mike257
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Everything posted by mike257
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Just a quick heads up - I'm doing some pedal shopping and just had a look on Yoosmart.com, and it looks like they've cut the price on the Joyo stuff (might be clearing them for the new range?). They're all £20 give or take a few pence, and seeing as I'm already loving the Ultimate Drive think I'm going to grab a couple more! Apparently if you stick 'yoosmartpromotion' in the coupon code you get another 5% off too. I've been scouring eBay for cheap pedals all week but I might just go clean them out instead!
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Saw Bon Iver last year with an epic 9-piece instrument swapping band, and although there was some bass guitar in a few songs, the majority of the basslines came from a bass (not baritone, he reminded us) sax, which had an awesome, dirty raspy sound to it and really punched you in the guts. Thought that was a good'un.
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There's a few tutorials online if you google about for it. I had a look a few weeks back as I've got a custom made 2x10 thats carpet covered with an ugly metal grill, and I was thinking of giving it tolex and a sliver grill cloth to smarten it up. The videos make it look easy, but I think the trick is in the measuring/cutting. You can get away with a lot more if you're putting corner protectors on, but if you want the corners left natural then the folding/cutting has to be a bit cleverer to cover the joins. Here's a vid of a guy doing a snazzy job on a Peavey 5150 with white tolex, should give you an idea of how tricky it is. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k7rDs4F4qs[/media]
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I didn't actually end up buying an amp off Oli, as somebody beat me to it, but he astounded me by going completely out of his way to help me track down what I was after, to the point of catching a BIN deal on eBay for me before I missed it and handing it over to me. He's a proper gent and has been/continues to be a source of great advice and information on all things amp-shaped, dude knows his stuff and is happy to help out. A credit to BC. Mike
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Super 8 Cynics need a new guitarist (includes recruitment vid!)
mike257 replied to jackduran's topic in Other Musicians
Good stuff, I enjoyed it! You're only up the road from me too - my guitar playing is far too 'big rock riffs' though, I'd only make you into a noise machine -
I've got an EMU 1212M PCI card in my PC - it's got a pretty decent set of A/D converters on the stereo analogue I/O, and also has S/PDIF, ADAT and other bells and whistles. I've used the whole lot at once before now, with seperate pre-amps feeding the analogue and S/PDIF and an Octopre feeding the ADAT when recording my old band, and it's done the job just fine. These days I have a guitar pre and a mic pre permanently hooked up to the stereo ins, and the stereo outs running to a small mixer for monitoring, it's a great little set up for knocking up home demos. There's also a version with a breakout box (1820M I think) that I think has a preamp and an instrument level input, but not 100% sure on the specs of it. There's probably better stuff available now as I've had that for a good few years but it's always done the job for me. Definitely a massive improvement over a Soundblaster though! EDIT: And ADAT? Awesome blast from the past. I used to run a Tascam DA88 with a pair of DA38s synced up to it, memories!
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The courier picked up my SVT-3 this morning to go to its new home and I miss it already! The Shuttles are great too, and have the obvious portability benefits, but there's just [i]something[/i] about the tone from the Ampeg that has always grabbed me that little bit more. If I get a regular bass playing gig soon, I give it 6 months tops before I'm trying to trade my Shuttle in for an Ampeg
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Super 8 Cynics need a new guitarist (includes recruitment vid!)
mike257 replied to jackduran's topic in Other Musicians
That's the best muso wanted ad I've seen in ages. Makes me want to apply! -
If you just want something simple to add synth parts when playing live, lots of bands in a range of genres seem to have plumped for a Microkorg in the last few years. They're quite easy to work with, portable and simple, and sound pretty good out of the box. For live use, most bands DI synths into the PA, but using an ordinary guitar amp can take some of that 'clinical' edge off the sound and dirty it up a bit, helps it sit in with the other instruments. As Ed says, the MIDI output of the Microkorg won't record any audio - MIDI is just a set of commands to tell a synthesizer what notes to play and when. You'd have to record the audio through an interface in the same way you would a guitar or bass. If this is more for recording/experimenting at home, then the advice above about getting a generic MIDI contoller keyboard is spot on. These are keyboards that don't generate their own sounds, but will connect (via a MIDI interface, or more commonly these days via USB) to your computer and can be used to contol any software synth that takes your fancy. The only catch with going down this route is that if you intend to use it live at some point, you'd have to take both the keyboard and your laptop or some other sound source.
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I'd say keep it - if you're keen to do more guitar playing, you'll be more inclined to carry on when you have a quality instrument that feels great in your hands. You've got a couple of lovely basses there, you can't play 'em all at once, but you've only got the one guitar. If you let it go and end up having to replace it with something cheap'n'cheerful you'll be longing for the Yammy in no time!
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[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1327541301' post='1513250'] I'd still much rather hear the live band than the sequenced studio recordings... but, from the clips I honestly don't hear much interesting from the rhythm section, the arrangements are quite boring from a groove perspective (though, nice vocal parts as I said before). Beyonce's influences supposedly include some of the most awesome acts,but I don't think these arrangements are a patch on the live bands of MJ, Fela, Diana Ross, Prince etc. In comparison it just sounds generic, albeit well-produced and executed. [/quote] For anyone who needs proof of this, go grab the MJ Dangerous: Live in Bucharest DVD. Spectacular band playing great arrangements of great songs. As many have said in here, well performed pop music is one of the greatest musical treats, I'd love a go in a band like that!
