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I think it's just a question of where on the 'tin-foil helmet' scale one stands, really. Some folks are reticent by nature, and will only advance the minimum required, just because that's the way they're comfortable. Others are more 'devil may care', and some would even have their PIN code tattooed on their forehead with no qualms. There are those that dig atomic shelters, and others go naked, and all sorts in between. 'Nowt so queer as folks' covers much of these musings, in my view.

Lots of info on this topic on the Stagg mega thread on TalkBass.When I had a Stagg I used a piece of soft foam but others have tried everything from small stuffed toys(really!) to bits of cloth to various sponges.It does make a difference when you get the right material in the right location.My Yamaha SLB 200 came with a foam mute(from Yamaha) but I replaced it with a sturdier piece of foam with cuts in it to hold it on the strings.The depth of the cuts make a difference and it's easy and cheap to adjust. Good luck.

The rest of the house is her’s; but the garage is the one domain where I get to dictate the colour of my monitors! 😂 Nice choice! They certainly match the wallpaper Can’t go wrong with Yamaha in that price range. Solid value for money.

Hard to pick favorites! But I won competitions with both of these... http://www.soundcloud.com/enterwolfsaga/keep-dancing-skol-remix https://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/conrad-clifton-nitemare-remix-contest/submissions/a0663a9c-279e-11e7-8fab-0ee95250b769 Don’t use these to make a judgement about whether or not to opt for Reason, of course. All DAWs ultimately sound the same, all things being equal. I’d probably sound the same on Logic, Reaper or whatever. Just might take me longer to get there EDIT to say you can demo Reason before you commit to buying it. I’d strongly recommend doing that and trying out some ‘beginners’ tutorials on YouTube before you take the plunge with that or any DAW. ...no rush, but Reason currently has a $100 discount until the end of the year.

I love the look of the body on these, but the headstock is so out of keeping. This bass inspired me to buy a Spector Spectorcore fretless with a similar pickup/piezo combination.

I've been in wedding & function bands for about the past 23 years. Anyone who's been in that type of band knows that you can be playing one style one minute and something completely different the next. In that time I've owned about 130 basses and the right bass for the band was the one I had at the time and to alter the sound I've moved my hand towards the neck or the bridge and played either heavier or lighter. My advice would be to find a bass that you really like to play, that feels good and you can comfortably play all night. Chances are the audience won't notice the difference anyway. Sometimes we get too caught up in trying to find something that we don't really need. I know that I was incredibly guilty of it in the past. When I change basses it's for the hell of it and not the sound. Any half decent bass will sound decent through the PA. Once I had it out of my system I started enjoying playing more instead of trying to find something that I thought I needed but had all along

Surely you could just conjure somebody up?

There's a lengthy thread elsewhere discussing Ringo's talent. Honestly, I'll admit I'm not really a fan of The Beatles, but I do wholly acknowledge their legacy and it was listening to Sgt Pepper for the first time that caused the Ringo-disdain to manifest itself...just listening to what he was doing on what is considered to be an epoch-making album left me cold. If nothing at all, it does give us the opportunity to enjoy and bask in the glory once again, of that fantastic dialogue from Red Dwarf's Parallel Universe episode: HOLLY: This is parallel universe, innit? RIMMER: What do you mean? HOLLY: Well, for instance, in this universe, it could be that Hitler won the Second World War. It could be something even more incredible, like perhaps Ringo was a really good drummer.

They’re definitely not to be avoided!! Serious gear and great guys @Ashdown Engineering . My ABM 900 eventually got swapped out for a MAG 300 for a ‘fatter’ sound believe it or not. They have different versions of for example 1x15 cabs - different voicings (and sizes, etc). I chose 4 early Klystron 15” cabs because the ABM 15”s were bit middly in comparison. Well worth trying Ashdown gear out. 👍🏻 http://ashdownmusic.com/artists/113/J-Capachino-Carter/

The police said it was ‘sinister’ but what do they know.

Quick print of first prototype minus the polycarbonate screen (I've still got the original film on the screen hence the bubbles). I'll be making a few tweaks to the design (mainly so the lettering prints better) but it fits well and doesn't look too out of place.

I quite fancy trying a CTM 100. I’d imagine it’s a glorious noise!

I have the HS7s in white and they look great They sound great too!

Those Wharfedales will blow any of the other speakers you are looking at out of the water (both for sound levels and quality) and will take bass at semi acoustic duo levels all day. The Thumps are 6dB down on them in terms of sound output. The only problem is the weight (I use the active versions) and the need for a power amp but with an active desk you have that covered. There really is no point in taking a sub to reduce weight or trips to the car, a dedicated bass amp for these medium levels is likely to be lighter and smaller as well as more versatile. Save your money towards a better PA like RCF or QSC, until then the Wharfedales will do you proud.

