Count Bassy

[quote name='thinman' timestamp='1352926959' post='1869543'] These were fairly new Neutriks - they certainly didn't come with ferrules. [/quote] Actually, thinking about it, you're right. The newer ones have a sort of leaf inside the holes, so the screw does not make direct contact with the strand of wire.

Be careful with the specs. All par cans of the same physical dimension (even with the same LED count) are not equal. Even the power consumption is not necessarily a good indicator since the efficiency varies widely (but is probably better than most). You really need to compare the light output in terms of lumens, assuming that this is available and that the manufacturer hasn't lied. Also take account of the beam angle. Do you want floods or spots? For the same power a spot will give higher brightness, but over a smaller area obviously. At the very best current LEDs are 10 times the efficiency of a filament bulb,so a 16 watt LED unit like you mention will, at best, be like a 160 watt conventional bulb in total output, although that output will be more concentrated.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352929147' post='1869577'] Like most things Leo was involved in, he got it right first time, if it ain't broke...... [/quote] If that were the case then surely the jazz and the stingray need never have existed.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1352894178' post='1868874'] Some people on here just like to moan and think they are superior to others etc. It gets boring after a while we we are all used to it. [/quote] Agreed. One of the few negatives about BC.

Excellent song - still being played after almost 50 years. Ignore the musical snobbery you find here - play it, see the punters' eyes light up, and enjoy the moment. Wish I'd written it.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1352819296' post='1867810'] If you're struggling and want to keep the exact bass part then I'm sure there's someone on YT who's nailed it note for note. Failing that,[b] do your own thing![/b] It's a great bass line, but the solo is anything and everything between E, D and A. [/quote] This. - just keep the groove going

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1352724270' post='1866494'] Bring back the Old Grey Whistle Test! [/quote] Definitely this.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1352732052' post='1866642'] I love the ritual of vinyl---and the larger artwork etc---but I don't try and kid myself that it sounds "better" because it doesn't. Some genres that I like (reggae, dub, jazz) sound good on vinyl but I think thats because the analogue recording and scratches/pops etc add something to the atmosphere, not because it makes it sounds "better". Yes a lot of modern music is horribly compressed but thats a choice made by the producer, not a limitation of the digital format. Properly recorded, well mixed music sounds amazing on digital. [/quote] +1 Pretty well exactly what I was going to say. + the fact that however good vinyl is/was it starts to deteriorate from the first time you play it. CDs are not indestructible as once claimed, but relative to vinyl there get pretty close to it (and that's speaking as one who used to take incredible care of vinyl). Also CD is pretty much limited to the music - a 12" vinyl 'Album' was far more than that

[quote name='thinman' timestamp='1351938095' post='1857031'] Agree - I prefer speakons but it's worth periodically opening them and checking that the screws remain tight - I've had some of mine loosen up as the conductors relax away from the screw with time and vibration. [/quote] And if fitting them yourself make sure that you use the copper ferrule that is supplied with the plug.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1352144289' post='1859373'] First I must repeat I haven't heard the difference. That said, on a bass I imagine it's hardly for the open B-string, but for strings fretted at the first few frets. The higher the nut, the more tension you create in the string when fretting close to the nut, and the tone frequency goes up. As a result, for perfec intonation, you'd need most compensation on the thinnest string, and least on the thickest. I also seem to remember thinner strings are more prone to this effect in themselves, but please correct me if I'm wrong. If memory serves the theoretical picture is troubled somewhat by string stiffness depending on construction and thickness, in such a way that some strings would not reverberate in their entire length. I think they do not reduce the compensation of nuts for those aspects, and why should they. It'd only interest geeks, and for no practical reason at all, I believe. best, bert [/quote] I played around with a temporary compensated nut, basically being a bit of bent wire slid under the strings thus acting as an angled zero fret. Got to say that the overall effect was impressive. Set up the nut first, based on intonation over the first few frets, then set up the bridge intonation based on the normal harmonic/12th fret thing. - Intonation all up the neck was notably improved. Tried it on a different bass and it had less effect, though still some (perhaps the nut was cut lower?) Didn't proceed with it as a permanent thing because I didn't fancy making permanent mods to the bass, and ideally it would need to be adjustable for different strings/gauges etc. - but as a principle then it seems great.

