JellyKnees

Ooooh, touchy!!! [quote]Brokenhead? Is that Birkenhead? Will I be seeing you at Pacific Arts on Saturday?[/quote] Yes it is, and no I don't think so. I love Steely Dan too...maybe i'll just put a CD on instead. [quote]Cough! *bullshit....*[/quote] Puke, i don't thinks so.... [quote]I've done the originals thing to death but didn't make it big & grew frustrated with the "I'm gonna be a star" egos of other band members... Stop taking the easy way out and blaming everyone else for your own lack of success....[/quote] No egos in our band and I'm not blaming anyone for my 'lack of success'. I might have had some aspirations in that direction 20 years ago, but now I'd just like to get a few more gigs and have somewhere local to go to see some original music. [quote]I won't give you the 'crap excuse about entertaining the public' when you stop using the crap excuse of 'killing the market for original music'. I've done the Tribute thing-although I'm not now-and I've done the original thing. The venues available to tribute bands are different from the ones available to original bands and the target audiences are different. It's a whole different scene.[/quote] 20 odd years ago there were loads of pubs and a couple of clubs in Wirral that put original bands on. Now there are bugger all, but there are loads that put covers and tribute bands on. Some of them are the very same venues. Maybe it's different in other areas, but I can only go on my own experience of the local music scene. Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be...

It all depends on why you play music in the first play. I play (and write) music as a creative outlet. There's nothing very creative about doing covers, unless you're going to do something radical with them, in which case you're probably not going to get much work. Tribute bands, by their very nature, offer zilch room for creativity. The reason they suck is that they are killing the market for original music by creating a nice safe entertainment form for pubs and clubs to offer to the public. They are the flip side to the cheesiness that is the Stars in Their Eyes, the X Factor etc... If there are no (or very few) outlets left for original live music, then how are new bands going to develop in the first play? How will anyone ever know if they are any good or not? So don't give me all the crap excuses about entertaining the public.

I know the subject of strings for a fretless has been done to death, but nevertheless.... I have a Tunebass Fretless which I bought off fellow basschater Walplayer just over a year ago. It's has piezo pickups only, and an absolutely fantastic tone - really fat and dynamic. I love it. I've tried various strings on it - I started of with some rotosound solo bass, which I had on my previous fretless, but decided they didn't feel as good as the set that was on it when I got it - too sticky somehow. I then moved to some d'addario half rounds (I think these may have been what it came with), which give the best sound that I've had out of the bass so far. I'm currently using a hybrid set that i've made up from 2 stock sets (40-60-80-100, which is my preferred gauge). However, I do find that for certain songs, they are a bit stiff on the stiff side and are lacking a little in bite and sustain. I've tried status half rounds, which felt good to play and had a bit more snap, but lacked the quality bottom end that the d'addarios give me. I also tried some d'addario nickel roundwounds, but they were far too buzzy, inspite of me taking the action up shedloads. Does anyone have any other suggestions before I spend more money. I know Elite do some groundwounds, but can't find very much information about them. I don't want to loose the quality fatness that I'm currently getting with the d'addario half rounds , but need something slightly more flexible with a touch more sustain, although not as bright and buzzy as a round wound..... I know, I'm a fussy bugger. Any ideas???

I always tend to record my basses fairly clean, then add stuff later as required, unless I'm using a specific effect and need to hear it as I play. If you are playing a clean sounding bass line, then all the tone should come from the combination of the bass, strings and your fingers. A good bass with quality pickups and strings should sound great by itself with no processing whatsoever. Over process it, any you'll loose all those tasty little nuances. If your a metaller then of course it's a different story.... The important thing is, you can always add to a good basic sound, but you can't take stuff away. Once I've recorded, then I'll tweak it as required so it sits nicely in the mix. Compression is always good - don't over do it though. EQ can help to balance it against the other instruments, again don't overdo it. A little reverb can be good too, maybe a touch of grit from amplitube or even guitar rig...try stuff out, it all depends on what you are after. And plugins are definitely not a fad. I've being using them for years with Cubase/Nuendo - if used properly they give you a world of sound posibilities that were previously unavailable for the home studio recordist.

This happened recently to my handmade KGB headless which they built for me 20 years ago this year...I took it back to into KGB and they basically heated the neck and bent it back to give the correct amount of relief. And they didn't charge me, which was nice...

[quote name='icastle' post='1139824' date='Feb 24 2011, 12:16 PM']...Mustang Sally, Alright Now, Johnny B Goode..... [/quote] yawn

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1139768' date='Feb 24 2011, 11:41 AM']Yeah! Stick it to the man! I do both. Life is good.[/quote] I wouldn't claim to be sticking it to the man, I just think that the concept of the 'Tribute' act sucks bigtime. It used be thought of as naff, now it somehow has become acceptable - I just don't get it myself. I've seen the real Floyd, I don't want to see pretend version, Australian or otherwise... Covers, well ok, if that's what you want to do, go for...it would bore me to death personally, but that's just me. I'd rather have the day job tbh. I might be going off topic a little here, but 25 (ish) years ago when I started playing, you could get gigs in pubs doing original stuff, and even get paid for it. Now it seems you can't. How many versions of Mustang Sally do people really want to hear? Do people really want to just hear the same old sh*t, or is it just a safe option for the publicans? Less pubs these days so more competition I guess. But if there are less and less opportunities for original stuff to be played live, what will the tribute/cover acts in 20 years time be playing?

