Count Bassy

Following on from an earlier post about flats/half flats etc. I went ahead and bought some Status half rounds fro my Ibanez SR505. I haven't fitted them yet, however, because if I do the full thickness of the B string (0.135") is going to wind on to the tuning post by 1/4 to 1/2 a turn. (The B tuning post is only about 50mm from the nut on this bass) I've E-mailed Status ( a few days ago) asking if they think this will cause problems, but haven't heard back yet, and I was thinking of fitting them this weekend. Anyone here have any thoughts on this? Is this going to cause problems? Unfortunately the medium scale version won't reach the nut! Thanks in advance Ze count.

AFAIK: If it's a solid state amp than having a speaker of higher ohms than the amps rated minimum will not in itself damage the speaker or the amplifier. It will just sound quieter than you might expect, as the amp will not be putting out its full power. Having an amp outputting more watts at the speakers ohms than the speaker can handle, or where the speaker impedance is below the amplifiers stated minimum, can/will start to cause problems/damage.

I went to the same school as Simon Kirke. Had I gone there from the first form then it would have been at the same time, but I only moved there for the fourth form, by which time he'd left.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][b][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&section=findpost&pid=1534003"][/url]neepheid, on 10 February 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:[/b][/size] [size=3]I tried D'Addario XL half rounds once - I really didn't like them. [b]I found them sticky when sliding[/b]. Has probably put me off wasting any money on this avenue in the future, so the only way I'll do any further experimenting is if I play a bass which already has them fitted.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I know what you mean but give them a week of playing and the sharp edges of the grinding wear off and they go nice and smooth. As an analogy I think of flats like sliding your finger over plastic and groungs as sliding your fingers over paper. [/font][/color] ----------------------------------- Me too, exactly the same experience here. Felt really rough at first, but either the roughness went within a week, or I got used to it. In my own mind I sort of imagined that the grinding process had left lots of little burrs on it. It certainly felt like that. Not using any half rounds or flats at the moment, but thinking about it seriously (but probably not d'addarios)..

I've dabbled with five strings over the last couple of years, and am now going over to them more. This is mainly for practical reasons - there are certain songs the current band do that need to go below E (Skunk Anansie's 'Weak', 'Are you going to go my way' etc), and swapping basses mid rehearsal was pissing me (and, I think, the others) off. I find that I now tend to play in E off the B string 5th fret, so as someone said earlier, if someone suddenly wants it in Eb, D etc, it's easy. Also, even when playing in E, even if off the E string itself, its really nice to be able to put a few run ups to the E in now and then. I have an Ibanez SR505 and GWB35, and the string spacing is narrow, but I like that. If you don't like narrow spacing then there are fivers around with 19mm spacing. Having said all that my 'Favourite' instrument is still my Fender Urge Mk1 (4 string 32" scale), but that is probably because I like the scale length, and its just a beautiful instrument to play, not because it is a four string.. (what I really want is a fan fretted five string where the G sting is 32" - or a 32" five string where the B still sounds good) You may need to adjust your technique a bit, but ultimately there's nothing you can do on a four string that you can't do on a five string, but the opposite is not true. As someone else said, Just try to remember that that bottom string is now a B and not an E (it does take some getting used to).

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1328576455' post='1529564'] If one defines the sound engineer's job as bringing up the volume of the vocals and possibly keyboards & drums to balance with the bass & guitar then he's doing his job. Some sound engineers *know* that they must have total control and are the only people capable of deciding exactly what the mix should be, while others will work with a band to help them get the best performance in the way that they want. It can be hard to trust a sound engineer to not sod sound up or bury your instrument. PA could well be about amping up low volume elements in order to get balance, if that's how the band wants it to be, but the band should always have control of their sound even if they delegate it to the engineer. It is also necessary sometimes to have substantial volume on stage in order for various speakers to be working properly. There's a story related by Alvin Lee from 10 Years After where, when they were recording their first album they were required to turn down by the sound engineer (wasn't having any of that nonsense like they had with Clapton). As a result he said his guitar was so clean it sounded more like a banjo on the record. [/quote] I fundamentally disagree with some of this. The band can only know what the balance sounds like from where each individual is stood on the stage They are not in a position to know what it sounds like to the audience, which is what is important. A classic example being the guitarist (or even bassist) with his speakers pointing at his knees thinks he's too quiet while the audience are being deafened. The band should be able to dictate the sound they want, but they need to do this via a sound engineer that they trust to get that sound. If everything is going through the PA to some extent then the sound engineer can do something about it based on the sound where he is, which is generally somewhere in the audience rather than on stage. If the bass and guitar don't go through the PA, and are fundamentally out of balance then the sound engineer is f***ed. Of course they can do this by asking the bassist or guitar to turn it down it bit and if that person will do that then that's fine, but a guitarist turn himself down ???? - come on now! I agree that the sound engineer shouldn't be messing with individual tones, and that people need to hear what they are playing (but that's what foldback is for isn't it), but fundamental front of stage balance needs to be done from a pair of ears in the house, not on the stage. Putting everything through the PA allows the band to have the sound they want on stage, and the audience to have the sound that the band want them to hear as well. Zee Count.

