silverfoxnik

[quote name='Magnolia' post='72568' date='Oct 11 2007, 07:23 AM']Pleased to see Geddy pull out the Rickenbacker too. And the chickens, utter madness. Nick[/quote] +1 Very funny though...Good photos...much better than mine!

As a follow-up, I just wanted to say that Rush were brilliant at Wembley on Tuesday night, though from where I was sitting, the sound could have been a bit better. I'm still not that familiar with the songs but as a live band, they really have something a bit special about them. The drummer did a great solo in the second half and powered through the songs all night long. The guitarist, who someone here very amusingly said "..is slowly morphing into Peter Schmeichel , played more guitars in one show than I've ever seen!! Very good player though.. Geddy Lee is talked about a lot on bass forums including this one and certainly, he's very impressive to watch from a bass playing point of view. But to be honest, I was more blown away by his songwriting abilities and his ease at connecting with the audience. As I said to my friend from the States who sorted out the tickets, there's something almost 'shamanic' about Geddy which i didn't expect at all. As for his basses and sound, I'd have loved to have heard him play his Wals, but he gets a great sound out of his array of Jazz basses. I was surprised that when he used his Rickenbacker in the encore, it didn't really cut through the mix IMHO. Quite how he does it all; sing, play bass, play keyboards, use footpedals and lead the band, I don't know. He's obviously a very talented person!! Best thing though was his sense of humour, as shown by his choice of bass rig which I'm not quite sure how to describe, but here's a picture of it: [attachment=2811:Oct_07_223.jpg] I'd definitely go and see them again, that's for sure... Anyway, thanks for all the song suggestions and to Walman for the loan of the DVD & CDs....Good to see you there as well Nig! Cheers Nik [quote name='silverfoxnik' post='63953' date='Sep 22 2007, 10:28 AM']Hi Folks A friend of mine is coming over from the States in October and he's a mate of Geddy Lee so he's invited me to go see them at Wembley with him; free tickets, access all areas, get to meet the band afterwards etc, etc!! All of which is brilliant and I realise I'm very lucky to be asked..I'm sure it'll be a real blast and I'm really looking forward to it! But, to be honest, I've never listened to Rush before and don't know anything about them other than the fact that Geddy is a great player and certainly, one of the most respected bassists around. Truth be told, I'm probably more aware of him as a bassist because he has long been a user of Wal basses, rather than knowing of him through his music - though I understand he pretty much uses a Fender Jazz all the time these days? Anyway, to spare my blushes, I really need to swot up a bit beforehand. So I wanted to ask all you Rush / Geddy fans which Rush tunes are the real gems in their collection, the ones I should definitely get to know before Oct 9th?? Any help much appreciated, thanks Nik[/quote]

Hi Nig, Thanks - look forward to hooking up with you..I'll send you a text when I get there! And thanks for the other replies folks...looks like it'll be a tight squeeze getting there for the start but at least there'll be plenty of time to relax and see the band once I finally get there! Cheers Nik [quote name='nig' post='70847' date='Oct 7 2007, 10:57 PM']Hi Nik, same dilemma here, but not as far, if you do the M25, M11 to A406 north circ to wembley or similar then, as i've got away with in the past, wedge the car up a side street and leg it to the venue, im gonna try and be at the bar for 7 and will call you to see if your about, good luck my friend.[/quote]

Hi Folks, I'm going to see Rush at Wembley Arena on Tuesday night and have to drive up there from the south coast which is normally a 2 to 3 hour journey depending on traffic. And with Wembley always being busy on gig nights I can see that I'm going to struggle to get there in time for the show. So I wondered if anyone knew what time the band normally goes on stage (doors are at 7.30pm), whether they have a support band and roughly how long they play for? It's going to be too late for me to get a train back so I really do need to take the car but I'm worried I won't get there in time..Especially with having to find a parking space as well... I'm looking forward to it but I'll definitely enjoy it more if I can reduce the travel stress that goes with it!! Cheers Nik

