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alexclaber

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Everything posted by alexclaber

  1. [quote name='cytania' post='476854' date='May 1 2009, 11:41 AM']What actives are promising is more versatility. This isn't always the case, my Ibanez has a single tone control that just cranks up big balls bass from a natural 60s type sound (PhatEQ in Ibanez speak, look for a 'Boom' tag in store). However on a passive bass the tone control just diminishes making the sound muddy, rarely useful. Active is simply like having a really basic EQ pedal. It boosts the signal if long leads are sapping it and allows you to boost low/mid/high. So scooped and big mids become possible. My Spear S2 doesn't really whack out active so I use it in the passive socket of amps, volume rolled back a bit. Allows me to raise it if the band loudens up. Not really a technology war it's just that those who stick to passive basses never get caught out by a dying battery.[/quote] Honestly you have to try a really good passive bass like my RIM Custom 5. It has so much clarity that the whole range of the passive tone control is useful and the 4-way pickup switch gives you a myriad of tones, especially when combined with its incredible responsiveness to changes in your playing. Run through a class A outboard preamp the tone always sits in the mix just right, the purity of the sound allowing you to be so loud yet sound so right. Anthony Jackson might talk crap about the music scene but he's right about bass electronics. Alex
  2. My old Warwick is a good example. Not a cheap bass, it dates from 1987 and had original EMG pickups and Warwick's old (I guess branded MEC) preamp. It sounded pretty good when I got it but I was never too happy with the EQ centres on the 2 band EQ - the treble was too low and the bass too high - so I replaced it with an Aguilar OBP-3. At the same time I added an extra battery so the electronics were running on 18V. Getting rid of that MEC transformed the sound - more depth, more clarity, more natural sounding. I have a bypass switch on the OBP-3 but cannot hear a difference between it being bypassed and it being inline with the EQ flat - and because it sounds so good with the EQ flat I tend to leave the OBP-3 out of the chain for simplicity's sake. So these nice active pickups running on 18V sound tons better than when they were running on 9V through the stock preamp. Bear in mind that this was an expensive bass yet the original preamp was still seriously compromising the tone - I hate to think how much the preamp in a cheap bass is screwing up the sound all in the name of selling more basses because in a shop you can crank up the bass knob and go "woah, fat!" The passive Q-Tuner pickups in my RIM Custom 5 seem to have all the upsides of the active EMGs and none of the downsides - wide frequency response, low colouration and just an incredibly big fat punchy honest low distortion sound. Yes, they're expensive but if you bear in mind that you don't need a preamp I think they're extremely good value. Alex
  3. My active Warwick consistently sounds more impressive than my passive RIM Custom 5 when one just gives it a quick whirl. But the RIM Custom 5 always sounds better in context, both soloed and in the mix. More and more I'm coming to believe that active basses proliferate because they have more impact in the shop but we'd generally sound better with passive ones. But basses with good pickups sound better than basses with bad pickups, whether or not there are onboard electronics. Alex
  4. [quote name='51m0n' post='476718' date='May 1 2009, 09:38 AM']+1 Getting a band to bring in stuff they want to sound 'like' as a starting point is so useful, yet you're the only person other than Bob Birthright who I've ever heard suggest or do this. It save hours of arguments I find. Top tip for all of you lot next time you are going to track or mix a demo...[/quote] That is such a good point! If everyone is already thinking the same then that's when bands naturally sound good (I'm such a dictator but I never have to boss anyone in my band because we're all aiming for the same goal, despite having fairly differing tastes in what we listen to) but if you have very different views and no-one is willing to compromise then the usual result is sonic mud. Alex
  5. [quote name='OldGit' post='476704' date='May 1 2009, 09:23 AM']Stage volume is often dictated by the drummer and that's a problem.[/quote] I think this problem is exacerbated by the tendancy of drummers (in fact most musicians) to put far more time and effort into everything other than learning about dynamics! We have a partial solution for this in my band (though the main solution is that our drummer is really good) in that we have two different kits - a smaller Pearl kit with 20" or 22" kick and proportionally sized toms (never checked exactly how small it is) and a bigger RCI Starlite kit (one of those Bonzo style see-thru acrylic things) with 26" kick and big toms which is far louder. Alex
