Leaderboard

Had to share this guidance to ensure we are all singing from same sheet. HOW TO REQUEST A SONG FROM THE BAND When requesting a song from the band, just say “Play my song.” We have chips implanted in our heads with an unlimited database of the favorite tunes of every patron who ever walked into a bar and all songs ever recorded so feel free to be vague, we love the challenge. If we say we really don’t remember that tune you want, we’re only kidding. Bands do know every song ever recorded, so keep humming. Hum harder if need be… it helps jog the memory, or just repeat your request over and over again. If a band tells you they do not know a song you want to hear, they either forgot they know the tune or they are just putting you on. Try singing a few words for the band, any words will do. It also helps to scream your request from across the room several times per set followed by the phrases, “AW, COME ON!” and “YOU SUCK!” Exaggerated hand gestures expressing disapproval from the dance floor are a big help as well, such as the thumbs down or your middle finger up. Put-downs are the best way to jog a band’s memory. This instantly promotes you to the status of “Personal Friend of the Band.” You can bet your request will be the next song we play. Entertainers are notorious fakers and jokesters and never really prepared for their shows. We simply walk on stage with no prior thought to what we will do once we arrive. We don’t actually make set lists or rehearse songs, we mostly just wait for you to yell something out, then fake it. An entertainer’s job is easy, even a monkey could do it, so don’t let them off the hook easily. Your request is all that matters. Once you’ve figured out what genre of music the band plays, please make your requests from a totally different genre, the more exaggerated the better. If it’s a blues band playing, yell for some Metallica, Black Sabbath or Motley Crue. If it’s a death-speed metal band be sure to request Brown Eyed Girl or some Grateful Dead. We musicians constantly need to broaden our horizons and it’s your job to see that it happens… immediately. TALKING WITH THE BAND The best time to discuss anything with the band in any meaningful way is at the middle of a song when all band members are singing at the same time. Our hearing is so advanced that we can pick out your tiny voice from the megawatt wall of sound blasting all around us. And we can converse with you in sign language while singing the song, so don’t worry that we’re in the middle of the chorus. Musicians are expert lip-readers too. If a musician does not reply to your question or comment during a tune, it’s because they didn’t get a good look at your mouth in order to read your lips. Simply continue to scream out your request and be sure to over emphasize the words with your lips. This helps immensely. Don’t be fooled. Singers have the innate ability to answer questions and sing at the same time. If the singer doesn’t answer your questions immediately, regardless of how stupid the question may seem, it’s because they are purposely ignoring you. If this happens, immediately cop an attitude. We love this. IMPORTANT TIP When an entertainer leans over to hear you better, grab his or her head in both hands and yell directly into their ear, while holding their head securely so they can’t pull away. This will be taken as an invitation to a friendly game of tug of war between their head and your hands. Don’t give up, hang on until the singer or guitar player submits. Drummers are often unavailable for this fun game since they usually sit at the back, protected by their drum kits. Keyboard players are protected by their instrument and only play the game when tricked into coming out from behind their instruments. Though difficult to get them to play, it’s not impossible, so keep trying. They’re especially vulnerable during the break between songs. HELPING THE BAND If you inform the band that you are a singer, the band will appreciate your help with the next few tunes, or however long you can remain standing on stage. If you’re too drunk to stand unassisted, simply lean on one of the band members or the most expensive piece of equipment you see. Just pretend you’re in a karaoke bar. Simply feel free to walk up on stage and join in the fun. By the way, the drunker you are, the better you sound, and the louder you should sing. If by chance you fall off the stage, be sure to crawl back up and attempt to sing harmony. Keep in mind that nothing assists the band more than outrageous dancing, fifth and sixth part harmonies or a tambourine played on one and three and out of tempo. Try the cowbell, they love the challenge. The band always needs the help and will take this as a compliment. Finally, the microphone and PA system are merely props, they don’t really amplify your voice, so when you grab the mic out of the singer’s hand, be sure to scream into it at the top of your lungs, otherwise nobody will hear what a great singer you are. Hearing is over-rated anyhow. The crowd and the sound tech will love you for it. BONUS TIP As a last resort, wait until the band takes a break and then get on stage and start playing their instruments. They love this. Even if you are ejected from the club, you can rest assured in the knowledge you have successfully completed your audition. The band will call you the following day to offer you a position.

