mcnach

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1375213228' post='2158362'] Yeah, I'm a fan of that sort of thing! I can see how the metal grille would look better matched under your Markbass combo though. [/quote] I was not worried about looks, it was more about it being more solid that way. I am generally careful but accidents happen... Remember Kelburn... I let my Stingray drop to the floor when my concentration was elsewhere (suddenly I could not find my amp lead!)...

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1375203439' post='2158117'] Ooh, nice. Did you go for the cloth or metal grille? [/quote] I think I will disappoint you: metal. You'd have liked the cloth one better, wouldn't you?

My Compact arrived and is finally with me! I was only able to try it at home at low volumes so I cannot tell what it'll be like, but it's promising... and I love the weight (or lack thereoff!)

You will get an email when it's posted. No email = it has not been posted. I paid the balance for my Compact in mid July, when it was requested. I sent an email asking to please avoid delivery during the 2 weeks I would be away on holiday. It was delivered while still on holiday I was sent an email saying the cab was shipped and would be with me the following day. I had to wait until today to pick it up... but it's with me now and I like what I see/hear.

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1374947852' post='2155157'] This is his criteria: 4 strings nothing weirdly shaped he is learning slap, and is really digging that style (not just a fad, he's been practicing for a while) like the musicman style pickup sound. Was looking at the squire VM jazz. I'm pretty stuck as I've not been in the bass buying market for a while, so what do you recommend? I said go 2nd hand, but what is good for £350 these days? I also thought about something with an active pickup if he really wants to get that slap bass tone. He might even be along as I suggested coming here for a wee browse. Fraser. [/quote] For £350? And a MusicMan pickup sound? A MusicMan SUB, second hand. The USA made ones between 2003-2006 (black back of the neck, black headstock, slab body and textured paint job), not the newer Sterling by MusicMan ones (although they are not horrible). I can't think of better value for money than a USA MM SUB, really. They can be found for £350. If budget can be stretched to £400, then it will be easy to find one, as they tend to go for 350-400. I own a Stingray and two SUBs, there really isn't any difference other than cosmetics etc. They are the real thing.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1374664451' post='2151430'] just make it up ... nobody listens to the bass anyways [/quote] I joked like that sometimes, but it's probably more true than I thought. I was shown today a video from a song we played recently at a festival. Nice edit from two cameras that were moving about even onstage. Clear basslines... but I made sooo many mistakes. I had the amp of one of the guitarists blasting at my ear level, on top of my amp. I could not hear myself and was struggling to follow the song. At one point I lost it, could not tell whether we were on a verse, a chorus, or one of the several other changes this song had, because even the guitar sounded pretty indistinct from where I was. So the video turns out ok, sound is fine, you can hear everything... and... whops, there I go off the tracks. I mention on whatsapp something like "nice video, buy I cringe about my basslines". And both a guitarist and the guy who edited the video said they did not notice anything and that it sounded good... the video guy said that he did not notice any timing errors... And that's the thing, I think. As long as you keep time, you can get away with a lot of note mistakes!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1374492416' post='2149237'] I got my OCD... Not sure how it compares to a real OCD, but it's very similar to the Joyo Ultimate Drive (another OCD derived pedal). I like the little one better as it's a lot harder to knock knobs out of the settings I had it at when I kick it in. I like it. No extra costs (customs, etc). [/quote] quoting myself, ha! Just to add that I really like this little pedal. I find it a bit more controllable than the Joyo version and it is a great overdrive. Thumbs up!

[quote name='ben604' timestamp='1375057133' post='2156307'] Managed to record our gig earlier today with my little Panasonic DMC-GX1 Micro Four Thirds with the audio coming through the desk, so I've had a quick fiddle and here's the first track: Kiss - Watching You [media]http://youtu.be/OOlzt5ZDhoY[/media] Obviously not at the standard that some of you lot are, but that else are we gonna do on a Sunday afternoon... [/quote] I enjoyed that, nice sound and tight! I'm a sucker for the harmonising Les Paul/Marshall combination... loved it!

