ThomBassmonkey

Thanks Still not sure about the cab, it doesn't seem loud enough but I won't find out till tomorrow night at band practice. Might end up swapping it for a Neo 212. The Brice is excellent, it's never really been played in though as I just wanted it as a backup bass. Probably going to sell it soon because I'm after a Warwick (when I recover from buying the amp!) Feels really good for the price though and feels just as good as the Ibanez, just the tone isn't quite there (though I have some EMG45Hz pups to put in it, just never got around to it).

Personally I find that as a rule of thumb, cheap instruments can be every bit as good as expensive ones (see threads on here about Westfields amongst others). Just that the QC isn't there. With cheap guitars, there seems to be a higher ratio of crap instruments to good ones, with expensive instruments, they're generally usually all pretty much the same quality (as the others in the same line). I played a RB streamer next to a EBMM ray and preferred the streamer (despite it being over £1000 less). I'd suggest going to try some out and avoiding ordering over the net.

[quote name='RussFM' post='748805' date='Feb 17 2010, 07:04 PM']I never tried an RBH, but my old Neo212 (now owned by Josh) gave me way more volume on stage than anything else I'd played, and a crisp, clear tone. Can't go wrong with them in my opinion![/quote] I've heard things about them sounding a bit synthy (all Neos, not specifically the GKs). Does that make any sense? Also just noticed that the Neo 410 is only about £40 more than the 212 on Thomann (with casters). Might be worth going with that instead if I decide to try the Neos. All this might be in vein though if I feel that the 210 is loud enough at practice. We shall see, but I'll keep looking so my options are open. Edit: just noticed the 212 goes lower. Bah, why's there nowhere in the midland that stocks these? It'd be so easy if I could just try the buggers.

I received my order of a 210RBH yesterday and a few things have struck me about it. It sounds ACE. Seriously good. It looks the business, the tilt back is a great feature and it's a good size to fit in cars and under pianos (out of the way at home). Unfortunately there's some bad points. It weight about 8 tonnes and because it's only a 2x10, it has no casters (which all the bigger models have). Also the handles are placed length ways, so it's awkward to lift with two hands and a pain in the shoulder with one hand. It starts to distort fairly early in the volume on my 700RB-II. Before halfway. I don't know if it's loud enough because I've not tried it in the context of my band yet (will be having a practice tomorrow and I'll see how much headroom there is there). It does seem loud but I don't know if it's loud enough to give me some headroom to play with. Basically, as a preliminary question, if it's not loud enough (the weight's less of an issue) I'll be thinking about moving to a Neo 212 (I'd love to stay with GK because of the bi-amp system and apart from the 210RBH, Neo 210 and Neo 212, the rest are way out of budget (not interested in the 115RBH), as much as I'd love a 410RBH. The 200 extra w handling should mean that I have more headroom to play with and it's a tad lighter. I've heard various things about the tone from the Neos being a bit different to normal cabs though. Can anyone shed any light on the differences? There's an Eden dealer in Derby so I might pop over to them to have a look at the NSP410 too, so any other suggestions will be welcome (though please try and suggest places around the Midlands if you can that stock them as I don't want to buy blind).

Maybe not the perfect place for this question, but screw it, I'll go for it anyway. How do the 5 and 6 string Warwicks balance? Very tempted to get one in a few months (obviously I'll play before I buy, just trying to find out as much as poss beforehand).

[quote name='Higgie' post='747950' date='Feb 17 2010, 03:29 AM']You guys that run just a single 2x10, are you going through the PA at your gigs too? I'd never have thought a single 2x10 would move enough air to be heard over a band![/quote] Not gigged it yet to be honest (it only arrived yesterday). It seems loud enough in my front room though. I have been wondering that myself though, there's still a very real possibility that it'll be going back and swapped for a GK neo 212. Got a practice tomorrow so I'll be able to judge better then. I've gigged for ages with a 150w 1x15" combo though and this should move as much air as that but at 320w, so it should be ok.