Have a look in the market place under other musical items. Someone is selling a couple of Mackie active subs (says he will sell one or both). I don't know or have any connection with the seller, but one or both of those combined with your existing PA ought to do the job.

prowlaisalwaysright.com :-)

On the other hand, prowlachat.co.uk will be amazing

It's my opinion, not a demand! I look at the buy & sell pages on a lot of sites and I tend to pass by the ones which don't have the info readily available; if things don't at least show a price, location, and photos, then I'll probably move on. I don't know about pain of life, but if you want to sell something, it's probably an idea to make it easy for your potential buyers.

On the sideboard?

Sounds like the ABM600 is probably nearer to the JJB600 then, Kevin. I find it to be a fair bit sharper/clinical sounding than the 1000.

Sounds like you're almost there. Slowing down the tremolo speed should just be a matter of increasing the value of those three .02uF capacitors in the tremolo circuit. It may take some trial and error because if you go too large on the value the oscillator can stall and stop working. I'd perhaps try .033uF and see how that goes. The volume control issue may just be a worn out pot. Regarding the reverb, I'd check the DC resistance of the tank itself first - if the amp is the same as the schematic Mr Del Var posted, it should be roughly equivalent to an Accutronics AB type tank - the input coil should measure very low DC resistance (like 1-2 ohms) and the output coil in the hundreds of ohms. If the tank turns out to be OK, I'd then try to isolate the problem to the driver or recovery stage. If you can hear crashing through the amp when the reverb is turned up and the tank is tapped, the recovery stage is OK. If the recovery stage is OK, I'd first check the driver transformer wasn't shorted or open, and check that the cathode resistor in the driver stage is OK (reverb drivers pull quite a lot of current, so can be hard on parts). If all of that is OK, try a new valve in the driver stage.

I think Ringo's got his gong for being an all round good geezer, not for being a a drummer, singer or whatever. I'm fine with that. He certainly deserves it a hell of a lot more than Clegg, Brady and all those political a r s e kissers.

I don't think that would work at all well. You would be feeding a full range signal to the Ashdown. Ideally, you need a crossover to remove the higher frequency content from the signal to the sub/bass cab and the low bass from the tops. Most important, you need to power a sub with its own amp. Even if they have an aux speaker output, those powered PA cabs you refer to will not drive it adequately (and you'd have to daisy chain it from one of them - you couldn't use both). I see from your later post that you have a PA already and agree with Dad that what you are proposing to replace it with would be a sideways move, not an improvement. If you are looking to reduce the amount of kit you carry, dispense with backline and put the bass through the PA, I'd agree that you should keep your existing PA and suggest you add a powered sub (but see my previous comments about getting a decent one). Dad's right that what you have would probably be adequate for bar gigs, but it won't cope at the weddings you refer to.

"Declared" is not the same as "the same"! I researched all this when I recently bought a Samson Powerbrite Pro for my PA rack, and saw it showing 253 volts on the display!! Here's how it works: "For many years, mainland Western Europe has used a mains electricity supply rated at nominally 220VAC 50Hz. The UK used 240VAC 50Hz. Currently, ALL Western European supplies are classified 230VAC. In reality there is no 230VAC supply unless you create one locally. 230VAC was a “standard” created during European "harmonisation" to give a single voltage standard across Western Europe, including UK and Irish Republic. Although the ideal would have been to have a single voltage there were too many political, financial and technical obstacles to reduce UK voltage to European levels or to increase European voltage to UK levels, so a new standard was created to cover both. This was achieved by changing the tolerances of previously existing supply standards. UK voltage to 240VAC + 6% and - 10% and European to 220VAC +10% and -6% (thereby creating a manageable overlap) and we would call these two combined 230VAC, despite the fact that nobody was intentionally generating at 230VAC! Depending on the voltage sensitivity of the product and the variance from nominal of the actual supplied voltage, it may not be advisable to use a 220VAC specific device in the UK or a 240VAC specific device in Mainland Europe etc. For instance a 240VAC supply can rise to as high as 254.4VAC and still be within tolerance, but the maximum rated voltage for a 220VAC product is only 242VAC. A 220VAC supply can drop as low as 206.8 within tolerance but the minimum rated voltage for correct operation of a 240VAC product is 216VAC It may work perfectly well either way but it could be, technically, outside the specification of the equipment with obvious implications. A 230VAC product must be compatible with all voltages across this range." So, this is a potential problem way beyond Markbass, or any other bass amplifier. In summary this means: Equipment shipped within the EU is rated to manage 230VAC, but in reality this is 220VAC +10% which, at its highest acceptable level within the standard is 242 volts The UK power supply is rated at 240VAC +6%, which gives an acceptable maximum tolerance output of 254.40 volts (and as said above, I have recorded 253 myself!) In most cases you'll be absolutely fine buying electrical goods from Holland/Germany, but it’s therefore not surprising some of it occasionally gets fried - and it'll have to go back to the supplier/country for repair/replacement (your consumer rights are with the person you bought from). Full article here: https://www.schneider-electric.co.uk/en/faqs/FA144717/

Mr Apple in unilateral tidying-up shock

If you look at the Markbass Facebook thread, Marco has been very vocal about the Italy/Indonesia (non)issue in the last few days... I've used both for years (since 2009), and couldn't tell you the difference in sound or quality. Completely moot, old and irrelevant point now. Their unquestionably high quality and low failure rate speaks for itself. There is always going to be someone with an unlucky story to add to this (and I've had issues myself), but UK support/service is strong (as long as you didn't buy from Germany/Holland; wrong power rating for the UK), and compared to many manufacturers, far, far less issues of pro use with Markbass in my 40 years of bass amps... Oh, and my back stopped complaining a while back too!!

