krispn

I'm off to the USA in Nov and am already saving for the potential gear purchases. If the pound is strong I can see one of these working its way back home with me!

yup i run via a pre into my wee mixer from di

I got a new bass a few months ago and it's still a joy to gig with it - hell its a joy to just sit and play it! More recently got a new rig and tried the preamp at home on the Saturday via my wee headphone mixer then into a tiny practice amp. Sounded good but needed to give it some beans in the practice room - had it at the rehearsal room the next day going into the line in of the Ashdown they have, bypassing the ashdown eq, into a muddy sounding ashdown 2x15 .... Feeling a bit like Goldielocks as this too sounded good but again not quite my rig........then finally later that same night I got to plug into my own cab and power amp at a gig..... The sound was great and I was a a bit giddy to finally gig it with all my proper live gear! The bass was playing real nice and the rig was just full and plump with great punch too. Got it to sit nice and tight with the Kick drum and while I doubt the crowd realised why they were dancing we all knew ......right guys 😉

Much like ratman suggests I've discovered this wee gem from the same family of mixers. It's got a couple of extra features/inputs but I only paid £30 it gives me a dedicated phono line out which I connect to the cans via red/white phono cable which gives a stereo mix of iPod and bass for jamming along silently - something I wasn't getting (kinda obviously) coming out the actual headphone out with my 1/4" guitar cable and reduced/adapter. Should have done this years ago and not bothered with a practice amp at home! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-502-Xenyx-mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ

I bought a small mixer for about 30 quid and use that with headphones - I can run my laptop/ipod into it and jam along Very handy and not expensive! http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Behringer-Xenyx-502-Mixer/6PE

Hey guys My buddy is thinking of getting a Golden Age 1073 pre amp and eq for home recording. He was asking me if it could be used live with a power amp for his bass gigs and he was also thinking about it for his acoustic shows too. My thought is that it would work in both settings for either application i.e. the pre amp would give the relevant volume/gain adjustment and the EQ can be applied to suit guitar or bass. He was thinking of putting them into a 1U case so it would be easily transported and more importantly safe! Is anyone doing this with their studio kit? Part of me thinks the studio gear should stay at home but I'm intrigued by the idea!

Yeah if it sounds like the Big Al that's no bad thing. They're just a bit ordinary but they could play great. Price will be interesting......

Aren't Ibanez pushing the Promethean again this NAMM?

As may have been said. Get onto our American friend on talkbass. Try and get chatting with the guys from the gospel scene in the area you're travelling to. See what's available locally from TB and have some viewings lined up or maybe even some loaners? I'm sure the gospel community I'm sure will step up and help. Good luck!!

I know (weep)

I just missed out on buying one of these a few weeks back for £250 locally.

dmckee I always thought about putting the original P pick up in a jazz config like that best of both worlds.

My theory on GAS and hopefully I'll be more succinct than Scotty D... My handwriting is ok. It's legible and some people think it's pretty i.e. I get asked to write stuff when I'm in groups at work, on the white board, on big sheets of paper. Gimme a bic pen and my writing can be understood but given the choice I'd buy myself some Papermate 'Atlantis' pens as they're a bit more expensive but still very affordable, they feel good to me (and I can easily identify one if my colleagues nick it). If I'm feeling flush I might buy a Lamy pen, their Scribble and Dialog are personal favourites, as I quite like their style and design. My point.... I've played Squires, Epiphones, USA Fenders, Musician basses etc and I'm fortunate to own a really nice bass at the minute. Do I sound any better or worse on those different basses? Perhaps? Yeah some feel better, are better made and will inherently be 'better'..... but I still sound like me on them. In the same way a pen might have a moderate influence on my hand writing it's always gonna be my handwriting, the same way a bass will dictate some small changes to how I play/sound. Gimme a crayon and my writing will look clumsy for sure but once we hit a certain standard its calligraphy lessons that will make the difference not a quill and pot of ink or a Mont Blanc. Same with bass, concentrate on what you play and becoming a better player and the other stuff will come. Disagree if you like but those are some fine pens

I'll echo what has been said above - get yourself a decent mic for your cab, muck about with placement in your rehearsal room or to record to a laptop etc so you can listen back and decide where sounds best for, then mark out a 'square' or an 'L' shape on your cab where you think the mic sounds best for future reference. Insulating tape works well and is removable - gaffa tape can be a bit too sticky and leave residue! Next gig tell the sound guy you wanna mic the cab and you have everything you need to do so and work with them to get the sound sorted. You'll know exactly where you want the mic to go and have the gear ready to do it etc. The sound guy doesn't have to worry about picking or placing a mic and you come across as competent and professional and most importantly prepared. I think that we as players should know how to get the sound we want and have the gear we need to make it heard (within reason) so if we come across an inexperienced or lazy tech or just one who's time limited for set up/soundcheck its not an issue as we can be left to our own devices and set up and let him/her get on with the mix. Ideally tell them you want cab and di signals mixed and let them create massive tone for you FOH - who knows they might even enjoy mixing you! Side note - I'm still baffled by the number of singers who don't own their own mic...yuk!

Catalinbread make one which sounded quite good and I recall a guitarist friend of mine lusting after one for years.

I've heard of the third mic technique to capture the finger noises but on the few occasions where I've been recording its just been Di and speaker cab captured. I'd like to muck about with these techniques but that's gonna be on my own time not studio time

The basswitch has a eq, boost and two efx loops one which has a blend function. It's spendy but a superb unit!

I may be picking up a Tone Hammer 350 this week and look forward to revisiting these settings again. Plus we have a new desk in the band so could try two bass signals - send a clean one FOH and a 2nd to blend in a bit of filth. Any of you guys give them a go and what did you think?