skej21

[quote name='Broomiester' timestamp='1396392240' post='2413183'] Hi, I need a new power supply for my pedals and the new pedaltrain volto looks ideal. My board is a pedaltrain jr and I really want something that would fit easily underneath, not give loads of buzz and not cost the earth. My first question is truly a novice one, but would it be able to power all of my effects. On my board I have: - Akai analog custom shop compressor - EHX Big Muff tone wicker -Crowther Hot Cake - black star HT dual (doubt it will power this as the pedal requires 16v - thought I'd check anyway) - a load of regular boss pedals (tuner, bass eq, overdrive ect) Will the power supply work for all of these? The reason I ask is because of the positive and negative symbols on my pedals. I can work out whether they conflict with each other and therefore I will need separate power supplies for my pedals. My second question is simply: should I buy it? I've seen the posts about it on this forum already and many people are skeptacle about its battery life, this doesn't really bother me. I don't mind having it plugged in all the time. The only thing stopping me buying it is that I don't know whether it will be able to power all my pedals (I use up to 7 at a time) without being really noisy. If it's not suitable can you recommend any alternatives (don't mind if they are mains powered) that will be able to power all my pedals quietly for preferably sub £100. Sorry for the length, just got a lot to learn! Thanks! [/quote] If you can get one second hand, the MXR DC Brick will do everything you need and should be under £100 too! http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/mxr-dc-brick It's also quite a lot smaller than the volto, so it should fit under your pedaltrain quite nicely!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1396646877' post='2416153'] Hmm. You seem to assume that people who play for money are more proficient than those who play purely for pleasure. I seriously doubt that's always the case. [/quote] Not at all. I'm just saying that for me, it takes a lot of practice to be good enough to play gigs that people pay me for and I'm happy to put that work in because it is required to get MY playing to the standard it needs to be getting paid gigs as that is one of my expectations of my playing. The AMOUNT of practice or level of playing is irrelevant. If Pino decided tomorrow that he only wanted to do an open mic night once a month and he got pleasure from that, then fair enough and if he decided he wanted to practice 8 hours a day and gig every night of the week to a 60,000 seater arena then fair enough. Practice enough to get the playing opportunities you want to make you happy. If that's bedroom playing along to a track in your bedroom or playing a track to the Glastonbury crowd, it's all good!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1396616914' post='2415725'] Surely music is a gift that can be rewarding in so many ways? [/quote] I couldn't agree more. As someone who would class themselves in the 'musician for a job' category, I always feel that if I can't offer something extra (professionalism, quality of musicianship, standard of playing etc) over the guys who go out and gig for free, then I don't deserve to be making money or to call myself a 'working' musician. The main thing that separates all of us as bassists is practice. I practice as much in a day as some of the local guys who play for free do in a month (maybe longer). That develops skills (reading for example) that ensures I get jobs that pay and if they choose not to develop those skills because they are happy with gigging for free, open mic nights or bedroom playing etc, that's cool too. Like you say, people practice enough to get to a standard they are happy with and to enjoy the pleasure/opportunities that brings. That's what it's all about :-)

[quote name='Shobaleader One' timestamp='1396563639' post='2415270'] I have recently left a band, of which no members have singed any band agreements or contracts. A few months previously we recorded three original tracks with the intent to release an EP, again, no contracts for the recording process were made. Now i have left the band, the singer is apparently in talks with a label of some sort to 'release' the EP - details are sketchy at best. What i'd like to know if at all possible is - do I have any ownership of my recorded bass parts on this upcoming EP? I have copies of the stems as digital files that show when the files were created etc, and also a few images of the recording sessions themselves. And in regards to any Musicians Union comments that may appear - i'm in the process of joining due to this problem, but my application will take at least another week to complete. [/quote] If the 'label' is even semi-serious they'll be making sure the bass part (maybe even the whole track) is re-recorded which will get rid of most of the legal issues. Whilst you have any rights to your recorded bass line on the that specific recording from the original EP, you don't really have many rights over any subsequent versions of the song being re-recorded or performed if the parts differ from your original one, as mentioned above. The only thing you can really do is keep your fingers crossed that the 'label' is just some idiot who liked the idea of 'starting a label' and doesn't actually know any of the legal stuff, then you can get your share!

