radiophonic

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1485779286' post='3226561'] Is that Lee? If so, he's a top chap although I've not seen him for a while.. Shoot me PM with a bit info about your setup and I may be able to help.. Cheers, Matt [/quote] It is Lee. I recorded there in 1987, when he was tracking to 1" 8-track. It's still the best sounding demo I've ever recorded, which is amazing given that it was a thrown together band and I'd only owned a bass for 6 months. I've got some Epic45 singles that he recorded ~2000 too. Great sounding records. I'll drop you a PM.

Bit of a long shot, but I know there's a few Midlanders on this site. My band is looking to record 'properly' for the first time and I'm trying to locate a suitable studio - one that knows how to record bands (rather than voiceovers). We're not a straightforward guitar / bass / drums setup either. I'm not a local and this is the first band in the area I've played in, so I'm totally flying blind. Anyone got any experiences? I guess it wouldn't [i]have [/i]to be in Nottingham, but it would need to be an easy drive. The nearest I've recorded to here is Abbey Sound Services in Rugeley, but that was a long while ago and from the look of the site, bands aren't a strong focus any more (although I know the engineer is excellent). Any recommendations? Any warnings?!

If this is your bag, I can recommend the open mic at Matlock Bath, which isn't far away I guess. I can't remember the name of the pub, but it's billed as an evening with Molly May - she organises it and sometimes plays. We did it as a band (they don't usually do bands though) just after new year and there was even a good/friendly crowd even then. Good sound guy too. I was pretty surprised by the turnout.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1485383490' post='3223658'] Budget? Second hand on here is the best way to try gear, particularly more unusual stuff. 9 times out of 10 you will sell it on and not lose anything. A B3K has just popped up for £130 in the classifieds There are also a couple of Cog Knightfalls around the £65 - £75 mark. Both are excellent options for grit. [/quote] Yes - I was quite surprised. if they're still there on payday, I'll count my beans.

[quote name='GazWills' timestamp='1485349800' post='3223299'] I see from your sig you use a stingray. IMO dirt pedals don't sound that great through stingrays (muffs' anyway). The 2 or 3 dirt pedals I have sound great with my precisions, but awful with my stingray, so make sure you try something that works with active basses... [/quote] That's the issue - and why the lack of local demo options is frustrating. There's a demo of the BK3 on Youtube using a Bongo and it sounds simultaneously dreadful and like it's hardly doing anything either, whereas other demos sound great (the Spector / Vintage demo was a cmobo I liked a lot). I suspect the fairly extreme treble boost on a stingray causes problems. I recently spoke to a G&L owner who had to ditch his RAT because it actually made his bass sound [i]quieter[/i] when he hit the overdrive!

I have a couple of dirt pedals but they don't do it for me. I'm actually starting to wonder if my basic bass tone is incompatible with distortion and fuzz pedals! I don't have anything fancy, just a EH Bass Big Muff (too fizzy - I actually prefer it as a guitar pedal) and an EH Crayon - which was cheap, got a bit of coverage in the other place and is 'OK' if you really boost the bass pot and use an LS2 as a blend. I've been thinking about a B3K (a lot of money for a dirt pedal IMO) but I know there are other boutique makers out there. The problem is that I can't try any of this stuff out. What should I be looking at and what is it possible to try? I need to keep the bottom end - so a blend is probably essential and I'd rather not have to add the LS2 just to obtain it (pedalboard footprint issues). I typically only use distortion when playing more or less unison riffs with the guitar so I'm after something that sounds really heavy, rather than smooth and fuzzy. More grit than fuzz, definitely. There are some connoisseurs on here I know, so recommend away. I do need to be able to try it out though - so internet only ops are probably out.

Not for the $$ exactly, but because playing live is what we do - although we do get paid. Jan was v.slow as expected. Only played a couple of times but both gigs were more about making contacts with people who organise summer events. I see slogging in Jan as an investment for August. Feb is looking better, but my wife has now broken her leg in two places, so we now have massive childcare issues. I am playing Friday night apparently. It was booked, advertised and tickets have been sold. Unfortunately nobody told the band until yesterday and we were intending to rehearse a new/additional keyboard player this week, so it might get interesting.