Well. This has been on the watch/want list for a while. Eventually got a deal sorted. Arrived today and I’m stunned. I’ve owned Ken Smiths, Warwick’s, Jaydees, Status’ etc and I’ve never had a bass which feels so well made. Absolutely bonkers. Sounds like a hammer too. Very very pleasing.

Got a few more jobs done: Frets installed Fret end slots filled Fret ends finished Nut slot cut Nut fitted String tree fitted Strings fitted Knobs fitted and a little noodling....... Doesn't look like the frets will need levelling but I will recheck that again later. Still got some more bits and bobs to do but this is where it is at now:

The clip at the top of the thread is now changing every time I refresh the page. I'm seeing every music related youtube clip ever, apart from Telstar. Edit: I can't stop refreshing the page, it's like a music clip fruit machine. Damn my addictive personality.

Yep, once you get all the way to being able to predict how a specific compressor will sound given a certain input source, try one with a completely different circuit. Similar settings will sound completely different. Go through this enough and you start to get a feel for the compressor most likely to suit the sound in your head. A VCA compressor (like the Becos) is a superb place to start because its a bit of a toolbox, tends to be capable of very transparent compression but has enough parameters to get a lot of more overt compression effects working. In contrast an optical compressor tends to be a bit of a one trick pony, its all about the attack release curve and how that can make your bass sound. A FET compressor, is really a limiter type circuit, FETs are super super fast. A real tube (vari-mu) compressor tends toward a mix between an optical and a VCA. And are hens teeth in the pedal world (Compressore being the only one I have ever heard of). If you want to have a go at all of these on the cheap your best bet IMO is download Reaper, load in a piece of music with no bass, put down a bass line, and play with Reacomp, its about the most full featured compressor I have found (you can change the duration of time it measures for RMS level ffs!!!!) that also happens to be free. This way you also get to concentrate on what the hell the compression is doing rather than playing anything into a compressor and fiddling with the knobs. Get far enough down that route and you can cover off parallel compression (New York compression), side chaining, filtered compression, and with ReaXcomp even multiband compression. For free. Do the chaps at Reaper a favour and buy a license for $60 dollars, they've saved you thousands of pounds in buying kit to allow you to learn how to use something well when you get it. Tell them I sent you

Who said live music on TV was dead?? OK, so it's actually a football show but still... I'm actually a terrible choice for this as I have put considerable effort into avoiding sports since I left school and will therefore be invoking my session player rights so that I don't have to take a free kick on national TV.

Hey guys! I might be late to the party but i own a Squier Classic Vibe Precision '50s Lake Placid Blue that i got second hand for £190, an Ibanez TMB30 Mint Green that i got new for 160€ which i strung with Black Nylon tapes, a Harley Benton BZ-6000 (350€), a Vintage V74MRJP (250€) with Fender flats and a Harley Benton JB-75MN Black (139€) that i just got for my Bday four days ago. All my basses are super low budget. I tried, bought & sold a bunch of basses before i got to this collection. Some of them were much more expensive than the ones i own now, & yet i prefer those. I would recommend the JB-75MN especially, super low cost, super comfortable & fast under the fingers. Same goes for the TMB30 if U're looking for a short scale.. Hope this helps...

Thanks, guys for the advice, refunded and relisted

Depends what you want from it. I still think the FI is capable of way better sound shaping than the C4, especially now that v3 has full ADSR control (my constant nagging paid off). The C4 has the advantage of a slick interface for auditioning and saving sounds whereas the FI is still a bit clunky in comparison (though I’m hopeful of some improvement in a post-v3 release and have made suggestions which didn’t fall on deaf ears). C4 has a bigger range of filter types but for envelope control, oscillator options and parameter routing possibilities, the FI blows C4 away. Both have great tracking. I do enjoy both though but if I absolutely could only choose one, I personally would choose the FI.