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1396534037' post='2414780'] can't beat that colour combo, but it's needs a black guard [/quote] Yes. Yes it does. That is lovely!

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1396471659' post='2414159'] I have recently been following fretless basses in the BC Marketplace, particularly 70s Precisions, but having realised how bad my fretless playing is, I had a bit of a re-think. Some nice relic Jazzes on the Bass Gear website caught my eye, including a couple of stack-knob early 60s replicas, so I fore-warned Barrie (Molan of this parish) and took a trip down to Twyford this afternoon. I took my Streamliner and Midget for ease of comparison with what I already have. After a welcome cuppa I started working through the possibles in my mental list. I tend to know quite quickly if an instrument is not going to suit me, so after a couple of hours I had tried and put back 8-10 instruments; nothing wrong with them you understand, just not for me. My favourite to that point was a one-off replica of Herbie Flowers '59 stack-knob Jazz (see [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/117779-herbie-flowers-jazz-bass-replica/page__hl__herbie"]original build diary[/url]), fitted with flats. I quite liked the control layout, and the sounds were closer to what I was searching for, but it wasn't saying 'take me I'm yours'. When offered a try of the one other flats-loaded fretted bass in the shop, I thought it rude to refuse, so I found myself holding the '73 Precision pictured below. Consider this: I reckon not to like woody-looking finishes and maple fretboards, I thought my Precision itch was already being scratched my my Sandberg, and I wasn't even [i]looking[/i] for a P. But when I started playing this one, I just kept on playing, knocking out on-the-spot bass lines, and enjoying the range of the passive tone control and its wonderful sweet spot. Unsurprisingly, it came home with me. Playing it at home only served to confirm I had made the right decision, as I played along with iTunes set to shuffle and routed through my studio speakers. Thanks Barrie, Vic and Phil for putting up with 3 hours of my noodlings! I am one happy bunny. [/quote] Lovely! Time to update the signature? :-)

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1396304243' post='2412207'] I Think I may be the proud new owner of this bass. Having done a bit of a Sherlock Holmes routine, I think its heading in a Lichfield direction....If so.....VERY EXCITED... [/quote] I think so! How are you finding it?

