Sibob

Nice one Ped! I look forward to you using your lens on my lil collection soon! Si

I have a lot of love for (intelligent) pop music, and I have no problem with auditions for commercially viable projects........ BUT.... ..I'm with Bassassin on this! Si

Sorted Apparently it's the polarity switch that swaps around the functionality. Typically the cheaper pedal I bought doesn't have such a switch, so I exchanged it for the Boss equivalent which has said switch, and voila! Cool Si

[quote name='cheddatom' post='736401' date='Feb 5 2010, 04:42 PM']It depends on the band I guess. I was in a 3 piece and kind of had a free reign to take up as much sonic space as I wanted. If you took away my pedalboard, 90% of the audience would notice.[/quote] See that's the thing, my covers band is fundamentally a three piece (and then plus vocals), but when I first joined and tried using any effects to 'beef' up the sound while the guitarist solo'd, I found that they still got lost. Distortions sucked my low end away, choruses and reverbs etc just got lost through PA volume and octaves can be played manually anyway (baring in mind it's pop music so super low notes aren't needed and fast lines won't track anyway). I take up the extra sonic space (if it sounds good to do so), with double-stops, perhaps an extended line based on the horn line in the song...or something like that. Again, I'm not saying that anyone else's techniques are wrong, cos they make you happy, but for me I feel I can do justice to songs by adjusting my playing on my chosen bass as opposed to any other external gear I use. And yes the rehearsal went well cheers Silldx , shooting a video on sunday, then a Camden gig next Tuesday (16th) I ended up not using the distorted sound because......it sucked the low end out my sound The bottom boost was cool, gives a real dub sound, and the chorus was pretty lost, although it's only meant to give a real subtle warble on the bottom anyway, so I may leave it on. Again, just using subtle effects because of the musical situation, but all added to a solid tone that can stand alone if necessary. Si

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='736223' date='Feb 5 2010, 02:29 PM']What I DO believe is that the tone your instrument produces effects the way you hear the music being played and, when you are happier, you relax and play better.[/quote] +1 I don't think there's any right or wrong in this thread! My basic position, given the original context of the thread, is that regardless of what effects and EQ I'm having to apply for any given musical situation, if all of that failed and I was back to a 'naked' tone between bass and amp, I'd rather have a tone that made me happy and smile than a tone I hadn't bothered about because I was using so many other variables. Si

I have an octave effect on my Ashdown that is controllable via a latching footswitch. I purchased a generic latching footswitch that is similar in form and function to the Boss FS-5L. However, when plugged into the back of the Ashdown and the pedal unlatched (red light off), the effect is on. When the pedal is seemingly 'latched' (red light on), the effect is off. What do I need to do to swap it round so that when the red light is on, the effect is on?. Cheers Si

Jaco had his core sound, his tone that he was happy with and made gigs that much more enjoyable for him. People would hire him to sound like himself. Regardless of one's personal views of the specific tone in question, I would probably say that being critically acclaimed & paid to be yourself is a position that deserves respect. Si

[quote name='51m0n' post='735288' date='Feb 4 2010, 05:19 PM']Sildx, if you need that kind of tonal control, and it works for you go for it, more power to you. Anyone else, if you can get what you need out of you hands and bass and amp, brilliant! Really pleased for you. If you can do this, why are you even looking at more gear, none of you need it - go practice [/quote] +1 Si

Silddx, I'm playing in Ealing on 12th Feb if you're about! Si

[quote name='silddx' post='735258' date='Feb 4 2010, 05:01 PM']Understood, but what if you need three very different tones for one song, live? That's the sort of thing you may do in the studio all the time, but live? At one point last year I had up to five patches per song per set, with different eqs and effects. One bass all the way through, with onboard eq/pup tweaks too. There is nothing at all wrong with extreme eq. Bootsy doesn't seem to think so anyway.[/quote] If I need different sounds within a song, I'll use finger dynamics and hand placement, this is on a fairly standard pop/rock/funk gig that is. If I need a bassier/dub sound, I'll move my picking hand towards the neck, perhaps use my thumb. Need a tighter, more mid sound, play near the bridge. If I need some bite/overdrive, I'll play a lot harder over the neck pickup as I have my tube on my ashdown at 3 o'clock. This allows me to sound clean when I want to, but breaks up beautifully when played hard!. In my personal experience, any different sounds and tone further to that are generally so subtle that they'll be lost in the band mix or over the PA. I have started messing around with my Boss Multi-FX again because I'm going to start playing for a hip-hop/electonica band soon (first rehearsal tonight actually), just some chorus, wah and octave sounds going on.....but I've got a feeling that over a large sound system and with the other warbly noises going on in the mix, I'll find myself playing straight into my amp. Si

