Fionn

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1378833972' post='2205343'] I think that unless the joint has been chalk-fitted by an extremely skilled woodworker (as is done with glued joints in acoustic instruments), there's not going to be full contact anyway. [/quote] Full contact makes a difference, as in the case of neck-through-body basses which have notably better sustain. Both my basses are neck-through-body. I like the acoustic resonance afforded by that method of construction. Bolt-on, less so. Shimed bolt-on .... even less so. Folk will buy basses with shimmed necks then add expensive high-mass bridges and the like to improve the resonance. Why not just buy a bass which has been correctly made in the first place?

The space in the neck pocket which is caused by a shim means that full contact is lost at a critical point in the structure of the instrument. As a result the resonance is effected, sustain is lost. The acoustic qualities of the instrument are compromised. A new instrument that needs a neck shim is either porly designed, or poorly made (or both) in my opinion. Aye, that includes the holy grail that is Fender. Och, maybe such technical imperfections are crucial to the wholeFender vibe.

I have a light bass and a heavy bass ... at least I thought it was heavy. It's nowhere near the extremities mentioned in this thread (16lbs of bass, OOF!!!) Warwick Streamer Stage1 - 8.4lbs Aria Pro-II SB900 - 11lbs

[quote name='RWijchers' timestamp='1378675782' post='2203216'] Here is my new baby, a 1981 fretless SB700. Yes, it's the one from this forum. It arrived yesterday, safe and sound from Poland. It's in great shape and sounds fantastic ! [/quote] Hmmm, beautiful! I was admiring that when it was for sale

Hahaha!

Maybe keep it thick in the centre where the bridge and neck-joint are. My '87 Streamer is thick in the centre this way, and tapers in thickness towards the upper and lower edges of the bass. I must say that, acoustically, it is the best sounding electric bass that I've played, and still perfectly balanced. That's another consideration; how the reduced weight of a thin body may effect the balance of the whole. Nobody likes neck-dive.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1378565392' post='2201902'] Thanks for this. I've been having trouble with crud under the bridge lately. [/quote] soap and water will do

An old-school bristle shaving brush is the perfect tool for removing the dust and crud that gathers around the pick-ups, bridge, and under the strings on the headstock.

I've only played a couple of Mexican Fenders (Jazz basses), and I didn't think much of either of them. They felt, to me, like cheap basses. Even the Chinese-made modern player Jazz bass felt a lot better, sounded better, and was finished to a greater standard. The American Jazz STD that I played blew them all out of the water ... That said, the Chinese one was finished every bit as well.

I was just wondering how folk rate the "Spectracomp" compression, which is in-built to TC Electronic amp-heads. I'd be interested to hear the opinions of past or present TC users.

Thanks for the input guys, but the 800RB has been returned to its former keeper ... turns out it's goosed beyond what I'm willing to deal with.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1378034964' post='2194878'] You won`t hear that much difference between using an 8ohm 410 and a 4ohm 410 with the same amp. But you`ll hear a massive difference between using that amp with two 8ohm 410s as oppose to one. Saying that however, in my view it would be better to spend the whole of the money on one single top-quality 410 than two lesser 410s. [/quote] Aye, I get what you're saying about having two 4x10's ... although in the name of remaining semi-compact I intend to buy only a single 4x10 (for the moment, at least. Maybe an additional 2x10 later?). Weight and bulk are a real consideration for me, which is why I thought of the uber-light and relatively compact neodinium equipped GK 410 MBE cab. Do you consider this to be a "lesser" cab? And are you saying that if I was using only one 4x10, there would be no benefit in it being 4 ohm rather than 8 ohm? A purchase is imminent as I'm currently without amplification. I just don't want to make the wrong decision.

Cool. I hope she buys a banjo ... great jamming potential. Before you know it you'll be doing this ... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nESdn_5lNzc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nESdn_5lNzc[/url]