[quote name='PauBass' timestamp='1396195140' post='2410826'] I recently ordered a cover for my Barefaced Super Twin cab and I'm having a bit of a dilemma here. I received the cover and there were clearly some issues: - The cover was too large for the cab, it over hanged on the floor for a good two cm all around. - The side handle holes didn't match with the handles. The top handle was spot on. - Strap holder had been cut so long it went pass the velcro it was supposed to be attached. If you were to velcro it the strap would hang by a long way. - Back wheels were pretty much covered by the cover so wheeling the cab around would have meant damaging the cover on the first use. - White chalk marks present on various parts of the cover. I spoke to the manufacturer and they were very good and arrange for the cover to be picked up and new one to be made. We check all the dimensions and it turns out they had the wrong cab dimensions, not provided by me, so I sent them all the right meaurements. I now have just received the 2nd, new, cover and to my surprise, the handle holes are still out of place and chalk marks are still present. (On the pictures the marks don't show as much as they do in reality for some reason) Whilst I'm more worried about the side handle holes and not the chalk marks around the cover, more marks than the ones shown in the pics, I do not think a newly made cover should be sent out to a customer, not one but twice, looking like that...at least I have owned many cabs and amps with covers and I have never seen this before. Again, the cover is going back to the manufacturer who are again dealing with it well, what surprises me is the reply I got to the chalk marks: [i]"The chalk we use is admittedly a bit stubborn and the factory will see what they can do to sort it out for you. It will fade with time/can be removed with a damp cloth" [/i] Why is this not being doing before sending it to the customer then? Am I being too picky? Or is this what I should be expecting to get? The cover is not particularly cheap, £75 delivered. See pics: [url="http://s105.photobucket.com/user/PauBass/media/Roqsolid/photo22-Copy250x187_zpsb789d4d9.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s105.photobucket.com/user/PauBass/media/Roqsolid/photo4-Copy400x185_zpscd174372.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s105.photobucket.com/user/PauBass/media/Roqsolid/photo22350x350_zps23051c4a.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s105.photobucket.com/user/PauBass/media/Roqsolid/photo23300x225_zpsd3ea6f81.jpg.html"][/url] I'm not having a go at the manufacturer, as I have said twice they are dealing with the issues and communication is good. I don't want this thread to turn nasty against the company. Just asking for people's opinions and advice on the issues I'm having. [/quote] I don't think you're being picky in the slightest. I could get this for the same price for my cab; http://www.bassgear.co.uk/product/aguilar/aguilar-db112-speaker-protective-cover/ I own the Aguilar covers for my cabs and feel they justify the price. I'd be very unhappy if I'd had one custom made for £75 and what you've posted arrived.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396043166' post='2409484'] Perhaps. But that seems mostly to be about Mr Gove's failings in the wider arena which I agree are open to rational debate, unless one is a member of Dingus's agit-prop theatre group where anyone to the right of Trotsky is a baby-eater in a top hat. But like I asked: As a music teacher what would you do to enhance standards of musical education? Blank page, new start. Surely you must have a view, even if it's something like 'Do away with trombones'. I'm genuinely interested, as another teacher popped up in the last Gove thread and mentioned his disquiet at childrens' musical ability and understanding. [/quote] Like i said, that's one not for Basschat. I appreciate you wish me to make a definitive statement but (after tonight's events off Basschat) I haven't really got the energy to deal with what it will ensue. It's clear that my opinion opposes those of other members and further comments will just continue to antogonise. I can't really be arsed with the cyclic arguments. Let's just say I disagree with the current direction of our education system and I'm probably wrong. The end.

The irony is, that we're all out of touch with fashion. I love the look of fenders and dislike fretboard LEDs and headless basses. Someone playing slap bass on a lighty-up bass with no headstock will ALWAYS look silly/undesirable to me (and I'm sure that's the case with some people when they see me playing a boring fender!). Our taste is influenced by trend but only in exposing us to what the options are. Your personal taste dictates whether you'll buy into it or not, not your peers!

