mike257

Loads of useful info here as always... I'd be interested in those books/websites too, OG, if you could see your way to dropping me a PM. Muchos gracias!!

I'm going to throw in a recommendation for Sandberg here. I picked up a California JM4 off this very forum not long ago, and it actually gets more love and attention from me than my Stingray does, which I thought would never happen in a million years. It's got a real range of sounds from the Jazz/MM pickups and 2 band eq, and there's a active/passive switch for going old-school. Most importantly, it plays like an absolute dream and is one of the best put-together basses I've ever come across. Ticks all the boxes for me. You'll pick up a new one inside your budget, and could get a 5er if you need the extra range. IMHO, of course!

The case my T-40 came in has got a guest pass from a Paul McCartney world tour stuck on the side! Never managed to find out who it belonged to though. And I don't know if this counts, but I lent Norman Watt-Roy my Ampeg when I opened for Wilko Johnson. He said he'd never really used much Ampeg before, and that he loved the sound of mine and might get one!!!

I actually like the sound of this purely on the principle of simplicity. My perfect amp would just have a volume knob and an on switch, and sound great without tweaking

I've had one for about ten years, it was my first bass, and I still love it now. It's currently in a couple of pieces getting a rebuild, but I can see it getting gigged alongside my 'proper' basses, and not feeling out of place. Great bass for the money, and a good starting point to mod from too!

The producer has responsibility for much more than just which faders get pushed on the desk. It's actually all about communicating, and people skills. A good producer gives an artist the environment, guidance and assurance they need to give their best possible performance. The engineer has a purely technical role, but the producer has to keep all those egos in check!! Obviously every band spends an enormous amount of time crafting their sound and their songs, but sometimes it's impossible to be completely objective about something that you are so personally and emotionally invested in. A producer can offer an objective and independent viewpoint, that can bring to light different ways of approaching a not-quite-right song, or just polishing up the rough edges of something that's already nearly there. I think the contribution they make is severely overlooked.

Time spent understanding and appreciating other instruments is time well spent indeed. It's a long time since I've [i]practiced[/i] bass with a view to actually learning new things. I spend more time writing now, and playing with arrangements and sounds. I actually took almost a year out from serious gigging to get to grips with how I wanted to write music, and have now hit the point where I'm putting a band together on my own terms, and can call myself a songwriter for the first time in 10 years of playing music. Producing and arranging is an endlessly satisfying and surprising thing to dig in to, and it can open you up to new ideas and new avenues of opportunity. You never run out of things to learn from.

I'm another lefty-righty here, just always learned that way. It doesn't stretch to drumming though, I have to turn the whole damn kit round if I want to sound anything more than slightly competent.

I've done the 3-guitar band thing, it's ok if they all know what they're doing!! Anyone heard Oceansize? They've got three guitarists, all kinds of bleepy electronica, and a total monster of a drummer (not to mention some bizarre time sigs), but they manage to find a space for it all.

I'm sure there was a nice 5 string Stingray in the for sale section for £550. Can't go wrong with that

[quote name='alexclaber' post='264582' date='Aug 18 2008, 02:06 PM']Why not just stick with the TE combo? Alex[/quote] Ah, i've just read the thread again [i]properly[/i], and realised you already own both. Well, if you're happy with what the TE is doing for you, i'd agree with Alex and say stick with it. If it ain't broke.... Mike

[quote name='Darcy' post='263477' date='Aug 16 2008, 08:12 AM']Nice to know it's not just me Are you say the SVT is only at it's best into 4Ohms. So an extra 8Ohm cab or 1 4Ohm cab? I must admit I have a very mid heavy sound. SO would a Trace head be a better option? (anyone want to swap a SVT 3Pro for a nice Trace RAH 350/400???)[/quote] Well, for me, i'm usually playing with a severely loud rock drummer, and two guitarists with 4x12's and loudloudloud Marshall JCM heads, and I've struggled to get the performance I want out of the amp when I'm only running the one cab. It seems to come to life when I add the 15. I've got a pretty middy sound sometimes too, but the tone of the Ampeg is great. I find it 'growls' more than the Trace, which I remember being a lot cleaner sounding, but still very nice. I'd see if you can borrow a cab to try the SVT3 at 4ohms before you go getting rid of it, they are lovely sounding amps.

