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Alternatively, if you fancy a bit of DIY, I've cobbled together a wiring diagram that ought to work. It's passive, but requires a 3-pole dual toggle switch for the A-B / B-A switching, the kind that [url="http://www.wah-wah.co.uk/price4.html"]these guys[/url] have for £ 6.00 each, and I think there are also some on t'Bay. My diagram is a bit rough, thrown together in PowerPoint, but I hope it looks like something: [attachment=11601:AB_BAswitch.gif] (In case it's unclear: the bottom left pin on the 3PDT is connected to both the top right pin and Return 2.)

The new David Byrne / Brian Eno single, [i]Strange Overtones[/i]. Available from their website, [url="http://www.everythingthathappens.com/"]Everything That Happens Will Happen Today[/url]. It's good. Weird, but good.

Hmmm... I know there are expensive systems that can do switch anything in any combination, e.g. the [url="http://www.tcelectronic.com/G-System.asp"]TC Electronics G System[/url] or the [url="http://www.soundsculpture.com/products/switchblade.htm"]Sound Sculpture Switchblade[/url], but I imagine you're looking for something a bit cheaper. You could make one, with parts from Maplin, or get someone else to do it. [url="http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/index2.html"]These guys[/url] (UK) or [url="http://www.loop-master.com/"]these guys[/url] (USA) might be happy to make one up if you ask nicely - or might even do it already. (I can't see it on their websites, but they each make several different types of loop switching pedal.

New, Doiphin Music has a few: e.g. a [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/14855"]Gretsch[/url] for £350, various Danelectros for £233, plus more expensive MM and PRS models. There are a few on eBay UK at the moment, including a [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Danelectro-Longhorn-Baritone-Electric-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200243715199QQcmdZViewItem"]Danelectro[/url], an [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Epiphone-Les-Paul-Standard-Baritone-black_W0QQitemZ290113509873QQcmdZViewItem"]Epiphone Les Paul[/url], and something called a [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Italia-Modena-D-Man-Baritone-Electric-Guitar_W0QQitemZ360075247686QQcmdZViewItem"]Modena[/url].

a) I'm not entirely certain either. I did it for a while, but reverted to a single battery, because I heard no difference. A heavier player might notice squashed transients. b) You definitely can not remove a battery and go, because the batteries are wired in series. (Unless you installed some kind of bypass shunt in place of the missing battery - NOT a switch, which would turn your bass in to an incendiary device! But since a "dead" battery is still in the circuit and might still be supplying a little voltage, you might not even notice it's dead until the other battery goes. Best answer: carry a battery tester and multiple spares. c) Not really. The EMGs in my bass are really thrifty with battery power, batteries last ages.

Yes, sound cards are built in to PCs, but you didn't say you were using the built-in sound card, so we have to ask. The chipset on the soundcard might be OK, but laptops typically don't have the required sockets to take full advantage, so I wouldn't want to use one of those for serious recording. Your laptop has a combined Mic / Line In socket, and you want it to work as Line In. I [i]suspect[/i] it has some kind of mode switching based on the type of cable you're plugging in: mono or stereo. You say it sounds OK at first, so it sounds like you've got the right basic idea, but something is going wrong intermittently. It sounds like a dodgy cable, to be honest. Have you tried the amp by itself, in to the PC & Audacity? The MP3 player by itself in to the PC? Wiggled the cables any? You might need to change something in the Vista audio settings under "Recording" - not sure, since I don't use Vista. It's a bit much to expect us to tell you exactly what's wrong, since we aren't there and can't see what you're doing. If you learn to sort this stuff out yourself, then you won't be stuck waiting for help from other people.

[quote name='Alastair' post='253160' date='Aug 2 2008, 09:53 AM']You can get even tension across strings on a normal bass by choosing the right gauges though.[/quote] This was discussed in a different thread, which I can't find at the mo (search is down). Standard sets go down in tension on the lower strings, which you can see in the tension figures quoted by e.g. D'Addario on their sets. To get the tension (in pounds or newtons) on a low B the same as a High C, you'd have to use something like a 0.145" or 0.150" gauge = fat and woolly. My view is still that longer scale length is the way to go, if you want tension [i]and[/i] tone.

A speech by Paul Ehrlich: The Dominant Animal: [url="http://fora.tv/media/rss/Long_Now_Podcasts/podcast-2008-06-27-ehrlich.mp3"]Human Evolution and the Environment[/url] Part of the Seminars About Long Term Thinking organised by [url="http://www.longnow.org/"]The Long Now Foundation[/url]. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_R._Ehrlich"]Dr. Ehrlich[/url] is very sobering to listen to, even though his long-term concerns about overpopulation aren't the primary focus of this speech.

I'm interested in trying a couple out. The location of the "normal fret" is something to consider: on the Dingwalls it's the 7th fret, while I've seen a couple of custom jobs where it's the 12th fret, such as [url="http://buildingtheergonomicguitar.com/2008/07/fanned-fret-bass-guitar.html"]this[/url]. edit: I think I might prefer the Dingwall then, since it would mean less "tilt" at the low end, all other factors being equal - but on the other hand, I wonder about the effect of the right hand position on tone.

[quote name='Wooks' post='251922' date='Jul 31 2008, 11:22 AM']I know that he his basses have the ability to do weird tunings, but I was wondering what does Michael Manring use to get all of his looping sounds?[/quote] I don't know what he's using today, but in the version of Teen Town he did in '98, I can clearly see a couple of [url="http://www.loopers-delight.com/tools/jamman/jamman.html"]Lexicon JamMan[/url] units on top of the amp. These were pretty amazing for their day, and are not to be confused with the later Digitech JamMan.

