DanOwens

[quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='1019455' date='Nov 10 2010, 10:32 PM']Could anyone point out some items similar to the undercar LED's that can be plugged into mains? I'm rather intersted in these but don't want to pay that much[/quote] +1!

Great doc that chats to Analogman, EHX, Keeley, ZVex, Way Huge, Death by Audio and many more. Really interesting! Part 1 (of 8 or something) [url="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x79gto_fuzz-01_music"]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x79gto_fuzz-01_music[/url] Seriously, it just gets better and better! Dan

I really like it, but as said, sharp edges would worry me. So would the scratches it might be putting in the finish on the other side! Dan

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1017484' date='Nov 9 2010, 01:30 PM']Most people can't play funk convincingly. My advice would be to join a function band, you'll be in good company.[/quote]

Guys I promise I'll not keep posting this, but I think my blog is a good resource for the aspiring synth/bass guitarists. [url="http://mrdfowens.tumblr.com/post/1479171384/concepts-of-modular-synthesis-for-the-bass-guitarist"] CLICKY HERE!![/url]

Thanks guys for some witty and insightful discourse. I'm particularly impressed with how many of us admit to not buy into certain aspects of the one-upmanship but to buy into other aspects. I find it illuminating when someone compares my argument to buying a car or buying a bass; neither of those things inspire the kind of fire that I feel when discussing pedals (hence the entirely effect-based premise to my article), but they both represent identical ideas regarding ownership, perception and projection. Fly-fisher's insight into whether the media constructs or reflects is, I suppose, an extension on the life/art axiom. My money's on BurritoBass' perception of stereotype as something that we ourselves buy into, I suppose in that naïve human way that if something doesn't fit a stereotype then we create a stereotype for it to fit in. When icastle asks [i]"Is it a class struggle or pride in the fact that the Squire owner can achieve what they need to achieve without spending 20x the amount?"[/i], well no but then the propensity to then gloat about it does seem to exhibit features of that same reverse-snobbery outlook. Thanks everyone for this! I'm not as intellectual as some of this may seem, but I do like to write and I do like to think! Dan

I sell basses, I very rarely acquire them. Pedals though.....

I realise that we all require different things. I also realise that so far, this has been an intelligent and rational consideration on equipment snobbery and the wider social and psychological factors that shape that behaviour. To me, snobbery can be taken at face value, but it is the implied social hierarchy that really interests me. What does it take for you to firstly construct a form of hierarchy at a gig, then to insert yourself somewhere within that hierarchy? Also, do you find you want to be higher up even if you assume you're not? I too realise that this is all within single-axis spectra and is at risk of becoming a 'theory-or-groove' type binary argument, but I believe we are better than that as a community and this is a good chance to show it. Dan

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1016464' date='Nov 8 2010, 03:24 PM']i just bought Mr.Foxens ring mod/wah, which has to be the ugliest looking pedal ever known to mankind, but i'm hoping it makes up for it in the sound dept.[/quote] You see, I thought about buying that pedal but because it's so different. The sound it creates (apparently a mix between bandpass and ringmod) would further set me out from the crowd. Egocentricity encased in a genuine need to sound cool. And don't get me wrong, I'm happy to eulogise about my set-up and explain it all and offer advice as to how to do what I do better than me because I can learn and then develop, then explain, then learn etc... I suppose once you get to the heart of it it comes back to the friends episode where Joey suggests that Phoebe try and do something truly altruistic and she can't because at the end of it all, we are all self-concerned. I'm an unashamed socialist and a teacher; I thrive on collaboration and development but there's still a part of me that wants to be the best (or as my article rather startlingly describes it - I want to seen to be the best). Dan

silddx - Not true. I thought about you, but will wait for another blog to reflect on brightly coloured strings! tom - I'm impressed that you're not effected by this, I wish I wasn't and I do understand why people use things like Zoom products (they do what the user wants). The article is, I suppose, a reflection on my own weaknesses and how I try and come to terms with the dichotomy between my genuinely positive perception of my environment and yet my appreciation that all is not quite right. Dan

Hey guys, My recent blogpost deals with perceptions of hierarchy and how we use our equipment to establish it. [url="http://mrdfowens.tumblr.com/post/1515874283/effects-as-a-catalyst-for-consumerist-one-upmanship"]The blog is here[/url]. Please have a read and tell me if you agree / disagree. It certainly made me feel a bit dirty to be writing it. Dan

