chris_b

The Who are the same. You can't change any of Pete Townsend's chord shapes or inversions. They just won't work, so poor old Roger Daltry has to keep on hitting those notes when most other singers of his age have dropped their numbers by several keys. Stevie Wonder is still in the original keys but he takes weekly singing lessons to keep his voice in shape. Maybe your singer needs lessons, exercises and advice more than a key change.

Doris Stokes was a happy medium.

. . . . or choose another band to copy.

This isn't about what you want. It's about what you need. Tune down and all the required changes that entails, get a 5 string bass and embrace the flexibility or get another singer.

For every note there's an equivalent rest. Work out the patterns the notes make. Then all you have to do is substitute no note and call it a rest. The count carries on the same whether there is a note or a rest.

I bought my Fender Precision in Brussels in early 1969. Brand new for £90 9/- (that's 45p). About half the London price at the time. Unfortunately it was a very average instrument, as were so many back then, anyway it did me for the next 25 years or so. Apart from 1 gig, unplayed since I moved to 5 strings in the mid 90's.

All IMO. . . . but I'd say there's arguably no point in using flats on an active bass. The possibilities, the dynamics and tonal range of a pre amp are largely wasted on flats. I've put flats on active and passive Jazz type basses and the end result was that I'd moved the sound so far over to P bass that I'd have been better off with a real P bass. In the 90's I upgraded my old Precision with Bartolini pickups. It was a 110% night and day improvement. A year later I thought I'd finish the job and add a pre amp. I put in a top of the range Bart pre amp and improved the sound by . . . about 5%. IME good pickups give you the most benefit to the sound of a P bass. The preamp and J pickup (which I also did) gave such little improvement that, all this time later, I still regret wasting all that money. If you really want a pre amp I'd suggest an outboard pre amp, such as the Sadowsky. My 2p.

What pickups and strings are you using on this P bass.

Let me try tempting you with a Sadowsky RV5. Ad at bottom of post, in my sig.

I saw a guy last night using a passive Fender Jazz through a Super Compact, a Markbass LM800 and an EBS Valve Drive. An absolutely excellent sound.

Good move. I use 1 or 2 SC's depending on the gig. Last week I did a gig with the keyboard player I sold my Berg AE112's to, and I checked out their weight. 30lbs each used to be light but now seems way too heavy.

The difference between the 8 and 4 ohm rating on any amp will be minimal and barely noticeable in a band. What you [i]will[/i] notice is the number of speakers and, more importantly, the sensitivity of the cab. I have a TH500 and use 1 or 2 Super Compacts. I reckon 1 SC with your TH350 would sound very good. This cab is pretty sensitive, which means your watts will make a lot more more volume so the 8 ohms rating shouldn't be the problem that you might find with other, less sensitive, 8 ohm cabs. The BB2 would also be a very good 1 cab solutions. I'd give Alex at Barefaced a call and he can answer your questions.

First point. . . . you're not going to get that tone out of any other amp and cab combination. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just a fact. My last rig was an Aguilar TH500 through a Bergantino CN212. What a great sound. I'm now playing the TH500 through 2 Barefaced Super Compacts. Another world beating sound. Both these rigs are a quarter of the size and weight of the Ashdowns and will go louder with (IMO) better tone. That's the advances in modern gear for you. There are many choices out there but these rigs are two of the best and the ones I know about. You'll need to start auditioning some of the recommendations you'll be getting. Good luck.

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1495014979' post='3300398'] I sososo didn't realise that much Tim had passed!!! [/quote] That's what Tim does when you're not looking! Chaps, here's to the next 10.

When I started Duck Dunn and Bill Wyman were the inspirations for most of the bass players on the planet. Bass playing has come along way, melodically, technically and every other way you can come up with. I started ahead of the bass game and saw it race past and leave me in the dust in about 1973. I'd like to have kept up but I'm just better at being what I was back then. Doesn't stop me appreciating others who have a different take on bass playing. From Adam Clayton and Dusty Hill to Wojtek and our own Spoombung it's all good. Bass playing just gets better and better.

I like it. He's an accomplished bassist. It's an exhibition piece of various extreme bass playing techniques. Watching some of this guy's other videos, I'm impressed and wish I could do even a little of that.

Pre amps are switched on by inserting the jack plug. That's how they work. I'd need a confirmation from the manufacturer before I'd believe anyone who says theirs does not do this.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1494965218' post='3300087'] . . . . wondering if any of you have any secrets or tips for overcoming this sort of thing. [/quote] Yes. Don't do it.

Your lack of homework is showing.

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1494921681' post='3299522'] I play without aids or plugs but we don't play very loud. [/quote] Hearing damage is accumulative and imperceptible. Over time "not very loud" might just be adding to the straws on the camel's back.

It's not really an issue. . . . or even a talking point! This is an active bass and they do things differently. Unplugging the jack is what you do to save yourself the bother and expense of needlessly replacing batteries. My Lakland's battery lasts over 12 months and 150 gigs. If I left it plugged in it might last 2 months or even less. I unplug my passive bass when it's not in use.

[quote name='gs_triumph' timestamp='1494874738' post='3299251'] Great idea! Might give that a bash [/quote] I reread that and it sounded like I was saying put 2 straplocks on the bass. . . what I meant was keep the button on the bass (in the usual place) and put 2 locks on the strap.

I know several guys who use hearing aids and they take them out for the gig. . . . but don't put any plugs or hearing protection in. A couple are very loud players as well. I don't understand why anyone, especially a working musician, would intentionally make themselves deafer after getting themselves to the point where HA's are necessary.

If you put 2 Dunlop strap locks on a long strap, at the bridge end of the bass, at the required places for pick and fingers, you could easily switch from one to the other with very little fuss.

I was in a band with a guitarist who used a Travis Bean and apparently on cold days the neck was quite uncomfortable to hold until it warmed up, which it didn't do very quickly. A whole cold bass would not be my idea of a good bass to play. If you're in California I guess this won't be a problem but chilly UK. . . it might be.