marvin spangles

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1327682852' post='1515386'] well i've sold my Big Al so can buy a bass very shortly but i'm having a wee problem deciding what to buy. i quite fancy something with an interesting paint finish,i'll be ordering from Thomman btw,so do i a.. buy a Euopean plywood bass (blueburst/checkerboard or flames) b.. buy a 22 3/4 hybrid (boring plain wood) c.. buy a 33 3/4 fully carved (boring plain wood) d.. i will be playing 50's rock 'n' roll & rockabilly (providing i can learn how to slap it) how much difference in tone is there going to be ? will they all stand up to lots of pub gig abuse ? also i plan on getting a bassmax pickup will i need a preamp ? (i use a Roland D-bass 210 combo & mighty fine it is too) e.. will i ever stop asking stupid questions ? my budget is £900.00 (i know OHM has one for sale but he's to far away & seems reluctant to travel) cheers. p.s. i've been offered locally a battered old bass that "might" be German,but needs setup,strings & some cosmetic work for £550.00 but since i no nowt about these i've given a wide berth. [/quote] A good plywood will stand up to pub gigs and will be your best option for rockabilly etc. Be prepared to pay around £300 for a good set up. Tone depends on many factors. Aside from a good instrument good technique is important. I'd not worry whether it was plain 'boring' wood or not.

[quote name='BassInMyFace' timestamp='1326491727' post='1498115'] bottom line, am i letting myself in for a world of pain? [/quote] Yes but the pleasure that comes later will more than make up for the pain. I agree with Jakenewmanbass a teacher will save you a load of stumbling in the dark. The approach to fingering is very different from EB. I too play a few different instruments including Trom and piano. The Trom has now totally given way to the Bass. Enjoy the journey.

Welcome to the club . Most players will use a piezo type pick up for the majority of their gigs. While you might not get the 100% acoustic sound that is obtainable with a mic you can get pretty close now with high end pick ups without feedback problems. There are many variables that affect the sound. First you have to get a good quality sound from the bass. The mic or pick up is the next stage in the chain followed by your amp (or preamp if needed) and cabinet. It has always been my view that you should save for the best gear possible but you try out where possible as basses differ in response. You are on a journey that many of us have taken and are still on. Is your band loud? This will have a bearing on your choices. eg you might need a magnetic pick up with steel strings . I personally use a Fishman full circle and it produces a sound that I like in almost all situations. I did however do a gig with 14 other players and this band was seriously loud. My bass vibrated with the sound from the onstage monitors. While a mag pick up would have helped I just don't see the point as you are closer to a bass guitar sound. My amp is an Acoustic Image Focus 2r going in to the Acoustic Image Ten2. This has been my set up now for about 9months and it can cope with all situations. I Di the bass into the PA in bigger venues. As Fatback says you are on a never-ending quest. It is good however to get to a stage where you stop worrying about gear and concentrate on the practice. Good luck

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' timestamp='1323443594' post='1463497']. Point being - he be a man with great ears and was well happy with the sound. [/quote] A great sound indeed Gareth. Tom does a good set up. Just curious ... did you mic the bass acoustically or take a feed from the pick up.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1323435043' post='1463319'] After 2 years of playing my ply 3/4 I was thinking of getting a carved or hybrid 4/4 bass, bigger mostly for more acoustic volume. I guess if I can still span a tone at half position then I might as well have a 4/4, no [/quote] Bear in mind that most of the acoustic volume comes from technique as well. I have a 34 and what might be described as a 7/8. The 3/4 pizz sound is way louder. The other bass is fully carved too. There are so many variables. Get a bass you like playing and make it work for you. Recently I went for a classical lesson with Michael Wolfe . I thought I got a good sound out of my bass (bowed) till I heard him cause the room to shake. But then he could probably get a huge sound out of nearly any reasonably well set up bass.

Hi attackbass I if you do a search on Thomann basses you will find that there are some pros that have had good experiences with the Thomann basses on this forum. The price certainly is not to be beaten. Is there a luthier near where you live? Re Tom Barrett shipping to the Uk I'd imagine that he would . However shipping will be an additional cost. I'll pm you with his tel number.

