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I think a lot of them can do the job, though not all are easy to get hold of. [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/prodlist.php?category=Drum+machines%2Fmods"]GAK[/url] has a really good deal on the Alesis SR-16 (£70), probably because the [url="http://www.alesis.com/sr18"]SR-18[/url] is coming. (The SR-16 is a really old design (from 1991) that does drums only, and the SR-18 can do basslines, but not chords.) I have an Akai MPC1000, so I would probably get along well with their [url="http://www.akaipro.com/xr20"]XR20[/url] (which can do melodic synth parts too), but it looks a bit expensive at £219. Note that Akai and Alesis are both brand names of Numark now, and the SR-18 and XR20 are probably related. Their reference manuals look like they were written by the same person, using the same template. My old [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_QY10"]Yamaha QY10[/url] can do (really cheesy) drums and chords, and I'm keeping it till it comes back in to fashion... which may take some time. Or, I might [url="http://burnkit2600.com/gear/yamaha-qy-10/"]bend[/url] it.

Have you thought about going to a Bass Bash, meeting up with other BC-ers? Some of the more experienced players might be happy to check the bass out, adjust it if necessary, help you get some hand-on experience with string selection and training. I mean, strings are to an instrument like tyres are to a car: where the rubber meets the road!

I have a sneaking feeling that what you have there is (internally) a 5-string pickup, 3+2 with the D-string falling in the gap. Do you have the pickup model number, to check? According to the website, Bartolini definitely do that kind of asymmetrical split on the 5-string pickups, but I can't see any info that suggests any of their 6-string pickups are split internally. (They do have 6-string pickups that look like bigger P-bass pickups, of course.)

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='226844' date='Jun 25 2008, 06:27 PM']er, change the battery?[/quote] That was my first thought too, but that's a passive bass. Unless it's been modded, of course.

[quote name='Jase' post='226354' date='Jun 24 2008, 11:56 PM']Oh! and they're very smooth too...so smooth you can do this..[/quote] Which reminds me: a certain Mr. Vai uses them. You can see how it looks on a guitar in this clip, and how he treats it. Billy Sheehan's also featured here - it's one of his old Talas songs, [i]Shyboy[/i].

I've had the red 3" wide version of that on my main bass for something like 15 years - it's not a new design. The strap itself is like a nice soft car seat belt, and comes in different colours. The clip is solid when connected, never given me any concern. It's the kind of clip used on luggage, etc. Note that the end you see doesn't attach to the bass - each socket is attached to a short length of strap that you screw in to the instrument, permanently replacing the existing strap buttons. This eBay seller is selling the other ends separately, which I don't remember being the case before. If you go for it, and your bass is of a decent weight, I would definitely recommend the wide 3" strap. (The one shown is the 2" version.)

I betcha there is more in the original pictures, but everything but Mr. Winehouse got cropped out.

I've always had "itchy fingers" drumming on tables, fidgeting with stuff, so fingerstyle was always going to be my thing. This despite trying to learn from Yes' [i]90125[/i] album knowing that Chris plays with a pick exclusively. I definitely recommend some Rush for a boost to your fingerstyle, especially the 79-81 period. On the more recent albums, Geddy has gotten heavily in to his weird [i]rasgueado[/i] technique, which would be a bit bemusing if you tried to copy it. (He has a very thick right middle finger nail, which he uses a bit like a heavy plectrum, the result of getting his finger slammed in a door as a kid!)

[quote name='crez5150' post='223081' date='Jun 20 2008, 04:42 PM']Good idea though it does frustrate me when most of the worlds pro Audio software is Mac based and they come up with a windows only editor!![/quote] "They"? It's a one-man project that's still under development, so I think the designer is more interested in getting it up and running as quickly as possible, which means sticking with what he knows. If it takes off, I expect someone will do a Mac editor at some point, and Linux too - that's the beauty of Open Source. The pedal can drive a TV/monitor directly, so there's a possibility that future editing won't need a separate computer at all - again, it's all up to what people are prepared to spend time working on. [quote name='Scorchin' post='223109' date='Jun 20 2008, 05:20 PM']Especially the new mobiles (OpenMoko/Android). I wonder if you can port VSTs over to it? [/quote] The limitations of the processor in it means that I don't think that's likely - though I could be wrong. The same for LADSPA plugins.

Another small factor I should mention has to do with increased power losses due to the higher current. If we were to assume that the voltage was constant, and the impedance at any frequency was halved, then the current would be doubled. (I=V/R). However, there is resistance in the connections between the amp and the speakers, including internal resistance in the valves/transistors themselves. The power lost as heat in these components is proportional to the [i]square[/i] of the current (P=I²R), so if you double the current, the losses are [i]quadrupled[/i]. This is also the reason why we have high-voltage power lines: it keeps the current low, meaning less power loss in the lines.

In addition to the NS/Stick I mentioned before, I'd use the bass synth I already have ([url="http://www.novationmusic.com/products/hardware_synths/xio/"]Novation Xio[/url]), and I might also find me an early Moog Taurus: Beefy!

Washburn Bantam: more photos [url="http://myweb.cebridge.net/gareth/gbay/washburn_dblneck/index.htm"]here[/url], though the associated eBay ad is long gone. Hippie not included. Also, a web search found [url="http://www.musicianscandystore.com/shopexd.asp?id=1157"]this thing[/url]. Don't know if I like the angle between the necks..?

