project_c

Nice review. I ended up buying the Motown DI after looking into both the Noble and the Reddi. Aside from the price which is crazy (for all 3), I personally wasn't into the sound of the Noble, to me it sounds a bit over-hyped, like a modern take on a vintage tone, and all the tracks and demos I've heard it on feature bassists who like a precision / flats kind of tone, but the recordings in context sound 100% modern in terms of production, and I think that's what the Noble excels at, a vintage-ish tone that fits in with modern production and over-processed drums especially. In my head vintage bass tone is Jamerson-esque, (or Paul Jackson-esque) and in that context drums don't sound like compressed explosions with loads of treble, they sound like Clyde Stubblefield / Mike Clark etc. When Sean Hurley demos the Noble, it's interesting that the tracks he plays on feature heavily processed drums and samples that sound like it's 2016, there's not much that's particularly old school about the context. Same with the tracks above, the bass tone needs to fit in with the pristine and over-hyped drums. It's a modern sound, not an old school sound. It's a matter of taste and opinion, and most current studio engineers can't help themselves when it comes to production, they like to make everything as bright and loud and bass-heavy as possible, regardless of the style... I personally don't like the sound of recorded drums on anything that was made after about 1979 but then I used to be obsessed with drum breaks before playing bass so I guess my ears are just tuned into a more old school drum sound, and I like my bass tone to fit in with that.

[quote name='gazzatriumph' timestamp='1488819603' post='3252061'] Everything bad is down to Brexit ;-) this must be true the BBC says so [/quote] Putin, Fox news, Breitbart, Farage and Murdoch would like to thank you for your patriotism and would all like to send you their warmest regards.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1488729853' post='3251350'] As the Bank of England have stated they were wrong about the economy and the state of collapse, you might be wrong too [/quote] I hope so. But what they actually said was that they were wrong about the timing, not about the actual predictions of doom & gloom. Quote from the chief economist of the B.o.E: “I think, near-term, the data, the evidence we’ve been accumulating since the referendum, has surprised to the upside. [There’s been] greater resilience, in particular among consumers and among the housing market, than we had expected. Has that led us to fundamentally change our view on the fortunes of the economy looking forward over the next several years? Not really. “This is more a question, I think, of timing than of a fundamental reassessment of the fortunes of the economy. So back in November we published a forecast for inflation which was the highest we’ve ever published. And the forecast for growth in the UK economy, that was the lowest we have ever published. “We are still expecting this rather difficult balancing act for monetary policy with a slowing, not a huge slowing, but nonetheless a material slowing, during the course of next year as the effects of higher prices in the shops begin to chew away a little at the spending power of consumers and cause them to rein back a little in their spending.” So that ties in with the rising business rates, but essentially I don't think they know, because they have nothing to compare the current situation to. Let's hope they're wrong.

Well, the money is probably going to be used in the following ways: 1: as a means to try to strengthen the economy in preparation for the total collapse of the financial state of the country 2: to help 'big business' flourish by eradicating the tiny bit of competition they have left, because that brings in lots of investment, and creates lots of unregulated zero hours contracts, where people with very expensive degrees are allowed to clean toilets for 1p an hour 3: don't know. Maybe to create an army of robots to kick foreigners out and punch people who look a bit Polish. ps. [url="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/175433"]Here's a petition[/url] in case anyone is interested in trying to put a stop to this. (I don't think this stands a chance of getting stopped but you never know.)

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1488716351' post='3251204'] How much, as a proportion of overall overheads, is business rates..? 50% rise sounds a lot (and indeed it is...!), but what impact does that have on the 'bottom line'..? It could well be negligible. Just curious. [/quote] Here's a couple of articles to put it in context, [url="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/17/business-rates-rise-biggest-issue-small-firms-london"]one from the Guardian[/url], and [url="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2896038/local-shops-fear-financial-ruin-as-business-rates-are-set-to-rise-in-some-towns-by-177/"]one from the Sun[/url] (for the sake of parity). It's actually looking like a lot more than 50%, over 100% in some cases. Many small businesses are going to go under.

Surprised nobody's mentioned the business rate rises. Small businesses are facing a massive business rate rise any minute now, so expect shops to put prices up accordingly. Some businesses are facing an increase of 50%, another nail in the UK's coffin. Cue endless Poundland stores on all high streets, and no independent stores anywhere.

Steve bought my Zoot Performer recently, it was a fast and easy transaction, and Steve was a pleasure to deal with, very happy that my old favourite bass is going to a good home.

It's all about context. If I had to listen to a Wayne Shorter tune at 3am in a sweaty club full of ravers I would start crying and go home. But I would happily jam over the same tune at band rehearsal for 4 hours straight. Everything has its place. If you don't like electronic music, turn it off. If you don't like live music, don't go to gigs. Personally speaking, i've just silenced two massively annoying shouting children next door by blasting out the tune below into their bedroom wall, so as far as i'm concerned electronic music is a godsend. https://soundcloud.com/divisionrecordings/all-mode-insight

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1479912809' post='3180238'] My sister in law was a long term eBay user, with hundreds of perfect sales. She got scammed by a buyer. He complained there was something wrong with whatever she sold. She refunded him and asked for her item back, he sent her an empty box, and left negative feedback. eBay couldn't care less. It's all in favour of the buyer. [/quote] Sorry to bring this thread back, I have a potential - if slightly time consuming - solution for this, curious if it would work in case of the 'empty box received' scam. A possible way to avoid it is to provide proof that the item you posted is genuine. You could do this by getting someone to record a video at the post office, showing you packing the item into a box or envelope, and recording the video all the way until you have the parcel receipt in your hand. Would this be accepted as proof by Paypal? (I'm asking because I'm about to be paid via Paypal by a new user for a pedal. Not a big money transaction by any means but better to be safe than sorry).

Sid bought my VTBass pedal, very easy and straightforward transaction, happy to recommend without hesitation. Enjoy the pedal!

Saw Nirvana live many times, first time was at the Astoria, supported by Godflesh and Senseless Things (anyone remember those 2 bands?). I think it may have been the first gig i ever went to, I was maybe about 16 or so. Had a big impact on me. I did a stage dive and then snogged a girl, it was pretty much the perfect night for my awkward angry teenager self. That girl introduced me to the camden music scene, and getting involved in that led to loads of new friends and some fun times, and i'm still friends with many of those people now. So Nirvana was a big part of my youth for sure.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1487588951' post='3240885'] There's always this: [/quote] The action on that low string is impressive. You might need to take a bus to get from the string to the frets.

Don't like flats at all, but love nylon tapes, I have them on 3 of my basses. I use basses strung with D'Addario XL tapes for every rehearsal and gig, love them.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1487024038' post='3236412'] Do you mean "String Action Height Guage" ? Like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/String-Action-Gauge-Guitar-Luthier-Tool-TO13-/140907329240 I use an Allen key under the string, over the fret. Usually I set the bridge height using a 1.5mm key under each string at the 24th fret. Isn't that the same thing? [/quote] Yes, a ruler just like that, I bought one that's metric on one side, and imperial on the other side.