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Wow, that´s along story. Here we go: Passive pickups can be seen as a mixed circuit which consists of resistance, inductance and capacity, hence creating a resonant peak at a certain frequency above which the frequency response is going downwards. This resonant peak is highly important for the sound of the instrument because it sits in the presence area of our hearing range. Now if you plug such a PU into an amp then the amp´s input impedance will interfere with this resonant point, usually lowering and eventually broadening the peak as well as lowering the frequency. We´re used to that and we want to hear our passive instrument like that to a certain degree. To make things worse the cable has it´s impact, too, as it sits between amp and PU. That´s why some people like cables of a certain length. Now there comes the DI with it´s own input impedance, typically 50kOhm for a passive DI and 1MOhm for an active DI. This again will interfere with the PU resonance and alter the sound. And things get more difficult if you go through the DI unbuffered into an amp because that will increase the load on the pickup and the resonance point will go lower again. Technically spoken both input impedances are parallel to the pickup giving an even lower impedance than each single one of DI and amp. For historical reason most bassamps have an input impedance of 220kOhm (many exceptions, though) while guitar amps typically have 1MOhm. To have a proper matching between output impedance of a PU and input impedance of an amp/DI the later one should be x10 of the source impedance. Pickups of passive basses have worst-case output impedances of 17kOhm, hence there should be a load of at least 170kOhm. Passive DIs cannot deliver such high impedances. They are the wrong choice. You´re better off with an active DI. Active basses have worst case output impedances of a few hundred Ohms. Here both passive and active DIs are fine regarding impedance matching. The PU resonances are already buffered by the active electronic inside the bass in a way that both DI and amp cannot have an influence on that. For the studio nerd there´s more to check out: if we have micpres with variable input impedance then this will be the next parameter to look for in a chain of passive bass, passive DI + amp. A lower input impedance setting of the micpre (e.g. certain vintage Neve preamps have this possibility) will be reflected through the transformer of the DI. That means the DI seems to have a lower input impedance than it´s nominal value (wrt 1,2-1,5kOhm input impedance of the micpre) and will load the pickup even more down, eating the treble range even more. Historically this problem has been recognized in times when there were no active basses around. The solution were active DIs, back then made with tubes. All that is theory. You will not destroy either bass, amp or DI with the technically wrong choice. It does influence sound, but if you like it then all is good. If not, then see above.

New music by Coltrane, sounds great too. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/arts/music/john-coltrane-lost-album-both-directions-at-once.html

Well I was able to try the Revelation Bass VI at Hotrox today. The neck is definitely more comfortable for me than the Squier but still not really wide enough for me. What was interesting were the tonal options. Three pickups that look like P90s with what looks like Strat-type switching. The really interesting bit was the 5-position “Varitone” switch, giving a total of 25 different sounds nearly all of which could be useful. The only minus mark is that the Varitone switch isn’t easily manipulated mid-song. Aparently Hotrox also have a Burns Barracuda in their off-site stock, so I’ve arranged for them to get it in the shop for me to try next week...

Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder, because that does nothing for me visually. Sounds good though, which I guess is what really matters.

(Note to self: Next time I am offered a meat pie 'round at Andy's claim recent conversion to Veganism.)

Or maybe a glass of pee no?

My ‘baby’ is 36, I go as an ex-member of staff/governor volunteer, these days. Glutton for punishment, that’s me. Sorry for the derail, Andy 😊

"Knowing how and when to keep my mouth shut." It just means I don't want to be the guy that's always complaining about stuff and bringing a negative vibe to a band. Blue

Hi Andy, Cheers - it's getting there! As soon as I get a neck blank made I can cut the neck pocket and get the edges rounded which always makes it look like progress. All the routing on this is just with a basic Black and Decker router with 1/4" collet. I think I used a Trend template cutter about 25mm long and about 18mm diameter. I would have gone round in three passes I'd like to get one of those four flute cutters @Christine recently bought - they look really useful, but not cheap!! The control cavity and cover recesses were also cut using Trend cutters both 12mm diameter, one 25mm long the other 12mm long. I did try some cheap cutters from Amazon but they are a waste of money!! I recently found the Tewkesbury Saw Company - didn't realise I had a supplier of quality tools right on my doorstep. Only trouble is they have loads of good stuff, routers, planers, bandsaws for which I have neither the money or space!! Cheers Jez

