Frank Blank

On 10/01/2019 at 12:06, ahpook said:

'Kiss in the Dreamhouse' by Siousxie and the Banshees.

I think I could listen to John McGeoch play all day.

One of my favourite guitarists.

I wish I could find a sunburst Jaguar like that, I might be tempted! 

49 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I don't need another project!

I don't need another project!

I don't need another project!

I don't need another project!

I don't need another project!

(Keep repeating until the pretty bass goes away)

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153346598106

You need another project.

*waves*

I can't sing and barely play bass, I dread to think what the two combined would sound like!

What scale is this?

What strings do you use on it?

On 18/01/2019 at 15:33, Newfoundfreedom said:

Thanks Frank. Did you order the Babicz then?

Typical me, speaking too soon, not got the Gretsch yet. Haven’t had a chance to get up to Bass Direct yet, there are a couple of short scales I’d like to try up there first.

You’d need binoculars to see your clip on tuner.

10 minutes ago, zranyard said:

I ordered something online from PMT yesterday afternoon (friday) before 3pm, and paid extra to have it delivered today (Saturday) Having not heard anything from the courier I chased up PMT this morning and was told it was an error and they don't have one in stock anywhere, so the chap whilst on the phone to me ordered one from their supplier. I have to wait until Monday for an eta as presumably the supplier is closed.

Not happy, particularly when I have had to chase them up over the phone. I feel stupid for not calling them yesterday to check, but I shouldn't have to second guess what they tell me on the website!

I have to say PMTs stock system just seems to be a random display of virtual items displaying anywhere across their estate which appears to bear little or no resemblance to where any physical items are, even the staff in my local branch seem befuddled and exasperated by it.

I play chords and double stops, thing is I’m £1100 short! Mind you I’m selling things with wild abandon in order to buy this...

On 18/01/2019 at 23:29, Tubster said:

For those  put off by fretless......fear not - Meeses (most Rob Allen basses IMO) are really in their element as fretless. Tried a fretted and it seemed kinda clunky and uncomfortable. I am a fretted player but adapted super quick to fretless Mouse....and bought one. Have played it out numerous times. Great instrument!

A Rob Allen Mouse was my Damascene moment, I had three fretless basses previous to the Mouse, all of which I really struggled with, the Mouse, however, just felt like being freed up. Fretted basses feel restrictive and unexpressive now.

12 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

How do the other owners find the sustain on the Gretsch? If I can find one small fault with mine it's that the notes die a little more quickly than I'd like, but that could well be down to the strings. 

I'm hoping a restring (I'm thinking of going nickel wound) and a high mass bridge might help. Does anyone know if a high mass bridge really makes a difference to sustain? 

I’ll let you know onc mine’s on!

What they all said, back on the horse with you!

2 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I have that second one on my semi acoustic. The problem is, unless you are extremely lucky and the saddle section falls in exactly the right place to get the intonation right you would be left with exposed screw holes in the body from the old bridge. 

I’m not looking for anything that doesn’t drop in. I won’t be fitting it so more drilling is more work and, as you said before, it will cost a lot anyway with the Babicz!

2 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

@Frank Blank According to a comment in the reviews these Fender high mass bridges from Thomann are a direct replacement and the screw holes line up so no need for re-drilling the body. At about £30 it could be a good option. I'd never even thought about it but I might even get one myself to improve sustain.

 https://m.thomann.de/gb/fender_hi_mass_bridge_iv_brass.htm

Or of you really need to go black. But it's an expensive option. 

http://www.thomann.de/intl/babicz_bass_bridge_black.htm?i11l=en_GB%3ABG.EUR%3ABGN&r=app

They also do a Schaller in black but it might require drilling. 

http://www.thomann.de/intl/schaller_3d4b.htm?i11l=en_GB%3ABG.EUR%3ABGN&r=app

Another option. 

http://www.thomann.de/intl/goeldo_3_d_bass_bridge_hw55b.htm?i11l=en_GB%3ABG.EUR%3ABGN&r=app

Thanks for this Sir. I’m already quite taken with the black Babicz but very interested in the other options, hmmm.

34 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I'll go against the grain and say DON'T use a tuner. Learn what an interval should sound like, and learn how to recognise when its off, and in which direction. It will improve your "ear" which will help in so many other ways - you'll be able to recognise/transcribe stuff MUCH quicker, you'll demystify the harmonies of songs, you'll improvise better etc etc

This is true. I do have a tuner that’s on all the time but I find myself referring to it rarely initially it gave me confidence but you are quite right, nothing beats actually refining your musical ear. A tuner can be a tool to achieve this refinement rather than something to rely on instead of improving one’s ear.

I use a Peterson StroboClip HD, it’s on all the time I’m playing, just practice, practice, practice. Play tunes with no ‘fretless content’ so to speak. As other people have said, after a while going back to fretted feels like a regressive move, fretted instruments begin to feel restrictive.

👍

AER make the best combos for double bass there are, full stop.

I’m looking at a QSC TouchMix 8 for some reason...

8 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

Sorry if it was already covered, but how does the Mouse sound going directly into the QSC?  I.e. do you need an external pre-amp in the first place?  If not, that would simplify things, of course.

My pedalboard looks a bit like this:

I switch between upright and P bass, but normally between sets so just physically swap the cable between basses.  If the gig has a lot of switching, I'll add an AB box at the front.

The Zoom MS-60B has a Fishman emulation module, which is the only thing I use. If you want to look it up in the Zoom manual, it's called 'Ac Bs Pre'.  I have stored two of my own presets (you press the footswitch to change between your presets):

• for upright: some eq + HPF
• for P bass: just the HPF.

The MXR is my DI box.  The XLR output goes to FOH; the jack output goes to my RCF.  The only knob I ever change is the output level, which (since I have the pedal in 'pre' mode) only affects the volume of the RCF, not FOH.  I never use the EQ; if they made this pedal without the EQ (and footswitch), I'd buy that one instead.  The whole thing is an expensive way to avoid using the volume knob on the RCF.

This is great info, I'll be looking into the Zoom, cheers.

8 minutes ago, jrixn1 said:

Unfortunately, you can't turn the Fishman Plat Pro off -- one of the reasons I sold mine. You'd have to put it in a loop and turn that loop on/off; or run it into an AB switch.

What did you replace it with?