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1374515310' post='2149605'] I like going for the most obvious things first. You [b]are[/b] going to get a comparative volume drop when in passive mode if the tone controls are further back than the midway point. [/quote] Not really, the tone controls on the L2000 are passive, cut-only type.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1374768831' post='2153009'] I have a variety of basses -- a great vintage P, an American standrard Jazz, a Ric, a Hofner, Ibanez, a Music Man --something for every aspect of recording every type of music. I've also owned boutique and custom built and have played just about every high end bass on the market -- Lakeland, Sadowsky, Ken Smith, you name it -- and I finally settled on the ones I now own. I recently did a session where I tried a few different basses and the client wasn't entirely happy with the sound. I finally went with the Squier j Deluxe. (But I put a Fender headstock on that one , otherwise the engineer would never let me use it, but I don't want t make this a discussion about decals). The client said-- "that's it!" And you know, he was right. It simply sounded better. Then recently I had a friend email me an mp3 and the same thing happened. I played a track. It was good. He was happy. Then I said, wait a minute, let me try a different bass. (The Squier JD). His response? YEAH! [i]That [/i]sound kills! So there you have it. An instrument that is a quarter of the cost as all the others. For the price of a Fodera I can have forty of them. And they'll all record better than the Fodera. : D I don't know what it is about that bass. Maybe it's the ebonol fingerboard. It doesn't have a lot of variety and it isn't the prettiest tone you'll ever heard, but damn if it doesn't produce a fat clean punchy sound. I feel like my bastard son has made me the most proud. : ) [/quote] I had the 5 string version... really good bass! I noticed the bridge pickup alone sounded especially nice, if not typically Jazz. Then I noticed the pickup is placed a bit farther from the bridge than usual, more where a Stingray pickup would be. That certainly helped me like it, I am sure.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1374251914' post='2146942'] That's really easy to fix. Do you mean "any danger of Grangur coming to the rescue?" If so, PM me. [/quote] Ha! If only you lived in Edinburgh! I'm away at the moment, but I will have a go when I return. I may just try first on another bass I don't care so much about. I have an old Squier Jazz with a few bumps on the back of its neck, so I'll try there first. You may get a PM or two if I get scared... or if it turns out so well and easy that I will just have to PM you to say thanks

I got my OCD... Not sure how it compares to a real OCD, but it's very similar to the Joyo Ultimate Drive (another OCD derived pedal). I like the little one better as it's a lot harder to knock knobs out of the settings I had it at when I kick it in. I like it. No extra costs (customs, etc).

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1374173928' post='2146165'] Why? It's all noise, one isn't inherently better than the other. Some people like to play music, some people like to watch TV, and they're all a pain in the arse if they do it too loud. [/quote] +1

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1374174144' post='2146168'] Hey![size=4] You doubted my word!!!??? How could you?!?! I used to repair solid oak furniture. I've sweated dents out of all sorts of pieces of furniture. Not done many on basses yet , but I've just been lucky so far. [/quote] How about dents on the back of an oil finished neck (MusicMan Stingray)... any danger?

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1374078384' post='2145073'] I've done Grangur's damp cloth + iron (albeit a soldering iron) repair on a couple of natural finished guitars now and it really works. One of the repairs was on an MM neck and after I'd done it you could barely see it and certainly not feel it. Give it a go, go slowly, taking your time and I reckon you'll be surprised and pleased. [/quote] A couple of weeks ago I was careless and rested my Stingray against the amp while I was trying to plug some cables on the back... and the bass fell. Ouch! The back of the neck has now two dents. Not huge... but noticeable. It's a maple neck, oil finished... I remembered this technique and it's tempting me to give it a try, but I was a bit worried about messing with damp cloths and heat on the neck of the bass... Hmmm... shall I?

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1374077930' post='2145066'] Get the drummer a pair of light sticks or a cajon at the same time. Busking at volume is a quick way of being moved on before you earn any money. Steve [/quote] Indeed! OP: find out what the regulations are at the place you intend to play. Many places state a "no amplification" rule. In practice, small battery operated amps are ok, if you keep volume levels down. I just bought this thing for playing on the street with my band: It's a QTX QR10PA. It works well and not expensive. There are bigger versions of this, but I am not pushing this one hard at all and it makes more than enough noise. We had the police stopping by two evenings ago, smiled and moved on... so I guess we were not too loud. Only the bass was amplified. I suspect if we had a drumkit and a Markbass amp they may have asked us to turn down or leave... It depends on location, I suppose.

I'd love a Phil Jones briefcase... but I found the QTX QR10PA does the job beautifully at just under £150. Portable, light, and battery life seems decent. Not had it long enough to really test it yet 'though. You can put two sources through it, although shared master volume means you'd better have means to balance the volumes in other way (active bass is perfect). I'd view it as a one instrument only solution... but if pushed you could do more. And it has a built-in mp3 player, if that's of interest.

We used Dischromatics recently. Very pleased with the results and their assistance with various bits.

There, pictures from yesterday. It's really portable... and sounds good!