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1327426674' post='1511059'] When will house Sound "Engineers" learn that the PA is for vocals, and maybe the drums. Bass and guitar amps can fill the space adequately enough ta very much. [/quote] So how is the sound engineer going to do his job when he hasn't got basic volume control on all the instruments? PA is not amping up low volume elements, it's about control and balance.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1328523297' post='1528328'] My favourite all time 2x12 is the Aguilar DB212. My next cabinet will be 100% a Genz cabinet! [/quote] This does not compute

Hello chaps (& Chapesses), A few weeks ago I put up a post about "furry strings" giving me a really dead tone on my Ibanez SR505. I ended up fitting some D'addario Nickels (which I love on my Fender Urge Mk1), which appeared to solve the problem, but two weeks further on and I'm finding these just too 'Zingy' on this bass. Adjusting various EQs helps a bit, but can start to make them sound dull again. (Perhaps I need a "Zinginator" version of the 'Thumpinator' recently discussed on these pages). So what's the solution.... new bass, new pick-ups, different strings? Different strings is going to be the cheapest, so I'll try that first, but I've little experience of flats/half rounds, so I was wondering what you all thought. The current Nickels are .135 - 05. I guess that if I went to the same gauge in flats/half rounds then they'd be higher tension due their being heavier, so what sort of gauge should I be looking at for flats/half rounds (adjusting the rod isn't a problem). I'd love to buy loads of strings and try them out, but that's just too expensive, so any suggestions as to a good starting point would be appreciated. I play blues and soul sort of things with my fingers. No slapping/popping and no picking. I realise that the Ibanez is probably not the ideal instrument for this sort of music, but there are many things I like about it (slim neck, narrow string spacing etc.), and it was cheap, so changing the bass would be very much a last resort !! Thanks in advance chaps. The Count.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1328027428' post='1520531'] She's not as sh*t as Sandi thom was at least. [/quote] I saw Sandi Thom at the Rhythm Festival last year and was full of cynicism, but was actually pleasantly surprised. Did some really good Bluesey stuff, which apparently is were she's at at the moment (Well 6 months ago).

I've no idea about his slap ideas, but he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, and I found it quite entertaining. Good for him!

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1327525765' post='1513005'] If I specifically go out to watch a band then I expect to be entertained. If I wanted to hear an exact copy of an original then I'd have stayed at home and listened to the CD. I find it interesting to hear 'new takes' on familiar tunes, sometimes they work a treat, and sometimes they don't, but isn't learning how to recognise that difference what makes us better musicians..? [/quote] Exactly! Even if it is the original band - I saw 10cc a couple of years ago - brilliant - my on;y complain was that it was too much like the CD!

[quote name='skampino' timestamp='1327111706' post='1506692'] I've looked at youtube vids but can't seem to get the slapping technique. Most don't tell you where you should rest your arm and whether the hand should hover or rest on the body. It seems everyone plays slightly different with some teaching you to directly hit the string and others saying you should hit the bottom part of the string and end up with thumb on next string down. then there's those who say your thumb should be pointing upwards and others saying it should be perpendicular. It confused me as whatever method I tried either my fingers hit the body or my palm touched the strings. I decided to have lessons so a tutor could tell me what I'm missing or doing wrong. Last thing I want is to develop bad habits. It's harder to unlearn something than learn from scratch. I doubt I will play slap much but I'd like to have the option of doing so and welcome a new challenge. [/quote] U-tube is a great resource, but it's no substitute for a real teacher who can see what you're doing wrong, and can answer specific questions. A real teacher (for me at least) also gives more incentive to practise what you've learn't before the next lesson!

+1 on Andy Turner. Feel bad for having forgot him. The bass solo at the start of 'Handy' is Beatiful.

