alexclaber

Very neat! Two of those amp modules bridged into my big 15"+6.5" as an active cab would be scarily loud and light. Do you think you could run a simple preamp off that SMPS to give you a tiny head for non-tweakers? Alex

[quote name='redstriper' post='212497' date='Jun 4 2008, 02:14 PM']I'm really intrigued by the Acme speakers and wonder if there's anywhere in the UK to try or buy them ? Did you get them direct from the USA and if so did you have to pay import duty ?[/quote] I was the first person in the UK to buy some Acmes, way back in 1999. They did 9 years of sterling duty for me and are now with forumite BigJohn - the only reason I sold them was because I'm designing and building my own speaker cabs, I don't believe you can buy any better production bass cabs. You should expect to pay import duty but the combination of direct sales and the weak dollar makes them incredibly good value even with the import costs. I know a bassist in London that's using a Markbass F1 with a 4 ohm Low-B2 and he loves the combination. His previous cab, an Ampeg 2x10", couldn't handle the lows without farting out, which seems to be the case with the vast majority of compact cabs, so despite the low sensitivity the Acme can play much louder. I'd recommend the cabs with the midrange/tweeter included - you never know when you might want to play something other than reggae, plus they make great small PA cabs - and the cost isn't much extra. Alex

Aha! New crossover designed for the 3015LF/605Nd combo. Damn complicated with some cunning impedance compensation to get a smooth transition but it looks like it should work really well. Not cheap but certainly worth the extra money. Alex

I don't see a problem with disconnecting it as long as you put a very obvious sign on the back to warn you to reconnect it if you take it out of the house. Alex

[quote name='Buzz' post='211996' date='Jun 3 2008, 06:23 PM']Didn't we come to the conclusion that the extra sized ones (Monster I think) should be avoided, not because they're bad cables per se, but because the slightly thicker barrel ends up damaging the internal connector?[/quote] I certainly have. Alex

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='211914' date='Jun 3 2008, 04:29 PM']Here's the pricing...[/quote] How to kill a thread in half a dozen easy lines... Alex

The only basslines I seem to ever bother to learn properly nowadays are Jaco's and Larry Graham's. I spent quite a while with Havona last winter, somewhat challenging to say the least... Alex

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='211909' date='Jun 3 2008, 04:22 PM']I passed up on going to see Bon Jovi this year in London and went to see By jovi instead.[/quote] Does anyone know how the publishing royalties work with these acts? Does the venue just pay their PRS subscription and it goes into the pot and out again in the usual rather baffling manner or is there a more direct revenue stream from the tribute act to the songwriters? Alex

[quote name='ianrunci' post='211908' date='Jun 3 2008, 04:21 PM']Wake me up by Wham[/quote] Great bassline! Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='211871' date='Jun 3 2008, 03:48 PM']I have never seen a tribute band but can easily understand why someone would want to go see someone perform like their favourite band either for a 10th of the price or because they don't exist anymore, don't tour anymore or don't tour in the UK...[/quote] What was so great about the Sgt Pepper vs Pet Sounds gig was that neither of these albums were ever toured by their bands and these albums are arguably the two greatest pop albums ever recorded, so it's more like going to see a great orchestra perform a fantastic Beethoven symphony followed by a Mozart symphony. Just amazing composition flawlessly executed. They only do this gig a couple of times a year and don't play together apart from that, so there's so much energy wanting to come out. But I agree that the proliferation of the tribute band is a slightly disturbing phenomenon... Alex

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='211861' date='Jun 3 2008, 03:35 PM']Translate please... "three power amps controlled by a Closed-loop, Servo-controlled, Active Parametric Synthesis, Tri-amplified system" Isn't it a bit short sighted not to offer passive cabs and/or a stand alone amp head?[/quote] No, because passive cabs and standalone heads are totally at odds with their whole concept. The closed-loop servo-controlled thing is presumably to reduce distortion in the lows by tracking the cone excursion. The active parametric synthesis could be referring to some EQ built into the cab. Tri-amplified means that lows, mids and highs have separate amps with active crossovers. This should give far greater SPL capability and lower distortion than a conventional rig. This looks very impressive. IP Technologies did a similar thing with biamped active cabs which seems to have failed to take off. Maybe this more conventional looking but actually even more cunning system has some potential. I bet it's really really loud. Alex

