thodrik

I pretty much learned via time spent practising, occasionally watching Youtube videos of guys using techniques I didn't know and then trying to learn it myself. I enjoyed learning it and still practice slap and funk techniques as it is always fun to learn different approaches to bass. Predominantly I play low tuned metal/doom or alternative rock in bands, so it isn't a technique that I really need to use much in a band context, though its nice to know I can use it if I need to. I do find it annoying that every single bloody bass or amp demo online is dominated by slap bass playing. Maybe I want to to hear what it sounds like on fingerstyle, or played with a pick with a bit of overdrive?

I think Mark Gooday, who founded Ashdown, was a designer and engineer for Trace Elliot. He might have been the chief designer at Trace Elliot but I'm going from memory here can't be bothered doing a Google search to confirm this.

One of my favourite players (Scott Reeder) plays left handed with a right handed bass simply turned the other way round. I heard that Hendrix could play bass like this too. It can certainly be done but does it really matter? Like 'why do we always open the top of a tin of beans/soup etc rather than the bottom?' Surely we should just open the bottom of the can instead as it would save us the effort of turning the can upside down in order to empty the contents? Either way the content is going to be largely the same.

Four guitars. Guitarist uses two completely different tunings during a set and has a back up guitar for each tuning. Seems fairly sensible to me for a touring/regular gigging musician. By completely different I would mean standard tuning and C sharp Sabbath tuning. A half step down to me can be pulled off by most instruments used as a back up. Changing guitars just for the sake of it is s bit pointless though for me. I'm not really a fan of the 'this song needs a tele, the next one needs a strat and a few others need a Les Paul' approach. Too much time is spent switching guitars and not enough is spent actually playing.

I like the inbuilt compressor on my EBS Fafner. In pedal form though I have the Keeley Bassist. Brilliant pedal. I tried the Aguilar TLC a while back, it was really good as well.

Peavey still own Trace Elliot. They brought out a new line in about 2006, construction was moved to the US soon after that. Nothing has been announced since they launched their acoustic stuff about five years ago. There is the odd forum post from a supposed Peavey employee talking about new products being worked on, but nothing of substance. I'm pretty sure Peavey are paying no attention to the brand, as otherwise they would have proceeded with litigation against this guy's removal service, unless this is actually Peavey's idea of a relaunch! http://trace-elliot.co.uk

Wow, I think I go that as soon as it came out. Is it that rare? I think that it is in my attic, I used to use it as a cool mat for my laptop. Great book.

Just read the specs, nope it wouldn't!

I kinda want one of those cabs to pair with my Trace V6. My 30 watt Park by Marshall combo is probably sufficient for my needs at the moment though.

In Scotland, I can't think of any. I think Red Dog Music in Edinburgh had a couple a few years ago, but even then I think it was the Rockbass line not the full on German makes. Guitar Guitar get the odd second hand one. I think that the Gallery in London always have a few in stock.

I think that the Blacksmith has largely the same eq and gain structures as the the TC line just with lots more watts and weight. I honestly think that the Blacksmith is pretty damn excessive, which is probably a reason why I never seen one in the flesh outside of seeing it in the back line at a Mastodon gig about five years ago. The RH line are generally well regarded in terms of reliability, so I don't think you can go wrong really.

Most of mine assembled around the sofa while my girlfriend is out. Two Sadowskys, Two Vigiers, a Fender and a Gibson. [attachment=231973:Basses on couch.JPG]

I really like the D'addarios. The Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies are another one of the nickel sets that I use. Dunlops are nice too but not my favourite.

I have the Duality. I love it but it is very much just a fuzz rather than an overdrive. Not much subtlety to it either, which is why I bought it. The duality and frequencie options allow you to pair the fuzz to work well with whatever bass you are using which is great. I pair it with either the Aguilar Agro or the B3K as my overdrive pedal'. From looking at the specs though it looks like the Source Audio might offer a bit more variety.

