ThomBassmonkey

[quote name='spinynorman' post='782993' date='Mar 23 2010, 12:52 AM']So we had the gig on Saturday, but they wanted it loud. So no chance to try any volume management, though I did turn the tube pre down and that did focus the sound quite a bit. I feel like I'm supposed to like tube tone, but really I don't.[/quote] Glad it helped. Tubes can sound a bit flabby if they're not being pushed. If they're being driven a bit it makes your sound clearer but you need to drive them for that (which you're not doing at low volumes). I'm a fan of SS amps anyway though.

I teach a lot of people that're just starting out on guitar and bass and a lefty with a righty guitar definitely struggles with strumming more than a righty with a righty/lefty with a lefty.

[quote name='dirtylittleherbert' post='782996' date='Mar 23 2010, 12:59 AM']Or will I be able to get a decent head possibly second hand for that price?[/quote] There's loads of decent heads available for that price.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='782850' date='Mar 22 2010, 10:28 PM']ooh that IS a good idea! not seen how big the rooms at magnet are though, they have some amazing backline though![/quote] The rooms aren't exactly small, but if there's a few people there, it'd be nicer to have a sit in a pub with a pint and chat rather than be stood around in a practice room with no decent lighting or ventilation. Assuming there's no drummers coming for a jam, there's no need for soundproofed rooms anyway, plus I'm sure one or two people wouldn't mind bringing rigs (I wouldn't have any problems taking mine).

Can't get the fretboard a different colour, so if anyone fancies changing it into purpleheart, go for it. Here's the rest of it though.

[quote name='woolz' post='782006' date='Mar 21 2010, 07:48 PM']ill try and do a video some point this week of me playing. i recon it must be my technique, i think i play down towards the bass far too hard and not across it.[/quote] If your action is right up, that shouldn't matter unless you pick VERY hard. Do you rest your fingers on the string before you pluck (however briefly) or do you hit them on the way past? If it's the latter and you have hard callouses, that could cause it. Do you still get the clicking if you play softly? What about if you play softly but turn up your amp so it's the same volume as it was when you were playing harder?

One of my friends at college had a Warwick Corvette. It wasn't anything special in terms of Warwicks, but it felt lovely and it was the only thing that ever tempted me away from my Ibanez. I'm hopefully going to get a Warwick at some point this year, 8 years later.

Upper mid is usually honk IME

Would someone fancy throwing together a black Jazz with this pickguard please: and a purpleheart fingerboard (no inlays) and black headstock. Think it would definitely look unique, wouldn't be overly pricey either and would definitely produce more GAS than a cow on sprouts if it looks good. Thanks

[quote name='bartelby' post='781637' date='Mar 21 2010, 01:29 PM']This is obviously the answer to it all: [url="http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/"]Gibson Robot Guitar[/url][/quote] Our guitarist in JWP is seriously looking into these. He has real problems with tuning and even with a guitar tech tuning his guitars while he uses spares, he spends a lot of time swapping about. The rest of us keep the crowd going but it does take too long (though respect to him, he's aware of it and trying to fix it). There are a lot of things that help with tuning (all of which he's tried, so they don't always work). Less wraps of the string around the tuning pegs. Tune up to the note, never down. Make the string as long as possible (On les paul style guitars, feed the string through the bridge from the pickup side, then wrap it around the bridge before it goes over the saddle for example). Make sure the strings go on a day or more before a gig and make sure they're played in a little bit (not too much if you want them to sound fresh). Thicker strings. Getting the correct technique with hitting the strings, Making sure the guitar is set up properly (especially with trems). Certain strings are more prone to going out of tune than others. I'd welcome any more suggestions though because Joe is seriously looking at getting one of the robot guitars and if we can try more things before he forks out for one, it might save him several hundred £s.

If you do a degree, make sure it's somewhere where the 3 years will be worth it for contacts and experience. As in most arts, qualifications mean bugger all. If you're going to leave with a degree and nothing more, do something else. If it's a place that could give you contacts to make a move into the music industry, it's worth it. I spent 4 years studying music at college and the small bits of work I get come from the shop I work at (which I just walked in and asked if they had a position) and a friend of a friend of a friend type thing. Neither have anything to do with college. I don't regret it though as I got a lot of experience from there and played a lot of music. I did leave the degree course though because I felt I wasn't getting anything out of it that I didn't already have. Maybe if I'd gone to a different college it would've been different though.

Squier Jazz. Don't know why, I've hated Fender style basses (and Strats) since I've been playing music, but recently I've started to come around to them. Had a go on a MIM Jazz a while back and it felt great. I'm a 6 string (bass) player, so can't really justify a 4 string Fender and I'm planning to get a new ERB (Warwick) anyway, but the Squier VMJ and CVJs have been getting raving reviews. It's a shame I'm in the middle of upgrading my main rig or I'd have had one by now.

If you want to stick with a Jazz bass, I don't think it's worth it with a budget of £500. You'd be spending money for a bass that's not any better than the one you already have. There's a fair few threads around about the CVJ and VMJ and they both seem about the same quality as a MIM Jazz. Edit: Might be worth looking into pickup upgrades though.

I think it was Dear Chaisey Lain (Bloodhound Gang) or something. Definitely lots of Blink-182 and Offspring in the early days.

[quote name='Geek99' post='780497' date='Mar 20 2010, 09:15 AM']Is it time we had another one ?[/quote] I'd be up for it.

[quote name='Mog' post='780375' date='Mar 20 2010, 12:25 AM']Too early to get a report then I should've gone to ye olde [b]pube[/b] myself.[/quote]

[quote name='hitchy64' post='780102' date='Mar 19 2010, 06:36 PM']15-20 locals cheering and clapping, all said we were sh*t-hot!! It was like a mini gig.[/quote] There's more people there than at some of the gigs I've played.

Here's a couple from my old band, Epoche: (why are most guitarists so daft? He thinks he's a fly...)

You could use any pedal with a MIDI out I assume. I'm sure Boss GT pedals can do this. I have a GT6B and it has MIDI connectors on the back that you can use to trigger things.

I don't know how relevant to bass it is, but certainly on guitar having a valve amp on low volumes can sound muddy so you might want to try turning that right down.

[quote name='Huwberry' post='778035' date='Mar 17 2010, 09:51 PM']My new band Caterpillar after a recent gig: [attachment=45018:14125_13...377436_n.jpg] For the photo to make sense, please read [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=80164&st=0&p=768765&#entry768765"]this thread[/url]. OK, it's not a proper promo shot (we're going to get some done soon), but there's a photographer at that night most weeks, and he's been doing some cool 'cross-processed' photos (lomography to the film geeks). I really liked this one.[/quote] If only we could all manage without our guitarist. Ours sings too, so it'd be quite obvious if he dissapears. So that no one thinks I'm just hoping to be nosey without giving something back, here's a live shot of my band a month or two back. Obviously not a proper promo shot, but it is a good photo that could be used for promo:

We had some photos taken yesterday and are waiting for them back with much excitement. Thought it could be interesting to see other peoples', and of course, no one should mind being asked to promote their band a little. Plus it's a kind of "show us a picture of yourself" thread, all rolled into one. Thom

If you're staying in standard and the guitarist is playing the flats of those chords (i.e. he's playing those chords shapes on a guitar in Eb) then you just need to play those notes 1 fret down.