jonnythenotes

Play something that involves covering a bit of the fretboard.... Master Blaster or Sir Duke by Mr Wonder will do this for you. A great Funky style blues thing to demo is Honey Hush...BB King. As long as what you play makes sense to the listener...either thru familiarity with the tune, clarity of sound and a measured tempo so notes dont become a racket...Even just a few scales played in different positions on the neck will show off the tone qualities of the bass, and will give the listener a clear and proper idea of what the bass is capable of. All I would suggest, is do not play any mindless slappy funk nonsense on your bottom E that just produces a low end din. This does not showcase the bass, or the player, and has been done to death by armies of shredders that you can see a million times on You tube. You don't demo a car by doing a hand brake turn in the car park...so don't do the bass equivalent. To me, a clear version of Doe Ray Me etc, is far more informative on a demo than riffs, or slap done badly... Good luck with what you are doing, and why not share what you end up doing with us... Would love to see it.....

Does it whether passive or active... Tried everything, leads, batteries, swap guitars, swap cabs and speaker leads. This can only be the amp.. Completely random when it does it, could be as soon as you switch it on, or an hour after using it at a gig... Still think it might be a dry joint, but need a tech guy to check it out as its a D class amp.

Can the vibration of your cab handling and flexing to lower notes...Bottom E and upto an open A string, induce mega distortion in an amp that is sitting on top of this cab, as if it is making a dry joint rattle....... It's a really aggressive distortion that doesn't build or fade... Just 'on' as a signal hits the amp, and then instantly gone as the signal from the guitar weakens after the initial striking of the string. Te amp in question is an Epifani PS 600, which is an early D class circuitry system. Also, being very scarce, is there anyone out there who is capable of opening it up and isolating the problem, and then fixing it......

Thanks Showman.....I have called him and left a message.....Hopefully he will call back.... Brillo.

Thanks....that sounds really useful....much appreciated.....

A couple of years ago I donated a fairly new Laney RB8 to my son while he was at Uni in York. Shortly after that, he told me he had blown it, and that it was kaput. I finally have got it back to my house in Lichfield with a view to having it repaired if that is possible. He told me that all he did was plug it in, there was a flash, and then smoke came out of the cooling vent situated on top of the amp. Since getting it home, I have plugged it in, and on first appearance all seemed ok. The power light came on, the fan starts ok, and makes a whirring sound, and there was no smoke or odd noises. On plugging the bass guitar in and engaging the compressor, the compressor 'engaged' light comes on, and as you turn the gain (pre amp )volume up the compressor 'on' light starts to flash, showing there is a signal getting from guitar to amp. Thats where the good stuff finishes. there is no sound at all coming from the speakers, regardless of how much you either wind up the gain or the volume. That is as much as I know..... My first question is, does anyone know what it might be from this very vague description of the problem. Second, how do I remove the amp from the speaker housing to do a visual check on the amp as being a combo it does not look straight forward. And finally, are there any of you good folks near Lichfield in Staffs who could take on an assessment, and repair of one of these things. Thanks...John

Hi Spector....I am not playing those songs....just used them as an example, but thank anyway.

Thanks chaps.....some food for thought there. It's not a major issue, or a show stopper, but bugs the pants off me.

Love the sound of my bass, but is there some way to boost the sound the higher up the G string you go. The only way I can sort of explain is comparing it to this smart four wheel drive stuff. The more grip you need,the more drive is applied to the wheel, or wheels that are slipping. It's not always there, just as and when required. Is there an octave pedal that does a similar thing, recognising that on the lower notes, there is plenty of volume there, so an octave 'below' boost is not required, but as you start moving up passed 4th and 5th fret on the G string it feeds more and more in the higher you go to maintain the volume level. Three examples of all the bottom end collapsing are All Right Now at the bass solo bit, Knock On Wood for part of the riff, and I Feel Good, again as part of the bass riff. I don't like these 3 , but they are the 3 that spring to mind. Any Octave pedals I have heard seem to be either on or off, with no graduation in terms of an 'as and when needed' basis,or have I missed something.

That is nonsense about doing re takes for a video recording until you get it right...so what !!!! Have you forgotten how many hours, weeks or even months you spend in rehearsal rooms or even at home going over and over the same bit til you get it right. Of course she may have given it a few tries til she got it right, but so what..it's right now. How many of you can honestly say you could turn up at a rehearsal, or sit in front of a camera, and play that song,that well straight off... It's blindingly obvious she plays with an ease and fluency that can't just be learnt, it has to come naturally...there is playing a bass, and using a bass, lots of folks can do the first one, but not many the second.. That song is five minutes long, and must have a couple of thousand individual 'hits' on the strings... That's like trying to type at 100 words a minute without making one mistake... Come on.

So what's the diffence between someone performing or playing a song on you tube, and playing the same song at a gig..... viewers or an audience...its the same thing. Unless its the the original song writer playing it, it's always going to be someone else trying to re-create the original as best they can. Whether you are male female, old or young, you are basically saying..."look what I can do... And I love it.." So all you folks who think its not right to show others what you can do, what is it that you do at gigs then...hide behind the drummer ? One of the key things about music, is the sense of achievement at having learnt something, and then wanting to share, or show this to other people. Scott Devine is the bass player I have learnt more off than any one on You Tube, as have thousands of others...this is because the signs over his door say 'lessons' or 'learn.' If this girl had used a similar title, would she still be the cause of such debate. For all the folks who are saying its nothing special, remember there are hundreds of players who are no where near this skill level yet, and at some stage in the past, none of us were. If I was trying to learn this song, I would be glad it was available.