Some of you have read and even contributed to my previous thread re my 'Clicking' Promethean, so I thought I'd give you an update. Rockem Music heard from the distributor today, and it is definitely faulty, which is a relief. You start to question your own ears and stuff when a brand new piece of kit doesn't perform as you'd expect. This is Good news I suppose, however the bad news is that there has apparently been a bad batch of boards from China and there loads being returned faulty, so they (the distributor) can't offer me replacement, and have no good boards in stock to replace just that. New boards are supposedly coming from China, but they can't say when that will be. We bass chatters know that this product is about to be replaced (the guy who rang from Rockem didn't know this), so it makes you wonder if they will bother to replace them. As Rockem Man said, I'm probably lucky that mine failed straight away. There are probably lots out there which are due to fail at sometime.Fair do's to Rockem, he said that they will be contacting any of their customers who may have faulty ones to advise them of the (potential) problem. Rockem have offered me my money back, or they will replace it with one of the 5115K combos (they have been offered a deal by the distributors due to the problem (or is it because its about to be dropped)) but I'd still have to pay an extra £50. The 15" is 4 Ohm and will give the full 500W and in other circumstances might be worth considering but... Surely the amp in this combo is exactly the same as the one in 10" combo, so it's as likely to have the fault as the 10" one. Of course Rockem could just be bullshitting, or the bloke didn't know much about them (Did not know that they were end of life, or that its the same amp in both combos. I suspect I'll go for the refund, but just in case - Has anyone used the 15" combo, if so what do they think of it (personally I think its cheeky to call it a combo - its just a cab with an amp bolted on top. Hardly integrated - I wouldn't want to stick that in a car with the amp still attached! Cheers, The count

Boz Burrell - Perhaps not the best technician, but loved him all the same, a real Groover. RIP Gary Twigg. Edit to add Andy Fraser - no explanation necessary

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1326701460' post='1500535'] I like it, thanks for posting as I've not heard it in a while. It let's you think about the ones you love that ain't here any more to tell them. [/quote] And this.

What gets me, and I love about 'sweet lovin boy JT', is that it's 40 years since I first 'Got Into Him', his hair has gone from down his back to almost nothing, but when he opens his mouth its like going back those 40 years.

Must be careful what we mean by tension and stiffness here. You could replace an E string with a 0.1" solid steel rod with a zero tension, but it wouldn't half be stiff!

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1326629163' post='1499616'] Yes, that one is a bit of a collection of bits and pieces. The reeds and reed pans are Wheatstone, the number has been dated by Steve Dickinson. The ends are Lachenal with glass keys, and probably date to the 1920's. The bellows are 7-fold by Harry Crabb, my mum had them put on in the 1960's. But it's a real ol' original axe ;-) . [/quote] Wow, a bit of a mongrel , but if it sound good and plays well who cares? Do you go on 'Concertina.net' at all?

[quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1326633568' post='1499699'] exactly. (EDIT: if you wanted to be pedantic, the frequency of vibration is related to the length and mass of the string so not necessarily related to string gauge at all) [/quote] .. and the elasticity of the core material If you want to pedantic then I actually used the word heavier, which suggests a relationship to mass rather than gauge!!

I think you're right[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1326589753' post='1499353'] TIme to get a refund and spend elsewhere. [/quote] I think you're right.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1326023184' post='1491067'] The reeds and reed pans from one of my concertinas dates from 1864, but I don't have any pictures and I'm not going to take it to bits just for that! [/quote] My anglo concertina dates from somewhere in the 1890s. It's a Crabb built Jeffries, so exact dates are a little vague. I guess that yours will be a Wheatstone given the age and the fact that you know the exact year.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1326582311' post='1499256'] To be fair, that's not the norm. You were just unlucky. [/quote] Yes, I'm probably being a bit unfair, just my frustration showing through. I paid my £515 mid December and have so far had the combo for three days, during which it was faulty (based on your and others comments). I'm being told, by the retailer, that the combo is at the distributors and that the distributors have not got back to them yet. The retailer is telling me that this is a common problem with that distributor (but they could just be blaming someone else). Either way the first impression of this this new range is that it cheapens the image. I know that the originals weren't 'Boutique level', whatever that means, but these look more 'entry' level. Time will tell I guess.

I've had problems with/am not totally impressed by my Promethean combo (I've owned it for a month, had it to use for 3 days), but even so this looks like backward step. Having said that if the speaker in the 15" combo can actually take the power of the in-built amp without 'clicking', than that's something. (and I'd have to stick a label saying 'Fat' over the 'Phat' legend!)