[quote name='cgg199' timestamp='1485186455' post='3221894'] Ah, it probably would have been better if I had remembered to post the link in my previous post, it may have helped a bit! That's what I was trying to show you, just the larger cutout, similar to Scott Devine's Overwater in a way. Also, I'm not sure if this as been said, but make sure you get on with the Luthier on a personal level. It'd be a long tiresome project if you were had a clashing personality with the person building your bass, and also the finished product probably wouldn't be perfect for you. [/quote] That's actually pretty close. Lose the block inlays, give it a stingray neck profile and a nice trans-teal finish. No idea what it sound like of course.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1485183677' post='3221858'] I use a 2012 MacBook for my solo stuff. It provides all the effect processing and I record my sets too, with no issues. I use Logic Pro for this. Re the overheating, where do you have it set up ? I have mine on a stand, so there's air circulating around it. Chances are, if you see someone on stage with a laptop, it'll be a MacBook. [/quote] It's on a stand - which is why I'm becoming convinced that it's related to HD swap / memory issues.

[quote name='cgg199' timestamp='1485168189' post='3221632'] Take a look here for some examples of Jon's p basses. Some of them sound quite similar to what you are describing, so it may be worth a look -The white one near the bottom in particular. It would also be worth talking to a few of the luthiers to see what they can do with the idea. Good luck with the Jazz bass, hopefully it'll sell fast, after all, everyone needs a fretless Jazz bass! [/quote] Not sure which bass you mean (on the Shuker site). The blue PJ or is the right kind of thinking, albeit without the offset body. No takers for the Jazz so far, alas. It's a shame to sell it, but I just don't get on with the body shape - it makes the (too thin) neck feel too long.

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1485165763' post='3221598'] Its the latest... just upgraded the Logic package last week [/quote] OK - That's interesting. We should be okay then [i]in theory[/i]. My guess (it's not my hardware) is that the HDD is old and / or there's insufficient RAM. If the machine is trying to use swap space and finding bad sectors, overheating and freezing is what you would expect. This might be a cheap fix. Is the cheap and nasty PSU the only way though? They are so easily knocked and the power cables are really thin. You do see that logo everywhere though, so I guess I'm being paranoid.

[quote name='cgg199' timestamp='1485163455' post='3221555'] According to their website, a standard J series Overwater starts at 2 grand, so I'd assume a p bass would be similar. If fancy electronics and quiet pickups are your thing, then you can't beat Overwater, but if you are looking for a very well built p bass, I recommend Jon Shuker, just from my experiences. Being honest though, no matter who you choose from the suggested names, you're guaranteed a very high quality product, and very good service. [/quote] I was thinking more along the lines of a Stingray based instrument with a smoother/more accessible neck-body joint ([i]a la[/i] Scott's Precision) and a smoother more rounded sound and switchable actives. Kind of modern active P-J meets a 1990s Stingray neck profile and body dimensions and a nice translucent finish. Not complicated or super exotic, but not available off the shelf either. Need to sell my Jazz Fretless first though!

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1485163749' post='3221558'] WE have 3 macbooks on stage all running various programmes, including mainstage, without hitch..... what are the specs of your book? For reference we use early 2011 model i7 with 16gb ram [/quote] I'll check the hardware revision, but just for ref, which version of Mainstage are you running?

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1485020533' post='3220500'] Have a look at Overwater, they can pretty much build anything you want and they are always gorgeous. [/quote] What kind of money do Overwater charge? I realise that I'm asking how long is a piece of string, but ballpark? I'm coming to the conclusion that even my fairly simple needs can't be catered for off the shelf and I really liked the thought that had gone into Scott Devine's 'Precision'.

My band use a simple Line 6 keyboard controller with a MacBook Pro (running MainStage 3) as part of of our live set up. Ideally I'd like to use one for some signal processing too (via Max/MSP). However, even in this fairly limited application we're getting over heating and software freezes. I'm also a bit concerned about the fragility of the computer itself - magnetic power plug, nasty/noisy PSU, humidity (including beer).These machines get used by electronic producers and DJs all the time - apparently without issue. Is there an alternative? or, is there a reliable method of gig proofing a machine without adding further ventilation problems? Mods: Not sure if this belongs in 'Other Instruments' or 'Gen'. Feel free to move it if needed.