Advertisement: Bass Player Needed Looking for a fun band? We rehearse on Tuesdays (except when we don't because of unexpected spousal emergencies, short-term amnesia or just because). We play the same two songs in different arrangements every time, the extent of the variations depending on whether the guitarist has taken his meds or not. The drummer can't keep time and hits his kit like an angry butcher hacking out pork chops. The keyboards occupy precisely the space where the bass would normally be so you'll have to play everything up beyond the 15th fret. The singer has his own music stand and a jokey hat bearing the embroidered motto: 'I'm The Star'. We might have another guitarist joining but no one's really sure because he's the drummer's mate and we haven't heard from the drummer for six months. We've been rehearsing for four years and have a charity gig possibly booked for July 2027 which will be great exposure. We don't play for money, just for sh!ts and giggles and artistic self-expression, so no bread-heads, ha ha! If you're interested, give us a call but only if you own a van, a PA, a lighting rig, have website building skills and are sufficiently incompetent that we can slag you off behind your back then fire you by email two weeks after you've joined. Ciao!

You are not alone there

This is for sale in Japan at the moment........ DHG.....its stunning.

I run my own pest control business. I spend half the week out on customers' premises and the rest in my office. This is the wall in said office and what you can't see is the drum kit and piano.

cheap fuzz its hard to beat the chowny as its actually a very very good fuzz pedal!

Cort basses are the nuts

I'll take 'em off your hands Mike! Could possibly pop over tomorrow, or failing that after work Monday or Tues evening.

A little photo comparison between the Ibanez SRH, Ibanez SRF and the new Cort: Definitely liking the look of this Cort! It’s likely to be very reasonably priced, too.

Agreed. It seems to balance better visually. I reckon they’ve nailed that, if I didn’t have a Rob Allen, I’d probably be all over that.

Lunchtime is your time (or should be) so why not play a bit of bass? Or have a band meeting? Beats talking about deadenders.

Hmmmmmm interesting? I was thinking of a new build concept called a 'donateabass' where you can only build it from donated parts are you up for it?? 😋

It's almost the reverse for me. I played a gig the other day and on a whim took my Squier VM fretless Jazz. Never gigged it before, and spent the whole night thinking "why am I playing this when I have so much better at home in their cases?" .... In the classical world, there's no such thing as "too nice to gig". Granted, there are fewer drunken punters, but I know violinists who sit in the pub post-gig with a £50k instrument on the floor next to them. Look after your gear by all means, but instruments are for playing music, and music should have people listening, and the people listening deserve the best you can give them.

Get your own studio and store everything bulky there. Works for me! Although really not giving a rats about my mrs opinions on what does and does not constitute clutter and mess also helps. I was a musician before we met so she knew exactly what to expect. I find her 400 or however many pairs she actually has pairs of shoes rather annoying, but also accept it to be part of her “hobbies” so just accept it as part of the package.

That’s what I meant

Wow, this is not a discussion I would expect in 2018 I used to own both. V1 is 240w with Internal speakers, the V2 higher (350 or 400), and indeed both had different speakers. I always preferred the tone of the V1, but it would not handle 5 string overly well. The V2 did a better job (for a 210), but I found the tone to have less character. V1 in my eyes was one of the best 210 combos ever, but underpowered in a big band. V2 did better volume wise (especially with an extension cab :)....) but SWR had already been impacted by Fender decisions which resulted in a very good amp, not a great amp. For me the early to late 90’s were SWR’s golden years, the Red Head, Red Face, Silverado, Studio 220 period.

We agreed on "Overrun".

