Leaderboard

If I had to go 'one knob' I'd want a tone knob. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've never used a volume knob on a bass!

You laugh but no doubt Yodel could invent 'Flatterwounds' 🙈

I only woke up half an hour ago and I've already offended my wife and the next door neighbour*. I even managed to offend myself twice while brushing my teeth. We live in the era of offence. *The next door neighbour may not have taken offence, we were talking about the wooden panels that separate out gardens, so he might have said he was 'taking the fence' now that I come to think of it. He is Canadian, so some of his vowels are slightly different. I have now offended the entire population of Canada as well, and it's not even breakfast time yet!

I find that offensive! We never had a gig last night.

Everyone’s looking to be offended these days. Someone will be offended that I said this, and then someone will take offence st them for being offended.

Went in to buy a few things to upgrade the Sei Jazz bass, surrounded by some of the most expensive beautiful basses.Anyway, I wanted a pair of Nordy NJ5's but they didn't fit. So my second choice was the Bartolini B Axis, Ive heard great things about these pups. There a lot brighter than the regular classic Bart sound. So they came home with me. . Also I got some USA Lollypop Ultralight Hipshot tuners. I also wanted to try some new strings being a die hard DR man, but these have been in my mind for quite a while. Labella RX stainless steels.Talked for a while to the always knowledgable strong opinioned Mark who is a real gent. Anyway im fitting everything tomorrow so will give a review. And yes I do look like a redneck at a gun show.

You're very welcome! Just in case it's not clear to everyone, it's probably worth reiterating that I'm not on commission or anything. i'm just a massive HB fanboi, and Leszek sometimes sends me amps to play with for a while. This is what I have at the moment... the top two are bought and paid for, the bottom one is on loan (unless I can convince Mrs. WoT to let me buy it).

Sacking offence as far as i'm concerned. Don't mix your personal life with work. No matter what sex you choose to be this week. Dave

Then stripped off the protection mmmm shiny 😃 Much happier now 😎

Managed to get on with some more work on this today. I have been doing quite a bit on this prior to today but that is just sanding and doesn't make for the most interesting of posts!! I've also been doing quite a bit of work on the Telecaster I'm putting together for a friend of mine (guitar teacher neighbour). I have started sealing the body for spraying and given it a quite coat on the top as this will probably require a fair bit of work to get a really nice finish. Today, I've fretted the neck using a small arbor press and a fret caul. I was quite lucky that a friend who worked at an engineering firm was able to modify the press to accept that caul. I've used this press for fretting all of my basses and I much prefer it to trying to use a hammer - it is much easier and more accurate but it is also more expensive than a hammer... Note the best pictures, I'll take some more tomorrow, but this is where I am currently at: And here it is with the other shorty: I'm also eagerly checking the status of the delivery for the Nova headless bridge I've ordered - really looking forward to that!

Loving the shoes, haven’t sold any yet. Not sure how that happened. Go daddy will be getting a call

Trigger pulled, arrives Monday😎

I used mine for a pub gig the other night into a class D amp. Pretty happy with it; to my amateur ears the amp sim and compression alone justifies it, and I can simply adjust the amp EQ according to the venue. It's not simple to dial in like my old tube amp (patience and experimentation needed), but the convenience in moving and setting up for playing to a load of drunk Bristolians is well worth it! I'd say get one online with a return guarantee and see how you fair with it.

Another classic. Pneumatic Auto Retardation of Passenger Stock A plan to replace buffer stops at terminal railway stations with huge airbags, thus obviating the need for drivers to slow down at all on the station approach and so saving precious minutes off journey times. PARPS was abandoned when the office tea lady pointed out that the airbags would stop the trains but not the passengers.

A derogatory term used to indicate someone who cares about different things to you. Normally used by someone that gets offended easily about something else.

😂 that’s what I said to the missus! She had no idea what I was talking about.

I'd say the sound person and venue should be avoided. Name and shame. Im so old I'm gender neutral. I don't even know what my gender symbol is when it's on toilet doors. I hate the way it's assumed I am riddled with unconscious bias because of my age. I have fought for years so that who people are is irrelevant as long as they don't harm people or animals. Now identity politics is chucking someone's differences in your face and assuming you will have a problem with it (I don't) and looking for offence by setting traps. We're all human beings. Or is that too species specific?

