Count Bassy

I just want to say that, having read through this thread, it (IMHO) exemplifies what a good bass chat thread should be. People with differing views making points, answering points and making reasoned counter points. A bit of humour thrown in, no insults, no shouting. All in all a pleasure to read, and it makes you think about what's being said rather than jumping to a pre-held opinion.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1418827961' post='2633758'] Oh and BTW what is a Pro anyway? [/quote] You can tell if you're a pro by looking at the box your music stand came in. If it says "Professional" or "Pro" anywhere in the description or name then you're obviously a pro.

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1418602637' post='2631699'] I would like to replace the pickup wires on my jazz bass with cloth wiring. [/quote] Just curious as to why?

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1418808260' post='2633474'] , then play the parts of the song to make sure he remembers them. I've heard people shout, oh, I like this one, just on him twiddling and I get cheesed off cos the song has lost its impact. [/quote] Noodling between songs; definitely a No No.

He's probably trying to source someone else before he tells you to f*** off!

Just to say that I have just posted a review of the Carvin BX700 in the review forum. Should anyone be interested.

CARVIN BX700 BASS AMP Class D with Tube Pre-amp 500W into 4 Ohm 700W into 2 Ohm List Price £425. [u][size=4]BACKGROUND[/size][/u] I have been looking for something small and light to supplement or even replace my Marshall DBS7400 for some time. The Marshall is a wonderful beast but weighs a ton (well, around 30Kg uncased). I had been considering an LMIII, but saw some good comments on this Carvin, and then one came up for sale here at a reasonable price, so I thought I'd give it a go. [size=4]Used with:[/size] [size=4]Ibanez SR605 with Status half rounds.[/size] [size=4]Ibanez GWB 35 with unknown D'addario rounds.[/size] [size=4]Vanderkley 112MNT[/size] [u]OUTSIDE[/u] [size=4]This looks to be a well put together bit of kit, and my only real complaint from the outside is why give you one Speakon and one jack output when they could have given you two Speakon/Jack combos.[/size] The illumination of the front panel is not very subtle, and not very even, with what seems to be 6 red LEDs indirectly reflecting onto the front. Not a subtle glow from behind like some amps have. It would be nice if you could adjust the brightness, or at least turn them off. The in/out switch for the valve is on the back rather than the front (more on this later). The red/maroon colour of the front looks good and is almost the exact same as the baffle plate of the Vanderkley cab, and they certainly look good together (picture may follow)! [u]SOUND:[/u] I was running this into 8 Ohms, so was probably only getting 300 watts out of it. Nevertheless the first impression was that it was loud. However I then found that after 12 o'clock on the main volume it didn't really get any louder. This obviously could be due to combination of the signal and the settings I was using causing it to limit. It is pretty loud, but not as loud as it first seemed it might be. The other first impression was that, whatever I did with the settings it always sounded a bit stilted/compressed. [size=4]This may be due to the fact that I am used to the DBS7400, which although only 400Watts continuous can do peaks of 4000W.[/size] This amp has bass, sweepable low mid, sweepable high mid, and treble controls, a "flat to scooped" contour control, and a switchable 9 band EQ. For me personally all tone controls all "Flat" and compression off did not give me the sound I wanted, so I started to play with the controls. Now I'm a simple soul and not used to sweepable tone controls, and must admit that getting a sound I liked was quite difficult. All the tone controls (and the compression) seem to be quite aggressive in their effect. If you like extreme tones than that might be a good thing, but personally I found it quite difficult to get any subtlety. I ended up with the treble backed right off, a bit low and high mid boost, and bass around flat. The bass control seems to be centred quite low and while cutting it could be quite effective boosting the bass seems to make the whole thing lose 'definition'. Now with my DBS7400 I can put everything "flat", plug in, and there's the sound I want almost straight away. Obviously this could just be a case of this is what I'm used to, and personal taste, but I recently had the chance to try out a Markbass LMIII with the same bass and cab, and found the same. Also, in both cases (DBS and the LMIII), if I did want to make adjustments then I found it very easy and smooth. Of course it could be that the BX700 is truly flat when the controls are flat and the other two aren't! On a positive side it does give a nice bit of grit when you crank the "Drive" to up near 10. VALVE: Now all the above is obviously personal preference. What is not though, and is a big disappointment to me, is that there is (to me) NO audible difference in sound between "Valve in" and "Valve bypassed". I did e-mail Carvin about this and got a quick reply which said that the effect is "very subtle". Perhaps I am cloth-eared, but I could detect no difference at all. If this is normal then I can see no reason for including the valve at all, other than marketing. (If the valve did make a difference then I would have said that blend control, on the front, would have been nice). Of course it could be that this amp is faulty in this respect (Bypass switch not actually working?), or that this particular valve specimen is not very 'Valvey'. [u]CONCLUSION[/u] PROS: · Generally seems well built · Small and light · Pretty Loud · Lots of tone controls · Remote mute and Graphic In/out control [size=4]· Will go to700W at 2 Ohm (I didn't try it)[/size] [size=4]· A lot of amp for £425 (List)[/size] CONS: · To me it always sounds a bit compressed · Tone controls (including compression) are not very subtle (personal taste) · Valve in/out makes no difference (that I can hear). · Two Speakon outs would be good · Any bass boost makes it lose definition. Apart from the fact that the switching the valve in and out makes no detectable difference to the tone most of the comments I make are very much personal preference, so it might be a great amp for someone else. However it's not the amp for me, so I will be looking out for (probably) an LMIII, and then be moving this one on. (Though I'm tempted to try another valve in it first). Comments welcome!