[quote name='nig' post='64306' date='Sep 23 2007, 11:29 AM']Thats a moot point, I do agree with you, however, im not a rush fan, but bought snakes and arrows as im a bit of a 3 piece prog rock sucker... and im glad I now have a reference on the songs for live otherwise I may not have connected with their style or indeed song length ! so without the knowledge of their back catalouge but an understanding of the sound they make, I agree that for me most of the set will be 'blind' and to that end im exicted to see them. Nik...I still have your number im tues 9th N9 ROW V SEAT 97. hope to see ya ![/quote] Hi Nig...Great - will definitely try and find you on the night! BTW folks, I didn't mean to open a great big debate up about Rush, though it is very interesting to read it all and thanks for the help. Like all bands that are successful and have been around a long time, they obviously divide opinion which to my mind is a good thing. Much rather that than be middle of the road and keep everyone happy.. I'm going to listen to some of the songs beforehand that people have suggested but I'm expecting that they will be much better live than on record. Great players and great bands always are and I'm looking forward to that whatever the records sound like! Cheers Nik

[quote name='Lorne' post='64255' date='Sep 23 2007, 01:45 AM']DiMarzio's mate [/quote] So it's the passive design with 2 p bass style dimarzios, like my old 1984 BC Rich Eagle (not the USA model)... Great sounding basses!

Looks amazing Lorne!! What pick ups are those? Nik

[quote name='nig' post='64229' date='Sep 22 2007, 11:59 PM']Hi Nik, snakes and arrows, the one the tour is for is a great album, alot of it is on the set list, im going too,tuesday I think, which day are you going, i'll buy you a beer. [/quote] Hi Nig, Good to hear from you..I'm going Tuesday 9th I think so hope to see you there!! I'll PM you my mobile so we can arrange to meet somewhere inside the building?? And thanks to one and all for the song suggestions; that'll keep me busy over the next 2 weeks for sure.. Seems Geddy / Rush really have a lot of fans! Cheers Nik

[quote name='beerdragon' post='63965' date='Sep 22 2007, 11:03 AM']Why am i seeing black bars instead of a set list. but its ok in the reply [/quote] I'm seeing that too?? Thanks guys for the suggestions - I realise I am a lucky barsteward so my homework is my penance for that fact! [i]"And when you get to meet old Bignose, give him the address of this place & suggest he pops 'round! Jon."[/i] Good idea Jon - will suggest it if I get the chance.. Nik

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='63915' date='Sep 22 2007, 08:17 AM']Cheers Nik - I can't help thinking 3 black basses is over the top - mind you, if I'd have been able to buy yours before it sold, it would have been four![/quote] Three black basses is definitely not over the top John and your 3 are great examples!! Nothing wrong with a themed collection of basses either... As Deep Thought points out the black/maple is a really cool combination!

Hi Folks A friend of mine is coming over from the States in October and he's a mate of Geddy Lee so he's invited me to go see them at Wembley with him; free tickets, access all areas, get to meet the band afterwards etc, etc!! All of which is brilliant and I realise I'm very lucky to be asked..I'm sure it'll be a real blast and I'm really looking forward to it! But, to be honest, I've never listened to Rush before and don't know anything about them other than the fact that Geddy is a great player and certainly, one of the most respected bassists around. Truth be told, I'm probably more aware of him as a bassist because he has long been a user of Wal basses, rather than knowing of him through his music - though I understand he pretty much uses a Fender Jazz all the time these days? Anyway, to spare my blushes, I really need to swot up a bit beforehand. So I wanted to ask all you Rush / Geddy fans which Rush tunes are the real gems in their collection, the ones I should definitely get to know before Oct 9th?? Any help much appreciated, thanks Nik

