mike257

Haven't done it live but in the studio I've used a combination of an Ampeg SVT-3 with 4x10 and a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 through a 1960A both miked, with a clean DI blended in. In the final mix it ended up quite subtle but great sounding, but when playing around with possibilities blending the three we came out with a wide range of great tones from subtle warmth to all-out filth! Has your PA (or house PA in the venues you'll play) got the clout to carry your clean bass tone without backline support? If I was to do this live I'd be looking at a two amp clean/dirty setup for most small venues.

[quote name='bobbass4k' timestamp='1362765530' post='2004573'] That's because the self titled album is one of their best, Deathblow is spectacular. [/quote] First you post Oceansize over in the heavy riffs thread, and now you're the only other person in here showing some love for the self-titled album. Bobbass4k, I think I love you. Seriously though, I don't get why people are so down on that album. It's got all the great things about band - huge powerful yet melodic tunes, bone crunching heavy riffs, it shows them bringing out electronic influences that made their way into the 'Team Sleep' project. I think they really matured as a band with that record. Got to echo the comments about Abe Cunningham, he's one of my favourite drummers and has a really unique approach for someone in a 'metal' band. All about the loose, flowing grooves and interesting accents instead of the usual "blast away on the kick pedal" style. The groove on Knife Party (from White Pony) is just great.

[quote name='D-L-B' timestamp='1362784559' post='2004925'] Here's lots of riffs all rammed together for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyBnWs5RTvQ&sns=em [/quote] Quite! I'd forgotten how ridiculously hairy Greg was until I saw this video too! Made up to see Oceansize get a mention above, lovely stuff. Need to find an hour when the house is empty that I can sit and blast all these.

We do it when required, usually via a laptop. It's more of a playlist that we'll tweak on the fly than full blown DJing but we keep them dancing so it must be doing alright! By the time we're finished with that, the band gear is all packed down and we just have to drop the PA and make a quick escape!

One benefit of running subs from an Aux send is that you can control which individual signals are sent to the sub and only send the channels that will benefit from that level of low frequency reinforcement. Can achieve a clearer and more focussed bottom end that way.

[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1362352638' post='1998943'] Originally really wanted to go to LIPA but was rejected at the first stage as my demo apparently wasn't good enough... ended up at Hope. Stigma-wise I'm genuinely not sure which is worse! [size=4] Only really in it for the student loan now, without that I'd have dropped out a long time ago... one left to go, and after the amount I've just spent on a new PA system for my uke band it's going to be like xmas has come early![/size] [/quote] I'd just read your first post and was about to throw in Hope(less) as my guess! I did one term there about nine years ago and found that it really wasn't for me - was sold at the interviews that it would be forward looking, contemporary and I'd be able to pursue my preferred Music Tech route from the second year. When I got there, it turned out "contemporary" meant one module on Lennon and McCartney in year two and I had better recording gear in my bedroom than they did in their excuse for a studio. Fast forward to today, after music being a sideline for the last decade I've just left a full time job to go freelance. Filling my diary with a mix of wedding/function gigs, tour management, live engineering, production and hopefully a bit of teaching soon too. It's an uphill struggle for sure, but infinitely more rewarding to know I'm keeping my kids fed and warm from doing what I love. Got to be a jack of many trades though, various posters above have got that right. You'd have to be very lucky to sustain a living just from playing bass.

I need to do this! Had my guitar pedalboard in a Flightcase Warehouse XXL but realised I didn't really need a lot of it. Undecided whether I should go for a Showman or try and squeeze down to Gigman size. The setup I've been gigging with whilst the board is apart would easy fit on a Gigman and seems to be doing the job but its always tempting to squeeze in a little bit more!

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1361722457' post='1989823'] Oh I just did a quick search for Hondos on ebay, and nearly all the ones I found have been butchered by Basschat's favourite self-styled guitar improver. w***er..... he's been replacing the dimarzios with cheap sh*t single coils. [/quote] I know, spotted a few of them, what a waste! There's a few nice examples of their ES-335 copy on there that look to still have the original pups though. Mmmmm.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1361637279' post='1988648'] I don't know the model name sadly, but they did all come with the Dimarzios as standard. Every Hondo 2 i have found with black humbuckers (and a couple of cream ones) did. I just hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot letting people know, cos they might go up in price if everyone finds out. Never seen a cherry red and black one without them. I did once see one with a set neck as well, but I was skint and missed out. [/quote] I think you'll be ok, there's very little in the way of definitive information online. I've even seen a few 'experts' insist that any Hondos with DiMarzio pups must have been aftermarket as they're such awful guitars they couldn't possibly come with decent ones in! There's a lovely Yam SG style Hondo II on eBay at the mo, if that takes your fancy. I think I'll hold out for one of those wine red beauties in your pic!

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1361556901' post='1987586'] First dibs on the mustang when you decide you need space. [/quote] Haha, I'll keep it in mind, but I don't think its going anywhere! As soon as we get over house-move chaos and I'm settled in to my new music room in the loft the Mustang is the first one getting finished, I've got nothing with single coils for gigging at the mo so looking forward to getting it done. So did that model in your pic always come with the DiMarzios as standard Dave? I've seen a few and I'm very tempted. It's a Deluxe 740 isn't it?

