Beedster

Greg sold me a Wal that I had sold him. It's a recurring theme, and once again it was an absolute pleasure. BC royalty

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1441706348' post='2860977'] I was watching the 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' film last night. [/quote] How good is that film? Very good, that's how good. Definitive viewing for any musician who aspires to play in a band. Also made me realise what a massive contribution the humble tambourine made to the Motown sound.

There's very few albums recorded in the last few years, at least by 'name' artists, that I'd bother to buy on vinyl. To my ear too many tracks sound sufficiently poor on the medium for which they were mastered to stand any chance of sounding good on a medium for which they weren't. If I'm looking for a decent sound on the hifi, I don't bother with anything recorded much after Graceland

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1441692197' post='2860836'] Also , have a word with the vocalist and tell him that the band is a sum of parts and each is important, so telling someone to turn down so they can't hear them self, is not conducive to a pleasant audio experience ! [/quote] Agreed, although that's probably a discussion for the whole band.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441542534' post='2859633'] Don't boost the bass. If anything, boost the mids. Boosted bass will up your volume but won't give you any definition. Try starting from scratch - turn off all FX, compressors and the like, set your EQ to as flat as you can get it, then turn up the gain to where you're getting a good signal without distortion - then set your overall level with your master. If your singer still complains, turn down the master slightly but boost your mids. It also helps to get at least one of your cabs up to head height so you can hear what you're doing without being too loud. Or possibly use a stand. I use an angled stand to point my cab to my ears, but I only use the one cab. Check the guitarists EQ too - they need to cut their bottom end - if they're encroaching on your frequency territory it's going to be a problem. Down around 80-120Hz or so you only really want to hear the bass and the kick and not much else. [/quote] Right there is pretty much the complete guide to good bass tone live

[quote name='Shaggy' timestamp='1441393660' post='2858651'] Hehe - you KNOW you'll be trading it back to me one of these days Chris...... Seriously; even compared to other '80's Wals this one is an absolute gem - it was only prised out of my hot little hands as Chris was an absolute star and helped me acquire something I wanted more, Enjoy mate, and I reckon an unlined ebony board would look so right with that wenge body [/quote] Ah, the cycle of life eh Greg. Having this Wal does make me wonder whether the one I owned a few years back was simply not the best example, although I suspect that my needs have changed, my tastes have matured, and I'm simply prepared to spend a little more time getting the tone I need, which for the project I'm working on is quite specific for certain songs but quite varied given the set list. In short, the versatility of the Wal is perfect. Now, of course, the big issue is that I want a fretted one to go with it. I wonder if the best bet is to put this back to original (fretted) and source an original unlined fretless.......?

I often hear musos spouting the likes of "If Macca/Flea/Squire/Lee played it, it would sound great whoever made it...", but I'm none of those guys, and I've found that I get more compliments on my tone when I'm playing through decent gear. Also, having spent the first 10-15 years of what I laughingly call my "musical career" playing through gear that I had to play for financial reasons, now that I can afford to, I enjoy playing through gear I choose to play. In short, I'm with Discreet [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441287545' post='2857574'] I'm quite sure it does not - but it certainly makes a difference to me. [/quote]

To be honest I think it's pretty amazing he's still going given the way he's lived his life, and good on him for keeping at it. I get the impression that altitude at one of the gigs was the catalyst for this specific problem, and given that even elite athletes can be hit quite severely with both altitude-related underperformance and altitude-related illness - even at relatively moderate levels such as those in Colorado cities - it's no surprise he's been hit. I used to love Motorhead back in the day. I'm no great fan of their's now, but have to say that Lemmy made me smile hugely in the recent movie when he compared what "most bass players do" with "what Lemmy does". Monstrous sound, and not bad playing either, a Ric played like a rhythm guitar! Shared a few beers with him in around 1982 in a bar in Holland Park, top guy and really friendly and warm even at the height of his fame. I wish him all the best and hope to see him on stage again soon, albeit in perhaps a less physically stressful environment!

