thumbo

Well done mate, I'm sure it's for the best. It's hard giving people the boot from bands but when it comes down to it a band is only as strong as the weakest link.

[quote name='paul h' post='1224963' date='May 9 2011, 12:08 PM']Chemistry.[/quote] Couldn't have put it better Nothing makes me happier than being in a band where all the members are getting along well, all working towards the same goal and producing music that we enjoy playing. The icing on the cake is then getting good at performing this music live.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='1222047' date='May 6 2011, 10:56 AM']Only [i]you[/i] can say what settings are going to work for you.[/quote] Spot on! I've used various compressors over the years and they all have different characteristics. It's very hard to say what would work well with your setup because there's so many factors to consider. I think your best bet is to play around with the compressor as much as possible, the more you do this the more you'll realise what you like the sound of and what effect the compressor is having on your sound. I used to use a DBX 160a with my Markbass rigs. Strangely I found that I preferred the sound by running it in my amp FX loop. Although with every other compressor and amp I've had I've used a compressor somewhere between the bass and amp.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1218218' date='May 3 2011, 12:06 AM']If you're wanting to try out effects & see what you're gonna benefit from, then my advice is to start off with a multi FX unit as it's a much cheaper option. Have fun if you do! [/quote] +1 You'll quickly realise which effects are to your liking and it'll give you free roam to play with loads of different effects mixed together.

This might be a good start [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_unit"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_unit[/url]

[quote name='fragglefart' post='1217749' date='May 2 2011, 05:04 PM']Anyone have any thoughts on the MXR M181 Bass Blowtorch? I like the look of the Fender Sublime pedal too, but again, no reccommendations here, it seems. Trying to decide between those two and a bass Big Muff. I have the Little Big Muff and find it lacks... [i]something[/i], fancy having a go with something else.[/quote] The Bass Blowtorch has a very apt name as it can do some pretty full on searing distortion. It offers a lot of control over the distortion tone, although the one I tried was a bit on the noisy side with unwanted hum. I think there's quite a few peeps on the forum that use the Blowtorch, it might be worth having a search and PM'ing for some opinions from people that have used the pedal a lot. It's worth bearing in mind that the Blowtorch is a distortion whereas the other 2 pedals you mentioned are fuzz. They're quite different beasts.

Are there any bass players whose tone you'd like to emulate a bit? I find that's a good place to start when looking for drive pedals. What kind of band are you playing in? The Big Muff and ODB-3 are very different pedals. You'd do well to try these out as you'll see how different they are instantly both in terms of sound and the controls. I haven't tried out many drive pedals, at least not compared to some of the folks on here, but I've been very happy with my Fulltone Bassdrive. It's a versatile drive pedal, from old school grunt to quite full on gain. I find the separate boost switch very handy. Recently I've been very impressed with demos I've head of the Catalinbread SFT, but I'm yet to try one out. [url="http://www.catalinbread.com/SFT.html"]http://www.catalinbread.com/SFT.html[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGPV4SBeF2k&feature=channel_page"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGPV4SBeF2k...re=channel_page[/url]

There have been a couple of posts on here about the Gallien Krueger one lately, that looks like a good'n!

This is hard to answer! I've been very happy with my tone over the past couple of years and find it hard to imagine it being any other way. I guess at the heart of this is a Tronographic Rusty Box

2 hours ago I had a banging head ache, the only thing that appealed to me was sitting in a darkened room and playing some bass. So I picked my Fender P, got a nice dub sound going on, stuck some dub tracks in a playlist and noodled along. Now I'm head ache free! win! Does anyone else indulge in self prescribed bass therapy? If I'm ever feeling stressed out picking up a bass will have an instant calming effect on me.

As BigRed mentioned, there is no right answer. It's simply trial and error because of the amount of factors you're dealing with: bass scale length, tuning requirements, playing style, the kind of tone you want and the overall feel you're looking for. On top of all this, you're dealing with your personal preference - hence there's no right or wrong. It's a balancing act between all these factors, and the only way you'll find what's best is by trying different strings and gauges.

the break down around 3:30 is stunning, i've been watching it over and over

[quote name='hairyhaw' post='1213140' date='Apr 27 2011, 09:06 PM']I've used Rotobass a few times when I've been skint - they're about 12 quid a set at my local shop. They really weren't too bad IMO. [url="http://www.rotosound.com/roto_bass.php"]Linky[/url] Not a huge amount of choice in gauge but the most common are well covered.[/quote] +1 on the rotobass for a cheap and cheerful set.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='1212062' date='Apr 26 2011, 09:07 PM']This is why the Melvins are great.[/quote] Awesome

Such an influential band

Lets not forget that people have been paying a whole load of money for Ibanez guitars over the years. For a shade under £6000 you can get an Ibanez Jem that has the actual vomit of Steve Vai all over the body [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-JEM-DNA-Y2K-ALL-ORIGINAL-/120715037416?pt=Guitar&hash=item1c1b2d4ae8#ht_982wt_1141"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBANEZ-JEM-DNA-Y2K-A...8#ht_982wt_1141[/url] What's the term for this paint job? Technicolour yawn?

Dunnit!

As mentioned by the other guys, Polar Audio seem to be the best (or only?) option. I ordered mine from them, paid quite a bit in postage and waited a while for them to come from the states. I'd recommend housing it in a 4U rack for a little extra breathing room as they can generate a fair bit of heat when they're running at 4 ohms.

I'd be interested to give it a play, although Ibanez are far from the first brand to spring to mind if I was to have £2k to spend on a bass.

Not to gloat or anything here (well ok, I'm gloating a little), this is what I played through at a jam with a couple of buddies last night. The rig on the right is mine, the rig on the left is my friends slightly older 800RB with his own homemade cab with a 15" full range speaker. Tone heaven. My Yamaha TRB 6 string has never sounded filthier!!

[quote name='Truckstop' post='1208401' date='Apr 22 2011, 03:37 PM']Bleed - Meshuggah. Just the sheer stamina needed. Took probably 3 weeks on and off to finally play the song all the way through. The bend in the main riff's a bitch too. If you go too far, or not bend enough, it sounds awful. Truckstop[/quote] That tune is a monster, keeping those notes precise when your arm/wrist is giving up on you is a challenge! I can't even begin to imagine playing the drum parts. Meshuggah ran a competition on youtube to see the best drum cover of it, not many people could get those double kicks right. Tommy The Cat has always caused me difficulties, not so much in hitting the notes but in getting the groove just right. Some days I can do it, other days I can't.