In general terms hybrids have a more complex tone than ply/laminates and fully carved are usually better again. Though you can get cheap badly set up carved basses that will sound inferior to a well set up quality ply. Ply's tend to be robust and as they are cheaper than quality carved basses you will not feel too bad about hogging them in and out of pubs and clubs and vans etc... The best value imho is a good quality hybrid. This should produce a good usable sound arco as well as pizz. Tom Barret in Galway does a range of Shen basses from plys through hybrids and fully carved. There might be something there to fit your budget. You could get a nice little holiday in the West of Ireland while you try out the basses. good luck

Curious as to why you want non steel strings. The default jazz string is the Spirocore. Of course there are many other alternatives. The Spiro weich's with a mittle E will produce a great jazz sound on most basses. The Weich's are reasonably low in tension. I have changed from Mittles and there is a noticable difference. You might want to consider an adjustable bridge. or if you want to kill two birds... fit a fishman full circle pick up which is built into the adjustable bridge. I have no experience of the Bass Max so can't comment. As regards the raspy rattle. I assume this is heard when playing acoustically? Get in touch with a Luthier . It's good to have a "go to " luthier . Ask friends and use this forum to find which Luthiers are recommended for your locality. Re the bridge. If your bridge is of reasonable quality a good luthier will be able to shave off a couple of millimetres of the feet . There are many options to consider. good luck

yes I ran it paired with some EA cabs . Great results. But it might depend on the style of music.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1321960950' post='1444770'] The bass is noticeably louder and more open sounding, though again, that could be due to the much lower tension Velvets allowing the table to vibrate more. The old tailwire looked like a oversized bit of coathanger wire and was pretty rigid, so replacing it with something that allows a bit more resonance can only be a good thing. Right? [/quote] Sounds like you're heading in the right direction. Good luck

I use Nymans and Pops. Pops is my preferred.

good to hear ....Does the new tailpiece make a difference?

Not sure "look way cool" is the best motivation for taking the plunge.

Sorry you're right re the time needed to replace the tail wire. I thought you were replacing the tailpiece and wire. However I think the principles still apply. I once put on one of those Marvin (no relation) tail pieces without a hitch.

Yes +1 put the bass on its back on a bed or soft furnishing. You could place a few heavy books or get someone to apply some light pressure. The odds are that the post will stay in place anyway . I've done it a few times for various reasons. It'll only take a few seconds to put on the tailpiece. Good luck

Nice playing!

3\4 is regarded as the standard size. Your best bet if you don't want to spend a large amount of money is a well made plywood with a good set up. Conservatively estimating £1000 -1500 including the set up. Others on this forum speak highly of the cheap basses on the Thomann site. Do a search . In the short term perhaps you could hire or get a loan of an instrument for the recording considering that you only need a double bass for one track.

The Bp 100 seems to work fine for a lot of basses. Experiment with position and EQ to get the best sound. A preamp would certainly help. You're going to have possible feedback issues at medium to high volumes so speaker placement needs a lot of consideration. The double bass is pretty cumbersome to lug around so I'd be loathe to lug around a 15' speaker too. Do you need a 15' for EB ? If not consider swapping for a lighter cab. I'm not familiar with the Harkte head although I know that it is popular amongst EB players. Try setting everything flat. You may have to roll a lot of the bass frequencies off. Try pizz and bow. You'll probably have to re eq when alternating between bow and pizz or maybe you can find a compromise eq setting that will work for both. Another possiblity is to DI to the pa and have a monitor . The downside is that you have little control over the sound during the gig. What's the on stage volume of the band like. Perhaps a mic would work for you.

Hi You don't say what specific pu you are using. Nor the type of music you want to play. The volume needed , the type of sound you are after etc. All that aside I still don't think there is a cheap way to amplify the DB. Depends what you mean by cheap of course. Personally I am always chasing after a sound that I'm happy with. If you don't like your sound you can't expect others to like it . To answer your question. The best pu you can afford, a good clean amp\speaker combo that doesn't colour your sound. Some players get good results using full range PA speakers. eg EV or even the Yamaha stage pas. At present I'm using AI gear and am very happy . It is expensive but then I don't think about gear and I just concentrate on playing and practice. Good luck

I have tried the following Shadow , (underwood copy) Rev solo and Fishman full circle. or these three I would recommend Fishman Full circle. Quality sound , no feedback issues,