The crashing pound is really starting to sting on gear like this. I'd been considering a B7K, but I simply can't justify the money. I may still get a B3K but no matter how good this one is, I already know it's going to be of my price range.

Hers the current permutation. I have a Bass Big Muff and a Crayon Overdrive too. There's a bit of redundancy with the LS2 and the TU3 - losing the latter would give me room for the Muff or another dirt pedal. However, depending on the set, I can either use the LS2 as a blend pedal for the overdrive, to keep more low end or (as here) use it to balance the inputs of my Stingray and Jazz. I only just got the Phase 90 (from the classifieds here). I hadn't clocked that it was the old style knob. I don't know if there [i]is[/i] a difference, but subjectively it does seem a tad less transparent tha n the new one I tried, but seems to offers a slightly slower rate too. Good phaser anyway and it does what I need it for. [attachment=236408:IMG_0512.JPG]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1484776352' post='3218432'] I bought my brand new Wal mk1 for £750 in 1986... Gorgeous inherent tone, amazing tonal flexibility, breathtaking build quality, Marmite neck ...and HEAVY! [/quote] I bought one secondhand in 1989 for £400. Sold it a year later for the same. I hate to think about how much it appreciated since then, but it went to a good home. For me,the neck was just too much and it gave me terrible shoulder ache. Certainly built to last though.

[quote name='Rocker' timestamp='1484779405' post='3218477'] Not familiar with the CA preamp but be aware that you need a phono stage before the preamp if the preamp does not have a phono stage built in. And most modern preamps do not have a built in phono stage. You can get a standalone phono stage for smallish money but this is one situation where the more you spend, the better the sound. Also get a wall mounted shelf for the turntable - securely fitted to the wall if you don't want a very costly crash to happen. Get the shelf absolutely level, front to back and side to side and you are good to go. [/quote] The CA is a phono stage rather than a pre-amp as most people understand it. What he doesn't have is any attenuation by the look of it. +1 for getting everything level / isolated from footfall.

If the US1800 has RCA ins and outs, then yes. But if you do that, aren't you digitising then reconverting the analog signal prior to the power amps? You'd also need a computer and the interface powered up when playing records, which seems a bit of a waste of energy too. If I were you I would spend a fairy tiny amount of money on a simple passive line stage - basically a decent pot and a pair of RCA inputs and outputs and use that between the CP1 and the Adams. Reading the post that beat me to it, you will need a preamp. However unless you are running many meters of cable I wouldn't worry about the length of the runs at line level - I have 5m interconnects from my phono stage to a passive pre and I can detect zero difference between them and 30cm runs. Without going into nerd levels of detail, my speakers would reproduce any differences that were there.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1484740866' post='3217931'] this should do the trick [url="http://www.godlyke.com/power-all/power-all-cables/cable-male-1-7mm-right-angle-barrel-adaptor"]http://www.godlyke.c...-barrel-adaptor[/url] [/quote] Doesn't that reverse the polarity?

I play a '91, 2 band eq one through Hartke. I played the same bass through a big Ashdown rig yesterday. In the past I've played it through a Portaflex. All of these worked for me. I never liked it into a Trace Elliot though. Into a Mark Bass it sounded like plugging it straight into a desk, which wasn't for me. I think the treble needs something to react with - some sort of colouration provided by amp or speaker. Not sure what it is, but that was the problem I had with the Trace Ellio too - the low and high end seemed a bit disconneted and needed some dirt to glue them together. Bass on full, treble pot wound back ~ 20%, fingerstyle. It sounds exactly like I expect. Amp is set almost flat. It is quite a pushy sound though and it might - in the end - not be what you are after.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1484735570' post='3217846'] I'm sure you can deal with the power socket at the side, just use a low profile extension or something? Or move the socket to the back? There must be room as it has a battery compartment [/quote] Not sure about that. I'm powering everything off either a Boss LS2 or TU3 with a daisy chain. The board is a pedal train Nano+ and space is deliberately tight. I only take the effects i need and it stops me going crazy. One in. One out. A right angled daisy chain may do the trick if it reaches - I think Mooer make one. I'm not keen about drilling the enclosure either in case I want to sell it on. Why do MXR do this? Makes no sense to me.