Youre lucky, my neighbour is from New Zealand - the amount of hassle we had when I was in the garden fixing my outdoor wooden platform and he asked me if I needed some help polishing my deck.

So the strings, strap locks and pickup cover came this morning. All fitted and stringed up and set up. Played it and realised I haven’t removed the lacquer from the frets yet. So I’ll have to do that before this is fully complete. I’ve only given it a quick play to make sure everything feels right and works as it should. Initial impressions is that it’s good., although playing with a pickup cover is difficult. So next step is fret polishing. After that I’ll put up a recording of how it sounds. So pickup cover on and get used to it? Or remove?

Oh and versatility - ANY bass is versatile in that you can play whatever you want on it, but this bass has one sound and it's apparent in every 'style'- it'll never sound like a P bass or a Jazz bass. A lot of people say 'it's in the fingers' but nobody can show a Stingray doing a Gibson EB0! That's why Joe Dart will use it on some stuff but not everything, as many of his most famous lines are built around the sound of other instruments. Don't mind the band but I don't like the whole 'overly retro' vibe many 'funk' bands go in for these days...

Thats a bit rude about the mighty Joe Dart

I'm finding the older I get the more this kind of thing boils my p!ss! I'm sick and tired of a societ that feels they have a right to be offended by everything, and more to the point that the rest of us should give a flying f@#* if and when they are. I honestly couldn't care less if a person is black, white, brown, blue,or sky blue pink with yellow dots. I also don't care if they're gay, straight, transgender or like to dress like Elvis in a blonde wig, but if I inadvertantly do something to offend one of these people, like maybe looking in their general direction or breathing too loudly, why do they then feel they have a right to speak for their whole "community" when claiming offence? The real irony is I'm far less tolerant now than I used to be for this very reason. This sound "person" should be sacked and never work in the industry again. Sorry, not sorry!

Hand on heart, I cannot make head nor tail of what the original post is about? I'm 53 and maybe out of the loop? It's really alien. Or, maybe it's how fekin ludicrous folk can behave? I've been doing this for decades and I've never heard anything like it? I've never used the term "snowflake" in any context but I can now see why folk do. Three bands turn up at a venue, only to be told that some fekin idiot has spat his (or her) dummy out (as the case may be) and so, all that effort by so many is now totally unrewarded and rudely cast aside? What a load of bollox (or flaps) as the case may be) I'm sorry to be so un-PC but I don't really give two feks for anybody's sexuality or political stance. We're all human beings. Live and let live are my thoughts. Name the venue, so that no-one else will go to the trouble of turning up there.

... either way, whichever gender the accused now identifies with, sound guy 'X' is still a git. I can't be more gender neutral than that! 🚻

Too true sadly. To celebrate this we have a song called Are You Offended, which very catchily goes Are You Offended, Well F&ck You Too. It’s not clever, not subtle, so what. Sadly it’s - imo - the internet that’s a lot to blame tor this, people being so much braver sat at a keyboard than face to face. They can air opinions without comeback so suddenly find they have to tell everyone how everything in the world is offensive to them.

Mind boggling. But surely the gig could have carried on without the sound guy? Most bands have at least a couple of members who know their way around a sound desk and PA.

