Bottle

Thanks for all the advice, guys I'm selling the ODB-3 now - just doesn't do what I need it to. Thinking of trying some of the stuff you guys have been recommending Ta, Ian

A slightly bigger version of my (current) avatar piccie - before I started growing a beard Ian

[quote name='silddx' post='1034846' date='Nov 24 2010, 10:47 AM']Zoe, that is absolutely ACE! [/quote] [quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='1034850' date='Nov 24 2010, 10:49 AM']I know! It was the last hurdle for me to get over.. and I really never thought Id be able to ever again well happy! Z x[/quote] Great stuff, Zoe!! Good to have you back Ian

Still planning on coming (hope it doesn't snow!!) - will have a couple of pedals for sale (I'll start a For-Sale thread in the Effects section and post a link here) [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=112242"]Effects for Sale[/url] Should have both basses with me as well Ian Edit: linky added

[quote name='dood' post='1033930' date='Nov 23 2010, 02:32 PM']Quick update, I've done a conversion on a US F1. It has been running for a good hour whilst I spank the **** out of it and it sounds fine! Fuse in the US model was a T6.3Al and I have swapped it to match my UK F1 @ T3.15Al.[/quote] Fantastic!! Just watch out for them Fenland electrons - Norfolk and good Ian

Originally had a TU-80 hanging off of the back of my practice amp, but didn't have a mute function. TU-2 on the floor is much easier, and I don't have to keep wandering over to mute and un-mute the head now. Plus the thing's pretty much bullet-proof and built like a brick outhouse. Haven't tried anything else apart from the Korg DT-10, which seems to be fairly popular as well. Not had any complaints about my tuning accuracy either HTH, Ian

[quote name='eude' post='1033257' date='Nov 22 2010, 10:06 PM']Pimp [/quote] [quote name='silddx' post='1033349' date='Nov 22 2010, 11:05 PM']I know [/quote] It's the hat, right? Chicks dig the hat Stay cool! Ian PS after being inspired by several basses with the J/MM configuration (including this build thread), I've gone and tested a Cort GB35A, which I think will get me there on a budget

Well, got to have go on the Cort, and, oh my, what a wonderful bass. Well-made, neck and body fitted well etc. Only grumble was the cheap-ish feeling pots, the pickup balancer was a bit scratchy - just hope they're not all like that. Other than that, a very nice bass, and it almost tempted me to go back to five strings. Still, I think I'll stick to four (for now ). Weight was OK, and heavier than I was expecting, but then I've been playing passives for the last year. Well, I'm sold. Just need to go ahead and order one for Xmas - as per the piccie in the first post, think I'm gonna spring for the Metallic/Candy-Apple Red 4-banger. Took my head and the guys at BM very kindly let me play through a couple of cabs - an Ampeg SVT810AE and the Genz-Benz Neox 212. Very impressed with the Genz - light, tight and punchy. Whilst I was in the shop, saw a very nice Dean Edge 4 unlined fretless - maybe get to have a go on that next time I'm there! Anyway, thanks for all the comments, guys. I love Bass Chat Ian

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1032240' date='Nov 22 2010, 09:10 AM']ODB-3 has a built in blend control too. If you put it before your amp, you should be able to get a decent low gain crunch from it, but perhaps not enough of a crunch for what you need. As above, when you turn the gain up, it gets sh*t.[/quote] That's been my experience so far. Tried it before the head and in the Efx loop, not a whole lot going on there. Going to the Bass Merchant in Colchester today to try some new basses on for size, maybe I'll have a look at any efx pedals they've got. Ta muchly, Ian

Just an update - I'm off to the Bass Merchant in Colchester shortly i.e. this afternoon, to try out a Cort GB35A (the five-stringer, and maybe some other lovely stuff ). I'll let you know how it turns out. Still after the four-banger, but they didn't have one in stock. Ta muchly for all the comments Ian

[quote name='kingforaday' post='1030243' date='Nov 20 2010, 11:08 AM']have you tried a blend pedal to mix the dirt in with the clean signal rather than completely change it? i messed around for ages with tons of distortions and fuzz effects until i sussed that what i was looking for was some way of adding the dirt to my sound without destroying my clean tone. i'm currently using a barge concepts VFB-2 to blend a fulltone bassdrive in with my other sounds and i'm really happy with the sound[/quote] Yep, after my first attempt where I put the Boss right at the start of the signal chain, I moved it to the effects loop of my GK head. Trouble is, the level's probably too hot for the input stage of the ODB3, so any amount of gain is just nasty I'll have a look at the Barge Concepts pedal next. Thanks! Ian

