mtroun

I really should have been in attendance but fate conspired against me.

Looking forward to it!

Thanks for the info- 29lbs is the same as my Markbass combo. I'm thinking I'll probably buy a Crazy 8 as my portable cab and then choose another cab specifically with electric in mind.

How much does an F110 weigh? I live in Leicester.

I'm also interested in the performance of the Crazy 88 compared to the F110, and whether a 4 ohm version is available?

I'm planning to use the crazy8 on it's own for reinforcing my double bass in acoustic jazz contexts. My aim is to be able to take one cab and an amp in a cajon bag on my back while wheeling the double bass. The other cab solution needs to be able to keep up with a larger drum kit. I try my best to play with good drummers rather than loud ones, but my 112 Markbass combo was struggling a little bit to keep up with the output of my octave pedal on bass guitar. I'm leaning towards the F110 (as it could be used for louder jazz contexts when I have the car) but there's so much choice from Barefaced, Bergantino, Baer, Big E etc. I have checked out your website and colour me interested in the Crazy8 (almost definitely) and the F110 (possibly), though of course it's hard to know whether a cab would be right for me until I've used it. You don't do a trial service do you?

Sorry to resurrect this one, but I'm now seriously considering getting a Crazy 8. At the moment I'm considering pairing it up with either an EA doubler or a Tecamp Puma 500 for an acoustic and electric rig. Does anyone think buying two Crazy 8s would make a feasible electric bass setup or should I be looking at the Fearless F110 or another larger cab to use for electric gigs?

I think of it more like cross-training. Being a rugby fan, I know the players don't spend all week bashing into each other but spend a lot of time working on their fitness. So being fed up with not having the stamina I really need I've been running regularly. I also sing in a choir and do a fair amount of sight-singing practice as part of my routine in the interests of developing my ears and overall musicality. I also spend a lot of time developing my internet chops (d'oh!)

All 4 strings have changed but the new set has been on for quite a while and no desire to change at the moment: I went from Spiro EA and Oliv DG to Evah Pirazzi Weich EA and Gamut Lyon Medium D and G. I suppose I would like to try wrapped gut E and A but I'm a bit scared of string longevity, tuning and price!

Or Al Swainger, come to think of it.

Bridgewood and Neizert also sell Velvet singles but not cheaply!

I think Marcus Vergette might be a good shout.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1416994269' post='2615764'] I saw the Carla Bley Big Band that included Lew Solof, Andy Sheppard, Bob Stewart, Steve Swallow, Don Alias etc a few times in the 80s & 90s and also a saw great gig by her at the Bracknell Jazz Festival in 1984. Always interesting and wonderful arrangements. [/quote] Jealous. Carla Bley played in London last week as part of the Jazz Festival, with the Steve Swallow quintet. I really wanted to go but I'm not allowed to spend any money at the moment!

Can we talk about Haden's more aggressive side please? As much as I like him in languid, dinner party friendly fayre, he kicks some serious behind as well, on many classic records. I'd like to highlight his sterling work with Ornette Coleman (Change of the Century is a favourite of mine, plus Song X) which is pretty well known, but also his slightly lesser known work with Keith Jarrett, which represents a fascinating body of work which has been quietly influential on subsequent developments in jazz - Fort Yawuh is the obvious starting point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbh_iVBh4jg Also Charlie did some great stuff with Old and New Dreams. I also recently had John Scofield's Time On My Hands in pretty heavy rotation round my house, a great record with some superb playing by Charlie.

I imagine Weich would be a bit more forgiving. I know some other players, like Drew Gress, use Spiro Mittel set waaay high but I just can't cope with the tension personally. The gauge of my gamuts are lyon, both medium gauge. I've heard that for jazz playing, Gamut recommend a medium Lyon G with a light Pistoy D. I ordered my strings from Bridgewood and Neizert in Stoke Newington (vivaceviolin online), buying the G first and then asking them to order a light Pistoy D, but I called back a few weeks later and they still hadn't even got it on order so I ended up getting the medium Lyon as it was in stock. With regards to the bottom end being weak, that isn't really a problem with an amp, in fact it's preferable to boomy bottom strings. I still think the recording seems a bit bottom-light compared to how it sounds to my own ears when I'm playing. Sorry about the string gas - I was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed playing the guts with the bow - you'd be led to believe they were absolutely horrible to bow on but I love the sound and they start pretty easily. They like lots of rosin and perhaps there's a slightly different bow technique required for the guts compared to the EPs. I am by no means an expert arco player so I suppose that could be a problem for some people who almost exclusively bow, but for what I do they blend extremely well. One question I want to ask everyone is: how long do your Evah Pirazzi last? I have had three sets of EPs in different gauges, I had the first set on for a long time but took the G off early. When I put it back on a bit later it was really noticeable how much brighter it was, but it was really curiosity about the weichs that meant the original set came off. When I first got my Bryant it had Spiros on, I put the EPWs from my old bass on when I got it to try it but they seemed really dark and lifeless (not sure if that's just comparatively) but then I found myself back on EPs again. They definitely get dark pretty quick but there's a different between dark and dead.