Don't worry, I'll put my logo on it.

Recently watched Alan Partidge and thought it was time to share this Pino Transcription. It's been a good 7 years since I transcribed this when I owned a Musicman Fretless, Music For Chameleons RW.pdf

Ha, yeah I count myself as very lucky but like all jobs, it has its ups and downs. I’m going to prototype one of the screen protectors over the next few days and when I’m happy with it, I’ll post some pics. After that, I’ll probably make a few to send out for testing / feedback so I’ll let you know.

With all due respect to TH, given the three options in the original post I’m guessing that a barefaced cab north of a grand is probably not going to be an option? For what it’s worth, Alex, I have a TS210 which we use as a monitor in our pub band, where we use Yamaha DBR12s as mains and just put keys and vocals through the PA. A bit different from your situation, I know. I was a bit disappointed with the Alto - the way I set it up (high pass filter taking out everything below about 100Hz, and compression to take out the peaks) it sounds okay, but it’s only just loud enough as a monitor for the keys player and his backing vocals, and the peak light is almost constantly on. The Yamaha’s are barely ticking over at similar volume. I wouldn’t consider putting bass through it, though a pair for guitar and vocals as an acoustic duo would probably be fine. I don’t think you’ll be able to daisy chain your bass cab from any of the common active speakers. What PA and bass gear do you use at the moment, and do you have a budget in mind?

There are powered and unpowered versions. I have the unpowered one, which I picked up mint for £150 on the Bay. See http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/pa12/. The PA12 CP is the powered one.

All this talk about Ringo and his drumming abilty really gets away from me. Anyone can be a good competent drummer. Ringo was first and foremost a Beatle. Being a Beatle was his job and nobody did or does it better than him. I say there's never too many hounors if you were a part of a band that changed the world for the better. Blue

To me over-boozing and drama at gigs is very dated. I like being in control, that's one of the things that drew me to the stage at an early age. Many of you know I don't drink alcohol haven't for many decades. For me if ,if you drink or are in any altered state, your really no longer in control. If you don't have your own reliable transportation in the States you really can't be in a working band. Blue

As a drummer Ringo has a sound thats pretty unmistakable among any drummers, he just sounds like Ringo , Surely the hardest part of any musician is to stand out from your peers. Any other drummer would not work with the Beatles and for that he's the perfect drummer for them. I know the Joke about him not even being the Best Drummer in the Beatles but thats taking a lot away from his talent and skill. Well done Sir.

Ooops. I seem to have awakened the negativity troll. I'm not going to try to correct some of the ill-informed nonsense currently being posted but I will wish a happy and positive New Year to those who are happy and positive. I guess it's time the mods closed down this sadly silly thread.

I finally got round to getting a Helix LT yesterday and although i've just started playing around with it, it does seem rather marvelous. My day job of designing musical instruments meant it would only be a matter of time before i started making bits for it and the first one is a screen protector. I'm aware of the one you can get from the USA but I thought i'd do my own version (early design pics attached). It's a 3D printed frame with a 2mm thick polycarbonate or acrylic window. It attaches to the LT with either magnetic tape (inset into the frame) or double sided tape. I'm going to print one in the next few days so will post some pics of it installed if anyone might be interested

I just don't get these honours, what's the point? nice for the unknowns (like the little old lady that's done school crossings for 50 years) but the rich and famous, isn't being lucky enough to be rich and famous enough?

Limelight 62-ish Jazz. Bought from someone who knew it wasn't a real Fender, sold to me who knew it wasn't a real Fender, then sold it on to someone who kew it wasn't a real Fender. Such a trail of destruction.. so many suffering kittens and puppies. I'm going to hell.

Do my eyes deceive me here?

So let me think... 'A' list session player with a colossal live and studio CV spanning mainstream pop to the left field, hip-hop originator, industrial dub legend who has worked with Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, James Brown, Madonna, and George Clinton. 'Not a great player'? Spare me.

I know I've posted this pic elsewhere but it's equally at home here too so as I'm still super pumped about it, then here it is again.. Matching 135 grill by VTypeV4, on Flickr Bassman 135 and matching JBL loaded ported double-fifteen.. Fat!!

Here is my Traynor YBA-200II opened:

Moving Pictures - Rush

Exactly, Individual Thought Patterns isn't Death's best album, but it is (IMO) Steve Di Giorgio's best performance with them.

Some interesting stuff here should you decide to go ahead. http://www.musicradar.com/news/10-of-the-best-acoustic-bass-guitars