redstriper

I play an old jazz bass (neck pup only) with heavy GHS flats and I like an old school sound for reggae, jazz and soul music. I don't like distortion or valve overdrive, just clean, deep, smooth bass with a strong fundamental and no treble or upper mid. If that's anything like the sound you want, I recommend a Markbass LM2 or similar MB amp. I use mine with a 15" cab similar to the barefaced compact, but with a different driver - I have the Eminence 3015LF instead of the 3015. This driver is a sub woofer, very deep and warm without the treble response of the 3015. Alex at Barefaced recommended the 3015LF when I told him the sound I was looking for and it's a fantastic driver that weighs almost nothing. Hope this helps.

[quote name='lowdown' post='1085729' date='Jan 11 2011, 05:11 PM']So can the Alesis firewire multimix run as low as 64 [or 128] sample buffers [I presume you record at 24 bit/44.100 khz] on the Toshiba with no pops and clicks at that latency? Because thats pretty good [excellent] if you can. Garry[/quote] I use 256 buffer rate because lower or higher values result in higher latency. Sometimes there are pops and clicks when using over 20 tracks with too many live plug ins, but it's generally very stable.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1085150' date='Jan 11 2011, 08:49 AM']Before even looking at softwares and peripherals, I would be concerned about the latency issue of a laptop due to the restricted quality of their sound cards being able to handle recording software, unless it's one of the latest iMac, usually windows based laptop are a lot of grief. So check with the minimum requirements from the software you are intending to buy before you do.[/quote] The quality of the sound card in the laptop doesn't matter if you are using an external sound card as you suggest. I use an Alesis firewire multimix with an old Toshiba Satellite windows laptop and get very low latency - the sound card in the laptop is disabled and the one in the Multimix is excellent. I have recorded up to 16 tracks at once with no problem and overdubs have a 0.008 ms. latency, which is hardly audible and easily compensated for post recording.

[quote name='Fiorenza2' post='1083230' date='Jan 9 2011, 03:56 PM']I've been looking at the Multimix's, and apparently the lower end USB models, which are all I can afford in the senses of price and space, seem to suffer from excessive noise problems. But the mixer's built in USB connection seems a far more elegant solution than the mixer and phono-USB dongle option.[/quote] A friend of mine has the USB 16 channel model and he gets no problem with noise. I have seen the firewire models quite cheap, but can't remember where - try google. BUT you need a full size firewire connector, not the mini one that comes on most laptops - I had to get a PCI card adaptor. I think the main difference is that the firewire model allows simultaneous multi track recording, while the USB only lets you record one or two tracks at once. If you don't need the multi track facility, I would go for the USB model with as few channels as possible - like [url="http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,17291,17315,23628,25646,26761,26849,27084,27520,27613,27889&xhr=t&q=alesis+multimix&cp=7&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=7287288394209279696&ei=UtwpTauDLM22hAfut5mTAg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEEQ8wIwAg#"]this[/url].

I like the Alesis multimix and I've used a 16 channel firewire version for 4 years with no problems.

Download real player free version, it allows you to download vids from youtube, (or it used to) if you enable that option. Or get one of those new fangled gadgets called cassette decks

You should be able to download the drivers from the Alesis website.

I went through the same search for lightweight gear when I joined this forum. I would advise you to be cautious because it can be hard finding a rig that has the sound you are used to. My old rig is an 80s Trace Elliot and I had become used to the sound, but the weight was taking the fun out of gigging. My new rig is a Markbass LM2 and 2 Flite neo 15" cabs and I am absolutely delighted with it. But I went through quite a few amps and cabs before finding what suited me. The LM2 is superb with 500 watts of clean and smooth power that fits in a laptop bag, while the Flite cabs are even lighter than the barefaced ones, but hard to find in the UK and the barefaced compact is very well respected. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=105913&hl="]This[/url] looks interesting. Now all I want is a lightweight jazz bass to replace my heavy old one...............

[quote name='keeptrying' post='1076762' date='Jan 3 2011, 08:51 PM']tried reaper out with just my bass into the mixer,all seems to work fine, the track appears to record, but cant get any sound on playback. ive set both record and speakers in the laptop to usb codec any ideas what im doing wrong?? ive tried to get sound from the alesis and from speakers plugged into the laptop. also if i try to play music already on the laptop with the mixer connected theres no sound even from the laptops built in speakers.[/quote] Do the level meters on the multimix move when you play audio on the laptop ? Do you get any sound at all eg. windows sounds or audio from a media player etc ? Is the multimix set as the default device in the audio settings on the laptop ?

Get a grip man and think positive - we'll all be dead soon.