I think the OP is getting confused with a pre-amp as part of an active circuitry and a pre-amp as in a pre and power amp head. Get a good EQ pedal with a true bypass (as has been suggested) and you'll have more control over your tone than with any other means.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='748374' date='Feb 17 2010, 01:11 PM']As you say , the vent extends beyond the back of the Korg and I've never had issue with it. It goes on for about 4 hrs a night at gigs I should think , though the GK's (400RB) on mute when I'm not actually playing. Say a couple pf gigs a week on average - amps 3 years old - being Mr 12 oclock when it comes to knobs the gain and master are always straight up the middle.... Just never been an issue for me and I expect the 700s bigger power section would be pissing about at the volume levels I play at. I think it's wise to have considered air space as you have but for practical purposes I went for the 3u shallow. BTW - rack bags - nice soft padded top makes a good home for a resting bass guitar - safer than a stand IMHO if you have the sort of 'carpet carrier' roadie that we do that walks into anything in his....well - 'it's - search for raw meat and females. (Sorry Mark if you're watching!!)[/quote] I'm considering getting a 4u shallow instead of my normal 4u which is huge, I'm thinking about getting a compressor/multiFX though which might go in the extra U at some point. I guess by then I'll have gigged it a fair bit though so I'll have a better idea of how much heat is coming off it. Thanks for the reply.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='748263' date='Feb 17 2010, 11:57 AM']Me too but only regarding your second comment - I won't be shifting mine. It's easy to use and see , reliable , wouldn't gig without it. 3u shallow rackbag , Korg tuner , GK head - leave me alone , I'm a happy man with the right tools for my job.[/quote] Do you leave a gap for the amp to have a bit of space for cooling? I'm using the same setup (700RB-II and Korg DTR) in a 4u rack case, it's way bigger than it needs to be though and I'm not convinced the head actually needs an entire rack space when the vent extends beyond the Korg and it never seems to heat up (although it's not had any extended use yet).

Try emptying your cache (I can't find the clear cache option in the new FF, but if you go to tools->options->privacy->settings you can set it so that it clears your cache every time you shut down FF, then just reboot FF and if you want, turn that option off). That could help.

New amp, so photos came out today.

I'm using a DTR-1000. Not really had a chance to use it yet, seems good though. Although today it was giving me a bit of grief over my B string, but it was while I was setting up my bass so it was probably all over the place anyway. Remember if you're using a tuner and a 2u head, you should get a 4u rack case so there's room for the head to vent.

It's fair enough for him to question your tone, but you shouldn't have to give up a bass you love. If you and the drummer (and anyone else in the band) thinks it's ok, maybe he should go and buy a bass for you. If he has the problem with the tone and someone has to buy a new bass, surely it should be him? On another note, there's plenty you can do to change your tone. New amp, graphic EQ, FX, different strings, different pickups, different techniques, amp sim (line 6 or the like). There's loads of options and most of them are a fair bit cheaper than buying a new bass and almost all of them won't require you to sell one of your current basses or risk pissing off the missus.

Been raised around music and got forced into piano lessons aged 5 and then keyboard at 11, never got on with them though but I do attribute a certain amount of my ability to being surrounded by music and learning to play at a young age. Started playing bass because a friend got a guitar, I only really started to properly learn to play after getting into Incubus. Dirk Lance completely changed the way that I looked at the instrument. No longer was it a way of pumping out a rhythm while reinforcing the note being played, it opened up runs and other parts and styles. Now I'm more influenced by whoever I play with. Although I say I have a relatively bluesy style (I love blues bass playing, never really been into the music as a whole though) I pretty much just play along with whatever the drummer and guitarist are doing.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='746954' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:27 AM']Nothing clever about it. The pinkie just has a bigger reach. Also, the third finger is dependent upon the second for its muscle power and is, thus, less flexible. If you place your hand flat on a tale then curl your middle (longest) finger underneath your palm, you cannot move the third independently as teh muscle is locked into the finger being restrained.[/quote] Actually, that's to do with tendons and bone structure. Most bassists' 1, 2 and 3 fingers will be fine at fretting. The problem is that the pinky is a lot weaker in general. If you fret the 3rd fret with your ring finger, then that's providing all the strength needed to pull the string from where it usually sits to the neck, then you'll find that the little finger has way less work to do to hold down the 4th fret since it's only moving the string a tiny bit instead of all the way from it's unfretted position. Same thing works with the first and second finger, just that because they're further away from your pinky, it's not quite as efficient as your ring.

I have an ABS case for one of my basses and have to say it's great. It's in a mess now, but the bass inside has never suffered for it. I used to walk a mile and a half-ish to and from college with it over a hill and it took it's toll, but it was still do-able. It's toured Europe several times too and survived the ordeal. Had it for about 9 years and it's never let me down.