  6. [quote name='maxrossell' post='476556' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:55 PM']...a very very long time to put together a comprehensive guide.[/quote] Tell me about it! That's why I have so much techy stuff on my website and it's only ever going to expand - there are so many problems which can be better solved by education than by spending money. Alex
  7. I think either choice will be great but as they're fairly different sonically one will definitely be better for you but I have no idea which one! One thing I will say is that the GK is a much more aggressive sounding head than the Hartke therefore my gut feeling is that I'd want the GK with the Compact but the Hartke with the Big One. Alex
  8. I loved Dookie and like American Idiot. I think they have a knack for a catchy tune and a great rhythm section especially the energy coming from the kit. [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='476660' date='May 1 2009, 08:33 AM']Well, I think given a choice of Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik or Californication to take to a desert island, most people would pick the former.[/quote] I bet more people under 25 (that aren't bass players) would take Californication - that's the album that turned them from big to monolithic. I do miss those days when I could really enjoy listening to BSSM - sadly it's so ingrained in me that I think it's passed saturation point. Not that I don't enjoy it now but I just know it too well. Alex
  9. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='476574' date='May 1 2009, 12:18 AM']I just though, are the two 15s in a straight line like a mesa, or staggered like a Hartke?[/quote] They're in a straight line but offset to smooth the response out front. Alex
  10. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='475703' date='Apr 30 2009, 08:11 AM']Anyway, 6 of those golden lions were stone dead apparently.[/quote] Christians probably got them in a rare retaliation. Alex
  11. No electronic tuners back then either so if there's no piano present they could easily be way off A=440Hz. Alex
  12. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='475425' date='Apr 29 2009, 08:09 PM']Nah, would squash when you lay your bass on top, put your hood up and stand facing your amp with arms raised.[/quote] Nah, even double-walled corrogated cardboard can support a bass or two, let alone triple-walled. Just no stage diving from the faux rig, but that isn't doom is it? Alex
  13. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='475019' date='Apr 29 2009, 01:10 PM']Not Doom.[/quote] How about one surrounded by a number of large cardboard boxes artfully painted to look like an imposing rig of Doom? Alex
  14. If it's working for you then it's working. But if you get the chance to offload it for a decent price before it stops working then I'd do so! Alex
  15. [quote name='Musicman20' post='473659' date='Apr 27 2009, 08:09 PM']Also, what in reality does Berg make that competes against a full weight normal 4x10?[/quote] Just as Simon said the AE410 competes extremely well with full weight 4x10"s - in fact I'd bet on it being almost as loud as two cheaper heavyweight 4x10"s in some cases. Most lightweight cabs are using the latest in bass guitar loudspeakers and in the vast majority of cases these new models can move more air than the older heavy magnet speakers. Choose the right lightweight cab and you could get the same output from half the cone area and a third or quarter the weight of your old cabs! Alex
  16. [quote name='Lifer' post='474999' date='Apr 29 2009, 12:59 PM']If you wanna do that go to a run what you brung day. I've got no time for people who wanna play race driver, it may be graceful until you hit a patch of oil, there's a change in camber or you have to try and avoid any number of things that might be on a public road, that happens and you'll swap ends quicker than your sphincter can snap shut.[/quote] There was a time when one could enjoy driving on the road without being told that the only place for such driving in on a race track. And on an empty road with good visibility the risk is only one's own, not anyone else's. I'd agree that driving anywhere near the limits on an unfamiliar road is very risky, where there may be hidden entrances, strange camber changes etc. But on a road you know intimately it's a different matter altogether. And the patch of oil argument is very weak when you're in a vehicle with four contact patches many feet apart. The styling driven penchant for ultra-low profile tyres on extra large wheels may be what's leading you to think any degree of sliding is dangerous and out of control - the wider and lower profile the tyre the less progressively the tyre lets go, and the faster the car will be going when it does. On a car with more sensibly sized tyres you have a much more progressive and controllable transition from grip to slip - I don't think I'd ever dare trying to slide a monster tyred X5 or suchlike, one moment you're going quickly round a bend, the next moment you're going quickly through a hedge. Very different on 195/65s. I'd be far happier if the world was full of drivers that actively enjoyed driving and thus gave it their full attention - better car control in the event of an accident but more importantly a much reduced risk of accident due to better observation, forward planning and driving correctly for the conditions. I'm sure RoSPA would agree. An engaged driver is a safer driver. Alex
