Osiris

Quick update; I whipped up a cable earlier, it's just over a meter long to use from the output of my compressor into the front of my amp. Doesn't appear to be noisy in the slightest even when giving it a good shake about! Did a quick A/B test against a proper instrument cable and there was no notice difference in tone, volume, noise or anything else. [size=4] [/size]

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1499775941' post='3333499'] Well as I said you're probably right in law (and if it came to it you would appear to have a good case). That said, given what has transpired why would you want to? I mean it's not as if the shop is trying to fleece you - in fact they're getting less off you than they might otherwise. If it is a case of sharp practice then it doesn't seem to be a very clever one. I don't think you're being unreasonable in wanting some clarification, but IMHO it comes across as a bit of a storm in a teacup. Not wishing to labour the point, but specifying an acceptable margin up front removes the issue altogether. [/quote] My first thought was that I was being fleeced, but that's possibly just paranoia Wasn't trying to kick up a stink, just merely relaying a seemingly related anecdote to the original posters experience. But yes, agreeing acceptable margins up front sounds like a wise move, albeit one that I clearly hadn't considered at the time

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1499770966' post='3333447'] As to the amp, there are a number of potential issues there that you haven't made clear. When selling gear on commission sales I always specify an acceptable margin - "accept offers within x% of the listed price" kind of thing. Technically you're probably correct, but ask yourself 'would I have accepted the offer if I'd been selling it privately?'. If the answer is anywhere close to a 'yes' then with all due respect what's the beef? [/quote] No problem, hopefully this will help to clarify your points; We didn't discuss acceptable margins or possible offers as I was assured it would go for the price that was suggested to me, and from that I'd get my 80% cut. It was discussed as though it was a done deal. In answer to the question 'would I have accepted the offer if I'd been selling it privately?' then the answer is yes as I still ended up with more money than I had initially expected for the old amp. The 'beef', is more of a feeling of ambivalence. Yes, I did end up with more than I was expecting from a private sale, which is obviously good, but I was also assured that I was going to get a set price, but the actual amount received was less £30 than that. I had been given a receipt for the agreed amount so just assumed that that was what was coming to me once the amp had sold. Am I being unreasonable? Is the receipt in any way legally binding? I wasn't asked if I was prepared to let the amp go for the lower price, and I don't know if it is their right to sell it at whatever price they want or whether they were obliged to check with me first? And that's the bit that galls me. If it is their prerogative to sell used items on other peoples behalf for whatever price they want, regardless of what has been agreed, and I'm ignorant of this fact then fair enough that is entirely my fault. So in summary, I got more than I expected, but didn't receive the agreed figure that I assumed I was going to. I genuinely don't know and would appreciate any clarification as to my rights, if any, in this situation.

I had a similar issue with Bass Direct a few months back. They took in my old amp to sell on my behalf (not as part exchange as I was told that I'd get more money if they were to sell it for me) to off set the cost of a new one I'd bought from them. Anyway, the amount that I'd get was agreed* and I was given a receipt for the old amp and the agreed sale price. *I was told that they they charge 20% for this service, so obviously I was to get less than the full sale price but my share of the money was still a reasonable price. The amp sold about a month later (I had to chase up my money from them about 3 weeks later, but that's another story) but when the money hit my account, it was £30 less than the figure that was originally agreed. I emailed to query this and was told something along the lines of "the amp sold for less than we expected which is why you have got less than the agreed price". I replied to that to say that I would have like to have been consulted about selling the amp at a lower price, but I didn't get a response. Now, I'm not sure where I stand on this. Were they within their rights to sell my amp for a lower price? Was it still legally/technically my amp? Does anyone here know the legalities of this situation? Ultimately, I still ended up with more money than I was expecting from the sale of the amp which was good, but the episode still left a sour taste in my mouth.

Hey Paul, see if you can find an old Dod Octoplus. I had one years ago and it tracked much better than the Boss (can't remember which model it was now) that I had at the same time. The Boss did both 1 and 2 octaves down whereas the Dod only did 1 octave down, but to be honest 99% of the time when you use it, you'll only really need 1 octave down on bass anyway! There's also a really good octave model (can't remember the name of that either!) on the Zoom MS-60B. You can pick those up used for around £50 ish.

