Unknown_User

If I understand, that control plate is supposed to press up against the backs of the pots?

If the hum reduces when you touch the strings then presumably there is a ground connection to the bridge? I think there ought to be a ground connection to the back of each of the pots and also to the jack socket.

Looks brilliant that. I'm jealous of you having the 2x10 as well as the 1x15. I bet it sounds really good. No way could I justify the extra £120 quid though as I'd never be bothered carrying 2 cabs and a separate amp to gigs, never mind practice!

I always found Tool and A Perfect Circle a bit boring if I'm honest. Already on board with QotSA & the Foos. Oliveri and Mendel are good players definitely. Never heard of Guano Apes and although I know of the Melvins and Meat Puppets, I'm not familiar with their stuff. So will check them out along with some of the bands suggested further up. Thanks all!

Thanks. Again all bands I've heard a few songs by, but never really delved into. Lots of good "missed it first time around" stuff to keep me busy already in this thread!

I agree it's a broad church. To be honest I hadn't even considered Soundgarden grunge as the few songs I'd heard from them seemed much more like metal. In my mind grunge is more like punk, but I could well be totally wrong. There's a first time for everything! 😀 I've been sent a demo for a band I'm looking to audition for and the chord changes are so fast they almost sound like a bass line. So I think it may be mostly a case of keeping in time between the guitar and drums and trying to emphasise a groove rather than messing around with arpeggios and scales. I'm checking Mudhoney out at the moment and quite enjoying them. Thanks!

Thanks for the recommendations. All bands that have been pretty much on the periphery of what I listen to, so I will check them out. Pearl Jam definitely an interesting shout. The covers band I'm in briefly did Even Flow, which was a lot of fun to play.

Can anyone recommend any grunge music with good basslines? There's Nirvana obviously. Novoselic is very good. Any others I might have missed? With heavy songs where the chords change pretty fast I find it a challenge to do something more interesting than follow the root notes without it feeling and sounding forced. Can you, the good people of Basschat, recommend any music for me to listen to that might give me some inspiration? Or perhaps offer some of the good advice that's normally in such plentiful supply here? Thanks in advance! 😃

At a pub we only played once, there was a guy who was clearly pharmaceutically enhanced. Spent the whole time either shadow boxing to himself in the corner or pretending to have sex with the bubblegum machine. Runs up to us at half time to insist he gets to spend the interval singing into the microphone and gives us a little demonstration while offering us £20 if we'd let him.

I don't want to sound like I'm being flippant but if living where you do is making you feel that bad, perhaps consider moving? Especially if it's not your home town and you don't have roots there.

I'm fortunate to not have suffered depression but I can't motivate myself for toffee. So I'm looking for some advice on this myself. Is there a way you can think of to make it fun to practice? Like playing along with some songs you enjoy or whatever it was that got you into playing in the first place? If you're just doing scales or something dry like that it can be a chore rather than a pleasure. Don't make it a stress, just mess around and see where it takes you. Maybe check out some YouTube videos like Scott's Bass Lessons or something to get you into the frame of mind for playing? I've been wresting with motivation all my life and I big problems getting started on things. It's too easy to just watch nonsense on the telly or whatever. I've been trying to do some recording but as soon as I fire the computer up I always get stuck wasting my life playing games like an idiot. Last night I managed to steel myself to get over the attack of the "can't be bothereds" and once I'd got going I didn't want to stop. Although tonight it's just as likely I'll fall asleep on the couch while the wife watches Poirot or some rubbish and end up feeling bad about it! Is there a music scene where you live? Could you get out and meet other musicians? Maybe get another player in the band with a different instrument to bring some fresh ideas into it? Can you go out to jam nights, or to watch other bands play? Dealing with other musicians can be a real pain, but when it works it's great!

That's a massively harsh assessment of the Cardigans to my mind. They were a proper band with some decent songs. Lovefool was their pop number and the bass is a bit minimalist in it, but it walks along quite nicely, accentuates the groove of the song and highlights the chords I reckon. Give me something like that over either just banging out root notes or playing something very fast and technical which serves the players ego and not the song.