Ok, as promised a demo of my bass with the gamut and evah pirazzi strings. This was recorded on my iphone, so bear with the recording quality. Also you'll have to bear with my rough playing and the G string is a bit out as well. There's a pause between the pizz and arco demonstrations, because I was looking around trying to find my bow! Hopefully it will capture some of the quality of the sound of the strings. The bottom end seems a bit weak, I'm not sure if that's a difference between my perception and what it sound like up front or the limitations of the mic. https://soundcloud.com/marktrounson/demo-of-bryant-bass-with-gamut-and-evah-pirazzi-strings

My string history goes: Full set of Helicore Hybrids Full set of EP EP EAD Oliv G Full set EP weich Full set spiros Spiro EA Garbo DG Spiro EAD Oliv G Spiro EA Oliv DG Spiro EA Oliv D Gamut G EP Weich Oliv D Gamut G EP Weich Gamut D and G I have been round the block a bit with finding my sound but find the Gamut tops fit very well with the EPs. They are quite dark and create a very rich sound under the bow. I find the pizz sustain very satisfactory, somewhere between over-the-top spiro mwah and orchestral string thump, which makes it a good hybrid string. I'm sort of tempted to try wrapped gut E and A but I'm not in that much of a rush because of the great sound and response from the EP weichs. I don't consider them to lack volume at all on my bass, and unlike spiros they are comfortable to play when raised up high so you can really lay into them. If anyone's interested I could record the sound of the gut tops with EP weich on the bottom for you to hear. M

Surely this is the perfect excuse to go all plain gut?

I'm intending to come. I only have gut D and G strings but I would call that the majority of the gut sound.

Great well let us know how you get on, are you going to the bash?

Have you tried out the troll mic already then Clarky? Haven't heard of it before but it sounds interesting. I've heard very mixed things about the DPA but the troll looks more up my street.

How long have you been playing? I have had trouble in the past, but rarely have tendonitis/RSI these days, probably due to a long history of gradually refining my technique and not playing when pain occurs (not helpful on a gig though!). I have more recently had problems with my back/shoulders, which Alexander technique definitely helped with. You might find that some alexander lessons would help with identifying unnecessary strain that you might be making (for me, I was overly tense in my face, which meant my entire body tensed up quite a lot) It could well be that the length of the gig, plus possibly the volume at which you were playing, was wearing you out. I personally find that anything repetitive (like riffs that would be easy on the bass guitar) can be quite fatiguing on the double bass, so I tend to try and come up with variations to use different muscles.

It's good to know the Crazy8 is available in the UK without the hassle of importing. I'm quite interested in the cab but I'm in a tricky position at the moment in terms of knowing what I really want out of a rig. The real dream is to be able to take my entire setup (bass, amp+cab, microphone or pickup) around in one easy carry. I currently have a Markbass CMD121P which I have used for a long time along with a realist pickup. My recent adventure onto gut strings is pushing me towards a quest for higher acoustic volume from the instrument, and the sound of the guts through the Markbass was really annoying me so I started using my Yamaha DXR10 powered speaker as an alternative to an amp and using a Shure SM58 instead of a pickup. The current load into and out of the car is the powered speaker (which is not light), a speaker stand, a mic stand, my gear bag (cables and stuff) and the bass! Getting a consistent position with a mic stand and the SM58 is not particularly easy but it is a clearer more acoustic sound than the Markbass and realist, though nowhere near as focused. I have thought about an acoustic image combo, EA doubler+wizzy or crazy 8, Phil Jones combos, a headway preamp, DPA 4099B mic, or a H-clamp for the SM58 as potential gear that might solve my current problems. Also bear in mind that I still sometimes play electric bass gigs, though I could just use the Markbass as an electric bass amp. I also am trying not to use an amp at smaller gigs, though I find some musicians expect a heavily amped sound or turn their own amps up (keyboard players especially) which makes it difficult except with the very best musicians. I'd love to hear people's perception of their experiences with the Crazy 8, including what amps, pickups or mics they use together with it.

I've just started using my Yamaha DXR10 (on a stand) micing the bass with an SM58. Very full sound, a great improvement on the Markbass combo with realist I have been using before.