Thanks for the helpful insight, folks. It sounds to me that the sensible thing to do is to whip up a cable or 2 and see how they perform in regards to any potential unwanted noise. The worst case scenario is that i end up having to buy a new cable so it's hardly the end of the world

Long story short, I need a new cable and looking through my box of odds and sods I found a suitable length of microphone cable - [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/van-damme-yellow-tour-grade-classic-xke-microphone-cable-priced-per-metre-n64dl"]Van Damme 268-025-040 classic microphone cable[/url]. I've also got some spare Neutrik 1/4 inch jacks too. Can I make up a lead to use between the bass and amp with the above mic cable (and possibly another when using my pedal board)? If it's OK to do it, how would I wire it up as it has 3 inner cores (2 shielded and one that isn't) compared to the usual 2 of a regular instrument cable? Is there any reason why this would be a bad idea?

[font=Calibri][size=2] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Hey Zoe, how's it going?[/font][/size][/size][/font] [font=Calibri][size=2] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The TC Electronics MojoMojo can do a really good fuzz tone if you crank the drive control flat out. The pedals voice has more low end and mid-range than something like the Big Muff too, so it sits in the mix better. You can pick them up new for about £40, less if you buy used. [/font][/size][/size][/font] [font=Calibri][size=2] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Give your old man a big sloppy kiss from me, he's stopped talking to me for some reason! [/font][/size][/size][/font]

Are you scooping the mids out of your sound? If you are, try eq'ing them back in as it'll make the bass appear louder and more prominent in the mix even though you're not actually turning the amp up. If you're not scooping your mids out, then I've got no idea!

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1499190466' post='3329858'] I couldn't agree more with you about the EQ. This was my exact experience. Although I loved the amp and rate them very highly, they could do with the EQ points being jigged about IMO. [/quote] Yes indeed, it was a cracking amp, I really did enjoy the few years we had together. For my tastes they had the eq points for the high and low mids bang on, the low voiced perfectly for cutting out the boxy mids a little and I used to like to push the upper mids a touch to bring out the upper register notes.

I had a Mark II amp a few years back and the only thing that I wasn't keen on was the frequencies on the bass and treble tone controls. If I remember correctly, the bass eq was 40Hz and the treble was about 10Khz. I found these to be too wide and not particularly useful for your average pub/club/function gig. They're probably fine for recording, but for live work they weren't much use - in my experience and opinion that is. The bass eq was only ever really useful for cutting as boosting it tended to make things boomy, and the treble was so high that it didn't seem to make much difference (I was playing finger style with a more rounded overall tone). Re-voice the bass eq a bit higher, somewhere between 80 and 120Hz, and lower the treble eq to somewhere between 4 and 6Khz. That's be about right for me. Those people who want the wider frequencies could still boost them using the VPF control. [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1499081550' post='3328978'] Gain/drive, not massive amounts, but the ability to add in some break-up to the sound. [/quote] Absolutely, Lozz. Not a full on drive circuit as such but something lower gain and subtle, more akin to the drive channel on the Genzler Magellan 800 would be great.

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1498846553' post='3327572'] And you could always set your Keeley Pro to hard knee and use it as a limiter to protect against spikes....! [/quote] I don't own a Keeley Pro but I have a number of other compressors and limiters to choose from [size=4] [/size] [size=4]Mcnach, good call on an HPF. I'll email the manufacture to ask if the amp in question has one built in as I can find no reference to one in the specs. I've got a Zoom MS-60B and I seem to think that there was a thread recently on that having an HPF in one of its models, I'll have look for the thread to see what was said. I can always run that in front of the amp if its suitable. [/size] [size=4]It sounds like I should be able to get away using the amp and cab together as long as I don't go mad with it, which I won't be! [/size]

I have dealings at work with a woman in the Philippines called Shiny Zhou. Makes me laugh every time an email pops up from her

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1498740304' post='3326732'] Does it come equipped with a volume knob? If so no worries. [/quote]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1498738025' post='3326698'] If the amp you're looking at puts out 450W into 4 Ohms, it will probably only output 300W into an 8 Ohm load anyway.. Check the specs of the amp in question.. [/quote] The one I'm looking at puts out 800 watts at 4 ohms and 450 at 8 ohms according to the manufacturers specs online. My current spare amp puts out 450 watts at 4 ohms and around 300 at 8 ohms. Apologies for the confusion! The amp I'm thinking of getting is something small and easy to cart about which is the main attraction, but I want to be sure that it isn't going to be too overpowered that it could potentially damage the Mesa cab before opening my wallet. From what the guys are saying above, it'll be fine as long as everything is kept under control - which it will be

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1498733033' post='3326621'] Or you could sell the Mesa 1x12 cab and get a second hand BF1x12 that can handle 600W without breaking into a sweat (and maybe even have some change to fund your purchase of the new amp)? [/quote] Don't tempt me with any more new toys that I probably don't need in the first place

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. The Mesa cab has a built in passive speaker thingy (not sure of the correct term, but it seems to be essentially a cone without a magnet) that fires out of the bottom that, as I understand it, helps to increase the bass response of the cab anyway. It certainly has good deal of low end for a small cab. So I've never yet been in a situation where I have needed to boost the low end EQ. If anything, I prefer a tone that focuses on the mid range to help cut through the mix so backing off the low end shouldn't be a problem if the cab starts complaining. But yes, I'll be keeping things under control, I'm a bit too long in the tooth to be running everything flat out! And I have the bigger 2x12 cab for the occasions where more volume and low end is required too. I don't tend to use effects live other than a touch of compression so that shouldn't introduce any additional low end - if anything it should help ease the strain on the speaker, I believe.

