MoJoKe

Guys, there doesn't seem to be a forum for "other musicians needed/available", so apologies for hikacking this one!! Soulfire, my new 10 piece soul band are still only nine pieces! Does anyone know a good solid keyboard player for 2-3 gigs a month? We do soul, blues, funk stuff, with just a touch of a Brian Setzer orchestra feel! We are based around exeter..... Thank you my friends, for tolerating this invasion!!

[quote name='Basszilla' post='76464' date='Oct 19 2007, 12:29 PM']The price on the MB is rediculous, still...wouldn't mind having a blast on the MB just for jokes. I'm sure it would sound class. Hopefully my lottery win will come through this week...[/quote] Yes it would sound class(waahaay!!) and lucky for me I found a steal of a deal on the 'bay on a nearly new one with the tags still on. But think of it this way, with MB, unless you a> have really deep pockets and absolutely no cares or b> simply CANNOT get your head away from needing a massive rig to match your manhood, you really DON'T need a monster to gig with (and screw up your back!). My Mini CMD151p is ample for EVERY gig I have done so far, as there is SO much quality volume and fullness of tone. Even buying "reasonable" gear, by the time you've bought your head and a couple of cabs, you'll be well up to the web price of a 151 or 102 combo. If anyone needs more than 3-400 Watts, then they should be through the PA anyway!! I played bass with MUD, and for much of it we went out with a minimum of 6.5kw PA, and played VERY loud! I used a 150W TE combo DI'd for much of it, with no problem, and plenty of stage and FOH volume.

I spoke to the bass guy at Project Music in Exeter when I was looking at new gear about 2 months ago, and he had just ordered his, and was awaiting delvery, which must have happened by now! They are Laney dealers, but mostly the usual Richter stuff (been there, don't even think of doing it!!), so the shop's may be slightly sales biased, but I think you would certainly get a personal opinion from him! I cannot remember his name, but they've got to be worth a ring (01392 425125) PS. I bought MB, and will [b][u]never[/u][/b] go back to the heavy stuff!!!! In the past I have had a TE350/410/115 but my favoutite was a Kustomsound 400 with 1x15 Fender cab. Plenty of beef, but a well shagged back, so now the light stuff is perfect!! I will shortly have a 102 cab to go with my Mini CMD 151p, and that, as I see it, will be perfect!! Good luck!

This guy had the whole amp for sale a couple of months ago, saying it was in full working order but needing work to tidy up. I had a watch on it, but then spotted my MB so obvoiusly it didn't sell then. Even then he was suggesting the speakers would need to be removed for shipping!!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='68668' date='Oct 2 2007, 02:35 PM']You could just use the top four strings from a six string set, though it's probably cheaper to order four singles. If I were doing it I'd used 30-40-55-75 which will give fairly balanced tensions. Alex[/quote] Thats all useful, thanks chaps! I'll update you again!

[quote name='Mokl' post='68084' date='Oct 1 2007, 12:36 PM']I might be wrong, but doesn't he use a shorter scale tenor bass for that tuning?[/quote] I might also be wrong, but this looks like a longscale bass to me:- [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9a4ThBNacY"]Victor Wooten Playing Norwegian Wood on YouTube[/url]

OK guys, I need some help here! I've spent 32 years playing rock and roll, funk, soul, just about every techninque except tapping, and its time to start!! Mr Wooten appears to use his fretless Fedora tuned to ADGC (or maybe not? Answers on a postcard please!). I don't want to mess with my JV P Bass as its a classic, and my main gigging bass is a Dean Edge 5, which I also wouldn't want to compromise. I cannot afford another bass at the moment, so that leaves my Mach I Wal fretless. I'm not worried about it being fretless, the slapping sound has always been fantastic, but then I have always used roundwound strings (the fretboard must be made of some incredible space age material.... no, I do know its wood really ), as I had it built for me in 1987, and it has never needed refinishing! My concern is tuning, and what type/gauge strings, so the neck isn't strained, so simply retuning with the Elixir Lights (45-100) just isn't a very sensible option. I think I will possibly try half or groundwounds (sliding with fingertips looks kinda abrasive otherwise!!), so:- a ) What gauge and type should I be using? b ) Have I gone mad thinking this is at all sensible? or c ) Should I really just go out and find a cheap 6'er on e-bay to experiment with instead?

Thanks guys. The need is fairly simple... I have a Dean Edge 5, which was a temporary addition to the collection in lieu of the possibility of a new, or finding a secondhand Wal 5ver as soon as I can afford. I have tried several times to set up better/lower myself, but not entirely happy with the neck, so need to see if someone else can do a better job of it, or whether I should trade up again futher towards my goal!