Just to try and take the view of the other band members: If I were in a band and someone said "we need another set - what do we fancy doing?" , then fine. If someone said "We need another set and here are the 12 we're going to do" my gut reaction would be 'Who the f*** does he think he is'? Sounds like you wanted different things to the rest of the band. None of you are wrong, but they should have said clearly if that's not what they wanted to do. They may not have been lying as such, just not able to fit in what they thought they could.

[color=#A4A4A4][size=3]Posted 03 November 2012 - 02:55 PM[/size][/color] [color=#282828][size=3][b][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&section=findpost&pid=1852236"][/url]Count Bassy, on 29 October 2012 - 04:56 PM, said:[/b][/size] [size=3]or a compensated nut![/size] No, [i]you[/i] are! [/color] [color=#282828]Damn - I've been rumbled.[/color]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1351684582' post='1854090'] A guitarist I played with many years ago always tuned down a semi-tone and then capoed the first fret as standard. He reckoned it gave better intonation up the neck and avoided the need for subtle retuning if he re-capoed further up. Steve [/quote] It probably would help with intonation, effectively being a zero fret, so you don't have that sharpening when going from open string to the first fret.

I would change everything to Speakon if it was me. Far more robust connections, and almost impossible to touch or short out the connections accidentally (and speaker voltages can be enough to make you jump a bit). Jacks originated (AFIK) as telecoms connectors and were never rally designed for speaker type currents. Speakons are. You can get speakons which also take a jack connector if you want to keep your options open.

[color=#A4A4A4][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3] Posted Today, 06:37 PM[/size][/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=4] [size=3][b] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&section=findpost&pid=1852234"][/url]Count Bassy, on 29 October 2012 - 04:54 PM, said:[/b][/size][size=3] There's a non-sequitur here. There are bands that play the original lines and arrangements but are still crap, and there are brilliant bands that 'do their own thing'. The two classifactions, i.e. Crap/Good and Original/Non-original, are not intrinsically linked.[/size][/size][/font][/color] [quote name='witterth' timestamp='1351535854' post='1852341'] no there isnt, and no there are not. there are however just good bands out there [/quote] Well you obviously disagree with me. That's OK - you're perfectly entitled to be wrong. That's a joke by the way ! Perhaps we've just seen different bands.

With reference to another thread: As far as I can see it's a cover version and they haven't even bothered to learn the original lines very well. - a bunch of 'can't be arsed' lazy toe rags hiding behind the pretence of 'doing it their own way'. Disgusting I call it.

[quote name='andyjingram' timestamp='1351516079' post='1851990'] Measuring scale length as 'nut to 12 fret x 2' is for the simple reason that the saddles are moveable. Any bass with it's intonation set correctly will have each saddle a different distance from the nut. A bass with very high action might have them much further from the nut than one with very low action, or the bass may just not be intonated properly. Bottom line, string lengths for a given scale will not always be the same- the distance of nut to 12th fret ([b]unless you have some [i]serious[/i] bass problems[/b]) will be the same on any bass of a given scale. [/quote] or a compensated nut!

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1351527564' post='1852209'] Pah! You don't believe that for a second. You're not trying to tell me you haven't heard a band murdering a song because they're doing in their own way and not wanted to clout them with a nearby piece of furniture for being crap. If you are, you've gone down in my estimation [/quote] There's a non-sequitur here. There are bands that play the original lines and arrangements but are still crap, and there are brilliant bands that 'do their own thing'. The two classifactions, i.e. Crap/Good and Original/Non-original, are not intrinsically linked.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1351329825' post='1850095'] I love the Dingwall multi scale, 34 to 36.25, all in four strings! No problems changing mid-gig to a normal 34", either. [/quote] I wish Dingwall would do, say, a 32 - 34" ish five string.

[quote name='StephenFerguson' timestamp='1351482483' post='1851663'] There is no excuse for owning a headless bass [/quote] -1 - they are extremely practical!, Balance well, do't smash into peoples heads so easily, (and don't get knocked out of tune if they do), and they are easier to shove up the guitarist's arse if he gets too primadonna -ish (though you could argue that you don't want it to be easy for him).