[quote name='BeardyBob' timestamp='1418304486' post='2628967'] nothing can make metal sound good. nothing. [/quote] I don't know; those transparent "Zero Radius" cables help.

I used to do this with All Right Now, for the big jump up the fretboard in the chorus. Don't need it now for that one as I've got used to doing it without, but it was invaluable at the time, especially on a darkish stage. AND I did it fairly recently for a version of 16 tons where I jump around a bit, and I jump up to the G at 10th fret of the A string. My main problem here is that I have a tendency to get drawn to a fret marker, ie I tend to end up at the 9th fret if I'm not careful - again hopefully only temporarily. I find this playing Johhny B Goode in Bb as well - can end hitting the A instead. So its OK by me !!!

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1417812003' post='2624324'] Cheers chaps, I've just learnt something. I'd always been labouring under the impression that the resistance of a cable had a significant effect, so I'm happy to be corrected. [/quote] Resistance [i][b]will[/b][/i] have an effect if there is capacitance as well, because the two together form a low pass filter. The cable mentioned reduces the effective capacitance by a large amount, so the resistance is that much less significant. Unfortunately, [i]in the real world[/i], there will always be some resistance and some capacitance.I

What about the Grolsch guitar stand? Buy twelve bottles of Grolsch. Drink them. You won't care where you put your guitar! (and you get some handy strap locks for free)

Oi! Daltrey: No!

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1417639333' post='2622615'] OBBM here [/quote] But are the handles any good??

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1417641871' post='2622653'] Absolute zero would relate to resistance. Cable resistance is insignificant compared to both pickup impedance and amp input impedance, so tone wouldn't be significantly affected. [/quote] Plus, if either capacitance or resistance is zero then the value of the other is irrelevant, tonally. This cable claims to reduce the apparent cable capacitance by a factor of 10 in a 20 foot cable, and I have no reason to doubt that it does. However, is it, for the average player, worth the hassle of having a special cable and more batteries to worry about? If I were that bothered about my tone then I'd probably go wireless, with the added advantage that that brings.

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1417272165' post='2618743'] I have to disagree spacey- both the DBS heads and the vba heads are absolutely superb. It's just a shame that the success of their guitar line has overshadowed all other attempts to diversify their product line. Perhaps a victim of their own success? [/quote] I agree. Never played a VBA400, but heard a few, and they've always sounded godd to me. I have a DBS7400, and it's brilliant (but very heavy).

