fatback

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1091709' date='Jan 16 2011, 07:14 PM']I have a bassmax on my stentor 1950. I couldn't get a sound I liked with spirocores, but the cheapo weedwackers sound brilliant with it[/quote] At least that shows it's not as simple as the bassmax not being up to it, which is encouraging. Turns out i have Pirastro Jazzers on mine (steel). Looking to change soon, but i guess i need something that can be bowed with not too much trouble, so weedwackers are out .

I've never heard of Raynaud's getting worse with exercise, the opposite usually. Get your GP to refer you to a specialist? Goes without saying that you have to be careful not to have a sharply angled wrist when you play, but this doesn't sound like the usual problem you get from that.

An update on this one. Managed to tame the 'pop' with a DHA DI/EQ by cutting the high mids with the parametric. Great. The sound is now perfectly acceptable, albeit a bit 'electric', but that's the K&K Bassmax, I imgine. Happy days. I can now think about a public outing.

I've been gigging a Doubler with Midget on electric for a while now, and both have been superb. Loud, stupidly light, and lots of bottom. Haven't gigged it with upright yet, but it sounds good at home. No reason to believe it won't be fine. The small footprint will be a gift, I expect. And yes, the Midget does need breaking in for some hours before you get the best out of it. Can't say the Midget looks home made to me, although I think the finish was changed just before I got mine. Very robust, I'd say. I'm probably going to get a second one for bigger gigs, although I've come nowhere near needing that even in biggish pubs.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1091245' date='Jan 16 2011, 12:02 PM']Save up for something decent. A Yamaha RBX170 is hard to beat for under two hundred quid.[/quote] +1 Yamaha quality is outstanding for the price at whatever level.

[quote name='james_guitar' post='1088864' date='Jan 14 2011, 03:54 AM']I'm very tempted to try the EA Doubler as it seems ideal for my needs. Does any one in the UK stock them?[/quote] Bass Direct has the EA Doubler at £599.

[quote name='philw' post='1088058' date='Jan 13 2011, 02:35 PM']Don't worry, I only take cash P[/quote] How much cash is one of these honeys anyhow? Just out of idle curiosity, you understand

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='1087372' date='Jan 12 2011, 10:46 PM']In that case you should probably view the finished article [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70971"]HERE[/url] [/quote] Stop that, now! < eyes creep furtively towards credit card>.

[quote name='walbassist' post='551612' date='Jul 26 2009, 09:26 AM']You seem pretty set on an EB2 bodyshape, so I suspect a custom build beckons. But just for info, I've just ordered an unlined fretless Veillette Archtop like this: Gareth[/quote]

Yeah, hugely informative. Thanks. A big get well from here too. Does titanium set off the scanners at airports?

A touch of compression or even a good preamp if your bass is passive. And decent pickups, too.

Hi Dave, Out of curiosity, what's the frequency range of the Q on the EQ/DI pedal? Loving the pedal btw.

Often with cheaper basses it's the poor active electronics that let them down. I'm inclined to choose passive, adding an outboard preamp to taste. Advantage is that I use the same preamp with different basses, or change the preamp if I like. Then again, I need very little variation in sound within a set, and I hate knob twiddling at a gig, so onboard eq would only annoy me.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1083944' date='Jan 10 2011, 09:36 AM']Yes Yes Yes. (Yes) Ps - Yes[/quote] +1

[quote name='chris_b' post='1079696' date='Jan 6 2011, 11:59 AM']This is a slippery slope! Pretty soon you'll find yourself playing world music on a fretless 5 string!![/quote]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1084176' date='Jan 10 2011, 01:25 PM']A little and often, I say. Just get anything in bass clef and bang through it. Its familiarity with the written form that allows you to improve. Print off anything that is transcribed here (its all free) and go for it, one after the other - don't go back and rectify your mistakes as you go, just keep reading, reading, reading and not learning the pieces. At this point, accuracy is not as important as keeping going!!! It will come but it takes time and practice - no short cuts here.[/quote] Interesting point about not going back. I'm inclined to keep going back until I can get everything right, but it's hugely time consuming. Probably memory comes into play too much as well.

Used to use a trad one, and agree it's very pleasant. But now I use only electronic. Advantage is, you can the volume up and down, depending on whether you're playing electric or acoustic, or to avoid annoying the significant other. If I'm around a pc, I use a little app called 'fine metronome'.

[quote name='walbassist' post='1074172' date='Jan 1 2011, 08:30 AM']Happy New Year The PJB D200 would be an obvious fit, but it may be a bit underpowered for the bigger gigs. An alternative would be the Euphonic Audio Doubler; expensive, but very nice and specifically designed for upright. Cheers Gareth[/quote] +1 on the Doubler. In fact, anything EA - maybe the micro? From posts here and on Talkbass, Some people prefer the EA tone to AI.