Shep have you seen the new Analogman multitonal synth pedal? Dan PS. Trollolololol

Have you seen my friend? He hides in a White and red ball. Goes by the name of Snorlax. Zzzzzzzz

My mate Pete used to spend ages listening to Funk and Rock. That was his thing. He always went on about how he liked to listen to good bands but kinda used to denigrate anyone who bothered to learn and practice. My peers and I would always tell him "Learning is a good thing, practice is a good thing, being a decent musician is about more than just staring at a drum kit, so we all have to learn to some degree". He would always try and create binary arguments but in reality, there is a great distance between 0 and 1. Pete was a fairly successful and happy kit player but he was an angry guy who would have a go if someone had rudiments in a groove. He would ignore the multitude of musicians who build great playing out of theory AND groove, not theory OR groove. I don't talk to him much. He's a plank. Dan

3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator - 3 Adrenalinn II - 1 Aguilar Agro - 1 Aguilar Octamizer - 1 Akai Unibass - 1 AMT Slap Bass -1 Ashdown Chorus - 1 Ashdown Drive Plus - 1 Asdown dual band compressor - 2 Ashdown sub octave plus - 1 Barge Concepts VFB-2 - 1 Behringer chorus - 1 Boss CE-2 - 1 Boss CEB3 - 1 Boss DD-20 - 2 Boss DS-1 - 1 Boss LS-2 - 5 Boss OC-2 - 7 Boss ODB-3 - 3 Boss SL-20 -1 Boss SYB 3 - 1 Boss TU2 - 5 Boss TU-12H - 1 Boss chorus ensemble CE-5 - 2 Bugbrand Bugcrusher - 1 Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer - 1 Devi Ever Hyperion - 1 Devi Ever Cherry Pop - 1 Devi Ever SodaMeiser - 1 Digitech Whammy - 2 Dunlop Bass Cry Baby - 3 DHA VT2 - 3 EBS Octabass - 1 EBS Multicomp - 2 EBS Unichorus - 1 EHX Bass Micro Synth - 4 EHX Big Muff Pi (Black Russian) - 1 EHX Octave Multiplexer - 1 EHX POG2 - 1 EHX Small Stone Nano - 1 EHX Qtron+ - 2 Ernie Ball VP-Jr - 1 Fishman Platinum Pro EQ -1 Guyatone MD-3 delay - 1 Guyatone PS-3 Phase Shifter - 1 HBE Psilocybe -1 Ibanez PD7 Phat-Hed Bass Overdrive - 1 Ibanez SB 7 - 1 Korg DT-10 - 1 Korg Pitchblack - 2 Line 6 M9 - 2 Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live - 1 Line 6 DL4 - 1 MarkBass Super Synth - 1 Marshall Jackhammer - 1 Maxon CP9+ - 1 Mojo Hand Cream Pie - 1 Moog MF-101 - 3 Moog MF-102 - 1 Moog MF-105b - 1 Moog MF-107 - 2 Moog MP-201 - 1 Mr Zinky Master Blaster - 1 MXR Blowtorch - 1 MXR M-80 DI+ -3 ProCo Tubro Rat - 1 Radial Bassbone - 1 Rocktron Cyborg Reverb - 1 Sansamp Bddi - 5 SFX Micro Fuzz - 1 SFX S&M - 1 Subdecay Noise Box - 1 TC Electronics PolyTune - 2 Tech 21 VT Bass - 2 Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe - 2 Toadworks Mr Squishy - 1 Way huge swollen pickle - 1 Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth - 2 Z.Vex Mastotron - 1

Learning to use your kit properly is essential. Rarely do manufacturers release products that aren't up to scratch; more often than not it's users not reading manuals or not bothering to try and dismissing equipment. The BMS is a perfect example. I could rant all day about people moaning octavers sound muddy below A on the E string or fuzzes sound too raucous. RTFM and make some noise!!! Dan PS. Sorry for the neggy vibes. I've had a morning of normal people and I find them annoying.

MY experience with cheap bass amps is that they are usually even worse than cheap guitar amps. If price is an issue, get an Amplug, I reckon. Seriously, I've never been impressed with a cheap combo. Although YMMV. Dan