I love it... i want one!

I've had many a sleepless night wishing I could switch my dimples. On a serious note though, I've got a mute switch for my rack tuner from Red Onion, and they even made it look exactly like the MS Paint picture I sent them for where all the bits should go. Recommended!

I've always found my SVT3pro really underwhelming at 8ohms. I don't even entertain the idea of running it like that in rehearsals now! I used to have a Trace 12 band SMX 4x10 combo, and that was monsterous on it's own, so it's not just you!!

I once played a 45 minute set of [i]completely improvised[/i] metal, with a guitarist, 2 singers and 2 drummers, none of whom I had ever heard play a note. I didn't even get to soundcheck with them. Knowing how bad it was for me, I can only begin to imagine what the audience were suffering. I think my old drummer put a clip of it on YouTube for the comedy value, if I find it I'll share it for a giggle!

+1 to everything BigRedX just said.... and good luck for tonight!!

From playing originals in a plethora of noisy toilet circuit rock bands, I'd say that the performance is as much about the energy you create on stage as anything else. They may be tired old rock poses, but in the context of a balls-out rock band, it's much more appropriate than standing still. Most people who go to gigs aren't musicians, and they won't define their memory of it on you missing a few bass notes, or leaving the hard bit out and playing root notes so you can machine gun the audience with your headstock. They'll remember a band that not only play great songs, but perform with energy and engage the audience. What this means for you depends on the band you're in, I guess. You'd be a bit out of place playing behind your head whilst doing the splits in a trad jazz band, but sitting on a stool looking at the fretboard won't do much for a room full of rock fans. So long as you enjoy it, that's the important bit!! EDIT: Wotnwhy just said the same thing as me, but far more coherently, whilst I was typing this nonsense. Well played sir!

We do a 4 hour sesh twice a week, although it's more like 3 once we've dragged the gear in and out of the locker! My last band had our own room at the studio, used to do 3 nights, usually shorter ones, but if we were writing, o just particularly enjoying ourselves, we'd be there til the last bus home!

Cheers for all the opinions guys, there's obviously a lot of love for hiscox here! I'm down to these two then: The [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/15119"]Hiscox[/url] for £67 with the postage OR The [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_flight_case_wood_bass.htm"]Thomann[/url] option, which winds up at £54 including the shipping. Skintness sways me towards whatever's cheapest, but I'm open to being convinced Anybody tried the Thomann ones?

I used to have the 1x15 version!! First bass amp I ever owned, bought it off a keyboard player when I was at college. It was pretty mega as I remember it. Only problems I ever had with it were the speaker connection going a bit iffy, but other than that it worked a treat. Don't know about the age of them, never managed to find much info on it. Good luck with it though, I bet it sounds a right treat

Done this with a couple of bands now. We've used various devices for playback, ranging from the onboard sequencer of a keyboard, to a multitracker, to a portable DVD player loaded up with an audio CD. We premix the tracks so one side of the stereo has a click for the drummer, and the other side has the samples on. We just connect one side to a headphone amp for the tubthumper, and the other side to a DI box that goes off to FOH. If you've got a drummer who's au fait with playing to a click track then this works a treat! Mike EDIT: If there's gaps in your song where the drummer doesn't play, he will of course have to still keep a pedal hat/stick click going to keep you lot in time with the click!! Took a few reminders before ours got his head round that bit

Alright gents (and ladies), I'm doing some shopping, and thought I'd canvas your expert opinions!! I've recently acquired Mr Cougar's gorgeous Sandberg JM4, and can't bring myself to cart around something so tasty in a gig bag. Anyone got a favourite choice of hardcase? It's just occured to me that I've never gone shopping for one, as I've always just used the ones that came with my 'rays!! Nosing around on Thomann, their Harley Benton flightcases look to be [i]exactly[/i] the same as the Warwick Rockcases, just a tenner or so cheaper! Anyone had any experience with these? Cheers folks, Mike