For me it's actually less about a problem with digital vs analogue. They're both a head on top of a cab, and again, 'better' is subjective. My main issues are with extreme EQ'ing through necessity and loadsa pedals just to get a basic workable tone. Si

Thats the thing, everyone is different, some harder to please than others. But as long as the individual is happy, thats all that counts. And I've played some nice Ibanez'.........but the Ergodyne series was mainly horrible to me lol Just for the purpose of the thread, here's my checklist in order 1) Tone/comfort/playability (they are all important to me equally, the sum is greater than the parts and all that noise) 2) Looks (I have preferences, but not at the expense of point 1) Lovely Si

[quote name='silddx' post='735129' date='Feb 4 2010, 03:20 PM']Not many basses have a "crap" tone though do they? Unless you use a Satellite or something, the bass tone is going to be usable.[/quote] Well of course there are basses with crap tone......because these things are completely subjective. I may hate someones Ibanez Ergodyne bass (eeeuugugghghhh shudder), and someone might hate my Jazz's tone. Si

[quote name='silddx' post='735102' date='Feb 4 2010, 02:53 PM']Is "your sound" appropriate in all situations you need it to be? Would I be able to recognise your sound?[/quote] Obviously you have to cater for the musical situation that you're in at any given time. But lets face it, there isn't a great deal of deviation usually, a tweat of EQ here, some subtle chorus there. I have a basic, 'core tone' that I'm very happy with and I can build and embellish on that if necessary. If you have a bass that, at it's most unaffected, sounds completely different to what you hear in your head, you're just adding sounds on top of bad sounds...polishing a turd if you like. Then a pedal dies mid-gig and you're back to horrible tone. I'm certainly not saying you're wrong, I just couldn't gig like that Oh and I do think that not many people have a recognisable 'sound', it's how they as a player utilises that sound, the marriage of their fingers and their tone. Si

It would seem a shame to me that I couldn't get 'my sound' or certainly a sound that I was happy with unless I was sat in front of a digital amp, EQ pointing in all directions and a load of pedals at my feet. I would much prefer to have a bass that gave me a tone that pleased me whilst plugged into any amp, EQ flat and no effects. Then any extra sounds and tools I needed could be added appropriately. But needing many pedals, masses of EQ etc just to sound like a particular bass seems like there's a lot more to go wrong in your rig than there is in mine . In fact, whenever I'm trying a new bass through my rig, I rarely touch EQ (I rarely touch it anyway), if the bass doesn't sound good with pretty much flat EQ, I probably won't be interested. I do agree however, that if you're going through a PA, all you can hope for is a pleasing tone onstage, everything else is at the mercy of the FOH engineer. Si

Should we start a 1973 Fender Owners Club? haha Si

Amateur promoters are the bane of the live music industry, there should be some kinda certificate needed to put shows on lol. All you have to say is that you don't wanna play the show because you're not interested in breaking any Licensing Laws, which you're causing the pub to do by-proxy. What if they have an inspection that night? That's their licence gone. Partly their own fault for allowing this charlatan to promote again, but hey, you don't have to be a part of it! Hope the other gig comes through! Si

[quote name='99ster' post='733384' date='Feb 2 2010, 07:56 PM']Here's what this one would have looked like 50 years ago... [attachment=41730:p2_us4vcjxya_so.jpg][/quote] Wow, that is in rediculous condition isn't it! Worth a bum-load! Si

Let me know when you want to sell it mate? Oh and I do think there is such a thing as Gas Free......it's just that vintage instruments don't count! Si

I've only tried one Levinson Blade, and that was £900 second hand (at the Bass Merchant), so could possibly be a different model, but I thought it was great! If I didn't dislike active basses a great deal, I would have seriously considered it because the neck and general feel was excellent. Definitly would have one over a MIM. But for £500 you're almost in second hand US Fender territory, so maybe save up some more to broaden your choices!? Si

youtube is wonderful Si

Its all a bit squelchy for me! But I love Daft Punk.....so it's all good Si