PS: Forget all that rot I was on about before, what I really meant to say was................................. [b]Squiers are for losers.[/b]

The only way to answer your question is for you to buy one and compare it with your CV in various situations. No one else can answer this for you, because we all have different tastes and opinions and every bass is different, regardless of it's maker. The most important aspect is the player, not the instrument and great players often spend a long time building a relationship with their instrument. But not many great players use Squiers compared to Fenders and that must have an influence. What is it about the Squier that you think the Fender might do better? If you do buy one, please post a comparative review on here.

It shows the value of the brand name - lots of punters just want Fender on the headstock, regardless of the sound or feel of the instrument. If you're happy with your bass, keep it and grow with it, you could always sand the headstock and stick a Fender logo on if it makes you feel better, (you wouldn't be the first or last). And what if basses had no maker's name or logo ? Would you be able to tell the difference between a Fender and a Squier in a blind test ? Too much choice leads to dissatisfaction and it might be better if we all spent more time playing and less time lusting after new toys............

What kind of strings are those? The E looks different to the others.

[quote name='thinman' post='1075486' date='Jan 2 2011, 05:11 PM']I don't think the stock pickups are at all bad and that's comparing them with Wizard 84s on my Jazz.[/quote] How do the wizards compare to the original pups on the jazz bass?

[quote name='Circle_of_Fifths' post='1075471' date='Jan 2 2011, 05:00 PM']If I saw you one the street, the first thought in my mind would be: "That guy's NOT a reggae bass-player"[/quote] Mi locks are under mi tam man .................. [url="http://myspace.com/redstriper"][color="#FF0000"][b]Hear[/b][/color] [color="#FFFF00"][b]me[/b][/color] [color="#2E8B57"][b]now[/b][/color] [b]![/b][/url]

[quote name='Circle_of_Fifths' post='1074998' date='Jan 2 2011, 04:17 AM']When I was in a buying mood, I tried to love the CV-Jazz. I couldn't - it was the frets and the rolled edges of the fingerboard that turned me off. The CVs seem to have the more-rolled edges that make me feel that I'm going to roll the string to the underside of the neck if I'm not careful That - coupled with the tiny frets just made it a no-go for me and I moved right over to the VM styles.[/quote] I don't see the advantage of big frets. Short thin frets make for a faster, smoother playing neck like on the early Fenders and I don't know why they started making them bigger, unless it was the introduction of round wound strings that cause more wear. The medium jumbos are ok for me, but I prefer the vintage frets and I'm pleased to see them on the Squier CVs and Fender Classic 60s basses. I also like the rolled edges, because they help with playing speed and I haven't rolled off the edge yet. The only things I don't like about the CVs are the colours and the glossy neck. In fact I'm pretty well your opposite number Joe - we both like jazz basses, but for quite different reasons and clever old Fender/Squier make more than one to suit each of us It may be down to the different styles of music we play - I only use flat wound strings and play mostly reggae. Steve.

I use an Alesis Multimix 16 firewire version with cubase on a 4 year old Toshiba laptop with no problem. Very low latency and 16 track recording, I haven't tried reaper, but cubase is easy and suits me fine.

[quote name='keeptrying' post='1074818' date='Jan 1 2011, 10:06 PM']hello all, im having trouble getting cubase le4 to work on my laptop, a dell inspiron 1525 running windows vista. when i connect the mixer, an alesis multimix 16 to the laptop it knows its there and seems to start up fine but wont register any input or record any sound is this because my laptop is too slow to cope with all the data or am i just too stupid to be allowed near modern technology? if its the laptop, then any ideas as to what i need? i want to use a laptop so we can record rehersals, make demo's and mabe even try to record gigs. any advice will be greatly appreciated. [/quote] Have you enabled the VST inputs in cubase and the Alesis is the default sound card ? Does audio from the laptop playback through the multimix ? Is it a firewire or usb connection ? If it's firewire, are you using the mini firewire connector on the laptop ?

Found this on youtube and thought it might be of interest to prospective Ashboryites:

The Kala U-Bass is great if you want a woody, deep and thumpy sound. They are available with or without frets, but quite expensive. Another option is the Ashbory, only available fretless and tricky to intonate if you play complex lines high up the neck, but has a great sound for less money.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1071416' date='Dec 29 2010, 01:00 AM']That is out of the mainstream bass for: Red Hot Chili Peppers Rush Tool[/quote] Thanks, I have seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers on TV, but I haven't knowingly heard anything by Rush and I've never even heard of Tool. Mainstream music is bland and boring to me and I'm not often inspired by other bass players. I simply love creating music and seeing people enjoy my band is a buzz. Being happy with my tone isn't critical, but it helps.