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1357827205' post='1929065'] I have owned 4 like this... I killed the first 2 gigging with them back when i was a teenager, loved the sound of those pickups. The other 2 have been bought on whims due to missing my original one so much. Both have had problems with the necks, and been sold on for parts, minus the pickups, which I have in an old Ibanez roadstar, and an Epi SG. Hondo and Hondo 2 instruments vary wildly from one to the other, as BRX as said. Need to see yours to know, if the pups look like Gibson PAFs they are probably unbuckers. (Single coils hidden in HB covers, lauded by mark d philips as wonderful things, actually a bit sh*t). If they are black or white, and have made by Di Marzio stamped on the bottom, then yay! [/quote] I keep seeing these on Gumtree etc and getting so tempted, I love that colour scheme on an LP and the little voice on my shoulder keeps telling me I could turn it into a lovely guitar with minimal effort. The voice on ny other shoulder tells me it'll go on the project pile with the Epi Les Paul Special II I've been planning to convert to a Junior for years and the Sunn Mustang I still need to find a bridge for! Messing with cheapo guitars can become a dangerous addiction!

Is this guy actually playing in the same key for everything, or has something been lost in translation and he just pitch-shifts when the guitars go drop tuned or down a semitone and the like? Sounds like a Morpheus Droptune or similar, and that's exactly what they were made for - saving minutes returning or changing instruments on stage. I mean, the guy might be playing everything in E and pitchshifting wildly, but there might be a slightly different story at play. Would that still meet the wrath of Basschat?

We played at our singers wedding, had a dep for the first set and part of The second, and then he joined us for the last 30-40ish mins. Had an extra guitarist on board so he didn't have to worry about being competent to play at that stage of the evening too

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360510364' post='1971426'] I have a main bass for each of my bands depending on the kind of music I'm playing. [/quote] Pretty much this. Generally the Sandberg is my go-to bass as I find it to be versatile enough to work in near every situation. If I'm going full on growly rock tone though, I'll pull the Stingray out.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360510364' post='1971426'] I have a main bass for each of my bands depending on the kind of music I'm playing. [/quote] Pretty much this. Generally the Sandberg is my go-to bass as I find it to be versatile enough to work in near every situation. If I'm going full on growly rock tone though, I'll pull the Stingray out.

My function band does weddings pretty much exclusively and our take home (after the agent has their cut) is generally between £750-£1000 for a 5-piece. That's usually for 2x60mins with laptop DJ in the gaps where we're not playing. Based on that, I wouldn't budge from your £700 quote unless it's for a [i]really[/i] good mate! We do the odd "friends and family" deal, but generally the band member whos friend/family it is will take the hit to give the bulk of the discount. If you're setting out to be a function band and you're playing at that level, you're selling yourself short to go out for less, because that's a pretty standard rate. If your mate had booked through one of the big agencies he could add another £250 on top of that easily!

[quote name='Bobby K' timestamp='1360274611' post='1968063'] Unfortunately, we're not doing that much this year. Our [i]would be Morrissey [/i]lives in Belgium 90% of the time (he's a native of Antwerp!) and he recently became a dad, so he's quite busy with that. Also, me and the drummer are going to be busy shortly with the kate Bush tribute (starting a British tour on 22nd of this month) We've done the Smiths tribute for almost 8 years now and it's been great fun. Hopefully this is just a break and not the end; we've had some great gigs in Cardiff, by the way! [/quote] Hi Bob, I do quite a bit of playing with your Johnny Marr, heard plenty about you guys - hoping to catch a gig when your Moz has got time to get back over here! Hope the KB tour goes well!

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1360188139' post='1966540'] I was literally about to start a topic about these bridges? I don't understand why they are priced like that, how do they affect the sound, if at all? Sorry may seem like a naive question. P.S. I don't want to steal your topic but it's kind of related. [/quote] I paid around £35 brand new for mine a few years ago - a Badass 2 with the pre-slotted saddles. Whilst I think it improved my Squier, I wouldn't even have entertained one at the current prices. A Gotoh 201 or even a standard Fender type bridge will do just fine and won't cost the earth like the Badass suddenly seems to.

I put one on a Squire Affinity P-Special a few years ago when they could still be had for a sensible price. Did it alongside an overhaul of the electrics so hard to quantify the difference the bridge alone made but I ended up with a much better bass. Have a Gotoh 201 on another cheap bass and I think it made a difference there, I'd buy one over a Badass now based on price alone - I'm tempted to flip the Badass on eBay seeing the price they go for!

Hi Jim, Don't know of any permanent stuff going but I'll keep you in mind if I need a dep for any of my gigs mate. Good luck! Mike

Nigel's suggestion of a pedal with two preset values is a good one. Alternatively, some volume pedals allow you to set a minimum level - I've seen Morley models with this feature. Means you can quickly step from loud to quiet and back but still have the ability to adjust in between if needed. Obviously you then lose the ability to mute with the pedal, but if you've got that functionality elsewhere (pedal tuner?) then its no problem.