[quote name='zero9' post='1064584' date='Dec 20 2010, 01:21 PM']Depending on what type of pup you use on the double bass, you may or may not need a pre-amp depending on the amp you intend to get/use.[/quote] +1 You may also need certain things like a notch filter for controlling feedback. Basically you have a choice between getting those things on a decent standalone preamp like the Fishman pro, or getting the same features on the amp by getting something like an EA Doubler. If you get a good preamp, especially with a good eq, I would say your choice of amp is a lot wider.

[quote name='endorka' post='1068186' date='Dec 23 2010, 08:06 PM']If you only use foam this will happen. I tend to pad the space out with a bit of wood or similar until it is almost at the height to hold the pickup, then use the foam for the last bit to allow some adjustment. Good springs are good, but I often find them too wobbly and easy to press down, especially if they are near their maximum extent. In this case you can pad them out with washers or nuts over the screws in the same way as described above. Jennifer[/quote] Hey, thanks for that. I'll use the wood trick. You're now my honorary luthier.

[quote name='thinman' post='1068139' date='Dec 23 2010, 07:32 PM']I was asking my local luthier about this and he prefers springs to foam (the screws go though the middle). His view is that foam is a cheap option and loses it's "umph" after a while leading to the pickups rattling a bit.[/quote] In my ignorance, I'd imagined that it had springs in there, until Jennifer mentioned the foam. My old US Jazz of years ago had springs I'm sure.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1067708' date='Dec 23 2010, 12:44 PM']Not to take away from Bob's instruments - but I would recommend you look into some of the basses available from Thomann. After playing a friends that was set-up professionally and played brilliantly, I replaced my €5000 bass from Ken Smith with one of these: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm[/url] With the free shipping from Thomann and the trial period where you can return it if you don't like it, this might be a better option for you. Maybe check with them about the procedure to return it if you don't like it.[/quote] Wow. Just checked that out. €799 and free shipping is amazing.

Thanks for the suggestions. Great. I hope I'm not recklessly exposing myself to the modding bug. Slippery slope and all that...

tbh, if you can't get loud enough with a Midget, I would say it's your amp you need to rethink. I agonised for ages before getting the midget; I couldn't believe such a wee thing could do the job. But believe me, those Midgets are seriously loud. I've comfortably cadged a lift home, sitting in the back seat of a Corsa with three other people in the car. The Midget was on my knee (no comments, please ), and my bass between me and the door. The guitarist had his gear in as well. Try that with a 4X10 .

I've been running a Doubler for a few months now. Done about eight gigs and a fair number of practices with it, all with bass guitar, and I like it a lot. I got it because i got a double bass, but i really like the sound with bass guitar. It's a very clean sound, but not at all modern or clinical. There's an attractive warmth there. You do hear a lot of people saying these amps aren't loud, but I disagree. It's clean all the way to the max, and I think people perceive loudness in distortion, so they feel it's quieter than it is. Also, the level knobs are linear. So when you're half way up, you're half way up, not three quarters as with most amps. I think a lot of people don't set their pre- gain right either. Speaker efficiency is bound to be important here too; Ive only ever used mine with my BF Midget, so I can't compare, but the Midget is an efficient cab. To put the loudness in perspective, with two guitars and a medium loud drummer, playing country rock in largish pubs, I've never had it to half way. That's through the 8 ohm Midget alone. The EQ is basic. If you want more, you need to use an EQ pedal or other preamp. Usefully though, the centre frequency for the mid control is placed differently on each of the two channels. On channel 1 it's optimal for bass guitar, on 2 for double bass, so you have more useful control than you think. I've never felt a lack of control with a passive bass guitar. I usually use a Sadowsky pre as well, but that has only treble and bass controls and is more for some indefinable quality it adds, rather than for EQ. For double bass, I've only ever used it at home with a K&K Bassmax piezo. Because the input impedence on the amp is high, I don't need a preamp, which is nice. Channel 2 has phase shifting, in case you want to use two pickups or a pickup and mic. I haven't used that. Chanel 2 also has a notch filter for pinning down feedback. I've found that useful. The above should mean that you won't need a preamp like the Fishman Pro to get phase reversal and notch filter if you're using it for double bass. But I have thought i need more tone shaping for the DB, so my solution is to try the DHA DI-EQ with the parametric mid (with Q) to get more control. That hasn't been delivered yet, so i can't comment on the combination. Important point though - very few amps have Q control on their parametrics anyhow, so if you want that you have to go elsewhere. Worth keeping in mind that you can switch between the channels, for two different sounds, when you're using only one instrument. I've read very positive things about the quality of the DI but can't attest to that cos I've never used it. I read that customer support is top notch, but i've not had to use that either. Build quality seems top class and the amp seems to weigh nothing at all. It's tiny too. My only quibble with this is that the tone controls aren't illuminated - a pain on a dark stage. In short, i love this amp, and the big surprise was just how very sweet it is for bass guitar. If you need to double, get one. If you don't need to double, but can get our hands on one at a decent price, go for it. All imo, of course