King Tut

Thanks for all this guys - what about mic placement?

This friday I'm going to use a valve amp for the first time in our Pink Floyd tribute band. It's a Laney Supergroup 100 I bought from Moonbassalpha. The thing sounds bloody phenomenal! It has no DI out so I was thinking of micing the cab - a nemesis 1 x 15. A good idea ot not? if I mic it, what would be the best mic to use - I have a choice of: A JTS kick drum mic, SM57 SM58 T Bone 57 copy Behringer 8500 (I think?!) 58 copy Where would be the best place to put the mic? Would I be better sticking a Behringer BDI21 after my effects and DI'ing from that. trouble is i would lose the sound of my amp through the PA, and I don't want to taint the sound of my amp by using the valve emulation on the BDI21. Any other hints, tips or tricks of using valves live would be much appreciated. Cheers Col

[quote name='ahpook' post='508443' date='Jun 8 2009, 06:50 PM']i'm certainly impressed with the bottom end (missus !), and my worries about the tweeter were unfounded...it's not too brash. but then it must be said i don't like tweeters at all...if the non-defeatable tweeter does bug me, i intend to rewire the cab to remove the crossover and tweeter, or fit an L-pad.[/quote] No need to rewire it - just take out the light bulb that acts as a tweeter fuse!

These are fab cabs - i prefer mine to my nemesis 4 x 10 - I've yet to pair them together - would think I'd seldom need to tbh!

Had a quick meetup with Mark at Euston to swap basses. The bass I picked up was as described - communication was good and arrangements ran smoothly. Nice fella!

Travelled to Jules' last Sunday to buy a Laney valve amp. The equipment was as described - Jules made me, the wife and dog very welcome, and made a wicked cup of coffee, gave me a nice demo of some of his exotic gear and we even had a quick jam with him on drums! Nice guy to deal with! Col

I'd def go for the jack socket in the control plate rather than the body side. If ur playing sitting down - it saves the lead getting snagged on the sofa!

A 'Lollar'? pray tell us more?

Yeah - I was wondering about the weight!

Very nice doctor. Mines got a quarter pounder in also and sounds just fab!

Good idea Dr Dave! But ur kind of feedback was what I was looking for - "I sweat on it and it ain't broke"! And on the subject of pickguards - anyone know where i could get a black one that fits? I maile bass parts resource about their aftermarket one and was told that the outline was close but a coupla holes didn't quite line up.

Yep a thumb rest would do it. I'd prob regret it if I ever wanted to sell it on though. It's funny how some of us can be so pernickity about the details . . . . . like . . . it won't look authentic . . . . . . and the 'Stinglay' does??!! :wacko:

Well I just like to have something solid to anchor my thumb on. I've noticed that if I play slightly to the neck side, I can rest on the scratchplate where it meets the pup which may be a way forward. I thought that with a bridge cover - i could vary my tone by playing off either end of it - and you're right, I'd have to get the bridge cover to boot!

[quote name='Delberthot' post='489422' date='May 16 2009, 12:07 AM']I've owned 2 '51 reissues and have built 2 Warmoth single coil P basses and I think that as long as you don't use the pickup as a thumb rest you're ok. They are more exposed but I certainly don't treat my bass any differently to one with a covered pickup. I've heard stories about the top coming off but I think that either comes from a faulty pickup or someone physically trying to wreck their bass. One night i was playing slightly more aggressive than normal and managed to get the E string stuck under the pickup and I don't have the pickup particularly close to the strings but it didn't damage anything. No point in putting a chrome cover over the top as some of the best tones can be had around the pickup. For most of my playing life I've played Stingrays so I naturally play with my right hand over where the Stingray pickup would normally be. Also gets in the way when you go from playing fingerstyle to slapping. These basses have one of the most unique slap tones. Absolutely love it.[/quote] Thanks for your thoughts - unfortunately, [b]I do[/b] use the pickup as a thumb rest, but my thumb isn't touching the windings - maybe some masking tape would be a good idea. I can't get over how unique this bass sounds compared to my others, and I'm not sure quite why. It's almost like it has a delayed attack when whacking the strings hard. Is this the ash body, or maybe - I thought - the fact that the saddles aren't grooved. I think it's quite ironic with all the talk (most of which I've agreed with) about through necks, hi mass bridges against bent bits of tin etc etc etc that this bass which is pretty much as bassic as you can get sounds so agressive with plenty of sustain and more tone than you could shake a stick at!!