Trace Elliot V-Type V4. All 3 fenv46 by VTypeV4, on Flickr Brief history: Introduced in around 1996, the original Trace Elliot V-Type range were very much something of a juxtaposition in comparision to the then current model ranges. The all solid-state 7-band ranges of SM/SMC and flagship hybrid 12-band SMX models were very much the pinnacle of tone shaping, control and sophistication at the time. The V-Types took an altogether different approach using a much more traditional setup with simple rotary controls using a Fender style EQ, a far less garish livery and an emphasis on a great core tone without complication. The original V-Type head was an all valve affair sporting the original pre-amp (as can be seen on the V6 in the picture) coupled to a 220w (4x KT88) power stage. This model later became the V4 when it's larger stable-mate the V6 was introduced around '97 / '98. The V6 had a larger power stage claiming 400w from 6x KT88 output valves. Trace Elliot also complimented the range with sealed (as opposed to the usual vented) speaker cabinets comprising a 2x15, 4x12 and an 8x10 with Celestion speakers all carrying the same livery as the amplifier heads. Allied to the all-valve types, hybrid heads known as the 300H and 600H (300w and 600w respectively) appeared as well as 300w 4x8 and single fifteen combos completing the range. By 2000 Trace had decided to update the range with an enameled all-black and green livery (more in-line with the then new 7 and and 12 band series) with bold chromed control knobs. They also chose to slim the range down with deletion of the hybrid heads and combos. The new series started with the monstrous V8 model which had a more advanced version of the V-Type pre-amp now complete with a dedicated overdrive / boost facility and a valve controlled compressor coupled to an 8x KT88, 400w output stage. I remember David Jacob demonstrating the V8 at the guitar show in Birmingham when I was 17 - both him and the amplifier were stunning. The new V4 model was later added and was essentially a V8 with a smaller 4-valve, 200w output stage and a couple of detail differences. This second generation of V4 was available as a head, a 1x15 or 2x10 combo. These models are extremely rare with (according to Paul Stevens - former Trace Elliot designer - now at Blackstar I believe) only 45 in existence - 15 of each variation. The head variant is the subject of this review.. Spec: All valve 200w 4x KT88 output stage (4 or 8 ohm) 7-valve pre-amp stage Fender style EQ with deep, bright and mid shift controls Overdrive with dedicated gain and level control (foot switchable) Valve controlled compressor (foot switchable) Active and passive inputs Master volume Series FX loop Unbalanced line out (jack) Balanced DI out (XLR) Option to mute power stage for recording (no speaker required) Half power switch User adjustable bias (Trace Elliot called it VOBIC - something like Visual Output Bias Indication Circuit) with blue, green and red LED to indicate idle status Front panel: From left to right we have the active and passive inputs (jack only), a gain pot, a bright switch then the overdrive controls which are a second gain then level control. This is activated by either pulling the 'gain 2' pot or via the foot switch. A red LED illuminates on the panel when this is active. Next is the EQ section with a deep switch, then a bass, middle and treble trio with the middle knob being a pull switch for a different character. The second to last control is the compressor which has a switch for in / out and a control which is simply a threshold - a blue LED lights when gain reduction is occurring. Lastly is the master volume knob and furthest right is the stand-by switch. A Fender style green jewel lamp shows the status of the power. Worthy of a mention here are the visible valves - the valve furthest to the right is an EM84 indicator valve (also known as a magic eye type) which has two luminous strips that fluctuate to indicate output power. Rear Panel: There's lots of options on the back too with the first being the main on / off switch complete with IEC (kettle style) electrical input. Next are the VOBIC LEDs, test points and recessed trim pot. Switches for the output stage for on / mute and full power / half power are to the left of the speaker connectors (jack / XLR) whilst to the right is the impedance switch with options for total loads of 4 and 8 ohms. Towards the right there is a jack socket for foot switching the drive and compressor options. Second to last is the DI output on an XLR socket with switching for pre / post EQ and ground / lift. Lastly there are 3 jack sockets one of which is an unbalanced line out and the last pair a series FX loop. Sound: It sounds incredible - simple as that! I use it in conjunction with a Yamaha NE-1 and a Boss LMB-3 in the FX loop and a pair of SWR Goliath Jr3 (2x10) - that combination gives me the sound I hear in my head and that I've always chased. The EQ section albeit Fender based is a somewhat different than the sound of my Bassman 135 - unsurprisingly, the Trace Elliot is a bit more Trace Elliot. I always considered that if you didn't know it was a Trace, I doubt that you'd mistake it for a Fender amplifier. It's a little more 'hollow' (but not particularly scooped) and a bit 'bigger' sounding with a natural warmth in the bottom end. As to be expected of an old-style passive EQ, the controls are interactive to a degree but not frustratingly so. The 'bright' switch works particularly well adding a degree of sizzle especially when the amp is used with cabs with HF components - it stays on for most situations with me. In contrast, the 'deep' switch doesn't appear to extend the bottom end so much as pull out some of the lower mids. It's good for a heavy dub type sound but for normal finger style, it loses just too much definition for my tastes so I tend to leave that switched out. Lastly, the mid shift gives a bit of a bump across most of the mid-range - it seems to emphasize everywhere from as low as 250Hz to around 2kHz - great on a noisy stage but I usually leave this switched out. Regarding the overdrive facility, well, it's a bit 'prickly' to say the least! Given the 'all valve' topology of the amplifier, interestingly the overdrive itself is derived from back-to-back diodes although the gain staging is valve based. Activated by the 'pull' on the second gain knob, it's range can take you anywhere from punk trash and clang to Muse type sounds - with the tone rolled off on the bass, quite