chris_b

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1448145871' post='2913354'] my fretting hand has been cramping up during shows, quite painfully at times. [/quote] Cramping where, exactly. Thumb, palm, wrist, fore arm? Are all your basses sitting at the same height and angle when you play them? How are high are the strings on the bass you can't play compared to the ones you can? Does your hand cramp up on the same numbers each time? Have you tried playing the numbers you cramp up on with another bass to see what happens?

So, the band doesn't need a 5 string bass. . . . would the world stop turning if it got one? What you play should be important to the band, not what you're playing it on. I can see being asked to hit low C's when you have a 4 sting bass would be a problem but who is going to be worried if you don't play below low E? Keep the bass you "adore" and play as many interesting bass lines on it as you can think up.

Anyone who thinks first about the cost of hearing protection probably hasn't noticed that they have lost part of that critical sense and is playing Russian roulette with what they have left. Spend an evening with the TV turned down so you can only just hear it, then put the radio on in the same room. Can you follow the TV program? That's what you're facing if you loose the high mids and top end of your hearing. I've lost some of mine and it isn't fun living with a "disability" and one that restricts your ability to communicate. Trying to lip read in noisy environments and asking people to repeat every sentence is a pain. When your hearing is impaired that's it, your life changes, and not in a good way. I go up to Santa Pod a couple of times a year and I used my ACS ER15's [i]and[/i] ear defenders for the Top Fuel cars. I'm amazed how many people don't use any protection when these cars go by.

Heat isn't the enemy. All amps generate heat in their components and they are designed and built for that. Too much heat could be a problem but many amps these days have protection circuits built in to cut out if they go out of spec.

Sustain is generated by the strings and the instrument. The pickups just translate the sustain into an electric signal.

Fortunately Nile Rodgers isn't trying to make Jerry Barnes play like BE. Full marks for letting JB be his own man.

I owned a Rob Allen MB2. Fantastic sound, but it wouldn't stand out against an acoustic guitar or any other "proper" acoustic instrument.

Apparently Louis Johnson was slapping his SR with flats on his first records.

That's probably Rodney "Skeet" Curtis.

I've spoken to drummers who don't like rear ports on bass cabs because they get "overwhelmed" by the sound. A rear facing speaker will probably cause a lot more of the same reaction. Jim Bergantino is a genius with bass cabs. I'd be interested to see how this works in practice.

I'm sorry to hear about your back. Mine has done the same to me several times in the last 10 years. On thing that helps when my back "goes" is a second, wide, leather belt around the waist. Like weight lifters, it allows you to use your stomach muscles to support your back. When discs break they can mend in time but they will always be a point of weakness. I'm also doing Pilates to improve my core strength. I can hold an 8.5lb bass for 3 sets but a 9.5 bass starts to feel uncomfortable after 1 set. That's how fine things are measured these days. I've also gone for very light cabs and a trolley and I sit on a bar stool if I have to. There is some fantastic sounding gear out there at lower weights, but unfortunately they are generally at a higher cost. I spent the money because I'm not ready to retire.

I play with the cleanest tone I can get, but it seems to me that if you're relying on the sound of the cab and amp for the "dirt", your sound will change by the room, stage and how you feel like playing on any particular day. Even when you don't want it to change. Pedals will get you your sound more consistently and will be more flexible.

I saw Joe Jackson and he played a number on guitar. . . except he couldn't play guitar. He had 3 different coloured strips of tape across the back of the neck and he'd learnt the F chord shape and memorised which colour to put his hand on. He did it very well.

I'd look for a clean powerful rig and add the "dirt" with pedals etc.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1447167411' post='2905448'] Will have to wheel out 'yes, we can can' at the next gig.. [/quote] I've been trying to get the band to do this version, but we don't have enough BV's to do it convincingly. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3YhOzb74k"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3YhOzb74k[/url]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1447177929' post='2905593'] I thought the [i]ellipsis[/i] at the end of the sentence would have been sufficient [/quote] Using ancient Greek. . . . no wonder you confused everyone!

A legend. This is very sad news.

I get better mileage out of my current 2.4 ltr car than a previous 1.6 ltr version. And I get a better sound out of my 500 watt amp when it's ticking over than I would if I was pushing a smaller amp flat out. So sometimes, bigger actually is better.

What's the point of a 200 watt amp? For me, no point. My gear has to cover many different playing situations, from acoustic duo's to Led Zeppilin bands. Thanks to the volume controls I can use the same amp for each gig and with multiple cab configs.

[quote name='hairychris' timestamp='1447066038' post='2904466'] Then again I've gone to the even darker side & taken up keyboards this year. [/quote] I used to have an upright and I loved it. The piano taught me so much about music in the short time I had it. I really ought to get another.

I'd say that if you got to the point of finding out which amp actually[i] is[/i] the loudest. . . . . you're using the wrong amp, and any serious headroom that you can achieve with either amp will probably be lost on a 112 cab. You'll need at least 2 112 cabs to reach a point where differences will become apparent. I use a TH500 (and a 212) and even in loud bands I've never had both volume controls beyond 12 o'clock. The decider for me would be the tone that each amp produce. They are both well built, well spec'ed and the Puma seems to be a modern, clean tone while the TH500 is more of a full, fat and vintage tone. As I said I chose the TH500.

This kind of modding can work and might work, but if it doesn't you're back at square one, and you've bought some speakers you don't need, and a Redhead is going to be heavy no matter what you do to it. If you want a lighter combo I'd get a lighter combo.

My suggestion for a 2 pickup Jazz bass replacement would be a Lakland 44-01. These are a lot of bass for not much money. There are a couple in the classifieds which I don't think have sold yet.

You're not a bass player, you're a musician. Play as many musical instruments as you can.

Err. . . . remind my why everyone thinks that all music should be free these days?