In case anyone's wondering: [url="http://waltons.ie/waltonsshop/index.php?cPath=60_62&sort=2a&filter_id=27"]Waltons[/url] don't appear to carry any of the 5-string Jazz (or Precision) models - only the Stingray copy, and the weird Yamaha-ish BG205. Compared to Rondo Music, even with shipping from the USA, their prices are getting very un-competitive these days - but Ireland is a lot closer than the USA if you want to try one first-hand.

I've had the experience a few times with Rush, including: [i]Red Barchetta[/i], [i]Middletown Dreams[/i], and (more recently) [i]Far Cry[/i]. Other Rush tracks take me a wee bit longer e.g. I still haven't figured out all of [i]Show Don't Tell[/i] (Presto, 1989).

I studied a bit of theory a while ago, and tried to take it back to its origins in ancient Greece. You can see the results in other threads where I've gone on a bit about harmonics. We know what an octave is, but what's so special about a Major Fifth? Fourth? Third? I honestly feel that current Western musical theory can be a bit too much at times. I have a particular gripe with standard musical notation, which is suited to keyboard instruments, but not fretted instruments, and causes all kinds of hassle with [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposing_instrument"]transposing instruments[/url] such as woodwinds and brass. On the other hand, without some advanced theoretical ideas, we wouldn't have some of our favourite music. When I think of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint"]Counterpoint[/url] for example, I don't think of Choral music, I think of Yes songs such as [i][url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ-XKP7Vd_0"]Siberian Khatru[/url][/i]. If you listen to what Chris Squire is doing in the middle section (keyboard solo), it helps to remember that Chris actually studied those concepts when he was a member of a church choir.

Not sure I understand the question... the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19-inch_rack"]19-inch rack[/url] isn't just a music industry thing, it actually started in railroads and telecoms and is used in IT as well. It's just a standardised system of dimensions and mounts, so you can mount boxes from different manufacturers in a single housing, which can be fixed or mobile. Screw ten different boxes in to the rack, cable them up, and move them all as one unit. Roadies tend to like the idea.

[quote name='7string' post='246541' date='Jul 24 2008, 12:32 AM']I can understand Jeff Berlin's appeal to players to learn to read and write music and how he's sees this as [b]the[/b] way for a player to learn. But that horse has long since bolted and there are too many bassists who don't want to go down that road. It's for these people that all the bass DVDs, camps, books and so on are aimed at. Jeff must know by now that there is no way that suddenly huge numbers of bassists are going to go back to school and learn to read & write music, especially when they don't see they have a need to. However, they may want to learn the latest techniques and so they go and buy the material to give them that information. Jeff clearly doesn't see validity in such material.[/quote] I kinda agree with you in a general sense; on the other hand, he seems to be addressing aspirational bassists with these remarks, the ones who buy books and go on residential courses. If he thinks that's everyone, well, not everyone has the luxury of dedicating their lives to music. But if that's his audience, his advice makes sense to me. He's not saying "play like me", is he? (Not that I would want to, I think.) I also note that, in the extracts that Steve and Victor quote on their respective websites, Jeff does not single them out for criticism, as they seem to imply. How do they know he's referring to them specifically? (The timing?)

[quote name='johnnylager' post='246152' date='Jul 23 2008, 02:43 PM']But doesn't Geddy use an Avalon & a Palmer? Oh yeah - topic, the Paradriver might well do it. Easy to lug around too. [/quote] Well, the Avalon U5 is a tube DI, and the Palmer PDI-05 is a speaker simulator and DI. The Palmers will work as a dummy speaker load too. I'd question whether those are [i]essential[/i] parts of the signal chain, or whether Geddy continues using them because he's used to them and/or as a backup. (He still carries a couple of Trace Elliot Quadra power amps too.)

Well, I know that a [url="http://www.tech21nyc.com/sansamp_intro.html"]SansAmp[/url] Bass Driver pedal can technically do what you're after, the question is whether you like that sound. You'll hear comments such as "what happened to my mids?" in reviews, but they are doing something about that with the RPM (rack) and Para Driver (pedal). The RPM is what Geddy of Rush uses live, with no amps in the signal chain to the PA.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='244465' date='Jul 21 2008, 02:52 PM']It's a set up thing. Low action's no good if you're an energetic player though - you'll just get mush and buzz. My gig basses are set up higher than the ones I play at home.[/quote] Energetic player, low action... you pretty much described John Entwistle right there. His choice of basses through the years can be seen as a quest for low action: Fender, Gibson, Alembic, Warwick, and finally his Status Graphite Buzzard. I think it's a bit of both - a good low setup can help avoid mush and buzz if you're energetic but sensible. I mean, I'm not one of those players who regards any kind of string rattle as a problem. I would happily go to heavier strings if I could get a consistent low action. Which means that, much as I love the Tune look, I think there's a graphite bass in my future, such as a Zon Legacy.

Well, Season 3 is next on my shopping list, so I might have an answer for you by New Year...

S-M-V... yee-ikes! This has got me thinking about taking a trip to Toronto in August...

Definitely Graphite. If I look at all the stuff Michael Manring gets up to with his Zon Hyperbass - travelling, thin strings, low tension, tuning changes in the middle of a piece - it would be a nightmare with a wooden neck.