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1351511038' post='1851866'] "own stamp" or "my version" often means "I cant be arsed" to learn it properly Just a thought (dons tin hat) W [/quote] -1 To which I will add - if you're going to recreate the original in all respects than you might as well put the CD on.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1351498725' post='1851694'] I was once listening to a band playing Paranoid and noticed the bassist stuck to root notes throughout, not playing a single one of the runs. I asked a few of the people I was with what they thought of the song and they all thought the band played it well. Most people mix what they're hearing with the version that's being replayed on their own heads, I think. [/quote] IMHO most people don't care as long as long as it's done well, and 'done well' does not necessarily mean being true to the original. They are generally there to have a good time, which is generally more to do with the band creating atmosphere and enjoying themselves. And let's face it, except in specific places, what average (non bass playing) punter pays anything more than cursory attention to the bass line?

My scale of choice would be 32", based on one I built myself years ago, which led to a Fender urge MK1s, which is beautiful. However I'm mostly playing 5 string these days, and 32" 5 strings tend to be too expensive for me to justify (given by level and frequency of playing) . 32" just makes everything easier for my little hands. Especially if wanting to fret two notes at once.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1351010302' post='1846197'] Sir Isaac and myself are in complete agreement. When the cone moves back and forth it alternately pressurizes and de-pressurizes the surrounding air. Said pressurization and de-pressurization causes your eardrums to move back and forth in reaction; that's how we hear. [b]Said pressurization and de-pressurization also causes the floor to move,[/b] [b]how much being a property of the stiffness and mass of the floor[/b]. If the floor was vibrating in reaction to the walls of the speaker vibrating said cabinet walls would have to be moving as far as the cone does. [/quote] I agree with the bit I've put in bold. The bit before that is correct, but a bit patronizing, and the bit after that is wrong. Also, I did say that I wasn't sure how significant the direct inertia affect was, but to deny its existence dismisses three centuries of conventional physics. What I am describing has nothing to do with acoustic energy, other than the fact that any physical vibration is acoustic. If you put a speaker in a completely sealed and completely rigid, effectively sound proof, box, suspended on long strings (or floating on air), Then if you vibrate the speaker within the box the box itself will move. Indeed, remove the cone and replace with a weight of the same mass, so that the acoustic energy output is negligible, and the box will still move by the same amount. This is basic physics at a level far more fundamental than acoustic engineering. Some basic calcs - say the cone assembly weighs 0.5 Kg and moves at 10 M/S, and the rest of the assembly weighs 25 Kg, then that will move at 0.2 M/S in the opposite direction i.e. 0.5 x 10 = 25 * 0.2. In terms of energy distribution between the two: Energy in the cone would be 0.5 x 0.5 x 10 x 10 = 25 Joules Energy in the box would be 0.5 x 25 x 0.2 x 0.2 = 0.5 Joules It's been several decades since I did my physics degree. I've forgotten lots, and much has changed, but I believe that Newtons laws still hold for everyday life. Edited to say "I hope I've got the maths right - otherwise could be very embarrassing"

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1350996408' post='1845970'] Point of fact: Unless the cab is defectively constructed there's no such thing as mechanical coupling. That phenomenon can only occur if the cab walls flex, and the walls of good cabs don't flex. Even relatively flimsy cabs don't vibrate in the lows, they vibrate in the mids. If they vibrated in the lows they'd be unusable. All low frequency vibration of the floor is caused by the acoustic output of the cab. Therefore so-called isolation devices have absolutely no effect on floor or other room surface vibrations. However, if the floor is vibrating said vibrations can then be transferred back to the cab, and the head atop it, and stopping those vibrations can be worthwhile. But doing so doesn't require a high level of sophistication, let alone high cost. A bit of carpet will do the trick. [/quote] I (and I believe Sir Isaac Newton) disagree. Irrespective of the stiffness of the cabinet or whether the sides are vibrating, Newton's laws/conservation of momentum means that if you are moving the speaker cone forward then the rest of the cabinet will to move backwards by an amount inversely proportional to their relative weight of the two parts (i.e. the cone/coil and the rest of the cabinet), so that the net momentum change is zero. This would occur even if it were in a vacuum. On top of this is the fact that you are pushing air with the cone and the equal but opposite force again feeds back into the cabinet. - even if the cabinet is completely stiff. These forces and any consequent movement will be transferred into the supporting mechanism whether that is the floor or the isolating pad. How significant these are I have no idea, but they will be there.