alexclaber

Cheap multi-FX to start out - best way to learn what does what. I started out with a Zoom 506 but I'm sure current cheap multi-FX sound far better! Alex

[quote name='bythesea' post='581335' date='Aug 26 2009, 01:17 PM'] at Worthing?[/quote] No, though I think the sea would have been softer! Was enjoying my new bike's jumping skill (which far exceeds my own, apparently). Alex

[quote name='51m0n' post='581260' date='Aug 26 2009, 12:33 PM']Tell you what, you sing, and I'll do the bassy bits for you [/quote] It would be a lot easier to find a bassist than a singer, especially as we're quite musically like-minded! However, I've just concluded that I don't want to be the frontman/singer because I don't have that presence or that tone. I'm best just on the edge of the action being an in your face bassist / backing vocalist / musical director. Plus if I'm no longer stage centre I'll be a lot happier shilling the band and getting gigs. Be nice to have a more active co-writer too. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard to find a singer/co-leader for a good* band would you, but where do we start?! Alex * Honestly, we are, especially minus my vocals (less is more...)

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='581232' date='Aug 26 2009, 12:12 PM']Yeah, that's where we struggle. After a dull and tedious day at work, it's difficult to find the motivation to pursue a dull and tedious hobby.[/quote] We're currently revamping our band because it's just getting too complicated musically - my brain is certainly so worn out from everything during the day that I just want to rock out on bass and not worry about singing lead at the same time as playing syncopated basslines with the odd time signature weirdness thrown in. Tonight I am digging out the fuzz and stepping away from the mic (not that I could sing right now after a failed attempt at flight on Sunday ended on my face...) Anyone know any singists that they'd like us to take off their hands? However, even if you're allergic to theory, I do think basic chords and their constituent arpeggios are worth the antihistamines. Alex

Yes, like all DIY it's about having both competence and confidence in what you're doing. I guess for me the key was that when I first bought a bass I didn't want to pay anyone to set it up so I had to learn. Admittedly it's not been a totally smooth path, my '87 Streamer no longer has the original (flimsy!) aluminium truss-rod... Would be interesting to find out what it is that you're not confident of the results of when you've done a set-up yourself? Sounds like some kind of forum* would be a good things - "Luthier Dependents Anonymous"! Alex * Not one of those online things where people argue about whether f1Eldy rUlez or not, an old school forum.

Raising the nut will help. Make sure you're fretting hard enough and using good left hand technique before you start messing with it though. Alex

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='581189' date='Aug 26 2009, 11:48 AM']You should be able to run a 16 ohm cab off that 8 ohm output - similarly you should be able to run 3 off the 4 ohm output.[/quote] The norm with valve amps is to use a higher tap, not lower, so a 16 ohm cab would need a 16+ ohm tap. Kind of the opposite of solidstate (non-transformer coupled) amps. Alex

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='581190' date='Aug 26 2009, 11:49 AM']Ideal for a 1 cab gig in a coffee shop then eh?[/quote] Except Matamp make you sign a disclaimer that you will only use their gear in appropriately rock situations... Alex

[quote name='joegarcia' post='581179' date='Aug 26 2009, 11:43 AM']The GT200 only does 4 and 8 ohms. 4x 2x10's would have to be 16ohm each for him to be able to use them all together at 4 ohms, so you couldn't use one by itself anyway. Think 2x 410's makes the most sense.[/quote] Plus a sealed 2x10" really won't be usable for anything beyond coffeeshop SPL. Alex

[quote name='Beedster' post='581146' date='Aug 26 2009, 11:15 AM']I've never had a pro setup that worked for me. A 40-60 minute session on how to do a setup might be an equally/more useful service on the day?[/quote] Maybe we should have some kind of debate / Q&A on set-up with bunch of us that do our own set-ups offering our personal views on how to do it. You obviously do it differently to me because by the time I'd have got a bass sorted you'd have already sold it! Alex

I'd be very interested to know exactly what people don't know/understand about doing set-ups? I've always done my own, never found a luthier can do it as well for me as I do because I know how I play my bass. Maybe I'm deluded but am happy to witter on about how I do a set-up if it's of use! This is good reading: [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassm...etupmanual.html[/url] What does everyone expect from the £25-£50 they pay for a set-up? When I do my own basses I tweak string spacing, relief, action, nut height, pickup height/tilt, pole piece heights. But I've never managed to do it in one session, I find it's an iterative process both as the wood settles but more importantly as you ascertain the balance of what the bass wants and what you want. It takes me a good few months to really get a bass sorted. My main piece of advice would be be very gentle with trussrods (1/4 turn at a time, then leave to settle, and pull the neck the direction you want the rod to move) and other than that just fiddle to your heart's content. Alex

I'll have to have a look at BP mag again. It used to usually be very good - the last issue I bought had the chap from Phish on the cover, Mike Gordon that's it, and something about some new British bass cabs on the inside, hence the purchase - and that seemed a good read. I've haven't looked at BGM since the same month, be interested to see if it's improved. Am happy to offer my services on spelling and grammar if they still haven't got the hang of that! I recently bought the pdf back issues of the confusingly titled Bass Gear Magazine (not to be confused with Bass Guitar Magazine) and apart from a slight air of pretentiousness and trying to hard it's actually rather good - much better when printed out rather than trying to read it onscreen. They really do put the T for Tech in their Tests! I stopped buying BP every month after realising that JPJ was in it at least once a year and he just ended up paraphrasing everything he'd said in previous interviews. And then realising I wasn't taking any new ideas, knowledge or inspiration from most issues. I guess that happens to all of us after a while, it gets harder and harder to find the nuggets when you've spent so many years searching... Alex