A few changes on and off my board, since my last post on here a couple of months back. Final piece of the jigsaw, the Boss SY-1 arrived earlier today and is sitting snugly in it's place, giving my board a smug 'finished' feel to it (famous last words!) The SY-1 tracks like a deer hunter. I'm venison-ly happy 😊 For any of you interested in the signal chain, it's as follows: BASS ‘Clean’ input Smoothhound (wireless) Thumpinator (hpf) Becos Stella (comp) Boss SY1 (synth) Early mid-board: drive / fuzz Grizzly Bass (analogue) SA Aftershock (digital) Mastotron (gated fuzz) Red Ripper (ungated fuzz) Late mid-board: filters SA Manta (digital) 3Leaf GR2 (analogue) End board: modulation / delay Digitech Mosaic (octave up) HX Stomp (multifx +DI +headphone amp) AMP Total power draw, excluding the Stomp which has it's own PSU, is 1.3A and all powered by a MXR IsoBrick under the board.

Only post to the registered address linked to the payment. If he wants it sent elsewhere, then ask him to update the address on the payment - it might be necessary to refund, then receive the payment again with the new address detailed on it.

I, for one, look forward to seeing the listings for a formerly two-wheeled bicycle...

I've had a Sadowsky Metro for around four years now and it's been my main gigging bass ever since I got it. Here are a few thoughts - Build quality - very solidly built, fit and finish is as close to perfect as I've ever seen. Playability - marginally nicer than my US Fender Jazz, not really worth the extra cost for this aspect alone. Tone - Playing at home it's nice enough but lacks the character of my Fender, maybe it's too precise (clinical?). Gigging is a whole different matter, I regularly get positive comments about my how audible my bass is in the mix. A drummer I used to play with when I brought my Fender along for a change, " where's your blue bass, I can hear every note you play with that one". The singer in a band I recently joined "I can really hear the bass lines now, I couldn't before". In another band the singer's boyfriend who also plays bass came up to me at half time and said "How do you get your bass to sound so good in the mix?....ahh thats how, you've got a Sadowsky". There's more but I think you get the drift. How much of it is down to it being an active bass and how much of it is some sort Sadowsky magic I don't know, but for me it lives up to it's reputation.

Hey all, I used to write for Bass Guitar Magazine many moons ago and I've recently set up a new YouTube channel dedicated to interviewing 'on the scene' UK/London-based bass players. It's under the guise of Bass Man Jack, and I'm trying to incorporate the sorts of players that inspired me when I was a teen. I'm also going to look at a bit of 'chart' music as well as offer some cool playa longs. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions of people for me to interview. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCarfrDNElu2CU8dh_492C2Q?view_as=subscriber My Instagram is @bass_man_jack All the best! Bass Man Jack

Still a couple of days to run and they are asking a lot for the courier but this is a nice looking example of this well respected bass. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warwick-Thumb-Bass-NT-4-String-German-made-with-Flight-Case/202764341914?hash=item2f35b2529a:g:WUYAAOSw3YBdYuV9 Currently only £360

I really need to get my impulse buying under control. Bought this. Really don't need another PJ. I blame @AndyTravis for introducing me to Yamahas

Looks like a bog standard model

Not at all!! I'm having a complete "I agree with Mick day today" 😀 Surely we and nobody else, other than maybe our other halves, get to choose exactly what we do with our own bass gear? Dunno about you, but I find it incredibly patronising when folk think they have a right to say "you need to be gigging X, Y or Z bits of your kit to get the best out of it", or "it's pointless having that pedal unless it's being used in a band mix." If you or I want to enjoy some or all of our gear in the comfort of our own home, to put to one side for a season while we get on with other bits of gear or none, IMO that's our choice. Other folk can do exactly what they like with the gear they've spent their hard earned cash on, where and when they use it or not at all - that is entirely their prerogative and not something you'll ever find me proroguing.

We only play requests if we’re asked.

How many people are having Deja Vu reading this???

