days [/quote] Now there's an idea...though the family are going to be very confused when I tell them I just want a 9V battery for christmas... [quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1415666209' post='2602613'] if you have a push/pull volume control like my german made warwick, then if you have pulled out the volume knob you have put it into passive mode. this completely bypasses the EQ section and the only thing that effects the sound is the blend between the neck and bridge pickups. please note this is in a German $$ corvette. And if your battery is flat, it will switch into passive mode (on mine i have to pull out the volume to put it into passive mode even if the battery is flat) [/quote] No such luxury for me - mine's a Rockbass (made in China?) so no active/passive switch. I did just give the knob a tug to check (oo-er), but I think it's time to bite the bullet and go and buy a battery!

Just wondering whether anyone else has dealt with this problem, before I run my fretless back to the shop for servicing: I bought a Warwick/Rockbass Corvette a few months ago. It's the first active bass I've ever owned: master volume, blend, +/- bass and +/- treble. Everything seemed to working fine, though admittedly I wasn't experimenting with the onboard EQ very much...I noticed the other day that the treble control seems to have stopped having any effect, and on closer inspection, the bass control seems to have lost any finesse and can now only do "flat", "no lows" or "ridiculous bass boost." I popped the battery out and a tester suggests there's still a reasonable amount of juice in it (but on the other hand, I don't have a fresh 9V to test it against). Is it worth running it back to Denmark St for a wiring check-up, or am I in danger of looking very silly when they pop a fresh battery in, and everything works again?

How are we all doing on this bright and cheerful Monday morning?

Much appreciated, Clarky; ta most kindly!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1415115696' post='2596859'] However, when soloed it does not sound good to my ears; context is everything. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPl-ToM9WiQ[/media] [/quote] To each their own, I guess - I've spent years trying to imitate that tone. One Gibson and a slightly dirty valve amp later and I think I'm finally getting close!

This seemed an appropriate time to paraphrase famous Irish Lunaediesophobe Bob Geldof, as I'm also running an appeal to take the hard-earned cash from your pockets. My appeal, however, follows an entirely more selfish bent: Cherry White intend to make a new record at the beginning of next year, but we need some money to do so, and have decided to try and raise the funds via Indiegogo. See the video below to have the whole thing explained to you by some mumbling, floppy-haired plonker: [media]http://youtu.be/bLBe3xs94-A[/media] The campaign page itself is up at [url="http://igg.me/at/CherryWhiteEP/x"]http://igg.me/at/CherryWhiteEP/x[/url], where you can donate some money if you so choose. Every brass farthing will be greatly appreciated. And if you're similarly strapped for cash, please do us a favour and share this with your friends. Many thanks! E M-B, esq.

Don't know whether the "relicing" was really necessary, but each to their own. Either way, it looks like he did a lovely job with it.

See, if you'd started this thread saying you played a Gibson/Epi T-bird/SG/etc., this thread would have turned out quite differently. I can't comment on its acoustic qualities, but the BBOT offers the simple practical advantage that bits don't drop off - unlike the Gibson 3-point bridge, which gleefully spills its saddles all over the floor when you take the strings off!

Well, thank you all for your input: we decided to take the plunge, and it's now live. Do have a gander at http://igg.me/at/CherryWhiteEP/x if you'd be so kind!

Not a bad gig - I'm certainly glad we did it. Sadly we suffered from having a bit of a "graveyard slot" as we only went on at 11 - not normally a problem for a Friday night in East London, but sadly most of our fanbase are based further West! On the other hand, the crowd that stuck around were really good and went suitably crazy for it. Venue itself was nice, sound was pretty good. I'm not entirely sure about the history of the place...I heard it had reopened relatively recently following a drugs-bust-related closure, but I've never had that one verified!

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1414363119' post='2588709'] Can you get adblock plus for Chrome? [/quote] I believe so. Ditto for Ghostery.

Better late than never: some shots from our appearance at [b]93 Feet East on the 17th October:[/b] [b][attachment=174849:93FeetEast.jpg][/b] Guitarist: [attachment=174850:russell1.jpg] Singist: [attachment=174851:sarah1.jpg] Drummist: [attachment=174852:felipe1.jpg] and Yours Truly: [attachment=174853:ralph1.jpg] All the above photos courtesy of Dyana Bittar ([url="http://www.dyanabittar.com/#!untitled/c1b6s"]http://www.dyanabitt...!untitled/c1b6s[/url])

I've been very pleased with the modern reissue of the HB-8! I've heard various criticisms of the original '60s ones, but I gather they've been addressed in the updated model. Sounds great, plays well - unfortunately it's the only 8-string I've ever come across, so I don't have any reference points to compare it to, but I like it. The only problem I'm having is finding new strings for the bugger!

(It's music and band-related, so I figured GD was the right board - mods please move if you beg to differ!) Has anybody else on here crowdfunded a record before? A single, an EP, even an album? My band have decided that, since we're skint, it's worth a try. Unfortunately, none of us have done this before, so it will be very much the blind leading the blind! And the only universally accepted piece of advice we've had so far is: it's going to be hard work. (Oh, and apparently the pope's catholic, who knew?) So if anybody's got any more specific advice on this kind of crazy venture, I'm all ears!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1412238427' post='2566950'] True... but I'd hazard a guess that at least 50% of basses bought are never used in anger and are just bought by people who want to dabble at being a rockstar. [/quote] I am conscious of this, and always told myself that if a bass was just gathering dust, I should probably sell it - as I did with my first two basses, a Squier Bronco and an Aria Pro II AVB. So I'm left with, in order of acquisition: Sort-of-self-build (Brandoni Kit) Precision copy (Brenda) Epiphone EB-3 (Christina) Self-built "eBay Frankenbass" (Aradia) Schecter Model T (Joanne) Hagstrom HB-8 8-string (Vriska) Gibson 2011 Thunderbird (Annie) Warwick RB Corvette fretless (Eva) In keeping with my (attempted) use-it-or-lose-it policy, all of them have been gigged except the fretless, and all of them have appeared on at least one Cherry White record so far except for the fretless and the 8-string. And given we'll be recording again in the new year, I expect I can crowbar those two onto a track somewhere along the way!

One last bump for tonight...