alexclaber

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='625879' date='Oct 14 2009, 12:06 PM']To tighten up a tube head with a geet big fat low end?[/quote] Exactly. Or if the stage sound is getting too boomy due to backwash from FOH subs. Mr Shockwave, if you want maximum bottom and perceived depth you leave it in standard tuning - lowering the tuning gets you less bottom where it counts. (Yes, it is counter-intuitive). Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='625765' date='Oct 14 2009, 10:03 AM']In my simple universe, any one of the 8 tone controls on my Eden amp has the power to influence my sound far more than the wood that my bass is made of.[/quote] But your universe is too simple - EQ cannot change the envelope of a note, if it could you could EQ an electric bass to sound just like a double bass. Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='625651' date='Oct 14 2009, 12:26 AM']Whats the deal with the port plugs?[/quote] They lower the tuning frequency, thus making the response less fat in the lows. (They're also currently vapourware but that should be rectified in the next week or two...) Alex

[quote name='Mateybass' post='625681' date='Oct 14 2009, 02:37 AM']Never clip a solid state preamp... it won't hurt the amp, but apart from it sounding horrible it's likely to shorten speaker life if not instantly kill it. Instead of a nice clean sine wave from an unclipped source, what you get is akin to a square wave which at high levels of amplification provide enough "alternating" dc current to melt the windings of your speakers. BTDT and I won't do it again. On the other hand, clipping a valve is fine because you don't get a square wave type of clipping, the sine wave just goes sort of wobbly.... which is nice Incidentally, guitarists get away with it because their notes are higher frequencies, which means the duration of that dc current at the clipped peak of the wave is much shorter.[/quote] Unfortunately this is entirely incorrect. Sorry. Or should we all get rid of every overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal we own that doesn't have a valve in it? Alex

It makes poor sounding cheaper basses sound louder and more impressive to a beginner when they try them in a shop. Unfortunately the passive basses at the same price point sound better but because they're not as loud or bassy they get ignored. Good active electronics can be very nice though - impedance buffering, flexible onboard EQ, all sorts of clever things. But good active electronics aren't cheap. Alex

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='625333' date='Oct 13 2009, 06:35 PM']I would guess the 'pros' would er towards more 'of the shelf' designs.[/quote] [url="http://www.fodera.com/a_jackson.html"]http://www.fodera.com/a_jackson.html[/url] [url="http://www.fodera.com/garrison.html"]http://www.fodera.com/garrison.html[/url] [url="http://ctbasses.com/les.html"]http://ctbasses.com/les.html[/url] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Casady"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Casady[/url] [url="http://www.alembic.com/info/FC_riff.html"]http://www.alembic.com/info/FC_riff.html[/url] (based on the JPJ model) One thing I would highlight is that there is a huge space in between pro and bedroom player, a space which is filled by many of the numerous semi-pros and gigging/recording amateurs on basschat. But I'd certainly agree that the route to better tone is usually the practice one, not the gear one. Get the gear sorted, then get on with playing! Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='625179' date='Oct 13 2009, 04:31 PM']I played 3, liked them all because they were consistent and they had a good rep. Paid £740 (+£20 for a second-hand hard case). Now worth 4x that but not for sale.[/quote] To put that in perspective: In 2008, £740.00 from 1986 was worth: £1,624.75 using the retail price index £1,568.15 using the GDP deflator £2,211.71 using the average earnings £2,535.53 using the per capita GDP £2,743.84 using the share of GDP Alex

[quote name='Sibob' post='625167' date='Oct 13 2009, 04:24 PM']Why did you order a Wal? [/quote] Back then int' shops 'twas either a Wal, a traction engine or a mullet. Obvious choice really. Alex P.S. Couldn't you have asked someone with a Squier to start this thread? It really isn't provocative enough coming from an owner of a revered boutique bass.

If you hadn't acquired a Wal twenty odd years ago I think your view would be very different. Good bass players can get their sound out of many different basses - what you don't know is how hard they've having to work to get that tone, how much they're fighting against the instruments natural tone. I imagine Steve Swallow's custom bass lands close to the centre of his preferred tonal range when he plucks it his default way, whilst his previous instruments were probably skewed one way or the other. Alex

If you're not doing so already, try bridging the XLS202 to give you another 6dB gain. Alex

[quote name='alexclaber' post='625070' date='Oct 13 2009, 03:04 PM']You have no idea quite how long I spent researching and experimenting before a deposit was finally paid! I don't think most people do this though...[/quote] [url="http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/1748225/1"]http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.p...opics/1748225/1[/url] Alex P.S. And the end result cost less than a thru-neck Warwick.

