Skybone

Been trying to get back to playing with my fingers over the last few years, so rarely use picks these days, however, I always have at least one Dunlop Nylon 0.73 (the light grey ones) pick handy (tucked into scratchplate) for those "I need a pick and quick" moments. Tried many, many picks for bass over the years, from big heavy one's that everyone says are excellent, to the really thin ones that no-one uses. IMO, the .73 Nylons are stiff enough for fast playing, but flexible enough to give a more gentle string attack sound more akin to a finger style sound, where the heavier picks tend to give a snappier "clicky" sound (IMO), great if that's what you're after. Another plus side to using the Nylons is that they last for ages (but are a bugger to find if you drop them!). Also ended up using the .73 Nylons for acoustic guitar too (again, softer sound), but use Tortex .63's (Orange) for electric.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1360625642' post='1973789'] Sunday was great for TV. CHiPs used to be on in the afternoon just before The Big Match. What more could anyone want? [/quote] CHiPs was on at Saturday tea-time, Sunday was for The Professionals.

TBH, if you aren't sure which one to go for... head out to your nearest musical instrument emporium that has any of these guitars in stock, park your poverbial and give them all a try. The best feeling/playing/sounding one wins and gets to go home with you. Quite a number of years back, I did exactly the same and lined up 5 or 6 basses that appealed, then another 2 or 3 that were in the right price bracket, and bas(s)ically sat in the music shop for a couple of hours trying them all out. Nedless to say, the couple that were my "front runners" quickly fell by the wayside, a few more kept getting added to the trial selection, but the one I walked out of the shop with, only joined the trial because it was in the right price bracket, but it sounded and felt the best for me at that time. It was a Fender Mex Jazz. Done it with quite a few guitars over the years, especially with acoustics. You really cannot beat going into a shop and actually trying guitars out. If none of the ones you try float your boat, you're free to walk away, but you also have a better idea of what fits you and what doesn't.

I just sit and play with my instrument on my own.....

Have only glanced at the replies to the original post, but... a similar thing happened to me... If you have had a particularly busy spate of flogging stuff via eBay & getting your payments in through PayPal, because (or despite) of the fact that you're a private individual selling stuff off, it would appear to any remote analysis of your account, that you are running a business and not just getting rid of some old stuff. What happened to me, my wife and I had a spate of flogging stuff, most cases it was very low value items (old but useable kids clothes and toys) and a couple of high value music related items. We got a few emails from PayPal asking us to go into our account & verify some things, though the email was very unspecific and thus got ignored and deleted thinking it was spammage. Roll on a few weeks, and our PayPal account was blocked because we hadn't logged in & gone through the questions. It's all to do with their compliance with UK Tax Regulations, as if you're running a business, you're liable for tax in conjunction with that business. If you're a private individual selling stuff on, then you're not liable for tax. Basically, they're wanting you to verify that you aren't running a business to comply with UK Tax Laws/Rules. Login to your PayPal account via their website and there should be more info there. If the account's still blocked, give them a call.

I've been trying to sell my Modern Player Jazz since before Christmas with no joy. First eBay auction was won by a non-payer, the second most recent auction had tons of views and watchers, but no bids. I did get one offer from someone, but I [i]had to [b]politely[/b][/i] decline because it was way, way, way off the mark. And that's for a Fender (albeit an MIC Fender). I guess post-Christmas isn't a great time to sell anything.

Surely one signature bass that should exist would have to be a Lakland Geezer Butler

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1386862651' post='2305592'] Is this the one with Dave Main in it? [/quote] It is... he's the only person to get sub-titles!

Theoretically, it should be possible... if you remove the pre-amp & associated gubbins, and replace with traditional pots/caps, though what size cap(s) you would use is for someone else to answer. I think most people would answer: Why? Why get an active StingRay and why would you want to remove the eletronics? I guess one option would be to get an active T'bird (that Epiphone one) as well as the StingRay, or like you say, another passive T'bird. What about a P or P/J bass or a G&L L2000 (switchable from active to passive)? After many, many, many years of playing active's, I went back to passives, mainly because of all the active's I'd had (from Aria/Westone/Washburn/Tobias/EBMM and a few others), I'd never really been that happy with the way they sounded, no matter how much I tweaked them and the amps, either live or recorded. I plugged in a friends passive, instant tonal gratification, great sound straight off and every time. From then on, I've been a passive re-convert, but buying a new bass is frustrating, because it seems that nearly everything has active electronics in them, apart from the good old P or J (and even they don't escape the all pervading 9v treatment!). Stay passive!

No matter how much you try to sell your music, and no matter how much time, effort & financial input you and the rest of your band put into making the best recording you can... There's always some freeloading numpty's who expect you to give them a copy for free... more these days thanks to "free" downloads on Blogs and other sources. And I've had numerous "discussions" with folk on various forums (fora/forii?) be they musician or just music related, there are still more people arguing that you should give your music away for free. IMO o'course.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386783093' post='2304500'] Geezer is indeed the guv'nor. What a fantastic player. His sound is always great, and his playing over the years has been an inspiration . Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules are my favourite albums for Geezers playing , but he is great on everything Sabbath have ever done . In fact, it was Geezer Butler and Geddy Lee that really inspired me to take up the bass, and I like to think that if by some amazing breakthrough in medical science Geezer and Geddy were able to have a child together then I would be that child. [/quote] Remember watching the "Never Say Die" tour video on telly many moons ago (when we only had 4 channels), and he was knocking seven shades out of a Fireglo 4001, though my absolute favourite was the "Live in Paris" film from about 1970 (Paranoid tour?). Utter classic. Also remember reading a Guitar mag interview with Tony Iommi a few years back, and he said that Sabbath never had the need of a rhythm guitarist, "because Geezer filled those spaces with the bass". Awesome player and all round top bloke.