[quote name='crez5150' post='211849' date='Jun 3 2008, 03:21 PM']too many people thinking that they will get a pro outfit for less than a grand...[/quote] Probably too many booking agents, event organisers, etc with really bad ears thinking that the £250 band seems no different to the £1000 outfit. Say what you will about the music industry but the bigwigs tend to be able to tell the difference between good and bad, even those totally non-musician types like Simon Cowell. You can have us for £250 for your wedding - unfortunately we won't be playing any songs you know, unless you're one of the (sadly) very select few that have seen us loitering around the dingier Brightonian venues... Something anyone within vague reach of Brighton should check out is The Brighton Beach Boys plus The Psychedelic Love Orchestra performing the whole of Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper back to back, as part of the Brighton Festival. The most utterly mindblowing gig of my life and that's topping some huge acts playing very significant gigs! It made me realise that there is huge value in some tribute acts. Incredible. Alex

[quote name='crez5150' post='211831' date='Jun 3 2008, 02:54 PM']People want entertainment.... which you don't really get with a disco/DJ scenario..... though you don't get that with a lot of Function bands either... hehe![/quote] There is nothing worse (for me at least!) than a function band that starts playing one of your favourite songs and then you realise neither you, nor anyone with any degree of musicality, can dance to it because they have completely screwed up the groove. It certainly makes you realise that it's not just the auditionees for the X-Factor that are deluded about their musical abilities... Alex

[quote name='chardbass' post='211823' date='Jun 3 2008, 02:36 PM']I don't mean to flame but that is the most idiotic thing I have ever seen on a musician's forum written by a muso.[/quote] I decided to have DJ rather than a band for my wedding because I was sick of too many covers bands making a complete hash of so many classic grooves. We did have a New Orleans style jazz quartet and a Ceilidh dance band so there was some live music but for the 'disco' end of the night we relied on the original recordings. Alex

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='211755' date='Jun 3 2008, 01:12 PM']You'd sound even better through an e865 trust me[/quote] That looks a nice mic, though a lot pricier than ye olde SM57 and it needs phantom power which can't be guaranteed with some PAs. If I could get the sound of my large diaphragm studio condenser live then that would be very nice. One issue as a singing bassist is that the super and hypercardioid pickup pattern mics can be more difficult to use as it isn't as easy to stay on-axis when you're playing an instrument. Alex

[quote name='jakesbass' post='211782' date='Jun 3 2008, 01:40 PM']And another thing!! originality is totally over-rated and rarely exists. Aural tradition music (the vast majority of all the music in the history of man) relies entirely on music being passed on by ear and then re-produced, what makes it different are the individual attributes of the performer.[/quote] Indeed! The development of recording technology in the 19th century is almost certainly responsible for this huge shift in music. And with rock and roll (and its numerous offshoots) having had a formula laid in the '50s and developed predominantly through the '60s and '70s there aren't many truly fresh places left to explore nowadays. Despite that I seem to have an obsession with writing and playing 'new' music, though mainly because I enjoy the compositional process than the bass playing situation. Alex

I sound better through a Beta 58 than through an SM58, but better again through an SM57 than the Beta 58. Strange but true. I think it's because I have quite a deep voice but quite a large amount of sharp treble overtones and the more minimal presence peak of the 57 therefore stops those edges overwhelming the midrange of my voice. Also the 57 rolls off higher and more smoothly, thus less boom. Alex

bassplayer.tv then go to lessons, then Bobby Vega. Prepare to be amazed! Alex

[quote name='Merton' post='211585' date='Jun 3 2008, 09:44 AM']Even [b]I[/b] know them by now![/quote] I used to feel like that! I got so sick of singers that I started singing myself - I may not be a great singer (though hopefully I will eventually become a good singer) but I remember the lyrics, I don't have to stand around waiting for myself to turn up, I own my own mic and can actually operate a PA, I don't look bored when instrumental stuff is happening and hopefully playing bass at the same time means the audience cut me some slack on my tuning and tonal aberrations... Alex

