Count Bassy

Bought a John East BTB01 off Wil. Quick delivery and well packed. Lots of communication. Not convinced that this is the right preamp for me, but Wil's conduct has been impeccable (even offered to take it back), and I'd willingly deal with him again. Clive

Dear all, This place (Basschat) is a great resource and full of great, knowledgable, and helpful people. When I started coming here it was like an Aladdin's cave of information: I heard of basses and bass players that I'd never heard of before (e.g. Jaco Pastorious - not that I'm a fan), and an awful lot about string types, setting up, playing tips, etc etc etc. It still is that Aladdin's cave, but I now find that most of the topics coming up, bass related ones at least, have been covered several times before in my time here, so my learning curve has dropped off somewhat. The problem is that,despite this, I still come here several times a day, checking for updated threads etc. To come to the point, I have come to to the realisation that I spend far far too long on basschat (my wife agrees). It's probably fair to say that I spend more time on BassChat than I do playing bass, which seems a bit perverse and surely the wrong way round? So, does anyone out there have any tips on how to wean yourself off it? I realise that this is actually a silly question as people who have sucessfully done so will not be here reading this thread in the first place. Does anyone else out there have the same concerns about how long they spend here? If so what have thay done about it. If there are others then perhaps we should form a "BassChataholic" selfhelp group?, but then six months later we'd need a "BassChataholic selfhelp group" selfhelp group, and so on and so on. Anyway, I am seriously going to try to cut down (and possibly cut out) the time I spend here, so you'll be seeing/hearing less of me (cue sighs of relief all round), but before I go I'd like to thank you all for what I've learned (including some cracking jokes) and the fellowship etc over the years. You have a great thing going on here, long may it continue. I'm not confident of success so I'll say 'au revoir' rather than 'adieu'. Regards to you all Clive AKA Count Bassy (without orchestra)

[quote name='7string' post='762406' date='Mar 2 2010, 11:45 PM']you can play anything on a fretless that you can on a fretted.[/quote] Except, for me, if playing two notes a distance apart (fretwise) your range is effectively increased on the fretted because you don't have to stretch quite as far. ie you only have to stretch say 3 1/2 frets instead of 4.

Just a word of warning - there are (or were) no spare parts available for the MP3 version. I had one of these and managed to crack the screen (both the plastic cover and the LCD unit itself) - I put it in my trouser pocket and walked into a newall post. Totally my fault, but was dissapointed that I could not buy a spare for what must be the most vunerable part of the whole thing. Tascam did make some amends by selling me a new one at wholesale price, but it still seems a shame that spares are not available. Does anybody out there have a MP3-BT1 that has failed for other reasons? so we could do 'cut and shunt' * job with them. * pronounce with care!

Throwing my Fender Musicmaster bass amp in the skip because it had a hum that I (and the local shop) couldn't get rid of.

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='758389' date='Feb 26 2010, 05:04 PM']Sharing drums (minus snare & tinware) and the bass amp makes sense on a multi band night for quicker change overs. But I'd expect to ask/be asked first. I'd expct guitarists to bring their own amps though.[/quote] +1 but with the addition that if guitarists can be persuaded to share amps as well then that make the change over even quicker. I have this very problem next weekend - I'm trying to get the schedule together for a charity bash. We've got two support bands, a guitarist/singer and the headliners (us) and the timing is tight. The five minute changers are helped by the fact that the two support bands have agreed to share guitar amps as well (they are sort of familiar with each other, which helps). Fortunately we are both organising and headlining it, so if it overruns then we take the hit and cut our set. Obviously from an organising point of view it would be easier to have fewer acts, but of course each band brings its own followers and so means more money for the charity (Leukemia Research) Personally I'll lend my kit to most people and let people have a go, but then its not expensive stuff so I don't feel the need to be precious about it. I must admit that I'm a bit more wary with my anglo concertina (not so much because its worth a lot more, but because it is more easily damaged), but even then am happy to let most people have a (supervised) go.

[quote name='Commando Jack' post='756993' date='Feb 25 2010, 12:51 PM']This isn't entirely true - if a cymbal is hit the wrong way it is possible that it will crack. Hitting the edge with a perpendicular stick (usually because the cymbal is too high) can easily crack a cymbal. Other incorrect setups can put more stress on the cymbal, shortening its lifespan (e.g. tilting the cymbal at extreme angles etc...).[/quote] In my post I did say 'It's unlikely' and you say 'It's possible', so I don't actually see any disagreement between us. It can be 'unlikely but possible'. However as you say, and I hadn't actually considered this, incorrect mounting could/would shorten the life expectancy' cos you'd end up hitting it in a more stressful way. I would still have thought however, and may be wrong, that the older/more used the cymbal the more likely it is to fail if hit incorrectly, simply due to fatigue and work hardening. Any full blown metalurgists out there to give a technical view on this? Is there a 'Cymbalchat' anywhere?

