ThomBassmonkey

[quote name='icastle' post='1207575' date='Apr 21 2011, 09:48 PM']cocktail sticks (it's denser than matchstick wood)[/quote] Cocktail sticks would be fine, but as a note, don't go too dense. Things like shards from drumsticks (which I've seen people use) can be denser than the wood your bass is made from and will encourage the wood in your bass to split rather than compress the wood you're using to fill the hole.

I always used Grooveshark anyway, it's very similar only with no ads and a lot of rarer stuff on it. In saying that, I rarely use it. I still don't really like the idea of it, it's another way to give free music to punters whilst barely paying the musicians involved any money. It's moderately better than pirating but if you're a small band, those fractions of pennies won't really add up.

Happy to help!

I was there at some point. I remember a naked silver guy dancing about, flying through some hills when the sky and my little bi-plane was crimson and then some exploding bins before waking up with a big banner over my head that said "The Jesus Centre" near the silent disco. The naked silver guy was actually real..as was the Jesus Centre.

A tip I picked up a while ago for adjusting the relief is to detune a string (shouldn't matter which one assuming your neck's not warped, I usually go for the A on my 5ers) down until you get a good amount of fretbuzz (usually D-E on the A string). Now play up and down the neck on that string. Ideally you should get fairly even amounts of fretbuzz up and down the neck, if you're getting too much either above or below about the 6th fret then your truss rod probably needs an adjustment.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1207425' date='Apr 21 2011, 07:25 PM']thombassmonkey..why are you telling me this? I am not the one who needs to know this at all.. I have my sound sorted, IMO, thanks. I don't need to elevate or tilt my gear, it works off the floor, 95% of the time..and for that extra 5% I can consider the room is against me and I'll work round it with either the bass or amp EQ. It really isn't rocket science, just use your ears.[/quote] Because you seem insistant that there will be no difference in sound depending on where the person's ears are in relation to the cab (which applies to all cabs, not just 15s) and it's a well proven fact that there is. Like you say, use your ears. The reason I'm telling you and not the OP is because we have told the OP, then you've come into the thread and dismissed a lot of facts that have been mentioned. Simply put, elevating cabs and tilting them back are solutions to this problem that could save the OP money, there's a reason that 2x10 etc cabs are usually stacked vertically and some cabs are a kickback design. I don't think this is going to benefit anyone so we should probably let the thread go back on course.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1207388' date='Apr 21 2011, 06:53 PM']Why do people advise against elevating cabs then? Or is that just in certain scenarios? If we should elevate, why bother buying a squat cab like a 4x10? Hard work to get elevated.[/quote] I've never seen anyone advise against elevating cabs. I can't imagine any reason why the principal would be ill-advised (obviously in certain situations it's not the best, heavy cabs, uneven stages etc) There's a lot of arguments against a 4x10 (weight, cost, size, horizontal dispersion), but people (including myself) keep buying them. I think it's the whole big rig thing, they're used on bigger stages because they are louder and will be helpful on large stages, so people assume that they're best (but overkill) for small stages too. I'm no expert on amps, but I know enough to know I'd probably be better off with 2 2x10s than 1 4x10 for most of my gigs, but there's something about having a big cab behind you. I'm sure I've seen the reasonings behind it somewhere (to do with internal cabinet size?) but a 4x10 will sound different to two 2x10s as well. IIRC it'll have a bigger bottom end without losing clarity. I know personally if I use both my 4x10s, the sound is much better for me than if I use one, which I put down to the elevation of the 2nd.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1207281' date='Apr 21 2011, 05:23 PM']Why are you arguing with me..? He can't get a sound out of one of your cabs..? [/quote] Try setting up your amp so that it's about waist height, then kneel down so your ear's right in front of it and play (not loudly, obviously). Then stand so that your ears are above the cab and play again. You should notice a very obvious difference in tone (I'm surprised you haven't noticed it anyway, it really isn't at all subtle). The sound will be a lot bassier with less definition. You can hear the same thing by walking behind the cab or indeed, any position except in front of it. The higher the frequcy, the less it's projected around the back of the speaker, hence it being directional. It's the high frequencies that give the sound the definition. If you can't hear those high frequencies (because you're stood out of the conal area in front of the speaker) your bass might sound muddy and you'll lose definition and the tone that you want to hear. You can try it with any speaker and any audio. Pointing a speaker directly at your ears will always sound more as intended. If the sound's the same above the speaker as directly in front of it, you either desperately need your ears checking (and probably hearing aids if your hearing's that damaged) or you have a magical amp that you should share with the world because it's totally unique and has properties other cab manufacturers would love to get their hands on. If the speakers are all facing the same direction, it might even cause the rules of physics to be re-written.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1207177' date='Apr 21 2011, 03:36 PM']Pointing a cab at your ears doesn't help the mix out front if you don't have P.A support. If you can't hear your bass well enough from less than 2 metres, how is anyone going to..? It may be that the OP has a deep bass sound which he likes and wants to keep but then can't get the higher end out of it that he needs to hear. This will need a compromise then. Get the sound right at source and you'll not need to have amps and cans flung all over. If your cab doesn't have enough standing on the floor for you then I doubt the sound is going to be that great any further away.[/quote] If you have a tall stack, you don't need to angle anything and everything should sound similar to you as it would to people in the crowd. If you have a short stack (as Alex was saying), the treble and mids will be going past your knees while all you hear is the less directional bass (which is more pronounced the nearer you are to the amp as the angle to your ears increases), meaning that either you won't have a good sound or to give yourself a better sound, it's going to sound tinny out front where they'll be hearing far more of the higher frequencies (assuming they're not stood right next to you). Angling cabs and my suggestion of having a cab on the other side of the stage angled in slightly are compromises that could increase the amount of higher frequencies that the OP would hear without spoiling the sound out front too much, so long as the angles aren't taken to extremes and leaving the audience with the muddy frequencies that the bassist is trying to avoid. If the sound's right at the source next to your feet, it doesn't mean it'll be right at your head. Likewise, if the floor of the stage is at shoulder height for most people (as a lot of stages are), then they'll be getting a balanced sound from a 2x10 but it'll still be too low for the bassist stood next to the amp to hear any clarity properly (assuming the 2x10 is the bassist's only cab with no PA support).