[quote name='Paul_C' post='65756' date='Sep 26 2007, 10:57 AM']Mansons ?[/quote] I don't know about anyone else (and apologies if anyone here works for them!!!), but I found the prices high and the attitude a bit superior when I went in there for the first and last time about a year ago. I'm 47, been playing bass for 32 years and don't look like a poor student or schoolkid (who probably actually have access to [b]more[/b] disposable income than me!!) and was researching the options for a new lightweight rig, which I HAVE now since bought (MB), but was treated a bit like a no hoper window shopper. Funnily enough, on my first and last ever visit to the BassPlace in London, I was treated the same only more rudely. I was wearing a suit as I had been to a business meeting around the corner, so I suppose I should have changed before going in!! I sell Business Phone Systems (anyone need one!?!?) in my day job, and the addage always has to be "never assume!". Strikes me this happened on both occasions.

Hi, I posted this yesterday on the pinned luthiers list, but no-one has spotted it yet! I need to find a luthier in Exeter/South Devon, anyone got any contacts or recommendations please? Thanks!

[quote name='WalMan' post='65073' date='Sep 24 2007, 11:13 PM']On the Wal it acts like a DI. You have to have a jack plugged in to make it work. As for fitting it, sorry Pete @ Wal did that[/quote] Now I was surprised when I read this, so I tested my 1987 MachI Fretless directly into my mixing desk. It [u]doesn't[/u] need a jack plugged in, it is permanently "live", with no control or preamp...... Not what I was expecting! I had always thought it was a balanced out, and was planning to experiment with the XLR on my new MB CMD151P, but unless its faulty I wont bother now!! I'm sure I've used it direct into a desk for recording before though....?

Hi guys, I used to live in Bristol, so used J Kincade (also a guitar tech at Sound Control put on a new scratchplate, and did a lovely dress and setup on my JV a couple of years ago, but don't know if the same guy is still there!), but I now live in sunny Devon, and need to find someone down here in the Exeter area please!! Regards, MoJoke

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='61572' date='Sep 17 2007, 11:26 AM']I understand about the boom aspect. The reason i asked about the lid was a while ago i did a gig on a wooden stage and it sounded ok. a bit of boom but that helped me feel the bass and meant i didnt have to turn the lows up to compensate. All went well the first set and then we had a small brass section come on and so i put my cab on the drum riser. It was only small, less than a foot high but it totally destroyed my sound. suddenly it became lifeless, ihad to back the lows off quite a bit and then boost the mids just to get heard out front. I didnt change the distance from the wall, just raised it up a bit but of course it was on a hollow drum riser on a hollow sage. I have tried a few times to get my cab off the ground but i always feel it looses too much low end.[/quote] Yes, I know what you mean, thats the effect working in reverse, where the resonance is actually beneficial and desirable, and by disconnecting the cab from the stage it buggers up the whole sound! I use big floor standing speakers on my home surround sound, rather than bookshelf ones for exactly the same reason. The room resonates better and provides a much fuller sound with far better bass response. Interestingly enough, if your cabs are rear vented (like the new CMD151P) the distance from the wall behind can also shape the sound +/- I have played with several guitarists in my time, who use fender amps facing the wall, as they think the "reflected" sound is better than the direct sound (I know they are a different breed, but we should respect their opinions too, however stupid this sounds!!!). If you record with a live amp, rather than direct into a preamp/desk, the amp postioning can be as critical as the mike positioning!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='60324' date='Sep 14 2007, 11:50 AM']Can i just ask about you placing your combo on a box lid to get it off the stage. Im not too hot on these matters but wouldn't that act in a similar way to just placing it on the stage. wouldn't it increase the boom? Anyway, back to the topic. ive seen a couple of small, outside function gigs with bass players using the 210 combo and it is indeed a good one to get your sound across and heard clearly. very tight sound IMO.[/quote] Certainly agree with your thought of adding a 210 cab, would certainly make the mids more punchy. I'll see if I can borrow one to try, but am already assuming I'll need to start saving up! With regard the above, the boom effect is caused by the amp making the stage act like a resonator, a bit like the bridge/soundboard of a doublebass or a struck tuning fork touched on a table. Anything you can do to soften the connection between the two, a chair, stand, bottom of a wheeled flightcase, or its lid, or even a good thick wadge of carpet or foam will do this. The box lid may resonate in its own right, but the effect would be far less than direct contact with the stage. Getting the amp higher also will make it sound better as the the broader tonal range will be more audible to you standing closer. Only problem with this and the newer CMD 151p model, as I said in my earlier post, is the tweeter is not switchable and if you like a sharp, toppy sound, you may have to compromise to avoid feedback!! The 210 cab addition would be the obvious solution here!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='60360' date='Sep 14 2007, 12:43 PM']Exactly, IYHO. Certainly not Stuff and nonsense though. so if you have the current version then its not the same as the one i had and so not really fare to tell me i couldnt hear it. Mine would have been smaller (in fact its square). when i took mine back we plugged it in to a LMII in the shop and also tested out a UL115, same settings etc, just unplugged one for the other. what a difference. A lot more volume but also the UL115 sounded very full and deep with loads of punch and sweet highs. even the guy in the shop said the 151P is more part of a system than a stand alone. YMMV of course.[/quote] Please, No personal offence meant at all!! This is a forum for opinion, not critiscism!! Others have been negative about my CMD151p ITheirHO, and I welcome that feedback, even if I don't happen to agree!! It doesn't make any of us wrong or right! I have no experience at all of the old model, so I guess (as someone has said in this, or another MB thread) that at least it means MB are doing a great job, listening to their customers and constantly improving their amps. Waahaay to that!!