[quote name='Paul_C' post='756626' date='Feb 24 2010, 11:21 PM']. . . do you know, I'm now convinced you must be the most knowledgeable man on the planet as regards cymbals - I shall make sure to put all my cymbal-related questions your way in the future, and refer anyone who might ask me anything about cymbals to you, so you can share your wisdom with them too. Thank you for your insights on the subject. *bows deeply*[/quote] Yor welcome

[quote name='Doddy' post='756080' date='Feb 24 2010, 01:52 PM']If you play them correctly though,they can last for years.I play with people who regularly use cymbals that are 30 or 40 years old,and sound great.[/quote] That's a fair point, but its also unlikely that a new (Non faulty) cymbal would break however hard you hit it with a drum stick (assuming he did use a drum stick and not a mike stand or something!).

[quote name='TRadford' post='755575' date='Feb 23 2010, 10:04 PM']When I was in a band as drummer, the guitarist thought he'd try his Dave Grohl imprerssion on my drums and used my 10" splash as a crash cymbal. Result: a £150 metal frisbee. Another time at one of our gigs, the support band were using my kit. (I wasnt happy about this, but was pushed into it) Come to our set, my favourite £300 crash cymbal is split right down to the bell. How he manged it, I have no idea. No apology or offer to replace it, just walked off. Bastard.[/quote] To be fair to the bloke the crash was probably going to split pretty soon anyway, and he wasn't necessarily abusing it, so you could hardly expect him to replace it with a new one. Unfortunately, by their nature (i.e. they're made of metal and you hit them) cymbals have a limited life. This doesn't excuse his just walking off without an apology or discussion however.

[quote name='noisedude' post='749949' date='Feb 18 2010, 04:41 PM']You guys are great. I'm drowning in work right now so I might not be advancing too far on this before Easter. The Urge is one I definitely was interested in ...... not seen the Hagstrom yet though. And Bronco/Mustang and Epi/Gibbo go on my list too, though I like 'odd' things (read "I want to be different so I can snootily espouse clichés .... because I apparently never stopped being a teenager") so the others might be more up my street. As for a 32" 5-string, that could well be the guitar of my dreams. So I need to find out more about Landing. Thanks for the kind offers from my fellow Yorkshire dwellers, if I don't take you up on them before then, perhaps a chance encounter at an upcoming Bass Bash could be in order? Nik[/quote] As someone just said, the Urge Mk1 is actually 32" (sadly the Urge Mk2 was 34"). I have a Mexican and a USA one and they are both brilliant. Obviously the USA one has a few more bells and whistles, extra pickup, nicer tuners etc etc. but in terms of fundamental playability there is very little to choose between them. I'd thoroughly recommend either of them. And they both come up on Ebay from time to time (not often). Both of mine came from there.The Mex was about £350 (Which I think was probably over the odds, but I was desperate one). The USA one was about £600, which was probably about right).

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='739465' date='Feb 8 2010, 10:00 PM']see ive played with compressors a wee bit, I'll be honest and say I've never seen a use for them for me. this may be due to the random way I use my right hand but ive never seen what they add to my sound, often when using them i get annoyed with something changing the way the notes open out. maybe i'm talking rubbish here feel free to educate me what use they should have![/quote] I agree too. Using a compressor, to me, just seems to take control away from your fingers.

If your paying £50 each for two three meter cables then you could buy a 100M roll of Klotz/Van-damme instrument cable for £70 and have about 10 Neutrik gold plated connectors with the change. A few tools and some heat shrink and you're away. 5 cables of whatever length you want, almost certainly cable left over, all for £100. If you want 'directional' cable then you could use microphone (admitedly more expensive) using the two cores for the signal and earthing the screen at one end (the amp end) only. Or indeed you could use triaxial cable (more expensive again) However, if you're like a Gorilla when it comes to soldering then perhaps not such a good idea. In the realms of industrial controls etc the general philosophy on screening has changed dramatically over the last 15 years or so. It used to follow the 'earth at one end' philosophy, to avoid earth loops, based on most interference being 50Hz mains hum. However the main source of interference these days are higher frequency, e.g. switch mode power supplies, inverter motor drives, computer equipment mobile phones and, for us Musos, Class D amps. I.e. frequecies from 20KHz up to the Gigahertz. Because of this the generally accepted best practice these days (for industrial applications) is to screen at both ends, in fact to bond screens to earth wherever possible, and to use screened shells on all connectors - the idea being to form an uninterrupted Faraday cage around everything. Being screened at one end only can come into its own still at lower frequencies, but then it is quite common to use a twin screened cable with the outer screen earthed at both ends and the inner screen earthed at one end.

