Dood

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1359364797' post='1953443'] I just call bass guitar's "Planks" with a slight tongue in cheek attitude, but I don't understand why anyone would care if other call a bass guitar "She" If a person owns a bass it's up to them what they call it. [/quote] Yes, I've been known to call my 7 string a banjo at times, rather tongue in cheek.

Yes likewise! - Well, it seems that NAMM has drawn to a close and from what I've seen online so far, the MS-60B didn't get a mention. I wonder if like last year's MS-50B it won't make it out in to production?

I was just about to ask about the 1212/6/1 version but I see that is also on the website!

[quote name='Tinman' timestamp='1358103969' post='1933214'] Shuker and Buckeye Burl is the only way Good choice mate. [/quote] Agreed! It's my favourite wood for facings! Very nice - Especially as each peice can look so so different. Pete's bass (in his Avatar) has lots of lovely rich yellow in, whereas my first Shuker that had buckeye on was much darker with greens and browns. Both very tasty indeed!

Have a look at this wonderful thread of beauties! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/25096-shuker-mega-thread/page__st__200__p__1836932__hl__shuker__fromsearch__1#entry1836932 Feel free to post your pictures on there too! - My two Shukers are on the thread too. I had a third, a lovely six string with buckeye facings. Jon Shuker really is a master at his craft and it still amazes me how he manages to deliver these incredible machines at the prices he can. Easily one of the very best.

I'd like to hear some of the settings with higher gain.. I don't know from the reviews if there's as much gain as say the SVP-BSP. Hmmm!

I think what I have found most frustrating about NAMM (other than a lot of my friends and co-endorsers being there and that I couldn't be) is that a lot of companies seem to have released new products at NAMM, yet there's zero information out there about said items. I mean, what's the point making a big noise about the release if there's not at least a full spec to go with it? A video would be great!

Re OP, It's really a lot simpler than that - one of the main reasons originally for slanting the pickup was to make the poles fit under the strings. It means you can use a longer pickup on a more narrow string spacing. You'll have seen this on guitars such as the Stratocaster. The other advantage of rotating this type of pickup round means that the two poles per string pictured are closer to the string and therefore will change the tone fractionally also. I would guess that you'd get a more even attack and more sustain as the string dies away. With the plethora of different pick up sizes that are now available, I think that there's probably less reason from a sound point of view to need to slant the pickup - but now more to do with aesthetics maybe? I think it looks cool anyway! I suppose that if you had a particularly favourite pickup you'd want to install which was too long, then slanting it would make it fit lol!

I'll have some more news on these soon!

Yes, it is possible! Though I'd have to go away and set up a project to do it to test how then describe it. What I choose to do instead is to set up a single channel with a virtual instrument mapped to the pads. My drums of choice is Toontrack's Superior 2. Superior 2 has the option of multiple outs, so it'd be possible to send those to separate channels. To be honest though, i would record all of the pads outputs on to one track in Reaper to start with as it's easier to manage. If you don't for for Superior, there are a number of other 'plug in' packages available. Some are free, but the thing I like about Superior is that all that mixing and levelling can be done from within the plug in tidy, no mess and less stuff to clutter up the screen.

Well ya know, each to their own I suppose. My basses took a considerable amount of time and effort to co-design and it became a lot easier in conversation just to name the bass under construction - a bit of a code name referring to the neck 'logo' that ended up being inscribed on the control panel cover too. My 7 string bass in my Avatar took 9 months to 'create' too. So, yes, I guess that personified the bass - i actually like it that way. The name itself partly came from my nickname and also the name of a song by guitarist Geoff Whitehorn. I dunno, maybe it's tipping my hat to my fave musicians who have instruments that are 'named' too. Brian May refers to his 'Red Special' guitar as "The old lady" and Billy Sheehan's original precision/tele frankenbass is known as "The Wife" Calling it she or he for me is a bit more tongue in cheek, but if i were going for a choice, I'd prefer a 'she' sat on my lap than a 'he' heh heh! With ref to football players in the post above - I always thought a player said 'we' to blame the other team mates for their own dire playing lol.

I've blogged about Ampeg's new 800W portabass head too, so check that out. The EBS Billy Sheehan Drive pedal has been 'reviewed' and I've posted a link in the pedal thread in the effects forum. I've also spotted Zoom's single pedal version of the B3, known as the MS-60B. I've posted a link in the effects forum too. Finally, i was given this link the other day listing 170+ pedal releases for NAMM 2013 http://www.effectsdatabase.com/events/namm/2013?page=1

Steve Harris gets his own signature pickup : http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/namm-2013-seymour-duncan-rolls-out-steve-harris-pickups-570083

NAMM video with Billy talking about the new pedal: http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/namm-2013-video-billy-sheehan-demonstrates-his-ebs-signature-drive-pedal-570251

Last year we all saw the MS-50B advertised but it never materialised. I've just spotted the MS60B on the Zoom website posted this afternoon : [url="http://www.zoom.co.jp/news/article/506"]http://www.zoom.co.jp/news/article/506[/url] • Over 50 types of bass effects includes 6 bass amp models • Use up to four effects simultaneously • 30 preset patches ready for immediate use • Create and store up to 50 original patches • Integrated auto-chromatic tuner • Tap tempo function • 1/4-inch input jack, two 1/4-inch output jacks • Up to seven hours of operation using two AA batteries I think i'm interested, but slightly miffed that once again the guitarists get six effects at once and we're only allowed 4! Hmmmmm!

