radiophonic

My last set of neighbours used to do drunken sing-alongs to Wish You Were Here and She's Not There (Santana version) interspersed with hardcore techno until 6 am, at least three nights a week. The council (their landlord) would do nothing. My neighbour before that, threatened to murder me and my wife and was convicted for 'making threats to kill' after attempting to smash our front door in. I never even plugged the bass in at either address. I have no neighbours any more and I can play as loud as I like, which I do. However, my band rehearses in the terraced house living room of our singer and guitarist (couple). No one has ever complained.

I'm not going to knock Hartke LH amps. Sure, it's old-skool heavy but XL cabs are cheap as chips and together, they make a convincing rock bass rig for pretty sensible money. However, who in their right mind puts the DI out pre-effects loop? Pre-EQ, I can just about understand, but pre-Loop? Would the culprit please step forward and explain yourself. This can't have been deliberate, surely?

I was Gas Free until our last practice, when the use of distortion/overdrive was encouraged. The OD and Fuzz pedals I have aren't up to it alas and I now have EBS Gas. On the flipsisde I'm considering looking for a trade on my 2016 USA Fretless Jazz - probably another fretless, probably another Musicman. Will this never stop?

I stack them vertically when possible and stick the head on a chair. I'm not tall, but I can confirm that vertical stacking does seem to make a difference to the quality of my sound on stage. The added advantage is that I can use a single cab in the practice room and keep one at home. I only have to carry the head back and forth. Some small gigs, I just use a single cab and rely on the PA too.

I bought an LS-2 in the end. It seems to do the job. I've got three gigs this week, so we'll see how things go under real-world conditions.

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1483536662' post='3207993'] Well, he is "No Longer A Newbie" so cut him some slack, Jack (see what I did there!) perhaps he hasn't had a chance to fully immerse himself in the "Precision or Jazz" , "Fender is for mutants" or "Flatwounds are for dullards" threads yet. But don't worry, they'll be round a gain soon and he can find out what a depressing or wildly inacurate point of view [i]really[/i] is. Happy new year, all! [/quote] Well I post on various HiFi forums and the same attitude prevails - music stopped in 79, modern music is all rubbish, the only real rock is classic rock etc. Given the centrality of Bass to dub, fusion, post-punk, soul, disco and practically every other non -classic rock genre, I'd kinda hoped for a more highly evolved debate. I do own some tort though... although I keep it hidden.. and a Jazz and a non Fender bass... and some flats and some rounds. We'll see how this goes.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1483461233' post='3207319'] Back in the 1980s in Norwich (when I used to be out drinking with my mates fairly often) I don't remember ever seeing a live band in a pub. If we wanted music we paid to go into a "proper" music venue. Perhaps there were plenty of pubs with live bands, but I must have missed them all. Nowadays there are plenty of pubs putting on gigs. Most of them do seem to be covers bands with a good half of their set exactly the same as every other band. Maybe there was a peak in live music somewhere in the last 20-odd years and it's declined since then, but the scene seems far more vibrant than it was in my youth. [/quote] Seriously? I grew up in Norwich and started going out drinking in the 80s. Norwich had an extremely vibrant music scene then. The 'Venue Campaign' (85 - 87 approx) led to a huge upswing in pub gigs - with bands trying to meet the council's fundraising threshold for financing a dedicated city center music venue (what became the Waterfront). I can recall ton of pub based stuff in the Mischief Cellars, The Lawyer (Lee Vasey had a Sunday residency), Golden Star (trad Jazz), (Gundry) Whites (loads of Prog and other rock), The Festival House (Metal), The Oval (which was owned by Iron Maiden), The Brickmakers (rock and metal), Red Lion on Magdalen Street (a frankly terrifying place, but they put on R&B every week), The Ferry Boat Inn. These are just off the top of my head and I know there are others, because I played them myself. That's ignoring the weekday gigs in Nightclubs and Wine Bars (Ritzy/Madisons, Pennies, Santanas/Jacquard, whatever that wine bar behind Anglia TV was called) and less obvious drinking venues like the Labour Club, UEA Barn, Theatre Royal Studio and the bar of the Art's Centre (not the performance area, which of course is a whole different story)... It was a cool place to live for live music! We obviously drank in different pubs.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1483528505' post='3207867'] That's because so much of the "music" of the 80s-00s was either pressing the occasional button on a pre-programmed sequencer or simple re-treads of great original music from the 60s and 70s. Next? [/quote] That's easily the most depressing and wildly inaccurate point of view I've seen since joining this forum. There was (and always is) plenty of great playing on rock and pop records and just as much dreck to accompany it. Please don't let this be a 'music stopped in 1979' forum. There are enough of those in the HiFi world.