That's another one that's swaying me away from the Line6 Pack. They've focused on developing the Guitar specific stuff, and kind of left the Bass side to fend for itself. They integrated bass models on the PODx3's, but seem to have left them out of the HD line.

Been using my good old Line6 PODxt for both guitar and bass duties for a long time, but I'm considering (again) whether or not to get a dedicated bass multi FX pedal. The PODxt sounds pretty good to me, using guitar amp models & cabs for bass for practising at home, recording and (very) occaisional jams. In the past I've had both a Behringer V-Amp Bass modeller and a Line6 Bass PODxt. Neither, IMO, sounded that impressive in comparison to the Guitar PODxt, the Behringer seriously failed to impress, where the Bass PODxt was good, it wasn't that good (or maybe I've just got used to hearing the bass through the red PODxt!). Been specifically looking at the Vox StompLab 2B, which is getting good reviews, but doesn't have the deep editing faciility of the POD or other USB connected pedals/modellers. Has anyone got or used one? How does it sound? Can you get a good sound out of it without too much messing about? How is it to edit patches? Is the interface intuitive? Another option would be to get the Line6 Bass Expansion pack and load it on to the xt, but at $100 (not sure of the exchange rate just now!), is it worth it? The plus side is that I know the interface, can use the PC based Editor software to tinker with patches/sounds/mic placement etc and don't have to worry about where I'm gong to keep another piece of kit! In one way, I'm pretty happy to keep using the guitar amp models, but a part of me wonders what the bass would sound like with a virtual SVT or Super Lead Bass...

Got the DVD, a very entertaining film, though I found it incredibly humourous that, of all the people interviewed for the film, the only one to get sub-titled is D*A*M's Dave Main... from South Yorkshire!

Anything by My Bloody Valentine

Thanks for setting me straight on that, I am forever in your debt and bow to your superior knowledge and wisdom.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1386191602' post='2297098'] What sort of amp are we talking about here? I still think it sounds like you're talking about a cathode-biased amp, which can be considered "self adjusting" to some extent. I wouldn't like to suggest to the OP that he could swap any octal valve into his Alphabass with impunity (without adjusting anything), as that may not be the case. [/quote] [quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1386171911' post='2296719'][b]However, you should get the amp serviced by an Amp Tech & get him to change the valves for you at the same time.[/b][/quote]

But as I understand it, and one of the reasons that I bought this particular amp in the first place (as well as it being incredibly versatile, sounding superb, and being built in the UK), was the fact that because it is a fixed bias design, it enables the end user to change the power valves themselves, without having to take the amp to a tech. This particular amp works in both Class A and Class AB(1), and can be switched between classes and valve configurations to acheive a range of tones and outputs, from family friendly single ended operation to pummeling your eardrums at gigs. But, one of the great features of this amp, is that you can use pretty much any octal valve (still have to be in matched pairs), and it'll still sound superb. And I have tried it a few times, with no detriment to the amp or the volume, through this experimentation though, I found that it sounded best with the stock EL34's. I used to have an Ampeg VL503 (guitar combo) where you could flick a bias switch on the back and then change the power valves from EL34's & 6L6's, then simply adjust the micro pots at the back to get the valves into bias using rear panel mounted LED's. Likewise, the Peavey head should sound best with 6L6's, but with a fixed bias, you should be able to swap them yourself. However, you should get the amp serviced by an Amp Tech & get him to change the valves for you at the same time.

Fixed bias means that the bias is fixed, and therefore won't need to be adjusted when you change the valves. In other words, you can change the valves yourself without having to take it to a Valve Amp Technician. Matched pairs: Most high output valve amps work in Class AB or "push/pull" (IIRC!). Where some Class A valve amps can work with a single valve, Class AB amps need pairs. However, with a fixed bias amp, you can put 3 different sets of matched pairs (1 pair at 1 bias voltage, the other two pairs at different voltages), and theoretically, because the bias is fixed, the amp will still work without having to have a trip to the Amp Tech's. Beacuse of this, you should also be able to use pretty much any octal base (8 pin) power valves (6L6, EL34, KT66, KT77, 6550, etc). Also, one of the other benefits of fixed bias is that your power valves will last so much longer than in a non-fixed bias amp. It's always baffled me why more manufacturer's don't produce valve amps with fixed bias, though the Amp Tech's are glad that they do. And yes, I own a fixed bias valve amp that I can use any octal base power valve without having to get it re-biased each and every time I change valves (saying that, I'm still running the original set of valves it came with when I bought it 7 years ago, and it still sounds fantastic).

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1386085010' post='2295509'] Notice the headstock on the first strat. It's a hondo or something? Once he smashes it, he then is given the proper one to finish the song with. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2miLo3hbEZE[/media] [/quote] R.I.P. R.J.D.

My old 4003 was always in D standard (D, G, C, F) and played brilliantly with only a couple of minor tweaks to the bridge (intonation & string height). Used stainless 105 guage Stadium Elites. For C or lower, maybe look at using slightly heavier strings (110's?). My Rockinbetter's tuned to D, without tweaks, and it sounds just fine.

AFAIK, a guitar head should be fine, just remember to use a bass cab/speaker (unless you want to blow the guitar speakers that is).

80's covers tips? Invest in a fretless and work on your Pino Palladino impressions. And don't forget the BIG HAIR.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1384978350' post='2283115'] The snack shop up the road from me got a cease order from the makers of the Ally McBeal show as they called their shop McBeals. The shop, all 10 sq feet of it, was a serious threat to the tv program. [/quote] No, it was because they were selling food, where the star and the rest of the female cast of the Ally McBeal show were ordered to cease & desist from eating.