You could think about a touch-style instrument such as a [url="http://www.stick.com/instruments/sb8/"]Stick Bass[/url] or [url="http://www.stick.com/instruments/ns/"]NS Stick[/url]. The latter would be my choice, since I already like headless instruments. Of course, in a thread of this title, it's only a matter of time before someone mentions Bill Clements:

This is Electro-Harmonix's new distortion pedal. It's not a spoof: it's on their official website as a [url="http://www.ehx.com/2008/"]new product[/url] for 2008. Of course, you can guess where I read about it: on the [url="http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2008/06/electro-harmonix-makes-bass-blogger.html"]Music Thing[/url] Blog. edit: they also have one called Bass Metaphors: distortion + compression + EQ with DI, in one box. What are they smoking over there, and can I have some?

I'm a King Crimson fan, so I've naturally heard about [url="http://www.guitarcraft.com/"]Guitar Craft[/url], where "craft" implies a practical emphasis. The way I understand it, it's a kind of guitar boot camp, where you're required to start from scratch with a new non-standard tuning, and lessons on how to hold a plectrum. It's for people who want to play like Robert Fripp, in other words - which I can understand, since he has a pretty amazing right hand - but it's not for everyone. In that sense, Art is about thinking, and Craft is about doing. I like that old Steven Wright joke: "I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas. I just think about it."

Eberhard Weber deserves a mention, I think, as does Danny Thompson (his Whatever project & more). John Patitucci too. What about Mick Karn? On the Dali's Car project he did everything except vocals and drum machine programming. He says he can't read music, though, so that might cramp his compositional style a little.

Another fan of Japanese basses here - suffering from chronic GAS for a Tune 8-string, but making do with one of the Korean knock-offs till I can afford one.

[quote name='silddx' post='213852' date='Jun 6 2008, 01:34 PM']Ah, no I haven't. I would be concerned they would not fit Steinberger hardware though.[/quote] Well, I can confirm they fit nicely in my "Stainbergers" (Hohners). The Status webpage for them says "They will also work perfectly on all Steinberger and many other headless basses", and I have no reason to disbelieve them. They did me some custom 25-105 sets for high C use. edit: just remembered that I may have had a similar problem at some time in the past, with a thick B string not fitting in the headpiece of my 5-string. If I did, well, I have needle files in my toolbox.

Not only that, but Arbiter have [url="http://www.mi-pro.co.uk/news/29507/Arbiter-announces-new-lines-for-music-fair"]taken over the distribution[/url] of Spector and Schecter, so it's very likely the Reverb stores will carry them.

Now, I haven't read all 16 pages of this thread, but I have a few thoughts on the matter, so I apologise of any of this has been covered already. I suppose we all had dreams of being rock stars, as teenagers, but in my case it simply wasn't remotely possible. I won't go into details, I'll just say that I was living in a country (South Africa) with no social security system, and after I left school I had no support from parents or anyone else. So I had to work straight away, no chance of university or anything else, and imported gear was expensive. Looking back, I don't really regret missing the chance to be a rock star, because I now know more about what rock stars go through. Doing the same thing, night after night, on the road, drove many to drink and/or drugs, or extreme behaviour. One of my favourite bands is Rush, and I think it's interesting to see how they dealt with the situation. They did so much touring in the 1970s, that by the 1979 tour they almost called it quits, dubbing it "Tour Till You Drop". So, they slowed down, toured less and spent more time on albums - and constantly got complaints that they missed places, especially Europe. Over the last year, though, they've gone touring-crazy again, and they'll have 113 shows under their belt by the end in July. I don't think we'll be hearing from them for a couple of years after that. Rush shows are complicated: the music has a lot of lighting and video cues, and they have to plan and rehearse the 20+ songs they do every night, in two sets with no support. As you might imagine, there's not much jamming or variation in the set list: Phish they ain't. How do they do it - go out on the road and play the same thing over and over? Well, the songs themselves are demanding, but there's also what I call the Repertory aspect. A Repertory theatre company is one that repeats the same scripted play, night after night - whether on tour or not. For example, I saw the Reduced Shakespeare Company do [url="http://www.reducedshakespeare.com/books.php"]All The Great Books (abridged)[/url] in Dublin last year: they put the same show on all across Europe, though they also do longer residences at theatres in London and the USA. The show may be the same, but the audiences are different, and they actually interact with them. (I was pulled on stage, to take part in a "quiz show" about Dickens, I think it was. :wacko: ) I kinda feel sorry for Rush, then, since they have to be so distant from their crazy "fans". I suppose that what I'm trying to say is: there will inevitably be a Repertory element to anything successful: when you're good at something, your reward is to do it again, and again, and again. I found this to be true at work, too: there were things that I was good at, so I was asked to keep doing them. Hopefully, then, it will be something that you enjoy doing. Something that lets you take pride in the way you do it, in getting it [i]just right[/i]. Or even expand: if I was doing those MOR songs, I would be trying backing vocals too, something those songs tend to have, and something I need more practice in.

[url="http://www.nedsteinberger.com/"]NS Design[/url] also have a factory in the Czech Republic, where they make the Euro and CR ranges.

Isn't that the pickup that Billy Sheehan uses in his signature basses? He has an EB pickup in his old Fender "The Wife" - he must like the Bass, then.

The only one I've tried were by D'Addario, on my fretless. It was a long time ago, and they were OK, but I migrated to groundwounds after that. [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/"]Status Graphite[/url] have "Black Nylon" strings on sale today, 45-105.

I expected that TLev story might come up - he has a list of the lost gear online, [url="http://www.tonylevin.com/pbfire.htm"]here[/url]. It includes the fretless he used on Peter Gabriel's [i]Sledgehammer[/i]. There was one small consolation - it did inspire some King Crimson artwork. I'm currently looking for some Nikki Sixx / BC Rich stories... there must be a few?