I think that 'experienced' is often code for 'over 30 by an unspecified amount'. Age seems to be more important to some younger bands IME. It saves everyone subtracting 5 years from their chronological age or fudging about which side of 40 they are on. As far as whether this matters in an audition? When you sign on as a new band member, you are more or less still auditioning for the first 10 gigs or so anyway. Beyond the ability to play the material, showing some affinity for the style/ genre and bringing something unique in either style or sound; the experience part plays out in knowing how to be in a band. Reliability, sussing the internal politics, identifying who is really in charge, not bailing out during breakdown, working out your role and whether you are going to be happy with it. Most of this is about knowing how to deal with people - and often comes with age. Lead singers aren't the only prima donnas!

The usual mix of pros and cons. On the upside, we played well - if a little fast - and my new compressor earned it's money - although I need to up the threshold a bit. On the downside we were opening for a mostly DJ based night and all their gear was already in place, meaning that my cabs were shoved under a table, causing loads of bass boom. Ditto for the guitarist, whose sound went to mush (I think he needs an amp stand anyway). I also started the night with total brain-freeze. I don't play on the first 16 bars of the first song and I spent the entire time panicking that I couldn't remember the first note of my opening fill! I 'knew' it was an A, but kept thinking it was D, due to something I was jamming in the soundcheck. Doh. I got it right though. The major downside was that the landlord decided to be greedy and shove an unrealistic price on the door which definitely cut into the audience numbers and soured the atmosphere somewhat.

Hi - I've recently purchased a Fender Jazz and it doesn't sit level on the stands that I use for my other bass/guitars. Short of bending one of the arms, I can't see a way round the problem. Nothing expensive, just a means of keeping it upright between sets etc. Any recommendations? Thanks == John

I dunno. I tried a Mark Bass 2 x 12 setup and it was just just too HiFi for me - like plugging straight into a desk - and too much money. I've no idea if the sound was primarily down to the preamp, power stage or the cabs though. Every time I've recorded in the last 25 years, I've moaned that the bass sounds wrong DI'd and I need a proper mic'd cab, so I went for Hartke at a much lower cost it it sounds great for the band I'm in. Very heavy head though! Now I'm gigging regularly, I can definitely see the upside of light-weight gear and I don't know how much sonic difference there would be with the whole band blasting away. If I had the money I'd definitely be considering the lightweight option and I'd be amazed if folk without a crew would want to go back. Obviously, if you can click your fingers and someone else moves your cab half a mile across town, then it's a different decision. Negotiating city centre parking restrictions with a pair of cabs and a class A/B head plus two basses and pedals is not the fun part of the evening. As to the OP and TE gear. I used to have one of the 4 x 10 cabs and it was very heavy, but surprisingly well balanced. The enclosure was very deep, so when you picked it up with the handles, it remained horizontal. I wouldn't want to carry it long distances, but when lugging gear up flights of stairs and in and out of vans, I had more aggro with my practice room combo. Personally, I never got on with the sound of them though.

The price differential is just silly at this point. I've seen USA Stds selling for £4 - 500 less than the new Pros, in the same store. That's a massive difference, for almost no difference. If I wanted a new Fender right now, I'd be grabbing a USA Std, without a second thought. I do like the new Olive green though.

If you are paying book price for a new Fender, then you [i]are [/i]paying a premium. I bought a USA Jazz F/less and it plays like a dream and appears flawless. A lot of the variability that I've encountered has been due to set-up and handling and this has been equally true of MIM, MIA and even Squier basses - A/B-ing a Squier F/less with a MIM Fender proved impossible in a store due to obvious set-up fail and total disinterest from the staff. I've seen necks with rough edges, but this has clearly been down to leaning /scraping the fretboard edge against something hard, I've encountered lousy action and uneven pickup response, but Fender do supply clear instructions for a baseline set-up and with the right tools almost anyone can follow these. Even with my non-DIY skills, I set up a telecaster to Fender spec in about 30 mins. A capo, a feeler gauge, one Allen key, one screwdriver and a small metal rule. Hardly rocket science. A shop failing to do this is unacceptable and just creates a bad rep for the manufacturer. You'd have thought that the company would keep an eye on this sort of thing.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1482223613' post='3198512'] I've learned that playing fretless bass is fantastic fun. So much so that I've barely touched a fretted bass since the beginning of October. [/quote] Actually, I bought a fretless too. I wouldn't say I've [i]learned [/i]a great deal yet, other than 'I can play this' and 'I can play this on stage' aren't the same thing! But I did it anyway.