Cheers for all that!! Had a look at BassFuzz.com's YouTube channel, where they review their pedals - some pretty awesome stuff on there - the 'Dirty Bomb' for instance! Can't see myself wanting to use it live (in church of all places), but it looks like it can do some real dirty sounds. I've had a look at the ZVex stuff (and even built myself a Woolly Mammoth clone), but there's very little for bass there, it's all geared up for guitards Anyway, it's given me some food for thought, and I'm heading to the SE bass bash next weekend, so I'm hoping there'll be some folks there with effects I can try. In the meantime, I'm seriously considering selling the Boss - it just doesn't get used enough for me to justify keeping it, TBH. My personal opinion is that if it were better (and didn't suck tone quite so badly) it would be a keeper. Just had another go on it this morning and I ended up rolling all the highs off and boosting the lows, but didn't get me any further Ta muchly, Ian

Interesting find - nice one mate!! My Squier Precision Special has a Precision body with an extra route for the Jazz pickup, and a Jazz neck (even though the headstock has a 'Squier Precision Bass' decal). Those SD pickups look awesome - it's something I might try in mine (if I ever get around to it) - certianly would expect them to be better than the stock pups Let us know how you get on! HTH, Ian

Can't believe I've missed this thread. Well, I'm not going to take sides - all I will say is that since I joined BC a little under two years ago (for the express purpose of buying a bass, no less ), I've found a real community here of like-minded souls, full of good advice and what-not. BC is what you make it - if you don't contribute to the forum, well, I just think you're missing out on a wealth of information, knowledgeable folks and shared experiences etc. Looking at what I've acquired in that time from other BC'ers is quite amazing: Ibanez ATK-305 EBS 4x10 cab EBS 1x15 cab Boss TU-2 SansAmp Paradriver Some strings + misc bits Oh, and I've met some of you guys face to face (either through transactions or at Bass Bashes), so I think I've come out ahead. And if I have anything to sell, you guys get first dibs Seriously, I think the OP may have had a run of bad luck trying to sell, and has vented his frustration, but everyone's feeling the pinch right now - lots of folks in the same boat. Ian

Hi guys Well, I'll start by saying that I don't usually use a ton of effects. Most of the time I run my set up clean, with perhaps a smidge of grit from my SansAmp to dirty up my second channel. I have my amp-rack set up a little like this: Bass > TU-2 > GK Head > (efx loop out) > SansAmp Paradriver > X-Over > Power-amp Broad strokes, the GK feeds my 4x10 cab (clean, full-range) and the power-amp (in two-channel mode) feeds the effected low end into the 1x15 and the highs go to a stack of two 1x12 PA cabs. Recently I've been dusting off my Boss ODB-3 overdrive and inserting it into my signal chain to get a bit more of an overdriven sound for the intro of a particular song. The song was originally recorded with two guitar parts and a bass, however I'm experimenting with playing the textured rhythm guitar part in the intro, so need to dirty up the bass and give it some 'crunch'. I'm playing my Ibanez finger-style, quite high on the fretboard, over the highest E (14th fret on the D string) and G (12th fret on G, playing root/thirds over an Em chord), trying to get a 'crunchy' and 'chuggy' sort of tone. (1) Bass > TU-2 > ODB-3 > GK Head > (efx loop out) > SansAmp Paradriver > X-Over > Power-amp and (2) Bass > TU-2 > GK Head > (efx loop out) > ODB-3 > SansAmp Paradriver > X-Over > Power-amp I've tried the ODB-3 in a couple of places (see above), but can't really get anything more than what can only be described as 'angry wasps in a jar'. Guess I'm looking for something that can give me some distorted highs whilst leaving the lows (relatively) intact. Any thoughts? Thanks, Ian EDIT: Added a picture for 'clarity'

[quote name='silddx' post='1021914' date='Nov 12 2010, 08:45 PM']Hello Ian, swapped the hot and cold on the HB and it works beautifully! With both pups on centered blend, it has a really throaty mid scooped sound with no loss of bass or volume. Superb! Again, thanks for the offer man![/quote] No worries feller!! Glad you got there in the end (plus you can always wire it with a coil-split switch later, for even more tonal options ). Nice playing in the vid too, super stuff. Hope to catch up with you at the SE bash. Have a good one! Ian

