bnt

Well... if I think of the kind of bass sound I like, I think of double bass, or piano, both of which use a higher string tension than the standard 34" bass. According to D'Addario, their low E strings are under about 35-40lbs of normal tension, lower than the other strings. Their Hybrid Helicore double bass strings are under 64-71lbs. A piano string is typically under 200+ lbs of tension! In short, if I'm looking for a stronger bass fundamental, I want the string tension to go up, not down. So, if you reduce the scale, you've got to increase the string thickness, but there are limits to that. After a quick look around, I can't see any string makers who do short scale sets that are significantly thicker: they all seem to sell shorter versions of the same gauges.

Wikipedia has some useful descriptions of what's happening at the sonic level e.g. their article on [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanger"]Flanging[/url] explains where the name came from. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaser_(effect)"]Phasing[/url] is a bit odd, since it involves an all-pass filter that affects the phase of different frequencies differently. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorus_effect"]Chorus[/url] is basically a short variable-speed multi-tap delay, while Wah-Wah (Wah for short) is a band-pass filter (EQ) you sweep with your foot!

If you're going to use any kind of magnetic pickup, the strings must contain iron, or you'll get no sound out of it. Got any barbed wire handy?

There's a previous thread on the DBX 266 [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19512&hl=DBX+266"]here[/url]. I don't doubt it would "work", but it's all manual controls, and would be better in a studio. I don't think I'd like it for gigging:it's a whole rack space for a function you can have in a multi-FX unit or a (pre)amp, and it has no programmability, not even support for a on/off footswitch.

Well, if you're going to learn some Green Day, you have to include [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=G605NirgBjw"]Basket Case[/url]! Another one of theirs I've tried is [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1gL5e986lxY"]Warning[/url], where the bass is really up-front. Apart from that - who knows? Got any favourite pop songs, or your Mum's ABBA records? (You could do worse!)

Why be so hard on yourself? It's just one of those things you learn about at some time or other, if you get your hands on one. It smooths out the volume levels of a signal, so that there isn't as much variation in level. Above a certain threshold, it reduces the signal by an amount proportional to its level over that threshold. One effect is to increase the apparent sustain on a note. As I'm sure you can imagine, this could sound horrible if done carelessly, so a compression unit will have controls to fine-tune the effect: - threshold: you obviously don't want to boost background noise, so signals below the threshold setting are not boosted - attack: how quickly the compression kicks in, so that the attack (slap, pluck) is squashed or not - ratio: the amount by which the signal is squashed. Higher ratio means more squash. Wikipedia has lots more geeky detail, with graphs and links [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_level_compression"]here[/url].

You got lucky - that sounds like a mineral oil fog fluid, which is harmless to electronic gear, and some types of oil are even used for cleaning PCBs. Some PC overclockers submerge their motherboards in the stuff to keep the chips cool. If it had been a water-based fluid... ouch.

[quote name='thinman' post='228658' date='Jun 28 2008, 06:14 PM']I'm really just guessing here - someone who understands the physics of springs etc may be able to give an authoritative view - but is there some law that means the further a string is initially pulled the faster the initial energy will be lost?[/quote] Something like that, though other factors will come in to play, such as the coupling with the body etc. Here's how I understand it, after studying springs a bit last year - the amount of energy stored in a spring is proportional to the square of the displacement (the distance it's stretched by) - so there is a law of diminishing returns in that sense. Pulling it twice as far takes four times the energy. - the string is vibrating at a given frequency, so if you pull it further off centre, it has to move faster to cover the distance at that frequency. Air resistance is proportional to the square of its speed, and I think the same is true of magnetic field resistance (over the pickups, especially if they are too close). This is all very theoretical, though! I imagine huge differences between e.g. an old Fender P-bass (wood, dead spots, strong magnets) vs. a neck-through Modulus Graphite with EMGs (extremely rigid construction, weak magnetic fields).

After a few years studying industrial instrumentation (including electronics) I got the message that weak signals need to be buffered as close to the source as possible, if you're going to preserve them. So, when I heard about pickups with buffer circuitry built in to the pickup, that's what I chose to mod my first good bass with. I have no complaints with the EMGs I had put iin in 1991.

I'd be looking at a [url="http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=AX3000B&category_id=6"]Korg AX-3000B[/url]. I have one of their little Ampworks boxes that has a similar modeling engine. You can do things like select a Patch, then switch to Individual mode to toggle each effect on or off.

The Lakland web page says that bass uses Bartolini MK1 electronics, which I can't find on the Bartolini page... do you know if you have the option of going to 18V (2 batteries) for more headroom? I don't know Bartolini stuff that well, but I know that EMG say you can go 18V for more headroom, and I did it for a while on my bass with EMG 35- P & -J soapbars. I didn't notice any difference, so I eventually stopped, but it's something to consider if the circuit is designed for it.

My bass has solid spindles, not splined or split. The knobs I got were [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280217175477"]these[/url], which are 6mm set screw types. The same [url="http://stores.ebay.com/MMTG-Enterprises"]seller[/url] has other types, including splined.

[quote name='Stingray5' post='227739' date='Jun 27 2008, 01:44 AM']I got my Tune TWB-6 back in '96 from the Bass Centre, London, and love it - both the look and sound.[/quote] My, that's tasty! When I strike it rich... Japan, here I come. That might tempt me in to my first 6-er. I don't think I'd mind those knobs, much nicer than the cheap & nasty ones that mine came with.

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..?