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396021169' post='2409141'] That is an excellent point. Any system which imposes ubiquitous inflexibility is a bad system. One assumes that a conservatoire pursues a policy of 'mixed' assessments; if so, it would be logical that earlier stages in the process feed in to the approach adopted by the supervening educator. The problem is many faceted; public perception, media coverage, political agenda, resource allocation all play into the process before any child even enters the school music room. Valuable insights such as Skej21's are lost in a blizzard of (no pun intended) playground abuse from both sides of the political spectrum. We do ourselves no favours by reducing the debate to charges of 'Being a bell-end'. It permits politicians to shrug off criticism as being 'froth'. My school music lessons were a very long time ago. A former cruise-ship pianist turned pedagogue would sit at the Joanna in the corner, smoking an uninterrupted succession of cigarettes down to the stub and roaring 'Sing, you stupid boys!'. Then he would hand out a collection of dilapidated violins good only for kindling and charge us 35p each per week for after hours 'orchestra' lessons which did not even involve tuning the damn things. I suspect more musical careers were blighted by this dreadful, grasping old toad than any government policy. But let's focus on solutions. My dear Skej - is it a matter of syllabus, approach, resources or established musical education philosophy which holds back the budding [s]Vanessa Mae[/s] YoYo Ma? Ignoring Mr Gove for a moment, what could be changed for the better? [color=#ffffff].[/color] [/quote] I'm not sure there's an approach that does work and with that in mind, I think Gove has a difficult job. However, he needs to realise that the best way to create a rounded approach is to take a consensus of opinions from people who have dedicated their life to researching teaching methods and compound as many of the successful findings into an approach that can be fairly assessed but more importantly, get the best possible outcome from EVERY pupil. It's not about acheiving a perceived standard of success, it's about acheiving what is the best possible standard for each individual (which isn't the same thing!). Goves idea of 'teaching standards should be like they were when I was little' shows his lack of knowledge in the area. He wants us to revert to a lesser teaching standard because he is familiar with it. What he should be doing is admitting his lack of knowledge and drawing on the expertise of people in that area to move things forward. However, that means he'd have to lose face and that's where the problem lies. Politicians don't like to show weakness as it belittles their position in the eyes of the public, meaning we're less likely to vote them in again.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396018929' post='2409104'] Being somewhat of an Old Bob, I may be at variance with you in respect of coursework and single assessments. While sympathising that some may suffer unduly in certain circumstances, I think that learning to cope with a degree of intense, short-term pressure is a good thing in life, particularly if one's inclinations lead one to public performance in the public bar of The Cat And Bagpipes on an unruly, beer-fuelled Saturday night. [/quote] I agree. I'm not saying it's a poor approach but that it's a poor approach for EVERYTHING. A mix of assessment types for different subjects would be much fairer. A one-off maths assessment is fair as it show the working out and knowledge needed to answer the question. A subject like design or music is different. You can't expect someone to conceptualise a design idea without considerable amounts of research and working through ideas (same with composition). If you work as a designer, you don't just design one option and call it a day. You research and do numerous deigns that help to focus the final outcome so coursework that includes this process is important for assessment but also in terms of giving pupils a realistic experience of how the process would be completed in the real world (so if they pursue it as a career, they understand what it entails). They need to have balance that at the moment, doesn't exist.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1396018460' post='2409095'] Sometimes, I wish Basschat had a 'like' button as well as the Report, Delete, Edit, Multiquote and Quote buttons. My experience from my school (a long time ago it has to be said; asecondary modern and under Labour), was that music lessons were wholly classical based and my memories are almost exclusively of staring out of the window or drawing squares, triangles and pentangles in the air with my index finger whilst trying to interpret timing in whatever piece was being played on the music department hi-fi. There was zero correlation with what was the mainstream. Music is a discovery. Like art, theatre, film, literature. I don't honestly think you can be taught it like geography; you need fundamentally to be interested and have ability in it. [/quote] I completely agree! Music in schools should be an exploration of lots of styles and a balance of history, theory etc and performance. How will you ever discover an ability or interest if you never have an opportunity to discover it? One of my most accomplished pupils came from a really deprived family who had no access to music at home. They had no tv, no radio, no way of affording an instrument. But after lessons at school, discovered a talent and passion that (through a number of kind gestures) has resulted in a place at a well respected music conservatoire to study performance. These are the kind of people who will slip through the net now.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396016795' post='2409081'] Realising only now that you are a music teacher, I sympathise with your reservations about Mr Gove's policies and the possible outcomes. Nobody likes 'dogma-driven change' and education has been a political football for too long. Based on your experience, which of Mr Gove's measures do you feel has been most damaging in terms of music education? And in an ideal world and given a blank page, what could be done to improve musical learning in schools? [/quote] That would be a VERY long document and probably not for Basschat lol. I disagreed with the uncertainty he caused by never clarifying whether music would be made a non-compulsory subject which made schools hesitate over employing new teachers in case they weren't needed (as it's very hard to remove a teacher from a position once they have it). This resulted in a large number of NQT teachers (who were fantastically talented teachers) that I knew from missing out on jobs and the chance to really inspire and develop pupils' education. I think the worst idea Mr Gove has come up with is changing coursework and assessments during courses to single assessment. That instantly alienates a large majority of pupils (particularly those with learning difficulties) who often cannot manage to recall all knowledge on a single occasion under extreme pressure. It also undervalues the importance of working hard consistently, as it makes the single assessment just a memory test. How much information can you regurgitate on a single occasion. Also, whilst some subjects are more suited to this format (math, science etc), some are not. It's a system that accommodates some and neglects the rest. That is not a fair system and does not offer an equal opportunity to be educated.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396015341' post='2409066'] That's the excuse I shall use when asked if I can manage some backing vocals. 'Sorry. I cannot sing because I have a total disregard for the arts.' It is a well-documented phenomenon. Those who disparage the works of Mr Damian Hirst are incapable of singing in the keys of Bb and D; opera-haters can only sing the notes comprising a C Major triad. I might continue this riff but it would be as Laboured as the sentiments which provoke it. The brief clip evidences Mr Gove to be a cheerful, self-deprecating sort of chap, entirely at odds with the image of 'Destroyer Of Hope' as propagated by his political foes. Proves one shouldn't believe what one reads. [/quote] True. Fortunately, I don't have to believe what I read. As a music teacher, I saw first hand what Gove has done to our education system and it's awful. It's taking people out of the profession and driving standards down, leaving a large number of our young people with no hope of having the support they need to succeed. Although that's fine because when he's on tv he's really nice so who cares! :-)