About Bass, about music, about playing in a band. I've had an odd year - playing music that should have worked, but didn't because of the people (well, one person in particular), getting very depressed about the lack of a music scene where I live - to the point of almost giving up / selling all my gear - and then accidentally stumbling on a whole new group of musicians who I never knew existed, playing music that I totally love. Given that my technique can't have improved in the space of a week, but that leaving one band and joining another has made me feel like a much better player almost overnight, I conclude that synergy and personality cannot be underestimated. I [i]knew [/i]this already, but recent months have really rammed it home. It's about people as much as chops. Technically, I've been learning to follow the singer rather than relying on knowing exactly what chords the guitarist is playing.This has opened up a world of unusual possibilities, since the melodies rely on scales that you don't find often in Anglo-American music. I'm looking forward to 2017 a lot more than I looked forward to 2016.

NYE gig at a party organised by the Hungarian community in Beeston, Nottingham. Why is it cool? I expect various members of the dance troupe we worked with this year to attend, so there will be dancing. Also, we are kicking off the party, so we get to play early then get to enjoy the after-show, which makes a big change from the usual loading out at 11.30, trying to avoid parking violations.

[quote name='CliveT' timestamp='1482156308' post='3198067'] The MXR Micro Amp is as simple as it gets for plug and play. Just the one knob. [/quote] Don't I already have that knob on the Overdrive pedal? It sounds like the same solution. OTOH, the line selector replaces the A/B/Y box and the Overdrive (although costs more than them combined of course). If I were going that route, I'd probably go the whole hog and get something with an active tone circuit - although I'm hoping that a compressor will help pop the Jazz out of the mix a bit more without going active.

[quote name='paul_c2' timestamp='1482148191' post='3197961'] Are the above solutions which cost money, doing anything better than you could do simply by adjusting the volume control knob on the louder bass? [/quote] It's a big difference and getting it right on the fly would be hit and miss. I'd a prefer plug and play solution.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1482145564' post='3197928'] Yes, it's the swiss army knife of bass pedals and can be used to do all sorts of useful things. The gain controls allow you to boost each channel by 20dB and also to cut to virtually nothing, so you should be able to achieve a balance and then adjust the input gain on your amp and run through passive or active input as necessary. You would put one bass into the return of one loop, one into the return of the other and take the output to your amp. You'll also need a spare plug or patch lead to plug into the pedal input jack in order to turn it on. You could also put one bass into the the input, but you would then lose the ability to adjust the gain for that bass and would have to use that as a reference. You could also add a clean boost to one side of the A/B box as suggested above, that would probably be even cheaper but would increase your footprint rather than reduce it. [/quote] Thanks - reducing the footprint (or at least keeping and eye on it) is fairly important since I'm in the market for a multi-band compressor anyway and I don't want to run more than 5 boxes if possible, so Line Selector > Tuner > Compressor > Delay would be keep the footprint acceptable and leave room for some active EQ in the future.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1482138088' post='3197837'] Boss LS2 will allow you to put one bass in each loop, switch between the two and independently adjust the gain on both loops. [/quote] Have you used one of these? Provided there is enough adjustment and there are no buffer issues, it would be a cheap solution and lose me one stomp box. 20 dB gain ought to be more than adequate - i probably need a little over 10 (the passive channel on the amp has 1/3 of the headroom of the active but the Jazz is still a bit quieter if I put one bass in each input)

Under-attended, too late for a Sunday, nowhere to park nearby and I played like I had sausages for fingers. However, the main motivation was to show willing for a promoter (I'm Not From London) who we want to work with in the future. They liked us, despite the substandard performance and want to get us work in the new year, so, in terms of big picture, it wasn't a waste. The major lessons were 'don't totally change the arrangement of one of your songs immediately before a gig' and 'if you want the bass player to play big loud chords on an intro, practice this addition more than once'! One more gig to go this year. Fingers crossed.

Hi - I've started using a fretless Jazz in addition to my trusty Stingray. Obvious issues arise - huge output and EQ differences. This must be a pretty common scenario, so I'm wondering how people tackle it. Last night I used a cheap passive A/B/Y box in line with a tuner (which defeats the outputs when engaged) and true-bypass overdrive pedal, with the OD gain set to zero. Everything was the fed into the active input on my LH500 head. This seemed to work in terms of swapping basses easily and balancing the output, but the Jazz got pretty lost in the stage sound. I'm wondering if there is a one pedal solution to this. Some sort of bass preamp to pump up the Jazz a bit and boost it's output. I'm not looking to radically change the sound of the bass, just give it a little help in the mix. Alternatively, Boss make a line selector which might obviate the A/B/Y and the OD, but I'm not 100% clear whether it would allow enough volume adjustment. The impedance of the active input on the amp is identical to the passive input, so all I'm worried about is signal strength. Three scenarios I've imaged are: 2 Basses >> Line Selector in A<->B mode >> Tuner >> Amp 2 Basses >> A/B/Y >> Preamp >> Tuner >> Amp 2 Basses >> Dual channel Preamp pedal (Do these exist ???) >> Tuner >> Amp What does the wisdom of the board suggest. Bear in mind I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.