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Why not have a jam with the drummer? After all you're going to be the backbone of the band - great opportunity to get some rapport going...

The active/passive terminology can be a bit confusing as a bass can have active pickups but a usual passive tone circuit, which is what it seems Aidan has, or active pickups with an active pre-amp/tone circuit, or passive pickups with an active pre-amp/tone circuit. EMG's active pickups all have a built in pre-amp that doesn't offer any tone-shaping, but is simply there to boost the signal to a usable level. Passive pickups work on the principle that with more windings, the output is increased, the mid-range is boosted and the highs and (I think) lows are tamed. Because an active pickup uses a fewer number of windings and instead uses their own preamps to boost the signal, the output is high while being significantly more detailed in the far reaches of the audio spectrum. This, as far as I know, all happens within the pickup itself. Then the signal can be fed either to a normal passive tone stack (EDIT) tone/volume combo, directly to the output, or to an active EQ system. Some of the basses we call active, though, don't actually have active pickups, but rather traditional pickups fed into an active EQ. I'm hoping I didn't just add to the confusion here!

Age 45 (I had been playing just over two months at that point), a works Christmas bash, played a Epiphone EB3 through a Marshall bass combo. Mixed set, first half was 70s and 80s punk/ alternative, second half was more general rock covers, then we repeated the first half as it was just buzzing and the people running it asked if we had anymore. Booked again this year, can’t wait. My playing has come on a lot in the last year (about 450 hours of practice certainly helps).

Just wanted to tell you guys about the customer service I recieved from Mark this week: A while back I ordered a couple of sets of La Bella Super Steps from Bass Direct which arrived quickly and in original packaging, on Sunday I decided to re-string a bass ready for some gigs this weekend, I opened a fitted one of the packs only to find that the D string was completely dead....to say I was slightly disappointed would be an understatement, anyway the following morning I rang Bass Direct and explained the issue, Mark asked me to email the details to him and he would raise it with La Bella which I duly did, Tuesday afternoon I get home from work to find a brand new set of Super Steps on my door mat! If Carlsberg did customer service was the phrase that sprang to mind!

Good point! I've never yet found a P that I enjoy playing as much as a J. My search continues though...

They were all that good and they were all that influential. But only to some of us. Blue

The signature instrument is a marketing invention and has nothing to do with respect, musical integrity or any catalogues. There is only one question, "Is this guy popular enough to sell lots of basses if we put his name on them". Yes, gets a signature bass. No, doesn't.

I think it's absolutely lovely - apart from the colour.

Always liked this (the original theme): Paul Shaeffer (keys), Sid McGinness (guitar), Anton Fig (drums) and the great Will Lee (bass) - not sure who the sax player is (possibly Dave Sanborn?)

LOL! Guys each pedal will have its application, dUg tone can not be created using a VMT or B7K but the Alpha-Omega can come close. I own an M900 amp and never use it because the Alpha-Omega is more flexible and sounds bigger through my Trace Elliot Hexa Valve amp then the M900 ever will. I really believe a dirt pedal on its own is only half of the ingredients in a great overdriven bass tone. Sold my B7K because it sounded fizzy and weak, still have a VMT pedal but the VMT (and also the B3K) in the M900 to me sound a lot better then the pedal versions. I have tried many many more overdrive pedals on bass in the last few years but most will drown out in the mix, making the bass sound weak. The absolute best tone I got so far was taking the bi-amping route playing through both a Mesa Prodigy through the Barefaced 2x12 plus an Engl Raider 100 combo + extra 112 cab but dragging two stacks along is really too much. Also great sounding was throwing a Tech 21 flyrig 5 in the fxloop of my Mosquito Blender to mimic bi-amping. Add an octave up to the mix and you can do that Royal Blood thing as well. Plenty of options for sounding awesome, all depending on your taste and needs. Still, if I could choose only one I'd stick with the Alpha-Omega.

@Cuzzie you know as well as everyone else on Basschat that now @Al Krow has publicly slated the Tech 21 dUg pedal that it is only a matter of time before he buys one and starts singing its praises. You've only got to look at his recent monumental U turn on all things DarkGlass

Yep, in complete agreement there Coilte Though I suppose "The Wheels On The Bus" and "Agadoo" are not particularly mature.....

Black, mint, gold, cream, parchment, tort. Anything else is actually illegal...

You're asking why a car with a turbo can out accelerate a car that doesn't have one. Preamps always add more beef to your sound. EMG replacement pickups usually add a ton more. And then you're wondering why the tone of a "reasonably" priced Mexican made bass doesn't compete! You're not comparing apples and apples. Upgrade the P bass pickups and you'll move it into the same league as your J bass. Good P bass pickups can be passive and they will still compete in terms of tone. My passive P bass has Seymour Duncan pickups and it is a beefy as my active J.

Agreed. I was working at the City Hall in Newcastle as a steward and one night there was a full symphony orchestra on. It was magic. The volume and dynamics were jaw dropping, to me, for acoustic instruments. Enjoyed the whole experience, but like you never felt I needed to repeat it.