Don't get it Mr Monk.... What's the point in sheet music then...or did Rogers and Hammerstein, Wagner etc just have it printed as a rough guide for us to create our own masterpieces. Surely, what people do on you tube or whatever today,is the equivalent of a Vicrorian knees up round the piano with a few chums 150 years ago. Dress up a bit and show how good you are....what's the difference...

How about ' burn the none gender specific, bass playing person' Surely that can't cause offence....

Thanks guys.... Still not to sure if one is a preferred method of creating playing volume though. If I wind my pre amp control upto an almost clipping point, and then use the master output gain to control the volume, I seem to get far more string noise...zinging etc....than using the other method. It seems the higher the pre amp setting, the more it imports the unwanted signals into the amp, yet using a lesser pre amp signal and the master volume almost on full, you get less of these unwanted signals, but is this detracting from the sound being sent to the amp by the bass. Sorry if it sounds a bit messy, but I don't have the tech talk to explain myself in simpler terms.

I know what they both do, but what is the difference in the end result....some people say to set your pre amp volume till it just starts to clip a bit and then pull it back a little, (if you don't want distortion creeping in,) and then use the master volume for getting your playing volume to the right level. Other people say wind your master volume up almost full, and then use your pre amp control to get the required playing volume. What, if any, is the difference with the sound that comes out of the speakers using one or the other of these methods of producing your 'sound'. Is one better than the other, does one put more strain on the amp than the other, or are there actual differences in the sound. It might seem a daft question, but I have very little tech knowledge, and would really like to know if one works better than the other, or is there nothing in it... Thanks

I'm with you Bubinga.... I'm surprised we have not had any cries of 'burn the witch.' All I am looking at onnthat clip is a bass player doing a very good job covering a very tricky song. I was going to put a clip of me doing a bit, but the thought of dozens of female bass players joining the thread with sexist comments, and stating things like "he is not a he, he is a bassist," could prove to much for me..

Well what is she supposed to do then ...put a bag over her head and turn the light off ? She... Or should I say ' this person' is a good player, and that's it. Any reference to backing tapes, down tuning, or doing her own material is completely irrelevant. She is playing it extremely well, obviously knows how to use tone and volume, so its right for the mix, and looks completely relaxed and at ease throughout the whole piece. What else do you need.....give credit where it's due...Personaly I loved it...lets have some more..

Mature bass player at a very high standard looking to join band in my area with gigs in the diary. Top quality gear used, and with my own transport. Preferably funk or soul based, but all offers considered. Phone .....07758082203. Thanks ...John.

Mature bass player at a very high standard looking to join band in my area with gigs in the diary. Top quality gear used, and with my own transport. Preferably funk or soul based, but all offers considered. Phone .....07758082203. Thanks ...John.

I Have got a none terminal problem with my Epifani PS 600 amp. What it is doesn't matter, but getting it fixed is by important to me as I really rate this amp. I posted a request on the Epifani owners site, and within 20 minutes I had a response from the Epifani manager telling me to expect a call off Nick Epifani in person. This happened within 24 hours, lasted 10 minutes, and has ended up with him giving me an assurance that one way or another we will get this amp fixed.First port of call is to call an engineer he gave me the number for. In this day and age, to receive a phone call off the owner of one of the premier bass gear companies in the world, from the other side of the world, with regard to an amp I paid £350 quid for, in my opinion is just incredible, especially when you bare in mind I was not even asking for help directly from Epifani in the first place. They just saw I was in trouble and jumped in...... What an advert for the company. Can any of you beat this from a customer service point of you....Betcha can't....

Well said Chris....Keyboard players playing block chords on the left hand side of the damned things should be taken to The Tower...But that's another story...

Sounds like you have two self centred guitarists, who are selfish, uncompromising, and complete cavemen when it comes to understanding that the whole of the band are equally responsible for the sound you all produce whether it's good, bad or indifferent. If they understood that volume does not equate to skill, or audience enjoyment, they might start to understand that control and the right thing at the right time is the real skill that they seem lacking in. I have had it for years,this misguided belief that the bass player and or drummer are responsible for all the crap that goes wrong at the lower frequencies.... They would both probably pass out if you took all their pedals away, and gave them an acoustic guitar each. If they can't hear that something is wrong, or they do admit this, but think they have no part in its cause or resolution, then you need to tell them to get back to school, while you find some musicians who do 'get it'. This is not a rant...it's just a Grounhog Day that all bass players have to live in, and it really grinds my gears...

Get there ten minutes early, and get a sound you like, and also get a volume that is what you perceive as about right for rehearsal level. When your first guitar player arrives get him to set up, and check how it sounds with him, if it suddenly sounds worse, at least now know, and hopefully sort it between the two of you.Do the same thing with the second guitar player, and see how it goes with him, and adjust accordingly. Then get the two of em to play together without you and see how that sounds...then join in yourself. When, piece by piece you are all listening to each other, and you agree it's ok...add the drummer and individually have a quick bash with him, and if that sounds right all play together. Trying to fix a sound when you are all in at once is impossible, and as usual, each band member can't believe they are the cause of it if its not right....especially if its boomy or muddy...' It has to be the bass player!!!!!'..... Take ten minutes to think it thru, and have a good rehearsal, or suffer two or three hours of misery...

Pwahahahahah....love it...Jonnysomenotes..... Nice one ..

Easiest way to play Sir Duke is by keeping your wrist fixed at your start point, and play the lot using only one octave....The whole thing is done using a tight pattern, and your hand never moves up or down. Some how it looks even more amazing than flying up and down the neck, as even though it is only using one octave, in a band environment, it sounds no different, apart from all the bottom end DOESN'T drop out in the high register parts.. Try it...7 notes and no hand movement whatsoever..