EliasMooseblaster

I'm now the proud owner of one myself. Don't know for how long, though. I tried the CTM15 and LB30 in the shop on Saturday and took the CTM15 home. It seemed nice and loud in the shop but I worry that it's not going to keep up with the rest of the band. I might have to see if they can part-exchange it for a CTM30 - the CTM certainly sounded very different from the LB, much more to my particular tastes...but apart from the extra wattage, I see the CTM30 has a DI socket on the back, which could prove invaluable. Still the 15 is getting put through its paces tonight. Wish me luck...

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1378483776' post='2201044'] See what you can find here: [url="http://www.laney-posse.co.uk/theposse/viewforum.php?f=7"]http://www.laney-pos...ewforum.php?f=7[/url] [/quote] Nice one - exactly the kind of thing that's been eluding my limited choice of Google search terms!

[quote name='Blind Lemon' timestamp='1378479234' post='2200943'] Yes defiantly a Laney circa 72/73 according to one of the techs at Laney. the stamp embossed on the back is LB141 100w. [/quote] I would love to know more about some of the old models of Laney. It seems that various enthusiasts have documented just about everything Jim Marshall's company ever turned out, but there doesn't seem to be any equivalent for Laney. I still have a couple of old bass amps (solid state, sorry!) that have been long since obsolete but I can't find any information on them - particularly my old Session 40 Bassman, which I bought second-hand and would love to know the approximate age of!

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1378400516' post='2199791'] Food. Beer. Whisky. P basses, particularly slab bodies, all valve bass amps and Rickenbackers... [/quote] I suspect you and I would get on well.

Actually, prompted by the mention of little Class D amps earlier - I've been really glad to see the (long overdue) appearance of small valve heads for bass. It didn't take long for guitar amp manufacturers to twig that there just isn't that much call for 200W heads with 4x12s any more, and perhaps a small, low-wattage combo was better for nice valve-y sounds. I suppose the difference is that a lot of bassists actually prefer SS, ergo less immediate demand...but personally I'm counting the days until I can justify migrating to valve!

I'm all for new innovations. Much as I like my basses passive, heavy slab-bodied and old-fashioned, I'd say a good idea is worth exploring. If not, we'd never have the electric bass in the first place! I just hope that there isn't too much of a movement who sees the Chapman Stick as the next evolutionary phase of the bass guitar...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1378239990' post='2197649'] [size=4]Then you could change the format slightly and have 'Three Most Irritating Shits'.[/size] Oh wait - the BBC have already done that - it's called [i]Top Gear[/i]. [/quote] Nice one!

[quote name='paul h' timestamp='1378217376' post='2197174'] Also, cheesey chips are delicious! [/quote] As long as we can all agree on one thing!

[quote name='Dr M' timestamp='1378202053' post='2196859'] But do they make enough money from it to retire to a life of luxury? I've been given the impression that after everyone else takes their cut, there's actually not that much left for the 'artist' themselves. Just like many of the over-produced, child-friendly pop acts of the 90's, the performers were taking home very little for the number of hours required of them. I'm not saying this makes it any better, but I wonder if the performers are being heavily exploited as well. [/quote] I suspect they are. After all, where do they disappear to after the first six months of success? Very few of them manage to struggle out of the strange cocoon they're pushed into and emerge as fully-fledged butterflies. It seems the only constants throughout every new series/regurgitation are the exploiters: Cowell [i]et al,[/i] who are quite clearly making enough for even their hypothetical grandchildren to retire on.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1378122236' post='2195901'] The annual X Factor thread. I don't like it, hate Simon Cowell, the influence he's had on younger musicians and their perceptions on music. But I also know where the off button is on my TV, which makes things easy dealing with stuff like this. [/quote] This is the thing: do we just have to sit it out and wait for the public to get bored of it? I can remember my days on another forum years ago when people were lamenting the coming around of "yet another sodding series of Big f**king Brother." Fortunately that one ran its course and seems to have dropped off the radar. How much longer before Cowell, Inc suffers the same fate? (Hopefully, soon. I do fear that the temptation for people to sit at home and watch this god-awful talent contest on a Saturday night is bad news for pubs/bars and live music.)