[quote name='icastle' post='1024850' date='Nov 15 2010, 04:50 PM']I knew it..! I bl**dy knew it..! ...Norfolk is NOT part of Europe... [/quote] Hehehehe

[quote name='charic' post='1024389' date='Nov 15 2010, 10:51 AM']Just recieved this from Slepe Hall: "We have the 2nd, 9th 16th and 23rd available Sundays in January" Preferences?[/quote] Unfortunately, three of those Sundays I'm at church in the morning, so unless I could shoot to the bash for a couple of hours in the afternoon, I can't make any of those dates Pity, was looking forward to an East Anglian Bash - there's a lot of us out this way! Ta, Ian

[quote name='icastle' post='1019491' date='Nov 10 2010, 11:08 PM']A bid for freedom? [/quote] It's them free electrons, innit? Next Protons and Neutrons will be striking in sympathy, and demanding reparations Anyway, IIRC the Electricty Supply, Quality and Continuity Regs 2002 state that the harmonised supply voltage in the EU should be 230VAC, single phase, with a tolerance of -10%/+6% (which, I believe has been mentioned elsewhere) - long and short of it is that in the UK, electricity suppliers really haven't had to do anything different (and neither have our continental cousins). All it means is that our [i]nominal[/i] supply is 230VAC, but in reality, is still 240V (and by the same token, Europe is still 220V). The regs are there to bring us in line with Europe, so that equipment manufactured overseas can be built to a single standard. Simples . In relation to the OP's specific query, I would suggest setting the jumper to 240VAC, if he intends to [i]only[/i] use it in the UK, otherwise 230VAC. HTH, Ian

I think this year has been the best year so far for me (in terms of playing). I'm in a Christian P&W band, and we've steadily increased in size over the last couple of years, as the congregation has grown as well, so I'm playing every other Sunday, plus a few extra events here and there. We've gotten to the point where there's enough people to fill every slot in the band at least twice over, so we've split our rehearsals and practices into two sessions, so that at least everyone gets to play over the course of the day. Last year was good - we recorded and released our own album here in Cambridge (with a little help from our colonial friends), we put on a couple of events, including the Guildhall, but this year has had a few ups-and-downs. I went through a phase of not playing for a while, whilst I got back in the saddle playing-wise (had a few self-confidence and personal issues), but have been back playing with the band for the last six months or so, including an outdoor gig in one of the villages over the summer (bit of a blast - took the whole stack with me, got some incredulous looks ), so I would say it's been pretty good, overall. Looking forward to 2011. Also been getting to know some other local bass players through the funk jam nights, which have been good for my playing ability, as well as making some new friends. One comment I received about my playing was: "Gosh, it sounds like the music for a low-budget porn movie", which is a bit of a back-handed complement, but knowing the person in question, it made me giggle a lot Ian

Had an OK-ish morning yesterday - regular church P&W band. Decided to do a quick in-and-out, so just took my Ibanez, tuner and SansAmp and DI'ed straight into the PA. Got good foldback - IEM packs are two channel (although we only use them in mono), so tried something different by setting the PA desk to send bass in one channel of my 'cans and 'mix minus bass' in t'other - worked a treat, and I didn't give myself the usual hernia with the 4x10 I often bring. Even better was the single trip to and from the car. Playing was OK - hadn't really had the chance to practice the set list beforehand, but we ended up going into a spontaneous set at the end in G-maj, so I noodled over an Em scale, throwing in some basslines from another song. Got a couple of good comments from the worship leader at the end, plus the singer/songerwriter whose basslines I'd 'borrowed' came up and gave me a smile, which made my day So's all-in-all a good day Ian

Ah bugger - although the 16th January is my birthday (yay me), I'm down in St. Albans that weekend, sorry guys Ian

[quote name='silddx' post='1021406' date='Nov 12 2010, 01:46 PM']John East got back to me and he also suggested that one of the pups is out of phase and to swap the hot and cold (or what I thought were hot and cold) around which may well solve the problem.[/quote] Hey Nigel If you'd like, I can have a look at the circuit wiring for you. How have you wired the humbucker? This might help (although it's for a DiMarzio HB pickup, the process should be the same). You'll need to identify which wire is which from the MEC HB. HTH, Ian