The best place for balance would be to screw into the back of the neck join. You should be alright to just screw in, though a small hole drilled first wouldn't hurt to reduce the chances of the wood splitting and as a guide. Another option is to use match sticks (or another soft wood) and wedge them in the hole, screw in the screw, take it out again and fill again. I've done that with various basses and guitars and it's always worked well. You won't need to glue, but again, it doesn't hurt. All pick guards will be different, your best bet is to email wherever you plan to buy from and ask them.

Am I the only one that thinks it looks quite nice? SC basses can often look very plain along the top "horn", this breaks it up a bit. It looks good up close, from a bit further away I could imagine it does look a bit like someone got a little too excited though. I don't know why people insist on so much detail in inlays or paint jobs in instruments, as soon as they're at a gig, they're moving about or people are too far away to see the intricate detail anyway.

I don't generally practice at home, it's my downfall. When I do, I use the same gear I gig with. Probably the biggest reason for me not practicing much at home for a while was my sole amp being my GK 2001RB-II and 410RBHs, it's quite a lot of hassle to drag around and set up when you want to prat about while watching TV. My mini head and one 212 is set up at the moment though so I'm using that. I do have a cheap 15w 1x10 practice combo in my room but it's horrible and I can't take it seriously with gear at the opposite end of the scale downstairs. The MB has a headphone output if needed and there's a CD player near where I set up my amp so I just use those if needed.