a convincing 'Deeper Underground' type sound can be coaxed from it. It can be really difficult describing a particular tone or timbre with words but the closest I can find are along the lines of 'hairy', 'prickly' and outright 'gnarly'.. With the updated version of the V-Type pre-amp, Trace Elliot decided the addition of a valve style compressor would be a welcome and useful addition. I absolutely agree - it's very smooth and unobtrusive but adds a certain fatness and definition to each note. Judging by the blue LED accompanying the compressors' in / out switch and threshold control knob, the fixed envelope appears to have a very slow attack and release time - this probably is at least partially responsible for the 'fatness' of it's character. According to Trace, the input for the compressor is side chained against itself, the control being a high-passed version of the original presumably so excessive bottom end doesn't overwhelm the control too much. I'm unaware of the circuit topology but Trace Elliot suggested it was based on 'vintage studio type compressors' so I'd have though some sort sort of variable Mu type possibly? It's fair to say, the V4 has it's own sound which is shared with it's other V-Type siblings although by it's very design, has most in common with top-line V8 model. Personally, I haven't found much that is similar to a V-Type, strangely I think the closest thing in terms of a 'straight sound' comparison would be an EBS TD / Faffner rather than anything that would be seemingly closer - Fender Bassman, Marshall JMP or Hiwatt 200 for example. To my ears, the Trace Elliot is cleaner, less clangy and more modern than those vintage amplifiers although I'm sure parts of each could be seen in parts of it's design. Probably worth mentioning also is that it will play very loudly through most cabinets. Conservatively rated at 200w RMS, this relatively small figure - by today's standards of 1kW amps the size of credit cards - is more than capable of playing every gig situation I could imagine - I've never needed it flat out even through less than perfect speakers. The power stage with 4x KT88s says pretty much everything about the power on tap - I rather liken it to subtle air scoop and exposed drive pulley in the bonnet of a vintage supercharged American muscle car. I have pinned the master volume on more than a few occasions just to see what happens and it's an experience - especially through the Trace 1084 (8x10) I owned for a while! Totally wild and not very me if I'm terribly honest but definitely worth it for a laugh. I did read elsewhere on the internet that in common with some of the earlier line of Trace Elliot amplifiers with valve output stages such as the VA and Twin, Quattra and Hexa, the V-Types actually clip their driver / inverter stages before the power tubes clip. Whether this is true or not, I can't say - it was on Talkbass written by Psycho Bass Guy who did seem knowledgeable on such things. Build Quality and Reliability: The build quality is superb - the upholstery is spot on with no apparent joins or blemishes, the bright chromed corners, vents and knobs give a great contrast against the black and green panel. The enameling is spotless and still in great condition even 18 years after it was built. The V4 badge centered on the front grill is also finished to a superb standard and is usually the first part the eyes are drawn to on initial inspection. Electrically, big transformers, thick, isolated PCBs, ceramic valve sockets and gold plated jacks all point to these being a truly premium quality product. Trace Elliot seemed to put a great deal of effort into the build quality of these amplifiers even if other products in the range at the time weren't quite up to their mid-eighties hey-day. Moving on to reliability, it seemed to have a period of eating fuses randomly during it's initial settling down period - I owned it from new as it was purchased as NOS in 2003 from Gavin at GM-Audio who looked after all the warranty and parts after Trace Elliot closed. At the time, it was carted here, there and everywhere and did lots of gigs nationally. After about twelve months, I changed the output valves to the then new 're-issue' Tung Sol 6550 type valves which also worked really well but did little for the occasional fuse consumption. It appears that they're sensitive to different speaker cabinets and the slight impedance differences (even with the correct matching 8-8 or 4-4) can cause the bias to run too hot and eventually take a fuse. I always carry a little screwdriver to adjust it just in case I wind up using someone else's speaker cabinet - it's different with every cab but inspite the inconvenience, it hasn't done a fuse for years and the EHX KT88s installed 3 / 4 years ago are still doing very well. Final observations: It's reasonably heavy (24Kg) and is around the typical size for a large valve amplifier so bulk and weight with only a central strap handle may be an issue for some users but the visual impact and more importantly, the tonal characteristic are completely worth it. Having also previously owned a 4808 combo and currently having a V6 on loan, it's been very interesting to compare the V4 against both. It's been a good few years since I let the 4808 go so I'll compare on the V6. The V4 was a little smoother than the V6 but it terms of their core tones, there was next to nothing in it - tolerance in the components and different valves probably account for any subtleties in the character. I'd happily gig either (or both!) for any show. There's not a massive amount difference in terms of power between the two - the V6 does play a little louder before breaking up but there really isn't that much in it - 3dB assuming both are making their claimed horsepower seems about right. It's a little sad to say that less than 12 months after mine was built, Trace Elliot as we knew it no longer existed having been closed down by parent company, Gibson. It seems unlikely that anything like the V-Types will be made again - Peavey who now own the name seem to be using the Trace Elliot brand as an outlet for the latest in small, light and powerful amplifiers so whilst it's great to see that we can now once again buy a new Trace Elliot, my interests and affections will always lie with the older line of products. 135 and V4 by VTypeV4, on Flickr As a final note, if you come across the opportunity to try one, I'd recommend it as I found the sound I was always searching for. UnderwarwickV4 by VTypeV4, on Flickr

