Frank Blank

Monitor spat over, cheers.

+1 for the Focusrite interfaces, I have a Scarlett 18i20 and it's excellent, I just plug basses directly into the interface.

From the Rob Allen Website... Mouse 30, Mb-2 and Deep4/5 models have a piezo pickup under the saddle in the bridge.

Feel free to be sarcastic, my musical background and history originated in punk so it was a case of borrow an amp, plug in, turn up, even the most basic technical stuff is all very new to me! I suppose I am surprised the RA Mouse has a preamp on board simply because it has so few controls, only a volume pot on the front and a 'passive high trim control' that you adjust with a screwdriver. Given that lack of on board tone shaping and also potentially going into a lot of gig situations where there is no backline (acoustic duo, acoustic clubs) I suppose I'm going to be more in control with my own preamp/D.I.

Ok my ignorance is beginning to glow like Sirius now. Having consulted the Rob Allen site my bass has a Fishman preamp on board, what (if any) is the difference between an on board preamp and an external one? I know I'm stupid but I can set fire to farts on order and chew gum whilst playing Peaches...

I'm not sure gender really matters here, she's just the best...

Thanks for this, I didn’t realise that AER made a preamp so taking a look right now.

Thanks for this @Bridgehouse, this is exactly the kind of information I’m looking for.

I’m using an AER Basic Performer which (as I found out thanks to @BigRedX) has a preamp onboard. The more I ignorantly stumble around this subject the more I think it’s a good di box Ineed because a lot of the venues that we are likely to play will usually di the bass without backline.

I have no idea what a mini board is?

Thanks, I didn't know that. I am perfectly happy with the sound from the amp, in fact it's perfect. The more I discuss this the less it seems I need one. Still wondering about live though when most of the places we play just DI the instruments without any backline.

1) I have quite small hands and a 30” scale is just right for me. 2) agreed. 3) just don’t wait thirty five years to try a short scale like I did and then find out it’s right for you.

I know nothing about preamps. The duo I currently play in is just about to start gigging regularly and most, if not all, the gigs will DI the bass straight into the desk, I’ll be using my fretless Rob Allen Mouse, so... a) do I need a pre amp for gigs? b) do I need one generally just sitting atop my amp looking swish? c) really, in lay person lingo, what do they do? d) if I do need one, which? e) ...or can I just have a Grace Felix please?

Amen...

Well I tried out the metal disk theory by simply placing a 2p piece underneath the E string (as suggested by my luthier as a test) and it did indeed rectify the problem, I’m just surprised that this appears to be the only option.

I found it quite quaint, like watching a really bad old 80s film and thanking god you never had hair like the dude with the mullet.

As someone who has recently started playing fretless it is very hard to find your own style or ‘voice’ without sounding like these players.

I watched all four episodes and really enjoyed the series. Apart from Gene Krupa none of my favourite drummers were included but that’s no surprise as most of the drummers I love come from punk and new wave. I’m not surprised he wasn’t on the final list but the exclusion of Bill Bruford from the whole series was a surprise.

It was, he is.

Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom, Irresistible Bliss and El Oso. Sebastian Steinberg on DB, very cool and paired with the drumming of a brilliant player like Yuval Gabay it is just a thing of beauty. Cake - any album with Gabe Nelson. He plays, imho, some of the best bass lines in modern music and by best I don’t mean selfish show-off virtuosity, I mean song-serving restraint and a genuine sense of swing. Sometimes you hardly notice the bass in Cake songs but when you analyse why you are digging it so much..? Gabe Nelson is the answer. Japan - Gentleman Take Polaroids and Tin Drum. Mick Karn, fretless maverick and pastry artist, what’s not to like? Killing Joke - any album with Paul Raven on bass, an underrated master of song-serving yet absolutely and fundamentally anchoring the foundation of the music. Thanks @TheGreek for mentioning one of the greatest albums of all time, Handsworth Revolution by Steel Pulse, it’s simply a very beautifully crafted album, forty minutes of bliss. In the same vein I recommend Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Forces of Victory and Bass Culture, unparalleled restraint and great playing from Floyd Lawson and Vivian Weathers.

Again I assumed this but it is apparently also to do with the mass of the E string.

Ah yes, I have compression built in to my amp! Why didn’t I think of theat, duh.

Apparently not, this is exactly what I thought would remedy the problem but apparently not.