[quote name='bnt' post='211615' date='Jun 3 2008, 10:24 AM']You mean like the [url="http://www.markbass.it/products.php?lingua=en&cat=3&vedi=86"]MiniMark[/url]? I'm pondering one of these, but the price is seriously off-putting. I believe it's comparable to the PJ Briefcase.[/quote] The sensitivity is equally off-putting - 101dB from a pair of 6" speakers means their Xmax (excursion before farting) has to be incredibly low. If you want decent lows from a tiny cab those speakers have to be able to move a long way and that means low sensitivity (due to large amount of voice coil outside the magnetic gap). The PJB Briefcase is very low sensitivity but at least it can make some clean bass. For a tiny rig I'd be more inclined towards an Acme Low-B1 and one of the numerous tiny Class D heads now available. Alex

[quote name='aceuggy' post='211609' date='Jun 3 2008, 10:17 AM']Does the cable really make that much difference?[/quote] It does when it breaks in the middle of a gig or recording take! Otherwise, not a huge amount - you just lose treble due to the cable capacitance acting as a low pass filter if your bass has a high output impedance (i.e. passive, not active). Any changes other that variations in treble are more than likely your brain thinking it's hearing a difference due to expecting a difference after spending a load of money. Any good guitar lead will be an equally good bass lead. In fact I would expect guitar's to be more demanding of leads due to the greater importance of the treble content and the lower output pickups they often have. Alex

One thing that can be great about writing songs on the bass is that you leave things more open for the band. So in a song we're working on at the moment I brought in a verse riff, a chorus riff, a bridge riff, a solo riff, a turnaround riff and an outro riff. The verse riff will be doubled by guitar in places but also have the guitar playing skanking/scratching over it JB style. The chorus riff is actually a four chord sequence but I've left everything but the root notes up to the guitarist (and he can always come up with inversions if he likes). The bridge riff goes through some changes but is actually a unison part with bass/guitar/sax riffing together (though I'm dropping a maj 6th from chord to chord, they're going up a min 3rd). The solo riff is a reinterpretation of the chorus riff's changes. The turnaround riff is another unison monster in odd time but we might only have two of us playing in unison. The outro riff is an odd time monster with odder time moments, that I expect will have some unison work but generally the sax and guitar doing their own thang. Once the band has vaguely got the hang of it - usually a very quick process - we'll bang through it and I'll start making vocal noises whilst recording the sound in the room. Then I can go away and write the lyrics and sort out the vocal so everything meshes together coherently. It amazes me how the band can change the sound so much and bring so much inspiration into the process. This song started out as a somewhat dark weird little thing but as soon as they joined in it became reminiscent of Superfly then warping into 21st Century Schizoid Man! Alex

[quote name='The Funk' post='211525' date='Jun 3 2008, 01:40 AM']Double thumbing? [/quote] I presume this is referring to the original up/down thumbing as done by Larry Graham when not thumping and plucking (slapping) as opposed to the fancy Victor Wooten-isms. Alex

I really like the armoured leads with Switchcraft jacks that Studiospares sell. Unfortunately so does everyone else because they keep nicking them at gigs! Alex

[quote name='Adam.M' post='211484' date='Jun 2 2008, 11:14 PM']I think i'll be buying the cab having the left half with bass speakers and the right half with Celestion Vintage 30's or Hot 100's for guitar... seperate inputs for each, that'll be the home rig sorted then or a versatile 'small gig' cab.[/quote] If you do that then you'll have to divide the cab internally to stop all sorts of weirdness happening. Two bass 12"s in half the volume of a Marshall 4x12" are going to be very short on bottom, just be prepared for that. Alex