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The Badass is great, the tone and sustain definitely improved since the upgrades, although I fitted them all at the same time so it's hard to say how much of the change has come from the bridge. I've also fitted a Gotoh 201 to a cheap Jazz copy, that's a nice chunky bridge too, and probably a bit cheaper and easier to get hold of than the Badass these days. I do think the Wizard pickups are excellent, and the customer service is superb, so I'd check them out if you get the chance. I chatted to Andy at Wizard about the tone I was looking for, the styles I was playing, and what I was after from the pickups, and he tweaked the winding and construction to suit my requirements. I think mine are wound a little bit hotter than standard, and he tweaked the Jazz bridge pickup to make it a better match for the Precision pickup - as good as the Seymour Duncan stuff might be, you don't get that level of service and personalisation from a big manufacturer!
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Great project - my Affinity P-Special was my first bass, and I give it a bunch of upgrades a couple of years ago. Holds its own against much more expensive basses. I cleaned off all the stickers and gunk that teenage me left on there, stuck on a Badass II bridge, Wizard pickups (Thumper in the P position and an 84 at the bridge), a W/B/W scratchplate and all new pots/wiring/jack. It's a beast now. I was tempted to change the neck as I prefer the look of maple (would love an all-black P with maple board, classic!) but the original neck plays great so I've kept it on. Planning to do the tuners and nut at some point, I'm sure I'll get round to it eventually! Looking forward to seeing the finished product!
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SOLD: Ampeg SVT-3 Pro (USA) in 3U rack case - £425
mike257 replied to mike257's topic in Amps and Cabs For Sale
Quick bump for this - somebody buy it before Oli sells my guitar head to somebody else! -
The on-board powersoak and post-power amp XLR output is a lovely touch, more guitar and bass gear should have that on board!
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I used to have loads of problems with rattling on my 'ray, now I have it set up with action you could drive a bus under and it sounds immense! Maybe a quick lift of the strings will help you out.
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[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1325963849' post='1490549'] I don't get what the excitement is all about. The original 6.0 is a fantastic head and I'm a little disappointed by all the hype over the modifications. More lows aren't necessarily a good thing on a hollow stage either. The reason I chose the Shuttle over the Markbass LM1 is precisely because it had more focussed lows. The eq on the amp is used for compensating onstage acoustics, not for compensating any deficiencies in how the instrument sounds. So if I need more low end I'll turn it up on the bass. However if the 6.2 means the original 6.0 is going to become cheaper on the used markets I'm not complaining as I've wanted another for quite some time. [/quote] I think you're in luck then! This seems to have wiped about a hundred quid off the second hand prices overnight - I was going to sell mine to fund guitar gear I need, and I'm going to have to sell my Ampeg instead now, sad times. [quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1326113428' post='1492383'] From my understanding, the Shuttle 3.0 and 6.0 have the High-Pass filter set so that the low end isn't 'deep' enough to damage the little Shuttle cabinets. Good idea to retain a healthy cab/combo (after all, they were marketed as a combo first and foremost) but obviously if a bass player in a 'fairly' loud band wanted to use the 6.0 with a larger cabinet, the HPF cannot be 'adjusted' as such, (you can click in the LF extension or boost or whatever they call it, but some think that doesn't do the same trick.) so you end up with what some class as a 'thinner' low end. No 'meat' to the tone. For a rock band, obviously this might cause problems. I rely on a full but tight low end, and I tend to cut through when needed with low mids/mid mids, and the higher registers are added more for my benefit if needed. [/quote] I use mine through an Ampeg 610HLF and have never found the low end lacking - play with the EQ pretty much flat, just a touch of low end boost on the bass itself, and it's face-melting! [quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1325956048' post='1490390'] I want the Max 9.2. Don't really need cabs/combos like the 6.2 12T (although would never say no) but the Max 9.2 really does have everything I want. [/quote] Come on now Gareth, we've all seen the gear you go through, nothing has everything you want
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Bit of fun in photoshop with a laney cab and TB500.