[quote name='waldemar' post='1161035' date='Mar 13 2011, 10:05 PM']This is quite neat: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6P9wtq1n9g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6P9wtq1n9g[/url][/quote] What's with Americans calling soldering irons "soddering" irons? I don't know why but it really irritates me.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1206947' date='Apr 21 2011, 11:57 AM']I'd disagree, I'd say the sound into the cab or the cab itself is lacking. I run two single 12's which aren't the tallest.. They don't lack for signal even though everyone talks about them having a mid scoop. If I had any problems hearing them ...it wouldn't be the positioning that I'd respond to. I find too many bass players go for a bassy sounding cab and then wonder why they can't hear it. Either the cab has a bass bias which they like but it is not ideal for hearing or the signal in isn't clean enough. If you have a muffled sound you are going to have problems.... and stacking one on top of another is bypassing the problem not dealing with it, IME, and of course, makes a mockery of a one speaker per cab solution in itself which is a myth, IMO.[/quote] Treble is much more directional than bass. If you point your cab at your ears, you'll hear more treble (and mids) than if you stand behind it. Since most of the definition in bass is from the treble and mids, if your speakers are pointing at your ankles you (or anyone stood close) won't hear the definition and you won't sound great. If you angle the cab or have it higher up (or both) more of the treble and mids will be pointing at your ears and you'll have better sound. It's why monitors are angled, it's why PA full range cabs are elevated to nearer ear height on poles (since bass isn't as directional, bass bins usually aren't). If you're bumping up the treble and mids because being stood above a cab means you're not hearing those frequencies, anyone that can hear them (remember, if you're on a high-ish stage, they could be pointing directly at someone's ears) is getting a very rough deal and you could be sounding thin and clankey.

[quote name='Salt on your Bass?' post='1206843' date='Apr 21 2011, 10:47 AM']With a stand solution, will that result in any loss of bass reinforcemnt/poor coupling?[/quote] I don't think that should really be a problem for most cabs these days. They should be able to pump out enough lows without relying on the floor. Regardless, given the choice of not being able to hear yourself or losing coupling, it's a bit of a no brainer IMO. I don't know the kinds of venues the OP is playing, but I know if I had my cabs flat on a floor at the small pub gigs I've played, the audience is up close anyway so it would've been firing at their ankles too.

If you're on a cramped stage with no PA support there's not a lot you can do as even if you angle your cab back, it'll still be low or you'd have to angle it back so far it won't go out front properly and you'll be lost to the punters. If you have PA support, you could try swapping sides with the guitarist and angling your amps in, that should give you some range. Without PA support though they won't be properly projected into the crowd. I don't think a Gramma Pad would help here, they're designed so that when you go onto boomy stages, your amp isn't mechanically coupled with the floor and it significantly reduces the "boom". The ones I've seen don't angle back. You can get amp stands that will elevate and angle your cab, that might be worth looking into if you like your current amp, you just can't hear it. Something like this: [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Guitar-Amplifier-Stand/8GP"]http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/...ifier-Stand/8GP[/url] . I can't recommend specifics though as I use a stack.

After using this in practice the verdict is that it's amazing. I managed to carry in my bass, head, leads bag and one cab in one trip (wasn't particularly convenient but I had the head loose and hadn't properly loaded myself up if I'm honest), then the 2nd cab in the next trip was a doddle on it's own. The sound was FANTASTIC. I had my first outing with my new Sandberg MM5 at the same time, so I can't particularly put it down to one or the other but it was probably the best I've sounded in a long time. The overall tone was very articulate and clear without losing any of the fatness or punch that I love about GK gear. The sound may have been slightly thinner in the mids, but it gave it a different flavour instead of being better or worse. For a better idea, our guitarist uses a Mesa combo which is very mid heavy. I stopped using my Thumb because tonally we were all mids in the mix and it muddied things. After switching to my Sandberg JJ5, my 2001/RBH rig seems to have a very wide frequency range, though still very focused in the lows giving it a lot of presence throughout and making it feel like it powers it's way through the mix without ever being overpowering. The MB/Neo rig is far more subtle, it feels like it fits around the Mesa perfectly. It sounds more scooped, it's not as present in the mids as the 2001/RBH so it gives the overall band sound a much more rounded feel. Wheras the Mesa and 2001/RBH felt very much like the bass was the foundations of the music and the guitars sat on top, the MB/Neo sounds more like they're working together. I've probably not painted a very good picture of the 2001/RBH there It sounds brilliant in the mix, it doesn't overpower or clash with anything, they're simply very different amps and though they both have the classic GK growl, they use it in VERY different ways. Of course, like I say, I've only practiced using a new bass with the new amp, so I expect quite a bit of it is down to the new bass too. I'll have to experiment more.