[quote name='Commando Jack' timestamp='1359112881' post='1950004'] /snip However there are reports of people having a hearing test only to find out that they lost the ability to hear only certain parts of the frequency spectrum due to the consistency of the motor noises, which effectively notched their hearing. [/quote] Yes exactly! - I was offered a set of hearing aids that are programmable which only boost in the areas of frequency that have been lost. This is set after taking readings using the usual specialised test gear to ascertain where the losses are. The trial was actually pretty amazing and I would very much like to buy a set. (Not that my hearing could be considered bad - I'm just a geek!) It's very true when they say 'you don't know what you got, 'til it's gone' but more so in this case, it's almost frightening to hear for the first time what effect those losses have had on hearing. It wasn't [i]just[/i] about 'the sound of things' either. Spatial awareness seemed to be hyper sensitive as my brain has obviously been over compensating for those dips. Genuinely, it seems like a bizarre thing to say but I could actually hear the size of the room just by the noise that the computer was making. Tests have also suggested that using these hearing aids can actually help alleviate some of the effects of Tinnitus too. By boosting those frequencies that have been lost, your brain stops trying to turn up the sensitivity in those areas to compensate for the loss. It is believed this turning up of the 'gain' is what induces the Tinnitus effect in recent testing. I can't say for sure if that's true, I'm not an audiologist - but certainly the two audiologists I have spoken to about this support the statement.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1359112512' post='1949993'] Here you go [url="http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/calculator.htm"]http://www.hse.gov.u.../calculator.htm[/url] [/quote] Excellent! Thank you!

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1359112438' post='1949988'] If you research Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Noise exposure times and Decibel levels you'll soon realise just how important it is to wear ear plugs. Each time you experience ringing in your ears it means you've damaged them, all be it only slightly but each time you do damage to them you'll soon experience a sudden loss of frequencies and the level will drop. Seriously I'd recommend EVERYONE who plays music whether it's just low level practicing or full band rehearsals, just do it. Hearing is the thing you need most for playing. [/quote] Ahh we both typed a similar reply at the same time! - Yes, my own hearing measurements support this statement! I have a dip in the frequencies of my hearing as described.

The other thing I wanted to add about ears ringing that usually gets missed: If you go out to band practice and you arrive home with ringing ears, the damage has been done already. If you wake up in the morning and the ringing has gone, the damage hasn't repaired. It can't. Next time you go out to a gig and come back with ringing ears, that's not the same damage, that's even more. It's cumulative. Some people have gone to many gigs and not suffered from ringing effects of tinitus, but actually they could have suffered the same amount of damage to their ears unwittingly. So, ear plugs in! It's not worth the risk!

I think it's fair to say that evolution hasn't moved as fast as technology - Our ears are really not designed to deal with being exposed for long periods to anything that has a high SPL. (Generally man made 'stuff' seems to come to mind when I think about it.) Tractor, drum kit, shooting, even using hammer drills for extended periods can all give the ear drums a serious rattling. All of those should require either turning down (where possible!!) or the use of ear plugs/defenders. So how do we decide when necessary - I guess that can be difficult. There are published guidelines (sometimes printed on the back of ear plug packets, but I have also seen them in amplifier manuals too) that suggest the maximum amount of time to be exposed to a particular volume, rated in decibels. They sometimes have some practical examples too, for example 'road drill' or 'aeroplane taking off'. I think there's two problems there straight away. Firstly we don't carry around suitable test gear wherever we are to take note of the ambient volumes we are being subjected to. The other problem is that I don't live near an airport or do I spend lots of time near road drills, so it's hard to make a comparison between those a distance away or my drummer 2 metres from my noggin!

It's so frustrating watching all the exciting updates coming from NAMM - I have a lot of colleagues / musicians I work with over there enjoying themselves and I cannae be there too! Nyaaaarghhhh!!!!! lol

[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1358953420' post='1947543'] yes, you would achieve the same thing by having a blend control on the compressor, or running it though a looper with a blend. [/quote] Also agreed - but be careful if you are using a DSP type compressor with an LS-2 as you'll probably get phasing issues with the two blended signals as the pedal signal will be everso slightly delayed. Not enough to feel in your playing but enough to notice the sound difference. Thankfully, most compressor pedals, such as the Multicomp or the boss types are straight analogue. The Nova Dynamics is actual a pedal that does it's processing in the digital domain. (This isn't a good example for using with an LS-2 though as it already has a blend on - but just illustrates the point).

Hopefully Bruce from TC will be along shortly to help things along!