garethfriend

Maybe I'm pretty fortunate but there are two decent music shops where I live, usually I go to them first and if I draw a blank go online. If you have a decent well stocked music shop locally and you want it to still be there when you urgently need something half hour before a gig then you need to support them. Simple really. If your music shop is run by monkeys and doesn't stock anything that's a whole other situation though.

Cheers for the advice guys, going to lock myself in a room with the bass and spend a good few hours concentrating on it and I reckon I'll pull it off. Definitley resorting to the playing less if I get lost trick, that and the "it's the wrong note but it's in the right key, just play it like you meant it" trick. Weirdly I tried to immerse myself in the folk/bluegrass thing a bit more last night and ended up back at metal: http://youtu.be/pT04SWtJ6bA guess there's no helping me...

yeah that was my plan got a load of recordings to play to, think I might have had a breakthrough already - one of the songs just clicked, don't know how to explain it but I'm playing wherever the guitars are not and repeat. Makes no sense to me but it works, just a case of practicing listening for the repitition so I don't loose it. I think the other one I'm having trouble with is actually due to the recording, it's mumford and sons - lion man, basically he gave me a track of him and a guitar and he speeds up a load after a break (a little excited possibly) which is definitley throwing me off, it's only that section too so hopefully the drummer will keep things in check on the night a bit. Am actually looking forward to this gig a bit more than I usually do as it's a challenge, possibly got one practice before we go on so a bit of a chance to put it into action live before the night.

yeah, that's what I feel like really, I'm not "hearing it" yet. I'm sure I'll have a moment where it just clicks and I'll be like "wtf this isn't hard!!!"

Got asked to do a few gigs for a mates folk group, never played folk before, mainly a rock player, first gig is on saturday. Mostly I am ok with the set but there are a few songs that are giving me timing troubles. Lineup is 2 guitars, vocals, banjo and drummer with just a snare and brushes. The problem I'm having is basically that all I have to go off is some weirdly accented guitar strumming (which isn't always the same) and offbeat drumming and I'm really struggling to hear the "1", if I don't hear it right first time I end up playing off beat with the rest of the band but it throws things. In the absence of a kick drum to follow does anyone have any advice for figuring out when to play? I know this should be pretty basic stuff but it's amazing how easy it is to get lost very quickly, surprised me for sure.

Play in a rock group and mostly write that sort of stuff too, also playing first gig for a folk group next month so been playing a fair bit of that sort of stuff recently. Into all sorts of music though, jazz to dubstep and everything in between.

I have used old strings to thread brake hoses through the swingarm on my mountain bike. It is supposed to go inside the arm at one end and come out at the other but the hose is quite stiff and never straight so it is pretty much impossible to stop it getting caught up rather than popping out the hole like it should. Clip the end off a D string, thread through swingarm with ease, push string into end of hose and then pull/push whole thing through so that the hose follows the string out of the hole at the other end.

I know what you mean about the visual thing, I find him distracting more than anything, a hint of "this drummers at the wrong gig" video only not as cool.

[quote name='OzzyGreg' post='1216363' date='May 1 2011, 09:43 AM']Thanks for the feedback/input guys, I have taken it all on board. garethfriend, Interesting. What cabinet/s do you run with the 500? Greg[/quote] I've got a barefaced vintage 2 x 15, it is a very sensitive cab (would handle the 1000w version too), about equivalent to 2 of the compact 1 x 15s that they make. I have played it through a few other cabs though and it has been impressivley loud through pretty much everything. What are you thinking of putting it through?

Got the 500w, yet to find a practical use for anything past half volume, 1000w is a waste of money unless you want to play a massive venue with no PA support (which you wouldn't want to unless you are clinically insane and/or deaf). Changing the preamp tubes for something with a bit less gain transforms this amp, no mud whatsoever. 500w for the win!

bass specific, tube driven headphone practice amp with line in for cd player. No one makes one so I thought I'd build one, preamp fiished, will post a build diary at some point.

Play both guitar and bass, sometimes change between the two at a gig, bassist 99% of the time though. Knowing how to get the most out of both instruments helps with my writing but I will confess apart from the basic fretboard, powerchord and maj minor shapes my theory sucked until I picked up bass and started having lessons again.