All of the above proved strangely prophetic and this beautiful bass is now back at Beedster Towers. It's reminded me why, in the early 80's all I wanted was a fretless Wal. Everything about the instrument is absolutely wonderful, build, tone, playability and simple mojo. I now have the dilemma of whether to ask Paul to install a new unlined ebony fretboard, or to have an unlined fretless neck built and have this neck re-fretted to original factory spec. Nice dilemma to have though

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1441190527' post='2856734'] ... so all in all it wasn't the greatest suggested purchase [/quote] Time will tell Rob

And if you have to return the bass you don't get any of those UK payments back, and depending on the U.S. state in question, and notwithstanding eBay regs, you might not get your courier fees back either. As you may have guessed, I've been on the wrong end of this!

Excellent, are you going to dress to match Jack?

Marinus is a top guy to deal with, simple as that, a very professional seller Chris

Quite a few guys appear to do the above, Flea, Geddy and Macca to name three. Any particular reason for this?

I think that's the nicest Wal I've ever seen, and I've seen a few

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1439971455' post='2847093'] Flightcase on top of a PB300 - now you're talking! Slightly OT (massively OT); Chris, am I right in thinking that you're using a Rob Allen without the nylon wrapped flat wounds? If so, which ones are you using and how do you find it affected the tone? If I'm wrong, oops! Sorry for the derail. [/quote] No, that's not me I'm afraid, might be Jason (Legion)? [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1440447010' post='2850881'] My PB300 keeps up with with my current 5 piece just using a Bass Buddy to power it (I do also use the Cub as a head too occasionally), the band aren't hugely loud, but they're not quiet either. [/quote] Yes, as I've said above, the big PJBs are plenty loud enough, and the PB300 is one of the lighter big boxes as well. OK, it's not SVT loud, but with the correct EQ you'd have no trouble playing with even a loud drummer and for pub gigs/small stages it does the job just fine

With the passing of my SVT-300 now my big rig. 100w but louder than most 500w solid state heads. Tone to die for. Nearly sold it a couple of times but for various reasons neither sale happened. Fate appears to want me to keep this rig [url="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/Beedster/media/IMG_1706_zps6ded7b12.jpg.html"][/url]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1440070370' post='2847998'] The difference would most likely be so small that you wouldn't hear it and let's face it, once you turn up for gigs, no one would be able to hear any difference. [/quote] Or care

Yes, old, very well played in, and heavy gauge rounds get very close to flats. In fact it's my preferred string option on P-Bass also.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1439994258' post='2847365'] [i]Some[/i] people will tell you that having a second pickup will affect the tone, even if that pickup is totally disconnected electronically, because the magnetic field from it will affect the vibration of the strings. Whether or not you think that that would make any meaningful difference is probably best decided by an angry four hundred page thread. [/quote] Ha ha, you mean like the one on Talkbass

What's he building in there?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1439936927' post='2847004'] I've been using a PJB Double Four for the last couple of months, it's my only amp. It's silent, no hiss, or whistling. It copes perfectly with a low B string, it actually sounds like a bass amp, if you know what I mean. There's no lack of bassiness. I use an ebow and a lot of effects for my stuff, and it copes perfectly with that. I only play my own stuff, or jazz. The jazz gigs range from a 3 piece, to a 5 piece with vocals. I did an outside gig at a garden party on Saturday afternoon. The rest of the band - keys and vocals were through a PA, I could have used the PA too, it has a line-out, but we decided that wasn't necessary. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is amazed by it. [/quote] I probably depends on genre as much as anything. I love the tone and clarity of my PJB gear, it's just that to get anything close to what I would describe as 'bass' I need to go to at least 250w in PJB terms. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking PJB gear at all, I've got loads of it, but the Briefcase and the Flightcase at 100w and 150w respectively do not cut it in anything other than a very quiet room. And it's not just about the band, it's about the ambient noise also, I've sound-checked with a Flightcase and found it fine only to find that when the room fills up it isn't, neither for me or the audience. I do think there are things that can be done with positioning/height and EQ, so that if the Briefcase were my only option I could make it work better than it does, but none of these are ideal if there are options. Are people amazed by Phil Jones gear? Generally yes, I find that also, the quality of the sound for the size is always going to impress. It's just the quantity of the sound that can be lacking in comparison with other gear rated at similar power output (yes I know there is no reliable measure of this but you know what I mean........) Bottom line, if it works for you, that's the only measure and opinion that matters