GK do a neo series, the NEO112s are about 13.6kg. If you're prepared to go a bit heavier, the 212s are 22.9kgs each. I recently picked up a GK stack with the MB Fusion head and two NEO212s, the whole thing weighs about 47.9kgs, isn't much shorter than my big rig with two 4x10 cabs (and the height difference is more to do with the big head being much bigger than the MB head rather than speaker height) and sounds amazing.

My Sandberg JJ5 Hated Fender for so many years, then played a stunning MIM Jazz and GASed so hard for one, then finally found this and I've moved on from trying all kinds of basses to playing Sandbergs. My MM5 might qualify as a Jazz but it's a bit of a stretch so I'll just stick up my JJ5.

I'm with the others. Your singer is very hit and miss, there's some songs where she sounds great (One Way or Another for example) then some that she sounds dreadful for (Whatever You Want, immediately following). I think if she spent some time properly learning and practicing the songs, she'd improve. Lots of people think that singing isn't like an instrument, that you just learn the words and learn the melodies then that's it. It doesn't work like that. The other thing if she practices stuff and still can't get together some of the songs, looking at the setlist from that one gig, I do think there's some she'll never sound great at, just because of her style.

Very nice! A good find. The "classic" GK amp, I need to find one to have a go on sometime, I've never seen one in the flesh close up. You'll have to give us a review of it once you've cranked it some in practice. The 800 is the one that all the major artists either use, or they use amps that are based on this (the RB-II series are all based on this, the manual even name checks it when talking about how to use the contour to make it sound like an 800RB). It's a shame they're not available new in the UK any more, something to do with EU laws and the materials/components used IIRC.

I picked it up Tuesday for £800 2nd hand. New it probably would set you back a bit under £1400, they're incredible prices for what you get. The bass sounds amazing and plays beautifully. That picture really doesn't do it any justice either, the top is lovely and looks stunning against the body. In the forearm contour you can see both woods along with two laminates but due to the shine on the pic, they're not obvious. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=37788"]This pic[/url] from the previous owner shows it off a bit better.

[quote name='Jarhead' post='1205864' date='Apr 20 2011, 02:18 PM']To be honest Thom, the Relay systems are becoming something of a standard for wireless systems. If anything, I've found that it can improve tone, assuming of course you aren't using cheap, crappy cables. They really are worth the money, and for someone like yourself, using a rack, I'd try and scrape the cash for a G90, which is the top of the line rackmount version.[/quote] If I got another rack unit, I'd have to upgrade from my 4u to a 6u which seems a bit pointless when I'm not far enough away from my rig at any point to warrant the extra range (I'm fully cabled at the moment and rarely feel like I'm cramped in, it's more about tying people up as we move around and being scared of stepping on cables as they drag around the floor). As far as I can tell there's no real extra advantage to using the G90 apart from the range and it being rack mountable. Plus with the new mini rig, I won't be using a rack for every gig, so I'd rather keep it separate (not that I'd avoid a rack if there was a valid reason for it, but it's definitely not a reason to upgrade to the next model up).

After seeing rmshaw's the other day, I've been GASing about a wireless again and I've seen nothing but good stuff about the L6 Relays. I was looking them up the other day and came across these: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_tbp_12.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_tbp_12.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_rxs_12.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_rxs_12.htm[/url] That's the transmitter and reciever from a G50 (the transmitter works with G90 too) for about £50 cheaper than they're available for together, would they be missing something or is it the good deal that it actually looks like? Since most of the ones that pop up on the for sale forum seem to be cheaper ones, I'm keeping my eye open for new wirelesses too, but I don't know what's worth looking into. I'm really loving my gear at the moment so it's very important to me that my tone is changed as little as possible, I have some money left over from buying other stuff recently that I can put into this to make sure I get something that's good, but I'd rather spend as little as possible. With that in mind, I'm open to suggestions on other systems.

It's all about the OD you're using. You don't need an all valve head (I have a solid state and a hybrid head and both do very nice OD, though neither are cheap options) to get a good tone. To be honest, you should look elsewhere than your M-8B for distortions, I've never found a distortion I really liked on a multi-FX for bass or guitar. The Sansamp BDDI gets good reviews, or you could go for something like an MXR Blowtorch which has a blend control on it.