Just to turn the argument on its head: I'll admit, I'm no huge fan of the way these modern singlecuts look, but compare with the Gibson Thunderbird (classic 'reverse' design) - they look fantastic, but that bottom horn (wing?) makes upper fret access a bit of a sod. (One of the reasons I went for an EB-3 instead!) So if you're only going to done one cutaway, is it simply more practical to do it on the bottom than the top...even if it will polarise bassists from a visual perspective?

I can recommend a Schecter Model T. A very slim neck with a nice low action. The fingerboard is a little wider than most of the Precision-type necks I've played, but it's still 'fast,' and the slim neck more than makes up for it.

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1377762433' post='2191357'] "Lee first used it for a couple songs on enormously successful..." I understand that omitting 'of' after 'couple' is a standard colloquial idiom in North America, but to end up in print like that is awful. Poor show, Fender. [/quote] Ha! Glad I'm not the only one who had this as their first thought!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1377769386' post='2191478'] Indeed. So I'm adding.. [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Pino Palladino[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Andy Fraser[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Stuart Zender.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Nick Fyffe.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Paul Turner[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Sting[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Geezer Butler[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]John Deacon[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Jean Jacques Burnell[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Paul McCartney[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Lemmy[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Jack Bruce[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Steve Harris[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Dougie Poynter[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Norman Watt-Roy[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Boz Burrell[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]John Paul Jones[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Rick Laird[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Ric Grech[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Percy Jones[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Roy Babbington[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Boz Burrell[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Dave Holland[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Jeff Clyne[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Mo Foster[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Hugh Hopper[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Yolanda Charles[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]John "rhino" Edwards[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Chris squire[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]John Entwistle[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Danny Thompson[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, 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Taylor[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Kev Hopper[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Roy Wainwright[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Alan Spenner[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Bruce Thomas[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Burke Shelly[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Glen Matlock[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Paul Simenon[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Andy Pask.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Steve Pearce[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Pete Stroud[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Dee Murray[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Jon Camp[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Bill Wyman[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Trevor Bolder[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Chris Squire[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Jah Wobble[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Colin Moulding[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Nick Beggs[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]John McVie[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Mark King[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Laurence Cottle!![/size][/font][/color] Chris Childs (inspired me certainly) [/quote] Steve Lawson

Howard came to my aid last week with a great deal on a Fender P-bass pickup. I've just picked it up from the post office this morning. Don't know when I'll get to try it out, as I'll need a few more days to finish the re-finish, but I'm looking forward to plugging this one in. Thanks very much!

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1377690685' post='2190371'] One bass immediately populated my mind ... the Fender Mustang Bass, such is its oozing of dorkiness. Surely a contender? [/quote] An interesting choice...I guess there's going to be some debate over how we define dorky! Personally I find anything made by BC Rich to be a strong contender. But that may just be because I associate them with the 15-year old metalheads I knew at school, who all had the most appalling neckbeards.

[quote name='MikeM36' timestamp='1377609037' post='2189324'] ouch, but what was wrong with that audience? They were cheering cos his bass fell apart? What did those sadists want for an encore, for him to feed the remains through a wood chipper? [/quote] Lest we forget, plenty of audiences used to fly into a similar frenzy at the sight of Pete Townshend swinging a guitar at a 4x12...

Last night's: excellent Night before: predictably dead The difference appears to have been location. Last night we were in Oxford, providing a bit of peripheral entertainment at a food festival, and an audience appeared to gather and enjoy what we were doing. The night before, we were in London, and played to about five people. Admittedly the London one was just down the road from where a murder had taken place early that morning, which probably put people off. And we met another band who were excellent (seriously, give http://www.stonefacetravellers.com/ a look; some really superb blues-rock), so the evening certainly wasn't wasted. It has pretty much cemented our philosophy that we need to move towards gigging outside of the capital though!

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1377274399' post='2185735'] Thats what I love about the linux world, the no it cant be done on this os attitude doesnt exist My daughter uses the that box and likes to have a play about recording her ideas all her friends think she is a wierdo for not using windows or mac Teenagers lol [/quote] Ha! Yes, there is no "can't-do" attitude - there's always a fix, you just might have to wait a couple of days for the developers to sort it out! (But there's usually a workaround in the meantime!) In the same vein, my father has been asking me whether I could install Ubuntu on a really old laptop to revive it from the shackles of a knackered old Windows install. I was sceptical due to the laptop's age and spec...but just found out about Lubuntu this afternoon. So I think I might have a fix for him after all...