Quality music. Apparently it’s a duo called Banks & Wag who’ve done lots of pop as well as TV and film work. Singer is a vocalist called Sharleen Linton. Great set of soul pipes!

Surprised you’re getting low end loss with the Two Notes, but then again I only ever ran mine in Cold Fusion mode, where blending in a bit of Channel A can give you all the low end you’ll ever need and then some!

You only need to key the surface. Anything coarser than 600 grit will show scratches that you then need to build up the nitro to fill. 600 is ideal for flatting off between too. Give it two or three light coats at least 30 minutes apart and then leave it 24 hours before flatting before applying the next set of coats. When you get the last coat on leave it for 4 to 6 weeks before flatting and buffing

Sounds like the difference between a J and a P, to me. I think you also enjoy playing the J more. I thought the P sounded well, by the way.

They both sound fine to me! The strings do make a massive difference to the tone though, so it's not really a fair test.

The seller was correct (although EMG do make some active pickups as well, but it's most likely that you have a J-set and they are passive with a preamp). Also bear in mind that Fender have notoriously variable quality control! Some instruments are just better put together from better parts than others, and no amount of modding will make a bad one as good as a good one. It's frustrating, but maybe try and borrow another P bass from someone (or try some in a shop). It may just be this particular P that has this particular problem. From a personal point of view, I have always found P basses more variable than Jazzes.

Great insight, thanks a lot. And cheers for your input dood, I will bare that all in mind,

Jazz basses have more low end, precisions are more mid rangey. If you're comparing them played alone then a lot of people prefer the sound of a j bass, it's in a band that the p comes into its own.

If it's Japanese made, the threads will probably be metric. Might be able to help out with longer M3 screws.

Basic is a skill in its own right.

I'm sure there were other 60s/early 70s players who used these (John McVie, Larry Taylor and others) so they could make the same basic instrument and put a range of different names on......... oh hang on ?

Thanks fella.

Nowt wrong with Mahler. theres only two kinds of music. music you like and music you don’t.

The real reason for his annoyance, methinks

Shouldn't the Adam Clayton signature basses all have one string though? (Behave!).

That sounds like a good idea but first I think my next thread will need to be “Donations needed please give generously”

Great thread! Always loved the professionals and remember a funk band covering it somewhere around the early 90's. Here's one of my fave's - Space 1999! Such an epic intro, then funky as F***!

Didn't the company originally make it as an item to get richer from though?

To be fair it's about equal of a 'crime'... someone buying legitimately to sell on for profit with the use of the OP's pictures without consent Vs someone trying to contact the seller to buy the bass knowing the auction has ended and been won by someone else. The only way I suppose you might have the morale high ground is if you did manage to get the bass you'd need to never sell it for a single penny more than you paid for it even years down the line, else you run the risk of falling into the hypocrite category! I suppose the REAL morale high ground would be yours had you of informed the seller about their bargain price and offered to pay him a sum more in line with current prices... Interesting debate though...

Cheers! It's all about layering sounds and instruments on top of each other. I started with Sound Dust Cloud Cello and made some semi-random noises with them, letting them flow organically. That then had the piano layered on top to make it sound like it was all intentional. A few other swarming instruments were added in (from the same sample library used for the Blue Planet 2 soundtrack - Orchestral Swarm). The harsh heavy low strings were Swarm and Albion one running through different ostinatum patches (basically arpeggiators built into Spitfire libraries) with Action Strikes drums. A sheppard tone brought in some tension and then the riser was added in the break in the middle. Then lots of listening to it and constant tweaking of the bits I hated. It follows a similar formula to a lot of my tracks and I'm quite used to it now. The real talent is in the creation of those sound libraries in my opinion.

Bass players only need to count to four.

How about the original Mission Impossible theme in 5/4 I believe.

Cheese and groove The thing is, in my head I can hear Marvin Gaye or the Miracles doing this with a falsetto lead vocal, and it would be amazing

Another one - written by Lalo Schifrin:

Lookin for this. ?

Will you lot all shut up and let an old man sleep, for goodness sake..?

Speak for yourself Dad now, welcome Raeman

We're ALL older than him! Welcome, Raeman...

@tom1946 Got laid off this afternoon so PM me your address and I'll make a template for you tomorrow. You should have it by the weekend.

You have to distinguish between 'entertainers' and musicians. There's a lot of pretty egoistic stuff on YouTube to wade through, and some of it is bxxxxy annoying, but as a learning resource it's still unequalled. Where else can you compare 8 bass players each doing their own covers of even fairly straightforward songs like Steely Dan's 'Josie' ? The general standard of bass playing is so high now compared to the average player 20 years ago it still amazes me, and I think the internet is the main reason. And some players are so good they don't need to go attention seeking - just check out anything where Rob Mullarkey is on the bass - what a supreme talent!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/C7ufcW][/url] Same bass - rear detail.