My new cab showed up today so thought I'd grab some photos of that with my basses. The lighting's incredibly bad in my front room, so the pics are all a bit dark but the general idea's there. Ibanez BTB406QM (left) and Brice HXB406 (right) basses. Korg DTR-1000 tuner, Gallien Krueger 700RB-II head and a GK 210RBH cab. (and yes, I need to get a vent to fill that stupid gap between the DTR and the 700RB) Close up of the BTB (yes she's a filthy but I like 'em a bit dirty): Back of the BTB (showing a bit of the 5 piece neck and a few rather nasty looking scratches): The Brice:

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='746809' date='Feb 16 2010, 07:04 AM']<pedant> If the root is C, then the minor 3rd is Eb, not D#. I know they're enharmonic equivalents, so they sound the same, but they perform different functions within the scale. "C, D, D#, F" is part of no scale I've ever seen. D# would be a sharpened second (or usually a sharpened ninth in a chord symbol), and you'd usually see it in fruity little numbers like C7#9 (the "Hendrix chord") where it coexists with the major 3rd, causing a lovely little tense clash. </pedant>[/quote] Bugger My version of theory is all based on the neck. I can't read music (used to be able to years ago but it's all gone since then) so I just kinda make it up as I go along.

[quote name='XB26354' post='746407' date='Feb 15 2010, 07:57 PM']I can play all over the neck of a 6-string with 35" scale using 1FPF for moderate periods without much ache, however I wouldn't recommend it (and don't do it) for extended periods as it will cause hand injuries for many bass players. The general guide is that somewhere between the 5th and 7th frets (and lower) is the most relevant place to shift to Simandl. The best training guide out there is Standing in the Shadows of Motown as the bulk of Jamerson's lines use Simandl. "Darling Dear" comes to mind as a great track that uses the "box" shape. No pain, no gain definitely does not apply when playing a musical instrument - if your hands are hurting, stop playing. Er, unless you're playing at a gig or a recording session, otherwise you might get the sack [/quote] I play 1fpf on my 6 string for extended periods through gigs or practices. I play originals though so I have wiggle room if I can feel my wrist stretching. There's very few reasons why 1fpf is 100% required with no workaround, usually there's a different string or a small run you can use to break up the stretching. There's only maybe been one or two songs I've played where I've just had to endure for a whole section (and I've practiced those songs to death, so I'm capable of doing it, I just need to take it easy for the section after or have a short rest at practices). Also raising up my bass helps a hell of a lot with it since my wrist's in a far less awkward position. You're right about taking rests in general if you're hurting your hands (especially your wrists) while playing. It's always worth trying and also trying to look at your technique and see if there's anything you could do to improve it and help with your playing. If you're not careful, RSI can permanently stop you playing an instrument when raising your bass by a couple of inches could've prevented you even having it.

Purely from looking at the picture, I'd expect volume, treble, bass and pickup dial. Shine do make some lovely instruments, their QC is dire though so I'd never buy one unseen.

If it can keep up with a drummer (who I'm assuming won't be mic'd up) in a small room, it should be ok for a big room too.

How high is your bass, what angle is it at and what's the biggest stretch you do regularly in your set (especially around when you start getting cramps)?

Jeez What happens if you trip over the lead and accidentally pull it out? And that's assuming it doesn't pull over the stack and cause a small earthquake. Amps really do vary on wattages, I've been using a 150w Carlsbro for almost 9 years and it's always been plenty loud enough for anything I've tried to do with it without clipping (according to the LED and it's always sounded fine) but it's a bit of a beast in that you can max the volume without any problems then get the gain right to set your volume if you need LOUD. Played quite a few gigs to 100+ people without going through the PA. I've seen some 300w combos (usually Ashdown IME) that can barely even handle a band practice. Sound techs can be pains when they don't know what they're doing. My old band all met through college and two of us went on to start a degree in studio engineering (I only did a year, the singer finished it) so we know what all the little knobs do, if you dare mention that an instrument needs to go up or down though, some sound techs throw a wobbly. Obviously there's a lot that're great about it and realise they don't know what you want your band to sound like and it's not up to them to decide, but there's always a few. Having a similar problem at the moment too because my current band has a flute so in rock venues, noone knows what to do with it. Though most are more accepting of help when they're completely baffled.

I got a phonecall earlier about the cab saying it'll be arriving with me tomorrow (which is earlier than they originally said, so all good). Not had an email confirmation or receipt yet though, but that might come tomorrow I guess. Hopefully it shows tomorrow and I shall be a happy bunny.