Got some strings from Andertons on thursday. Flatwounds as it happens. Luckily they arrived undamaged.

Crackin sound from that bass.

any Bob Dylan song sounds better when covered than the original, I'm can never see what good songs they are when I hear his versions. Bit of a link, Hendrix's covers were always better than the originals

The word "Guys" seems to be applied to all genders these days. My wife and I have been called guys when eating at cafes and restaurants. "Hi guys, what would you like?"

To my mind, the issues of who got offended over what and which bathroom they use are entirely irrelevant (and it's a bit sad that in the 21st century we, or some at least, still think someone's gender identity is fair game for ridicule). For me, the only issue here is the mind-boggling unprofessionalism of the engineer. Offended or not, upset or not, just not turning up without a word to anyone is inexcusable. If I did that at work, I'd be in a world of poo.

I’m an actor by day, on tour with a musical at the moment. As a result, it’s impossible to be in a band as I’m in a different city each week and have performances at the times gigs would be. Not ideal but I bring a bass and my Stomp on the road with me to try and keep the chops up. I’m actually getting the odd lesson here and there with our show bassist @mikenichols! Believe me, the Stomp will be gigged the first opportunity I get.

I'm Canadian and I'm not offended, at least I don't think I'm offended. What's wrong with my vowels, eh?😉

And for those interested that are doing some dates in the UK later this year. Monster band

It is one dimensional though. It all sounded the same to me Sure play with different techniques but the sound was pretty much ditto. I love Joe Darts playing and I've been listening to him since his playing on 'The Olllam' album 7 or so years ago.

Don't know about you, but I always get a positive and happy vibe when watching Joe Dart. Love his sound, what he plays and all of the guys he is playing with. It's not about the gear.

I'm offended that you chose to use the male orientated chromosome! Just kidding... obviously... in case anyone took offense!

Nate Smith!

I've got a set of TI flats on my P bass. I know they are an expensive initial outlay, but you won't need another set in 20 years, so they get cheaper over time.

I've had my stomp for a couple of weeks now - and while it sounds great, I've been finding the three footswitch implementation a bit limiting. Even the old Zoom B3 managed to let you use the same 3 switches for stomp on/off, patch selection and tuner access... So I raided the spare parts drawer and knocked up a double footswitch to let me cycle through stomp/scroll/preset/snapshot modes on one switch, and tap/tuner on the other. It works OK, and it at least made controlling the thing from my feet just about viable, if still a fairly clumsy affair. And then I kept noticing mentions of the Morningstar MC6.... looks like a great bit of kit, but I couldn't justify the price - especially as once I've got more used to the Stomp and got sounds and settings dialled in, I may well be happy with just using the stomp on its own or with the double footswitch..... So back to the spare parts drawer it is then..... A bit of 3d printing, soldering, crimping and (quite a lot of) swearing later, I present the Afternooningstoo MC8 ! OK, so it's a bit rough and ready compared to the real one, but it works, it's got even more buttons, and I think it only owes me about £30 in parts total.... and the only thing I had to buy in specially was the MIDI socket!

Since I just took the pickguard off to give it a good clean and get some gunk off, thought I’d provide a little more pornographic material....