[quote name='metaltime' post='625055' date='Oct 13 2009, 02:51 PM']Perhaps part of it is you got lucky with your Wal. That bass just happened to suit you in every way. So you have never needed to say I wish this pickup was nearer the bridge or i wish the strings were a touch closer at the bridge etc?[/quote] I was like this with ye olde Streamer. Then a crack appeared in the neck abot five years ago and I realised I better think about a replacement - and I wasn't about to pay current Warwick prices for a less good instrument. And then once I was thinking about getting a custom bass built I thought I'd make the necessary tweaks to perfect it. You have no idea quite how long I spent researching and experimenting before a deposit was finally paid! I don't think most people do this though... Alex

Something really big and heavy which has had many years of being dragged about and a consequently knackered finish. Keep any eye out for old Peavey rigs in the for sale forum which meet these criteria - usually they're too heavy and cheap to justify posting so you'll need something local. Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='625015' date='Oct 13 2009, 02:29 PM']But why isn't a Jazz/Precision/Wal/Warwick/Alembic/whatever etc good enough?[/quote] I'm sure that between those five anyone would be happy. However getting one of those 'expensive custom jobs' is in many cases vastly [b]less[/b] expensive than getting an Alembic or a Wal! Alex

[quote name='MythSte' post='625003' date='Oct 13 2009, 02:21 PM']Is V5 a type of Razor? hah.[/quote] Golf isn't it? Alex

[quote name='MythSte' post='624957' date='Oct 13 2009, 01:48 PM']I wonder what V i am. I'd have quite liked to be V8...[/quote] You're V5. V8 is still available! Alex

Could it be sub 50Hz output which you can't hear because the speaker doesn't do well down there but is still placing demands on the amp? Alex

[quote name='silddx' post='624834' date='Oct 13 2009, 11:40 AM']Not sure if they are ignoring you completely givcen you had a news item in there a couple of months ago, but I'd like to see a review.[/quote] Yes, Nick was very keen to publish the news item but since then calls/emails have elicited zero response. I'm hoping that it's just due to a lack of time... I'm a fan of shoot-outs too, especially if they're conducted appropriately. Alex

Does anyone think it's worth having my Barefaced cabs reviewed by BGM? I've contacted them a few times of late but they appear to be ignoring me... Alex

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='624805' date='Oct 13 2009, 11:14 AM']How will you hear the rest of the band?[/quote] Forget the band, what about hearing your cat? Alex

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='624803' date='Oct 13 2009, 11:13 AM']The theory is that you set the level of your bass in the in-ears so that it blends nicely with the sound that's leaking through the earplugs. If you're hearing too much bass, at the expense of everything else, then you just turn the volume of your IEMs down.[/quote] But that brings up two issues: Firstly how much hearing protection do the IEMs provide? And secondly, how coloured is the leakage - the last thing I'd want is the treble-less boomy leakage you get through non-filtered earplugs! Maybe I'm strange* but I never have a problem hearing myself at gigs. Alex * This is a rhetorical supposition.

[quote name='51m0n' post='624564' date='Oct 12 2009, 11:18 PM']Blurry Barefaced cabs:- [/quote] How ridiculous does that neck look?! Thankfully it doesn't feel anywhere near that long... Two Midgets will go as loud as a boutique neo 4x10" though they'll need a bit more power to bring an equal weight to the lows. I'll let you know when the first coax tweeter one is ready for you to have a play! Alex

If I used in-ears I'd want to have a full mix of the whole band - I don't just want to hear my bass (and never have a problem with that anyway) I want to hear the music we're creating and fit my playing to that (not just what notes I play but how I play them). Alex

[quote name='Tinman' post='624795' date='Oct 13 2009, 10:57 AM']Sorry Alex, you're going to have to explain that one. If what you're saying is true, why does the manual for my Trace say that you should have the input gain set so that the red (clip) light only comes on rarely if at all. The manual takes great pains to point out that red is bad.[/quote] Red is bad if you want a squeaky clean tone - they should have gone a step further and explained that you can choose to overdrive the preamp if you wish. There's nothing wrong with overdriving solidstate preamps if it gets you the sound you want - bear in mind that most distortion pedals are entirely solidstate. If clipping damaged preamps (or power amps come to that) then guitarists would be forever killing their amps. Alex

[quote name='lowdown' post='624792' date='Oct 13 2009, 10:51 AM']Alex, the Bassist on Come Dancing is Trevor Barry...[/quote] Thanks, couldn't remember it off the top of my head. Very interesting to hear his different salsa grooves on Saturday. And he's a great example of how if you're really on it with your note choices, tone and timing that producers will want to turn you WAY up in the mix - what better incentive to improve?! Alex