Don't [i]think[/i] I've ever been recognised in the street (we're not that famous). Closest I've got is a gig we played where we knew A Famous Bass Player was going to be in the audience (I'd prefer not to say who), so we had a bit of a chinwag with him prior to the gig and arranged for him to come up on stage and jam with the band - I handed him my bass and cleared off for one song. It went down well. Was just in the gents after our set when some feller walked in and stood next to me, eyes focused straight ahead of course, and said (to the wall), "I thought you were better than 'im." Made my evening, that did.

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1377271206' post='2185679'] Interesting idea recording with linux I have a box with ububtu running on it and an old sound card might have to give that a go [/quote] Just a word of warning: I wasn't kidding about the extra time/patience for tinkering. You may have to install a different kernel (low-latency) to get the best performance, and you may need to spend a little time faffing around with the setup in [i]Jack[/i][i]CTL[/i] once you've installed it. That said, I managed to get it working so it can't be too difficult; if you go to the Ubuntu Studio website, there are some pretty comprehensive instructions. I haven't had the time to get fully acquainted with it, but [i]Ardour [/i](free multi-track recording software) seems to be pretty good so far.

I'll qualify my contribution by saying that I've only ever run recording software on PCs myself; unsurprisingly the majority of studios I've been into have used Macs to run their recording setup. I'd say this: it depends if you've got the time to tinker with Linux. You may not even need that much time: the modern versions of Ubuntu are phenomenally easy to get up-and-running. As ever, all the software's free, but you may need to dedicate a little bit of time to setting up the recording software to run the way you want it to. You see, my problem with Windows PCs is Windows. My problem with Macs is Mac hardware. My other half (and her father) both own a lot of Apple hardware and I've seen it fall apart and fail with depressing regularity. Out of the box, everything runs more smoothly, looks better, and crashes less frequently, but it doesn't seem to have been built to last. Contrast this with an old Dell PC I have which is still functioning after 10 years. Another advantage has been the ease with which I could open it up and stick new bits in. On the other hand, plenty of people have already covered the problem with the operating system on most PCs. That particular Dell PC now has Win XP and Ubuntu 10; I've actually had to prevent the Win XP partition from talking to the wireless adapter, because if it tries to connect to the internet, it becomes just about unusable. (The Ubuntu partition runs pretty smoothly, even when online.) In short: get a Mac and you'll quickly sidestep the software issues. But if you have the time and patience to set up Ubuntu Studio on a PC, you can get more processing power for your money, and you may find the hardware lasts longer.

[quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1377251190' post='2185255'] well spotted, this may be a secret ploy by fender trying to introduce beard styles to the many in order to sell more jazz basses [/quote] I look forward to pouring scorn on a line of Fender Fake Beards (fully ironic, made from 100% free-range bespoke hemp) being sold to follicularly-challenged hipsters to match their "boutique" Jazz basses.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1377246712' post='2185185'] Most of us are, without doubt, a conservative lot. Snob value will continue as long as we judge a player by his bass. I hate myself for doing it but I know if I go to a gig and the mandatory gear scan shows a Squier I have pre-judged the bass player as a beginner. [/quote] Interesting...I've noticed a trend for distinctly second-rate bassists who play Fender Jazzes. Obviously I've seen plenty of absolute masters playing Fender J's, but I think there's a correlation with how juvenile their beard looks. It's as if the flowchart is: Fender Jazz? Yes Beard? Yes Quality of beard? Poor/clearly just started shaving/f***ing hipster --> Probably just bought the Jazz because someone convinced them it was "boutique" and/or looks less "mainstream" than a P (or something, I don't know how these pillocks think). Can't actually play the damn thing; too busy posing and looking "ironic" with it.

Big, heavy, slab-bodied basses. I know, I know, I've seen no small number of threads, recordings and videos in which people demonstrate that the body wood makes a negligible difference in comparison to the strings and the electronics...but somehow, small-bodied, lightweight basses just [i]don't feel quite right to me. [/i] The logical part of my brain tells me to take heed of the evidence presented to me. The irrational part, I think, just prefers having a large deadweight hanging from my shoulders, and is still trying to convince the logical part of my brain that they do actually sound better!