I've never had a problem 'cutting through the mix' with a Jazz. It might be another case of your bandmates listening with their eyes. They think 'Precision = solid fundamental' and 'Jazz = thinner sound'.

I also use the balanced tension 120-50 set. Best set of strings for downtuning I have ever used. It can cover anything around D standard to C standard and the drop D variants. I had to widen the nut on my Vigier to fit them on. No truss rods in that bass though! My Fender Precision needed a proper set up to suit the new strings, nothing drastic though.

Thanks folks, I must have missed it when Bass Direct started stocking them. I did try a couple of sets of Newtones which were very nice, but I thought that the £18 120-50 D'addarios I was using previously were as good, if not better, than the 'custom wound' strings I got from Newtone for about twice the price.

Wow, two and a half grand for a Musicman? Still, that is (as far as I am aware) one of the more premium versions of the Musicman range. I have no doubts that it is an absolutely cracking bass, but for me it is about £500 over what I consider to be what I would be willing to pay. Probably just a sign of the times though I guess. Mind you, I see that Bass Direct have a used 2009 Fender Jazz for sale for £999, which is more than the basses cost when new in 2009. That to me is even more crazy! [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Jazz_USA_std_4.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Jazz_USA_std_4.html[/url]

I just noticed that Bass Direct have started stocking these. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Kalium_strings.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Kalium_strings.html[/url] Does anybody have experience with them? My only knowledge of them is from them constantly being brought up in Talkbass threads. The gauges on display look a bit ridiculous. I love heavily downtuned doom music but is there any real benefit for being able to tune to the octave below a low E string? The hybrid drop F sharp set is a bit tempting. Basically the same as my four string set of 120-50 D'addarios tuned to C sharp standard with a low F sharp string instead of a B string. The question is, how the hell will a 174 gauge string fit on my string saddle? I presume that they are tapered?

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1478369979' post='3168721'] An eb3 if long scale should get just the same action as a sadowsky or any other higher end instrument. Any good luthier should be able to get any bass to play excellently given the time. If its the shortscale version then not as applicable as the string tension is different on a shorty. [/quote] My EB3 is short scale. I think that all EB3 basses are short scale other than the EB3L, which I would love to try. I can get a pretty good set up on mine, which is a 1974 model. The limitations and eccentricities of the shorter scale length and three point bridge means that there is also a degree of compromise between action, string tension and intonation. I could probably get an absolute dynamite set up out of it if I replaced the bridge, but that would probably be more hassle than stress than it is worth. I've had for over fifteen years now, so it is definitely a keeper anyway!

A Musicman Stingray ever since I saw that Tim Commerford rig rundown... It will be something else next week.

I always use the Pre Shape 1 when I use my Trace Elliot combo. I found Pre Shape 2 to be far too muddy in terms of sound. I know 'mid cut' or 'smiley face' pre shapes are unfashionable these days, but I always thought that my Trace Elliot combo was naturally pretty middy sounding anyway. The Pre Shape helped to open up the sound and remove the natural 'boxiness' of the combo. I would always add a bit of the mids back in to even out the sound. I could try and EQ the sound in I wanted using the graphic without the pre shape, but I found the whole thing a bit fiddly and the pre shape was just quick way of getting a half decent 'reference sound' to work from. From experience though I far prefer bass, middle and treble knobs rather than a graphic EQ.

The older I get the less fussy I am in terms of the action of a bass. Most of my basses now have about the same action, but I make allowances to fit each bass as I can't expect to get the same action on my Gibson EB3 as on my Sadowsky. I generally use heavier strings and a much higher action now than I did about ten years ago. I started using the bigger strings to fit the lower tunings, but it also had the knock on effect of making it harder for me to continue 'slapping and popping and double thumbing on really light strings' technique which I l had learned for the sake of learning rather for the sake of actually being interested in that type of playing. I usually have D'addario Balanced Tension 120-50 strings on the 'downtuned' basses and 105-45 D'addarios on the standard tuning ones. I'm not fussy in terms of strings though, I will swap the standard tuning D'addarios for Ernie Ball or Rotosound with no problems.