  17. [quote name='Lifer' post='474946' date='Apr 29 2009, 12:08 PM']4 wheel 'drifting' in a front wheel drive car on public roads? There's a word for that and it starts with T and ends with at.[/quote] Technocrat? One has to love how black and white any issues regarding driving seem to be. Enjoying the fun of gracefully sliding a skinny tyred car around an empty roundabout seems to place you in the same pigeonhole as overtaking a bus at 45mph outside a school at 3pm during the week. It's a shame that such blinkered views damage those cases which are justified - like the case against all those parents that think the yellow zig zags don't apply to them. Or the driver that was trundelling along at 25mph so the speed camera didn't get him but he still hit the pedestrian because he was too busy chatting to his mate to concentrate on the road. Alex
  18. [quote name='benwhiteuk' post='474929' date='Apr 29 2009, 11:46 AM']The way they’ve used the tube is great – I can’t understand why more manufacturers don’t do something similar if it yields results like this. The 2 speaker outputs are also quite interesting; the “A” serial output and then the “B” output that switches off the internal speakers so you can use it as a standalone head. Do you know why they’ve made the “A” output a serial output rather than a more standard parallel? I can’t see that it makes much sense to reduce the potential output by adding the resistance of another cab in series. Am I being a bit short sighted?[/quote] I suspect using a tube to drive the power amp is more complicated than using it to buffer the input - higher voltages involved etc. Presumably the internal speakers are 4 ohms which is the amp's minimum load so you get full power with them - if you connected an extension cab in parallel the amp wouldn't like it. If it's generally loud enough on its own then this approach makes sense but if you're likely to regularly use an extension it's not so good. Horses for courses. Alex
  19. [quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='474916' date='Apr 29 2009, 11:36 AM']It must be really hard to use the pedals up there. Do you have a small ladder that you stand on?[/quote] Rock and roll! Alex
  20. [quote name='Lifer' post='474693' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:42 PM']What Type-S?[/quote] V boring looking old-shape Civic. Basically a 5-door softer Type-R. Every other person I see driving one has grey hair and if they never go past 4000 rpm they'll find it quite sedate. Alex
  21. I remember when those came out quite a few years back but sadly I've never heard of anyone buying one! Apparently their preamp is good too. Only issue with the cab is its shape and weight - it's so loud you'll never need two, so it would make more sense to have it taller and slimmer (and turning it on its side won't work well because of the dual mids), whilst the weight is totally justifiable considering the 8x10" beating output but still on the high side compared to the current trend. Alex
  22. Great combo. Was very well reviewed ages back but then forgotten about. They use the tube to drive the power amp rather than buffer the input, like some of the Mesa designs. Try turning it on its side to help your bandmates hear it properly on smaller stages. Alex
  23. [quote name='budget bassist' post='474858' date='Apr 29 2009, 10:31 AM']And what is he talking about? "solid state recorders" ending the dominance of hard disc recorders?? They're the same thing! Obviously a man that knows not of what he speaks. Although if he means portable recorders... i know what i'd rather use to record an album, and it's certainly not one of them.[/quote] I think his point is that RAM or similar will replace hard disks. Like how all but the classic iPODs no longer contain moving disks. Alex
  24. I think two key points which are true is that the probability of making big money out of being a successful band has vastly diminished and that you're unlikely to be able to make a living as a studio session bassist. Now that everyone under the age of 25 thinks all recorded music should be free the entire business model has shifted over to live music, which will gradually kill off the record companies. I guess it's like going back in time to before the advent of recording in the late 19th century. Alex
  25. [quote name='sk8' post='474791' date='Apr 29 2009, 08:57 AM']Can you get a 'non vintage' vintage?[/quote] That's just too confusing! Get two Compacts instead. Alex
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