bnt

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.

[quote name='Clarky' post='244308' date='Jul 21 2008, 10:48 AM']Don't think anyone has worked out where the white association comes from![/quote]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='243897' date='Jul 20 2008, 04:44 PM']Not unless the WT800 has a crossover. Not familiar with the amp myself.[/quote] It does have a crossover and supports bi-amping, but even so: what do you think will happen if we send a full-range signal in to a 1x18? We are talking 'bout Dub, here.

Well, the 2nd cab doesn't need to be a 4x10. It can be a 1x18, as long as it's 4Ω. If I was seeking Dub, I would want the deep fundamentals, mon. Righteous.

Ya think? :ph34r: edit: [url="http://www.amplificadoresmeteoro.com.br/site_english/"]Meteoro[/url] seems to be a Brazilian maker of various knock-offs. Imported gear is really expensive there.

"Eric Clapton White"..? It's not on Fender's [url="http://www.fender.com/resources/colors/"]Color Chart[/url], so I'm guessing it's the colour of Cocaine.

I had the dubious pleasure of de-fretting a bass that I had bought as a fretted, then found out was originally a fretless that someone had fretted, badly. It wasn't expensive, and it got me in to fretless, but it would have been better had it remained fretless all along. I think it would cost you more to have done, properly, than for you to buy an inexpensive fretted such as a SX.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='243331' date='Jul 19 2008, 01:29 PM']To further fine-tune your intonation, repeat the process again at the 19th fret. The Harmonic at this point is also equivalent to the fretted note at this position.[/quote] At the risk of sounding uber-geeky, the 19th fret is not a perfect match for the harmonic. The maths tells me that the harmonic is 0.11%, or about 0.02 semitones, sharp. Close enough for Rock & Roll, though - we'd be getting in to Peterson Sweetened / Buzz Feiten territory if we were that critical.

[quote name='Kirky' post='243348' date='Jul 19 2008, 02:03 PM']Does anyone know if you can you sync a Headrush (or any other looper) with a sequencer using midi? I use a Roland MC500. Cheers, Martin[/quote] The Headrush has no MIDI, and neither do the Line6 DL4 or JM4. The Eventide TimeFactor can be a MIDI Clock slave only, while the older Lexicon JamMan can be both master or slave . (Not to be confused with the Digitech JamMan, which has no MIDI.)

You're right if this is the original WT800, and not the WT800B - I just checked the [url="http://www.eden-electronics.com/info/manuals/pdf/WT800-600-500manual2003.pdf"]manual[/url]. The 8Ω figure is for when you run the amp in Bridged mode, but (as you say) you can run 4Ω per side in Stereo mode. So if you were to buy another 4x10 4Ω cab, and plug it in in Stereo mode, there would be nothing to rewire. PS: 8x10 8Ω cabs do exist e.g. the [url="http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Cabs/RoadReadyCABS/RRbass8x10-LG.htm"]Mesa Boogie[/url] can be had in 8Ω or 4Ω.

One player I'm looking forward to hearing more of is Julie Slick, who's in a power trio with her brother Eric (drums) and Adrian Belew:

[quote name='synaesthesia' post='242744' date='Jul 18 2008, 02:24 PM']I'll look for the crossover switch next time I use it. I think it is a RB II series combo.[/quote] The switch is called "Woofer Hi-Cut" on the RB-II, or "Woofer X-Over" on the original RB - same thing. I'm curious to hear what effect the tweeter hi-cut has - they say it makes it sound "less glassy", if that's what you want.

[quote name='synaesthesia' post='242230' date='Jul 17 2008, 10:26 PM']If my memory serves me, the GK tweeter 'crosses over', probably high passed at 5Khz. For manufacturing ease they use the same 50W tweeter system whether it is the 700 or the 2001 model. I can't remember if the woofer sections are actually low pass only, I suspect they are not and are full range; and by 5Khz you would not have much if at all anyway coming from the woofers.[/quote] I've been doing a little GK reading today, and the answers to those queries are basically "it depends". For example, on the RB-II heads and combos the tweeter amp is always after the 5kHz active crossover (natch), while the woofer stage can be switched between pre-crossover (full range) or post-crossover (hi cut at 5kHz). (That's not the wording they use in the manual, but it's what the block diagram describes.) The tweeter stage has its own switchable hi-cut at 10kHz, which sounds like it would be useful to reduce string noise etc. I don't have a problem with the 50W tweeter amp - at 5kHz and up, 50W might be too much, but the amps have separate master volumes. The cabs are switchable between bi-amp mode to match the amps, or an internal crossover.