Yep, pretty much free. Things I actually need to replace at some point don't technically count as GAS though do they? Think money is actually why I'm GAS free, I can't afford to buy any more gear so why bother? especially as I pretty much nailed the sound I am after from the kit I've got. nothing like getting so skint you have to sell basses to make you appreciate exactly what you NEED.

and this is why all this talk of renewable energy and electric cars is wishful thinking at the moment, someone did a calculation to work out how much neodymium there currently is that is recoverable and how much would be needed to create enough generators and motors to support current levels of industry and civilization. The answer was "no where near enough" and it's all in china, one of the most heavily militarised counntries in the world. you'd think I'd be more bothered about this than the price of a cab wouldn't you?

Ibanez BTB fits the bill, about the fastest neck I've played and sounds like it would suit perfectly.

Never had this problem with mine but it had the MK2 pickups (BTB470). Another obvious one but have you got the pickups close enough to the strings? I found about 4mm on the E string about right on mine if I remember correctly. As far as pickups go your in luck because the nordstrand soapbars fit the MK1 routings, as do the higher end bartolinis. if you had the MK2s you'd be stuck with them though as they are shorter and nothing else fits the routing. I was about to put an East preamp in mine before I sold it, mainly because I hear you can set the EQ centres, the output was if anything a little high on mine though (opposite problem). Also worth checking there's no loose connections, I've had weak outputs on other basses when somethings loose or shorted that shouldn't be.

Genre: Indie/Rock type stuff Amp: Orange Terror Bass: SBMM SB14 with Nordstrand MM4.3 pickup and fender nickel wound strings. EQ on bass: little bit of a boost in treble (this and the pickup mode are the only things I fiddle with live, also adjust for new/old strings) mids and bass flat. EQ on amp: treble boosted to about 3/4, mids flat, bass boosted to about 3/4 (sounds like big boosts but the EQ on the terror is subtle) reason I use both EQs is that I can boost the bass on the amp after the signal has been through the preamp tubes as this seems to create a tighter bass sound when the gain is cranked up. Of course I might be talking b******s - that's what I hear but if it's not why I hear it someone correct me.

Tried the 5751 at volume on sunday for the first time, definitley warmer sounding and more controlled than the 12ax7. It's weird because normally I can't tell the difference between single coil and series mode on my sterling when it's sat in the mix but since the swap it's really obvious. Think it's a detail thing.

Tried the 5751 today in the house, straight away less gain is obvious as I now have to turn the gain knob to about 7 to get it to break up. Definitly tamed it but can't decide if the tone is significantly different, definitly didn't need my usual treble boost to get a decent sound so I'd say it's brighter but then I also didn't need any bass boost either. Will get a better idea when I crank it a bit at practice on sunday. Also boosted the bass on my sterling to the max which would usually give a flabby horrible noise but now I get really, really bassy notes instead. Definitley not psycological but then I didn't spend much more than I did for the modern JJ's so wouldn't have been that bothered if it had been s**t. I do agree with happy jack slightly though, I saw a long plate mullard 12ax7 go for over £100 on ebay the other day. WTF? Are they really £100 good or is it the emperors new clothes?

I've just got a JAN Phillips 5751 to go in the V1 stage on mine, hoping for a bit more usable gain before breakup, going to get it from post office tomorrow or wed and try it out, will let you know how it turns out. I have already swapped the stock tubes for JJ 12ax7s and the difference in terms of usable sounds was unreal. It really used to distort the lows far too easily and sound "farty" and "muddy" when it did it, now it is still really easy to get the grit but it's more usable and defined. Not all 12ax7s were created equal so it is definitley worth trying a few different brands. I beleive (although not 100%) that between 5751s and 12at7s the 5751s are higher gain so are less of a step down from the 12ax7 so they are what I went for first. Seems alot of people swear by NOS 5751s for clarity and warmth though. Gareth

Neil bought my Squier VM Jazz recently, smooth transation and a nice guy. Would recommend. Gareth

Fancy a challenge so I thought I'd give this a go, while I [i]could[/i] sit down and work it out given enough time I think I am going to have enough trouble with the actual playing it bit so a little help on the notes would be much appreciated. Can just about scrape by with "proper" music, can just about get there with tab and a good listen too so does anyone have anything accurateish? Cheers Gareth