dave_bass5

Paul, i had exactly the same issue with the pole pieces with my P-Retro. It didnt seem to matter if the bass was in active or passive mode, touching the pole pieces gave me a loud hum. Even using a wireless system at gigs (im not sure if thats actually relevant though). As i play with a pick it wasnt really a big deal, but i did find it annoying that it could happen. I didnt have any issues with touching any other part of the bass though, not even the knobs. One thing to watch out for is that none of the lugs on the input jack is touching the cavity walls. My Squier CV is shielded with paint and i did have volume issues when i first put the P-Retro in, and it was down to one of the lugs touching the wall. Also make sure the small brass spring is making contact in the pots. Im not sure if that helps, just passing on my experience. It sounds like you know what you are doing. For what its worth i spoke to John and he seemed to think its normal for this type of pup, but ive never had it before, and after taking the P-Retro out and putting the old stuff back in there is no pole piece hum at all.

I too started off with the BDI21. I had just one gig approaching where i couldn't use back line and wasn't going to splash out for a BDDI. At £20 (back then) i figured i'd use the BDI21 for one gig and if i never used it again i hadn't really lost anything. I tried a few times after that to use it with my rig but it never seemed to do what i wanted it to do. A few years later i was about to sell it so i thought i'd gig it a go at a gig to make sure it was still working and, well, i was hooked. Its all in the blend control apparently. Keep that fairly low and it works really well. As i use it as an always off effect, just sitting on my amp i wasn't too bothered about it breaking but i did like the idea of something a bit sturdier. I never use the Presence knob so i didn't miss that. To my ears the BDDI is a bit warmer, more vintage compared to the BDI21 but i like both.

Before i got the BDDI i had a BehringerBDI21. Its a very, very close copy of the BDDI for around £30. In fact i think i prefer it to the real deal but as i was gigging a lot i decided to the the real thing, as i think it will hold up to life on the road more.

I loved the BDDI, especially once i found the magic spot on the blend control. The lack of mids never really bothered me as my rig is quite mid heavy anyway. Ive never gone fo ra dirty tone so hardly ever used the drive control about 9 o'clock. I got curious earlier this year and sold the BDDI and got a Paradriver. The PD has less of that SVT emulation in it, although it can still do those sort of tones. Since getting the PD ive stopped using the EQ on my amp. The PD's EQ is very powerful, especially the mid control, on top of that you still have a blend knob. If anything i feel my options are too many now. The BDDI was more a set and forget whereas im always tweaking the PD, trying to get the best out of it. I'd say neither will replace a OD pedal but i guess it depends on how much OD you actually use. Ive gigged my BDDI without an amp and it works very well. I think id rather use the BDDI than the PD in this situation but thats just my opinion.

I like both, and recently got a P retro for my Squier (whats left of it) CVP. It made a huge difference and the tones i can now get are amazing, especially considering its just a one pickup bass and im used to what a P can put out. But, i feel its lost a bit of what the P bass is about, for me at least. More knobs to play with, and endless variety of tones (that sound great but aren't actually needed), on top of the ones i already had. Its been great playing with the new tones but ive gone to passive. for me the one tone knob, full on volume is all i need from a P bass.

I believe that they become faster if they are clamped close to the nut. I certainly noticed a difference going from the tip of the headstock to just behind the nut.

Oh, i didn't realise i was already following this topic and that its an old thread. Sorry if im repeating myself.

Ive got the Planet Waves headstock tuners on my gigging bass and it does the job fine, I dont tend to use it more than once per gig, but for doing a set up etc i really love the Peterson Strobo clip tuner. It seems to be more accurate, or at least shows more accuracy. Not cheap though. Ive also got a Snark but thats just as a back up in my gig bag, the PW is just so small and unobtrusive compared to the Snark. When im bored at gigs i sometimes turn the tuner on and play word games with the notes lol.

