Count Bassy

[quote name='Bass Culture' post='661745' date='Nov 22 2009, 01:09 PM']The playing was incredible and JPJ proceeded to swap between a variety of Manson mulit-string basses[/quote] Wot? No single string basses at all?

I think its been made clear by others, but just to say it again - do not plug the speaker output of any amp into the line in of another. To get 130w at 8 ohms your Trace must be pushing about 33 volts RMS, about 45 volts peak, into the speaker. A line-in input is typically rated at 1 to 2 volts. i.e. you will almost certainly damage something. Use line-out to line-in and you will be fine - this is what line level signals are designed for!

Great thread chaps - We've been having very similar problems in rehearsals so some good ideas to try out here. We have a female singer and although her pitch and tone are good she doesn't belt it out particularly loud. Also not helped by the fact that she only has a cheap mic (SM48?). Oh - and a guitarist who only has one volume doesn't help (he is partially deaf which can't help), although he is working on this and it's getting better. I'll try out the side fill monitor idea at our next 'full PA' rehearsal.

Just looking at the vid, is he actually hitting the string on the return stroke as well?, a sort of double thumbing but with the index finger? I am puzzled why people post vids like this, are they 'waiting to be discovered', or is it just to get an ego boost from peoples comments?

[quote name='7string' post='656619' date='Nov 17 2009, 01:21 AM']Have to disagree with regards to using harmonics to set intonation I'm afraid. The note at the 12th fret needs to be in tune. Sound the open string, make sure that's in tune and then check the note at the 12th fret. If it's different then move the saddle as others have described. The reason for this is that the 12th fret is not exactly half way between the nut and the saddle as you have to account for string compensation. If you get the note at the 12th fret perfectly in tune, you'll find the harmonic is flat. It's a small difference, but it's there.[/quote] Isn't the point though that the harmonic at/around the 12th will, by definition, always be the exact octave above the open string? i.e. you cannot make a harmonic that is an octave and 10 cents above the open sring - it just won't sound. Also isn't it much easier to detect beats, or even a small pitch shift, between two notes that are nominally the same than between notes an octave apart?

Stud extractors can be great, but they can also snap off themseves, leaving you an even bigger problem. By its nature the diameter of the extractor is less than the screw/stud you're extracting, so if the insertion force sheared the original screw there is a chance that the extraction force will shear the extractor.

[quote name='maxrossell' post='660167' date='Nov 20 2009, 02:20 PM']Sure. But you gotta admit even the thinnest 5s have a substantial neck when compared to even the fattest 4s.[/quote] Well, yes but not always by that much: Two of my basses: Fender urge Mk1, 4 string 19mm spacing. neck is 56mm across at the 12th fret. (and this is quite a slim jazzy neck) Ibanez GWB35 5 string, 16.5mm spacing (as is the SR505). Neck is 63mm across at the 12th fret. Both necks are of similar depth. So yes, the 5 string is wider but, according to string spacing, not necessarily by as much as you might think.

What a load of cheats!

[quote name='4 Strings' post='658962' date='Nov 19 2009, 10:11 AM']I know this isn't really a good discussion but, interesting how the neck broke but not the neck joint. For some (I'm sure very poor) reason we looked at bass smashing on Youtube and its amazing how much grief the neck joint takes before it gives, if ever. On one the body pieces separated first.[/quote] I'm guessing it works like a hammer/axe. The handle is used to accelerate the head and to guide it to the right position, but the vast bulk of the energy is in the head and on impact the handle actually takes very little of the shock. This might explain why the body breaks before the neck, but not why the neck breaks in the middle rather than at the joint. 30 years ago I might have done the physics to prove why, but not anymore. However, if you think about it, if you have a long stick that you want to break in half (eg firewood), and you put the end on two fixed points and stamp on it, experience tells us that its most likely to break in the middle. (Not an exact analogy I know).

[quote name='crez5150' post='659326' date='Nov 19 2009, 03:29 PM']The venue should be a PRS member and therefore you [i]may[/i] be asked to complete a form of any cover versions you play.....[/quote] What happens if it isn't a member, say, for example, a Village Hall ?

I have the Mk1 (32"). I don't find this a problem until it comes to 'popping' (which I rarely do anyway), as ( For the information of non urge owners) there is not much space between the neck pick up and the neck itself. This in itself seems odd because Hamm is obviously a slapper and popper (and everything else) What height have you got the pickups? Could you drop them a bit to allow more room for your fingers to get in there?