Worth noting that a two pole cable end plug will fit and connect into a 4 pole chassis socket, but not the other way round, using 4 pole chassis sockets means a bit more flexibility on what you can plug in. An lot of speker cables have 4 pole connectors, but only use two core cable, and only the first pair of connections.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1416931290' post='2615176'] I have that autumnal thought more and more often these days. Still, best not to dwell... [/quote] Skank, Have you started to think in terms of how long you might have left, rather than how old you are, yet? It really bothers me at the moment, but all the older people I know don't seem to be worried about it.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1416909737' post='2614830'] Not so easy if the plug and power supply are an all in one unit. [/quote] Good point.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1416850335' post='2614275'] Still about half your age though. [/quote] Yes. Frightening. BY the time she's my age I'll most likely be dead.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1416905553' post='2614788'] The term "zero radius" makes me wonder if the object in question would exist at all. As we know that the larger the radius, the flatter the board, wouldn't these flat boards have been sanded to a radius which approaches infinity? Or am I thinking too much? [/quote] Beat me to it.

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1416757498' post='2613210'] Always my first choice when looking to makea purchase. Something to think abou though is that you obviously get euro plugs on everything. Not a problem for some things, but buying something with a dedicated power supply means you may have to purchase a UK one seperately. [/quote] Or simply change the plug to a UK one.

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1416775258' post='2613504'] Not what I expected at all. I shouldn't be surprised really, the voice is just as mature as her playing in such young talent. [/quote] She's 28, hardly that young anymore.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1416819090' post='2613782'] Poorly worded waiver if you ask me. It needs to be fair for all parties. Waiving your right to complain about noise from the venue means that you can't even complain when the noise is not music related (or uncontrolled fighting) and opens up the possibility of landlords who are benefitting from the noise to abuse the clear loopholes in the waiver to keep the punters happy. Having set times at which noise can occur (in keeping with current legislation), what kind of noise and at what miaximum level should be specified so that it is clear when a complaint can be dismissed or taken seriously. That would make things more amicable for the venue, residents and the poor sods who have to get involved to sort it out. I'm all for change but it needs to be presented properly from the start or it just doesn't look like it should be taken seriously. [/quote] I refer the honorable member to the answer I gave earlier. I.e. as I see it, this is a petition to get things moving and debated. Any legislation that it leads to will obviously take account of the concerns you raise.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1416789758' post='2613679'] You've covered the situation where no music was being played. There are plenty of situations where people have lived next to pubs for years with no issues, but the music has got louder and the people leaving have got rowdier. Most people will put up with an acceptable level of noise. The proposal would take away someone's right to complain that the noise has become unacceptable. [/quote] Well, I'm sure that the starters of this petition probably meant to allow for that situation, but I agree that they possibly missed something in it's wording. However the point of the petition is to get the situation debated in parliament (which, I believe, the Gov are obliged to do if it gets 100,000 signatures). Obviously any legislation it might lead to is going to be more than a few hundred words long, and thus contain far more detail.

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1416781059' post='2613597'] Well I have to say this happened at the Foum in Kentish Town. Opposite there used to be a pub. It's now been redeveloped as new flats. Every time I come out of a gig there now the security are trying to shoo you away. Being a reasonable fella I asked why they were doing this, seeing as I was now out of the venue an on a public highway and they told me they'd had complaints from the new flats opposite so were trying to disperse crowds as quickly as possible so as not to get who knows what sort of abatement orders. I'm sorry but the Forum has been there for a heck of a long time and those flats haven't. You know what you're moving into in a scenario like that. [/quote] Yep, and the Fleece in Bristol [b]was[/b] facing the same situation, but Bristol council have adopted the agent of change principal, so the flat developers have to implement the sound proofing required. This is good news which I hadn't realised this until I read the article that TimR linked to.