Being popular has never been high on my list of priorities Bilbo...personally, I'd rather have some integrity than be popular. Avast!

Of couse, but unfortunately the opportunities to play live as an original band are severely limited these days.... I blame all these feckin tribute/cover bands, but especially the tribute acts. They really p me off actually...stop pretending to be someone else and go do something creative ffs. Parasites. Phew, glad I got that off my chest...

I have an 200w alligator bass combo which has 8inch speakers made by volt....it is nearly 20 years old though, so I don't know if they still make them....very nice sound indeed...

I've just got the Sansamp VT Bass (arrived yesterday!) after a recomendation on here and I really like it...early days I know, but it warms and thickens my Little Mark amp in a very pleasing and musical way...

After much deliberation, review reading, youtube listening etc etc, I decided to order a sansamp VT bass pedal on spec - it arrived yesterday and I'm a very happy bunny so far. With drive set to about a 1/4 and the character at around 1/3, it really thickens and warms the sound of the KGB very nicely, without sounding too harsh. A very impressive bit of kit indeed - just what I was after and much cheaper than a new head. Also works well with my Tunebass piezo fretless too! Thanks to Wil for his advice...

Early JJ Burnell - for his ability to be raw yet melodic at the same, the inspiration for me getting into playing bass in the first place Tony Levin - for his innovative approach to rhythm and his creative use of sound. Barry Adamson - again, for his unique sound and melodic punky style. Marcus Miller - beacuse I do like at bit of sw***y funk now and then, and Marcus has so much damn groove - slap bass can really suck in the hands of certain exponents (bad 80's british cod funk bands - you know who you are), but Marcus is just cool. Squarepusher - because he's brilliantly bonkers, and sounds like no-one else.

Ok, a few useful tips so far...thanks chaps. Decisons, decisions...I may have to travel a bit to check one out, but am tempted I must admit.

Hi all, Just looking for some feedback on the newish Little Mark Tube heads. I'm currently using a Little Mark 250 with a Barefaced Big One cab. The sound is generally excellent, clear, precise and punchy, but occasionally it lacks that certain sparkle/warmth on particular songs, especially with my handmade KGB fretted bass, which has quite a hard, bright tone. I'm not looking for balls out valve grunt, more a subtle splash of harmonic colour really. So I've been thinking about upgrading to a LM Tube head, but there aren't many reviews out there at the mo. Some reviews look good, others seem to suggest that the valve is very subtle indeed - although i want subtle, I also want to be able hear some difference for my wonga! Anyone got one, tried one, loved it, hated it, or merely ambivalent about it? Cheers, Neil

Have used Elites 40-100 for nearly 20 years on my DBE KGB bass, but I have become a little less satisfied with them of late, so I have tried a couple of alternatives.... La Bella...nice, apart from the E string which sounded like a wet fart..even sent it back to strings direct as I thought it was duff....it wasn't D'Addario ESXL170 Nickel Wound...impressed at first, but not sure now...not enough bite for the odd little slap and tickle that I like to thow in here and there. Very nice for finger style playing tho....but at £34, they are very expensive Think I might try some Status Hotwires next...they seem to be rated highly on here...

Hi Alex, I'd like to order a big one please...what do I need to do? Neil

Ok, Cheers for the suggestion...am still looking at the options, but hopefully will make some decisions next week sometime. Neil

Hi Alex, I'm way up in sunny Birkenhead - where abouts are you? I play a mix of styles, some funkesque stuff on my handmade KGB bass (made by an excellent local luthier) and I have a Vintage fretless too...i use quite a lot of effects, esp octaver, so I need something to handle the lows, hence why I wanted a 15" speaker....our band isn't mega loud by any means, as we use programmed drums, so I think a 1000w could be a bit OTT! I've just been looking online at the peavey tour series 450 which give 300w into 8 ohms, which i reckon could be about right - i've used peavey gear before and it's usually good and loud for the rating given....just need to find a shop with one in stock so I can check it out. I also need to check my finances, but I'm definitely interested... Cheers, Neil

Hi Alex, I'm thinking of updating my bass setup and came across your website - I'm interested in the big one and was wondering what kind of wait time there is on these at the moment? Also, I'm looking at buying a bass head to go with it (I'm currently using an Allligator bass combo I got in about 1992 but it weighs about 5 stone and I'm struggling to move it these days!) and was wondering whether 200watts is enough to power it adequately, or would you recommend going a bit higher? Thanks, Neil