[quote name='chardbass' post='654693' date='Nov 14 2009, 06:03 PM']It's all about personal taste at the end of the day. A bit like this steak. Chefs will tell you that this is the perfect way to serve a steak- still pink in the middle, but that doesn't mean you have to like it. Well done [/quote] Not nearly rare enough for me, and where is the mustard?

[quote name='51m0n' post='654110' date='Nov 13 2009, 10:56 PM']If you dont like it you dont like it. But that doesnt mean it doesnt sound good really. I know it sounds fantastic, really beautiful, having heard it in the flesh. So I dispute your opinion in fact.[/quote] So you're allowed to say that you 'know' it sounds good, but others are not allowed to say that it doesn't sound good. Obviously you are a superior species and must be right. I haven't heard it in the flesh but I have heard it on youtube. I'll concede that the actual sound of the instrument is good/interesting and has its applications (but that again is a matter of opinion), but as a musical piece, I don't think it sounds any good in that it does nothing for me. OK that's an opinion based on my taste in music, as your opinion is based on your taste. We have different tastes in music and that reflects in our different opinions on this. If you had said [i]I think[/i] rather than [i]I know[/i] then your post would have come over as far more resonable. Some people here slag another for off for expressing an opinion as fact, and then go on to do exactly the same themselves! (not aimed soley at yourself 51m0n').

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='645759' date='Nov 4 2009, 09:58 PM']It would be nice not to squat down to alter footswitch settings.[/quote] Difficult to get your foot up to it though!

[quote name='Rich' post='652495' date='Nov 12 2009, 11:56 AM']Watch him carefully -- that's [i]four[/i] detuners on the headstock and at least two at the bridge. For anyone not put off by his tunings or his trousers,[/quote] My apologies - I hadn't realised the number of detuners. I'm sure that takes a great amount of skill. I'd almost like it to do something for me, but it doesn't. As for his trousers - I hadn't noticed anything, what's supposed to wrong with them?

Half a mile to the village hall, Sax player about the same. Drummer about 30 yards, singer about 3 miles, guitarist about 25 miles.

Neither of these do much for me. That's not just because I can't do it myself - there's plenty out there that I can't do (lets face it - practically all of it) that does do something for me. This simply does not. With all that fiddling with the D-tuner wouldn't he be better off with a five string?

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='651936' date='Nov 11 2009, 08:17 PM']That Two Against Nature dvd was what got me into them a couple of years ago. Saw it, loved it, bought it, and several cds since. And I'm a jazz nazi. The interviews are a joke. Lighten up![/quote] Its not a case of lightening up, I just don't like what they're doing at the moment. As you've bought several of their CDs you can surely see that they have changed a lot (as you would expect over 30 years). Personally I far prefer the older stuff, whereas you quite like the newere stuff (and possibly the older stuff as well). Perhaps the interviews are a joke - I didn't realise that at the time as they didn't make me laugh much. The whole DVD still gave me the impression that they are a bit up their own bottoms, but that's my opinion and I respect yours.

I loved their early stuff and have several of the albums from that time. Then I was abroad for work for 10 days and on a whim bought a more recent DVD of theirs to pass some time. What aload of pretentious crap! Not helped by the interview pieces between the tracks.

I'm happy enough with my Fender PT100 pedal tuner. Has muted and unmuted outputs. about £40.

Lined. Going from fretted to unlined just seemed to be too much of a step. I actually don't look at the lines that much when I'm playing across the strings, but find them invaluable when jumping up or down the neck to land in about the right place. Then I let the ears take over again.

Just a word of warning - there are 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!

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='643631' date='Nov 2 2009, 05:39 PM']Nah... 4x10's, I reckon. The top cabs are raked back which might explain why they look shorter.[/quote] I did wonder that myself, but looking at the inner edges of the drivers in the two cabs those on the bottom do (to my eyes) appear significantly closer together.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='639388' date='Oct 28 2009, 07:51 PM']Great player! Here's a pic from last night... [/quote] It may be an illusion from looking through the grill cloths, but if the top cabs are 8 x10s haven't the bottom ones got to be 4 x 12s? To me they look bigger than the drivers in the top cabs. Having said that I may be talking bollocks (it's my specialist subject). I don't even know if Ampeg make a 4 x 12.

I have tended to avoid open strings simply on the basis that if you need to change the key then the fingering pattern can often be unchanged. This is particularly true as I seem to be migrating towards 5 strings, playing bottom E on the B string rather than on the open E string. Having said that, there are times when open strings are great, especially if it happens to be the key note, so no hard and fast rules for me - do whatever works.