I realise that a build diary without images is not worth much, so here are some progress pics I bought a neck plate from Taiwan via eBay and very nice it is too and I finally took the plunge and drilled some holes for the bridge, control pots and pick guard The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that a pick guard screw protrudes into the control cavity – I plan to put a small dowel plug here for the screw to go in to – also, the body maker has drilled one of the neck plate holes about 2mm off Now it's advice time – what's the best approach for positioning the battery in the control cavity? Maybe I'll go 18v if there's room – is it worth it though? The preamp is an ACG-01 I'm still testing black dye/stain which is being dealt with in the repair/tech section

Hi all, managed to do a bit today between my other jobs, finished the shape of the body around the neck pocket and routed it out, have got to tweek it a little to make it fit perfect, decided to go for a fender type bridge and a p/j pickup config, don't know whether to bind the body or round of the edge's i am sure you will help me choose, also colour i thought a nice light shade off green or pale yellow,

They are very useful and musical frequencies so I understand. IMO, it’s the ability to use the VTC (basically a tone control with added marketing BS) while the bass is active that the magic happens. I’ve always shied away from treble controls as they always sound a bit too harsh or piercing for my liking, especially with new roundwounds. With the VTC dialled back a tad I can still retain treble without the harsh edge.

copied from @leschirons post in 'Quotes to Live by' thread heard, two nights ago, one of the greatest musical statements ever. Chatting to a Brit EUB player after his gig, I told him that I'd just started learning (he'd been playing jazz standards at the gig) and that I needed to put in a lot of work to get his level. His reply. "It's not as hard as it looks. If I have a chart with the chord changes, I usually play the root of those chords in the right place and hit any old bo ll ocks in between" I'm thinking that I could probably apply this method to every situation in life😆

Well, I don’t know what’s going on! I originally posted Telstar by the tornadoes, featuring Heinz in some good closeups! But when I refresh the page it is now the shadows! sod it, I’m going down the pub! 😡

https://transferwise.com/

I was very impressed with the tracking - I can play a fast (as fast as I can) riff on the B string from open to the e, and it tracks every bit. The Synth pedals I had before didn't, and also the GR5 with the GK3 pickup didn't as well as this, so that is impressive. All in all, the word synthesizer is very much an 80s / 90s synth, things that sound like synths, not synths sounding like something else, which is fine, that is what I want. The SEQ presets are a ton of fun, I got sort of trapped in them last night, I don't know how much use they are particularly with a group but I sort of wrote a few songs around them! As you can imagine just a series of arpeggios and sequences in a variety of patterns, 9/10ths of them in key and one out (seems all modes have one that is out of key). SFX you could probably use as one offs or as background, a bit to random to be that useful I feel. Bell makes good background sounds but I wouldn't describe them as particularly bell like, maybe they are different on the guitar? who knows, I didn't get round to trying. Organ - this is really the weak bit. I can see where they are going with the idea, but you aren't convincing anyone it is an organ, and it is not very pleasant. Strings and Pads, probably the place that I am going to spend my time, some fantastic synth sounds, all working well with chords, even as just a background turned down a bit I find them pleasant. The variations are really good variations - some up, some down, some spread out. Bass, well, does what you expect, but if you are already down to the low b you are getting pretty low with this! As a result I didn't spend a lot of time with that, I am feeling that is much more a guitar effect. Lead - loads of fun for real in your face leads, some pretty useable, some I am sure just there for comedy value. In short, I found loads I liked. How you can work out a system of finding the one you want again, I am not yet sure, the knobs are pretty small, the device is pretty small. Not only are there all those groups and all the variations, the filter and rate knobs can completely change the sound too. I think it is a case of find the effect you want, and take a picture of write it down! I tried it with a zoom footpedal, but it didn't work in a predictable way that I expected, I am guessing maybe it needs to be wired in a different way. The guitar / bass switch didn't seem to make a whole load of difference either, I imagine it is just there to give it a bit help to the input filters, but as it worked fine in guitar mode, who knows. I have noted down a couple of patches, One I will give a try on Poker face which we play, and also one for the chorus of brick in the wall as maybe a background subtle thing (I already have synth floor pedals for that). I have the advantage that the pub we are gigging tonight is our 'home' pub - they are our people, its where we do the new songs, its where we get forgiven if we mess up, its where other people occasionally come and join in. This is not one of those pedals where you buy it and have to work out what it is doing, it is very in your face. Obviously you can turn it down, Strangely instead of a mix control it has separate through and effect levels, which is nice. If I never used it again I would say it was worth the money for the fun I have had from it already, but I am sure as hell going to be using it until everyone else is sick of it. I will do some more recordings when I get some good sounds to show. -- edit the other thing to note is in all the pictures, it is a blue. it isn't blue, it is purple!

