FinnDave

I'm off to the Roundhouse to see Hawkwind tonight. I know it's going to be something special. They were on top form when I saw them on Tuesday in Buxton, and everyone I spoke to there was looking forward to tonight's gig.

For me, the priorities are quality of the music, and whether it's my sort of thing, absence of idiots (though they can be removed after joining if the rest of the boxes are ticked), frequency of gigs, number of free vs paid gigs, distance, and being able to get along with the other guys. The only bands I've walked away from since moving back to the UK 4 years ago have been because of distance, an hour or more's driving for a rehearsal in the evening is not on unless the band is exceptional. I'll travel further if they can do daytime rehearsals. I wouldn't bother with a band that rehearses every week but hasn't got any gigs booked.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1495744796' post='3306352'] I hold down first fret with one hand and 15th fret with my thumb on my other and leave just enough relief at the twelfth fret to be able to make the string ring out with a tap of the string with my first finger, once set I adjust the string height to a 2.5mm Allen key thickness between the 12th fret and the underside of each string. [/quote] I do the same, but always use a 3/32" allen key. My US Fenders prefer imperial measurements

Mike Howlett's bass line on 'Isle of Everywhere' from Gong's You album has long been a favourite of mine. I just happen to be listening to it right now, in fact!

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1495721264' post='3306142'] I was half expecting a joke about G Strings and feelers in there, very dissapointed.... [/quote] I'm sure that no one here would sink so low as to suggest that having a feel under the G string will provide the correct relief. Oh no, not around here. Wouldn't happen.

In the 120 plus gigs I've played with The Wirebirds, I doubt that more than 10% have had the bass through the PA. Apart from vocals, the only thing we mic up is usually the bass drum. Only when we play a festival or bike rally (and not always, even then) do we have the benefit of a big PA and sound crew.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1495453828' post='3303793'] The behavior of sound waves isn't intuitive, because unlike light waves we can't see the result. [/quote] Unless you're Owsley, of course: [quote][color=#000000][font=-webkit-standard][size=5][b]I think my knowledge of the true nature of sound dates back to the period of the L.A. Acid Tests and specifically, one of the rehearsals we had in the house in Watts when I actually saw sound coming out of the speakers. It was total synesthesia, and I've never experienced that at any other time. It was just a unique experience. And it so completely blew my mind, that I realized, "Hey, no matter what, I've got to remember what this (the sound) is doing. I went around and inspected it very carefully, and I spent a lot of time absorbing what it was doing and realizing how different it was from what I thought sound did. And that became the foundation for all the sound work that I've done. The fact that I was able to convert aural information into a three-dimensional image-- it was all coming from my ears, of course, but transforming it into a visual form.[/b][/size][/font][/color][/quote]

I'm another happy camper, I have had a love/hate relationship with Jazz basses for over 40 years (!) and my bought-new 2015 US Standard was languishing unused as I simply couldn't get the sounds I need for my bands out of it. A quick chat with John and a couple of days later I was fitting one of his beautifully made series/parallel wiring looms into it. Despite my complete lack of technical skills or knowledge, it all went together without a hitch and ten minutes after I started, the bass was back together and plugged in....and that 40 year old troubled relationship has suddenly been resolved! I gigged the jazz yesterday and other than demonstrating the difference between series & parallel to our guitarist, it remained in series for the entire gig. I had taken a Precision in case the Jazz didn't hack it, but it was left in the car the whole time. Thank you for the quick service, the quality of your kit and advice. I shall be converting my other Jazz bass very soon!

There's one song in our set that the singer can't manage in E (the original key) so I drop the E string to D, works fine on my Precisions strung 50-105 and my Jazzes strung 45-100. I think if I was playing in that tuning for more than one song, I'd string one bass with heavier strings as a 100 gauge a full step down is little bit slack under the fingers. I only drop the bottom string, I leave the rest in standard tuning, messes with my head if we haven't played it for a while and the singer calls it in the middle of a gig!

All good quality gear, there are no real short cuts in getting a decent bass sound. Believe me, I've tried!!

Cheers, Lozz, I am 99% I'll be getting one of these amps when the new cab is ready. Had a gig in Oxford the other day, small stage and not too much volume were the instructions, so we took minimum gear, in my case just an Ashdown EB 180 1x12 combo, and I still struggled to carry it because of my damaged hand, so it is going to have to be light weight all the way. I am sure the Super Compact would work well with on of my ABM heads, but that would kind of defeat the object of a small and light rig. Just got to wait for the call to get myself down to Brighton again

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1495218402' post='3302289'] I love the Super Compact, my favourite cab ever. And paired with a Rootmaster I can guarantee sonic joy and happiness [/quote] Good to hear I'm heading in the right direction

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1495220512' post='3302304'] Good move. I use 1 or 2 SC's depending on the gig. [/quote] Everything dictates I should go that route - flexibility, ease of transport, redundancy, and more. But I simply can't bring myself to sell my lovely Super Twin - especially as it is the first production model.