[quote name='bassman2790' post='63930' date='Sep 22 2007, 09:28 AM']I'd love to but the Euro range goes for about four times what I paid for the BB415 and apart from the problem with the B I love it.[/quote] I had a BB615 and the low B on that wasn't as well defined as some other 5 string basses I'd had, though in every other respect, the BB615 was the best value 5 string I'd tried (apart from maybe an MTD Kingston). Anyway, I made a few changes that improved it; 1) set the action so that the break angle over the bridge was increased (definitely helped) 2) changed the stock strings to a nickel set (can't remember the brand) and the tighter wrap of the string helped the definition of the B 3) adjusted the pick up height, bringing the pick ups closer to the B string, though you have to watch that the pick up aren't so close that the magnets starts to affect the tuning of the string I know that other forum members here have changed the bridge on their BB615s to either a Badass or a Gotoh for example, and that apparently makes a big difference. The other 2 things I considered doing were to have a shim put in the neck so that you can increase the break angle even more and modify the B string to be through body stringing. I thing this particular problem with the BB615 (and 415) basses is caused by the 34" scale length coupled with the relatively lightweight stock bridge. Musicman basses are 34" scale and the low B on the MM 5s I've had have always been great... So, changing the bridge and getting a good luthier to make it string through body could IMHO make a big difference to the low B on your Yamaha though there's obviously a cost attached to the work. If you like the way the bass sounds and you like the way it plays then it is probably worth getting the mods done and sticking with the bass. And, though the Spector 5 may seem like the way to go, as I recall, they have a much closer string spacing than the Yamahas which you just may not get on with? Good luck with it! Nik

Great looking collection! Had one of those JVs myself and it was a beautiful sounding bass...wish I still had it. Anyway, three excellent basses and very cool looking

[quote name='WalMan' post='62396' date='Sep 18 2007, 10:47 PM']Cheers Nik. Sorry you got cornered by Mrs Walman in the break! But just think you could walk away at the end of the night I had to take her home and she hasn't stopped talking yet Come to that I don't think she has stopped in 30 years PA hmmmm yes Hopefully a clean loud though & that was the small rig Plugs it depends what you want to spend I picked up a set that have interchangeable attenuators - so you can set how much or little you want to cut level - from the drum bit of GAK for about £20 and I think Lee in Lick has some slightly different ones for about £12-15.[/quote] Hi Al, The PA sounded great and my only criticism would be that the bass could have been a bit louder in the mix, but I am biased of course! Will check out the plug ins - thanks, Mrs Walman was enjoying herself at the gig and that was good to see. And, as I was there by myself, it was very kind of her to take pity on a complete stranger like me... Cheers Nik

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='62360' date='Sep 18 2007, 09:46 PM']In Ear Monitor Royal National Institute for the Deaf[/quote] OK - Cheers!!

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='62288' date='Sep 18 2007, 07:21 PM']I used a Peavey T_Max (350W @ 4ohms) into a Peavey 2x10 no problem. They used to do a T-max combo with 2x10 as well. Its not exactly light though. I would still be tempted to ditch the lot and get a good GK cab. Have you got the GK fixed?[/quote] Hi John Thanks for that.... No I haven't fixed the GK cab yet because to repair it with decent speakers (Neos etc) is at least £100.. Therefore, i figured that if I can find a decent s/h cab here on BC for less than £100 I can probably sell the GK cab with it's one working driver for £30 on Ebay and be quids in (I think?). Plus I've got the GK Backline 1x15 to sell as well so that will help balance the books even more. I'm using my old 1x15 at the moment and that's great to my ears so on that score, I'm quite happy. But I want a back up and because I've invested more in basses lately, I don't really want to have to spend £400 plus on a cab. Though I know that's what you think would be the best way for me to go and you're probably right!! Nik

[quote name='alexclaber' post='62284' date='Sep 18 2007, 07:14 PM']I think more often than not it's not so much the acoustics as it is failing to account for the acoustics! You can't set up the same way and position the speakers the same at every gig. Also the polar response of speakers is terribly overlooked - guitar cabs in particular are extremely directional. A lot of this comes down to how the drummer and guitarist play - if they really understand their tone and dynamics then everything else tends to fall into place. If they don't get it, then it can get really messy! IEMs would be nice but it's rather a sledgehammer to crack a nut, especially as many venues could be played with an unmiked drum kit - if only sound engineers would get over their desire to keep increasing the membership of RNID... Alex[/quote] Hi Alex, what does IEM and RNID stand for?? Nik