velvetkevorkian

Almost- I play a 7 (it's one louder!) which I tune like a 7 string guitar (BEADGBE) an octave down, but I think I can comment on your questions. The guitar style tuning makes chording easier, it means if you have any guitar knowledge it transfers over fairly easily and it lets you take advantage of a lot of instructional material. If you don't play guitar switching to a non-uniform system is a bit of a wierd trip though. Also a bit of a head f*** if you read music, as a lot of your interval shapes don't work anymore. It does mean you can play a lot more in one position though. I've not been gigging much since I got it but I take it out as much as I can. It's a substantially higher quality instrument than my other basses so even if I'm not going to exploit the full range, the sound and playability justify it most of the time. As far as adjusting to it goes, I had little trouble, but I have absolutely no problems going from 4 to 5 either (never played 6). A lot of people seem to have issues with this- YMMV. The last thing I'd say is try and play it with a strap- my 7 is brutally heavy, and gets quite tiring to play for extended periods. Hope that helps, Cheers. K

Yes, although your technique has to be cleaner as there's less space (horizontally and vertically) between the strings.

[quote name='JackLondon' post='757896' date='Feb 26 2010, 09:20 AM']Agreed, when I joined the forum and had a combo for sale I think it was Hamster who pointed out that adding location would be beneficial! I wonder if there is a way that all the posts in Bass and Amps&Cabs could have a template so when you start a new topic you'd have a mandatory fields like price, location, postage cost, description, photos etc...[/quote] There's a similar system in place on www.sevenstring.org- they have a sticky thread with the template on it and ads that don't comply are deleted.

[quote name='Doddy' post='757267' date='Feb 25 2010, 04:43 PM']If you can find a decent 5 string Upright,then by all means go for it. Just be aware that the neck on a 4 string is significantly different than an electric,and a 5 string is even wider,so you'd probably be getting tired pretty quick initially.[/quote] I pretty much agree with this. One other thing to consider is that DB 5ers are often significantly bigger than a lot of 4 strings- its not uncommon for them to be 4/4 or even 5/4 and have an extra inch or two of scale length. My DB is a 4/4 with a scale length of ~43" and so is even more physical to play than a "standard" (insofar as ther is a standard!) sized DB. For what it's worth though, I don't see myself ever going back to 4- I don't have a lot of experience with extensions but the ones I have tried seemed massively inconvenient to play. As ever though, YMMV.

No current pics but here's one of my Bulgarian fully carved 5 string from when I got it- was still to be set up. I could barely fit the box in the hall. Not been played nearly as much as it deserves since then unfortunately, and it needs a new bridge as the old one has warped to the extent that I'm getting strings rattling

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='754978' date='Feb 23 2010, 01:26 PM']Is it just that Basschat's just littered with Mark King wannabes?[/quote] Probably

[quote name='Musicman69' post='754623' date='Feb 23 2010, 03:39 AM']dont mean to upset things but he gave them the next note (in pentatonic).. so then they take the minor scale. If he'd given it in major Id say theyd have sung that. Just my thoughts on the subject.[/quote] I don't understand the point you're making. Surely the point of the video is that the audience knew what note to sing without being told, when he jumped to the third note of the scale. It all sounds pretty pentatonic to me...

[quote name='elliswasp' post='753724' date='Feb 22 2010, 12:49 PM']ok i guess this is more of a question that an answer but do you use effects and if so are some of the multi effects pedals out there classed as a powered r=pre amp there for giving the required boost to make using the power amp worth using then? Markus[/quote] This will work- it's what I do.

[url="http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/traditional/"]Nordstrand[/url] make some. Sadowsky offer the choice of true single coils or hum cancelling, and I think some US Fenders have them too.

Not if it's passive- by definition, if it's unpowered, it can't add power to the signal going through it, it can only reduce the level of the signal. You're thinking along the right lines though- my guitarist used to run a Pod into a Marshall power amp, with a wee Behringer mixer in between just to add more gain. edited to add- if you have access to a power amp then it would be worth giving it a shot with the bass stright in- you shouldn't damage anything, and it might work- just be aware it may not!

Most power amps aren't designed to take a guitar signal- the level is too low and the impedance too high as far as I know, especially with passive basses. This will be even more the case if you plug a DB piezo pickup in. That said, it can work (and I've done it), but it's unlikely to work very well. You'd be better off getting a preamp as well which is designed for guitar signals, and you should be able to get one that gives you the character you're looking for.

Have you tried rolling the tone off at the bass? This is what I do (I mainly practice through my hi-fi speakers, and sometimes headphones). Failing that, some kind of preamp or effects unit would be your best bet- Korg Pandora maybe, or one of the smaller Zoom pedals. Both of those have a headphone out AFAIK. Or practice unplugged!

Considered a multi effects? Both the Boss GT-10b and the Line6 Pod X3 range can run two tones at once, so you can have one dirty and one clean. Probably less hassle than running two separate amps.

It won't let me vote again but I always keep my thumb parallel to the strings, regardless of what slap technique I'm using. Don't understand why you'd want it any other way to be honest.

I gave my advice based on this: "Do other Shuttle users get a similarly bright tone?".

I can't, but I've seen people spend loads of money on pointless things before. If you have the means to fund it, you don't have to justify it.

I use the double thumb/follow through technique- I find it both more intuitive and easier to apply in a groove than the standard slap and pop technique. To be honest double thumbing is not that difficult IMO- once you understand the principle (and it sounds like you do) it's just a matter of gaining speed with it.

Oh dear. From that article: "There is something about mind before matter which is revealed to the listener, and everything takes on a more genuinely human sound quality."

It sounds like you might be getting the "full range" sound of your bass. A normal bass cabinet doesn't reproduce that much treble, and I see from your sig you're using a Compact which is going to have a limited top end, so when you listen through a system with a flatter response in the highs it's going to sound much more trebly. Only suggestions I can offer would be EQ at the bass or on the amp to roll off more treble.

[quote name='stevie' post='750662' date='Feb 19 2010, 11:07 AM'][snip] Unfortunately, they are often listening with their eyes.[/quote] ...or their wallets...

Three top notch instruments there. Very jealous- I've wanted a BassLab for years.

The Circle K strings are designed for extreme down tuning- I think the set I listed is designed for tuning a whole octave down on a standard scale bass. The guy behind them also makes [url="https://circlekstrings.com/store/standard-balanced-4-strings.html"]Knuckle Basses[/url] with a 39" scale.

Surely 30 million quid is pocket change for Sir Paul?

How about a .200 .150 .112 .084 set from [url="https://circlekstrings.com/store/standard-balanced-4-strings.html"]Circle K Strings[/url]? If there's strings heavier than that they're probably holding up a suspension bridge somewhere.