Can you grip the broken bit with some needlenose pliers and pull it out while you melt the solder on the joint?

The battery clip isn't required. You can take it away and it won't make a difference if you aren't using it. That pedal looks pretty tidy and minimalist inside. You should see the ones I do. Like a bird found some wire, stripboard and insulation tape and used them to make a nest in an aluminium box.

Good stuff. If I could in any way have justified it I would have really liked to get the 210 to go with the 115. Mind you I had practice last night and there's no way I'd be carrying two cabs up and down the stairs. It'd mean four trips with the head and my guitar. For smaller gigs I might stick to using my old combo to cut down on lugging gear. The Orange amp and Wharfedale cab sounded great turned up. Much clearer sound with a thicker low end and more rounded highs. The rest of the band said it sounded good. "Boomier" was the word used. I thought it sounded clear as a bell but still a really smooth sound. If the build quality is good and the thing lasts then I'll be made up with it for a bargain price.

Ah brilliant! It's 2U so they look spot on. I didn't know you could get those. Thanks.

You mean like have it properly rack mounted in a case on wheels? I've seen them before but it seems a bit overkill for a single amp head? Apologies if I'm getting confused there.

I've recently made the move from using a combo to using a separate amp and head. Do any of you have recommendations for the easiest and safest way to shift an amp head in and out of gigs/rehearsal rooms? It's a pretty heavy rack mountable one so I'm not sure if it'd fit in a rucksack. Do any of you use special bags or cases for these things? Would any bag need to be padded out to keep it safe from damage? Thanks!

Cheers! I'll have a watch of that later!

I think 9v DC from a 9v battery is the same as 9v DC from a transformer plugged into the wall, but don't quote me on that!

So you need the pedal powered up and to have a bass plugged in to the input and being played to generate a signal. Then the probe connected to a guitar cable attached to an amp. Then follow round each component around the board from the input to see where the signal stops being heard. Have I understood correctly? Also how likely am I to electrocute myself doing this? Thanks. Sorry to be dozy but I can't help it! 😀

Well it didn't turn up the day it was supposed to. Delivery was rearranged for today, but it turned up yesterday. Glad I was in! First time I've used Andertons and not massively impressed. Still no sign of the reward points that were advertised despite me asking after them twice. Anyway I had half an hour or so messing with the Orange head and 1x15 Wharfedale cab yesterday and it sounded very nice and plenty loud at volume 1. Got practice tomorrow night so I'll be making some noise with it then. It's the first time I've used anything other than a combo so it's hard for me to compare the quality with other setups, but the sound was very smooth and clean. Nice lows but better than that were the higher registers which on my existing cheapo Behringer combo (1x12 with a tweeter) can sound a bit harsh. Looking forward to gigging with it at the weekend!

Interesting. How would you use that? I have one effect that doesn't work (you just get a steady white noise when it's on) and I'd be interested to see if that could show me where it's going wrong.

I've been waiting to upgrade my amp all year and splurged £400 I don't have on the 1x15 and Orange head deal. Supposed to be arriving today. I thought it sounded pretty good on the video on the Andertons website. Better than some of the combos I'd been looking at. Have to see how it goes when it arrives, but the amp head was almost half price at under £300, which isn't bad for Orange gear.

I did the exact same thing last night and like you I used both styles as different songs lend themselves to either technique. Rebel Rebel or Jumping Jack Flash are great to play thumb style but something like Ever Fallen in Love or Valerie are better bat style. The injury point is important as I was overusing the thumb style and it was starting to make my tendons sore. I'm not sure if that's because I'm doing it wrong or just because I'm a massive tart who needs extra practice to build up stamina! That said I gigged for the first time last night with my self built kit bass which has a thicker neck than my other bass and I found the thumb style grip much easier to maintain.