[quote name='2x18' post='749905' date='Feb 18 2010, 04:01 PM']Hi Im in Leeds and I have a couple of short scale 30" ( Landing L1 and Mustang Hybrid ) and a couple of Medium scales 32" ( Vantage Japan VS series and a Japan Squier P-Bass ) that you are welcome to come and try out! Will.[/quote] Landing are one of the few people who seem to make a 32" five string, so I'd be interested what you think of your Landing even though I know its a 30" 4 string.

[quote name='gabson' post='737811' date='Feb 7 2010, 02:13 AM']spray mount some kitchen foil into the cavity for the cheapest option![/quote] Problem is that aluminium is only half as conductive as copper, tends to tear, and is a pig to solder to. I would say go with the copper foil, and try to get the stuff with the conductive adhesive.

[quote name='OldGit' post='629054' date='Oct 17 2009, 08:20 PM'] [/quote] A version of The Caerphilly March if I'm not mistaken.

[quote name='walbassist' post='734977' date='Feb 4 2010, 01:03 PM']How about one of these bad boys! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4tozjpRL0c"]Kala U Bass[/url][/quote] I want one! (but there's almost 400 reasons why I can't)

I've got an old Westone Quantum for this very same purpose, although it's so good that I'm tempted to us it for gigs as well. It's a bit like the hohner cricket bat, but: Passive, 32" scale, Headless (but takes single ball end strings), 38" overall length. Two pickups with a tremendous sound. The body is more sculpted than the Hohner and (IMO) looks much nicer. Pictures and a bit of info here: [url="http://www.westone.info/quantum.html"]http://www.westone.info/quantum.html[/url] I've got the black one which I think looks a lot nicer than the red. Should pick one up on E-bay for £150 ish.

[quote name='Marky L' post='733756' date='Feb 3 2010, 09:09 AM']Yeah, under a pseudonym. [/quote] Fair enough - as long as you get the royalties!

[quote name='ezbass' post='733451' date='Feb 2 2010, 08:40 PM']I'm so with you there, it's an absolute bloody travesty and it doesn't even go with the song, and I hate that while radio stations will arbitarily edit other great solos, they continue to let this one wail on and on. Absolute tripe, and I'm a Derek & the Dominoes fan![/quote] I bet you wish you'd written it though!

I am in a similar position Netballman: I have a GWB35 and love it, and it was both my first 5 string and first fretless. I am now , in theory, after a 5 string fretted at a sensible price (I say in theory because funds won't allow it at the moment). I have considered an SR505, basically because it would seem very similar to a GWB35 in terms of body and neck etc, and has the same string spacing (16.5mm), and the Ibanezes seem very good value. Also considered the G&L L2500 (Tribute due to costs), because it also seems to tick all the boxes, and I've heard great reports of them. HOwwever, am I right in thinking that they have fairly chunky necks? When funds become available I will certainly be looking at both of these. I have so far however resisted the temptation to try either due to the lack of funds. Ideally I'd want both 5 strings to be 32" scale, but that ain't going to happen unless I build it myself. Let us know what you end up with.

[quote name='molan' post='732912' date='Feb 2 2010, 01:37 PM']It's their promo CD to get gigs so I'd have thought it quite important to get this sort of stuff right?[/quote] But most people are more interested in if a band is fun to listen to rather than if they're perfect or not. Aren't they?

[quote name='jakesbass' post='732869' date='Feb 2 2010, 01:12 PM']not a semiquaver... 16th of one beat.....[/quote] Yes thats what I meant as well, but 5/64th of a beat!!. I was joking by the way - reference to my earlier postings in this thread show that I couldn't hear anything wrong!

As long as my gear does what I need I'm more interested in playing. I've actually got 5 basses at the moment, but each one brought something else to the table at the time. To be honest I only really use two of these regularly, a 5 string 34" fretless and a 4 string 32" fretted, regularly, plus the 32" 'compact' (Westone Quantum) for lugging round hotels. Ideally I'd have one 32" 5 string fretted and one 32" five string fretless of a reasonable quality, and a 4 or 5 string 32" 'cricket bat' style for lugging round hotels.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='729840' date='Jan 30 2010, 04:30 PM']I'm really shocked by that Rush one, definitely an editing error. Some dingbat shifted the global track along by about a 1/16th of a beat[/quote] I'd have thought closer to 5/64 than 1/16 . Has anyone put this into an editor and measured trhe error?