Painy

I actually bought some (planet waves) last week and had the same problem / tried the same solution. Actually found in the end that the flat of the pick being too parallel with my thumb was more of a problem than the length of it so I guess it's not for me. The idea of switching between pick and fingers didn't really work for me either as I play floating thumb so it keeps snagging the other strings

Come on, it's been Monday for nearly 20 minutes now and still no pictures yet!

My problem is I have GAS that I don't know when to let go of! I'll GAS for something (often some kind of effects pedal), give in and buy it, try it out and decide it sounds amazing only then to discover that it doesn't work for me at all in a gigging situation which is what I bought it for. Unfortunately I then struggle to admit it's not working and get rid of it again which is why I was actually running two pedal boards for a while despite only actually using about 4 of the pedals on them. If you do actually find an effective way to keep GAS under control then please share it!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1465753137' post='3070741'] Whether or not something is hefty is, fundamentally, a matter of hubricity. [/quote]

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1465727135' post='3070474'] I just want a dark grey plate for my Jazz bass. Not finding one anywhere [/quote] I covered the nasty cheap looking red tort guard on my Harley Benton with self adhessive vinyl. Cost about £2 and took all of 5 minutes including taking off the plate and putting it back on when I was done. Could just get a sheet off dark grey vinyl of eBay?

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1465679604' post='3070222'] Look at that bass player with a hefty sound, he's being really hubrissy. [/quote] That works but what exactly is the meaning of the word "hefty"?

That depends. Do you have enough heft yet?

I'd never even considered the idea of owning an expensive bass and not gigging it before joining basschat. The most expensive bass I've owned was a Warwick Streamer Stage 1 fiver which would currently retail at well over 4 grand new. I owned it for about 7 years and during that time I used it for everything but 2 songs at every gig I played which would have been around 3-400 gigs. Never once worried about it and when I sold it the only mark on it was on the body above the front pickup where my thumb had rested. I'm now gigging a Squier VM P5 which was about £270 new as my main bass. Not because of any concern about damage to a more expensive instrument but because for me personally it honestly feels more comfortable in my hands than any other bass I've ever played. I'd like to change the (perfectly functional BBOT) bridge at some point but only because I'm lazy and hate threading strings though so prefer quick release bridges. I'd also like to try upgrading the pickup at some point just to see if it makes any difference (again the current stock pup sounds pretty good to me anyway) but if I never change either of those things I still won't feel like I've had to compromise in any way by playing a cheap bass.

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1465335325' post='3067389'] Looking forward to seeing it (positively, I like relic'ed ) [/quote] +1

John Entwistle would be my favorite bass player of all time and my biggest single influence. Followed in no particular order by: Glenn Hughes - particularly his playing and tone on the Feel album. Bobby Vega - everything about his playing just makes me smile. Steve Harris - Still the only bass player alive who can do the machine gun pose with his bass and not look like a monumental bellend. Geddy Lee - because this:-

That's the weird thing. It wasn't even all that loud. Everywhere else on stage it was just a bit woolly and muffled apart from where the guitarist was standing - literally a spot about 6 feet across - where the low end went berserk. Obviously something weird in the acoustics of the room but still something I'd obviously prefer to avoid.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1465212773' post='3066107'] You can make foam bungs to fit a lot of round ports with sponge paint roller refills - available from DIY stores. They have a small hole through the middle for the roller shaft, so don't completely block the port. [/quote] Funny enough I do actually have half a dozen paint roller refills in the under stairs cupboard