I appreciate that the topic of what amp and cab wattages to match up has been covered many times already, but I still find the whole thing a bit confusing, so I'm asking a very specific question. I'm looking to pick up a spare amp to use as a back up, and the one I have my eye on (used, in the classifieds) puts out 450 watts at 8 ohms. My main 4 ohm 2x12 cab will handle this no problem, but I have a 1x12 Mesa Walkabout Scout cab that is rated at 300 watts at 8 ohm that I use for rehearsals and small gigs. If I was to buy the amp, would it be OK to pair it with the Mesa cab and run it at sensible volumes i.e. the master volume at no more than noon, quite probably lower? For info, my current spare amp puts out 450 watts at 4 ohms and I never need to run that much above about 10 o'clock on the master volume, but as the amps are from different manufacturers then this is probably like comparing apples and oranges! I'm not that technically minded when it comes to these things and I don't claim to understand the physics behind it all, so the more simple the answer the better

I had an issue 3 or 4 years ago. If I remember correctly, something wasn't rendering on the page properly which prevented me from making payment. I ended up having an email dialogue with Stuart Clayton and he was friendly and helpful in getting the issue sorted. I'll have a dig about to see if I still have the email address he was using at the time and I'll PM it to you if I have, but as I said, it's been a while [size=4] [/size]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1497182649' post='3316332'] Filling that gap will never be a good idea. It'll probably not look great without a lot of work and if you ever need to replace the pickup you'll curse. A lot. If replacing the pickup covers is not an option, and it looks like it would be risky in your case... do you really need those pickups? I'd choose another set that sounds good which you can replace pickup covers on. There's lots of pickups out there that would fit the bill and look just right. [/quote] It doesn't need to be a pro job and it certainly isn't worth spending much, if any, money on as it's only my stunt bass. The pickups sound great so I don't really see a lot of point replacing them for something else just so that I can change the covers, as it really isn't worth spending the money on what is a relatively inexpensive bass to begin with. I managed to find some white high density foam that I've cut to size and pushed into the gaps. It's far from a professional job but is was cheap (i.e. free), quick to do and easily reversible. And while it obviously doesn't solve the problem, it makes things much less obvious (you can only really notice it now if you look closely) which is good enough for me

[url="https://www.andertons.co.uk/c/5/bass-guitars?p=1&q=5&by=5&v=0&me=st&f=Brand:Sire&x=Brand"]And here's the link.[/url] Prices from £342 up to £689 depending on model and spec.

This might surprise you but..... For good honest and transparent tone, a simple straight forward eq section and the versatility of a foot-switchable warm and usable drive channel, I highly recommend the Genzler Magellan. It'll do everything from clean mid scooped sounds to warm, classic mid rich drive - not full bore distortion but everything from vintage warmth to a subtle overdrive, all perfectly usable for an always on sound. Simple to use and quick and easy to dial great sounds into. And it's at the lower end of the price range compared to many of its peers too.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496519188' post='3312107'] Pick up cover or scratchplate type thing - he was making headstock design lights - made me a GB Rumour style one - I'm pretty sure he could make you something to do the job. I suggest you PM him to discuss.. [/quote] Thanks, I'll drop him a line shortly.

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1496480106' post='3311729'] Just found this yesterday on the Zoom site - it should make a great pedal even better V2.0 firmware update now available [url="https://www.zoom.co.jp/products/multistomp/zoom-ms-60b-multistomp-bass-pedal#downloads"]https://www.zoom.co....pedal#downloads[/url] Adds 84 new effects including a load of amp models Heres the new list - the ones with blue stars next to them are the new ones [url="https://www.zoom.co.jp/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/E_MS-60B_FX-list_v2.pdf"]https://www.zoom.co...._FX-list_v2.pdf[/url] I just did the update without any issues - although be aware you need to turn the power off whilst you do the update - and it seems to preserve all your old patches without a problem Off to have a noodle now........ [/quote] Thanks for the heads up, I've just updated mine and it takes about 10 seconds. None of my presets were overwritten and there looks to be a ton of new stuff to play with too