mike257 replied to Dave Tipping's topic in Amps and Cabs
Do it! I love the vintage look, silver grill cloth is the business. I'd love to do my SVT610 in the silver stuff, Ampeg did a run of them for a while and it looks awesome. -
I had a look at the Musicman 'Game Changer' thing, and while the techy geek in me loves the concept, in practial terms I just don't think I'd use it. My two main basses are active, but they're pretty much 'set and forget' for me, I'm not fond of having to overly tweak them. I think to get any real benefit out of these basses with endless tonal options, you'd have to [i]really[/i] know them inside out to the point of intuition. No sane producer will want to sit there while you muck about trying 15 different combinations of coil taps and phase reversals to get the 'perfect' tone unless you're on a limitless mega-budget - in which case you'd be a top call player already, and we all know they just turn up with a Precision and get it done
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Hi folks, Replacing my tatty old thread as this is definitely for sale now. I'm selling my Ampeg SVT-3 Pro head which I've owned from new in late 2006. It's USA built (production packed up and moved east not long after this was made). It's always been cased up, and served me well on gigs and recording sessions. Serviced by Panic Music (offical Ampeg service agents for the UK) before a tour in '07, never had any reliability issues with it. Cosmetically it's good apart from two small issues. There's two small scuffs on the front panel that I did hooking the front on one of those stupid Gator rack cases on the [i]first[/i] day I bought the thing I've made no attempt to cover them in the pics so you can see the knocks, but with a dash of black paint/marker/nail varnish (take your pick!) they'd be near enough invisible. The other issue is that at some point it's had a knock to the back and lost the knob on the DI output level control. The shaft is still there and the pot (incl. the push/pull ground lift) is still completely functional, it's just missing the knob. Aside from that, it's clean, tidy and in good cosmetic shape. Great tone, can really grind when you push it, or clean up nice when you need it to. Never ran out of volume with the various speaker combinations I've tried it with, done small gigs with a single 15, right up to the 810 fridge on bigger shows and it's always performed. It's currently living in a good, sturdy and cosmetically clean Citronics 3U rack case, which I'd be happy to include in the sale. Just checked it out and these cases retail at around £80. Here's the specs from Ampeg's website: [b]RMS Power Output (8 Ohms):[/b] 275-Watts [b]RMS Power Output (4 Ohms):[/b] 450-Watts [b]Preamp:[/b] Tubes (3 x 12AX7) [b]Driver Tubes:[/b] 1 x 12AX7, 1 x 12AU7 [b]Power Amp:[/b] Solid-State [b]Tone Controls:[/b] 3-Band [b]Mid Tone Control:[/b] 5-Position [b]Graphic EQ:[/b] Yes, 9-Band [b]Ultra Low/High Boosts:[/b] Yes [b]Balanced Line Out:[/b] Yes, Pre/Post with Ground Lift and Level [b]Effects Loop:[/b] Yes [b]Preamp Out/Power Amp In:[/b] Yes [b]Dimensions (W x H x D inches):[/b] 19 x 3.5 x 15.5 [b]Weight:[/b] 26 Pounds I'm in Liverpool, so happy for you to collect if you're local enough. Alternatively I can meet within a reasonable distance for petrol costs, or will pack it up and courier it at the buyers expense. Reckon this would be £15-£20 via Interparcel. I'm only reluctantly moving this on as I'm in need of a giggable six-string setup and am waiting to relieve Mr Foxen of a nice guitar head, will be sad to see it go! Pics: [attachment=98040:IMAG0867.jpg] [attachment=98041:IMAG0868.jpg] [attachment=98042:IMAG0869.jpg] [attachment=98043:IMAG0870.jpg] [attachment=98044:IMAG0871.jpg] [attachment=98045:IMAG0872.jpg] [attachment=98048:IMAG0875.jpg] [attachment=98049:IMAG0876.jpg] [attachment=98047:IMAG0874.jpg] [attachment=98037:IMAG0865.jpg] [attachment=98039:IMAG0866.jpg] [attachment=98046:IMAG0873.jpg] [attachment=98050:IMAG0877.jpg] Reply in the thread here or drop me a PM if you're interested! Cheers, Mike [b]EDIT: Sold outside of BC - cheers for all the interest folks [/b]
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Fender USA '62 Jazz Bass refinish at home
mike257 replied to kevin_lindsay's topic in General Discussion
I love it in natural! Sure the final job will be ace, especially having seen the Strat, but even for a three piece body that looks great stripped! -
Fender USA '62 Jazz Bass refinish at home
mike257 replied to kevin_lindsay's topic in General Discussion
That's some nice wood. I'd be tempted to just go natural if I found that under there! -
Yeah, I've seen something similar on ebay - the unit looks [i]exactly[/i] the same as the Behringer, just black and with different labelling, probably out the same factory! I was contemplating paying the extra few quid for the Behringer just to get the bundled amp modelling software, as the whole thing is to replace my broken V-Amp that has been serving me well for about 8 years!
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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1326990865' post='1504844'] Thanks Mike, i had only brifly looked at that, thought it looked a bit cheap but if you have seen good reviews i think thats going to be ideal. It does seem to tick all the right boxes, especially having 64 bit ASIO drivers. I might order one tomorrow. [/quote] No worries Dave, glad to help. I think it's going to be typical Behringer cheap-and-cheerful, but for the purposes I'm after (quick and dirty song demoing) it seems to fit the bill. Good luck with it!
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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1326980619' post='1504628'] Thanks Mike, if you mean the[size=4] Behringer UCA222 U-Control Ultra-Low Latency 2 In/2 Out USB Audio Interface[/size] thats on my short list already. EDIT: I should add that as its phono in its not eactly what im after, although better than what i have at the moment. [/quote] Hi Dave, It's not the phono one I had in mind, there's a guitar specific USB interface, have a nosey at [url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCG102.aspx"]this[/url]!