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1465199015' post='3065938'] First of all the technical advice is good, rear ports won't make a difference unless you are hard up against the rear wall as the frequencies they radiate are non-directional. hard up against the wall the air mass trapped between the rear panel and the wall might come into play but moving the cab forward a few inches would prevent that, and to be frank I don't think it is your problem. Any attempt to block your ports is going to stop them doing their job properly. You say two things that may be relevant. You've achieved your sound, and that it sounds good out front but not on stage. The first point is that you have changed your sound and you describe it as 'warm' so I assume it contains more bass energy than before. The solution to this is to roll off some of that bass. What sounds best in practice often isn't the best solution for working live. You all have to compromise your sound a little in a band to help out the other guys. However you also say the sound for the audience is good so maybe there is a balance to be struck there. I suspect the problem may be resonance caused by the acoustics of the rooms you are playing in. These room resonances are being excited by your new sound. This may be further muddying the sound if you are getting bass feedback through the mics. So many venues ram the band into an alcove at the back of the room which have particularly bad acoustics. I find low ceilings a particular problem. you may just have had a run of bad luck with room resonances. Try the following. Filter subsonic bass with an HPF like a Thumpinator or turn down your bass a little if the mud is a particular problem. Apply the bass filters to all your mic's if your mixer allows this (apart from the kick mic if you use one) Keep your bass cab out of corners and move it away from walls as far as you can. If your PA can take it put some of your bass through the PA and turn down on stage. If you do this one trick is to roll off the bass a little on stage and boost it through the PA to compensate, so the audience hear a balanced sound but you reduce the bass energy on stage. [/quote] I think ultimately this is pretty much all spot on. I think I may have to compromise a bit here too for sure. When I stood in the guitarist's spot and played an open E the bass was so overpowering I literally felt disorientated and a bit sick so however good it sounded or front I wouldn't expect my band mates to deal with that!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1465143499' post='3065566'] Have you tried a Gramma pad? My Berg AE210, rear ported, can get boomy but I've found lifting it off the floor and isolating it seems to help quite a lot (especially with suspended wooden stages!). [/quote] I do have it raised up on a stand to get it nearer to eat level already although not enough to de-couple it from the floor. Last night's gig was on a solid parquet floor though with no raised stage so doesn't look too be that simple a solution unfortunately.

Thanks Bill, that makes a lot of sense. I'll give that a go first then.

Foam bungs that still allow the cab to 'breath' sounds like a potentially good idea. Be interested to hear from any techy experts. Where are Alex and Bill when you need them?

Recently I've been getting the sound I've been looking for for years full, warm lows, tight punchy mids and clear defined highs. Sounds great in the mix out front and from where I'm standing on stage too. Unfortunately my bandmates are not enjoying the experience quite so much. They've agreed it sounds great out front but on stage the low end is seriously mudding out the sound where they are which I can only put down to the rear ports in the cabs (which we have no option but to position close to the back wall pretty much everywhere we play). I'm thinking of blocking off the ports to try and eliminate the boom on stage but I'm worried about how much I'll lose the low end out front. These are Aguilar DB112 cabs which have twin ports so I guess I have the option of just blocking one of them as a compromise but again not sure of the effect I'll get. I'm also wondering if anyone can suggest something designed for the purpose which would fit rather than using a cushion or a balled up pair of football socks. Any thoughts?

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1464985676' post='3064510'] [URL=http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/Karl_Altdorfer/media/_57_zpsrzvrq7fe.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q693/Karl_Altdorfer/_57_zpsrzvrq7fe.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/Karl_Altdorfer/media/_58_zpspv6mkndk.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q693/Karl_Altdorfer/_58_zpspv6mkndk.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] OooooErrr

Personally I can't stop watching this one: http://youtu.be/MPzwuiJCSbs

Angled at the bass end, straight at the amp end. Am I the only one that initialy misread the thread title as straight plugs or anal plugs?

To be honest when I first found out that the guitarist replacing JF was Josh Klinghoffer I was just relieved that I'd initially misheard the name because at first I thought it was this guy:

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1464814725' post='3062910'] opens third pack of hob nobs......... [/quote] I hope you brought enough for everybody!!! Got any dark chocolate ones?

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1464791579' post='3062590'] I've been through the "smallest possible gigable setup" thing over the last year or so... I found 1x 112 to not quite be enough for me. I went from 2x 112, to a 210 to my current set up of 2x 110s, which is super portable and easily loud enough for my needs. The whole rig weighs 16kg. [/quote] Have you thought about attaching the cabs to a headband and wearing them like headphones? Convenient for moving them around by public transport, would undoubtedly sound better than a pair of Dr Dre's cans and you'd be at the hight of fashion too!

I tend to take the view that the money is for the effort of rehearsing, traveling, unloading, setting up, packing down loading and associated expenses. The actual playing part I do for the love of it. I've often said that if you don't love it then the financial remuneration alone wouldn't make it worthwhile. For 4 hours playing though I think the love of playing itself would start to wear a bit thin and the love of money would have to start to rear its ugly head!

Here in Norfolk (and Suffolk when we play there) we get £300 as a starting point for 2x 1hr sets in pubs. We are however one of the longest established bands in the area and can't speak for other bands round here.