It'll be a few weeks, but I've just ordered a Barefaced Super Compact, and will be buying myself a small amp to go with it (small as in lacking bulk, rather than low in power). I've been a very happy Barefaced user for the past 4 years, but for some gigs, my Super Twin is just a bit big, so I end taking one of my Ashdown combos, but I struggle to carry even a small combo due to my damaged hand. So, once it's here and I've bought an amp to suit it (thinking Ashdown Rootmaster 500 at the moment) and as well as suiting small gigs, they will act as back-ups on larger gigs. I might use them all together on much larger gigs! I am assured the cab will be with me in 'just a few weeks', so long as it's less wait than Super Twin was, which was ordered before the Gen 3 range had been announced. One the new kit's up and running, expect to see a couple of Ashdown combos for sale!

[quote name='King Tut' timestamp='1495191240' post='3301984'] Enjoy mister - if they were as good as they were at The Roadmender, you're in for a real treat! They started with an acoustic set - here's my phone footage of Psi Power [url="https://youtu.be/jEL4PYnu6DA"]https://youtu.be/jEL4PYnu6DA[/url] [/quote] I'm sure I'll enjoy it, the only time I didn't enjoy a Hawkwind gig was when I was coming down with pneumonia and didn't know! Missed out on getting tickets for the Stroud gig, so Buxton's a real bonus. Plus the people I'm going to the Roundhouse with are jealous as hell!

Cheers, Dad, I made sure we started a bit slower last night, our drummer has a tendency to push things on a bit, and parts of 'Thrill' have been getting rushed. Different rig last night as venue was tight, so took Precision and small combo. The sound was nothing special, but at least it fitted the small stage!

I've just found out I'm seeing them twice next week. I know about the Roundhouse, I've the tickets for ages, but I am visiting a friend in Macclesfield for a couple of days to make a radio programme with him, and he just told me he has two tickets for the Buxton gig on Tuesday! Looks like a week to remember coming up!!

I experienced this when I saw Walter Trout last week. His sons' band was support and the sound was terrible, all bass drum and mush. When Walter himself came on, the sound was completely different even though the had the same bass player as his own man was sick. So same bass, amp, etc. BUT...there was a different man on the desk and the sound was fine.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1495041378' post='3300814'] Yeah, I have a spare amp but not a spare cab. I would consider a spare cab, but it would have to be very small. Blue [/quote] I have been considering selling my 2x12 and getting 2 1x12s, use them together for larger gigs and singly for smaller ones, then I should at least always have one cab that works through the gig! Having said that, my Barefaced cab has been 100% reliable from day one, and I am very reluctant to sell my 'cherished' serial number 001! Maybe a second Super Twin, but then I'd need a bigger car as well!

Thanks, I have been listening to the second half of the gig, when I was using a Precision (my Jazz fell over and damaged a string) and the sound seems muddier to me. I was played both basses through the same ABM 500 evo II and Barefaced Super Twin. The 'Thrill' track I linked to used a 2015 US standard Jazz with Flats and played with a heavy pick. I think it's the most satisfying sound I've managed to get from a bass, clear but with some real growl to it. Just hope I can get it again!

I do 4-6 gigs a month (in a good month) and have been using Ashdown ABM and Barefaced cab without trouble for 4 years. I did have a new ABM 600 fail on me in the first number at a gig, but I replaced with my evo II (bought well used 4 years ago) and carried on. I haven't found anything that sounds better than an ABM yet.

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1495030948' post='3300672'] I like it, sounds great to me [/quote] Thank you, but can you say what it is about the bass tone that sounds good? I usually play Precisions, but was using a Jazz on this track, and am pleasantly surprised by the tone it produces. It is a sound I would like to get consistently. (Just clicked on your you tube link and found it was the same song! Another good version of this classic. Also note it was recorded in Skelmersdale, I drove up there from Oxford 4+ years ago to buy the amp I was using on the gig linked above!)

I'm interested to know what the general bass playing population reckon to the bass sound on this. It is one track from a gig last week, the one on which I damaged my bass and my amp failed (not at the same time!). I was just editing the tracks to go up on the band's soundcloud, and thought the bass sounded interesting. [url="https://soundcloud.com/finndave-1/thrill-has-gone?in=finndave-1/sets/the-eagle-watchfield"]Thrill Has Gone[/url]