Ive owned a few of the cheaper pedals over the years, some good, some pointless, but the best ive used is the MXR M87. The thing is ive realised (again) that i really dont need one. Anyway, this is just a very cheeky plug for mine thats up for sale ;-)

I didnt even know about the Classifieds. I just read the whole of this thread and thought what the hell is going on, as the for sale forums don't look any different. So, now i can see that there are two different ways of placing adds can someone explain to me why, and more to the point where should i be placing an add? Can we place a for sale add in both?

Yeah, that's where I got both mine. Pretty cheap as well.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1355162615' post='1894872'] Slightly off topic but my old Lakland Darryl Jones was the best jazz bass that I had ever played ...and I have owned some VERY nice vintage F Jazzers. Just my tuppenceworth. [/quote] Funny enough I thought my DJ5 was the biggest disappointment I've had regarding basses. Lovely to look at and a dream to play but I couldn't get on with the tone. I felt it was a it too wooly and warm compared to my other jazz basses. In hindsight I really wish I still had it, especially as it was converted to a PJ.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1355152804' post='1894685'] They're lovely basses, and they look better with a black p/g: [/quote] Yep, black or White pearl for me.

Oh yes, those Fralin's do make a difference. My first two had Fralin's in them, the third had a Hanson and i noticed the difference. I got Fralin for that one as well :-)

Thats my impression as well. Ive owned 3 Duck Dunn's (and a 55-01) and am a huge Lakland fan, but i cant see a big difference between getting a Lakland P bass or a MIA Frender. Each will be slightly different, especially the necks IME but i cant see how one "kills" the other buy just being a bit different. Saying that, id take a DD over a Fender any day, but thats only down to the neck rather than anything else. In fact i think the Lakland bridges look ugly.

What makes the Lakland's so much better tan the Fenders?

Good luck with that. The only issue ive found is that my singer also plays guitar so the recorder can sometimes pick up his strumming, although thats very rare.

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1354570793' post='1887637'] thanks a lot matey, no bass,drums or guitar thru the desk or the singer 'll ave a wobbler.. Its his PA...where would be the best place to put it whilst recording? [/quote] We (I) normally record all our gigs. We started doing it because we had a couple fo clients that insisted we didnt play their requests or for long enough etc. Recording the gig means we have proof of anything if needed. I quite enjoy listening back to our recordings, they always sound more enjoyable than i remember, even the next day. We only use a vocal PA so although things are mic'ed up its not really set up for a recording mix, especially as we only use one mic on the drums (in the bass drum). I use a small Edirol digital recorder strapped to the singers mic stand. This means it gets a good stereo spread off the stage, his body acts as a drum shield so they aren't too loud, it picks up the crowd and the vocals get picked up by the monitor at his feet. After years of odd mic placement with DAT and MD recorders this works the best and gives a very decent recording......we just have to work on getting decent playing now :-(

Thanks Nigel. Im glad they are getting in to music, and more so that the little one is getting in to keyboards. Until now he was adamant he was going to take up drums or violin. Not a chance lol. Jan is fine for the Korg, Feb even, whenever you are finished with it is fine. Im sure by then the eldest will be on to something else or gone off the idea.

No problem Nig. As i said it was just hanging around. Glad you found such a good use for it. Funny enough both my sons are now getting in to playing keyboards. The youngest is getting a lovely workstation for Christmas. The keys light up so will be great for leaning songs. Its not midi or even USB but its going to be ideal for him (and yes, we got him some good headphones as well . The eldest loves Garageband on my iPad2 and has started to create some "music" on his PC with my Roland midi controller, but was wanting something bigger with more keys and sounds built in, so it will be handy to get the Korg back whenever you've finished with it. Definitely no rush though. The Novation looks great, i'd like something like that if i get back in to playing keys and recording. I hope it works out for you. When i was at the gadget show on Friday i almost got my son one of these, until i saw the price. OMG is the term that comes to mind. I was thinking its like Casio VL1 updated but oh no, much more than that. Very nice piece of kit though. [url="http://www.teenageengineering.com/products/op-1"]http://www.teenageengineering.com/products/op-1[/url]