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='580909' date='Aug 26 2009, 02:16 AM']The very highest frequencies aside the needs of high quality PA and high quality bass are the same.[/quote] "High-quality" being the critical phrase! A well designed bass cab should perform just as well for a bass player's needs as a well designed equal quality PA cab whilst costing less (mid/high smoothness being less critical) and being a more suitable form factor (designed to be audible on the floor and not need pole-mounting, and can be wider but shallower due to backline position). Again, "well designed" is the critical phrase in that sentence! Alex

[quote name='Linus27' post='580364' date='Aug 25 2009, 04:01 PM']Alex, thats what I thought which kind of made me think that the tone of the Stingray is just not right for me. I always seem to be trying to mellow it out and make it more like a Jazz. Thats good to know the Bart pickup might just help me out. Thanks[/quote] The StingRay sound is quite interesting because although with the EQ flat it's very aggressive in the midrange and highs, as the original active bass it was designed to take some hefty EQing - there are some very smooth StingRay sounds on record, like Louis Johnson on loads of disco classics, which relied on boosting the lows and highs to effectively get a mid-scooped sound. What you can't change about a StingRay is the shape of sound - the naturally compressed tone due to the single bridgewards pickup, with less thump in the mid-bass and thus proportionally more deep bass if you're going for a bassy tone. You can hear this quite clearly if you compare Bernard Edwards and Louis Johnson on disco records to most other disco bassists - the StingRay does not really do thump (which makes it a nice slap bass because it stops slapping from getting too thumpy) - or if you compare RATM's first album to the following three - the bass is deep but it doesn't thud or punch low down, the punch happens in the midrange. Changing the pickup is really only like changing the EQ, so if you can get the sound you want with the EQ then you're sorted. If not then maybe single pickup StingRays aren't for you. Try using that mid-sweep on the Shuttle - leave the EQ flat on the StingRay, cut by about 10dB on the Shuttle mid, freq @ 500Hz (same as the onboard preamp) and then sweep up and down to see if you like the sound more. Note that the Q on the Shuttle's EQ is much tighter so it'll affect a smaller range of frequencies, whilst the onboard EQ is very wide with shallow slopes. Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='580622' date='Aug 25 2009, 07:48 PM']I think the results of the Compact road test will need to be in before this play grows legs.[/quote] I think I'll be sending a Big One out on tour next week - have caught up with demand now on that model so no point stock sitting around when it could be getting heard! Alex

Almost exactly twenty years on I bet the constituent parts are still doing sterling duty. Hopefully the trainers were retired some time ago... Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='580620' date='Aug 25 2009, 07:47 PM']What would be the guess for a side by side comparison between a Big one and a GS412 or a Vintage and the same? Thats what he really wants to know.[/quote] Based on what I've picked up about the GS 12" driver, I'd bet on the Big One being about as loud as the GS412 but needing more power to reach that SPL, whilst the Vintage will go louder and be just as sensitive. Alex

The Bartolini MM pickup should go a long way towards mellowing out the tone of your StingRay. That's quite a spectacular amount of midrange cut but it just goes to show how mid prominent the StingRay is compared to a Jazz with both pickups up full. Alex

I wonder how much of the 'woolly Ashdown' moans are related to specific speaker cabs? Unless an amp is complete rubbish (which I know Ashdown amps are far from being!) it should be pretty easy to EQ out wooliness. Alex

Was the bassist wearing a red beret? Alex

[quote name='gazhowe' post='579402' date='Aug 24 2009, 07:05 PM']The odd thing for me about this amp is that it's built to be rack mounted but the air intake fan is on the side of the amp, making it necessary to cut a hole in the side of my rack case to allow the fan to work as efficiently as possible. Anyone know why they were built like this?[/quote] There's quite a lot of rackmount gear like this. It's rarely a problem because there's usually an inch or two of clearance between the side of the amp and the rack (due to the width added by the ears) unless the exhaust also vents into the rack (so the rack temperature escalates and the warm air starts cycling). My Mackie M1400 had the intake on the front and exhausts on the sides but I suspect it would have run cooler if the fan direction had been reversed. My QSC PLX has the intake at the rear and exhaust at the front which makes more sense. GK 700/1001 amps have the fan (intake?) on the top which is much more likely to cause racking problems. Alex

[quote name='JellyKnees' post='578926' date='Aug 24 2009, 12:14 PM']Hi Alex, I'd like to order a big one please...what do I need to do?[/quote] Hi Neil, drop me an email at [email protected] Thanks! Alex

Whichever matches your nail polish. Alex

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='579014' date='Aug 24 2009, 01:09 PM']Nobody seems to have mentioned Victor?[/quote] Isn't that because this is about sounds? Great player though. +1 for Timmy C on Evil Empire - from start to finish, through a myriad of different clean, overdriven and distorted sounds, it is a tonal tour de force. Alex

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='579087' date='Aug 24 2009, 02:26 PM']Wrong again. What Alex [i]really[/i] means is the Selenium ST300.[/quote] Wrong again? That ST300 does look right. Alex