Thanks and welcome back to BC! I must admit I've struggled to get any decent synth sims from the Stomp, which is part of the reason for me getting the Boss SY-1; the other part is I'm hoping that the Boss interface with easy to tweak knobs will make it really easy to use. @Quatschmacher is a great guy to pick brains on if you're also thinking about a C4 or FI; he's got both and knows a LOT about synths!

Is that a "P" bass?

-

"Something which may have been overlooked is that the more speaker surface area, the louder also. A 410 vs 115 using the same amp and ohms, the 410 will be far louder." A bit ambiguous as to whether it's the just surface area or the surface area and dozens of other variables, but it does rather imply to me that the surface area is the principal reason for the difference.

For farmers/bricklayers with larger than average posteriors? Surely MDP isn't branching out into furniture conversions? 😱

Some people love bronze strings on an acoustic, others hate them. I hate them, all finger noise and clatter, but they are loud, no doubt why they all put them on. I've got Fender tapewounds on mine and really like the tone, especially amplified.

That chair has 4 legs. One of those legs just happens to be a milk crate!

Surely the former four legged chair?

Here's a photo of my new Warwick GPS Streamer LX (Maple Nirvana Black Satin) purchased from the folks at Peach Guitars (in Colchester), as well as the used Gallien Krueger 1001RB-II head that I just purchased from Dave (dmccombe7). A huge THANK YOU to Dave, who did next day shipping on the head for me. It's in pristine condition, included the original box (I like to keep those too), manual and some personal tips from him. Sounds amazing together with the Warwick and GK 410 RBH cabinet (purchased from Thomann online a while back). I really, really like the sound of this 1001RB...

I stained the fingerboard on my Lull black using Fiebings Leather Dye. Not sure whether this would suit your purpose, but the board went from a mid-brown/tan to jet black in one application and has stayed black. Caveats should anyone want to try this; mask areas you don't want stained, do not over-apply, wipe off the excess after a minute or two and wear gloves!

Just been listening to Kevin McCormick's bass lines on Keb Mo's Reflection album. What a great player and largely, to me, unknown bassist. A brief search turned up this piece or wonderfulness. . . . .

I lyke it!

Not used one but did hear one used at a gig, the bassist had a nice punk gnarly middy tone with his Rumble/Precision set up that worked so well.

Fiebings dye next on the list, what i've read is its alcohol based...i'll sand it back down again & use white spirit to wash it down as Christine said, i dunno about that Crimson stain it says spirit but don't smell like it could be acrylic..anyway good luck Mr Fish hope you get some worms

And I fundamentally disagree with the point you made that the performance will suffer if you can't hear yourself with your ideal sound on stage. You are somewhat misquoting me by suggesting that I said at any point that a good on stage sound will prevent there being a good FOH sound - I never said that. What I thought I was very clear about was that I personally don't see that having a bad on stage sound affects my performance Again, never suggested that you shouldn't be able to hear yourself at all, simply that as long as you can hear enough to be able to stay in tune and play with the rest of the band, the actual quality of the on stage sound doesn't matter

God and I thought I was old! Some of those are great (Rock bottom but live obviously!) but some have been well past their expiry date for years (slash), I think this will become a classic, Steven Wilson's Drive Home with the epic Guthrie Govan on guitar

I always take two basses to a gig. One to use and one as a back-up. It's very rare that the back-up is needed, but the law of sod will ensure that with no back-up, the #1 bass will have a problem. The last time I needed the back-up was when I had a bass fall (or possibly knocked by *someone*) off its stand and into the drum kit, causing damage to a string when it hit a cymbal. Quicker and easier to get the back-up out of the case and carry on than to dig out a spare string and tune it. Strangely, at the same gig I had an amp fail. Two minutes later I was playing through the spare amp I happened to have with me. Makes more sense to have your spare stuff with you than sitting at home!

The time he did a show in Birmingham is in my top 5 of all time gigs. Triangle solo...

I think it's Basswood, if memory serves - I'd heard it was easy to work with and it was my first build. People say it doesn't make good instruments but this thing sings.

Thanks, some very good advice here.