Being a bass player who has always used a combo, I now find myself in uncharted territory and I'd appreciate your help in getting my thoughts around the correct head/ cab combination. I'm sure it's all very rudimentary to many of you, but I don't have much of a clue ... such has been my sheltered life in combo-land. It's worth noting that my history of playing has been in small to medium sized venues, and that's how it's likely to continue. I need a set-up that is going to provide enough guts for small venues with no pa support, and medium-sized venues as an effective stage monitor. The option to expand on that would be attractive, but not vital (I think... certainly not for now anyway). That's playing in a band which variously consists of 4-8 people, including drums, bagpipes, guitar, singers, and so on. I've had the good fortune to have been given a [b]Gallien Krueger 800RB[/b] head. It belonged to a friend and I've played through it before. I'm satisfied with the sound and functions of the thing, and I think that it's a suitable amp for my needs. Now, whatever I do cab-wise has to be light-weight and affordable. I was thinking of initially buying a 4 ohm GK 410MBE (800w, neodinium) cab to run on the 300w low amp. This being my default amplification solution. If it was necessary at some later date I was thinking I could run an additional 8 ohm 2x10, bi-amping it on the 100w high amp. Does this sound like a sensible solution? or, would it make more sense to get an 8 ohm 4x10 to run from the low amp, with the option to add another 8 ohm cab later? The bi-amping facility isn't something that I'm desperate to utilise. Like I said, I kind of ended up with this amp and didn't necessarily take it for this feature. I wouldn't rule out using a different amp if this dosn't absolutely suit ... I just don't know. I suppose my question is whether it's best to buy either a 4 ohm or 8 ohm 4x10? Your thoughts on this would be most appreciated. Thanks E

No guitars! Get a bouzouki player instead ... or even two! Bouzouki is the new guitar!

Aberdeen is a bit far for me unfortunately. I live on the north coast, so it takes more than 2 hours just to get down to Inverness. If there was a north of Scotland bash that was a bit more central (Inverness for example) then I'd be well up for it.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1377776683' post='2191611'] IME listen to a tonne of groove playing first. But listen fo rthe right thing about that playing. While you listen concentrate really hard on the way these guys are subdividing the beat. It is never, ever straight, they always push the first half of the subdivision a little longer than the second half, however often this is backed up by accenting the second half of the beat subdivision a little to make it punch through. There is a subtle berrrrrrDUP to each pair of subdivisions. If they dont play the first note in the paiir they still infer the extra time so you get ______DUP, and if they dont play the second note you get berrrrr__, the timing is always bang on. Especially in fills and fancy stuff, in fact they make simple things sound flashier just because they maintain this feel when playing simple stuff so well. This creates a 'skip' to their playing, its all about how you accent subdivisions and where you exactly you put that subdivision. Vic Wooten has an astounding groove to his less flashy playing, and if you listen to him grooving he makes this so much a part of his sound. If you dont do this naturally then you are going to spend a long time working on it. Take a track you love listening to that really shows this kind of thing off. Play along and really really pay attention to where your notes end and where they start within a beat. Now set up a metronome to quarter notes and play the groove to the metronome and absolutely nail its swing/skip/feel (insert whichever sounds right toy ou ). The notes dont matter, the feel does, in fact just play the rhythm on one note and nail it for the track. No one cares about the notes anyway , you cant hold no groove if you aint got no pocket! [/quote] This is a great answer.

[quote name='such' timestamp='1377552503' post='2188851'] ... harmonics. Very obvious improvement there. If there was no difference, we could just as well have plastic-made bridges. [/quote] Like the man said. It makes brighter, more sustained harmonics. Aye, it's noticable.

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1377691334' post='2190385'] An interesting choice...I guess there's going to be some debate over how we define dorky [/quote] Aye. I suppose I'm thinking of those type of posers who go for that very engineered dysfunctional aesthetic. An anti-fashion paradox, similtaneously biting and liking its own arse ... so to speak.

Following on from a comment that Operative451 made on another thread about dorky guitars ... One bass immediately populated my mind ... the Fender Mustang Bass, such is its oozing of dorkiness. Surely a contender?

Check out the Trace Elliot SMX dual-band compressor. It's possible to switch between, high, low, full, or no compression using the two footswitches. Very handy for when you're switching between slap and fingerstyle. It also has an effective eq control which gives emphasis to wherever you dial it (when the compression is engaged). This pedal is no longer in production, although they pop up for sale here from time to time.

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1377608480' post='2189319'] Personally I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with the amount of slagging of that we give this bloke here. I'm not in anyway defending what he does, but some basschat members are starting to act like a flock of vultures fighting over a not yet dead carcass, or a gang of playground bullies, in their eagerness to get in and give the bloke kick when he's down. Not very edifying, and In my opinion this is not basschat at it's best. [/quote] Bollocks. The said master-craftsman has crossed so many lines that he is now [b]deeply[/b] within the zone of justifiable ridicule (have you seen his work? or read his descriptions?!). This is banter and a bit of harmless pi$$ taking. You know, like when you corrected a spelling error I made on one of my posts the other day?