Happy Jack

You don't need aluminium for tuning issues to arise. I played a market gig outside Kew station last summer. We were (supposedly) under a gazebo but the set-up meant that my Ampeg Baby Bass was in direct sun. For the first 30-minute set I was having to re-tune after every song, and at one point mid-song.

Now from a [i][b]buyer's[/b][/i] point of view, of course ...

[quote name='Lee Carter' timestamp='1394449282' post='2391341'] Incidentally, don't worry too much about soloing on blues numbers, my job is to keep the groove rolling not kill it. I find a polite shake of the head works wonders when someone points at me for a solo ;-) [/quote] Damned right. There are plenty of Basschatters who are ardent solo-players, I'm sure, but I'll bet you'd find that they are vastly out-numbered by those who have never played a solo and never will. My bass-playing heroes are James Jamerson, Duck Dunn and Paul McCartney. See how many bass solos those three contributed during their entire careers.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1394392388' post='2390974'] That's at least 70 million people who 'don't like music' then. [i]According to the British Hit Singles & Albums book, he has reportedly sold in excess of seventy million albums worldwide[sup].[/sup][/i] [sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Last#cite_note-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums-1"]http://en.wikipedia....es_.26_Albums-1[/url][/sup] [/quote] I didn't realise that his sales were restricted to one album per person ...

Just so long as he has his own knives ...

Now tell us how you actually pronounce "[i][b]Pfretzschner[/b][/i]" ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Some-type-of-audio-cable-/161243178915?pt=UK_Musical_Cables_Leads_Connectors&hash=item258ad7a7a3

The Beatles

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1394277338' post='2389770'] I have been searching in vain for a good, simple, relatively inexpensive, low wattage bass valve head. Guitarists are catered for with a plethora of small valve amps from the £69.00 1watt Kustom to the £250.00 20watt VHT, but these are all high gain screamers. I really think there is a gap in the market for someone to fill here. What do you really need on a nice warm sounding valve practice amp. High low gain input jacks / Volume / Treble / Bass. 8ohm Speakon on the back. Simples [/quote] That already exists. Buy an early 70s WEM Dominator 25 (the one with the 15" Celestion, not the 12" jobbie). 15W of pure valve tone in a glorious open-backed cab, available at home rehearsal volume levels, capable of handling small gigs too, and best of all you won't lose money on it.

And at the non-bargain end of the scale, we have http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-string-bass-collection-bass-guitar-/161238083317?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item258a89e6f5 Horribly over-priced, especially since the seller has somehow managed to avoid using the word "fretless" ...

No idea what that amp sounds like, but I'm certainly struggling with the controls. I'm a great believer in simplicity with amps, and especially so with valve amps. That combination of knobs and switches, channels and bright blue LEDs, promises entire gigs of fiddling about with the sound without in any way improving the bass playing ...

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1394206315' post='2389173'] Gandalfs very own gig bass. [/quote] Don't be silly - that belongs to Radagast. And good luck finding a gig-bag to go with it ...

In all fairness Mick they're both listed as SB301s but those are still excellent VFM.

I'm stunned. Shocked and stunned. A 4-piece power-pop trio? What were you thinking?

I've been faffing about with different types of valve amp for a few years, no sort of expert but a reasonably experienced faffer. You'll need very good ears indeed to hear much change between various types of output valve. Once you get above the lowest-quality units, a valve is a valve, IMHO. Input valves are different. Like wines, they attract all sorts of fanciful adjectives (smooth, creamy, crunchy, sparkling) which actually tell you very little until you've heard that particular valve used in your amp, with your bass played through it, by you. There's a shedload of information about pre-amp valves on the Net but be warned, most of it is aimed fair & square at guitarists rather than at bass players. The ECC83 is the most widely-used pre-amp valve, and it's also commonly known as the AX7. If that's too high-gain (i.e. breaks up easily into distortion) for your tastes, try the next step down which is the AT7. That's a roughly 40% drop in gain level leading to a much later break-up. Watford Valves have attracted mixed reviews on Basschat. I really like them and have had nothing but good service from them, but I am aware that others have had different experiences.

Have you ever been to Kelso in Scotland? Didn't think so. Well I have. People use old sidecars for coffee tables down there.

I think the real problem is that "[i]the bass neck has been deferred[/i]". Never de-fret to tomorrow what can be de-fretted until the day after ...

They are there for raisin the signal level ...

Is this competition still running? I've managed to avoid it completely for maybe 20 years. Can't say that my life has been the poorer as a result ...

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1393921818' post='2385737'] i think that i always used to play this as if i was 'reacting' to the tempo, the mental mindset leaves you feeling like you are constantly just behind the beat and always putting in that extra effort to stay up there on the beat - i do think that i have changed my perception of the timing slightly so that now my thinking part of my brain is trying to be ready in anticipation before the beat so that im there on the beat with minimal effort - i know this sounds a bit vague and tenuous but for me this is the main improvement i have made as my physical playing style hasnt really changed a great deal in the last two years apart from growing slightly more economic [/quote] Not vague at all - I can see exactly where you're coming from on that.

But I'm not convinced it's really the look for me: [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/120915%20Rocky%20Mountain%20Elvis/RockyMountainElvisinWindsor7.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/120915%20Rocky%20Mountain%20Elvis/RockyMountainElvisinWindsor7.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I'm thinking of changing the hat-band for a spandex one in day-glo pink. What do you reckon?

That control plate alone would halve its value as far as I'm concerned.

Depends on where you'll be playing and what pickup configuration you choose. In my (limited) experience most DB gigs are backline-provided, so all you need is something like a Fishman Platinum Pro as a pre-amp pedal [i]cum [/i]DI. If you're supplying your own backline, then you could be starting a long and very expensive journey in search of "your" sound. A number of Basschatters have already made this journey and are better-placed than me to offer advice. In particular, I've seen/heard the rigs used by Clarky and PTB and they're seriously impressive (and clever) pieces of kit. If you're not that fussed about getting the perfect tone, then a PlatPro works in front of a lot of different rigs. I've used mine with Gallien Krueger heads and Barefaced cabs without issues. I don't recommend playing a DB through an Orange Terror Bass ... but it will still work.

Who? The late Vic Maile?

This was more-or-less required listening in 75/76. That first number still rustles the hairs on the back of me neck ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWTcTNwiT60