nick

Bonjour, Here we have a Ibanez: [url="http://cgi.ebay.fr/vintage-Ibanez-lawsuit-bass_W0QQitemZ150141789546QQihZ005QQcategoryZ92204QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.fr/vintage-Ibanez-lawsuit-...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='29957' date='Jul 10 2007, 08:10 PM']Got it in one! I'm amazed you can hear yourself in the mix with that EQ. Bring back those mids, mellow out the treble and reduce the bass boost and your string to string balance will be restored. EQ is best used like seasoning - lightly, and with regular tasting to avoid overuse. Alex[/quote] I had the same problem for a while with my P-Bass, after having changed EQ settings to something I thought I liked i.e. loads of bass/treble, cut middle. Despite having been playing for quite a few years, took me ages to work out why; changed pickups, tried compressor/limiters... It drove me bonkers! All the above comments are bang on. I got an even sound in the end by compromising a bit - in backing off on middle scoop, not so much bass & treble, & with slight adjustment pickup heights to suit. As mentioned, it's also worth standing back a bit from your amp, to hear what your tone is really like, particularly when everyone else is playing. You will be surprised. I've got quite the 'clanky' sound I like now (when required) without such extreme settings. Good luck in acheiving your tone!

Another good website is [url="http://www.diystompboxes.com/"]http://www.diystompboxes.com/[/url] If you fancy having a go at building your own. Gallery section has loads of layouts (PCB & veroboard), & forum is quite informative.

I'm going to throw another Andy Rourke one in! 'Headmaster Ritual' - The Smiths Heck of a lot going on, on all four strings.

[quote name='nick' post='26231' date='Jul 2 2007, 09:08 PM'][size=2][b][u]'Your Robot Overlords' @ Moles Club, Bath next Monday 9th July[/u][/b][/size] [url="http://www.your-robot-overlords.co.uk/"]http://www.your-robot-overlords.co.uk/[/url] Somewhere to go on a Monday night. [i][color="#FF00FF"]Where else can you get top value entertainment for less than price of a pint?[/color][/i] Please lend your support, fellow brethren of the bass! Cheers[/quote] Should add, three other bands : Freehold Revival , The Speakeasy & Reavers [size=3]+ Happy Hour 9 - 10.30![/size] :wacko:

[quote name='slaphappygarry' post='26617' date='Jul 3 2007, 06:17 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s[/url] Stunning, quite simply. G[/quote] Sheer class. Many thanks for the link.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='27017' date='Jul 4 2007, 03:14 PM']Would I be right in saying that, the bass line is like the foundations of a house? They may not always be obvious or of selfstanding beauty, but they are substantial and the rest of the music would be likely to fall down without them....... [/quote] I like that. Reminds me of one of the things an old bass player used to say to me, when I was learning (still am), with regard to practicing, & job itself etc. God bless him. [i]...you just can't build on dodgy foundations mate!.....[/i]

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='26313' date='Jul 3 2007, 12:11 AM']Hope it's better than Hooky's Revenge project. That sucked[/quote] Revenge did suck bigtime! Monaco at least were better, I suppose. There's a Freebass track on Hooky's myspace [url="http://www.myspace.com/peterhookneworder"]http://www.myspace.com/peterhookneworder[/url] For me, jury's still out - until I hear more.

[size=2][b][u]'Your Robot Overlords' @ Moles Club, Bath next Monday 9th July[/u][/b][/size] [url="http://www.your-robot-overlords.co.uk/"]http://www.your-robot-overlords.co.uk/[/url] Somewhere to go on a Monday night. [i][color="#FF00FF"]Where else can you get top value entertainment for less than price of a pint?[/color][/i] Please lend your support, fellow brethren of the bass! Cheers

[quote name='Muppet' post='26120' date='Jul 2 2007, 05:31 PM']I agree, or is badly put together and does not fit the song. I think the Waterfront bassline, whilst able to be played by virtually any farmyard animal, makes the song. The ame with some of the other suggestions here. We're mixing up 'bad basslines' with 'basslines that are not complex or that are boring to play'.....[/quote] I agree too. Whilst I think most of songs suggested are pretty awful in their own right - to be honest I'm finding it genuinely difficult to think of a really bad bassline. Even with eighties poodle metal/rock (which I hate) with their [i]pedestrian[/i] unimaginative bass parts; it's the songs themselves that are crap. Bass is just doing what's required suppose(?) Maybe I'm missing the point(?)

Great thread this! Too many great basslines.... started going through my old collection, hearing a lot I didn't listen to first time round - getting new inspirations. Though I can't think of one being being [i]best ever[/i]. A few more suggestions: 'Kowalski' - Primal Scream 'Same Old Scene' - Roxy Music '24 Hour Party People' - Happy Mondays 'Funeral Pyre' - The Jam 'Radio Babylon' - Meat Beat Manifesto

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='26024' date='Jul 2 2007, 01:48 PM']Can't get much better influences than those three[/quote] Your'e bang on there. On the subject of two those bassists, have you heard of [i]Freebass[/i] - a side project with Hooky, Mani & Andy Rourke? They should have some material out soon, looking forward to hearing it. Don't think I've ever heard songs with three basses before!

[quote name='guitarnbass' post='25686' date='Jul 1 2007, 06:25 PM']waiting for an alibi is a good[/quote] 'Killer on the Loose' is great too! Philip Parris Lynott RIP

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='25668' date='Jul 1 2007, 05:49 PM']That's a great call. It's so clever, you don't really notice how much is going on but it's like a bass lesson in one song. Would advise people to go re-listen to it. In same vein, check out "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" or "Somebody Told Me" from the Killers' first album [i]Hot Fuss[/i]. You can tell that guy grew up listening to The Smiths![/quote] They are top basslines. I also reckon the likes of Peter Hook, & possibly Simon Gallup are influences on Mark Stoermer's style along with Andy Rourke.

[quote name='bazzil' post='24855' date='Jun 29 2007, 12:54 PM']hi forum, I have just bought my first bass (Yamaha BB414) i record funky house music and my question is what strings should i put on this bass to get that funky dance/club sound? best regards, basil[/quote] Hi Bazzil, Congrats on getting your first bass! Genre described can cover a lot of things, but can recommend what I use when helping out my friends with real bass on electro,house, D & B stuff. I go for .45 to 110, medium/standard sort of gauge, or heavier (.50?) nothing too light, as for me basslines are more felt than heard with house. Also tuning bass D-A-E-B using low B string (.125), can be effective - as within same ballpark as keyboard bass lines. Another option is flat wound strings too, for a nice warm sound - not too 'zingy'. It's worth experimenting really, & finding out what's right for you & the tracks you're doing. Robert's strings are quite cheap, a lot of people rate them, though I've never tried them. A compressor/limiter can also be invaluable in this area.... Hope this helps you a bit in achieving sound you're after Cheers

Years ago, had a very tatty old Ampeg 8 x 10. Band I was in 'voted' for it to be recovered with fake tiger skin fabric! Looked cool though Thinking of doing it again this time with possibly zebra skin - if/when I can find an old cab. My Trace Elliot combo green carpet positively hums! :ph34r: Contemplating getting the Vax on it.

oh just remembered some old indie stuff, anyone remember a band called Sensless things? they had some really good bass lines in there, Bassist was Morgan Nicholls.... I do. Some years ago band I was in got a few support slots with band formed by Miles Hunt, Billy Duffy & Morgan called Vent, so got to know him a bit. Amazing bass player, & a lovely, gentle bloke...used a H/H V-S Bassmachine. He's now in Damon Albarn's Gorillaz band. Jamie Hewlett loosely modeled character Murdoc Nicalls on Morgan (he was also a Senseless Things fan).

"This Charming Man" - The Smiths "Theme for Great Cities" - Simple Minds?

As mentioned before, you can't really go wrong with; Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo or some of On-U-Sound (Adrian Sherwood)...There's loads of really good dub out there. I would also recommend any of the dub albums by Black Uhuru, again Sly & Robbie. I particularly like "Brutal Dub" If you fancy something a bit more 'left-field' :wacko: , give anything by Scientist (Greensleeves label) a listen! Also, UK's own Jah Wobble... Chill... Oh yeah, & a nice big 18" cab!

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='23936' date='Jun 27 2007, 11:38 AM']Excellent idea... with one caveat; Do they do them in black?![/quote] I've seen them in brown, black, & I think even red! Chrome & gold even available (for the posh), as bathroom mirror screw cap covers. Most hardware stores sell them, not only B & Q. Cheers Nick

Had an active bass (Thunder 1A) years ago, but never tried it with fuzz back then - so don't really know. Nowadays, change in tastes etc.....love fuzz! You could always try building your own fuzz(?) Loads of relatively easy circuits on net, cost little to make. One here (Deluxe Bass Fuzz) with buffer for active bass using 42TM018 transformer: [url="http://www.home-wrecker.com/bazz.html"]http://www.home-wrecker.com/bazz.html[/url] More cool one's here [i]'proper fuzzes'[/i], built a few myself on veroboard: [url="http://aronnelson.com/gallery/album18"]http://aronnelson.com/gallery/album18[/url] [url="http://aronnelson.com/gallery/album17"]http://aronnelson.com/gallery/album17[/url] I first built Jen FZ-III after selling the one I paid £5 for, on Ebay for £80! Loved the sound, but at the time needed the cash. Why not have a go? Something to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon!

Maya Rickenfaker was starting to p*ss me off: Had a problem with springs on bridge pickup mounting screws, in that pickup itself kept coming loose due to lack of tension, probably down to removal of pickup cover. After searching garage for whatever I had, found screw cap covers. Modified these as spacers, which fixed the problem. This also gave me the idea of trying one as thumbrest on small pickup mounting ring screw as shown: [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9336149@N08/633038533/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/9336149@N08/633038533/[/url] It works a treat! Just the right area for me too. It's also low enough not too obstruct a pick when using one. I no longer have tendency to put thumb inside the hole(?!), on pickup, or keep slipping off small screw head, etc - Sorted! Conversely, I never seem to have this problem when playing P-Bass, in that my thumb seems to comfortably naturally float most of the time mid-air, when not on E string(?) May look a bit naff, but makes playing bass a lot easier at the cost of only pennies! Top-tip or bonkers?!

[quote name='Oxblood' post='23004' date='Jun 25 2007, 02:37 PM']So your dad's a Radio Ham of some vintage, eh? Well blow me down! What's his call-sign? Next time you see him, ask if he ever got any QSL cards back in the 50s and 60s from a fellow ham called Ron Cumberlidge (call-sign G3CK): That was my dad. This picture was taken when he was in the Signals Corps during WW2. If your dad is still active on the air today, he might also have come across my brother Steve (call-sign G7BBF). [b][i]RADIO AMATEURS - THE ORIGINAL WORLD-WIDE WEB ![/i][/b] Anyhow.. back to the amp: If the speaker lead looks fit for its purpose, I'd leave it alone. After all, it only has to transfer 17 Watts. Only replace it if it looks in any way perished, or appears to have been bodged by someone who didn't know what they were doing, Your dad will know when he looks at it. Same goes for the mains cable. If it just enters the chassis directly through a rubber grommet and has adequate strain relief inside the chassis, you've no problems. If it plugs into the amp via one of those old round 3-pin Bulgin plugs, you should replace it with a modern IEC ("kettle plug") mains connector. Don't worry: this will not be regarded as vandalism of a classic! Bulgin plugs/sockets are not legal any more, on account of being fundamentally unsafe. All the best to you, Nick - and 73s to your dad.[/quote] Hi again Oxblood, My dad's call sign is G8 [b]AMP[/b], though I'm not sure which wavelength he's on these days (in both senses!) Will ask him about QSL cards, you never know. My son's just past his test too... Anyway back to the amp.. Don't think I'm going to bother changing mains/speaker lead's etc, it's not a deathtrap Bulgin, & [i]if it's not broken, don't fix it... Not sure how old it is, 70's(?) - but if it's managed all this time with what it's got, who am I to start messing with it? All the best to you mate as well, & ta for the advise & info. Here's to 17watts of pure vintage bass tone - Rock'n'Roll!!!

[quote name='Oxblood' post='22821' date='Jun 25 2007, 01:16 AM']Anyhow, the easiest way to make this amp really shake the floor will be to hook it up to a seriously efficient speaker+cab combination (hence my earlier suggestion of the Omni 10). That WEM bass cab I PM'd you about will probably be a pretty efficient creature too. If you want those lovely old Mullards tested, you know where to send them. I bet you they've still got plenty of life left in them yet. Re. the hum problem: you say it goes away when you touch the metalwork of the bass? That sounds pretty normal to me. The bass is picking up hum from the world around it - especially your body, which is acting like a big moist hum antenna. When you touch the metal of the bass, your body is commoned up to the chassis of the amp, so it can't act as an antenna any more. The hum pickup was there with your previous amp too, but that amp was less sensitive to it. It's more noticable with this amp because valves have a higher input impedance than solid state circuitry, and high impedance inputs are more sensitive to hum and cable noise. If it worries you, though, there's no harm in having the amp's earth continuity checked. Better safe than sorry.[/quote] Thanks again Oxblood. Not too worried now about the hum, adds to the 'Mojo'. My old man's a radio ham/electronics boffin from the days of valve, so he's going to give it once over before I gig it, when I next see him. He couldn't understand what I was worried about! Hopefully, through some of his contacts he may also be able to source Mullards for me too. Had a one hour anorakesque phone call yesterday extolling the virtues of Mullards, Brimars, Svetlanas.....etc! Going to think about cab. Quite fancied an "18, but due to the size will probably go for 2x12 or 1x15 -has to fit in boot of a car. Like a quite a lot of bottom end, would I still get that with 12" speakers(?) Do you think it's a good idea to replace attached speaker lead & mains cable, or should I keep it original? Not doing any harm as it is I suppose(?) I would be grateful to hear your learned opinion. Cheers

[quote name='obbm' post='22782' date='Jun 24 2007, 10:19 PM']Nice bit of history. Those output valves look like EL84s not EL34s. That would give the amp an output of around 15-17 watts.[/quote] If it is 15watts - it's a loud 15watts! Easily enough for rehearsal level (for my band at least). I will take the back off again & recheck valves, just out of interest - got to work out why it is humming anyway! Thanks Nick