They're brilliant - I have a US version, I don't really play 4 strings anymore, but it's going nowhere.

"Clack attack" is the family friendly term for an infestation of crab lice I believe. I once thought about going to a fancy dress disco with my knackers made up like mirror balls but my other half said it was far too subtle so I went as Boris Johnson instead.

I have just completed a deal with Si for a 1965 Jazz Bass. Si was a pleasure to deal with and the man knows his stuff. Great chap. Thanks Si

My Vigiers... all Series III, build 1994-2004, neck-thru, all original, 3 Passion, 1 Arpège... I REALLY love to play these basses...

If you look around the band and can't find the flake...you're the flake.

Hardly, Christine. If you can knock up basses like you're doing, i'd say you have a bit of mileage left.

Maybe one day Blue will leave his current band and we won't see these threads every 2 months and he'll be a regular poster in Jack's "auditions in hell" thread instead.

http://glguitars.com/product/sb-2-2/ Very under rated basses.

I gig everything I've owned. I also buy good insurance.

Just wing it 😛

Blue, We get it. You play in a bar band and make a bit of money at it. We're very happy for you. We all play music for a variety of reasons - financial, for personal satisfaction, to get away from the family for a few hours, etc, etc. They're all equally valid and even "flakes" are perfectly entitled to play music if they want.

Nope. Everything I buy is to be gigged, as often as possible.

Most gigs I use my ‘good’ gear but occasionally we play rowdier pub gigs (my favourite gigs as it happens) and for those I use the cheap stuff. I’m not worried about stuff getting damaged necessarily, but playing eyeball to eyeball with an up for it crowd means that inevitably beer can get spilt, mic stands can get knocked etc. I look after my gear and don’t abuse it, but I’m not precious about it and if it gets dinged in the line of duty then so be it. I’d just rather the cheap stuff got dinged than the expensive stuff.

I don't want to discount my Flake-O"Meter bullet point. I bet all of us can detect "nut jobs", "goof balls", egotistical types, and " A Holes" rather quickly. We sometimes overlook these guys thinking it's a fluke or they'll change Word to the wise. It's neverr a fluke and those guys never change. Blue

Master both fingers and pick, use whichever fits the song best. The end! Although not quite the end, as slap should really be in that list too, but I'm rubbish at it!

Our gig yesterday turned out to be pretty good. Bilda's Friess Lake Pub (not really a Pub)was a new venue for us. We played outside, musically we were on. It was a nice gig because of the crowd, a lot of new faces and support. $150.00 in tips alone. We needed a good gig under our belt. Blue

I agree. Depends on the 212 or 210 (or 1x15) though. This really is the crux of the matter - and not whether a 1x12 can go as loud as a 4x10 (which it can't). I find that my 1x12 is loud enough for any gig I play, including small outdoor ones. But sometimes it's just nice to work with a bigger speaker, and not everyone's bothered about portability.

Oops now, now then boys settle down, settle down! Can someone get the biscuits please!

Rated in the industry-standard way, the power handling of the BB2 is 400 watts. I'm afraid you need to be very careful if you're going to repeat the claims on the Barefaced website. Also, please explain how you get 127dB. Ashdown do give SPL figures. They are between 101 and 103dB @1m. So you can now tell us what their maximum output is. We're listening. And that's quite an interesting claim you're making, Chris, that Ashdown cabs can't handle their rated output. What do you base that on?

I'll get no bonus points for cheapness, but for me the first stop would always be a Radial Bigshot unit (several flavours to choose from). In one band the setlist has me switching between DB and EB several times in each set, and my Bigshot is invaluable. It's passive so I have no cables or batteries to worry about. I've got two inputs with an adjustable gain on one of them so that I can balance up the signals as between the two instruments. There's a separate Tuner Out. Switches are Toggle between inputs, and Mute. There's also a Ground Lift / Phase switch. Like all Radial kit this thing would survive having a Chieftain tank driven over it. If you don't fancy paying the thick end of £100 for one, they're very safe pre-owned buys.