[quote name='MoJoKe' post='60353' date='Sep 14 2007, 12:35 PM']Hi! See my post elsewhere in this section. I just bought a 151p, and I bl**dy love it. I use three main Basses, all very different, and all sound fantastic! Several people have commented the sound is bassy and rich, but isnt "hear-able". Stuff and nonsense IMHO!!! Just don't over-use the VLE or VPF. I've had some very big rigs in my 30 years of playing experience, and I am amazed such a tiny thing could be SO impressive![/quote] PS. Mine is the current model, it has a tweeter (so bright it can feedback badly if you use too much VPF!) just the speaker is orange, and [b]no[/b] it certainly does [b]not[/b] fart!!

Hi! See my post elsewhere in this section. I just bought a 151p, and I bl**dy love it. I use three main Basses, all very different, and all sound fantastic! Several people have commented the sound is bassy and rich, but isnt "hear-able". Stuff and nonsense IMHO!!! Just don't over-use the VLE or VPF. I've had some very big rigs in my 30 years of playing experience, and I am amazed such a tiny thing could be SO impressive!

[quote name='lonestar' post='57181' date='Sep 7 2007, 08:15 PM']That's interesting I have a CMD102P and was thinking of trying an EBS multicomp. I would be very interested in your opinions on this combination. I also find the VLE at about 1pm very useful with my jazz bass.[/quote] The VLE definitely seems to have a more positive effect on my passive Precision, less so on the Wal and DE5, but the both actives are [b]very[/b] active! Has anyone any experience with the DHA Valve units...? Dave, perhaps I could have a tryout?

[quote name='BB2000' post='56353' date='Sep 6 2007, 09:03 AM']LED's wouldn't bring the price down, but the pickguard would.[/quote] Yes, revolting isnt it!!!!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='55763' date='Sep 5 2007, 10:20 AM']Nice one. Hope you'll be happy with it. Thats quite a jump from a 2x15 to the MB......[/quote] Not so much a jump as a slow but invigorating sonic journey through time, interrupted only by various other un-satisfactory set-ups and varying degrees of poverty!! On Wednesday I used the 151 at a particularly loud blues Jam night I go to occasionally, and at one point there were there were two harp players (should be locked up in my view - all mad as snakes!), and [b]four[/b] guitars. There was absolutely no problem with lack of punch. I am well used to the shaping effect caused by the VPF, from TE days (In fact, with it up too high, the amp feeds back way too easily!!!), and this will certainly detract from the midrange, but with it off, the sound can be made incredibly middly, even with my precision and particularly with my Wal (but then you'd have to be well surprised if it didn't!). I'd quite like to try putting a valve pre-amp in front of it instead of relying on the VLE, as I can't seem to find a setting on this that doesn't make the sound muddy. Others experience or comment would be most welcome!

Well, the GAS got the better of me, and I did it. Yes, I know, by comparison to some of you out there this is a tiddler, but I've done all that before, several times. My first proper rig was a Kustom 250, complete with black quilting and a Fender 2x15 to die for (all the joints unglued with the battering I gave it, it literally shook itself to death!!) , and when pro in the 80's I used a trace 300w head with UV, 4x10 + 1x15 stack, but my poor 47 yr old back couldn't begin to load the car now (and anyway need to save my energy for wakeboarding!!). So, I bid and won my CMD151P on the bay for £625. It arrived looking completely unused, complete with the QC tag on. On first plug in (with an OBBM lead of course!) I fell in love. It is only 1kg heavier than a Roland Cube 100, and not much bigger either (a bit deeper), but bugger me is it ever loud! And the bottom end is earth moving! I have never owned an amp (until now) which sounds perfect for all three basses (JV (Fender badged) Squier Precision, Wal Mach I Fretless and Dean Edge 5) with all the tone controls on flat response, and no effects or boosts. Play with the tone and the VLE/VPF and it does enything and punches through effortlessly with two guitarists. It is simply amazing. Time will, of course, tell whether the little monster will shake itself to bits when gigged twice a week, but having gigged it twice now, I am delighted (understatement of the decade!!). If anyone out there was wavering as to the "Do I go lightweight, and what will I lose if I do?" question, then have no fear, just get on and do it, and if you can possibly afford it make it one of these!! Watch out, for a less biased, proper review later, when I am less excitable!!

[quote name='DHA' post='46938' date='Aug 17 2007, 07:26 PM']Hi, Did you find a band yet? Looking for a bass player for a new Blues band based in Devon. We are all old boys and some play in other bands. Dave[/quote] Sorry I didn't spot this one until just now! I've been away for a couple of weeks. I still have nothing permanent, so interested in exploring anything, particularly blues! Get in touch by all means!! I''ll PM you my contact details