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1396006635' post='2408889'] Very nice, might have to stroll into town for a catch-up Skej! [/quote] I'll not be in today im afraid. I've been away gigging so im not back until tomorrow. Hope you're good though :-)

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1395963815' post='2408570'] Too right! Look what happened to my password when they sent it back to me: [/quote] That's an easy one to crack, you didn't use any numbers or characters!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1396006278' post='2408885'] Did you actually watch that clip? He didn't claim to DO rap, indeed he specifically said he couldn't sing, he only said he LIKED rap and was at least able to back up this assertion when put on the spot. Inconvenient truths eh? [/quote] Yes I did. There's only one reason that tw@t can't sing and it's the same reason thousands of our young people will never pursue a career in music. His total disregard for the arts. The only 'truth' is that we'll never progress with this man in charge of how our education system supports our young people and their natural aptitudes. The quicker he is gone, the better.

[quote name='Bassnut62' timestamp='1396004730' post='2408852'] Surely not? Is somebody messing with our universe today?...... [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/26774451"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...report/26774451[/url] [/quote] Was this an interview about all the things Michael Gove thinks he can do but actually can't? Rap. Check! Engage with children. Check! His job. Check!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1396004760' post='2408853'] I really should know by now never to talk about Gibson in absolutes, those crazy, contradictory eejits To satisfy my curiosity would you be so kind as to tell me if the serial number is the usual coded one (YDDDY(N)NNN) which Gibson normally use, or is it the "special" 2014 scheme (14 + sequential number)? [/quote] It was the usual coded one (not the special/Gibson custom sequential serial) but as the bass now has a new home. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was. If Gibson could manage to just do some properly planned production for just a year, it would make things much easier for us all lol.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1396001788' post='2408793'] Also meant to say, the bass the OP is referring to is a 2013 model. Jack socket mounted on the (tort instead of 5ply black) pickguard and no 12th fret 120th Anniversary inlay. [/quote] Partly true. It is a 2014 model but doesn't feature the 120th anniversary bits because it was carried over from last years production due to delays. The serial indicates it is a 2014 model :-) I've taken dates out of the OP to avoid confusion!

For me it's a Fodera emperor 5... Not decided on a standard or an elite just yet. Has to be black hardware, aguilar pickups and dark wood (probably some form of walnut). I'd quite like a fretted version of the emperor 5 standard fretless they have on the site ATM (http://fodera.com/instruments-in-stock/emperor-5-standard-fretless-in-stock/) but with slightly closer string spacing and a few other personal tweaks!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1395945180' post='2408306'] Neepheid is quite right. I mean the back of the neck. I can understand why bolt-on neck instruments do it (even though I don't like the look of it), but to go to all the trouble to deliberately mask off the neck and have it not matching the edges of the body seems ludicrous to me. It wouldn't have to be sunburst - simply a continuation of the colour at the the point the neck joins the body would be suitably aesthetically pleasing. Nothing wrong with a gold neck on a gold bodied bass IMO: [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/DSC00292_zpse1b3fa8e.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] I actually agree. The sunburst finish is only on the front. The back is entirely black so it would make sense to continue that up the back of the neck/headstock. Unfortunately, we don't make the decisions though!